Dear Marcus and Michael, In fact Mace says exactly the opposite. He refutes the claim that keeping a lute is as expensive as keeping a horse:
Thomas Mace, _Musick's Monument_ (London, 1676), page 46: "That one had as good keep a Horse (for Cost) as a Lute, is the Fourth Objection. This likewise is so Gross an Errour, that I have disprov'd it all my Life long; and which All my Scholars will affirm, if need were; of whom I never took more than five shillings the Quarter to maintain each Lute with Strings; only for the first Stringing I ever took ten shillings. I do confess Those who will be Prodigal, and Extraordinary Curious, may spend as much as may maintain two or three Horses, and Men to Ride upon them too, if they please." I'm afraid I don't know about Baron, and don't have a copy of his book to check at home. Best wishes, Stewart McCoy. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael Stitt" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Marcus Merrin" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, November 14, 2003 4:19 AM Subject: Re: Historical cost of lutes. > Marcus, > > I think this quote actually derives from Baron's treatise on the lute and lute playing, and referred to the cost of a then Baroque lute. > > Regards, > > Michael Stitt > http://bachplucked.com/ > > Marcus Merrin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I think Thomas Mace wrote that just for the _upkeep_ of a lute "a man > must expect to pay as much as for a horse". He goes on to tell you how > to remove the belly yourself and thus completely ruin the thing. (Lute, > not horse I suppose). A blacksmith might earn maybe 20 pence on a busy > day, and stabling for a horse at an inn was about 1-2 pence. I conclude > that a blacksmith couldn't keep a lute unless he made his own strings. > All figures are as accurate as most Govornment fiscal projections :-) > > Marcus > > Herbert Ward wrote: > > >How much did a lute cost 1500-1650, in terms of months of salary? I'm > >thinking of skilled or low-end professional labor (say, professor, > >lawyer, or agricultural manager). > > > >Today, a good lute runs, say, from 0.5 - 1.0 months' salary (depending, of > >course, on both salary level and lute cost).
