Tenor Rebec "Quasimodo"

Original design based on historical originals.
Maple, recycled Douglas fir, ebony, tagua nut

Rebecs came in several sizes. The tenor rebec is a mid-sized instrument and is the most commonly depicted of the rebec family. "Quasimodo" is hollowed out and carved from a maple block with a Douglas fir top, lined with alternating ebony and maple binding. The ebony is cut from recycled piano keys. The face is hand-carved tagua nut with a wide mouth where the strings run through to the peg box. The peg box is carved in the shape of a gargoyle body. The soundhole rosette is hand-carved maple.

This rebec has a flat bridge similar to those of the period that three gut strings run over.

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Chapter House Medieval Fiedel #1

Design based on instrument depicted in fresco in the Westminster Abbey Chapter House, London, England
Birdseye Maple, recycled Douglas fir, maple, ebony

When my wife and I visited England a few years ago we signed up for a Verger-guided tour through Westminster Abbey, which allowed us access to portions of the abbey that casual visitors often miss. One of the "special" rooms we got to see was the Chapter House, in the older section of the abbey, where one of the walls is covered with 14th Century frescos. It shows many crowned and robed figures playing instruments of the period, all surrounding the heavenly host. Some of the instruments show a fair amount of detail, as you can see by clicking on the "Fresco" link on the left, and I am in the process of drawing plans and building examples of several of them. The Chapter House Medieval Fiedel is the second.

There are many different styles of medieval fiedels that are associated with different European regions. Most are shaped similar to my Chapter House Fiedel, and a few are oval shaped. Some fiedels are known to have had tied gut frets, like viola da gambas, and others were fretless. Most luthiers base their reproductions on the highly realistic Flemish paintings of the period. My reproduction is similar to that in an anonymous painting in the Munich Alte Pinakothek called "The Coronation of the Virgin," from around 1470, except mine is from my own photograph of the Westminster Abbey Chapter House fresco.

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Soprano Rebec "The Golem"

Original design based on historical originals.
Oak, recycled Douglas fir, ebony, maple

Several Medieval period illuminated manuscripts show small rebecs of various styles and sizes being played by angels, monks, and secular musicians. This "soprano" rebec is my impression of such an instrument based on my studies of those manuscripts.

This rebec has a flat bridge similar to those of the period. The gut strings run over an ebony fingerboard with three tied gut frets (not visible in picture). It is known that these small "fiedels" evolved into what was later known as a Kit, or dancing master's fiddle.

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Chapter House English Crowde #1

Design based on instrument depicted in fresco in the Westminster Abbey Chapter House, London, England
Flamed Maple, recycled Douglas fir, Black Walnut

The shape of the English Crowde is very similar to the rote discovered at Sutton Hoo, England, and on display at the British Museum in London. Like the rote, the body and yoke are hollowed out of a 1" thick piece of wood. Only the section where the pegs are and the fingerboard are solid.

Again, I base this instrument on the one depicted in the Westminster Abbey Chapter House fresco. This bowed instrument came into being around the beginning of the second millennium and lasted through the 14th century, coexisting with the fiedel, rebec, and early viols. A Welsh variation of this instrument is the Crwth (pronounced "crooth").

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Chapter House Rebec #1

Design based on instrument depicted in fresco in the Westminster Abbey Chapter House, London, England
Maple, recycled Douglas fir, Black Walnut

Another bowed instrument I've based on the Westminster Abbey Chapter House wall paintings. The popularity of the 3- and 4-string rebec lasted several hundred years, eventually evolving into the dancing master's kits of the 17th century. The fairly flat bridge allowed the player to stroke two or more strings at once. It is assumed that chords were played instead of melodies, and it was used as a backup to vocals and/or other instruments. It wasn't until the 1600s to 1700s that a more arched bridge was used to facilitate playing single-string melodies like the newer violin.

In the collection of Coletta Husick, Ashville, Ohio