The baroque guitar

Today's guitar is a descendant of the gittern, a small lute-like instrument that came to Europe via Moorish Spain in the 13th century.

In Spain, the gittern became transformed into the vihuela , a flat instrument curved at the sides with 4 pairs of strings and a single chanterelle. Although it was rarely found outside Spain, Henry VIII of England was known to have had 4 for them, possibly stemming from his first wife, Catherine, daughter of Ferdinand of Aragon.

The Renaissance four-course guitar appeared during the early 15th century. Gut strings were strung over gut frets, and it was played with a quill plectrum. It was a much smaller instrument than we know today, combining the small size of the gittern with the body shape of the much larger vihuela. In the late 17th century, a fifth course of strings was added below the other four.

Whereas the vihuela was an instrument of courtly society, the smaller 4-course guitar was used for more popular music, and by the mid 16th century was famous all over Europe. By the 18th century the vihuela was practically obsolete, and the guitar had was firmly entrenched in the music world.