Penorcon
| Category | Strings (Renaissance plucked instrument) |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | England (early 17th century) |
| Classification | string instrument |
| Wikipedia | en.wikipedia.org |
| Wikidata | Q21707063 |
Overview
The penorcon is a rare plucked string instrument from early-17th-century England, belonging to the small family that also includes the orpharion and the bandora. Like its relatives, it has a metal-wire-strung body, a flat back, and a distinctive scalloped or “wavy” outline along the bouts. It is mentioned in period English sources but very few playable examples or detailed depictions survive.
Origin & History
The orpharion family of instruments emerged in late-16th-century England as wire-strung alternatives to the gut-strung lute, suited to consort music and to the resonant projection of metal strings. Period writers such as the music theorist John Dowland and the publisher William Barley list the penorcon alongside the orpharion and bandora, identifying it as an instrument of the same family but with its own size and tuning. Because surviving sources are limited, the precise stringing and tuning of the penorcon are reconstructed from inference rather than from a continuous playing tradition.
How It’s Played
The instrument was held against the body and plucked with the fingers in the manner of a lute. Its wire strings produced a brighter, more sustained tone than gut, well suited to consort textures with viols and other plucked instruments. The body’s slanted frets — a characteristic shared with the orpharion and bandora — compensated for the different tensions of wire strings across the range, giving more accurate intonation across the fretboard.
Cultural Significance
The penorcon is a fragmentary witness to the rich diversity of plucked-string design in late-Renaissance England. Modern early-music ensembles have occasionally reconstructed instruments of this family for historically informed performance.
Related Instruments
- – closely related wire-strung English instrument
- – the larger, lower-pitched relative
- Lute – the gut-strung counterpart
- Cittern – another wire-strung Renaissance instrument
- Theorbo – contemporaneous extended-bass plucked instrument
Frequently Asked Questions
Are penorcons made today?
Only as occasional reconstructions for historically informed performance.
How is it different from an orpharion?
It is described as a separate size and tuning within the same wire-strung English family, but exact specifications are imperfectly documented.