Vielle

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The vielle ( vee-EL; French: [vjɛl] ) is a European bowed string instrument used in the medieval period. It is similar to the modern violin but with a somewhat longer and deeper body, 3-to-5 gut strings, and a leaf-shaped pegbox with frontal tuning pegs, sometimes with a figure eight–shaped body. Whatever external form they had, the box-soundchest consisted of back and belly joined by ribs, which experience has shown to be the construction for bowed instruments. The most common shape given to the earliest vielles in France was an oval, which with its modifications remained in favour until the Italian lira da braccio asserted itself as the better type, leading to the violin. The instrument was also known as a fidel or a viuola, although the French name for the instrument, Vièle, is generally used; the word comes from the same root as fiddle. It was one of the most popular instruments of the medieval period, and was used by troubadours and jongleurs from the 13th through the 15th centuries...

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