19th-century kobza, which has been refurbished as a bandura, at the Museum of Theater and Cinematography, in Kyiv; almost all evidence is entirely iconographic and some photos from the 19th century. Etymology The term kobza first appeared in Polish chronicles dating back to 1331 AD. In popular parlance the term Kobza was applied to any regional lute-like instrument used by court musicians in Central-Eastern Europe. The term was occasionally used for other musical instruments of several unrelated types. The term kobza was also used in historical sources and folk songs as a synonym of bandura in the 19th and early 20th century in Ukraine. The term was occasionally used for the bagpipes and occasionally for the hurdy-gurdy in Eastern Poland, Belarus and the Volyn region in Ukraine. The unfretted "starosvitska" bandura (a variant of gusli, developed ca. 1700 appropriated the bandura name, but was commonly referred to as a kobza, because of the name's historical cachet while the Romanian kobza or cobza is a different type of plucked lute. Other instruments known as kobza The term kobza was also used as a synonym in historical sources for bandura in the 19th and early 20th century in Ukraine and was even used for bagpipes and occasionally for the hurdy-gurdy in Eastern Poland, Belarus and the Volyn region in Ukraine. Eventually, the unfretted "starosvitska" bandura (a variant of gusli, developed ca. 1800) appropriated the bandura name, but was commonly referred to as a kobza, because of the name's historical cachet. The Romanian kobza or cobza is a different type of plucked lute. The modern Ukrainian kobza There are currently two different approaches to kobza construction: authentic fretless reconstructions, produced by adherents for the recreation of authentic folk traditions, and modern stylised fretted instruments based on a modified domra design. To date, there have been no attempts to reconstruct earlier fretted kobza of the 18th century. The fretless kobza The term kobza was often used as a synonym for bandura and the terms were used interchangeably until the mid-20th century. The use of the term kobza pre-dates the first known use of the term bandura. Similarly, a "Kobzar" is a Ukrainian Folk singer and musician who may play the kobza, but who might also play other instruments instead, including the bandura. The internationally known kobzar Ostap Veresay (1803–1890), is today considered the foremost kobza player of the 19th century despite the fact that