Astrolabes (From Greek astro=star, labos=take) are the instruments that were used in the Middle Ages to observe the position of celestial bodies, and were the primary navigational tool before the invention of the sextant. Levi ben Gershom (1288-1344), also called RALBAG, or Gersonides in Latin, invented an astrolabe which he called Jacob’s Staff, or, The Revealer of Profundities. He described his invention in his famous book, *Milhamot ha-Shem *(Wars of the Lord):”We can use this instrument for accurate observation of the altitude of the Sun, Moon, or any other star that is seen on the meridian…We call this instrument The Revealer of Profundities, for with it many profundities in this science can be verified, with the help of God.” Gersonides’ book was soon translated into Latin, and became an essential navigational tool for Christopher Columbus, as well as all other great discoverers of the early modern period. Below is a description of a project to document all existing Jewish astrolabes. The project is being undertaken by the Warburg Institute of the University of London.
------------------------------------------------------------------ I am pleased to send you the url of a poster illustrating the project on Astrolabes in Medieval Jewish Society ( * http://warburg.sas.ac.uk/mnemosyne/astrolabes_poster.pdf*<http://warburg.sas.ac.uk/mnemosyne/astrolabes_poster.pdf>). This is an AHRC research project based at the Warburg Institute (University of London) and with the collaboration of the Museum of the History of Science (Oxford University): *http://warburg.sas.ac.uk/research/projects/jewish-astrolabes*<http://warburg.sas.ac.uk/research/projects/jewish-astrolabes> . We are exploring the impact that astrolabes and manuscripts on the use and construction of astrolabes had in medieval Jewish culture. We are dealing with about 140 Hebrew manuscripts collected from all around the world and about twenty instruments with Hebrew inscriptions or signs of Jewish ownership and use (including instruments in the Collection of the Society of Antiquaries, the Khalili Collection, the British Museum and the Science Museum in London; the Deutsche Staatsbibliothek in Berlin; the Deutsche Museum, Munich; the Adler Planetarium, Chicago; the National Museum of American History, Washington; the Jagellonian Library, Cracow; the Museum of Islamic Art, Cairo and the Biblioteca Comunale, Palermo). It goes without saying that this is groundbreaking research in the field of Jewish studies and in the field of the history of science that we hope is going to enlarge and enrich our understanding of medieval Jewish culture. There is also a blog to keep post followers of any event and news related to the project (*http://blogs.mhs.ox.ac.uk/hebrew-astrolabes/*<http://blogs.mhs.ox.ac.uk/hebrew-astrolabes/> ). We would appreciate any assistance in alerting our attention to astrolabes that are not on our list, and in finding the following instruments that are essential for our research (the serial numbers of David King’s inventory of astrolabes are given): 1– Private astrolabe (last owner in Morocco, #1122) An astrolabe by Ya'qub ibn Musa Tapiero supposedly dated 716 H (but more probably 1016 H). Morocco, private collection. Formerly in the Duval Collection (according to Mayer). Brass. Diameter unknown. Signed and dated. Unpublished. Brief description (Colin).This astrolabe is signed by a Jewish astrolabist.
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