Acompass rose orcompass star, sometimes called awind rose orrose of the winds, is apolardiagram displaying the orientation of thecardinal directions (north,east,south, andwest) and theirintermediate points. It is used oncompasses (includingmagnetic ones),maps (such ascompass rose networks), or monuments. It is particularly common innavigation systems, includingnautical charts,non-directional beacons (NDB),VHF omnidirectional range (VOR) systems,satellite navigation devices ("GPS").
Linguistic anthropological studies have shown that most human communities have four points ofcardinal direction. The names given to these directions are usually derived from either locally-specific geographic features (e.g. "towards the hills", "towards the sea") or from celestial bodies (especially the sun) or from atmospheric features (winds, temperature).[1] Most mobile populations tend to adopt sunrise and sunset for East and West and the direction from where different winds blow to denote North and South.
Theancient Greeks originally maintained distinct and separate systems of points and winds. The four Greekcardinal points (arctos,anatole,mesembria anddusis) were based on celestial bodies and used for orientation. The four Greekwinds (Boreas,Notos,Eurus,Zephyrus) were confined tometeorology. Nonetheless, both systems were gradually conflated, and wind names came eventually to denote cardinal directions as well.[2]
In his meteorological studies,Aristotle identified ten distinct winds: two north–south winds (Aparctias,Notos) and four sets of east–west winds blowing from different latitudes—theArctic Circle (Meses,Thrascias), thesummer solstice horizon (Caecias,Argestes), theequinox (Apeliotes,Zephyrus) and thewinter solstice (Eurus,Lips). Aristotle's system was asymmetric. To restore balance,Timosthenes of Rhodes added two more winds to produce the classical 12-wind rose, and began using the winds to denote geographical direction in navigation.Eratosthenes deducted two winds from Aristotle's system, to produce the classical eight-wind rose.[citation needed]
TheRomans (e.g.Seneca,Pliny) adopted the Greek 12-wind system, and replaced its names withLatin equivalents, e.g.Septentrio,Subsolanus,Auster,Favonius, etc. TheDe architectura of the Roman architectVitruvius describes 24 winds.[3]
According to the chroniclerEinhard (c. 830), the Frankish kingCharlemagne himself came up with his own names for the classical 12 winds.[4] During theMigration Period, theGermanic names for the cardinal directions entered theRomance languages, where they replaced theLatin namesborealis with north,australis with south,occidentalis with west andorientalis with east.[5]
The following table gives a rough equivalence of the classical 12-wind rose with the modern compass directions (The directions are imprecise since it is not clear at what angles the classical winds are supposed to be with each other; some have argued that they should be equally spaced at 30 degrees each; for more details, see the article onClassical compass winds).[citation needed]
| Wind | Greek | Roman | Frankish |
|---|---|---|---|
| N | Aparctias (ἀπαρκτίας) or Boreas (βoρέας) | Septentrio | Nordroni |
| NNE | Meses (μέσης) | Aquilo | Nordostroni |
| NE | Caicias (καικίας) | Caecias | Ostnordroni |
| E | Apeliotes (ἀπηλιώτης) | Subsolanus | Ostroni |
| SE | Eurus (εὖρος) | Vulturnus | Ostsundroni |
| SSE | Euronotus (εὐρόνοτος) | Euronotus | Sundostroni |
| S | Notos (νότος) | Auster | Sundroni |
| SSW | Libonotos (λιβόνοτος) | Libonotus orAustroafricus | Sundvuestroni |
| SW | Lips (λίψ) | Africus | Vuestsundroni |
| W | Zephyrus (ζέφυρος) | Favonius | Vuestroni |
| NW | Argestes (ἀργέστης) | Corus | Vuestnordroni |
| NNW | Thrascias (θρασκίας) | Thrascias orCircius | Nordvuestroni |
