Our Weather Watchers love photographing the changing weather. But did you know that medieval monks also had similar interests in the skies above?
They used an astrolabe, a device invented by the Greeks and developed by Arab astronomers which came to Europe during the 12th century. This elegant contraption could fit in the palm of your hand, although some were as large as a dinner plate.
Gothic Astrolabe with Universal Projection and Toothed Rete, Inv. 52869. © Museum of the History of Science, University of Oxford.
The astrolabe was multifunctional, so it could be regarded as an early smartphone. It was predominantly used to tell the time although it also could observe and track the motions of the stars. Its compass-like function could tell you whether you were facing north, south, east or west. The user would change the plates on the astrolabe depending on where they were in the world and what time of day it was. Medieval medics also used astrolabes as it was believed that astrology could resolve health issues.
Middle Gothic Astrolabe, Inv. 41468. © Museum of the History of Science, University of Oxford.
You might say that medieval monks were, in fact, Weather Watchers of their time, using astrolabes as we would use our smartphones to record what was happening in the skies above.
If you are interested in finding out more about astrolabes, read the full Radio 3 article here.
