Viola da gamba

Viola da gamba (It.: leg viola), 1. a family of bowed chordophones that evolved from the med. *fiddle (known as viele, viola, viole, etc. in Romance languages). The “gambas” or “viols” as they are now usually called in Engl. became obs. in the 18th c. and were revived in the 20th. They have much in common with the violin family: their component parts are the same (see: violin), both have lateral pegs and rib-fastened strings. The viols differ in having 6 strings tuned in 4ths around a central…