The sidereal compass rose demarcates the compass points by the position ofstars ("steering stars"; not to be confused withzenith stars)[6] in the night sky, rather than winds.Arab navigators in theRed Sea and theIndian Ocean, who depended oncelestial navigation, were using a 32-point sidereal compass rose before the end of the 10th century.[7][8][9] In theNorthern Hemisphere, the steady Pole Star (Polaris) was used for the N–S axis; the less-steadySouthern Cross had to do for theSouthern Hemisphere, as the southern pole star,Sigma Octantis, is too dim to be easily seen from Earth with the naked eye. The other thirty points on the sidereal rose were determined by the rising and setting positions of fifteen bright stars. Reading from North to South, in their rising and setting positions, these are:[10]
| Point | Star |
|---|---|
| N | Polaris |
| NbE | "the Guards" (Ursa Minor) |
| NNE | AlphaUrsa Major |
| NEbN | Alpha Cassiopeiae |
| NE | Capella |
| NEbE | Vega |
| ENE | Arcturus |
| EbN | thePleiades |
| E | Altair |
| EbS | Orion's belt |
| ESE | Sirius |
| SEbE | Beta Scorpionis |
| SE | Antares |
| SEbS | Alpha Centauri |
| SSE | Canopus |
| SbE | Achernar |
| S | Southern Cross |
The western half of the rose would be the same stars in their setting position. The true position of these stars is only approximate to their theoretical equidistantrhumbs on the sidereal compass. Stars with the samedeclination formed a "linear constellation" orkavenga to provide direction as the night progressed.[11]
A similar sidereal compass was used byPolynesian and Micronesian navigators in the Pacific Ocean, although different stars were used in a number of cases, clustering around the east–west axis.[12][6]
In Europe, the Classical 12-wind system continued to be taught in academic settings during the Medieval era, but seafarers in the Mediterranean came up with their own distinct 8-wind system. The mariners used names derived from theMediterranean lingua franca, composed principally ofLigurian, mixed withVenetian,Sicilian,Provençal,Catalan,Greek andArabic terms from around the Mediterranean basin.
.svg)
The exact origin of the mariner's eight-wind rose is obscure. Only two of its point names (Ostro,Libeccio) have Classical etymologies, the rest of the names seem to be autonomously derived. TwoArabic words stand out:Scirocco (SE) fromal-Sharq (الشرق – east in Arabic) and the variantGarbino (SW), fromal-Gharb (الغرب – west in Arabic). This suggests the mariner's rose was probably acquired by southern Italian seafarers; not from their classical Roman ancestors, but rather fromNorman Sicily in the 11th to 12th centuries.[13] The coasts of theMaghreb andMashriq are SW and SE of Sicily respectively; theGreco (a NE wind), reflects the position of Byzantine-held Calabria-Apulia to the northeast of Arab Sicily, while theMaestro (a NW wind) is a reference to theMistral wind that blows from the southern French coast towards northwest Sicily.[citation needed]
The 32-point compass used for navigation in the Mediterranean by the 14th century, had increments of 111⁄4° between points. Only the eight principal winds (N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW) were given special names. The eighthalf-winds just combined the names of the two principal winds, e.g. Greco-Tramontana for NNE, Greco-Levante for ENE, and so on.Quarter-winds were more cumbersomely phrased, with the closest principal wind named first and the next-closest principal wind second, e.g. "Quarto di Tramontana verso Greco" (literally, "one quarter wind from North towards Northeast", i.e. North by East), and "Quarto di Greco verso Tramontana" ("one quarter wind from NE towards N", i.e. Northeast by North).Boxing the compass (naming all 32 winds) was expected of all Medieval mariners.[citation needed]
In the earliest medievalportolan charts of the 14th century, compass roses were depicted as mere collections of color-coded compassrhumb lines: black for the eight main winds, green for the eight half-winds and red for the sixteen quarter-winds.[14] The average portolan chart had sixteen such roses (or confluence of lines), spaced out equally around the circumference of a large implicit circle.
