Definition of "vielle" []

• A medieval stringed instrument similar to a violin. (noun)
• The hurdy-gurdy. (noun)

Wiktionary.org : Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License

• "Among these were a diminutive harp, which was laid on the table while being played, the fiddle, also called vielle or viola (prototypes of our violin), the very ancient crwth, crowd or chrotta (an instrument having originally three, but later five strings, now obsolete), and the hurdy-gurdy."
• "She told me the instrument was called the vielle, in fact -- our old English viol; a very ancient instrument, which is represented as being played by one of the minstrels sculptured on the east front of Launceston Parish"
• "A few moments of faulty tuning and uneven articulation aside (not to be confused with the pungent harmonies and piquant effects written into this music), the ensemble's two instrumentalists -- medieval-harpist Constance Whiteside (the group's artistic director) and violinist Craig Resta, who played here on the arrestingly throaty precursor to the violin, the medieval vielle -- both did sterling and vividly atmospheric work."