The transverse flute dates back to ancient Rome (from which one bone specimen has survived), but it drops out of use in Europe until the llth or l2th century. Thereafter it enjoyed considerable popularity except, oddly, in the 15th century when it inexplicably disappears from paintings, only to re-emerge once and for all in the 16th century.
Flute. Manuscript illumination, Der Kanzler (detail) from the Manessische Liederhandschrift (early 14th century). Heidelberg Universitätsbibliothek, pal. Germ. 848, fol. 423v.
Pair of flute players. Manuscript illumination from the Cantigas de Santa Maria (late 13th century). Madrid, Escorial Monastery MS b.I.2.
Flute. A dance in the garden of mirth. Dufay Collective. William Lyons, flute. Chandos CHAN 9320 (1994). Trk 2 Estampie real (excerpt).
The medieval flute is simply a cylindrical tube stopped at one end, with a mouth-hole and six fingerholes. At its reappearance in the Middle Ages it seems to have been especially popular in Germany.
Flute player. Marginal detail from the Hours of Jeanne d’Évreux (ca.1325), fol. 174. New York, Cloisters Collection.