In 1577 Leonberg, Katharina Guldenmann took her small son “to a high place” for an advantageous view of a comet passing over what is now southwestern Germany. Three years later, the then eight-year-old boy’s father brought him out on a bitterly cold winter night to witness a lunar eclipse. Though in later years this boy… Continue reading Johannes Kepler: Mathematician and Mystic, Creator of a Contemporary World
Tag: astronomy
An armillary sphere to fit a medieval finger….
I didn’t know what an armillary sphere was until I saw this page and was prompted to look it up at Merriam Webster, where the definition is:- “ar·mil·la·ry sphere: an old astronomical instrument composed of rings showing the positions of important circles of the celestial sphere”. Then I realised that such spheres are often seen in… Continue reading An armillary sphere to fit a medieval finger….
Dogs and the Dog Days….
Like most other people, I once thought that Dog Days did indeed have something to do with dogs. I eventually learned that no, they acquired their name from Sirius, the Dog Star, which is at its brightest during certain weeks in summer. The Ancient Greeks (some sites credit the Romans, so you can… Continue reading Dogs and the Dog Days….
More Royal ancestry
Who do you think you are? has now completed eighteen series as British television’s predominant genealogy programmes. In that time, with an average of eight episodes per series, they have uncovered many celebrities with interesting lineage and some unexpected royal descendants, including Alexander Armstrong, Clare Balding, Danny Dyer, Frank Gardner and Sir Matthew Pinsent. Now… Continue reading More Royal ancestry
The Ravens of the Tower of London
The beautiful and irreplaceable Merlina… Reblogged from sparkypus.com A Medieval Potpourri It has recently been reported, 13 January 2021, that one of the famous Tower of London ravens has gone missing and it is now sadly presumed she has passed away. Merlina or Merlin as she was first known arrived at the Tower in 2007 after… Continue reading The Ravens of the Tower of London
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