Bourdon

Bourdon (Fr.) [Lat. burdones, pilgrim staves], 1. in France the bourdon was an attribute of pilgrims throughout the Middle Ages and up to modern times, and particularly the attribute of St. Jacques: a “bâton à pomme”, the pilgrim's staff. The staff itself was straight, the “pomme,” or knob, constituting the “bourdon” proper. In England, among Henry VIII's instrs., *pilgrim staves are listed as “pipes” or “flutes.” This does not solve the problem of their organological identity, but the…