The bagpipes were one of, if not the most popular wind instrument in medieval and renaissance Europe based on the enormous amount of iconography and descriptions found in images and texts from the time.

As they were typically depicted accompanying dances, this is a dance tune from 14th century Italy played on medieval/renaissance soft pipes (also called small pipes or hummelchen) and accompanied by frame drum and tambourine.  

Although many Americans today associate bagpipes with Scotland and the Scottish diaspora, there are many different styles of bagpipes and piping traditions in many different cultures that can trace their roots all the way back to the Middle Ages, including those from the rest of the British Isles as well as Spain, France, Italy, Greece, the Balkans, North Africa and the Middle East, among others. 

Interestingly, many depictions of frame drums and tambourines are from Mediterranean regions and feature women playing them at dances. This performance practice can still be seen to this day in areas of Spain and Italy. 

The recorder is a member of the duct flute family of instruments, meaning it is an end-blown flute in which the sound is produced by a small windway (opening) near the top of the instrument. The duct flute family includes instruments from all over the world, including Irish tin whistles and Native American flutes. Besides percussion, duct flutes are also the most ancient type of musical instrument, with surviving specimens made out animal bone dating from the Iron Age. What differentiates recorders from other duct flutes is the fact that they have eight finger holes, including a thumb hole, which enables them to change octaves without overblowing. 

The earliest surviving recorders come from the 14th century. Although these surviving instruments are all small, we know that by the 15th century there were different sizes of recorders being produced in order to imitate the different ranges of the human voice. During the renaissance, it was common for multi-part (polyphonic) vocal pieces to be played by instruments in consort, meaning by different sizes of the same instrument to match the vocal ranges (here we have an alto and two tenors). 

Johannes Ciconia (c. 1370-1412), can be considered a transitional composer between the late Middle Ages and early renaissance. With this piece you can hear why playing polyphonic pieces on sets of matching instruments would become popular; the parts all blend nicely into each other. 

A song by perhaps the best known composer and poet of late medieval Europe, Guillaume de Machaut (c. 1300-1377) who wrote many compositions ranging from a polyphonic mass to popular tunes (some of which are still being arranged for modern concert bands/orchestras as well as dance parties). He was perhaps the earliest composer to really focus on curating and promoting his works, and in one of his poems he encourages his music to be played on all sorts of instruments, including the bagpipes, and we're more than happy to oblige him. 

Unlike the soft pipes in the first video above, the ones heard here are "loud" pipes, featuring a trademark shoulder bass drone. These types of pipes seem to have appeared in the second half of the 13th century and have stuck around since. The earlier types of bagpipes depicted in iconography and mentioned in 12th century texts seem to have been smaller and were either drone-less or featured their drone in the same stalk as the chanter. Both types of bagpipes have been coexisting since.