I often used to visit the Museum of the History of Science in Oxford, and I used to admire the 1542 Nuremberg paper astrolabe. (I see from the online catalogue they also have a 1584 Paris paper astrolabe.)
Although the brass astrolabes are more common in museums and collections, and are a lot more shiney and impressive looking, I thought the paper and wood ones looked a lot more possible to make as a project.
I made this little knife in 1995 or 6, when I was experimenting with blacksmithing techniques. It has a pattern-welded blade, formed from twisted bars of iron with seperate steel edges, all forge-welded together. This was the only finished blade I made using pattern-welding.
As part of a big push to re-do my stringing paper at earlygaelicharp.info, I was searching for the reference to the tiompán with strings of “ór dearg” (red gold), which Ann Heymann refers to in her article Strings of Gold.
I was pleased when I finally tracked it down, to find that the person holding the instrument is Aonghus, son of Boann and the Dagda, who lived in Newgrange, at Brú na Bóinne. This is the same Aonghus an Bhroga referred to in the praise poem to Aonghas Òig, Rì Innse Gall, which I was working on last year.
I was reading the descriptions of people’s appearance in Togail Bruidne Dá Derga (The destruction of Daderga’s hostel), an early medieval Irish story from the Ulster Cycle, when I was interested to note these quite vivid descriptions of people at the court of the Irish High King, Conaire Mór mac Eterscél, who is said to have reigned in the first century BC or AD.
Some years ago, I got the CD of Willie Ruff’s ‘realisation for the ear’ of the planetary tones from Kepler’s Harmonices Mundi of 1619. Just recently I noticed that his web page has been updated with a very interesting Youtube interview where he discusses this project. Well worth a listen: Continue reading The Harmony of the World
I found this piece that I wrote in 2008, and I thought it would be a nice post here for the shortest day and the longest night!
There is something very primal about slashing an ogam flesc onto a wand. Slash, slash, slash slash, 4 parallel strokes, is Saille. Continue reading Ogam as script
I find myself, before a Scottish audience, in a position of phonetic ambiguity. Do I say Kelt and Keltic, or Selt and Seltic? As an Englishman, I use the former pronounciation from habit, though aware that Scottish usage favours the soft ‘c’, as does the O.E.D., giving ‘Keltic’ only as a secondary alternative.
from Stuart Piggot, Celts, Saxons and the Early Antiquarians, The O’Donnell Lecture 1966, Edinburgh University Press, 1967, p.4
Earlier this year the Historical Harp Society of Ireland acquired an interesting harp, made by James McFall in Belfast.
I don’t know the exact date of manufacture, but it must be between about 1900 and 1950. We know that McFall adverised the availability of harps withe wire strings as well as the more usual gut-strung revival instruments.
Today was the (delayed) St Andrews day graduations in the University of St Andrews. The university requested half an hour of bellringing before and after all three ceremonies plus the chapel service – a total of seven 30 minute sessions! Continue reading Graduation ringing
10 years ago today, on 26th November 2004, I started the website http://earlygaelicharp.info
Thankyou to everyone who has helped and followed the project over that time!
