Annotated
Resources for Studies in Astronomy Relating to the periods of Study
within the S.C.A.
by HL Taran Saraev m.k.a. Charles Hill
Getting Started in Pre-17th Century Astronomy with a Living History Focus
Pre-17th century astronomy is a vast subject that can be covered from many different angles. But for anyone who is seriously interested in the topic from a SCA, living history, or academic prescriptive there is a clear path. I firmly believe that it is worth your time and money to save up and focus on two books. The first is The
History and Practice of Ancient Astronomy by James Evans. This is the bible of the history and philosophy of pre-17th century astronomy. It not only tells you the history, but how they did it. That means how you can do it too. It also has some instrument plans and cut outs for making your own scientific instrument. If you only by one book on medieval and ancient astronomy this must be it. Read it 100 times, follow along and work through the activities. The second book really can wait till you have read through The
History and Practice of Ancient Astronomy at least two or three times. The second book is Ptolemy's
Almagest, I am recommending an edition translated by G.J. Toomer. At the moment Toomer is the best translation I have found for the scholarly approach, aka keeping the maths straight.The Almagest was the training manual for every Astronomer through the late 16th century, beyond in some cases. You learned astronomy with the Almagest and then went on to do your work. Most astronomers even back then could not start with the Almagest they needed a pre-Almagest so consider Evan's The
History and Practice of Ancient Astronomy as your pre-Almagest. Evan's book is doable with out much math, but do his math anyway, it will help in the long run. The Almagest is math heavy but Evan's book will prepare you for it. You will be tempted by cheaper, easier, and more friendly books. If you give in to them you will learn neat facts from them, but you will not be doing pre-17th century astronomy. To do that like a pre-17th century scientist you will need the knowledge from The
History and Practice of Ancient Astronomy and the Almagest. You will have to do four times the amount of work to get the information anther way. By studying both volumes you will have the keys to all other serious historical astronomical texts. Considered them prerequisite courses for the good stuff. Evan's book is enough to get you going and it is very accessible, even if you never move to the Almagest. I have really belabored the point, but you will save yourself a lot of headache if you follow this advice...This is the Way!
Books
Brennan, Martin. The Stones of Time: Calendars, Sundials, and Stone Chambers of Ancient Ireland. Rochester, Vermont; Inner Traditions international, 1994. An in depth free thinking work full of sketches and small print. There is a lot here, read decerningly. If you have interest in archeoastronomy or just in ancient Irish archaeology sites and stone monuments check it out, you will love it.
Bruyn,
W. F. J Morzer. The
Cross-Staff: History and Development of a Navigational Instrument.
;Rijksmuseum Nederlands Scheepvaart Museum, 1994. A good book on the Cross-Staff. (Out of Print...Alas)
Cellarius, Andreas. Harmonia Macrocosmica of 1660: The Finest Atlas of the Heavens. Koln, Germany; Taschen, 2006. The largest coffee table book I have ever seen. It is mostly an oversize facsimile printing of Andreas Cellarus Harmonia Macrocosmica of 1660. Seems to have both the English and the Latin throughout. It is a beauty as well as an expensive acquisition no longer in print. Valuable for scholars and collectors. It is so large the details in the plates are marvelous down to the smallest dot.
Cellarius, Andreas. Harmonia Macrocosmica of 1660: The Finest Atlas of the Heavens. Koln, Germany; Taschen, 2006. The largest coffee table book I have ever seen. It is mostly an oversize facsimile printing of Andreas Cellarus Harmonia Macrocosmica of 1660. Seems to have both the English and the Latin throughout. It is a beauty as well as an expensive acquisition no longer in print. Valuable for scholars and collectors. It is so large the details in the plates are marvelous down to the smallest dot.
Evans,
James. The
History and Practice of Ancient Astronomy.
Oxford, UK; Oxford Press, 1998. This is the manual for practicing
period astronomy. It will give you the tools to start observing the
heavens the old ways. This is the best place to start, everything
else can be added on from here. This book is even usable without a
knowledge deep of mathematics.
Fisher,
Dennis. Latitude
Hooks and Azimuth Rings.
