Middle Ages Exploration Tools
The Middle Ages, also known as the Medieval Era, is the turbulent period of European history that began after the fall of the Roman Empire, about 450 a.d., to the rise of the Renaissance, more than 1,000 years later, around 1500 a.d. Several tools aided explorers such as Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus and Vasco da Gama on their quests during the Middle Ages, and many of these tools are still used today, though they are greatly improved.
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Astrolabe
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The astrolabe helped explorers find their way on open water during the Middle Ages. Invented by the ancient Greeks studying the astronomical heavens more than 2,000 years ago, astrolabes are portable devices that helped medieval sailors determine latitude by measuring the distance of the sun, stars and other celestial bodies above the horizon. Introduced to Europe during the 12th century, astrolabes were the most popular astronomical instruments among medieval explorers until about 1650, and they are still appreciated today for their unique capability to aid in navigation.
Magnetic Compass
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The magnetic compass was invented during the 12th century, and it came to be the most important tool of navigation explorers used to navigate the world's waterways. During the Middle Ages, European sailors improved Chinese and Arab methods of finding true north by balancing a magnetized needle on a pivot, and by the 13th century they used this tool extensively during travels and explorations. The Culture and Communications website states that one of the first mentions of a magnetic mariner's compass in medieval literature is in Alexander Neckham's "On the Nature of Things," written in 1190.
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Maps
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Reliable maps were an important, and relatively new, tool used by European explorers during the Middle Ages. Portuguese mapmakers of the Medieval Era were the first cartographers, and the "handy maps," known as "portolani," they drew were the most reliable sources of information about known coastlines explorers of the Middle Ages had to sail along and navigate. Maps were the products of combined information and reports from travelers, ships' logs and other cartographers back from exploring. Manuals with information about common routes, tides and currents were often prepared to accompany maps made by medieval cartographers.
Mariner's Quadrant
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The mariner's quadrant is a simple navigational tool used by explorers during the Middle Ages to determine the altitude of heavenly bodies. Named after its shape, a quarter of a circle, mariner's quadrants are curved edges that are divided from 0 to 90 degrees. A right angle is at the apex of a mariner's quadrant, from which a cord with a small brass or lead weight, called a "plumb-bob," is attached. Two upright pieces with holes, for sighting, are mounted along one straight edge from which, when the mariner's quadrant is held vertically, the plumb-line falls in line with the degree markings to determine an angle of elevation.
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References
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