The Celtic harp is a triangular frame harp traditional to the Celtic nations of northwest Europe. It is known as in Irish, in Scottish Gaelic, in Breton and in Welsh. In Ireland and Scotland, it was a wire-strung instrument requiring great skill and long practice to play, and was associated with the Gaelic ruling class. It appears on Irish coins, the coat of arms of the Republic of Ireland, Montserrat, Canada as well as the flag of Montserrat. Early history The early history of the triangular frame harp in Europe is contested. The first instrument associated with the harping tradition in the Gaelic world was known as a . This word may originally have described a different stringed instrument, being etymologically related to the Welsh crwth. It has been suggested that the word / (from / , a board) was coined for the triangular frame harp which replaced the , and that this coining was of Scottish origin. A notched piece of wood which some have interpreted to be part of the bridge of an Iron Age lyre dating to around 300 BC was discovered on the Isle of Skye, which, if actually a bridge, would make it the oldest surviving fragment of a western European stringed instrument (although images of Greek lyres are much older). The earliest descriptions of a European triangular framed harp, i.e. harps with a fore pillar, are found on carved 8th century Pictish stones.<ref>The Anglo Saxon Harp, 'Spectrum, Vol. 71, No. 2 (Apr. 1996), pp. 290–320.</ref>Scotland, Insight Guides. Josephine Buchanan 2003, pp94 Published 2003 Langenscheidt Publishing Group.Scotland's Music: A History of the Traditional and Classical Music of Scotland from Early Times to the Present Day. John Purser (2007) Mainstream Publishing Group. Pictish harps were strung from horsehair. The instruments apparently spread south to the Anglo Saxons who commonly used gut strings and then west to the Gaels of the Highlands and to Ireland.J. Keay & Julia Keay. (2000): Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland, Clarsach, p. 171. Harper Collins publishers.Celtic Music History and Criticism Kenneth Mathieson 2001 Backbeat books p192 Exactly thirteen depictions of any triangular chordophone instrument from pre-11th-century Europe exist and twelve of them come from Scotland. The earliest Irish references to stringed instruments are from the 6th century, and players of such instruments were held in high regard by the nobility of the time. Early Irish law from 700 AD stipulates that bards and