Look up weather vane in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an
instrument used for showing the
direction of the
wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word vane comes from the
Old English word fana, meaning "flag".
Although partly functional, wind vanes are generally decorative, often featuring the traditional
cockerel design with letters indicating the
points of the compass. Other common motifs include ships, arrows, and horses. Not all wind vanes have pointers. In a sufficiently strong wind, the head of the arrow or cockerel (or equivalent) will indicate the direction from which the wind is blowing.
Wind vanes are also found on small
wind turbines to keep the wind turbine pointing into the wind.
History
The oldest textual reference in China to a weather vane comes from the Huainanzi, dating from around 139 BC, which mentions a thread or streamer that another commentator interprets as "wind-observing fan" (hou feng shin, 侯風扇).[1]
The
Tower of the Winds in the agora in Hellenistic
Athens once bore on its roof a weather vane in the form of a bronze
Triton holding a rod in his outstretched hand, rotating as the wind changed direction. Below this a
frieze depicted the eight Greek
wind deities. The eight-metre-high structure also featured
sundials, and a
water clock inside. It dated from around 50 BC.[2]
Military documents from the
Three Kingdoms period of China (220–280 AD) refer to the weather vane as "five ounces" (wu liang, 五兩), named after the weight of its materials.[1] By the third century, Chinese weather vanes were shaped like birds and took the name of "wind-indicating bird" (xiang feng wu, 相風烏). The Sanfu huangtu (三輔黃圖), a third-century book written by Miao Changyan about the palaces at
Chang'an, describes a bird-shaped weather vane situated on a tower roof.[1]
The oldest surviving weather vane with the shape of a rooster is the Gallo di Ramperto, made in 820 and now preserved in the
Museo di Santa Giulia in
Brescia,
Lombardy.[3][4]
Pope Gregory I (in office 590 to 604) regarded the cock as "the most suitable emblem of Christianity", being the emblem of
Saint Peter (a reference to
Luke 22:34 in which
Jesus predicts that Peter will deny him three times before the rooster crows).[6][7]
As a result of this,[6] rooster representations gradually came into use as a weather vanes on church steeples, and in the ninth century
Pope Nicholas I[8] (in office 858 to 867) ordered the figure to be placed on every church steeple.[9]
One alternative theory about the origin of weathercocks on church steeples sees them as emblems of the vigilance of the clergy calling the people to prayer.[10]
Another theory says that the cock was not a Christian symbol[11] but an emblem of the sun[12] derived from the Goths.[13]
Early weather-vanes had very ornamental pointers, but modern weather-vanes usually feature simple arrows that dispense with the directionals because the instrument is connected to a remote reading station. An early example of this was installed in the Royal Navy's
Admiralty building in London – the vane on the roof was mechanically linked to a large dial in the boardroom so senior officers were always aware of the wind direction when they met.
Modern aerovanes combine the directional vane with an
anemometer (a device for measuring the speed of the wind). Co-locating both instruments allows them to use the same axis (a vertical rod) and provides a coordinated readout.
A challenger for the title of the world's largest weather vane is located in
Whitehorse, Yukon. The weather vane is a retired
Douglas DC-3 CF-CPY atop a swiveling support. Located at the Yukon Transportation Museum[17] beside
Whitehorse International Airport, the weather vane is used by pilots to determine wind direction, used as a landmark by tourists and enjoyed by locals. The weather vane only requires a 5 knot wind to rotate.[18]
A challenger for the world's tallest weather vane[citation needed] is located in
Westlock,
Alberta. The classic weather vane that reaches to 50 feet (15 m) is topped by a 1942 Case Model D Tractor. This landmark is located at the Canadian Tractor Museum.
Slang term
The term "weathervane" is also a
slang word for a politician who has frequent changes of opinion. The
National Assembly of Quebec has banned the use of this slang term as an insult after its use by members of the legislature.[19]
Literary references
A copper-plated antique weathervane is the subject of the mystery in the children's book/Young Adult book entitled "The Mystery of the Phantom Grasshopper" (Trixie Belden series #18) by Kathryn Kenny, 1977. ISBN 0-307-21589-X. Paperback.
^
abcNeedham, Joseph; Ling, Wang (1959), Science and Civilisation in China: Mathematics and the Sciences of the Heavens and the Earth, vol. 3, Cambridge University Press, p. 478
^Rossana Prestini, Vicende faustiniane, in AA.VV.,La chiesa e il monastero benedettino di San Faustino Maggiore in Brescia, Gruppo Banca Lombarda, La Scuola, Brescia 1999, p. 243
^Fedele Savio, Gli antichi vescovi d'Italia. La Lombardia, Bergamo 1929, p. hi 188
^ST PETER'S BASILICA.ORG - Providing information on St. Peter's Basilica
and Square in the Vatican City - The Treasury Museum
[1]
^Bulletin of the Pennsylvania Museum. Vol. 1–5. Pennsylvania Museum of Art, Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art. 1906. p. 14.
Bishop, Robert; Coblentz, Patricia (1981), A Gallery of American Weather Vanes and Whirligigs, New York: Dutton,
ISBN9780525931515
Burnell, Marcia (1991), Heritage Above: a tribute to Maine's tradition of weather vanes, Camden, ME: Down East Books,
ISBN9780892722785
Crépeau, Pierre; Portelance, Pauline (1990), Pointing at the Wind: the weather-vane collection of the Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, Quebec: Canadian Museum of Civilization,
ISBN9780660129044
Messent, Claude John Wilson (1937), The Weather Vanes of Norfolk & Norwich, Norwich: Fletcher & Son Limited,
OCLC5318669
Miller, Steve (1984), The Art of the Weathervane, Exton, PA: Schiffer Pub.,
ISBN9780887400056
Mockridge, Patricia; Mockridge, Philip (1990), Weather Vanes of Great Britain, London: Hale,
ISBN9780709037224
Needham, Albert (1953), English Weather Vanes, their stories and legends from medieval to modern times, Haywards Heath, Sussex: C. Clarke,
OCLC1472757
Nesbitt, Ilse Buchert; Nesbitt, Alexander (1970), Weathercocks and Weathercreatures; some examples of early American folk art from the collection of the Shelburne Museum, Vermont, Newport, RI: Third & Elm Press,
OCLC155708
Pagdin, W. E. (1949). The Story of the Weather Cock. Stockton-on-Tees: E. Appleby.
Reaveley, Mabel E.; Kunhardt, Priscilla (1984), Weathervane Secrets, Dublin, NH: W. L. Bauhan,
ISBN9780872330757