Henri Arnaut de Zwolle
Henri Arnaut de Zwolle (c. 1400, Zwolle – 6 September 1466, Paris), also known as Henri Arnault or Henricus Arnoldus/Arnoul, was a physician, astronomer, astrologer, and organist at the court of Philip the Good. He is especially known for a Latin treatise on musical instruments.
He was born in Zwolle, in the Burgundian Netherlands. Details of his education are unknown, but he likely started as a physician, earning the title Magister Henricus Arnault, Medicus Alemannus de Zuvolis. He studied with the instrument-maker Jean de Fusoris, who worked for Philip the Good and later for Louis XI. By 1432, Henri was at Philip’s court in Dijon.
Between 1438 and 1446 he produced Latin manuscripts on astronomy, hydraulics, astronomical instruments, and drawings of inventions such as a folding ladder and a gem-polishing machine. He also copied Jacob of Liège’s Speculum Musicae.
His best-known work is a treatise on designing and building musical instruments, which includes the earliest known illustration of a harpsichord. He explains how the keyboard action drives the strings and describes the lute, clavichord, dulce melos, and the organ. His organ chapter is practical, detailing the diapason chorus, pipe layout, and the use of reed pipes. These instruments were meant for court use, not churches.
In 1444, as a counselor to Philip the Good, he drew a map of the Burgundy–France border region to identify enclaves that could be removed to simplify the frontier. From 1454 to 1461 he left Burgundy to work for the French kings in Paris, where he died of the plague in 1466.
Clavichord notes: his clavichord is described as having three octaves from B to b2, with a fretting diagram showing 34 tangents across nine courses of strings. However, the compass would require 37 notes, so three tangents seem to be missing. Scholar Ripin proposed a solution with ten courses and a fretting layout that fits the rest of the description. Excluding the top and bottom courses, this arrangement is similar to the standard multiple fretting system.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 07:56 (CET).