Michael WRIGHT : Penning the Air/ Looking for the origins of the name ‘Jew’s harp’

Penning the Air
Looking for the origins of the name ‘Jew’s harp’
by Michael WRIGHT

One of the most time consuming, frustrating and yet ultimately rewarding pastimes is being, what a friend of mine dubbed, a ‘word archaeologist’. While others might sift through soil in the hope of discovering signs of a past life, I spend far too much time digging through books looking for signs of a past knowledge. Every now and then an archaeologist is rewarded with a Sutton Hoo or Jorvick and, while I’ve not been fortunate enough to find treasure, there has been the odd jewel that encourages me to further efforts.

The object of my present obsession is the Jew’s harp. Variously described as ‘simple’, ‘primitive’, ‘unmusical’ and ‘insignificant’, the Jew’s harp is an international instrument capable of great subtlety and dynamic effects. Originally from the Far East and made of bamboo, the theory is that it came West via the Roman trade routes. When it changed from bamboo to metal is obscure, but the principle of pressing the outer bars against the teeth and flexing the spring tong is consistent with most metal types – one exception being the brass instrument from the Hmong people on the China, Cambodian, Vietnam border.

Apart from one small area of Germany, the term ‘Jew’s harp’ is only found in English speaking countries, being variously called ‘mouth’ or ‘child/youth’ trumpet or harp, in most European countries, or having its own particular name, such as ‘guimbard’ in France. When and why ‘Jew’s harp’ has been the rationale behind my research project.

Almost everyone I speak to asks where the name comes from – or has a view on the matter. No self-respecting historian of the instrument hasn’t looked into the English name, and there are a number of articles written on the subject, the most comprehensive being by Dr Frederick Crane of the USA. He has been digging and sifting for many more years than I, and is regularly published in the Jew’s harp journal, Vierundzwantigstljahrschrift der Internationalen Maultrommelvirttuosenossenschaft, or ‘VIM’ for short. As the holder of that most precious of tools, a Bodleian Library Readers Card, and inspired by the references from various articles by Dr Crane, countless hours have been spent following leads and checking as many sources as I can get my hands on, so unless stated in the notes, all the following has been traced back to original publications.

My interest has only been concerned with the instrument’s English name and, believe me, suggestions range from the sublime to the ridicules. Six have been commonly used over the years, five of which can still be found in various countries or regions. ‘Jew’s harp’ is still the most common, followed by ‘jaws harp’, ‘juice harp’ ‘gewgaw’ and ‘trump’, with only ‘Jew’s trump’ falling by the wayside.

First it is necessary to put the instrument into context. Archaeologists dispute the earliest finds, suggested to be Anglo-Saxon or even Late-Roman, and will only accept that it was in common use from the 14th Century. UK related images are rare until the 18th century, and even then not numerous. The earliest, and possibly one of the first in the world, is on the crozier of William of Wickham in New College, Oxford, dated around 1390. The instrument, therefore, existed then, but the written evidence of a name can only be traced back with certainly to the middle of the 16th Century, possibly to the mid 15th century. We know this from studying the Rosetta Stone(s) of Jew’s harp etymology – ‘The Nomenclator, or Rememberbrancer of Adrianus Iunius’, of 1585 and ‘News from Scotland’ of 1591. ‘The Nomenclator’ section on musical instruments, has an early description of the technique of playing one in Latin and, more importantly in English the words, “A Jewes trumpe or harpe.” ‘Newes from Scotland’ [1] is a disturbing account of a witchcraft trial attended in part by King James IV of Scotland, – soon to be James I of England, Vi of Scotland and known for his interest in Demonology. At one point Agnes Sampson, one of the coven leaders, confessed that “Geillis Duncan… did goe before them playing this reill or daunce uppon a small trump called a Jewes trump, until they entred into the Kirk of the North Barrick… The king… sent for the saide Geillis Duncan, who upon the trump did play the saide daunce before the kinges majestie.” These two documents link trump, Jew’s trump and Jew’s harp. The name ‘Trump’ for a musical instrument has been traced back to 14th Century, with ‘Jew’s trump’ and ‘Jew’s harp’ appearing respectively, one hundred & fifty and two hundred years later.

