This is a reproduction of an ancient instrument. I read about this from a fictionalized account of the life of Etienne Brulé, a real person from the 1600 in Canada.
In French, i is called "vielle à roue". (Spelling is correct, thanks).

See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurdy_gurdy
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vielle_%C3%A0_roue