The Bagpipes (Anna and Samuel)

The ancestry of the famous Scottish bagpipes dates back to ancient Egypt. It started out as pipes without the bag and eventually evolved into the bagpipes we know today. They traveled to Greece and Rome, and then added the bag during the reign of Emperor Nero. The medieval bagpipes in England were made of a chanter and a blowpipe, no drone. Eventually the bagpipes would become a popular hit in Scotland, gaining the official title of the Highland Bagpipes. They were played during war, starting with a single drone, eventually evolving to having three drones by the 1700’s. The bagpipes were also present and popular in other European countries, such as Spain and Germany. While looking at this map, there may be some vocabulary that you may not be familiar with. Below is a list of words that may make reading this map slightly easier.

Vocabulary:
Pipes: mouth-blown chanters (no bag)
Chanter: where the melody is produced, on the modern bagpipe there are eight holes
Bag: the bag is filled with air through the blowstick and is squeezed out into the chanter and drones by the arm
Blowstick: fills the bag with air, air is allowed to come in but is prevented from leaking back out
Drone: unchanging notes that produce the harmony of the bagpipe
Drone cords: ropes that help space the drones the correct distance from each other

Source List

“Ancient Egyptian Trade.” Egypt Tours Portal, 17 Feb. 2024, https://www.egypttoursportal.com/en-us/ancient-egyptian-civilization/ancient-egyptian-trade/.

“Bagpipe History.” Scotia Pipers, 21 Feb. 2020, https://www.scotiapipers.co.uk/bagpipe-history/#:~:text=The%20playing%20of%20the%20Bagpipe,arms%20for%20Bonnie%20Prince%20Charlie. 

Collinson, Francis. The Bagpipe: The history of a musical instrument. Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1975.

Linton, Siena. “Where Do Bagpipes Come from, and Who Invented Them?” Classic FM, 19 Sept. 2022, https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/bagpipes-origins-scotland-who-invented/

Bagpipes, Kinnaird. “Kinnaird Bagpipes Frequently Asked Questions, Instructions, Manuels, Etc.” Kinnaird Bagpipes,

https://www.kinnairdbagpipes.com/blog/posts/what_is_the_history_of_bagpipes#:~:text=The%20Romans%20brought%20the%20pipes,Bannockburn%20in%20Scotland%20in%201314.

“Scottish Highland Bagpipes.” Historic UK, 15 Nov. 2023, 

https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/The-Piob-Mhor-or-the-Great-Highland-Bagpipes/

Band, USCG Pipe. “Parts of the Bagpipe.” Bagpipe Parts, https://www.uscgpipeband.org/bagpipeparts.php

“Early History of the Rhineland-Palatinate and Heidelberg: Celts, Germans and Romans.” Ludwig H. Dyck’s Historical Writings, 9 May 2023, https://ludwigheinrichdyck.wordpress.com/2019/02/17/early-history-of-the-rhineland-palatinate-and-heidelberg-celts-germans-and-romans/#:~:text=Celts%20from%20the%20early%20iron,Rhine%20in%20the%20Ardennes%20Mountains.

“Roman Campaigns in Germania (12 BC – AD 16).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 11 Apr. 2024, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_campaigns_in_Germania_%2812_BC_%E2%80%93_AD_16%29#:~:text=The%20Roman%20campaigns%20in%20Germania,tribes%20and%20the%20Roman%20Empire.

The Bagpipe Society, https://www.bagpipesociety.org.uk/articles/2017/chanter/summer/iberian-overview

“The Concise History of the Bagpipe by Frank J. Timoney: Rome and the Ancient World.” The Concise History of the Bagpipe by Frank J. Timoney | Rome and the Ancient World, https://www.bagpipehistory.info/rome-ancient-world.shtml.

Balosso-Bardin, Cassandre. “Hidden Bagpipes of the Met.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 10 Mar. 2023, https://www.metmuseum.org/perspectives/articles/2023/3/hidden-bagpipes#:~:text=Although%20Scottish%20bagpipes%20are%20played,%2C%20Eastern%20Europe%2C%20and%20Ireland.

“Schäferpfeife.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 3 Feb. 2022, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sch%C3%A4ferpfeife#:~:text=Single%20drone%20pipes%20appeared%20in,although%20surviving%20examples%20are%20rare.

Cocks, William A., Anthony C. Baines, and Roderick D. Cannon. "Bagpipe." Grove Music Online. 2001. Oxford University Press. https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000001773