bell guittern
The Cithrinchen or Bell cittern was a distinctively shaped instrument of the renaissance and baroque periods. It was usually strung with doubled courses of thin, light tension brass or steel strings. It usually had 3 soundholes (with decorative roses) and 5 (or sometimes 6 or more) courses (pairs) of strings.
Also recorded as Hamburg cithrinchen · bell cittern · Hamburger cithrinchen · cithrinchen
bell guittern
Jo Dusepo · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Name
- Cithrinchen
- Field
- cittern
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Documentary summary
The Cithrinchen or Bell cittern was a distinctively shaped instrument of the renaissance and baroque periods. It was usually strung with doubled courses of thin, light tension brass or steel strings. It usually had 3 soundholes (with decorative roses) and 5 (or sometimes 6 or more) courses (pairs) of strings.
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Documentary evidence
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wikidata · Q25451376 · wikipedia · Cithrinchen
In this article
Overview
Overview
It was popular in Germany, England and Sweden. Most such instruments built nowadays are reconstructions of historical instruments, or modern mandolin-type instruments which simply use the same body shape as the historical Cithrinchen.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Cithrinchen • Background — string • Names — Bell cittern, Citrinchen, Hamburger cithrinchen • Related — *Cittern • Orpharion • English guitar • Portuguese guitar
Gallery
Gallery
• Illustration — Cithrinchen in the Met Museum, New York, USA. • Illustration — Cithrinchen in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich, Germany • Illustration — Cithrinchen in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum - Nuremberg, Germany, front view • Illustration — Cithrinchen in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum - Nuremberg, Germany, rear view
Primary material
Documents and archives
scholarly publication
- Cithrinchen [bell guittern], Oxford Music Online, 2001
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2001
reference work
- “Cithrinchen”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q25451376: bell guittern
General reference · Wikidata
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
scholarly publication
Cithrinchen [bell guittern], Oxford Music Online, 2001Crossref registry
Institutional witnessreference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
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Broader subject
1- citternTerminology
Established from a fact already recorded on a verified source.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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