Viol
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The viol, viola da gamba, or informally gamba, is any one of a family of bowed, fretted, and stringed instruments with hollow wooden bodies and pegboxes where the tension on the strings can be increased or decreased to adjust the pitch of each of the strings. Frets on the viol are usually made of gut, tied on the fingerboard around the instrument's neck, to enable the performer to stop the strings more cleanly. Frets improve consistency of intonation and lend the stopped notes a tone that better matches the open strings. Viols first appeared in Spain and Italy in the mid-to-late 15th century, and were most popular in the Renaissance and Baroque (1600–1750) periods. Early ancestors include the Arabic rebab and the medieval European vielle, but later, more direct possible ancestors include the Venetian viole and the 15th- and 16th-century Spanish vihuela, a six-course plucked instrument tuned like a lute that looked like but was quite distinct from the four-course guitar.
Spanish instruments from before the name viol or vihuela were coined, played with a bow. From Commentary on the Apocalypse, Codice VITR 14.1, "second third of 10th century".
Detail from a painting by Jan Verkolje, Dutch, c. 1674, Elegant Couple (A Musical Interlude). The theme is similar to the classic Music Lesson genre, and features a bass viol, virginal, and cittern (in the woman's hand, out of frame in this detail; see full image). This image highlights the domestic amateur class of viol players.
Late 16th or early 17th-century viol from a Japanese painting. Has four courses of strings.
Painting by Reza Abbasi c. 1634, showing a musician dressed in European clothing, playing what may be a viol. The instrument has Persian-style soundholes and a thinner neck than the instrument in the Japanese painting.
Vihuela
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The vihuela is a 15th-century fretted plucked Spanish string instrument, shaped like a guitar but tuned like a lute. It was used in 15th- and 16th-century Spain as the equivalent of the lute in Italy and has a large resultant repertory. There were usually five or six doubled strings.
Viola da mano, detail from an engraving by Marcantonio Raimondi, was made before 1510. It depicts poet Giovanni Filoteo Achillini playing the instrument
Spain, c. 960 a.d. "Cytharas" (identified from text) with players strumming with fingers (de mano) and plucking with plectrum (de penola). From Commentary on the Apocalypse, Morgan Library, Ms 644.