Editing Compass rose (section)

== Types ==

Linguistic anthropological studies have shown that most human communities have four points of [[cardinal 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).<ref>Brown, C.H. (1983) "Where do Cardinal Direction Terms Come From?", Anthropological Linguistics, Vol. 25 (2), pp. 121–61.</ref> 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.

=== Classical ===
{{Main|Classical compass winds}}

The [[ancient Greek]]s originally maintained distinct and separate systems of points and winds. The four Greek [[cardinal direction|cardinal points]] ({{transliteration|grc|arctos}}, {{transliteration|grc|anatole}}, {{transliteration|grc|mesembria}} and {{transliteration|grc|dusis}}) were based on celestial bodies and used for orientation. The four Greek [[anemoi|winds]] ({{transliteration|grc|[[Boreas (god)|Boreas]]}}, {{transliteration|grc|[[Notus|Notos]]}}, {{transliteration|grc|[[Eurus]]}}, {{transliteration|grc|[[Zephyrus]]}}) were confined to [[meteorology]]. Nonetheless, both systems were gradually conflated, and wind names came eventually to denote cardinal directions as well.<ref>D'Avezac, M.A.P. (1874) ''Aperçus historiques sur la rose des vents: lettre à Monsieur Henri Narducci.'' Rome: Civelli</ref>

In his meteorological studies, [[Aristotle]] identified ten distinct winds: two north–south winds ({{transliteration|grc|Aparctias}}, {{transliteration|grc|Notos}}) and four sets of east–west winds blowing from different latitudes—the [[Arctic Circle]] ({{transliteration|grc|Meses}}, {{transliteration|grc|Thrascias}}), the [[summer solstice]] horizon ({{transliteration|grc|Caecias}}, {{transliteration|grc|Argestes}}), the [[equinox]] ({{transliteration|grc|Apeliotes}}, {{transliteration|grc|Zephyrus}}) and the [[winter solstice]] ({{transliteration|grc|Eurus}}, {{transliteration|grc|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|date=November 2019}}

The [[ancient Rome|Romans]] (e.g. [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]], [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]]) adopted the Greek 12-wind system, and replaced its names with [[Latin language|Latin]] equivalents, e.g. {{lang|la|Septentrio}}, {{lang|la|Subsolanus}}, {{lang|la|Auster}}, {{lang|la|Favonius}}, etc. The ''[[De architectura]]'' of the Roman architect [[Vitruvius]] describes 24 winds.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Ulrike Passe and Francine Battaglia |year=2015 |title=Designing Spaces for Natural Ventilation: An Architect's Guide |publisher=Taylor & Francis |page=76 |isbn=9781136664823}}</ref>

 [[File:Roman 12-wind rose.svg|thumb|370px|Classical 12-wind rose, with Greek (blue) and Latin (red) names (from Seneca)]]

According to the chronicler [[Einhard]] ({{circa| 830}}), the Frankish king [[Charlemagne]] himself came up with his own names for the classical 12 winds.<ref>[[Einhard]], ''Vita Karoli Imp.'', [Lat: (Eng.([https://books.google.com/books?id=R2IJAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA22 p. 22])([https://books.google.com/books?id=2mMNAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA68 p. 68])</ref> During the [[Migration Period]], the [[Germanic languages|Germanic]] names for the cardinal directions entered the [[Romance languages]], where they replaced the [[Latin]] names ''borealis''  with north, ''australis'' with south, ''occidentalis'' with west and ''orientalis'' with east.<ref>See e.g. Weibull, Lauritz. ''De gamle nordbornas väderstrecksbegrepp''. Scandia 1/1928; Ekblom, R. ''Alfred the Great as Geographer''. Studia Neophilologica 14/1941-2; Ekblom, R. ''Den forntida nordiska orientering och Wulfstans resa till Truso''. Förnvännen. 33/1938; Sköld, Tryggve. ''Isländska väderstreck''. Scripta Islandica. Isländska sällskapets årsbok 16/1965.</ref>

The following table gives a rough equivalence of the classical 12-wind rose with the modern compass directions (Note: 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 on [[Classical compass winds]]).{{Citation needed|date=November 2019}}
 
