society in the sky

8/12/2019 Society in the Sky

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Society in the sky: a seventeenth century

attempt to redraw the constellationsPosted by Michael Kay27 February, 2012 3 Comments

Filed Under astrology,celestial globe,constellations,heraldry,history, history ofastronomy, history of science,museums

The ational Maritime Museum!s "eigel globe, 1#$$, from their online catalogue %clic& to

go to catalogue and see larger image'

"e(re all more or less familiar )ith the constellations in the night s&y* )e all

understand that their names and sha+es are ancient in origin -o)e.er, these

names and sha+es ha.e not al)ays been uncontested, and some fascinating

+olitical, religious, and scientific moti.es ha.e been behind attem+ts to reform

the ma+ of the stars This article is based on )or& / did as a research intern at the

oyal bser.atoryin reen)ich, loo&ing at a +articularly interesting and uniue

item in their collections, a celestial globe from the late se.enteenth century 4

globe such as this )ould normally be e5+ected to bear the constellations in their

standard form, and be used as a teaching aid for +eo+le learning the layout of the

night s&y, a .ital s&ill for na.igators 6ome attracti.e s+ecimens may ha.e been

intended as gifts, +ossibly in an attem+t to gain +atronage from the )ealthy

aristocracy

This +articular globe, ho)e.er, is something of a mystery esigned by the

erman mathematician and astronomer 8rhard "eigel %1#29:1#$$', it bears a

+laue )hich dates it to 1#$$, although the actual design goes bac& earlier than

that, +ossibly to the 1#70s 4nd the remar&able thing about the design is that it
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embodies "eigel(s attem+t to com+letely re+lace all the traditional constellations

)ith a ne) set of his o)n de.ising, re+resented by indi.idual com+onent +arts,

called bla;ons, of the heraldic crests of im+ortant countries, city:states and social

classes of se.enteenth century 8uro+e For e5am+le, reat


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constellation, and this ga.e them a set of established reference frames )ithin

)hich to base their further obser.ations


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)ith 6cutum The +eriod )as thus definitely rece+ti.e to ne) heraldic

constellations, although all but one, -e.elius( 6cutum, are no) obsolete

"eigel(s reform re+resents a fusion of sorts bet)een t)o tendencies the

religious tendency to re+lace old constellations )ith Christian imagery, and the

secular tendency to add ne) heraldic constellations "eigel(s )ould ha.e been

the cro)ning achie.ement of this +eriod the re+lacement of e.ery singleconstellation )ith a ne) heraldic alternati.e

8rhard "eigel, aged 30 ote the globe From "i&imedia Commons %image is in the +ublic

domain'

/ belie.e "eigel(s moti.ation for his ne) constellations )as considerably more

nuanced than sim+ly gaining +atronage from the )ealthy aristocracy 4s

Professor of Mathematics at the >ni.ersity of Eena from 1#92, "eigel had a

re+utation as a +o+ulariser of the sciences, es+ecially mathematics and

astronomy, on )hich he lectured to large audiences and also )rote and

distributed +am+hlets The fact that the +am+hlets mentioned already )ere

+ublished in erman instead of =atin is e.idence of this -is 1#BB +ublication of

a +ro+osed astronomy curriculum, mentioned already, hinted at a broader

+rogramme of educational reform "eigel li.ed in Protestant ermany, and he

considered the old +agan constellations an anathema to his Protestant

sensibilities /n +lace of the le)d and idolatrous images )hich he thought had no+lace in schools, es+ecially the na&ed +eo+le, he +ut the secular symbols of state,

+ro?ecting them onto the s&y as an idealised de+iction of the 8uro+e he )anted to

see, one go.erned by reason 4bandoning the ancient, mythical imagery, he

banishing the old +agan su+erstitions as the last remnants or .estiges of an

unenlightened age -e )as certainly consciously attem+ting to demarcate

astronomy and astrology, ma&ing the boundary .ery distinct by choosing a

+ointedly secular method of ma++ing out the s&y for future generations "eigel
http://www.ianridpath.com/startales/scutum.htmhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erhard_Weigelhttp://www.ianridpath.com/startales/scutum.htm


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had had some training in astrology as a young student in -alle, but had

abandoned it, deciding that the glory of the Creator )as better realised if one did

not consider the stars to ha.e any influence o.er human beings

Culturally, "eigel seems to ha.e been re+resenting the

entire 8uro+ean social order in the s&y The merchants, farmers, artisans and

educators )ere all +resent "hile it might be almost egalitarian to ha.e e.eryone

de+icted in the hea.ens together, ne.ertheless, some crests )ere bigger than

others, so maybe he )as reinforcing the e5isting hierarchical order by associating

it )ith the di.ine hea.ens The scientific community )ere in general against his

reforms for logistical reasons, noting that it )ould be difficult to im+lement such

