Antiquity–3000B.C.through30B.C.

Thehistoryofthetrianglebeginsinantiquity,ca.3000BC.Somescholarsconsiderthetriangletobedescendedfromaninstrumentcalledthesistrum.Thesistrumwasbasicallyarattlecomprisinganarchwithahandleattached.Thearchhadanumberofcrosspiecesthatsometimessuspendedseveralmetaldiscs.Whenthesistrumwasshaken,thecrosspiecesanddiscsrattled.ThesistrumcanbefoundinEgyptiantombandtempleimageryinareligiousandceremonialcontext.ThehandlewasoftendecoratedwiththeheadofHathor,theancientgoddessofmusic,symbolizingadulationanddevotiontoHathor.ItwasoftenmadeintheshapeoftheEgyptianankh,symbolizinglife.

fromAngelstoOrchestra(PARTI):aniconographichistoryofthetrianglethroughthe19thCenturybyMarkBerry-lastrevision09/22/2016

30B.C.throughA.D.450Theuseofthesistruminareligious/ceremonialcontextcontinuedevenaftertheageofthePharaohs.TheRomanconquestofEgyptin30BChelpedspreadtheuseofthesistrum,withaGreco-Romaninterpretation/symbolism.Bythe1stCenturyAD,theHathorheadsthathadpreviouslybeencommononthesistrumhandleswerenowdepictedasIsis,thecultgodpopularduringRomantimes.InthefirstcenturiesA.D.,asChristianitybegantospreadoutwardfromJerusalem,astyleofsistrumcalltsenatsilbegantobeusedinEthiopianOrthodoxchurchceremonies.ThetsenatsilhasremainedaliturgicalinstrumentintheEthiopianOrthodoxChurchthroughoutthecenturiesandisplayed,tothisday,duringthedanceperformedbythedebtera(cantors)onimportantchurchfestivals.

InmoderntimestheCopticOrthodoxChurchusesaninstrumentcalledmuthallathintheirceremonies,whichisessentiallyamodernpercussiontriangle.Themuthallathisplayedinconjunctionwithsmallcymbals.TheCoptsareconsidereddirectdescendantsofancientEgyptians,butitisnotknownwhenthemuthallathcameintosuchuse.Itispresumedtobeinmoremoderntimes--withinthelastfewhundredyears,asitisnotmentionedintheearlywritingsoriconographyofthechurch.

MiddleAges(450-1390AD)-TheFirstTriangle?Historically,whendowefindthefirstaccountofatriangle?"Anearlymentionofthetriangleisfoundina10th-centurymanuscript.Heretheinstrumentiswithoutrings."-StanleySadie,TheNewGroveDictionaryofMusicandMusicians,"Triangle"entrywrittenbyJamesBlades"Yetthefirstmentionwefindofatriangleinatenth-centurymanuscript,isofaninstrumentwithoutrings"-JamesBlades,PercussionInstrumentsandTheirHistory,1971"Thoughthetriangleissofrequentlyillustratedwithrings,theearliestmentionoftheinstrument(ina10thcenturymanuscript)referstoaninstrumentwithoutrings."-JamesBlades,PercussionInstrumentsoftheMiddleAgesandRenaissance:TheirHistoryinLiteratureandPainting,1973

Inthreeseparate,prominentpublications,JamesBladeswritesjustasentenceortwoindicatingthatthefirsthistoricaccountofatriangleisfoundwithinatenth-centurymanuscript.Unfortunately,withinthesewritingsandothers,Bladesneverstateswhatmanuscripthewasreferringto.Thebook,LePercussioni,byGuidoFacchinrefersto"atenth-centurymanuscriptofSaintEmmeram,preservedinthelibraryofMonaco",but,likeBlades,saysnothingfurther.Inhisbook,TheArtsintheMiddleAgesandRenaissance(pub.1870),P.L.Jacobshowsanimagelabeled,“TriangleoftheNinthCentury.(MS.ofSt.Emmeram).”,butdoesnotprovideanyfurtherinformation.Scholarlywriting,includingTheNewGroveDictionaryentry,hasfordecades,remainedvagueregardingtheso-called"firstmentionofthetriangle".Questionsquicklyarise.

