Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
cornu
Introduction References & Edit History Related Topics
Images
cornu
Quizzes
Young girl wearing a demin jacket playing the trumpet (child, musical instruments, Asian ethnicity)
Sound Check: Musical Vocabulary Quiz
Gong. Closeup of a khong wong gong circle chime. Thai classical musical instrument, part of piphat ensemble. (percussion, music)
Music Quiz
Quick Facts
Related Topics:
horn
tuba curva
See all related content
Britannica AI Icon
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
cornu
cornu Cornu player at a reenactment of Roman-era military exercises, Pram, Austria.

cornu

musical instrument
Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History

cornu, (Latin: “horn”), large metal horn of ancient Rome, used as a military and ceremonial instrument. It was about 11 feet (slightly more than 3 m) in length and had the shape of the letter G, with a crossbar brace that supported the instrument’s weight on the player’s shoulder. Two specimens survive from the ruins of Pompeii. Under the name tuba curva a version of the instrument was revived in France during the Revolution and was used by the composer AndrĂ©-Ernest-Modeste GrĂ©try in his music for Voltaire’s interment in the Pantheon.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.