In the 16th century, the exploitation of navigation technology brought to
Portugal tremendous wealth and power. Henry's nephew, Manuel I, King of
Portugal from 1490 to 1520, was a key beneficiary of this enterprise. Manuel
adopted the armillary sphere as his royal symbol. This symbol expresses the
theme "Technology conquers the Universe". It is incorporated as a key
feature in Manueline architecture as the new found wealth was poured into
the construction of palaces, castles, cathedrals and monasteries.
This is very interesting to me and ties into some research I'm doing for a
book about armillary spheres and related models of the universe. I would
love to know more about the use of armillary spheres as a royal symbol of
Manuel I and others. The English Court in the 16th century also employed
armillary spheres as symbols of power in paintings and pageantry. For
example, bejeweled armillary spheres bedeck Queen Elizabeth in various
portraits.
Thanks for sharing this, Roger. If anyone else has information about the
symbolic use of armillaries, I'd love to hear from you off the list (if
others find the topic not sundial-related enough).
Cheers, Sara
Dr. Sara Schechner
David P. Wheatland Curator
Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments
Harvard University, Science Center B-6
1 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
Tel: 617-496-9542
Fax: 617-496-5932
