The guitar, a beloved instrument across genres and cultures, boasts a rich and fascinating history. Its familiar shape and captivating sounds are the result of centuries of evolution and refinement. If you’ve ever wondered, When Was The First Guitar Made?, you’re embarking on a historical journey that spans millennia, taking us from ancient Mesopotamia to medieval Europe. While pinpointing the exact “first guitar” is a complex task, we can trace its lineage through its ancestors and key milestones in its development.
Ancient Roots: Lutes and Oud Precursors
The story of the guitar begins long before the instrument we recognize today. Evidence suggests that stringed instruments, the guitar’s distant relatives, existed as far back as 3000 BCE. Archaeological discoveries in Southern Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) have unearthed pictorial records from the Uruk period, depicting lute-like instruments. A cylinder seal, currently housed in the British Museum, showcases a crouching female musician playing a stringed instrument on a boat. These early instruments, found throughout Mesopotamian and ancient Egyptian history, came in both long and short-neck varieties. Examples reside in prestigious museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the British Museum, preserved on clay tablets and papyrus. These instruments were integral to the music of ancient civilizations across the Mediterranean and Middle East, including the Sumerians, Akkadians, Persians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Armenians, Greeks, Egyptians, and Romans.
The oud, a pear-shaped, short-neck lute, holds a significant place in this history. Legend, as recounted by Farabi, attributes the oud’s invention to Lamech, a grandson of Adam. Inspired by the skeletal form of his deceased son hanging from a tree, Lamech supposedly crafted the first oud. Historically, the oud gained prominence in the Middle East and spread through trade and cultural exchange. It is believed to have been introduced to Western Europe by the Moors in 711 AD (CE) when they established the Umayyad Caliphate in Al-Andalus (Iberian Peninsula). While instruments similar to the oud, such as the Ancient Greek Pandoura and Roman Pandura, may have arrived in the Iberian Peninsula earlier, it was the Moorish royal courts that fostered oud playing and elevated its popularity. Zyriab, a renowned oud player in Al-Andalus, even established the first music conservatory in Spain and added a fifth course to the instrument. The European adaptation of the oud evolved into the lute, known by various names across Europe: “luth” in French, “laute” in German, “liuto” in Italian, “luit” in Dutch, and “alaud” in Spanish. The term “luthier,” referring to a maker of stringed instruments, is also derived from the French “luth.” A key difference between the oud and the European lute was the introduction of frets on the lute, typically made of tied gut. Construction techniques for the oud and lute were similar, featuring backs made of thin, edge-glued wooden staves and spruce tops.
Medieval Europe: The Guitarra Latina and Guitarra Morisca
During the Medieval period in Europe (500 – 1400 AD), instruments resembling guitars with 3, 4, and 5 strings were already in use. Two notable types emerged in Spain: the Guitarra Latina and the Guitarra Morisca. The Guitarra Latina, characterized by its curved sides, is believed to have originated elsewhere in Europe and migrated to Spain. The Guitarra Morisca, brought to Spain by the Moors, featured an oval soundbox and multiple sound holes on its soundboard.
Historical records from 1349 AD mention the Duke of Normandy employing musicians who played instruments called “Guiterre Morische” (Moorish Guitar) and “Guitarra Latina” (Latin Guitar). The Guiterre Morische is considered an ancestor of the European lute and the modern Arabic oud. Crucially, the Guitarra Latina is recognized as a direct predecessor to the guitar. While the precise date of the “first guitar” remains elusive, 1265 AD marks a significant point as the earliest known mention of a “guitar” in historical documents.
The Elusive “First Guitar” – Defining the Guitar
Answering “when was the first guitar made?” is challenging because the instrument evolved gradually over time. There wasn’t a singular invention point, but rather a continuous process of development from earlier stringed instruments. The instruments mentioned in medieval records as “Guitarra Latina” and “Guitarra Morisca” represent crucial steps in this evolution. The Guitarra Latina, in particular, with its curved sides and construction, is considered the most direct ancestor of the modern guitar.
While we cannot pinpoint a specific date for the creation of the very first guitar, the historical record clearly indicates that instruments recognizable as guitars, or very close to them, were present in Europe by the 13th and 14th centuries. These medieval guitars, evolving from lute-like instruments and shaped by cultural influences from both Europe and the Middle East, laid the foundation for the guitars we know and love today. Therefore, when considering when was the first guitar made, it’s more accurate to think of a long and fascinating evolution, with roots stretching back to ancient civilizations and culminating in the medieval instruments that paved the way for the modern guitar.
