Two Princely c7th Anglo-Saxon Lyres

Few objects in early Anglo-Saxon archaeology are more evocative, than the so-called “warrior-lyres” or “hearpes” which have gradually emerged from analysis of mostly quite poorly preserved remains from some of the most famous 6-7th century burials. For those exploring this historic period, they also possess a unique power – transmitting to us another sensory dimension to enrich our sense of the Anglo-Saxon world. With accurately built replica lyres, we are granted the unique opportunity experience the sound of the 6-7th century mead hall, echoing across the centuries, which accompanied the first recorded stories and poems in our langu​age.

In autumn 2018, member Æd Thompson (having previously produced Dreamgifu – a reasonably faithful replica of the perfectly preserved 6th century Alemannic lyre from Trossingen) embarked on a project to produce two new lyres, of the (in some ways) more challenging Anglo-Saxon design.
  

Team members Marc and Jon, with a Trossingen-style lyre, midnight at Sutton Hoo.

​At the time of writing, six 6-7th century lyres have been excavated from Anglo-Saxon contexts in England (with a further 3-4 cases of components having been found); these lyres are;

• Taplow Princely Burial (Exc. 1882; Bruce-Mitford, 1983)
• Sutton Hoo Mound 1 (Exc. 1939; Bruce-Mitford, 1975 & 1983)
• Bergh Apton, Grave 22 (Exc. 1973; Green et al. 1978).
• Morning Thorpe. Grave 97.  (Exc. 1975; Green et al. 1987).
• Snape Grave 32 (Exc. 1992; Filmer-Sankey et al. 2001).
• Prittlewell Princely Burial (Exc. 2003; Blackmore et al. 2019)

​ Of these, three are from the highest status Anglo-Saxon burials ever discovered, and all share many common features; a rounded rectangular frame (maple wood, where identifiable) originally spanned by 6 

strings (in turn consistent with depictions such as folio 30v of the 8th century Vespasian Psalter) and a string-arch or yoke of a separate piece of wood, with grain perpendicular or curving, which was jointed into the pillars of the body by means of sophisticated half-hidden mortise and tenon joints, reinforced by various designs of (sometimes decorated) metal escutcheons riveting through the tenon. 

​This is the defining feature of early Anglo-Saxon lyres which distinguishes them from their continental counterparts.  While continental examples (such as the lyres from Cologne, Trossingen or Oberflacht) with bodies cut from a single piece, have grain running vertically on the yoke, thus liable to vertical splitting under a combination of string pressure and “shake” from fluctuating humidity, the sophisticated carpentry of early Anglo-Saxon lyres ensures there is no vertical grain on the yoke, thereby reducing the likelihood of this kind of failure. This may have been an elaborate adaptation to improve the resilience of such lyres, in the context of the fluctuating humidity of Britain’s more maritime climate. 

Remains of the lyre from Sutton Hoo Mound 1. British Museum. (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

While our understanding of early Anglo-Saxon lyres was first shaped by the careful re-interpretation of hastily collected fragments from Sutton Hoo and Taplow, and by analysis of poorly preserved, less high-status examples excavated in modern times, the discoveries in 2003-4 of a lyre in the Prittlewell Princely Burial, excavated en-bloc, and the near perfectly preserved Alemannic lyre from Trossingen (which, though of different design, fills some important knowledge gaps) have shed new light on these instruments.   Contrary to some commentary, the organic elements of the Prittlewell Princely burial are not especially well preserved, but were, importantly, largely undisturbed, and then excavated and analysed with unprecedented meticulousness and care, and with the aid of cutting-edge technology.   The outline of the lyre was immediately obvious in the soil stain, giving its shape and size, together with the telltale grey-green stains at the upper pillars of silver or copper-alloy escutcheons. Although representations in the media had initially implied these were sub-triangular (like those of the Bergh-Apton and Taplow lyres) images of the remains in situ appeared to be circular, like those of the Snape lyre; a detail that was later confirmed.  However, little more information on this lyre (save for the roundness of its escutcheons, conventional form, and almost exact correspondence to the dimensions of the Sutton Hoo lyre) was made widely available for the following 16 years, until the somewhat unexpected publication of the Prittlewell Princely Burial report in summer 2019 – a matter of weeks after the completion of the first of the two replica lyres concerned here.

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"Glōming" -  A Lyre inspired by Prittlewell

​​“Glōming” – (A.S. for “moonlight”) began in late 2018, and was intended to be a conservative interpretation of the limited information then available concerning the Prittlewell Lyre.   Reconstructing finds on which only partial information is available is always challenging, and the results always subject to re-evaluation when new discoveries come to light. In such cases, where details are not known, our guiding principle is parsimony; to stick within precedents established by other finds, and avoid extraneous or rare elements. 

