Kathleen Schlesinger

“ The use of the word in Greek for a musical instrument is not recorded before the 4th century B.C. The modern santir of the Persians, almost identical with the German hackbrett, has a compass from according to Fétis. ”

“ The Persians place its origin in the highest antiquity. Carl Engel [3] gives an illustration said to be taken from a very old painting. [4]
The dulcimer was extensively used during the middle ages in England, France, Italy, Germany, Holland and Spain, and although it had a distinctive name in each country, it was everywhere regarded as a kind of psalterium. The importance of the method of setting the strings in vibration by means of hammers, and its bearing on the acoustics of the instrument, were recognized only when the invention of the pianoforte had become a matter of history. ”