Lesson plan
Tiompan
The (Scottish Gaelic), (Irish), or (Welsh) was a stringed musical instrument used in medieval Ireland and Britain. The word was of both masculine and feminine gender in classical Irish. It is theorised to derive from the Latin word (tambourine or kettle drum) and does appear to be used in certain ancient texts to describe a drum. Drum names applied to stringed instruments is not unheard of, such as tambour owing its name ultimately to the Persian ( ). Both and could be cognate with the Greek term ( ). However, the tiompán is also thought to have been a kind of lyre, others contest it was a long-necked lute. Medieval writings on the have listed it as distinguished from "nine-stringed cruits", and that the commonly had three strings. These sources also make references to the tips and sides of the fingers being used on the strings, likely to stop them to produce higher notes. Whether all strings were stopped or just the top string, as with sitar or saz playing, is unknown. Sources give reference to the strings being metal, often bronze, and given the period to which tiompans are extant, resonating the strings by plucking is more likely than by bowing them. There is a high chance the name was reapplied to other instruments during the Early Modern Period. The adjective referred to a performer on the instrument but is also recorded in one instance in the as describing a cruit.…
Article summary
The (Scottish Gaelic), (Irish), or (Welsh) was a stringed musical instrument used in medieval Ireland and Britain. The word was of both masculine and feminine gender in classical Irish. It is theorised to derive from the Latin word (tambourine or kettle drum) and does appear to be used in certain ancient texts to describe a drum. Drum names applied to stringed instruments is not unheard of, such as tambour owing its name ultimately to the Persian ( ). Both and could be cognate with the Greek term ( ). However, the tiompán is also thought to have been a kind of lyre, others contest it was a long-necked lute. Medieval writings on the have listed it as distinguished from "nine-stringed cruits", and that the commonly had three strings. These sources also make references to the tips and sides of the fingers being used on the strings, likely to stop them to produce higher notes. Whether all strings were stopped or just the top string, as with sitar or saz playing, is unknown. Sources give reference to the strings being metal, often bronze, and given the period to which tiompans are extant, resonating the strings by plucking is more likely than by bowing them. There is a high chance the name was reapplied to other instruments during the Early Modern Period. The adjective referred to a performer on the instrument but is also recorded in one instance in the as describing a cruit.…
Key claims
- date of death: 1490 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- The record states that the date of death is "1490". What evidence would count against this claim?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
- Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1363067427
Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.