Camden, ME; International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press, 1994. 18
Traditional Navigational Instruments. A great how-to instrument book.
Most all of them are period and all have application to period
astronomy. Its like a traditional navigation tool building books for scouts. This book is very light on math, fun too. Don't Underestimate!
Krupp, E.C. Beyond the Blue Horizon. New York; Oxford University Press, 1992. This interesting work tells the stories and myths of the Sun, Moon, Stars, & Planets in various cultural contexts. People have been telling stories about the sky for all of human history. This work collects various stories, myths, and legions as it shares them in historical and cultural contexts. It is a valuable work for working with the public, finding inspiration, and understanding how humans have looked at these things over time.
Landes, David S. Revolution in Time: Clocks and the Making of the Modern World. Cambridge MA; Belnap Press of Harvard University Press 1983. An excellent introduction to clock making in the Middle Ages with some mention of Ancient China.
Mitchell, John. Secretes of the Stones. Rochester, Vermont; Inner Traditions international, 1989. Yet another work on archeoastronomy and ancient archaeology sites. Always read these types of thing discerningly, though this one doesn’t seem to bad maybe a touch of antiquarian thought.
Morrison, James, E. The Astrolabe. Rehoboth Beach, DE; Janus, 2007. This is the Authoritative book on astrolabes. For anyone who wants to be good on the subject a must have. Covers all aspects. Sadly out of print. If you find a copy under $300 and it doesn't send you to the streets don't miss the opportunity.
Murphy, Anthony, and Richard Moore. Island of the Setting Sun: In Search of Ireland’s Ancient Astronomers. Dublin; The Liffey Press, 2008. A kind of archeoastronmey book for the public. It goes over most of Ireland's big sites that may have astronomical significance and surveys them in an accessible way while not veering away form the academic prescriptive. Not to take away form the text, but if like Irish archaeology sites the glossy pictures may be worth the price.
Krupp, E.C. Beyond the Blue Horizon. New York; Oxford University Press, 1992. This interesting work tells the stories and myths of the Sun, Moon, Stars, & Planets in various cultural contexts. People have been telling stories about the sky for all of human history. This work collects various stories, myths, and legions as it shares them in historical and cultural contexts. It is a valuable work for working with the public, finding inspiration, and understanding how humans have looked at these things over time.
Landes, David S. Revolution in Time: Clocks and the Making of the Modern World. Cambridge MA; Belnap Press of Harvard University Press 1983. An excellent introduction to clock making in the Middle Ages with some mention of Ancient China.
Mitchell, John. Secretes of the Stones. Rochester, Vermont; Inner Traditions international, 1989. Yet another work on archeoastronomy and ancient archaeology sites. Always read these types of thing discerningly, though this one doesn’t seem to bad maybe a touch of antiquarian thought.
Morrison, James, E. The Astrolabe. Rehoboth Beach, DE; Janus, 2007. This is the Authoritative book on astrolabes. For anyone who wants to be good on the subject a must have. Covers all aspects. Sadly out of print. If you find a copy under $300 and it doesn't send you to the streets don't miss the opportunity.
Murphy, Anthony, and Richard Moore. Island of the Setting Sun: In Search of Ireland’s Ancient Astronomers. Dublin; The Liffey Press, 2008. A kind of archeoastronmey book for the public. It goes over most of Ireland's big sites that may have astronomical significance and surveys them in an accessible way while not veering away form the academic prescriptive. Not to take away form the text, but if like Irish archaeology sites the glossy pictures may be worth the price.
Neugebauer,
O. The
Exact Sciences in Antiquity.
New York; Dover Publications, 1969. A good scholarly survey of Ancient
Mathematics and Astronomy. Focused primarily on Babylonian and Greek traditions.
North, John. Cosmos: The Illustrated History of Astronomy and Cosmology. Chicago; University of Chicago Press, 2008. An excellent, thorough, and scholarly history of Astronomy form the beginning of human history through the writing of the book with pictures sparsely strewn in for understanding. This is a history book for historians and scientists, and maybe anyone else who is looking for more than an afternoon’s read. Awesome but not for the faint of heart.
