For the second year module, The Hidden Lives of Things, taught by Dr Katy Gibbons and Dr Mary Cannon, for their assessment, students have to produce an ‘object biography’ for a historical artefact. Francesca Raine chose to look at one of the ten surviving musical instruments found on the Mary Rose and what it can tell us about how sixteen-century people experienced and enjoyed music.
In 1545 the Mary Rose, a Tudor carrack, sank during a confrontation with the French fleet in Portsmouth.[1] The unusual underwater conditions preserved a unique snapshot of everyday Tudor life, revealed in the 20th century, despite earlier excavation attempts in 1545 and 1836-1840.[2]
Among the artefacts recovered in the 1970’s were ten musical instruments, the first being a shawm, also known as a doucaine, a double-reeded instrument which is the ancestor of the oboe.[3] The shawm was found on the upper deck of the ship, dismantled inside a fragmentary wooden case.[4] Traditionally, historians have neglected the value offered by such examples of material culture, preferring written sources as the ‘blood’ for early modern history.[5] Using Harvey’s three-step method, this essay will unpick and evaluate the layers of significance offered by the shawm, in early modern and more recent contexts, leading to new interpretations, understandings and narratives.[6]
Harvey prioritises the description of an object as the first step of analysis.[7] The components are made from complimentary boxwood and cherry wood, with a complete cylindrical, brass interior.[8] Despite the lack of a flared bell the instrument is remarkably intact, unlike its counterparts such as the tabor. To an extent the position of the shawm within a case, accounts for the quality of the condition, as it would have protected the object during the sinking and provided another layer of shelter underwater. However, it also implies it was an appreciated possession. There are little traces of damage for an item made to be exercised regularly. Evidence of a case shows consideration was taken to store the instrument when it was not used, reflecting the personal value placed on the object. The design is also useful for indicating a level of care during the production as well as the consumption. Mixing a dark and light wood adds a decorative element, an unnecessary touch by the creator. This suggests there is an aspect of pride and attentiveness undertaken during manufacture. No makers are imprinted, consequently limiting our understanding of how this instrument came on board or who made it. However, the shawm does significantly reveal unique emotive understandings that can be communicated through the physical and visual dimensions written sources may not provide.
During the Tudor period, music was a prominent feature of society well documented in non-musical sources such as administrative records; yet historical texts have filtered music into the ‘briefest mention’.[9] The discovery of the shawm has provided insights into this neglected area through experimental archaeology. Playing of a replica reveals a strong bass sound was produced due to the cylindrical bore and that it required a finger stretch ‘not comfortable to achieve’.[10] This is useful for understanding how the shawm was played and sounded, and that there was a competent skill level required, implying the owner was an experienced musician. Prior to the discovery, historical knowledge on this instrument was dependent on visual and written means. Tinctorius for example, described that doucaines had the range of a ninth, yet the Mary Rose reproduction shows that they covered an octave.[11] This finding is significant because it changes historical understandings and develops the history the shawm.[12] Furthermore, Blockley notes that replications engage with different senses, therefore the shawm provides a unique auditory and tactile dimension.[13] These distinctive characteristics offer a closer understanding to human behaviours, in this example musical ability and expressions of creativity in Tudor England.
Riello highlights the importance of an interdisciplinary approach when analysing artefacts.[14] This methodology is valuable to understanding the significance of instruments on board and the role they played. A Dutch painting shows a shawm, tabor and pipe used in conjunction to produce music.[15] This introduces the prospect that that there may have been a band on board, however, it should be noted this underlines potential uses only. This is significant as it infers music was an organised event, used for strengthening social bonds and promoting leisure. This dispels narratives that everyday Tudor life had little time for entertainment. Demonstrated here, the shawm has brought musical, scientific and historical disciplines together to expand historical knowledge.
Many objects on the upper deck did not survive which proved frustrating and troublesome for historians because free time and living arrangements would have been organised there.[16] Consequently, the presence of this instrument is significant because it provides a rare insight into ship life that were otherwise unobtainable. The location also reveals that leisure was not kept to strict social boundaries and was shared in communal areas. This shows that society wasn notas highly regulated as often portrayed. Consequently, the shawm is valuable for understanding expressions of leisure outside the elite Tudor classes. Although it cannot tell us about responses to music or what songs were played it does successfully answer gaps in recreational history.
