1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 26… (1911)
“ THEORBO [Fr. théorbe, Ger. Theorba, Ital. theorba, Baritone] , the large double-necked bass lute much used during the 16th and 17th centuries as general bass in the orchestra. The body of the theorbo was constructed on the same principles as that of the lute but larger, and the same scheme of decoration was followed. The neck, instead of being bent back at an angle to form the head, was straight, having sufficient pegs set in the sides of the head for from 12 to 16 strings tuned in pairs of unisons ”
