This is a MapHist list message. News: If you don't get messages anymore, go to http://www.maphist.nl for news about the new MapHist Forum o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o +
I agree with Wolfgang that this is most probably from the sixteenth century (not before, for sure), when the module of 17 ½ leagues per degree started to be used. With a little patience maybe it is possible to recognize the style. It is very possible that the wind rose was drawn during Columbus life though not in the period when he lived in Porto Santo, still during the fifteenth century. Anyway, the length of the degree that he claimed when trying to convince the Spanish king that he could reach India by sailing west was much smaller than this one. That was, of course, a way of making the Earth smaller and the distance to India shorter! The best, Joaquim De: maphist-boun...@geo.uu.nl [mailto:maphist-boun...@geo.uu.nl] Em nome de Bill Thoen Enviada: terça-feira, 27 de Dezembro de 2011 17:50 Para: Discussion group for map history Assunto: Re: [MapHist] RE: Odd Numbers on an Old Wind Rose Image of a compass rose with odd numberingThank you all so much for your answer to the mystery of the oddly labeled compass rose. I figured that it had to be a navigational aid, but never would have guessed 17.5 leagues had anything to do with it. Those old mariners were pretty clever! I checked the rules for posting and as long as I keep it under 50K, posting an image is OK. There are two original images (4.5 MB ea), which I'll send to anyone who wants them. Here's a composite (because neither image shows the entire rose) BTW, if anyone recognizes the style, I'd be interested to know from what century this could have been used. It from Columbus' time or is it more recent? Regards, Bill Thoen GISnet - gisnet.com On 12/27/2011 5:08 AM, � wrote: This is a MapHist list message. News: If you don't get messages anymore, go to http://www.maphist.nl for news about the new MapHist Forum o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + o + I think it is an illustration of the 16th century "rule to raise a degree", i.e. a means of calculation of a ship's position based on the assumption that there are 17 1/2 leagues to a degree: If you sail north or south you have to sail 17 1/2 leagues to arrive one degree to the north or south. And so on for every point of the compass (11,25 degrees). And there can only be 8 numbers, because if you sail east or west your latitude doesn' t change at all. Diagrams of this sort can be found in manuals of navigation of the 16th and 17th century. Dr. Wolfgang K�berer Wolfsgangstr. 92 D-60322 Frankfurt am Main Tel: + 49 69 95520851 Fax: + 49 69 558400 e-mail: koebe...@navigationsgeschichte.de
<<image001.jpg>>
_______________________________________________ MapHist: E-mail discussion group on the history of cartography hosted by the Faculty of Geosciences, University of Utrecht. The statements and opinions expressed in this message are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the University of Utrecht. The University of Utrecht does not take any responsibility for the views of the author. List Information: http://www.maphist.nl Maphist mailing list Maphist@geo.uu.nl http://mailman.geo.uu.nl/mailman/listinfo/maphist
