shawm

The shawm entered English from Old French chalemie, which came from Latin calamus, meaning 'reed.' The Latin traces further to Greek kalamos (κάλαμος), 'hollow reed.' The instrument was a conical wooden tube with a double reed at the top, and it produced a loud, bright, outdoor sound that could be heard across a battlefield or a tournament field. Medieval musicians called it the 'loud band' instrument, as opposed to the 'soft band' instruments like lutes and flutes that played indoors.

The shawm arrived in Europe through multiple routes: Moorish Spain, the Crusades, and Byzantine trade. The Arabic zurna, the Turkish zurna, and the Indian shehnai are all cousins—double-reed instruments designed for outdoor ceremonies. European shawm makers in the 14th and 15th centuries developed a family of sizes: soprano, alto, tenor, and bass (the bass shawm was called a bombard, from which the word 'bombardment' may derive).

Town musicians across Europe played shawms from church towers and city walls to mark hours, announce arrivals, and celebrate feast days. In German cities, the Stadtpfeifer (town pipers) were professional shawm players employed by the municipality. Johann Sebastian Bach's father was a Stadtpfeifer in Eisenach. The tradition of public musical announcement was built on the shawm's ability to be heard at distance.

In the mid-17th century, French instrument makers—particularly Jean Hotteterre and Michel Philidor—redesigned the shawm into the hautbois (literally 'high wood'), which English shortened to oboe. They narrowed the bore, refined the reed, added keys, and softened the tone. The oboe went indoors. The shawm stayed outside and gradually disappeared, replaced by its own offspring.