Chrotta

The charota, is a musical instrument played in Ireland, whose exact description is contested.

According to Irish historian Gratton Flood, it was a small harp played with a bow. The instrument could be rested on knees or on a table.^[1]

Flood notes that the historian Gerbert^[who?] had described the charota as an oblong instrument with six strings, four of which on a fingerboard and two off of it.^[2]

Historian Carl Engel noted that a 6th-century CE Italian writer, Venantius Fortunatus, had mentioned the "Charota Britanna" in a poem, but did not mention any bow.^[3]

See also

• Crwth, a similar Welsh instrument
• Rotte