The Borghesi Astronomical Clock in the Museum of History and Technology: Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology, Paper 35Bedini, Silvio A.
History
The Borghesi Astronomical Clock in the Museum of History and Technology: Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology, Paper 35
Bedini, Silvio A.
Astronomical clocks
AERAS is derived from _aera_, _aerae_, which originally meant a given
number, usually used in regard to money. The word was later extended to
mean a number used in any calculation, and finally it came to mean a
certain time from which subsequent times were counted, e.g., _Anno
Domini_, after the Birth of Christ.
COLURI or the Colures, which are two circles in the heavenly sphere,
passing through the poles of the world and cutting each other at right
angles: the one passes through the equinoctial points of Aries and Libra
and is called _Colurus Aequinoctiorum_ or equinoctial colure; the other
touches the _solstitialia_ of Cancer and Capricorn and is called
_Colurus Solstitiorum_ or solstitial colure. They are called _Colurus_,
which is translated as "mutilated tails," for the part which emerges in
the Antarctic is not visible and is quasitruncated.
ECLIPTICA or the ecliptic, is an imaginary line in the heavens in which
the sun was supposed to have performed its annual course.
EPICYCLUS or epicycle, is a small orb which, being fixed in the deferent
of a planet, is carried along with its motion and yet, with its own
peculiar motion, carries the body of the planet fastened to it round
about its proper center.
IRIS or the rainbow. In mythology, Iris was the daughter of Thaumatis
and Electra, messenger of Juno of the goddesses and Jove of the gods.
SOLSTITIUM or the solstice, is that time when the sun seems to stand
still for a short time: when the sign of Cancer enters the month of June
(equivalent to the summer solstice, when the sun begins to recede from
us); and when the sign of Capricorn enters the month of December
(equivalent to the winter solstice, when the sun begins to accede to
us).
* * * * *
Last Years
There is a break in the story of Borghesi and Bertolla for the next five
years. The second clock may have been the last project on which the
priest and the clockmaker worked together, for very good reasons. The
two clocks must have represented a considerable financial investment in
materials and in time, and neither of the men was in sufficiently
affluent circumstances to undertake the luxury of such a hobby without
some form of recompense. The publication of the two little volumes must
have also been done at Father Borghesi's expense. The income of the
parish priest in a small mountain village could not have been equal to
the relatively great costs of the projects that had been completed. It
seems probable that the priest attempted to sell his clocks to a wealthy
patron, perhaps the Baron of Cles, or he may have attempted to obtain
some form of recompense for the continuation of his research. However,
no records can be found of such patronage if it existed. If Borghesi had
received financial assistance while the projects were in progress, he
would certainly have made adequate mention of the patron's name and
assistance in one or the other of the two volumes which he
published.[17]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account