@AccordionBruce @catsalad Neal Stephenson made a similar mistake in the Baroque Cycle: a character is killed by being stabbed with the endpin of a cello. Aside from the fact that this wouldn't be very effective structurally (the endpin is not robustly attached), the endpin didn't *exist* before the mid1800s (prior to that, the cello was held tightly between the legs, as the viola da gamba is today). A musician friend of mine wrote to Stephenson about this, (politely) pointing out the error. He told me that he received a reply, which read: "AAAARGH!"