Pasachoff, Jay M. and John R. Percy. Teaching and Learning Astronomy: Effective Strategies for Educators Worldwide. Cambridge University Press, 2006. Arguably one of the most realistic outcomes of studying the history of astronomy is public out reach and education. As such it is useful to having teaching resources. While this book is focused on modern astronomy it is very useful for anyone involved in astronomy and education. Highly recomeneded.
An excellent collection of scientific astronomical instruments from The Adler Planetarium. Many models of interest to pre-17th century studies. Volume one focuses on instruments from the Middle East.
Ruggles, Clive LN. Handbook of Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy. ;Springer, 2015. This is the three volume college library encyclopedia-like reference for Archeoastronmey and Ethnoastronomy. Usually over a thousand dollars. It is a dream acquisition. But for folks interested in astronomy in history, archaeology, and differing cultural contexts...This is your handbook.
North, John. Cosmos: The Illustrated History of Astronomy and Cosmology. Chicago; University of Chicago Press, 2008. An excellent, thorough, and scholarly history of Astronomy form the beginning of human history through the writing of the book with pictures sparsely strewn in for understanding. This is a history book for historians and scientists, and maybe anyone else who is looking for more than an afternoon’s read. Awesome but not for the faint of heart.
Pasachoff, Jay M. and John R. Percy. Teaching and Learning Astronomy: Effective Strategies for Educators Worldwide. Cambridge University Press, 2006. Arguably one of the most realistic outcomes of studying the history of astronomy is public out reach and education. As such it is useful to having teaching resources. While this book is focused on modern astronomy it is very useful for anyone involved in astronomy and education. Highly recomeneded.
An excellent collection of scientific astronomical instruments from The Adler Planetarium. Many models of interest to pre-17th century studies. Volume one focuses on instruments from the Middle East.
Ruggles, Clive LN. Handbook of Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy. ;Springer, 2015. This is the three volume college library encyclopedia-like reference for Archeoastronmey and Ethnoastronomy. Usually over a thousand dollars. It is a dream acquisition. But for folks interested in astronomy in history, archaeology, and differing cultural contexts...This is your handbook.
Sterling,
Mary Jane. Trigonometry
for Dummies.
Hoboken, NJ; Wiley Publishing, 2005. This book should get most folks
through the math in most of books about astronomy. While you can to
do a lot with period astronomy with no math. Most of the books
available on the topic are fairly math heavy. It may be good for a
refresher.
Stott, Carole. Celestial Charts: Antique Maps of the Heavens. New York; Crescent Books, 1991. A quite large coffee table book. This is a treasure trove of plates of star charts, tool, and tintinnabulations mostly all before 1700 with a few expectations toward the back. All of them are blown up to a great size for studying detail.
Stott, Carole. Celestial Charts: Antique Maps of the Heavens. New York; Crescent Books, 1991. A quite large coffee table book. This is a treasure trove of plates of star charts, tool, and tintinnabulations mostly all before 1700 with a few expectations toward the back. All of them are blown up to a great size for studying detail.
Toomer,
G.J. Ptolemy's
Almagest.
Princeton, New Jersey; Princeton University Press, 1988. This is a
good translation of Ptolemy's Almagest. The authority & handbook
on astronomy from it's publication in the first half of the second
century A.D. until the sixteenth century A.D. Can we say must have.
Anyone even remotely interested in period astronomy should hunt down
one of the translations of this book.
Walters,
Derek. The
Complete Guide to Chinese Astrology.
London; Watkins Publishing, 2005. Best book in English on the
subject. Key to understanding this part of the ancient tradition. It should go without saying that this is important for understanding the history and practice of Chinese Astronomy.
Waugh, Albert E. Sundials: Their Theory and Construction. New York; Dover Publications, 1973. A book for engineers and scientific minded tinkers about how to construct sundials and how thy work. This book contains little in the way of history, but is invaluable for the theory and construction information. Full of math, knowledge of at least trigonometry would be useful.
Webster, Roderick and Marjorie. Western Astrolabes (Historic Scientific Instruments of the Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum: Volume I). Chicago; Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum, 2007. An excellent collection of scientific astronomical instruments from The Adler Planetarium. Many models of interest to pre-17th century studies. Volume one focuses on instruments from Europe.
