the name given in France, during the 17th and part of the 18th centuries, to the now obsolete five-stringed tenor viol, and also to one of the members of the violin family, ' Quinte,' or ' taille de violon,' the modern socalled ' alto ' (English, viola). The origin of the word ' Quinte ' may be traced to the fact th a t its strings were tuned a fifth lower than those of the violin, or, more probably, it originated with the instrumental writing in 5 parts, then usual. When 4-part writing came into use, the word ' Quinte ' was retained, whilst 'taille,' became obsolete. The instrument retained its old name in France until the beginning of the 19th century, when it was replaced by the Italian ' alto.' Five-stringed viols were amongst the earliest in use. Praetorius (Organographia, 1619) says they were employed in ancient times, and Agricola (Musica instrumentalis, 1532) gives the tuning of the five-stringed viols then in vogue. Although composers of vocal musio during the 16th century not infrequently called their tenor pa rt ' Quinte ' or ' Quintus,' viols of th a t denomination remained under the title of tenor until a later period ; and probably the first instance where ' Quintus ' designates a musical instrument occurs in the overture to Monteverdi's ' Orfeo ' (Venice, 1609-13). L'Etat de France, in 1683, gives the name of ' Fossart,' who played the ' Quinte de violon ' in the Queen's band, and in 1712-13 the Paris opera orchestra included two ' Quintes ' amongst tho instruments. In 1773 there wero four ' Quintes ' amongst the musicians of tho ' Grande Chapelle,' and ' Quintes ' were employed in all the orchestras. Je an -Jacque s Rousseau (Dictionnaire de musique, Paris, 1708) gives a good deal of information concerning the ' Quinte.' Under ' Viole ' he says th a t in France the ' Quinte ' and the ' Taille ' (a large six-stringed tenor viol), contrary to the Italian custom, played the same part, and under ' Partie ' mentions th a t the 1 Quinte ' and ' Taille ' were united under the name ' Viole.' The highest and lowest notes of these instruments, according to the same writer, were- & W ^ Quinte or Viola. Taille. from which it is to be inferred th a t the tuning was the same as th a t given by Agricola in 1532, i.e. Q>) l i Alto an d Tenor. In England the two tenor viols which formed a pa rt of the ' Chests of six Viols,' so much in vogue during the 17th and beginning of tho 18th centuries, were probably identical with the ' Quinte ' and ' Taille ' ; but the French title was never adopted in this country. Tho bulky size of the ' Quinte ' rendered it such an awkward instrument to play upon th a t its dimensions gradually diminished from century to century, and when the violin came into more general use, it melted into the ' Haute Contre ' (alto viol). In the second half of the 18th century it developed into a tenor violin with four strings, and adopted the C clef on tho third line which was formerly the clef of the 'Haute Contre' or alto viol. (See V iol F ami ly.) B i b l .-A q r i c o l a (Martinus), Musica instrumentalis', P r a e t o r i u s , 0 rganoqraphia ; J . - J . R o u s s e a u , Dictionnaire de musique ; L a B o r d e , Essai su r la musique" L a u r e n t G r i l l e t , Les Ancetres du loUm; 1U H T, T U Violin. E A . f t d d n _ M > L . p .