Which of the following instruments did NOT have an ancestor in the medieval period?

The saxophone is the instrument that did not have an ancestor in the medieval period. It was invented in the 1840s by Adolphe Sax, which is well after the medieval era concluded. The instrument was created in a modern context, primarily for use in military bands and orchestras, and therefore has no direct lineage to any medieval instrument.

In contrast, the trumpet has its roots in ancient instruments, such as the shofar and Roman tuba, evolving through the medieval period into the valved trumpet we know today. The lute can trace its ancestry back to various stringed instruments used during medieval times, and the violin similarly evolved from earlier string instruments such as the fiddle, which were prominent in medieval music. Understanding the historical context of these instruments highlights how the development of musical instruments spans various periods, with some like the saxophone emerging much later in music history.