As very few authentic mediaeval instruments remain, our knowledge of them comes mainly from pictures, references in literature and expense accounts, and from surviving folk instruments. The degree of caution required can be assessed by comparing the terminology of mediaeval word-lists. The Latin word ‘fidis’, for example, denotes a harp-string in the Catholicon Anglicum and a fiddler in an anonymous nominale, while ‘fidecen’ [fidicen] is a harper in the former manuscript and a fiddler in the Promptorium Parvulorum. The word ‘viella’, normally taken to mean a fiddle, appears also in the Promptorium as a lute. John Palsgrave's Lesclarcissement de la Langue Francoyse (1530) adds confusion to the point of ridicule.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.