The cartographerCresques Abraham ofMallorca, in hisCatalan Atlas of 1375, was the first to draw an ornate compass rose on a map. By the end of the 15th century, Portuguese cartographers began drawing multiple ornate compass roses throughout the chart, one upon each of the sixteen circumference roses (unless the illustration conflicted with coastal details).[15]
The points on a compass rose were frequently labeled by the initial letters of the mariner's principal winds (T, G, L, S, O, L, P, M). From the outset, the custom also began to distinguish the north from the other points by a specific visual marker. Medieval Italian cartographers typically used a simple arrowhead or circumflex-hatted T (an allusion to the compass needle) to designate the north, while theMajorcan cartographic school typically used a stylizedPole Star for its north mark.[16] The use of thefleur-de-lis as north mark was introduced byPedro Reinel, and quickly became customary in compass roses (and is still often used today). Old compass roses also often used aChristian cross at Levante (E), indicating the direction ofJerusalem from the point of view of the Mediterranean sea.[17]
The twelve Classical winds (or a subset of them) were also sometimes depicted on portolan charts, albeit not on a compass rose, but rather separately on small disks or coins on the edges of the map.
The compass rose was also depicted ontraverse boards used on board ships to record headings sailed at set time intervals.
.jpg)
.jpg)
The contemporary compass rose appears as two rings, one smaller and set inside the other. The outside ring denotestruecardinal directions while the smaller inside ring denotesmagnetic cardinal directions.True north refers to the geographical location of theNorth Pole whilemagnetic north refers to the direction towards which the north pole of a magnetic object (as found in acompass) will point. The angular difference betweentrue andmagnetic north is calledvariation, which varies depending on location.[18] The angular difference between magnetic heading and compass heading is calleddeviation which varies by vessel and its heading. North arrows are often included in contemporary maps as part of themap layout.The modern compass rose has eightprincipal winds. Listed clockwise, these are:
| Compass point | Abbr. | Heading | Traditional wind |
|---|---|---|---|
| North | N | 0° | Tramontana |
| North-east | NE | 45° (45°×1) | Greco orGrecale |
| East | E | 90° (45°×2) | Levante |
| South-east | SE | 135° (45°×3) | Scirocco |
| South | S | 180° (45°×4) | Ostro or Mezzogiorno |
| South-west | SW | 225° (45°×5) | Libeccio or Garbino |
| West | W | 270° (45°×6) | Ponente |
| North-west | NW | 315° (45°×7) | Maestro,Maestrale orMistral |
Although modern compasses use the names of the eight principal directions (N, NE, E, SE, etc.), older compasses use the traditional Italianate wind names of Medieval origin (Tramontana, Greco, Levante, etc.).
Four-point compass roses use only the four "basic winds" or "cardinal directions" (North, East, South, West), with angles of difference at 90°.
Eight-point compass roses use the eightprincipal winds—that is, the four cardinal directions (N, E, S, W) plus the four "intercardinal" or "ordinal directions" (NE, SE, SW, NW), at angles of difference of 45°.
Twelve-point compass roses, with markings 30° apart, are often painted onairport ramps to assist with the adjustment of aircraft magnetic compass compensators.[19]
.jpg)
Sixteen-point compass roses are constructed by bisecting the angles of the principal winds to come up with intermediate compass points, known ashalf-winds, at angles of difference of 221⁄2°. The names of the half-winds are simply combinations of the principal winds to either side, principal then ordinal. E.g. North-northeast (NNE), East-northeast (ENE), etc. Usinggradians, of which there are 400 in a circle,[20] the sixteen-point rose has twenty-five gradians per point.
Thirty-two-point compass roses are constructed by bisecting these angles, and coming up withquarter-winds at 111⁄4° angles of difference. Quarter-wind names are constructed with the names "X by Y", which can be read as "one quarter wind from X toward Y", where X is one of the eight principal winds and Y is one of the two adjacent cardinal directions. For example, North-by-east (NbE) is one quarter wind from North towards East, Northeast-by-north (NEbN) is one quarter wind from Northeast toward North. Naming all 32 points on the rose is called "boxing the compass".
The 32-point rose has 111⁄4° between points, but is easily found by halving divisions and may have been easier for those not using a 360° circle. Eight points make a right angle and a point is easy to estimate allowing bearings to be given such as "two points off the starboard bow".[21]
