(1) A highly distinctive lip-vibrated instrument dating from the late Nordic Bronze Age (it is classified as an aerophone trumpet). It consists of a conical tube, some 2 to 3 metres in length, made of several sections joined by bands and twisted into the shape of a contorted ‘S’. At the speaking end in place of a bell is a bronze disc ornamented with geometric figures. Some examples of the instrument have small metal plates hanging from rings near the mouthpiece; these swing against each other to create a rattle effect. A large number of lurs have been excavated from peat bogs in the vicinity of the Baltic Sea, particularly in Denmark (see illustration) and southern Sweden. Similar instruments have been excavated in Ireland.
Its remarkable record of preservation and the striking appearance of the instrument, together with a certain measure of ethnic motivation, have led to enthusiastic claims for its musical importance which appear in some respects to be exaggerated. The fact that lurs are frequently found in pairs inspired the claim that they played part-music and influenced the beginnings of Western polyphony. This is not convincing, particularly since the phenomenon of ancient brass instruments appearing in pairs is widespread (for example, the Jewish Temple trumpets, the hasoserot). Somewhat more plausible are the claims for its musical versatility. These stem from experiments in which modern players using modern mouthpieces have produced all the notes of the chromatic scale. Sachs argued against these claims on the grounds that it is fallacious to equate an ancient instrument's potential with what was actually played on it. He cited the ability of modern string players to play medieval instruments in several positions whereas they were in fact played only in the 1st.
A further area of dispute is the timbre of the instrument, its protagonists attributing a noble, somewhat mellow character to it. However, there is virtually unanimous testimony to the raucous character of other ancient trumpets. There is also the question of whether the lur was primarily a cult or a military instrument, a mellow quality being supposed more appropriate for religion and a strident tone more appropriate for war. Perhaps the instrument was used for both, as was the case with brass instruments of the Mediterranean cultures. There, the raucous quality of trumpets served to strike fear into the enemy and likewise performed an apotropaic function in cult, that is, they warded off unwanted evil spirits during sacrifice. The Sistrum, a kind of metal rattle, performed the same function on a smaller scale and one cannot but compare it with the rattle-like attachments of the lur.
(2) Scandinavian bark and wooden trumpet played by herders, until late in the 19th century, to frighten away wild animals and to round up cattle. See Norway, §II, 3, and Sweden, §II, 2.
SachsH
H.C. Broholm, W.P. Larsen and G. Skjerne: The Lures of the Bronze Age (Copenhagen, 1949)
F. Behn: Musikleben im Altertum und frühen Mittelalter (Stuttgart, 1954)
P. Downey: ‘Lip-Blown Instruments of Ireland before the Norman Invasion’, HBSJ, v (1993), 75–91
JAMES W. McKINNON (1)