Whatwasthis10thcenturymanuscriptthatBladesandothersmentioned?Whatwasthetitle?Whowroteit?WhatdoesBladesmeanwhenhesaysa"mentionof"thetriangle?Text?Descriptions?Iconography?Therearethousandsofextantmedievalmanuscripts,so,whichoneisbeingreferredto?Whattheabovesourcesreferto,butneverciteoridentifyspecifically,areamanuscriptnowhousedintheBayerischeStaatsBibliothek(BSB)inMunich,Germany.Withthehelpofthelibrarystaffthere,Ihaverecentlybeenabletoseethemanuscriptandlocatetheimagethathasbeensoabstruseinpercussionscholarship,forsolong.ThemanuscriptiscataloguedBSBClm14523underthetitle,DeMusicabyAniciusManliusSeverinusBoethius.TheBSBcatalogueliststhedateofthemanuscriptas10th-13thcentury.Somescholarssayitisfromthelateninthcentury.ThemanuscriptwasheldatthelibraryofSt.Emmeram(whichheldthousandsofmedievalmanuscripts)untiltheearly1800'swhenitwasmovedtothelibraryinMunich.ThoughDeMusicaiscataloguedlistingBoethiusastheauthor,themanuscriptincludesseveralwritingsbyotherauthorsincluding,WalahfridusStrabo,HieronymusSophroniusEusebius/pseudo-Hieronymous,IsidorusHispalensis,andGuidoAretinus.

OfprimaryimportancetothemodernpercussionististhesectionofDeMusicaentitled,HieronymusAdDardanumdediversisgeneribusmusicorum,questionablyauthoredbyHieronymusSophroniusEusebius,alsoknownasSaintJerome.ScholarsdisagreeastowhetherthissectionwasactuallywrittenbySaintJerome,orwhetheritwaswrittenbyPseudo-Jerome.Pseudo-Jeromeisatermusedbyscholarstoidentifythenumerousauthorswhoweremistakenlythoughttobe,orwereassertingtobe,SaintJerome.Thissectionofthemanuscriptlists,describes,andprovidesdrawingsofwhatarethoughttobeancientGreco-Romansmusicalinstruments,althoughsomehavearguedthattheyareactuallyfictitiousand/ordramatized.ThepageofDeMusicashowsa24-stringedkithara,a10-stringedkithara,acymbalum,anda4-stringedchorus,eachlabeledaccordingly.Thereisa

circularobjectabovethe4-stringedchoruswithnodescriptionsorlabels.Lastly,belowthechorus,liesthetriangleinquestion.Incomparison,theimagefromP.L.Jacob'sbookisslightlydifferentfromtheonefoundinDeMusicaandagain,itisunfortunatethatJacobsdoesnotdiscussorciteit.

DeMusica-Boethius(10th-13thcentury)

Alas,theimagefoundinDeMusica,theimagethatBladesandothershavecalled"thefirstmentionofamusicaltriangle"isproblematic.Evenifoneoverlookstheuncertaincredibilityoftheauthorship,andthepotentiallydramatizeddepictionsof(Ps.?)Hieronymous'musicalinstruments,theimageremainsunconvincingasamusicaltriangle.TheimagefoundwithinDeMusicaismostlikelynotatriangle,andmostlikelynotamusicalinstrument,forthefollowingreasons:

• therearenoheadingsordescriptionspertainingtotheimage-allotherinstrumentshaveheadings/descriptions• therearefourpagesoftextwithinHieronymusAdDardanumdediversisgeneribusmusicorum,describingeachofthe

instruments,butthereisnomentionofthetriangleortriangularshape• thesmallsizeandlackofcolorreinforcetheideathatthesearenotpartof(Ps.)Hieronymous'smusicalinstruments• theimageisnotincludedormentionedinsubsequentcopies,printings,translations,orscholarshipthroughoutthe

centuries• theimagedoesnotshowatrianglebeater/strikerormethodofsuspension• theimageappearstobetwo-dimension,flat,andthin.Itappearstobemoredecorativethanfunctionallymusical• thecircularobjectabovethe4-stringedchorus,thoughnotatriangularshape,hassimilarthinlines,noheadingsor

