The talharpa is a four-stringed bowed lyre

Lyre

The lyre is a stringed musical instrument known for its use in Greek classical antiquity and later. The word comes from the Greek "λύρα" and the earliest reference to the word is the Mycenaean Greek ru-ra-ta-e, meaning "lyrists", written in Linear B syllabic script...

 from northern Europe. It was formerly widespread in Scandinavia, but is today played mainly in Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

, particularly among that nation's Swedish community. It is similar to the Finnish jouhikko

Jouhikko

thumb|right| Replica of a 19th century Jouhikko made by Simon ChadwickThe jouhikko is a traditional, 2 or 3 stringed bowed lyre, from Finland and Karelia. Its strings are traditionally of horsehair. The playing of this instrument died out in the early 20th century but has been revived and there...

 and the Welsh crwth

Crwth

The crwth is an archaic stringed musical instrument, associated particularly with Welsh music, once widely-played in Europe.-Origin of the name:...

, but without a fingerboard

Fingerboard

The fingerboard is a part of most stringed instruments. It is a thin, long strip of material, usually wood, that is laminated to the front of the neck of an instrument and above which the strings run...

.

The instrument is also known as a tagelharpa ("tail-hair harp) or more generically as a stråkharpa ("bowed lyre").