​Glōming began with a rare piece of genuine, air dried English field maple (Acer campestre) – the native species of maple in England. This is the wood which was used for almost all known lyre examples, yet is rarely available today in pieces of sufficient breadth, as field maples rarely grow to sufficient size in modern times to yield such large planks.  Maple is both easy to carve but also hard enough at the surface to sand and polish to a shine, feel crisp and durable, and also often features, in addition to its grain, “flame” figuring running perpendicular, like warm clouds running across the surface. While this was undesirable on Dreamgifu – the Trossingen replica, where the natural figure of the wood clashed slightly with the carefully carved surface decoration, the (presumed) plain surfaces of Anglo-Saxon lyres allow the figure of the wood itself to stand alone.

Remains of the lyre from the Prittlewell Princely burial, in situ, during excavation. (Unknown source). Outline of the lyre is clearly discernible, along with the circular escutcheons at the top of the pillars.

​​The lyre body was cut to the same shape and dimensions as that which is understood of the famous lyre from Sutton Hoo Mound 1, and, following inferences from the 3D shape of the Trossingen lyre, was very gently tapered so as to be marginally wider at the base than at the tops of the pillars. An integral end-peg was included, again following the precedent of the Trossingen lyre.  The body was hollowed out, such that the walls were only approx 4mm all around.    This hollow section which forms the sound box actually continued up the pillars on many examples, but how high these sound-box extensions carried up the pillars was quite variable across known examples. In the absence of any more information on the Prittlewell lyre, the hollow of the pillars was ended just above half way to the joints, in approximately the same position as on the Sutton Hoo lyre.

Planning the yoke / string-arch/arm for Gloming - replica 7th century Anglo-Saxon lyre. By carefully positioning the template around a branch union, it is possible to achieve the curving grain, round the arch, which is seen on the Sutton Hoo lyre remains.

As previously discussed, the jointed-in yoke was an essential and defining feature of early Anglo-Saxon lyres – either with horizontal, or arching / curving grain. Arching grain is clearly to be seen on the remains of the Sutton Hoo lyre, where the yoke has shrunk in on itself as it has decayed, curling like a bishop’s crook. 

Carving tenon on the string-arch/arm/yoke for Gloming - replica 7th century Anglo-Saxon lyre. Grain visible curving round the arch.

It has been speculated this detail could have been achieved by selecting a rare branch with the right curve, naturally, or by “training” a tree branch as it grew over decades, to adopt the desired curvature.  However, this can also be achieved by cutting the arch from a plank which has itself been cut near a branch-union, where the grain of the bough joining the side of the trunk would be concentric, like a bullseye in the plank. By cutting the arch from around this “bullseye” the grain of the arch is curved.  This was what was done for the yoke of Glōming – from a plank of field maple heartwood, resulting in a rich, darker shade contrasting with the paler lyre body. However, as earlier discussed, maple has “flame” running perpendicular to its grain, which in some areas of the tree can be even more vivid and manifest as “quilting”. Where the grain is curving, the flame or quilting will be perpendicular to this, therefore running radially, as can be seen on Glōming’s yoke.   This sort of figuring is a natural side-effect of the selection of wood, would probably not be detectable in the archaeological remains, and we do not know to what extent our ancestors would have appreciated its aesthetic qualities. Nevertheless, the entirely natural, unusual look of this carefully planned arch is perhaps the most distinctive feature of this particular lyre. 
​Joining the string-arch/arm or yoke to the body (pillars) of the lyre was the most challenging part of the lyre build – an aspect which Æd had not attempted before. 

​The mortises were chiselled out of the upper and inner faces of the pillars, such that they are entirely invisible from the outside aspect of the lyre; a process made more difficult because the opposite pillar actually partially blocks access. Tenons were then carved on the yoke piece, and fine-tuned such that they lock into place – ultimately, finally fixed by means of animal glue (also acting as a filler) and the escutcheons.  The result of this process, on Glōming, was that the arch was fixed into place with admittedly slightly imperfect (first attempt!) but strong, barely tapering mortise and tenon joints.
The sound-board, of maple tonewood, was carefully shaped, and added with animal glue only, eschewing the copper alloy brads or nails of the Sutton Hoo and Cologne lyres respectively. The lyre was then carefully sanded smooth. 

