Considering the small number of early depictions of the instrument one could think that the Panflute was not very common in the middle ages and renaissance. In medieval times there are only very few pictures of the panflute. It was only in the Renaissance that painters and sculptors rediscovered this typical Instrument of classical greece. The instrument was shown almost always in the context of the classical mythology, so that even from this evidence it couldn´t be said if the instrument was played at all.
Fortunately there are two drawings by Albrecht Dürer that show the instrument in a pastoral setting played by real life people.
The picture shows a shepard playing the panflute
Dürers father was an immigrant from Hungary. It is quite possible that he knew the typical hungarian Folk instrument from his families tradition.
