1764 Mention of Zitter (Scheitholt)

[Banjimer]

In the original thread, I suggested that there were more questions than answers regarding the "zitter" in 18th century Pennsylvania. Lanie Graf's article suggests an alternative to the Moravian zitter (as possible dulcimer ancestor) and offers the possibility of it being a cittern. She offers quite a bit of evidence, but as Razyn has correctly pointed out most of her research (including the contemporary paintings) has European origins.

The information she has uncovered muddies the water a little bit more and makes the certainty of either position a little less conclusive. She does state with some certainty that Count Zinzendorf was known to play the cittern. Zinzendorf did visit the American mainland during the 1700's, so there is also the possibility that he or others brought a cittern with them.

Before reading Graf's article I was fairly certain that the 18th century references to the zitter in Moravian Mission diaries referred to the "zitter" in a form similar to those played by Mennonites, Henry Ruth and John Clemens. Now I'm not so sure. I still am confident that the "zitter" referred to in Mennonite sources was similar in form to those housed in the Mercer Museam in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. However, I no longer have the same degree of certainty regarding the Moravian instruments referred to in the same period. There is now a viable, though by no means certain, possibility that the Moravians were referring to citterns.

Razyn is also right in suggesting that the reference to Hintz building "dulcimers" in London or elswhere in all likelihood refers to the hammered dulcimer, not the lap dulcimer.

Greg

[razyn]

She does state with some certainty that Count Zinzendorf was known to play the cittern.

And she has a contemporary paintings that show all three of his daughters (who grew up) playing them. So it was clearly popular at the top of the Moravian food chain, so to speak. I'm less certain of its prevalence here in the woods, amongst the savages and all. Among other issues, a cittern is a good bit harder for a farmer to make.

But she has definitely done her homework better than I have. I'm just glad someone based in Bethlehem PA has begun to show an interest -- never saw a hint of that, before. We can all play catch-up together.

Dick

[Banjimer]

Right again, Dick. For those of us who like to look at all the evidence as a whole and then draw our own conclusions based upon the weight of the evidence, there appears to be much more to learn. We are fortunate to have someone based in the area with an interest in the music of this time period. Hopefully, Ms. Graf and others will continue to uncover new information that can help us all in our search for the roots of this most elusive of instruments.

Greg

[razyn]

I hope someone besides Greg is reading this (or will, eventually). This specific tidbit, however, is mostly for him -- since he has Lanie Graf's article in hand. I'm especially interested in the Zitter references that begin with a Z, such as those found in her footnotes 87, 96, 103, and 120. While the difference between the sounds of C and Z in spoken German may not be great, I think there is normally a different motivation behind the use of a C, at all. That is, a C spelling (Cittern, or its variant forms) seems to me more likely to have been the choice of a literate person, than a phonetic misspelling by a marginally educated peasant. There are not many German words that begin with a C, and most of them are "foreign" (from Greek, or other non-Germanic roots). I can see that a word like Cittern, more properly spelled with a C, might have been misspelled with a Z -- but maybe not the reverse.

I guess I'm saying that the C spellings very likely do refer to a Cittern; but the Z spellings could as well refer to one as the other. And in PA (or NC) documents, as distinguished from European documents, the "other" seems much more likely to me -- based on the artifactual record here.

Dick

[Banjimer]

For others without the full article in hand, these are the references to which Dick refers:

87

David Beck, March 23, 1774 fur Cass St Th(omas) Diac(onie) Zitter 1.15 Pounds credit.

Ledger E, p. 46, BethSB 155, MAB

96

... in sein Bettgen gebracht u. mit der Zitter u. etlichen Verseln eingespielt.

Single Brothers Diary, Bethlehem, December 23, 1751, BethSB, MAB

103

...das Chor mit 2 Zittern und einigen Verseln...mit etlichen Zyttern niedlich dabey gespielt...

120

...wozu auf die Zyttern gespielt wurde...

References 96, 103, and 120 have been shortened to just a short phrase containing reference to the zitter or zittern.

In references 103 and 120 the inclusion of the lettern "n" at the end seems to suggest that these are references to the cittern, but they could easily be a reference to the zitter. In references 87 and 96, the absence of the letter "n" creates the dual possibility that Dick refers to in his previous post to this thread. Is it just inconsistency in spelling "cittern" or are they referring to the "zitter"? It's hard to tell, but it does leave open the possibility that both the cittern and the zitter were being played in 18th century Moravian missions.