It is important to study the life of an object because this can reveal different ‘contexts, functions and associations’.[17] Following the shawm’s discovery, it went under a lengthy and complicated conservation process (involving chemical baths, vacuuming, freeze-drying), suggesting there was an initial significance recognised to protect it.[18] It now resides in the Mary Rose Museum on display. Museums provide a multitude of services, from preservation and collection to interpretation and education.[19] The has a new dual purpose; to serve archaeological and historical needs whilst balancing public requirements. The public rely on museums for discovery and to experience emotive connections to history, whereas historians utilise the space for reinterpreting the relevance of Tudor history in the present, tracing the shawm’s ongoing significance and legacy. As with any source, historians need to be wary of bias, however when studying the shawm’s current location they should also consider the influence of stakeholders such as trustees and sponsors influencing the object’s display. Consequently, the modern context poses risks to distortion or misrepresentation, through balancing these non-academic and academic needs. Studying the chronological life cycle of this object is valuable for reflecting different societal needs and functions in the sixteenth and twentieth centuries. It demonstrates how objects can be repurposed and in turn need to be re-contextualised to continue understanding the historical and socio-cultural significances.
The shawm’s significance for revealing early modern human experience and contemporary values cannot be underestimated through its ability to answer gaps in historians’ knowledge. It uniquely manages to capture a cross-study analysis of everyday Tudor life, revealing socio-cultural and historical significances. Additionally, studying the biography of the shawm has revealed a longer and more intricate history.
For another post by Francesca, on Henry VIII’s navy, click here
[1] Mary Anne Alburger, “The ‘fydill in fist’: Bowed instruments from the Mary Rose”, The Galpin Society Journal, vol. 53, (2000): 12.
[2] Mary Anne Alburger, “The ‘fydill in fist’: Bowed instruments from the Mary Rose”, 12.
[3] Julie Gardiner, “The “Good Shippe” Mary Rose: An Introduction”, in Before the Mast: Life and Death on Board the Mary Rose, edited by Julie Gardiner, (Portsmouth: The Mary Rose Trust Ltd., 2005), 12; Frances Palmer, “Musical Instruments from the Mary Rose: A report on work in progress”, Early Music, vol. 11, 1, (1983): 54.
[4] Jeremy Montagu, “Dance and Skylark: Musical Instruments”, in Before the Mast: Life and Death on Board the Mary Rose, edited by Julie Gardiner, 226-249, (Portsmouth: The Mary Rose Trust Ltd., 2005), 236.
[5] Laura Sangha and Jonathan Willis, “Introduction: Understanding early modern primary sources”, in Understanding Early Modern Primary Sources, edited by Laura Sangha and Jonathan Willis, 1-14, (London: Taylor & Francis Group, 2016), 1.
[6] Karen Havey, “Introduction: Practical Matters’, in History and Material Culture: A Student’s Guide to Approaching Alternative Sources, edited by Karen Harvey, 1-23, (London: Taylor & Francis Group, 2013), 15.
[7] Karen Havey, “Introduction: Practical Matters’, 15.
[8] Jeremy Montagu, “Dance and Skylark: Musical Instruments”,236-237.
[9]John Milsom, “Music, Politics and Society”, in A Companion to Tudor Britain, edited by and Norman L. Jones and Robert Tittler, 492-508, (Williston: John Wiley & Sons, 2004), 494; Burton W. Peretti, “Music: The Composed Sound”, in History Beyond the Text: A Students Guide to Approaching Alternative Sources, edited by Sarah Barber and Corinna Peniston-Bird, 89-104, (Milton: Taylor & Francis Group, 2008), 89.
[10] Jeremy Montagu, “Dance and Skylark: Musical Instruments”, 239-240.
[11] Jeremy Montagu, “Dance and Skylark: Musical Instruments”, 240.
[12] Georgio Riello, “Things that shape history: Material culture and historical narratives”, in History and Material Culture: A Student’s Guide to Approaching Alternative Sources, edited by Karen Harvey, 24-46, (London: Taylor & Francis Group, 2013), 25.
[13] Marion Blockley, “Archaeological Reconstructions and the Community in the UK”, in The Constructed Past: Experimental Archaeology, Education and the Public, edited by Philippe Panel and Peter G. Stone, 15-32 (London: Taylor & Francis, 1999), 16.
[14] Georgio Riello, “Things that shape history: Material culture and historical narratives”,33.
[15] Jeremy Montagu, “Dance and Skylark: Musical Instruments”, 230.
[16] Julie Gardiner, “The “Good Shippe” Mary Rose: An Introduction”, 229
[17] Karin Dannehl, “Object Biographies: From Consumption to Production”, in History and Material Culture: A Student’s Guide to Approaching Alternative Sources, 2nd ed., edited by Karen Harvey, 171-186, (London: Taylor & Francis Group, 2013), 173.
[18] Mary Anne Alburger, “The ‘fydill in fist’, 14.
[19] Susan Mancino, “The Museum Profession: Protecting and Promoting Professional Commitments”, Curator, vol. 58, 2, 92016): 141.
