The German word "Laute" meand lute and describes a more guitar-like instrument than yours.

What sort of tuners are on the laud? There's a whole family of mandolin-like instruments that have, instead of regular tuning machines, autoharp-type pegs that are tuned with a wrench. I've heard those instruments referred to as "Portuguese mandolin" or "Waldzither". Dunno if this helps.

Cheers,
Michael