The only form of stick zither known in Europe, once apparently spread over the entire continent, is the bowed bladder and string, formerly called drone in Britain. Its stick is held under tension by a thick gut string attached to its ends; an inflated pig or ox bladder acts as combination bridge and resonator, being wedged between stick and string at the lower end, and the string is bowed by a short, curved stick, tensioned by copiously rosined horsehair.
The age...