Zachary, Michael A. “The Astrolabe Part 1: Understanding the Astrolabe.” The Complete Anachronist, 147, 2010. The Complete Anachronist is the Official Journal for the Society for Creative Anachronism. Each issue is devoted to a different topic. This is part one of two on Astrolabes by Michael Zachary. Both are brief and thorough. They are great introductions to the topic. They draw heavily on the larger and more expensive The Astrolabe by James E. Morrison. Part 1 is mostly focused on understanding the Astrolabe and it’s parts.
Zachary, Michael A. “The Astrolabe Part II: Making An Astrolabe.” The Complete Anachronist, 148, 2010. The Complete Anachronist is the Official Journal for the Society for Creative Anachronism. Each issue is devoted to a different topic. This is part two of two on Astrolabes by Michael Zachary. Both are brief and thorough. They are great introductions to the topic. They draw heavily on larger and more expensive The Astrolabe by James E. Morrison. Part II is focused on constructing your own Astrolabe.
Waugh, Albert E. Sundials: Their Theory and Construction. New York; Dover Publications, 1973. A book for engineers and scientific minded tinkers about how to construct sundials and how thy work. This book contains little in the way of history, but is invaluable for the theory and construction information. Full of math, knowledge of at least trigonometry would be useful.
Webster, Roderick and Marjorie. Western Astrolabes (Historic Scientific Instruments of the Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum: Volume I). Chicago; Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum, 2007. An excellent collection of scientific astronomical instruments from The Adler Planetarium. Many models of interest to pre-17th century studies. Volume one focuses on instruments from Europe.
Zachary, Michael A. “The Astrolabe Part 1: Understanding the Astrolabe.” The Complete Anachronist, 147, 2010. The Complete Anachronist is the Official Journal for the Society for Creative Anachronism. Each issue is devoted to a different topic. This is part one of two on Astrolabes by Michael Zachary. Both are brief and thorough. They are great introductions to the topic. They draw heavily on the larger and more expensive The Astrolabe by James E. Morrison. Part 1 is mostly focused on understanding the Astrolabe and it’s parts.
Zachary, Michael A. “The Astrolabe Part II: Making An Astrolabe.” The Complete Anachronist, 148, 2010. The Complete Anachronist is the Official Journal for the Society for Creative Anachronism. Each issue is devoted to a different topic. This is part two of two on Astrolabes by Michael Zachary. Both are brief and thorough. They are great introductions to the topic. They draw heavily on larger and more expensive The Astrolabe by James E. Morrison. Part II is focused on constructing your own Astrolabe.
Internet
Sources
Astrolabes @ University of Hawaiihttp://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/tops/astlabe.html
This is a college page holding some interesting astrolabe information. More astrolabe print out generation, construction, history and usage information. Compare with The Astrolabe Project.
The Astrolabe Project
http://www.astrolabeproject.com/
A great and fun site with a verity of information. The site includes both an astrolabe simulator and generator. There is enough here to help you figure out how to use an astrolabe with good thought on construction and print out versions. Compare with Astrolabes @ University of Hawaii
Astronomy 123: Galaxies and the Expanding Universe
http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/ast123/
The course material of Prof. James Schombert at the University of Oregon. Two chapters are pertinent to our work they are Ancient and Medieval Cosmology. This is not the best coverage of the material and intended for college freshman. It is somewhat academic and there are good charts and pictures to aid with concepts. Of course there is a better coverage of modern astronomy as well.
Make your own Astrolabe
https://in-the-sky.org/astrolabe/index.php
Another build your own astrolabe style site. There design seems to match that of Evan's The History and Practice of Ancient Astronomy. there is a breakdown of the Astrolabe into eleven pages very detailed.
Richard A. Paselk - Replica Scientific Instruments
https://sites.google.com/humboldt.edu/paselkr1/medieval-science/instruments
The web page of a college professor and SCA member. This is real good scholarship. Great place to go to learn how to use and make period astronomical instruments. Great place for book titles too. One of the places I got my real start.
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