The Queen Mary harp

Usually dated to the 15th Century

Also known as Lude harp

On display in the Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh.

"Small Low Headed" design;
29 strings, longest 61cm, one extra bass string added later.

Hipkin & Gibb, 1888

Photos of the Queen Mary harp are available online from the NMS, and from SCRAN. There is a colour photo of this harp in Early Music, vol.36 no.4, Nov 2008 p.522. Karen Loomis's article in Galpin Society Journal LXV, March 2012, includes a photo of the harp, a number of interesting cross-section and interior views from CT scans, a contour map of the soundboard, and description and commentary of the design and construction of the harp.

According to the National Museum of Scotland, “The Queen Mary clarsach, or West Highland harp, is one of the objects that defines Scotland.”

Simon Chadwick