History of Guitars
This is the first guitar. A plucked string instrument that was first called a guitar appeared in Spain around the turn of the fifteenth century. The instrument was actually called a vihuela, and consisted of four double-strings (paired courses). Four double-strings indicate that the instrument had two strings on each course, along the full length of the neck, for eight strings in total. A five double-string version appeared around the year 1600, with a six single-string version becoming popular in Europe in the 1800s. This six single-stringed instrument is no doubt the closest ancestor to today's guitar, and is even called the nineteenth century guitar. Article Source