rebec

The rebec derives from the Arabic rabāb (رباب), a bowed string instrument with a long history across the Islamic world. The rabāb was brought to Europe through Moorish Spain and through Crusader contact with the Levant, entering Old French as rebec by the 13th century. The European version had a pear-shaped body carved from a single block of wood, two or three strings, and was played with a bow.

In medieval Europe, the rebec was a common instrument for dance music, troubadour performances, and street entertainment. It had a nasal, penetrating tone that cut through the noise of a tavern or a market square. Guillaume de Machaut, the 14th-century composer, mentioned the rebec alongside other instruments of his time. It was a working musician's tool—portable, loud, and cheap to make.

As the Renaissance advanced and musical tastes refined, the rebec lost ground to the viol and eventually to the violin. The violin family, which emerged in northern Italy in the early 16th century, offered a wider range, a richer tone, and greater expressive capability. By the 17th century, the rebec was considered crude—an instrument for country fairs, not concert halls. The word 'rebec' itself became faintly insulting.

The rebec did not disappear entirely. In North Africa and the Middle East, the rabāb continued to evolve—the Moroccan ribab, the spike fiddle of the Arabian Peninsula. The European branch died, but the parent survived. Modern early-music ensembles have revived the rebec for performances of medieval and Renaissance repertoire, and the instrument's sharp, insistent voice sounds strange and alive in concert halls built for violins.