Crane has traced the use of “trump” for the Jew’s harp as far back as the mid 15th Century, but he points out that there is a problem, in that “trump” is also used as an early name for a trumpet, so some filtering or judgment is necessary to distinguish between the two. When Chaucer wrote ‘The House of Fame’, in the late 14thcentury, he mentions ‘trumpe’ eighteen times in ‘Book I, Incipit liber primus.’ Given ‘Tok out his blakke trumpe of bras’, and ‘...gan this trumpe for to blowe,’ we can be pretty sure he’s talking about a trumpet. The earliest reference found so far that has been considered to refer to our instrument comes from a burlesque poem written around 1450. Verse ii of ‘The Turnament of Totenham’ has the description `Ther hopped Hawkyn, Ther daunced Dawkyn Ther trumped Tymkyn; And all were trewe drinkers.’ Given that this describes peasants at a local fair, the theory goes that Ther trumped Tymkyn is possibly a reference to a Jew’s harper. The trouble is that later in the same poem Verse xvii refers to ` With flails and harnes and trumpis made of tree’. If this is referring to the same ‘trump’ I cannot see how it can be a Jew’s harp. Another point to be made is that this is not a description of a real event, but a burlesque poem written for the amusement of an literate upper class. It reminds me of the play ‘The most Lamentable Comedy and most Cruel Death of Pyramus and Thisby’ performed by Bottom and co in Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. Tournaments were highly organised affairs and the poem constantly refers back to a recognisable format of such an event. ‘Trumped’ could just as easily refer to a simple trumpet.

From the same period there is another lengthy poem, ‘The Houlet’ or ‘The Owl’. Lines 755 to 765 give a list of instruments including The rote, and the recordour, the ribut, the rist, The trump, and the taburn, the tympane, but trayI. ‘Ribut’ (ribute) or ‘trump’ could be our instrument, the former being like an early French name before guimbarde, but the general consensus is that they are not. Robert Wedderburn describes a group of shepherds in his The Complaynt of Scotland … the first hed ane drone bag pipe, the nyxt hed ane pipe maid of ane bleddir and ane reid, the thrid playit on ane trump, the feyrd on ane corne pipe… , which is more plausible. ‘Trump’ crops up in various forms every now and then over the next five hundred years, the most interesting references being in the 1599 ‘A Dictionary in Spanish and English’ of John Minsheu, with “Trompe de Paris, a Iewes harpe” , and ‘The English Irish National Dictionary’ of 1732, which gives the Irish name of ‘Trompadh’ . All the references to ‘trump’ alone come from Scottish or Irish records, There have been no discoveries to my knowledge where that name is commonly used in England other than when referring to a trumpet.

Various theories have been put forward as to why it should be called ‘trump’. Jeremy Montagu suggests that ‘Trump is the most logical term for the instrument for it produces the same overtones as the natural trumpet’, while the ‘Oxford Dictionary of Etymology’ says that, ‘The notes produced by the instrument are limited, as in the natural trumpet, to the natural harmonic sequences, hence the older name “Jew’s trump”.’

The first time ‘Harp’ appears in print appears to be in John Lyly’s play ‘Campaspe’ of 1584, Act 2, scene 1, “O sweete concent betweene a crowde and a Iewes harp” , though, as I have not seen the original source, only a more recent reprint of the play, I have not been able to verify it. I can definitely confirm that ‘The Nomenclator, or Rememberbrancer of Adrianus Iunius’, of 1585, mentioned above and a copy of the original book of which I have viewed, does use the name ‘Harpe’. The use of the name ‘harp’ appears to be linked to the lyre shape of the frame.

Nothing, though, comes near the controversy over the reason for the name ‘Jew’s’. The first recorded use of the name is in the Rates of the Customs House of 1549 with ‘Iues trounks the gross iijs. Iiijd.’ During the Victorian period, when there was quite a debate going on about the origin of the name, phases like “ He (Dr. Rimbault) alone remains to answer for his assertion (that the origin is from the French ‘Jeu-Trompe’); but he has not yet answered. and, As he (Prof. Skeat) gives no reason for his opinion, (that the instrument is linked to King David and the Bible) I am afraid it must be pronounced a guess – no very felicitous guess, I venture to think are banded about. Sorting my way through this jumble has been the main thrust of the research.

