lied by the work of
Martin Agricola, published in 1529.--_Mendel's German Musical
Dictionary, article "Violine."_]

[Footnote 18: "Almost all our musical writers state, as if it were a
well-ascertained fact, that the German word Geige is derived from the
_Gigue_ of the French Minstrels, who, during the 13th and 14th
centuries, had a sort of _Rebec_ which they called by that name, and
which, according to some commentators, resembled in outward appearance
the shank of a goat or ram, called _Gigot_, and hence the origin of
all the similar words occurring in different European languages. These
commentators have, however, neglected to prove that the old French
word Gigue occurs before the 13th century, or that it is earlier than
the Middle High German _Gige_."--_Engel's "Researches into the History
of the Violin Family."_]

[Footnote 19: "The Violin and its Music," 1881, page 19.]

In pursuing the course of our subject, our inquiries have hitherto
been mainly concerned with the leading instrument in a barbarous and
semi-barbarous state. We now reach what may be termed the transition
stage of the question. The information relative to the appearance of
the Geige, or Violin tuned in fifths, is of the slenderest kind. To
obtain evidence of much worth it is necessary to reflect upon the
condition of instrumental music about the sixteenth century, together
with the form and character of bowed instruments belonging to the same
period. The manners and customs of peoples have also to be considered.
We have hitherto found the Geige or Fiddle among minstrels and
itinerant musicians in countries where music and minstrelsy had become
an institution with the people. The instrument was rude and gross, and
its office was to play extemporaneous accompaniments, with
considerable licence. At length domestic music began to be zealously
cultivated in Germany and the Low Countries, to which important
circumstance the rapid development of stringed instruments is
traceable. Viols of various kinds supported the voices, and an
important manufacture of such instruments took root in Nuremberg and
other German cities. In following the history of the Madrigal much
light is thrown upon that of the Viol, to which it is necessary to
give attention in order to follow in some degree the development of
the Violin.

The condition of music in Italy previous to the time when the father
of the Madrigal, Adrian Willaert, followed in the steps of his
countryme