The (Re)construction of music for bowed stringed instruments in Norway in the Middle Ages

Abstract

The first part of this thesis is the search for evidence of bowed stringed instruments in medieval Norway. Literary references, archæological finds, and iconographical representations will be consulted in order to speculate about what instruments could have been played and some of the musical contexts. Ethnological evidence and the question of whether an unbroken tradition of bowed instrument playing exists in Norway are addressed. The second part of this thesis is concerned with the search for some elements of the music that could have been played on medieval fiddles in Norway as well as some aspects of the playing techniques that could have been used. I have postulated that if similarites are found in musical elements or playing techniques, between the European medieval musical tradition and the Norwegian folk tradition, these similarities could be used in the reconstruction processs of a musical tradition in medieval Norway. The goal of this thesis is not to present a collection of newly reconstructed pieces, but to discuss elements that could be used in the process of reconstruction. The topics discussed include tunings, tonality and intonation, construction and form, melodic material, and bowing techniques.