First there is the French link. The quote from above relating to ‘Jeu trompe’, refers to a proposition first made by Samuel Pegge in ‘Anonymiana or, Ten Centuries of Observations on Various Authors and Subjects’ in 1778. Pegge suggested that, ‘ In short, this instrument is a mere boy’s play-thing, and incapable in itself of being joined either with a voice or any other instrument, and I conceive the present orthography to be a corruption of the French Jeu-trump, a trump to play with that in the Belgick, or Low-Dutch, from whence come many of our toys, a tromp is a rattle for children.’ The argument raged in the ‘Notes and Queries’ throughout the Victorian period, as to the earliest use of the term ‘Jeu trompe’. The main problem lay in the statement by Dr Rimbault that Roger Bacon specifically uses the name, presumably in the ‘Experiments in Consort touching Sounds; and first touching the Nullity and Entity of Sounds’ section of his ‘Sylva Sylvarum’ published in 1628. Having checked the originals I can categorically say he uses the name ‘Jewes harp’, ‘...which ‘hath the vantage of penning the Air in the Mouth.’ I thought I was on to something when I discovered a French translation of 1631, but the description had been removed from the edition I viewed. A French-English dictionary of 1593 has ‘Jeu – play:: ‘Iuif – Iewe’ and ‘Trompe – trumpet,’ but no combination. The earliest mention of the connection is, therefore, Samuel Pegge. The main problem is that the phrase is considered to be bad French – a view supported by my sister-in-law, Catherine Perrier, who described the idea as “ridicules!”

The Low Countries word ‘Jeudgtromp’, has also been suggested. Finding early Flemish-English dictionaries has been difficult. English-Dutch dictionaries of the 17th century have ‘Jeught, Youth or Adolescence; Tromp, A rattle for little children; Trompet, Trump or Trumpet’ , but no reference to the instrument as such. A 1754 dictionary has ‘a Jews’ trump, een Speel tromp’ and in 1801 there is ‘ Tromp (s.f. Mondtromp) a Jewers trump or harp.’ ‘Le grand Dictionaire Francois-Flamen’ of 1676 does not mention the instrument under any of the above names, ‘guimbarde’ or the earlier French name of ‘rebute’.

‘Jaws’ is the most common proposed derivation, although, again it is not until the 18th century that the theory is first suggested. First used by Thornton in the St James’ Chronicle of 1763 ‘We must lament, that poor Ten-toothy, who shewed such comical Execution on the Jaws-harp, has received such a Cold in the Eye-tooth’ [2] it is Thomas Pennant in ‘A Tour in Scotland’ who suggests this as an origin, with ‘Probably, as an ingenious friend suggests, this should be read, the Jaws-harp’. [3] The main difficulty with this theory arises when you bring in ‘trump’. Francis Galpin, in 1932, puts ‘Jaws’ and ‘Trump’ together, but I’ve not found any other written evidence of that combination.

‘Juice’ is an American idea, although I recently got an email from Australia with the same description. In ‘The Porcupine, Alias the Hedge Hog’, 1784, William Billings of Boston adds a note: ‘Our very boys and negroes pretend to understand the original; and they all agree that this word is wrongly translated; for they say it should be rendered thus, juice harp; because, if they play it any considerable time, it makes their mouth water’. [4]

‘Gewgaw is one of the more interesting theories. This is an old word, having been traced back to the medieval period as a name for a small unspecified musical instrument, though its normal use, even earlier, was to describe a bauble or cheap trinket. Its use for the name specifically of the Jew’s harp yet again can be traced to the end of the 18th Century. In ‘The Rural Economy of Yorkshire’, of 1788, by Mr Marshall, the local name is given as ‘Gewgaw’. The name is thought to have come from the Norwegian for a Jew’s harp – ‘Munngiga’. The suggestion is Munngiga to Gewgaw to Jew’s harp. A cunning thought, but, like Juice and Jaws, it falls down when you change ‘harp’ for ‘trump’ – ‘Gewgaw to Jew’s trump’, does not work for me.

