| | Hurdy-gurdyHistory, Facts and interesting information about Medieval music, specifically, Hurdy-gurdy Definition and Description of the Hurdy-gurdy
Definition and description of the Hurdy-gurdy: The Hurdy-gurdy was introduced to England during the 12th century - the bow was replaced by strings attached to a wheel which was cranked by a handle. Description: A stringed instrument, lute-like in shape, in which the sound is produced by the friction of a wheel turned by a crank at the end, instead of by a bow, two of the strings being tuned as drones, while two or more, tuned in unison, are modulated by keys. Synonyms: barrel organ, grind organ, hand organ and street organ Family of Instruments: The Hurdy-gurdy belongs to the family of String instruments. 
Hurdy-Gurdy Medieval Musical Instruments - Hurdy-gurdy
Medieval Musical instruments, including the Hurdy-gurdy, would be used by the musicians of the period including the Waits, Minstrels or Troubadours. There were three categories of musical instruments in the Middle Ages - wind, string and percussion. Terms of description were Bas instruments and Haut instruments. Bas referred to soft instruments (literally, "low," but referring to volume, not pitch) which were suitable for the chamber which included the vielle, rebec and other bowed strings, the lute and other plucked strings. Haut referred to loud instruments (literally "high" but referring to volume, not to pitch) which were suitable for outdoors which included the shawm, sackbut, pipe and tabor. Read the above history, facts and information about the Hurdy-gurdy. 
The Waits Medieval Music - Hurdy-gurdy
The Medieval Times website provides interesting facts, history and information about the musicians and styles of music which scatter the history books including Hurdy-gurdy. The Medieval Life and Times Sitemap provides full details of all of the information and facts about the fascinating subject of the lives of the people who lived during the historical period of the Middle Ages. The content of this article on Hurdy-gurdy provides free educational details, facts and information for reference and research for schools, colleges and homework for history courses and history coursework.
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