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{{wikt | weather vane}}
{{wikt | weather vane}}


A '''wind vane''', '''weather vane''', or '''weathercock''' is an [[list of weather instruments|instrument]] used for showing the [[wind direction|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 {{lang|ang|fana}}, meaning "flag".
A '''wind vane''', '''weather vane''', or '''weathercock''' is a type of [[anemoscope]] used for showing the [[wind direction|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 {{lang|ang|fana}}, meaning "flag".
[[File:Wind vane 05643.jpg|thumb|A cockerel is a traditional figure used as a vane  placed on top of the cardinal directions.]]
[[File:Wind vane 05643.jpg|thumb|A cockerel is a traditional figure used as a vane  placed on top of the cardinal directions.]]
Although partly functional, wind vanes are generally decorative, often featuring the traditional [[chicken|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.
Although partly functional, wind vanes are generally decorative, often featuring the traditional [[chicken|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.
Wind vanes are also found on small [[wind turbines]] to keep the wind turbine pointing into the wind. If employed on a boat, they are referred to as [[apparent wind indicator]]s.


==History==
==History==
Line 15: Line 15:
The oldest known textual references to weather vanes date from 1800-1600 BCE Babylon, where a [[fable]] called ''The Fable of the Willow'' describes people looking at a weather vane "for the direction of the wind."<ref>Neumann J. and Parpola, S. (1989), "Wind Vanes in Ancient Mesopotamia, About 2000-1500BC," ''Bulleting of the American Meteorological Society'', vol. 64, No. 10</ref> In China, the ''[[Huainanzi]]'', dating from around 139 BC, mentions a thread or streamer that another commentator interprets as "wind-observing fan" ({{transliteration|zh|hou feng shin}}, {{lang|zh-Hant-TW|侯風扇}}).<ref name="Needham"/>
The oldest known textual references to weather vanes date from 1800-1600 BCE Babylon, where a [[fable]] called ''The Fable of the Willow'' describes people looking at a weather vane "for the direction of the wind."<ref>Neumann J. and Parpola, S. (1989), "Wind Vanes in Ancient Mesopotamia, About 2000-1500BC," ''Bulleting of the American Meteorological Society'', vol. 64, No. 10</ref> In China, the ''[[Huainanzi]]'', dating from around 139 BC, mentions a thread or streamer that another commentator interprets as "wind-observing fan" ({{transliteration|zh|hou feng shin}}, {{lang|zh-Hant-TW|侯風扇}}).<ref name="Needham"/>


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 (mythology) |Triton]] holding a rod in his outstretched hand, rotating as the wind changed direction. Below this a [[frieze]] depicted the eight Greek [[wind gods | wind deities]]. The eight-metre-high structure also featured [[sundial]]s, and a [[water clock]] inside. It dated from around 50 BC.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Noble |first1= Joseph V. |last2= Price  |first2= Derek J. de Solla |author-link2= Derek J. de Solla Price |date= October 1968 |title= The Water Clock in the Tower of the Winds |journal= American Journal of Archaeology |volume= 72 |issue= 4 |pages= 345–355 (353) |doi= 10.2307/503828 |jstor= 503828|s2cid= 193112893 }}</ref>
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 (mythology) |Triton]] holding a rod in his outstretched hand, rotating as the wind changed direction. Below this a [[frieze]] depicted the eight Greek[[wind gods | wind deities]]. The eight-metre-high structure also featured [[sundial]]s, and a [[water clock]] inside. It dated from around 50 BC.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Noble |first1= Joseph V. |last2= Price  |first2= Derek J. de Solla |author-link2= Derek J. de Solla Price |date= October 1968 |title= The Water Clock in the Tower of the Winds |journal= American Journal of Archaeology |volume= 72 |issue= 4 |pages= 345–355 (353) |doi= 10.2307/503828 |jstor= 503828|s2cid= 193112893 }}</ref>


Military documents from the [[Three Kingdoms]] period of China (220–280 AD) refer to the weather vane as "five ounces" ({{transliteration|zh|wu liang}}, {{lang|zh-Hant-TW|五兩}}), named after the weight of its materials.<ref name="Needham">{{Citation |last1= Needham |first1= Joseph|last2= Ling|first2= Wang|volume= 3|title= Science and Civilisation in China: Mathematics and the Sciences of the Heavens and the Earth|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page= 478|year= 1959}}</ref> By the third century, Chinese weather vanes were shaped like birds and took the name of "wind-indicating bird" ({{transliteration|zh|[[Xiangfeng wu|xiang feng wu]]}}, {{lang|zh-Hant-TW|相風烏}}). The {{transliteration|zh|Sanfu huangtu}} ({{lang|zh-Hant-TW|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.<ref name="Needham"/>
Military documents from the [[Three Kingdoms]] period of China (220–280 AD) refer to the weather vane as "five ounces" ({{transliteration|zh|wu liang}}, {{lang|zh-Hant-TW|五兩}}), named after the weight of its materials.<ref name="Needham">{{Citation |last1= Needham |first1= Joseph|last2= Ling|first2= Wang|volume= 3|title= Science and Civilisation in China: Mathematics and the Sciences of the Heavens and the Earth|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page= 478|year= 1959}}</ref> By the third century, Chinese weather vanes were shaped like birds and took the name of "wind-indicating bird" ({{transliteration|zh|[[Xiangfeng wu|xiang feng wu]]}}, {{lang|zh-Hant-TW|相風烏}}). The {{transliteration|zh|Sanfu huangtu}} ({{lang|zh-Hant-TW|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.<ref name="Needham"/>


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]].<ref>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</ref><ref>Fedele Savio, ''Gli antichi vescovi d'Italia. La Lombardia'', Bergamo 1929, p.  hi 188</ref>
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]].<ref>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</ref><ref>Fedele Savio, ''Gli antichi vescovi d'Italia. La Lombardia'', Bergamo 1929, p.  hi 188</ref>
[[File:Cowls and windVanes of Glottenham Oast - geograph.org.uk - 3487216.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|[[Oast house|Oast houses]] have wind-steered vanes to ensure a controlled draught of air flows through the building.]]