We now come to a few of theories of association. First, we need to establish that there is no history of the instrument as part of Jewish musical culture. There is evidence that the name was used in a facetious or derogatory way, and as early as 1605 Ben Johnson in ‘Eastward Hoe’, links usury and the name with “What will not an vsurous knave be, so he may bee riche? O ‘tis a notable Iewes trump!”. Punch Magazine used the image as a symbol of Jewishness, particularly during the period of Baron Rothschild and the Parliamentary Oaths Bill. Then there is the connection with the Bible. Bonnell Thornton (alias Fustian Sackbut) in ‘An ode on Saint Cæcilia’s day, Adapted to the Ancient British musick: the Saltbox, the Jew’s Harp, the Marrow Bones and Cleavers, the Hum Strum of Hurdy-Gurdy’, while obviously satirising attitudes of the time, writes in 1749, “The Judaic, or (as commonly called) Jews Harp, speaks its origin in its appellation; and I cannot help thinking that this was the harp which David used, as the sound of the Hebrew language seems particularly adapted to this instrument .

A relatively recent theory is that it got its name from the sellers of the instrument. C B Mount appears to be the first to come up with the idea in Notes and Queries 1897, Suppose now that the trump had been known in England and Scotland, that it had fallen into oblivion, and was suddenly brought back into vogue by the enterprise of some Jew pedlar selling it around the country – what more likely, in such a case, than that it should be called the Jew’s trump or harp?” The Oxford English Dictionary expands the theory, More or less satisfactory reasons may be conjectured: e.g. that the instrument was actually made, sold, or sent to England by Jews, or supposed to be so, or that it was attributed to them, as a good commercial name, suggesting the trumps and harps mentioned in the Bible. This, of course, assumes that it made good commercial sense to have such a connection given the expulsion of the Jew’s from England, between 1290 and 1669 – the first use of the term, you will remember, being in the mid-16th century.

There are two final derivations. One comes from the Broadsheet of ‘Roger Giles, Surgin, Parish Clark & skulemaster, groser & Hundertaker’, circa 1790, who offers ‘Joesharpes, penny wissels, brass kanelsticks, frying pans, and other moozikal hinstrumints hat grately redooced figers.’ , and can be seen as a parody. The other, and most recent, comes from a fourteen year old boy from the United States in 1999, who suggests ‘The name Jew’s Harp probably comes from chew harp because it is bitten upon’ [5]. Nice try.

In the end we are left with the 1549 Rates of Customs as the first real evidence of the instrument. This is a fascinating document, not only because it tells us that Jew’s harps were being imported at this time, but in such quantities as to be considered an appropriate item worthy of an import tax. We can also assume that the name was common enough to be recognised by Customs Officers. A recent attempt to go through the ‘Port Books’, that list ships and their imports from the 16th Century proved fruitless, particularly when I was only just able to make out the name London from the florid writing!

The overall history of the name appears to be divided into two periods. The first during the 15th and 16th centuries, where ‘Trump’, ‘Jew’s trump’ and ‘Jew’s harp’ first appear, with no attempt to explain why. The second begins in the 18th century and goes on to the present day, when there is an effort to try to make sense of how the name came about, hence, ‘Jeu-trompe’, ‘Jeugdtromp’, the King David connection and the pedlar theories. ‘Gewgaw’ sits in the latter group, but further research might move it into the former.

This is the evidence uncovered so far, and there is no clear-cut result. Whether by corruption or association, ‘Jew’s harp’ is the most commonly used English language name at the moment, though there is a move to go back to the original ‘trump’, and good luck to them that tries. What is clear is that the name, a bit like the instrument itself, has a history shrouded in mystery.

Michael Wright
November 2003

1. The tragic story of Geillis Duncane is a very strange one of attempts on the King’s life, witchcraft and devil worship culminating in a mass sabbat at North Berwick kirk. Geillis, along with most of the women accused of witchcraft in the trials of 1591, were executed – Geillis in December of that year. The ‘Newes from Scotland was brought out during 1591, and it’s a powerful feeling to handle a document where the ink was still wet when the person concerned was still alive. back to article

2. VIM 2 back to article

3. VIM 1 back to article

4. VIM 1 back to article

5. from the Jews Harp Guild website back to article
http://www.jewsharper.info/research-archive/penning-the-air