Not to be confused with Viola.
The viol (also called viola da gamba) is any one of a family of bowed, fretted, stringed musical instruments developed in the mid-late 1400s and used primarily in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The family is related to and descends primarily from the Spanish vihuela (a guitarlike plucked string instrument). Some degree of developmental influence, if only in playing posture, is credited to the Moorish rabab as well.
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