{| class="wikitable" width="450px"
|- valign="top"
! Wind 
! Greek
! Roman
! Frankish
|- valign="top"
| '''N''' || {{transliteration|grc|Aparctias}} ({{lang|grc|ἀπαρκτίας}}) or <br /> {{transliteration|grc|Boreas}} ({{lang|grc|βoρέας}})|| {{lang|la|Septentrio}} || {{lang|frk|Nordroni}}
|- valign="top"
| '''NNE''' || {{transliteration|grc|Meses}} ({{lang|grc|μέσης}}) || {{lang|la|Aquilo}} || {{lang|frk|Nordostroni}}
|- valign="top"
|'''NE''' || {{transliteration|grc|Caicias}} ({{lang|grc|καικίας}}) || {{lang|la|Caecias}} || {{lang|frk|Ostnordroni}}
|- valign="top"
| '''E''' || {{transliteration|grc|Apeliotes}} ({{lang|grc|ἀπηλιώτης}}) || {{lang|la|Subsolanus}} || {{lang|frk|Ostroni}}
|- valign="top"
|'''SE''' || {{transliteration|grc|Eurus}} ({{lang|grc|εὖρος}}) || {{lang|la|Vulturnus}} || {{lang|frk|Ostsundroni}}
|- valign="top"
|'''SSE''' || {{transliteration|grc|Euronotus}} ({{lang|grc|εὐρόνοτος}})|| {{lang|la|Euronotus}} || {{lang|frk|Sundostroni}}
|- valign="top"
|'''S''' || {{transliteration|grc|Notos}} ({{lang|grc|νότος}})|| {{lang|la|Auster}} || {{lang|frk|Sundroni}}
|- valign="top"
|'''SSW''' || {{transliteration|grc|Libonotos}} ({{lang|grc|λιβόνοτος}}) || {{lang|la|Libonotus}} <br />or {{lang|la|Austroafricus}} || {{lang|frk|Sundvuestroni}}
|- valign="top"
|'''SW''' || {{transliteration|grc|Lips}} ({{lang|grc|λίψ}}) || {{lang|la|Africus}} || {{lang|frk|Vuestsundroni}}
|- valign="top" 
|'''W''' || {{transliteration|grc|Zephyrus}} ({{lang|grc|ζέφυρος}}) || {{lang|la|Favonius}} || {{lang|frk|Vuestroni}}
|- valign="top"
|'''NW''' || {{transliteration|grc|Argestes}} ({{lang|grc|ἀργέστης}}) || {{lang|la|Corus}} || {{lang|frk|Vuestnordroni}}
|- valign="top"
|'''NNW''' || {{transliteration|grc|Thrascias}} ({{lang|grc|θρασκίας}}) || {{lang|la|Thrascias}} or {{lang|la|Circius}} || {{lang|frk|Nordvuestroni}}
|}

=== Sidereal ===

The sidereal compass rose demarcates the compass points by the position of [[star]]s ("steering stars"; not to be confused with [[zenith star]]s)<ref name="Lewis 1972"/> in the night sky, rather than winds. [[Arab]] navigators in the [[Red Sea]] and the [[Indian Ocean]], who depended on [[celestial navigation]], were using a 32-point sidereal compass rose before the end of the 10th century.<ref>Saussure, L. de (1923) "L'origine de la rose des vents et l'invention de la boussole", ''Archives des sciences physiques et naturelles'', vol. 5, no.2 & 3, pp. 149–81 and 259–91.</ref><ref>Taylor, E.G.R. (1956) ''The Haven-Finding Art: A history of navigation from Odysseus to Captain Cook'', 1971 ed., London: Hollis and Carter., pp. 128–31.</ref><ref>Tolmacheva, M. (1980) "On the Arab System of Nautical Orientation", ''Arabica'', vol. 27 (2), pp. 180–92.</ref> In the northern hemisphere, the steady Pole Star ([[Polaris]]) was used for the N–S axis; the less-steady [[Southern Cross]] had to do for the southern 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:<ref>List comes from Tolmacheva (1980:p. 183), based "with some reservations" on Tibbets (1971: p. 296, n. 133). The sidereal rose given in Lagan (2005: [https://archive.org/details/barefootnavigato0000laga/page/66 p. 66]) has some differences, e.g. placing Orion's belt in East and Altair in EbN.</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|- valign="top"
! Point 
! Star
|- valign="top"
| '''N''' || [[Polaris]] 
|- valign="top"
| NbE || "the Guards" ([[Ursa Minor]])
|- valign="top"
| NNE || Alpha [[Ursa Major]]
|- valign="top"
| NEbN ||[[Alpha Cassiopeiae]]
|- valign="top"
| '''NE''' || [[Capella (star)|Capella]]
|- valign="top"
| NEbE || [[Vega]]
|- valign="top"
| ENE || [[Arcturus]] 
|- valign="top"
| EbN || the [[Pleiades]] 
|- valign="top"
| '''E''' || [[Altair]] 
|- valign="top"
| EbS || [[Orion's Belt|Orion's belt]] 
|- valign="top"
| ESE || [[Sirius]] 
|- valign="top"
| SEbE || [[Beta Scorpii|Beta Scorpionis]] 
|- valign="top"
| '''SE''' || [[Antares]]
|- valign="top"
| SEbS || [[Alpha Centauri]]
|- valign="top"
| SSE || [[Canopus]]
|- valign="top"
| SbE || [[Achernar]]
|- valign="top"
| '''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 equidistant [[Rhumbline network|rhumbs]] on the sidereal compass. Stars with the same [[declination]] formed a "linear constellation" or ''{{lang|to|kavenga}}'' to provide direction as the night progressed.<ref>M.D. Halpern (1985) [http://nautarch.tamu.edu/pdf-files/Halpern-MA1985.pdf The Origins of the Carolinian Sidereal Compass], Master's thesis, [[Texas A & M University]]</ref>

