Hurdy-Gurdy (detail)

The hurdy-gurdy was in widespread use by the Middle Ages, when it was used to play religious and secular music. Artists often depicted hurdy-gurdies in paintings and prints as the instrument of wandering musicians. These musicians engendered its popularity and use by aristocratic and common folk alike.

The hurdy-gurdy can produce a simultaneity of sounds because it has both strings and keys. Players sound its strings by turning the hand crank (at the base of the instrument), which is connected to a wooden wheel located inside the instrument. When activated this way, some of the strings produce a continuous drone. The player presses and releases the keyboard’s keys, which act upon another set of strings, in order to create the melody.

This hurdy-gurdy has a curved back, like a lute. Others are shaped more like a guitar. We see the skillfully carved and painted head of a man at the head of the instrument, while painted and stamped details (note the man and woman depicted on the fret box) and elaborate inlays decorate the body.