1421—Nuremberg, Germany

Accounts indicate that musicians of the court of Margrave of Brandenburg include a 4-part shawm band with trombones (posaunen). The musicians in the account are referred to separately: first, 2 trumpets (“2g…trummetern”), then a 4-part shawm band with trombone (“4 g. markgraf Fridrichs pusaunern und pfeiffern”). Thus, according to historian Keith Polk, “This document carries particular authority with its reference to both ‘trummeten’ and ‘posaunen'” (Polk, German 66).