descriptions,andlooksoutofplacemuchlikethetriangularshapeWhatisitthen?PerhapsthetriangularshapeisadepictionofaplectrumforusewiththeKithara?PerhapsitisabitofquasiHiberno-Saxoninsularart"doodling?"Thoughnotconvincingasamusicalinstrument,itisdefinitelyworthinvestigating,anditisdefinitelyworthmakingitknown,giventhatpriorpercussionscholarshipalludedtoitprominently,butdidnotofferspecifics.Movingon,wedonotfindthetriangleinMiddleEastern,orGreekandRomanmusicandart.Whatwedofindistheemergenceofthetrianglestartinginthe14thcenturyonwardviaEuropeaniconography.ThetriangleismostoftenfoundinaChristianreligiouscontext--onpaintings,altarpieces,ceilingvaultsandnaves,illuminatedmanuscripts,cathedralorgans,andstainedglass.Trianglesprominentlyappearwithsacrediconsandinstruments,givingthesensethatitwasalong-standingpartofChristiansymbolism.---thatitwasarecognizable,accepted,andsignificantinstrument.Itisplausiblethatthetrianglewasoccasionallyusedasapartofreligiousservices,despitethetimelessstrugglebetweentheChurchanditsrelationshipwithmusicalinstrumentsandrhythm.Givenitssimplicity,anditsloudrhythmicnature,thetrianglewasalikelycandidateforuseinsecularandfolkmusicaswell.Whythepreviouscenturiesarenearlyvoidofwrittenaccountoriconographyremainsamystery.Perhapsthepopularityofthetrianglearosegraduallyinthe14thcentury—thisseemsplausible.Historically,othermusicalinstrumentshavegainedacceptanceinacomparablyshorttime.Or,perhaps,thetrianglecamerapidlytothefore,inconjunctionwiththeriseofMarianismandMarianiconography?Perhapswithangelandwinged-angeliconography?OrcoulditbethatcenturiesofChristianiconoclasticdisagreementskeptthetrianglehidden?EvolutionorIndependentDevelopment?Didthetriangleevolvefromthesistrum?Somescholarshavewrittenthatthetriangleisadirectdescendantofthesistrum.JamesBladesdoesnotgoquitesofar,referringtothetriangleasbeing"allied"withthesistrumthroughouthistory.Ifthetrianglewereadirectdescendant,somewhereinhistorybetweenthetimeofthePharaohsandtheRenaissance,wewouldexpecttofindadirectconnectionbetweenthesistrumandthemoderntriangle.Wewouldexpecttofinda“missinglink”thatshowsthesistrum'sevolutionintothetriangle.However,adirectconnectionand/or"missinglink"arenotknown.ThereligiouscontextofthetriangleinEuropeduringthefifteenthcenturydoeshelpallyittothesistrum,asthesistrumwasalmostalwaysassociatedwithreligionandceremonythroughoutitshistory.However,thehorizontalbarwithjinglingringsistheonlyphysicalconnectionbetweenthetwo.Forasistrumtoevolveintoatriangleovertime,itwouldhavetoloseitsreligiouslysymbolicframe,symbolichandle,physicalsize,characteristicsound,mannerofholding,andmannerofactivatingthesound,andmostofallit’srootsinnon-Christianworshipandceremony(HathorandIsisworship)inordertoevolveintoatriangle.Severalmusicalinstrumentencyclopediasoftheseventeenthcenturyshowboththetriangleandthesistrumtogether,existingdistinctlyfromeachother.Thisalsoreinforcestheideaofaseparatedevelopment,ratherthanthetriangleevolvingdirectlyfromthesistrum.Alas,thetriangleremainsan“alliedcousin”tothesistrum,butmostlikelynotadirectdescendant.TrapezoidsandStirrupsInthefifteenthcentury,webegintofindinstrumentssimilartothemoderntriangle,butinslightlydifferentshapes,primarilythetrapezoidandstirrupshape.Thoughthesearenotconsidered"missinglinks",scholarshavenotedtheresemblancebetweentheseinstrumentsandstirrupsusedonhorses.Thetermsstaffa(It.),staffetto(It.),andsteigereif(Ger.)havebeenusedinreferencetothetriangle.