With limited information available concerning the fittings of the Prittlewell lyre we were keen to avoid anything overly elaborate or fanciful, and so, we interpreted the circular escutcheons as simple silver discs, fixed with a central rivet as the Snape disc escutcheons had been, and recessed into the surface. For decoration, we borrowed a design from a contemporaneous “shield” pendant with a design formed of punched dots and, to match, we added perpendicular metal strip fittings across the tops of the sound-board, like those seen on the Bergh Apton and Snape lyes, and similar to the diagonally disposed strips seen on the Morning Thorpe and (then unknown to us) on the Prittlewell lyre. With the publication of the Prittlewell report, we now know that the disc fittings represented here in silver, were actually gilded copper alloy, with interlacing decoration, and a central garnet setting; far more elaborate than had been expected.
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Although stray bridges have been found in other contexts and from other centuries, excavated early Anglo-Saxon lyres have not yielded any traces of bridges, suggesting they were typically made of wood. We added a bridge of the same maple-wood as the rest of the lyre, in the over all shape of the preserved bridge from the Trossingen lyre.  We also added pyramidal-tipped, tapering tuning pegs, hand carved from the most durable possible wood – native English box wood. 

​Even more mysterious are the tailpieces of such lyres, though it has long been assumed that they did exist, to fix the strings to the end of the lyre. It is here that the publication of the research on the Prittlewell lyre has been a game-changer, revealing an oval loop of metal and (probable) leather strip much like a triangular buckle. This was wholly unexpected, as it was thought likely that such tailpieces were more likely to be made entirely of organic materials and resembling those of violins – with holes to tie the strings to. It was along these lines that the tailpiece of Glōming was made, of green ox-horn, though in future it may be replaced by a new one implementing new insights. 

​​Following the stringing of this lyre, the tone was immediately remarkable, and only continued to improve; a quality arguably attributable, in particular, to the rare field maple used for its body, with wonderful transmission and acoustic purity.   The overall result of the project was enormously satisfying, and although due to the publication of the Prittlewell report it could no longer be presented as a Prittlewell lyre reconstruction, it remains a wonderful instrument and conservatively representative of early Anglo-Saxon lyres in general. 

"Glōming" - 6-7th century Anglo-Saxon lyre, by Thegns of Mercia member Æd Thompson. www.thegns.org

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"Throstle" -  The Taplow Lyre

​In stark contrast, the second of this pair of lyres – “Throstle” – (AS for “Song Thrush”) was never intended to be generally representative, but rather, the first complete replica of the unique lyre from the Taplow Princely Burial.

Incompetently excavated in 1882, the early 7th century burial mound at Taplow, Buckinghamshire, remained the greatest Anglo-Saxon burial known until the opening of Sutton Hoo Mound 1 in 1939, but the chaotic nature of the original excavation meant many of the items of “treasure” unceremoniously ripped from context remained little understood, and it was well into the following century before the two wonderful gilded bird fittings and associated wooden fragments were identified as part of a lyre.

​Analysis of those pieces by Rupert Bruce Mitford, partly in light of work studying the Sutton Hoo lyre, revealed unique features – angled joints, and ox-horn plates recessed into both sides of the yoke / string-arm, fixed in place with silver pins. Bruce Mitford further identified a matching pair of articulating silver, or silver-plated fittings which were likely from a hand-strap, fixed in some way into the body of the lyre.  We were determined to explore these elements by producing the first ever full reproduction of this uniquely elaborate lyre. 

One of a number of conflicting burial schemes for the Taplow princely burial, excavated in 1882. The haphazard excavation and lack of clarity regarding the layout of finds meant that the lyre fragments long went unidentified.

​​Like the previous lyre, “Throstle” began with a rare piece of field maple, although, cut closer to the heart-wood, it had denser grain and a richer, redder colour – this time contrasting to a paler maple soundboard added to the front. This led to an almost “inverse” aesthetic to Glōming.  .  As the body of the Taplow lyre was not discernible from the excavation, shape and size was again based on the dimensions understood of the Sutton Hoo lyre, by now further reinforced by the almost identical proportions of the lyre from Prittlewell. The height of the hollow sections of the pillars (and extensions of the soundboard onto the pillars) was not known for the original lyre, and with this aspect being highly variable, we again chose to follow the middle-ground precedent set by the Sutton Hoo lyre; this would have implications for the utility of the wrist strap discussed later. 
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The section of the body plank which had been cut out, to form the pillars, was used to make the yoke / string arm, with horizontal grain. Shaping this piece was a much greater challenge than the previous lyre, as the shape had to flow with the curves of the (slightly asymmetrical) gilded bird fittings (replicas of which had been produced for this build, by our associate historic jeweller dangeld.co.uk), accommodate horn facings, and join to the pillars with uniquely difficult, diagonally disposed half-hidden mortise and tenon joints. Although finer details of these joints (to what extent the tenons tapered, or had rounded tips) is not known, given the sophistication implied by the fittings and augmented yoke, it was decided that the tenons should be tapering and round-tipped like those of the Sutton Hoo lyre.  

