medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Is there any evidence of harps being used in churches or other liturgical
celebrations? In Ireland, harps were the premiere instrument for centuries,
and their connection with angels would seem to make them acceptable for use
in liturgy. John Carey (in _A Single Ray of the Sun_) quotes a letter of
Alciun of York to Speratus in which Alcuin condemns priests for listening to
harps during their meals. But was the problem using a harp for music or the
fact that the harpers were telling secular tales (Alcuin thought priests
should have inspirational texts read to them as they ate instead of what he
considered performances extolling in his words, lost pagan kings)? Alcuin
seems to be more upset with the secular--in his word, pagan--content of the
tales than their association with a harp per se.
Francine Nicholson
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