JinglingRingsFromthefifteenthcenturyforward,trianglesappearfrequentlywithjinglingringsacrossthehorizontalbar.Priortotheseventeenthcentury,instrumentstypicallyhadtwoorthreerings.After,therewereusuallythreeormore.

Becauseofthequalityofsound,andrelativelyshortsustain,theinstrumentwasforcenturiesconceivedofasarhythmicinstrument,ratherthanasasustaininginstrument,astheyaretoday.Theearliestorchestraandoperaticwritingfortheinstrumentreflectsthis.

SizeandproportionoftrianglesandbeatersIconographycanprovideinsightintothesizeandproportionoftrianglesandbeaters.However,itcanbedifficulttoknowiftheartist/creatoroftheimageintendedtocreaterealisticproportions;tocreateonlyageneralsenseoftheinstrument;ortocreateanimagewithexaggeratedproportions.Imagesofbabies,children,andangelsaddtothisdifficulty.Thatbeingsaid,theredoesseemtobeaconsistencyinsizeandproportionwhenlookingatthenumerousimagesthroughoutthecenturies.Mostimagesoftrianglesappeartobe8-12inchesacross.Occasionallysomemaybeaslargeas16-18inches.Beatersaretypicallylargerthanmodernbeaters,andaregenerallyseenas8-16incheslong.

Upuntilthenineteenthcentury,trianglestendedtohavepointedcornersratherthanrounded.Thisismostlikelyaresultoftheconstructionprocessbytheinstrumentmaker,mostlikelyaspecializedblacksmith.Thepointedcornerswerelikelycreatedbyforgingthemetaloverananvil,ratherthanbendingthemetalaroundadieorjigasisdoneinmoderntimes.

Imagesallimagesareusedbypermissionand/orpublicdomain

Page1:upperleft:Nefartariwithsistrum(13thC.BC)-upperright:sistrum-middleleft:copticsistrum,©RémiKaupp,CC-BY-SA,WikimediaCommons-middleright:RomanizedIsisholdingsistrum(117-138AD)-lowerleft:Ethiopiandebteraholdingsistrum-lowerright:SaintYared(15thC.)Page2:upperleft:P.L.Jacob,TheArtsintheMiddleAgesandRenaissance(1870)-lowerleftandright:Boethius,DeMusica(10th-13thC.)Page4:HieronymousBosch,TheGardenofEarthlyDelights(1490-1510)-upperright:MarcoPalmezzano,MadonnaandChildwithSaints(1493)-middleleft:organ,CathedráeSaint-MarieatSt.BertranddeComminges,byNicholasBachelier?-middleright:vaultfresco,Angelplayingtriangle,HärneviChurch(ca.1480s)-lowerleft:AlibrandiGirolamo,Madonnaassunta(1505-1515)-lowermiddle:altarpiece,ChurchofSaintMary-in-the-meadowsatSoest,probablyfromtheÄgidiusklosterinMünster(14thC.)-lowerright:FilippinoLippi,Assumption,frescofromCarafaChapelSantaMariasopraMinerva(1489)

Page5:upperleft:GeorgesdelaTour,TheTrianglePlayer(1610-1630)-upperright:organ,BasilicaofSt.Martin,byJosephGabler(1737-1750)-lowerleft:stainedglass,MoulinsCathedralBasilica(15thC.)-middle:HeinrichCzuns,TheTwenty-fourEldersandtheLambofGod(1448)-middleright:organ,monasteryandabbeychurchofSt.PancrasinHamersleben(1688)-lowerright:fresco,FürstenfeldAbbey

Page6:upperleft:EustacheleSueur,TheMuseTerpsichore(ca.1652)-upperright:fresco,RynkebyChurchinDenmark,Hardenberg'schapel,northwall-lowerleft:PieterLastman,OrestesandPyladesDisputingattheAltar(1614)-lowerright:MichaelPraetorius,SyntagmaMusicum(1618)

Page7:upperleft:vault,SanGaetano(early16thC.)-middleleft:MarinMarselle,L'HarmonieUniverselle(1636)-middle:retable,chapelNotredameduCrann(16thC.)-middleright:organofSintJanskathedraal,Netherlands,carvedpanelsbyGregorSchysler(1618-1638)-lowerleft:fresco,AbbeyofBlesle,southchapel

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