Possibly aided by the slightly harder and more fine-grained heart-wood, along with by now having had more practice, it was possible to achieve a much tighter and neater joint than had been achieved on Glōming.  However, gradual adjustment of the joints towards the best possible fit led to the pillars being shortened each time, such that the lyre ended up a couple of centimetres shorter than Gloming, though still broadly within the evidenced range.
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Once jointed (but not fixed) work began on the extra details of the yoke; its outline was fine-tuned to flow well with the bird fittings, and the holes for the rivets continuous with the backs of these fittings were drilled, so they could be test-fitted into place. With their ultimate positions now exactly known and marked, the positions of peg holes were chosen, and the recesses for the ox-horn veneer were carved into the front.
The horn was then carefully shaped to fit, and all pieces were test-fitted together, before the peg-holes were made, and silver rivets installed. 

Remains of the lyre from the 7th century Anglo-Saxon "Taplow Princely Burial" showing gilded copper-alloy bird fittings with inlaid eyes, and remains of the wood of the string arch, with ox-horn veneers held in place with two pins between each peg hole. British Museum. (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

One of a matching pair of rivet-fixed silver or silver-plated hinging strap fittings with leather residues, from the Taplow princely burial, and though to be part of a lyre hand strap system.

String-arm/yoke of "Throstle" - replica of the 7th century Taplow lyre, in progress, with arch, horn veneers and bird fittings test-fitted, and not yet fixed into place. Arch is not yet drilled for the pegs and pins.

​The joints were then glued and the bird fittings installed, with their pins riveting onto a silver backplate based on fragmentary remains. During this phase of the build it became clear, contrary to some earlier commentary, that this arrangement was not a repair but rather, represented a carefully planned design that was original to the lyre. There may be evidence of another lyre with similar decoration; a plate of bone, similar to the pieces of horn shown here, was found in a 5th century grave in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, and may represent an earlier example of similar design.

​Replicas of the unusual strap-fittings were fabricated from silver, but their installation presented a problem. It was clear that, in order to be fixed by riveting (as implied by the rivets present) it would be necessary for them to be fixed into a hollow part, but, vulnerable to knocks, such fixings would risk ripping out the wall of lyre. To be protected from knocks, it was decided the fittings should be mounted into the inner aspect of the pillars, and, further, they were mounted high into the corner of the hollow, beside the solid section of the pillars, for extra stability.  These were spanned by a leather wrist-strap, based on leather remains found inside the original silver fittings, with some simple geometric tooling, and the addition of a little silver buckle.

Hand-strap on "Throstle" - reproduction of the Taplow lyre. Strap integrates replicas of silver, or silvered copper-alloy hinging fittings with leather traces, in the British Museum, identified by Rupert Bruce Mitford as hand-strap fittings from the lyre.

​Like the previous lyre, the thin maple-wood tonewood soundboard was glued into place with hot animal-glue, and the outside was sanded smooth. As no strip-fittings had been identified among the Taplow lyre remains, of the type which rivet over and hide the top edge of the sound board on the pillars, on the Morning Thorpe, Bergh Apton, Snape, and Prittlewell lyres, we decided not to include this feature on this reconstruction, and so, like on most reconstructions of the Sutton Hoo lyre, the transition from soundboard to pillar can be seen. 

This replica of the Taplow lyre was finished, like Glōming, with conservatively chosen, essential but non-extant components; a maple-wood bridge, pyramidal-tipped box-wood pegs, and, for the time being, a tailpiece of bone, which may yet be exchanged for a Prittlewell tailpiece in the future.

When strung, Throstle quickly adopted a wonderfully rich, though slightly brighter tone than Glōming. The wrist-strap, tightly spanning the hinged silver fittings, is extremely stable and allows for more technical playing. However, its position is arguably slightly too high to be fixed to the wrist. It is possible that the strap fittings may have been mounted lower on the pillars, particularly if the hollow sections ended lower (such as on the Morning Thorpe or Prittlewell lyres), which would allow the strap to be used on the wrist while still having room for the fingers to reach the back of the strings. However, with the configuration of this build, the same, or even greater utility can be achieved by buckling the strap onto the hand. In doing so, the fingertips are placed closer to the backs of the strings, and the thumb can be hooked underneath one of the fittings for extra stability.

