Fiddlesticks: two bows from the Mary Rose

Abstract

Abstract A crucial component of musical performance on bowed instruments is the bow, yet our knowledge of bows in early modern England is almost entirely derived from images that fail to represent bows in extensive or accurate detail. This article provides detailed descriptions of two musical instrument bows (mr81 a6975 and mr05 a0006) recovered from Henry VIII’s favourite ship the Mary Rose, which was wrecked in 1545 and salvaged in 1982. They probably belonged to the owners of the two fiddles recovered from the ship. Despite both bows being incomplete they provide unique evidence for the nature of such artefacts. One bow is a relatively crude object, made probably of oak, possibly by its owner for his own use. The other is a more sophisticated construction, apparently made of yew. Yew was the wood of choice for longbows but its use for musical instrument bows is previously unrecorded. This bow shows evidence of use, and some features indicate that either the bow was repaired or its design includes preparation for a known weakness. The bows are compared with continental European images and the potential forms of the missing parts are discussed. The possibility that two further finds from the Mary Rose (mr81 a1888 and mr82 a2036/2) are parts of musical instruments is dismissed.