Who invented the violin?

Unfortunately, there’s no clear answer as to who truly invented the violin, but here’s all we know about the origins of this magical instrument.

The two earliest instances of bowed instruments came from India and China. India had the ravananstron and omerti, which were both bowed instruments that more closely resemble a cello. China had the erhu, which was a bowed instrument with only two strings (if only the violin only had two strings!)

Ravananstron

In the 9th century, there is evidence of an instrument called the lyra emerging from the Byzantine empire. The lyra had 3-5 strings and was held upright.

Lyra

Over the 11th and 12th centuries, he Byzantine empire spread throughout Europe, and the words lyra and fiddle were used interchangeably to refer to these bowed instruments. Over the centuries that followed, Europe continued to have two distinct types of bowed instruments: one, relatively square-shaped, held in the arms, known with the Italian term lira da braccio (meaning 'viol for the arm') family; the other, with sloping shoulders and held between the knees, known with the Italian term lira da gamba (or viola da gamba, meaning 'viol for the leg') group.

The first clear record of a violin actually comes from a painting, Madonna of the Orange Trees, painted in 1530 by Gaudenzio Ferrari.

A few years later, another painting appeared at the church of Madonna dei Miracoli. In this painting, three angels play instruments resembeling a violin, viola, and cello.

When it comes to who made the very first violin, unfortunately there’s just no way to know. We do know that it first originated in Italy, close to modern day Milan. The oldest violin that still remains today was made by Andrea Amati in 1568, so he is often credited as being the inventor of the violin.