Although this lyre eschews some more optional elements (soundboard strip fittings, and pins or brads) for reasons of conservatism with respect to the known remains, the Taplow lyre’s uniquely decorated string-arch and sophisticated strap fitting arrangement suggest it may have been most complex of all known Anglo-Saxon lyres, outshining even the one from Sutton Hoo Mound 1.

"Throstle" - Replica of the princely 7th century Anglo-Saxon Taplow lyre, by Æd Thompson, Thegns of Mercia.

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​The unexpectedly rich and loud tones of both lyres have opened up new possibilities for styles of play.  As interest in Northern European ancient music, and lyres in particular, grows, instruments based on these historic finds are becoming increasingly popular and widely available. Attention to detail applied to these instruments is highly variable, and while looser interpretations may be sufficient for other purposes, it is clear from study of archaeological finds that these lyres were enormously carefully designed, sophisticated and well crafted. The very great labour lavished on each discovered Anglo-Saxon lyre is illustrative of the importance of poetry and music (the sound of the mead-hall) within their culture. Accurate reproductions of such lyres provide the unique opportunity to access and experience the sound of the mead-hall, across 1400 of history. 

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Acknowledgements

We are indebted to professional luthier and Anglo-Saxon lyre expert Michael J. King for his advice which laid the foundations for these lyre builds.    We are also enormously grateful to the British Museum's Early Medieval Curator, Sue Brunning, for her help, conducting additional investigations into the remains of the Taplow lyre and taking extra photographs specially to help inform this work. 

References

Blackmore, L., Blair, I., Hirst, S., Scull, C. (2019) The Prittlewell princely burial: excavations at Priory Crescent, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, 2003.  Museum of London Archaeology. MOLA Monograph Series 73

Bruce-Mitford, R. & Bruce-Mitford, M. 1970. The Sutton Hoo Lyre, Beowulf, and the Origins of the Frame Harp. Antiquity 44. Antiquity Publications Ltd. Cambridge. pp 7-13.

Bruce-Mitford, R. 1975. The Sutton Hoo Ship-Burial Volume I: Excavations, Background, the Ship, Dating and Inventory. British Museum Publications Limited. London.

Bruce-Mitford, R. 1983. The Sutton Hoo Ship-Burial Volume III: Late Roman and Byzantine Silver, Hanging Bowls, Drinking Vessels, Cauldrons and other Containers, Textiles, the Lyre, Pottery Bottle and other Items. The Trustees of The British Museum. London. 

Filmer-Sankey, W. & Pestell, T. 2001. Snape Anglo-Saxon cemetery: excavations and surveys 1824-1992. Environment and Transport, Suffolk County Council. Ipswich, Suffolk.

Green, B. & Rogerson, A. 1978. The Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Bergh Apton, Norfolk: catalogue. Gressenhall.

​Green, B. & Rogerson, A. & White, S. G. 1987. The Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Morning Thorpe, Norfolk. Vol. 1, Catalogue. Norfolk Archaeological Unit. Dereham. 

Hillberg, J., 2015. Early Lyres in Context-A Comparative Contextual Study on Early Lyres and the Identity of Their Owner/User. [Masters Thesis, Lund University]

Lawson, G. 1978. The Lyre from Grave 22. In: Green, B. & Rogerson, A. (eds) The Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Bergh Apton, Norfolk: catalogue. Gressenhall: pp 87-97

Lawson, G. 1987. Report on the Lyre Remains from Grav 97. In: Green, B. & Rogerson, A. & White, S. G. (eds) The Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Morning Thorpe, Norfolk. Vol. 1, Catalogue. Norfolk Archaeological Unit. Dereham. pp 166-171.

Lawson, G. 2001. The Lyre Remains from Grave 32. In: Filmer-Sankey, W. & Pestell, T. (eds) Snape Anglo-Saxon cemetery: excavations and surveys 1824-1992. Environment and Transport, Suffolk County Council. Ipswich, Suffolk. pp 215-223

Leeds, E. T. & Harden, D. B. 1936. The Anglo-Saxon Cemetery at Abingdon, Berkshire. University of Oxford, Ashmolean Museum.

Museum of London. Archaeology Services, 2004. The Prittlewell prince: the discovery of a rich Anglo-Saxon burial in Essex. Museum of London Archaeology Service.

Pollington, S., 2008. Anglo-Saxon burial mounds: princely burial in the 6th & 7th centuries. Anglo-Saxon Books.