Society in the sky: a seventeenth century

attempt to redraw the constellations

Posted by Michael Kay 27 February, 2012 3 Comments
Filed Under astrology, celestial globe, constellations, heraldry, history, history of
astronomy, history of science, museums
The ational Maritime Museum!s "eigel globe, 1#$$, from their online catalogue %clic& to
go to catalogue and see larger image'
"e(re all more or less familiar )ith the constellations in the night s&y* )e all
understand that their names and sha+es are ancient in origin, -o)e.er, these
names and sha+es ha.e not al)ays been uncontested, and some fascinating
+olitical, religious, and scientific moti.es ha.e been behind attem+ts to reform
the ma+ of the stars, This article is based on )or& / did as a research intern at the
0oyal 1bser.atory in 2reen)ich, loo&ing at a +articularly interesting and uni3ue
item in their collections, a celestial globe from the late se.enteenth century, 4
globe such as this )ould normally be e5+ected to bear the constellations in their
standard form, and be used as a teaching aid for +eo+le learning the layout of the
night s&y, a .ital s&ill for na.igators, 6ome attracti.e s+ecimens may ha.e been
intended as gifts, +ossibly in an attem+t to gain +atronage from the )ealthy
aristocracy,
This +articular globe, ho)e.er, is something of a mystery, 7esigned by the
2erman mathematician and astronomer 8rhard "eigel %1#29:1#$$', it bears a
+la3ue )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
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, 2reat <ritain )as
re+resented by a 2aelic har+, from the /rish coat of arms, for 6+ain "eigel
re+laced =eo )ith three castles and a golden fleece, and the 7anish ele+hant
re+laced >rsa Ma?or, the 2reat <ear, @arious social classes )ere also
re+resented, such as traders, educators, artisans, and the Church, re+resented by
the lamb, )hich re+laced 4ries the ram, The institutions of monarchy and
nobility more generally )ere, amongst others, also gi.en their o)n crest
constellations,
"eigel loo&ed at the e5isting constellation names
and sha+es and matched as many as he could u+ to com+onents of coats of arms,
or the emblems of orders, -e too& the single bla;ons )hich best fitted the
e5isting constellations, li&e changing the constellation of 7raco, the dragon, to
the 0ussian dragon, and Pegasus, the )inged horse, to the =Aneburg horse, /
thin& this )as so that his ne) constellations )ould be easier to remember, as
+eo+le )ere already familiar )ith many of the sha+es* if many of the names also
correlated recognisably, then the transition to the ne) constellation scheme
)ould be 3uic&er, "eigel )as certainly &een that these constellations should be
taught and remembered* in a +am+hlet +ublished in 1#B#, he listed the ne)
constellations in a +oem com+rising sets of rhyming cou+lets, 6ignificantly, the
+am+hlet )as in 2erman, the .ernacular, instead of the academic =atin of many
of his +ublications, "eigel )anted this to be accessible, 4nother +am+hlet from
1#BB, also in 2erman, contained a +ro+osed curriculum for teaching astronomy
in schools using "eigel(s heraldic celestial globes,
4ttem+ts at constellation reform )ere not a ne) +henomenon, and +erha+s it
should not be so sur+rising, Constellations on star ma+s can be seen as celestial
countries, arbitrarily di.ided u+ by obser.ers to enable a starga;er to systematise
their .ie)ing of the hea.ens, They ma&e it easier for astronomers or astrologers
to share findings and to locate ob?ects re+eatedly and reliably, 6imilar to the
changeable +olitical boundaries of countries, the boundaries of constellations,
and thus the stars )hich com+rise them, are fi5ed by those )ith the +o)er and
influence to enforce them, 2rou+s of stars ha.e retained, on the )hole, age old
constellation names and sha+es because they )ere familiar, and constituted a
uni.ersal standard, -ence all astronomers &ne) )hich stars made u+ a certain
constellation, and this ga.e them a set of established reference frames )ithin
)hich to base their further obser.ations, <ut short of this ideal of the constancy
of the constellations across different generations and different countries, there is
no reason )hy the constellations should loo& s+ecifically as they do, or re+resent
the images and symbols besto)ed u+on them by +re.ious ci.ilisations, The
hea.ens reflect the .alues +ro?ected u+on them by the obser.er,
8rhard "eigel!s 4strosco+ium 1rbi 8uro+aeo 6acrum, 1#BB, sho)ing his ne)
constellations %from the )ebsite of the 2alileo Museum, Florence* clic& image to see large
.ersion'
8arlier in the se.enteenth century there had been one or t)o ma?or attem+ts to
o.erhaul the ma+ of the s&y, and some scholars tal& of a Cconstellation maniaD in
this +eriod, This may ha.e been due in a large +art to the recent in.ention of the
telesco+e at the beginning of the se.enteenth century, /ts use by astronomers,
starting )ith the 8nglish astronomer Thomas -arriot, re.ealed many more stars
than could +re.iously ha.e been seen )ith the na&ed eye, Many ne), often short:
li.ed constellations )ere +laced in the s&y, reflecting the +riorities of the
astronomers concerned, 6ome astronomers de+icted im+ortant geogra+hical
features, such as ri.ers, others +ut the heraldic crests of their )ealthy +atrons in
+ride of +lace among the stars, 1ne of the biggest reform attem+ts before "eigel
)as in 1#27, )hen a ne) star ma+ )as +ublished )hich re+laced all the
constellations )ith Catholic figures and symbols, such as saints, a+ostles, and
archangels, The reasoning of these reformers )as that it )as ina++ro+riate for
Christians to be using Pagan constellations and to be constantly e5+osed to such
heathen influences, /n the case of the +olitically moti.ated constellations, the
astronomers concerned )ere generally honouring a s+ecific monarch or +atron,
for e5am+le 8dmund -alley in <ritain honoured Charles // )ith his Charles(s
1a&, and Eohannes -e.elius in Poland honoured the Polish &ing Ean /// 6obies&i
)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 tendenciesF 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 +eriodF the re+lacement of e.ery single
constellation )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 2erman 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 2ermany, 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
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 3uestioning )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 increasingly
institutionalised 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,
1f 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 2ottfried =eibni; %)ho )as a
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,
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, 0ichard -inc&ley, Star-Names and their Meanings %2, 8, 6techert,
1B$$', re+rinted asF Star Names: Their ore and Meaning %7o.er
Publications /nc,, 1$#3' %a.ailable online here'
7e&&er, 8lly, !lobes at !reenwich %15ford >ni.ersity Press, 1$$$'
-orn, "erner, "ie #lten !loben der $orschungsbibliothek und des
Schlo%museums !otha %2otha, 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'
0id+ath, /an, 6tar Tales, online resource
htt+FHHmichaela&ay,)ord+ress,comH2012H02H27Hsociety:in:the:s&y:a:se.enteenth:century:
attem+t:to:redra):the:constellationsH