Compass: Difference between revisions
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* Independent creation of the compass in the Europe and then its transfer thereafter to the Middle East. | * Independent creation of the compass in the Europe and then its transfer thereafter to the Middle East. | ||
The latter two are supported by evidence of the earlier mentioning of the compass in European works rather than Arabic. The first European mention of a magnetized needle and its use among sailors occurs in | The latter two are supported by evidence of the earlier mentioning of the compass in European works rather than Arabic. The first European mention of a magnetized needle and its use among sailors occurs in Alexander Neckam's ''De naturis rerum'' (On the Natures of Things), probably written in Paris in 1190.<ref>Barbara M. Kreutz, “Mediterranean Contributions to the Medieval Mariner's Compass,” ''Technology and Culture'', Vol. 14, No. 3. (Jul., 1973), p.368</ref> Other evidence for this includes the Arabic word for "Compass" (''al-konbas''), possibly being a derivation of the old Italian word for compass. | ||
In the Arab world, the earliest reference comes in ''The Book of the Merchants' Treasure'', written by one Baylak al-Kibjaki in Cairo about 1282.<ref>Barbara M. Kreutz, “Mediterranean Contributions to the Medieval Mariner's Compass,” ''Technology and Culture'', Vol. 14, No. 3. (Jul., 1973), p.369</ref> Since the author describes having witnessed the use of a compass on a ship trip some forty years earlier, some scholars are inclined to antedate its first appearance accordingly. There is also a slightly earlier non-Mediterranean Muslim reference to an iron fish-like compass in a Persian talebook from 1232.<ref>Barbara M. Kreutz, “Mediterranean Contributions to the Medieval Mariner's Compass,” ''Technology and Culture'', Vol. 14, No. 3. (Jul., 1973), p.370</ref> | In the Arab world, the earliest reference comes in ''The Book of the Merchants' Treasure'', written by one Baylak al-Kibjaki in Cairo about 1282.<ref>Barbara M. Kreutz, “Mediterranean Contributions to the Medieval Mariner's Compass,” ''Technology and Culture'', Vol. 14, No. 3. (Jul., 1973), p.369</ref> Since the author describes having witnessed the use of a compass on a ship trip some forty years earlier, some scholars are inclined to antedate its first appearance accordingly. There is also a slightly earlier non-Mediterranean Muslim reference to an iron fish-like compass in a Persian talebook from 1232.<ref>Barbara M. Kreutz, “Mediterranean Contributions to the Medieval Mariner's Compass,” ''Technology and Culture'', Vol. 14, No. 3. (Jul., 1973), p.370</ref> |