The
archlute (Spanish
archilaúd, Italian
arciliuto, German
Erzlaute, Russian
Архилютня) is a European plucked
string instrument developed around 1600 as a compromise between the very large
theorbo, the size and
re-entrant tuning of which made for difficulties in the performance of solo music, and the
Renaissance tenor
lute, which lacked the bass range of the theorbo. Essentially a tenor lute with the theorbo's neck-extension, the archlute lacks the power in the tenor and the bass that the theorbo's large body and typically greater string length provide.