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cittern

Plucked string instrument

Entitytype of musical instrumentQ1093290

Also known as cithren

Instance of: type of musical instrument
Subclass of: necked, flat-backed, plucked lute

Overview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · Read full article · Text CC BY-SA 4.0

The cittern or cithren is a stringed instrument dating from the Renaissance. Modern scholars debate its exact history, but it is generally accepted that it is descended from the medieval citole. Its flat-back design was simpler and cheaper to construct than the lute. It was also easier to play, smaller, less delicate and more portable. Played by people of all social classes, the cittern was a popular instrument of casual music-making much like the guitar is today.

Overview

All data

31 statements · 6% with external sources · numbers in brackets are citations

Different from: zither
sitar
sistrum
Hornbostel-Sachs classification: 321.322-5
Indigenous to: Europe
Used by: cittern player

On other databases

22 identifiers linking cittern across the web's reference databases

Data quality

statements

externally sourced

Source last edited August 25, 2026. AIDB refreshes this page daily.

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AIDB. (2026). cittern (Q1093290). Retrieved from https://aidb.si/e/cittern-Q1093290