The citole was an ancestor of the renaissance cittern, a fretted instrument played with a quill. It has been described as a ‘delicate, even decorous instrument … most suitable for young ladies to play’.

The Castles had it duplicated from an illustration they had found in David Munrow’s book of a late 12th - early 13th century sculpture by Benedetto Antelami in the Baptistery, Palma, Italy.