The Origins of the Harp

Since antiquity, the harp’s musical language has been a source of honor and wisdom.

A detail of an interior scene with a girl playing the harp for a gentlemen, 19th century, by David Bles. The magical harp has been speaking to us since antiquity, and it continues to speak to us today. Public Domain

The Dagda, the god of Irish mythology, possessed a harp unlike any other. Named “Uaithne,” which means “the Four-Angled Music,” the stringed instrument was richly decorated and composed of oak wood. It also contained magical powers. By plucking its strings, the Dagda could influence man’s emotions and wield control over the weather.

There are slightly different iterations of the myth of the Dagda’s magical harp. But the legend goes that when the rival Fomorians (a supernatural race) prepared to fight the Tuatha Dé Danann, a group of divine beings who looked to the Dagda for wisdom and protection, they decided to steal the Dagda’s harp. The Fomorian warriors, after successfully stealing the instrument, hoped that separating the Dagda from his great source of power would turn the tides of the skirmish and put them in a winning position.

The Tuatha Dé Danann, a supernatural race in Irish mythology similar to elves or fairies, as depicted in John Duncan's "The Riders of the Sidhe," 1911. Dundee Art Galleries and Museums, Scotland. Public Domain

As the battle ensued, the Fomorians realized they were still outmatched. Despite this, they believed the odds were still in their favor because they possessed the magical harp.

But when the Tuatha Dé Danann and the Dagda realized the harp was missing, they set out immediately to find it. When they came upon a sizable, sleeping Fomorian army, they wondered how they could possibly retrieve what rightfully belonged to the Dagda. As they pondered their scant options, the Dagda stretched out his arms as if to embrace someone, and called to his harp.

As he waited with open arms, his harp, hanging on a wall, set itself free at once and made its way to him. The Fomorians suddenly woke up and attempted another fight. But the Dagda began playing.

First, he plucked a tune for laughter, and the rival clan began dancing so furiously that they dropped their weapons. Then, a tune for sorrow, and the Fomorians cried in spite of themselves. Finally, a tune for sleep.

The Fomorians gently drifted off to dreamland, and the Tuatha Dé Danann fled. No one ever dared to steal the Dagda’s magical harp again.

A Bigger Musical Picture

The story of the Dagda’s magical harp is representative of a bigger musical picture of Ireland. Christian artifacts and manuscripts from the Emerald Isle, dated as far back as the 8th century, contain depictions of the instrument.

In 1185, Prince John of England visited Waterford, a city located in the province of Munster in the southeastern region of Ireland. According to EPIC, The Irish Emigration Museum, he was amazed at how well the people could play the instrument.

“The Harp of Erin,” 1867, by Thomas Buchanan Read. The allegorical painting depicts the harpist as the embodiment of Ireland chained to a rock, which represents England. Cincinnati Art Museum. Public Domain

He said of the Irish people’s harp-playing: “They are incomparably more skillful than any other nation I have ever seen.”

While the harp-playing of “the Britons” was, to him, “slow and harsh,” the amateur harpists of Ireland played “lively and rapid” notes, which he felt gave the music a sweet harmony.

The harp has been declared Ireland’s national symbol a few times throughout history. In 1541, when the country was under British rule, King Henry VIII formally announced that the harp would be the Irish kingdom’s symbol. And in 1922, the harp was once more recognized as the country’s official emblem after it gained independence from the UK.

"Henry VIII With Harp" from Psalter of Henry VIII, 1530–1547. Public Domain

It remains a steadfast symbol among other cultures as well, both ancient and modern.

The First Rumblings

As one of the oldest instruments of recorded history, the first rumblings of harp-playing date all the way back to 15,000 B.C., according to a top New York City arts destination, the Kaufman Music Center.

The harp was found among some of the world’s oldest cultures, from Mesopotamia and Persia in the Middle East to China and India in the East. By the medieval ages, the instrument was found throughout Europe. Later, the harp became essential to early America’s burgeoning landscape of folk music.

Bow harp, circa 2030–1640 B.C., from Egypt. This harp is among the oldest to have survived the pharaonic history. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. Public Domain

Different versions of the harp exist throughout history, including the bow harp of ancient Egypt, one of the civilization’s most popular instruments. The ancient bow harp, with only five strings for plucking, looks like an oversized ladle with a slightly curved neck. Today’s modern concert-style harp looks quite different. It features a wooden triangular frame, 47 strings, and seven pedals that control pitch and cover the various musical keys.

Giving a nod to the way it’s played, the meaning of the word “harp” means “to pluck,” and its name comes from the influence of a few different historic cultures, including the Anglo-Saxons and Germans.

The harp creates one of music’s most distinct sounds. It can be loud and boisterous due to its powerful soundboard that amplifies its notes. Or its sound can be soft and angelic due to the precision and control of the harp player’s hands.

When studying history, one realizes that the harp is also a useful instrument for those outside the field of music.

The Harp as a Metaphor

Some of Western civilization’s defining philosophers used the harp as a metaphor in their writings.

When describing how virtues aren’t innate, but characteristics worth cultivating, the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle used a harp player’s practicing to express his point.

In the “Nicomachean Ethics,” he says: “The virtues on the other hand we acquire by first having actually practised them, just as we do the arts. We learn an art or craft by doing the things that we shall have to do when we have learnt it: for instance, men become builders by building houses, harpers by playing on the harp. Similarly we become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts.”

Another pioneering thinker, Francis Bacon compared the health of a man’s physical nature to that of an in-tune harp. The London native helped lay the foundation for Europe’s Enlightenment period, taking place from the late 1600s to the early 1800s.

In his book “The Advancement of Learning,” he shared: “The office of medicine is but to tune the curious harp of man’s body and reduce it to harmony.”

An interior scene with a girl playing the harp for a gentlemen, 19th century, by David Bles. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Public Domain

The magical harp has been speaking to us since antiquity. From its notes, we have gleaned much wisdom.

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