Rotte (psaltery)
Triangular psalteries held as harps in the Cantigas de Santa Maria, Musician's Codex, 1280 A.D. On the near face of each rotte, 17 strings are visible. | |
| String instrument | |
|---|---|
| Other names | rotte, rote, rotta, rota |
| Hornbostel–Sachs classification | 314.122 box zithers ((Box zither. Chordophone with one or more strings stretched between fixed points, a board for a string bearer, parallel to the plane of the strings, with a resonator box)) |
| Related instruments | |
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- See Rotte (lyre) for the medieval lyre, or Rote for the fiddle
During the 11th to 15th century A.D., rotte (German) or rota (Spanish) referred to a triangular psaltery illustrated in the hands of King David and played by jongleurs (popular musicians who might play the music of troubadours) and cytharistas (Latin word for a musician who plays string instruments). Besides being played in popular music, the church may have used them as well; a letter from Cuthbert, Abbot of Jarrow, England survives, in which he asks an archbishop to send him a cytharista to play the rotta.
The instruments least 10 strings on each side and were held like a harp in front of the musician. Rottes were also described as having 17 stings and 22 strings on each side. The playing position was different from other psalteries, as the Rotte might be held like a harp, leaned sideways (flat against the musician's chest), or rested on the lap. Two styles of rotte have been inferred from images: the first is a triangular box with strings on one side, the other has strings on both sides (both hands playing at once, resembling a harp). The instruments are shown played with both plectrum and with fingers.
The names chrotta, rotte, rotta, rota and rote have been applied to different stringed instruments, including a psaltery, lyre and to a Crwth (necked lyre played as a fiddle or lute). In the 15th century it was also used to name a fiddle, synonymous with the rebec.
Knowing a rotte (psaltery) from a triangular harp in the medieval miniatures can be challenging; rottes may have sound holes visible, if the artist is putting that level of detail into the painting. Similarly, harps show background through the strings if the artist painted sufficient detail.