Crotalum (Κρόταλον, Crotalum)

CROTALO (κρόταλοι, crotalum). — Percussion instrument corresponding to castanets, of Oriental origin, attested in Greece as early as before the 5th century B.C., and in Egypt from the 2nd millennium onward. Used chiefly in dances to mark the rhythm. It never entered liturgical usage. However, the word crotalum, in the Ambrosian Missal and in the Memoriale rituum, has been used to designate the clappers (v.), which replace the bells during the last days of Holy Week.

Giuseppe Löw