trumpet marine

an obsolete musical instrument having a long, wooden, pyramid-shaped body, characteristically with one string that is touched with the finger to produce harmonics and is bowed between the touching finger and the upper end. Also called nun's fiddle, tromba marina, trumscheit.

[1665-75]

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▪ musical instrument

also called  tromba marina , or  trumscheit (German: “drum log”) 

      stringed musical instrument of medieval and Renaissance Europe, highly popular in the 15th century and surviving into the 18th century. It had a long narrow body and one or two strings, which the player's left thumb touched lightly to produce the notes of the harmonic series, as on a natural trumpet. The strings, originally plucked, were by the 15th century sounded by a bow played between the fingering and the tuning pegs.

      The tone of the trumpet marine was brassy and substantial. One foot of the bridge was free and rattled loosely on the belly when the strings vibrated. The stationary bridge foot served as a sound post, extending through the belly to the instrument's back and transmitting the string vibrations to it. In the 17th century seven or eight sympathetic strings were set inside the body.

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