)ide ranging reforms on an international scale -o)e.er, "eigel did ha.e +lenty

of su++ort from +atrons and +arties interested in funding him, as e.idenced by

accounts of the +roduction of his G+ancosmos(, a giant celestial globe thirty t)o

feet in diameter, rather li&e a modern:day +lanetarium, into )hich +eo+le could

enter 4s "eigel(s +ro+osals )ere reasonably +o+ular )ith those )ho had

enough +o)er and money to +ro.ide an incenti.e for his reforms to be

im+lemented, it is )orth uestioning )hy they )ere not ado+ted more )idely /n

the realm of the constellations, acce+tance and re?ection are .ery much

contingent /t is notable here that the authority of the increasinglyinstitutionalised scientific community, )hich had +roduced ne) scientific

societies around 8uro+e throughout the se.enteenth century, trum+ed the )ealth

of the ruling classes 8.en at the da)n of the 8nlightenment of the eighteenth

century, an age )hich self:consciously sought to cast out old su+erstitious

influences from the sciences, a secularised s&y did not seem to a++eal to the right

+eo+le

f all the other attem+ts to alter or add to the constellations in the se.enteenth

century, "eigel(s )as by far the most com+rehensi.e /t )as +olitically,

religiously, and scientifically moti.ated, and could be seen as an attem+t to re.u+ the engine of enlightenment, to remo.e mythical +agan su+erstitious

influences, at least in the field of astronomy -e failed, though, and this

+articular engine stalled For some reason the sha+es of the e5isting

constellations )ere too +o+ular, and the scientific community resisted his

attem+ts at reform, although there are indications that one or t)o leading lights of

the scientific )orld )ere actually in fa.our, such as ottfried =eibni; %)ho )as a


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student of "eigel at Eena for a semester' Maybe the e5istence of these images in

the s&y )as not seen as a +roblem, rather they )ere harmless anachronisms,

historical curiosities )orth &ee+ing around for sentimental reasons, or sim+ly out

of a sense of inertia Today )e still use these ancient constellations, ha.ing ne.er

substituted them systematically for something ne)er

This magnificent globe ser.es as a reminder to us of an attem+t to do things

differently, and +aints a +icture of a time )hen science, religion, and +olitics

)ere far blurrier categories than today /n some )ays it also reminds us that our

current situation, )here science and +olitics ha.e been largely secularised, is

contingent, the result of conscious decisions, and "eigel(s failed reform attem+t

+ro.ides us )ith an e5am+le of a secularising decision )hich )as not made

@ie)ed correctly in the conte5t of the +eriod, / belie.e the failure should be seen

as more of a sur+rise than the attem+t itself Those )ith the authority to change

the constellations didn(t )ant to These grou+s of stars may no longer mean to us

)hat they did to the ancient astrologers, but +erha+s these relics of the +ast ha.e

some nostalgic, sentimental .alue, connecting us to our ancestors and to our

history
http://www.fi.edu/learn/sci-tech/celestial-globe/celestial-globe.php?cts=space


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The "eigel globe held at the Fran&lin /nstitute, Philadel+hia* the colouring on this globe

ma&es some of the details more clear, es+ecially on the t)o close:u+ +ictures on the right%Clic& image to see these images on the Fran&lin /nstitute )ebsite'

When compiling this article, I have made use of the following books, articles and

websites which might provide interesting further reading:

4llen, ichard -inc&ley, Star-Names and their Meanings% 8 6techert,

1B$$', re+rinted as Star Names: Their ore and Meaning %o.er

Publications /nc, 1$#3' %a.ailable online here'

e&&er, 8lly, !lobes at !reenwich%5ford >ni.ersity Press, 1$$$'

-orn, "erner,"ie #lten !loben der $orschungsbibliothek und des

Schlo%museums !otha%otha, 1$7#'

-orn, "erner,"er &eraldische &immelsglobus des 'rhard Weigel,in

"er !lobusfreund, o B %@ienna, 1$9$'

Kanas, ic&, Star Maps: &istor(, #rtistr( and )artograph(%Pra5is

Publishing =td, 2007'

id+ath, /an, 6tar Tales, online resource

htt+HHmichaela&ay)ord+resscomH2012H02H27Hsociety:in:the:s&y:a:se.enteenth:century:

attem+t:to:redra):the:constellationsH
http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Topics/astronomy/_Texts/secondary/ALLSTA/home.htmlhttp://www.ianridpath.com/startales/contents.htmhttp://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Topics/astronomy/_Texts/secondary/ALLSTA/home.htmlhttp://www.ianridpath.com/startales/contents.htm

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