The Lamont Harp

An Clarsach Laomannach (The Lamont Harp)

The Lamont Harp, now in an Edinburgh museum, is the oldest surviving Celtic harp. The harp was the traditional musical instrument of the Celts, long before the adoption of the bagpipe in the 16th century. The harp was the instrument of the bards, those individuals whose gift of oral recitation made them invaluable to the early clan chiefs.

The Lamont harp dates from at the latest, the mid 1400s. It was in the possession of Lillias, a daughter of Duncan Lamont, our 8th Chief, when in 1464 she married Charles Robertson of Lude. The harp stayed at Lude, near Blair Atholl, until 1914, when it was purchased by the National Museum of Antiquities for 850 guineas. It is now one of the prized historical objects of Scotland