CHAPTER 4: Dulcimers in the British Isles since 1800 > Dulcimers in the later 20th century

The Dulcimer in Modern English Literature

Only one example was discovered in this study, that of the fairy-tale told by Ruth Manning-Sanders, from which the references to the dulcimer are here extracted:

A prince is given three curses, that he shall not eat twice at the same table, not drink twice from the same cup, nor sleep twice in the same bed, until he has fetched and brought home:

• the calf that makes music;
• the golden dulcimer that plays itself; and
• the princess above all measure beautiful.

  "'... launch your boat. It will carry you over the Great Sea to the Isle of Calamity. There you will see a mountain, and on top of the mountain a big black house, guarded by four-and-twenty wolves. In the hall of that house hangs the golden self-playing dulcimer ...' said the beautiful maiden. So he fetched it..' with very little trouble and the aid of a magic wand they hung up the dulcimer in the palace hall.
  " There was merriment both inside the palace and outside; for the dulcimer played of itself the most ravishing harmonies, and the little Calf ran round and round the palace, making such music as the world has never heard before or since ... " (78).

For a discussion of the background here, see Chapter 7.17.2..

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