Pantaleon

Pantaleon [inventor's name], outsize dulcimer invented by Pantaleon Hebenstreit of Merseburg by 1697, made for him by Gottfried Silbermann, later by Hänel. Descriptions of the instr. vary considerably: some authors mention 2 soundboards, side by side, 1 for gut, the other for metal strings; Dr. Burney reports it as having had 186 strings and a length exceeding 9 ft.; another writer says that it was 5–8 ft. long and 2 ft. wide. The name Pantaleon (not Pantalon) was bestowed on it in 1705 by…