The viola di braccio ("viol of the arm"), which was used to distinguish them from the viol family (violas da gamba - viol of the leg), appears in the 15th century in Italy.
It retains the general shape and size of the vielle but reduces the strings from five to three like the rebec. And for the first time, the c holes of the rebec and vielle are replaced with the now familiar f holes used on modern violins.