A similar sidereal compass was used by [[Polynesian navigation|Polynesian and Micronesian navigators]] in the Pacific Ocean, although different stars were used in a number of cases, clustering around the east–west axis.<ref>{{cite book|last=Goodenough|first=W. H.|title=Native Astronomy in the Central Carolines|year=1953|publisher=University Museum, University of Philadelphia|location=Philadelphia|page=3}}</ref><ref name="Lewis 1972">{{cite web | last=Lewis | first=David | title=We, the navigators : the ancient art of landfinding in the Pacific | publisher=Australian National University Press | date=1972 | url=https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/handle/1885/114874 | access-date=2023-06-01}}</ref>

=== Mariner's ===
{{main|Points of the compass#Traditional Mariner's compass points|l1=Traditional Mariner's compass points}}

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 the [[Mediterranean lingua franca]], composed principally of [[Ligurian language (Romance)|Ligurian]], mixed with [[Venetian language|Venetian]], [[Sicilian language|Sicilian]], [[Provençal dialect|Provençal]], [[Catalan language|Catalan]], [[Greek language|Greek]] and [[Arabic]] terms from around the Mediterranean basin. [[File:32-point compass (traditional winds).svg|thumb|400px|32-wind compass with traditional names (and traditional color code)]]
* (N) Tramontana
* (NE) Greco (or Bora)
* (E) Levante
* (SE) Scirocco (or Exaloc)
* (S) Ostro (or Mezzogiorno)
* (SW) Libeccio (or Garbino)
* (W) Ponente
* (NW) Maestro (or Mistral)

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. Two [[Arabic]] words stand out: ''Scirocco'' (SE) from ''al-Sharq'' (الشرق – east in Arabic) and the variant ''Garbino'' (SW), from ''al-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 from [[Norman-Arab-Byzantine culture|Norman Sicily]] in the 11th to 12th centuries.<ref>Taylor, E.G. R. (1937) "The 'De Ventis' of Matthew Paris", ''Imago Mundi'', vol. 2, p.&nbsp;25.</ref> The coasts of the [[Maghreb]] and [[Mashriq]] are SW and SE of Sicily respectively; the ''Greco'' (a NE wind), reflects the position of Byzantine-held Calabria-Apulia to the northeast of Arab Sicily, while the ''Maestro'' (a NW wind) is a reference to the [[Mistral wind]] that blows from the southern French coast towards northwest Sicily.{{Citation needed|date=June 2013}}

The 32-point compass used for navigation in the Mediterranean by the 14th century, had increments of 11{{frac|1|4}}° between points. Only the eight principal winds (N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW) were given special names. The eight [[half-wind]]s just combined the names of the two principal winds, e.g. Greco-Tramontana for NNE, Greco-Levante for ENE, and so on. [[Quarter-wind]]s 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|date=November 2019}}