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Shield-shaped psalteryLoup
Historical instrument
Reconstructed with the means, techniques and materials of its time.
This psaltery is the result of two years of research, from 2014 to 2016, carried out by the PRIAE team as a continuation of the reconstruction work led in the 1990s by the instrument maker Jean-Claude Condy.
Model: Puivert shield-shaped psaltery (14th century)
Collection: Animal Spirit
Specifications
- Body
- Walnut
- Soundboard
- Spruce
- Tuning pegs
- Metal
- Strings
- Nylon or gut
- Ornamentation
- Wolf head carving inspired by a gargoyle of Notre-Dame de Paris
Every instrument is made to order: woods, ornaments, strings and pickup are adapted to the way you play.
History and origins
Puivert shield-shaped psaltery · 14th century
Carved on a capital in the musicians' hall of the castle of Puivert, nearly three metres up, this instrument was long thought to be symbolic, for lack of any other known example. Two years of research, from 2014 to 2016, allowed us to find other depictions of the same instrument elsewhere in Europe, to establish that it really existed and to propose a reconstruction.
This work, presented at the Puivert conference, led to a book, Le Psaltérion en écu.
