James Tyler pointed out in his book "The Early Mandolin" that the word mandora was rarely encountered before the 18th century. Then, it referred to a large bass lute. The gallichone, as it was better known, was a type of 6 or 8-course bass lute (possibly a descendant of the guiterne and/or chitarra italiana) used, mainly for basso continuo, in Germany, Austria and Bohemia particularly during the 18th and early 19th centuries. It was also called the galizona, galichon or caledon. Tyler disputed that it was mainly used for continuo, saying it was used "both as a solo and as a continuo instrument". The instrument was popular in the 18th century and there are various surviving instruments and manuscript sources (see below), mainly from Germany. The mandora often had only 6 courses, resulting in a simpler technique than the complex and difficult 13-course lute, so was more suitable for amateur players. Similar instruments were also in use in northern Italy, although generally referred to as "liuto" (lute) rather than mandora.