the.com/shawm
the medieval double-reed that screamed loud enough to start wars and end weddings.
means A loud, piercing double-reed woodwind instrument of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, an ancestor of the oboe, played chiefly outdoors and at festivities.
from From Middle English schalmys, via Old French chalemie and chalemel, all tracing back to Latin calamus, "reed" — itself a cousin of Greek kalamos. The same reedy root grows the word "chalumeau" (the clarinet's low register) and even "caramel" by one disputed line. So the shawm is, quite literally, named for the humble stalk that made its screaming voice.
- volume
- Too loud for indoors, banished to outdoor bands
- ancestor
- Direct grandparent of the modern oboe
- crusade era
- Reached Europe from the Middle East via Crusaders
- name
- From Latin calamus, meaning reed
- loud band
- Played in town watch ensembles called alta cappella
bombard and shawm pairs — renaissance ensembles in 16th-17th century venice used bombards (bass shawms) paired with soprano shawms for ceremonial music