Love song of the lute

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For at least two hundred years, this was the most popular instrument in the renaissance period of Europe.
It is the sultan of instruments for the Arabs and the origin of lute is perhaps the Arabian oud, a pear shaped instrument.

From the Arabs it came to Europe who made it their own.
Now what exactly is a lute?
In simple words, it is any instrument that reminds you of the guitar. Same properties -- long neck, strings running parallel to the sort of round sound body, strings that can be plucked, a long neck and a sort of roundness to the body. Our lute looks somewhat like