Juniper Publishers Journal of Archaeology and Anthropology

Archaeology & Anthropology -  Juniper Publishers Opinion In the south door gate of Chartres Cathedral, called Royal, there are four depictions of Psalteries. The first instrument, very damaged, has 5 strings passing over two almost parallel bridges (Figure 1). The second psaltery has ten strings, the angles between the bridges and the strings being of 72° (Figure 2) The two main psalteries, that of the first Elder of the Apocalypse (Figure 3) and that of the Music (Figure 4), share the same structure: nine pairs of strings form with the bridges a regular trapezium, the angles at the base of 72° [1]. The first psaltery has a tenth pair of strings, well hidden under the mantle of the Elder, invisible from below (Figure 5). The other psaltery has nine pairs of strings, although there would be room for a tenth (Figure 6). In contemporary texts the name Psalterium decachordum, from the Old Testament, Psalm 32 is frequently used. Saint Jerome (Epistul...