Regarding one further point that Dick mentions earlier in this thread, the evidence found in paintings shows members of a well-to-do upper class playing the cittern. Also the surviving instrument that is pictured is a finely crafted piece of luthiery. One has to wonder if settlers in the remote woodlands would be making citterns of this quality. It would be possible for one to be brought over to the Moravian Missions in Pennsylvania, but if they were made in Europe and brought to America then they would likely be very rare. Perhaps this is why there is a shortage of actual instruments surviving.

Greg

[razyn]

In references 103 and 120 the inclusion of the lettern "n" at the end seems to suggest that these are references to the cittern

That's one possibility, but it could just be grammar... that "n" can be a definite article, or a plural. Probably some other things, in various dialects or archaisms (about which I don't know anything, so I'm not going to try to plead this case in court).

I forgot to mention that one of the references was to St. Thomas, where there was a very early Moravian mission. That belonged to Denmark at the time, but is now part of the US Virgin Islands. [For obscure reasons, I have actually made use of the published report of the 18th century Moravian mission there: C.G.A. Oldendorp, Geschichte der Mission der Evangelischen Brüder auf den caraibischen Inseln S. Thomas, S. Croix und S. Jan (Barby and Leipzig, 1777). It was years ago, though.] Wouldn't it be cool to find a V.I. version of the zitter, or mountain dulcimer? Stranger things have happened.

Dick

[Banjimer]

The additional "n" placed at the end of "zitter" could very well indicate the plural form of the word. Upon further examining Lanie Graf's references, she indicates in reference #2 that a final "n" is used to indicate the plural form.

...Spellings of cittern vary; in the singular form: Cither, Citter, Cyther, Zitter, Zittar, Zieter, Cithare or Cithara (from the Latin "Citharra"), and in plural form: Zittern, Cyttern, Zyttern, Cytharn, Cithern, Cittern.

I don't know that this clears anything up though. As the ending "n" could be indicating more than one zitter or more than one cittern. We may also be running across the possibility that citter or zitter was a generic term indicating a stringed instrument that was strummed. The distinction between the two may have come along later, with the cittern generally referred to as the English guitar after 1800 and the diatonically fretted dulcimer-like instrument retaining the generic name "zitter".

Greg

[Arionrhod]

Just wanted to thank you all for this thread. I used to live in Bethlehem and some good friends of ours were the daughters of the Moravian Archivist. He's retired now, but I did pass on this thread to his daughters and they were interested and pleased. Hope you don't mind.
Thanks from all of us.

Nell

[razyn]

some good friends of ours were the daughters of the Moravian Archivist.

Was that Vernon Nelson? I worked with him a time or two, in the early to mid 1980s. I think we were looking at some journey journals of the pastor Lars Nyberg. Maybe a couple of other Swedes (Rosen, Bryzelius, etc.); but their records are in German or (rarely) English.

Anyway, you might be interested in the parallel discussion of these zitter issues that has taken place on another dulcimer forum:

http://mountaindulcimer.ning.com/group/ ... ts-germany

That discussion ran on for quite a while -- I think the part about the Moravians occurred on "p. 3" of the broader discussion. Some of the same people have posted there, and here on ED.

Dick

[Arionrhod]

some good friends of ours were the daughters of the Moravian Archivist.

Was that Vernon Nelson? I worked with him a time or two, in the early to mid 1980s. I think we were looking at some journey journals of the pastor Lars Nyberg. Maybe a couple of other Swedes (Rosen, Bryzelius, etc.); but their records are in German or (rarely) English.

Anyway, you might be interested in the parallel discussion of these zitter issues that has taken place on another dulcimer forum:

http://mountaindulcimer.ning.com/group/ ... ts-germany

That discussion ran on for quite a while -- I think the part about the Moravians occurred on "p. 3" of the broader discussion. Some of the same people have posted there, and here on ED.

Dick

Yes, it was Vernon Nelson! Mind if I pass on your name to his daughters? Maybe they will remember you.

Thanks for the link. I'm curious about this.

Nell

[razyn]

Mind if I pass on your name to his daughters? Maybe they will remember you.

I don't mind, but they wouldn't know me from Adam's off ox. I was just one of the many people who used those archives, about 25 years ago, when he was still active as the archivist.

[Arionrhod]

Sorry. Yes, after I posted that, I started to wonder about the sensibility of my question.

I really, really need one of those "Are you sure you want to post that?" popups.

Nell