[[Pope Leo IV]] (in office 847 to 855) had a weathercock placed on the [[Old St. Peter's Basilica]] or old [[Constantine I|Constantinian]] basilica.<ref>ST PETER'S BASILICA.ORG - Providing information on St. Peter's Basilica
Vikings were known for creating ornamental, gilded weathervanes. They were originally crafted to adorn longships, however, became reappropriated for church use after the ships were retired.<ref>{{cite web |title=Viking Weathervanes|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/encyclopaedia_romana/britannia/anglo-saxon/maldon/vane.html |website=penelope.uchicago.edu |access-date=29 June 2025}}</ref> A notable example is the [[Söderala vane]] from {{circa}} 1050.
and Square in the Vatican City - The Treasury Museum [http://saintpetersbasilica.org/Interior/Sacristy-Treasury/Items/Museum-8.htm]</ref>


[[Pope Gregory I]] (in office 590 to 604) regarded the cockerel as "the most suitable emblem of Christianity", being the emblem of [[Saint Peter]] (a reference to [[wikisource:Bible (American Standard)/Luke#22:34|Luke 22:34]] in which [[Jesus]] predicts that Peter will deny him three times before the rooster crows).<ref name=Forlong>[http://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&hl=en&q=Forlong+%22emblem+of+St+Peter%22 John G. R. Forlong, ''Encyclopedia of Religions'': A-d - Page 471]</ref><ref name="Antiquary">{{cite book|author1= Edward Walford|author2= George Latimer Apperson|title=The Antiquary: A Magazine Devoted to the Study of the Past|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=jeAmWNkmpHUC&pg=PA202|volume= 17|year= 1888|publisher= E. Stock|page= 202}}</ref>
=== Christianity ===
 
[[File:Cowls and windVanes of Glottenham Oast - geograph.org.uk - 3487216.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|[[Oast house|Oast houses]] have wind-steered vanes to ensure a controlled draught of air flows through the building.]]
As a result of this,<ref name=Forlong/> rooster representations gradually came into use as a weather vanes on church steeples, and in the ninth century [[Pope Nicholas I]]<ref name="smithsonianmag.com">{{cite magazine |author= Jerry Adler |author2= Andrew Lawler |date= June 2012 |title= How the Chicken Conquered the World |url= http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-the-chicken-conquered-the-world-87583657/?no-ist= |magazine= Smithsonian}}</ref> (in office 858 to 867) ordered the figure to be placed on every church steeple.<ref>{{cite book|title= Bulletin of the Pennsylvania Museum|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=0HIEAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA2-PA14 |volume= 1–5|year= 1906|publisher= Pennsylvania Museum of Art, Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art|page=14}}</ref>


The [[Bayeux Tapestry]] of the 1070s depicts a man installing a [[rooster|weathercock]] on [[Westminster Abbey]].
[[Pope Gregory I]] (in office 590 to 604) regarded the cockerel as "the most suitable emblem of Christianity", being the emblem of [[Saint Peter]] (a reference to [[wikisource:Bible (American Standard)/Luke#22:34|Luke 22:34]] in which [[Jesus]] predicts that Peter will deny him three times before the rooster crows).<ref name="Forlong">[http://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&hl=en&q=Forlong+%22emblem+of+St+Peter%22 John G. R. Forlong, ''Encyclopedia of Religions'': A-d - Page 471]</ref><ref name="Antiquary">{{cite book |author1=Edward Walford |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jeAmWNkmpHUC&pg=PA202 |title=The Antiquary: A Magazine Devoted to the Study of the Past |author2=George Latimer Apperson |publisher=E. Stock |year=1888 |volume=17 |page=202}}</ref> [[Pope Leo IV]] (in office 847 to 855) had a weathercock placed on the [[Old St. Peter's Basilica]] or old [[Constantine I|Constantinian]] basilica.<ref>ST PETER'S BASILICA.ORG - Providing information on St. Peter's Basilica
and Square in the Vatican City - The Treasury Museum [http://saintpetersbasilica.org/Interior/Sacristy-Treasury/Items/Museum-8.htm]</ref> As a result of this,<ref name="Forlong" /> rooster representations gradually came into use as a weather vanes on church steeples, and in the ninth century [[Pope Nicholas I]]<ref name="smithsonianmag.com">{{cite magazine |author= Jerry Adler |author2= Andrew Lawler |date= June 2012 |title= How the Chicken Conquered the World |url= http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-the-chicken-conquered-the-world-87583657/?no-ist= |magazine= Smithsonian}}</ref> (in office 858 to 867) ordered the figure to be placed on every church steeple.<ref>{{cite book|title= Bulletin of the Pennsylvania Museum|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=0HIEAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA2-PA14 |volume= 1–5|year= 1906|publisher= Pennsylvania Museum of Art, Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art|page=14}}</ref>
The [[Bayeux Tapestry]], likely commissioned by Bishop [[Odo of Bayeux]] in the 1070s, depicts a man installing a [[rooster|weathercock]] on [[Westminster Abbey]].<ref>Sir Frank Stenton (ed) et al., ''The Bayeux Tapestry. A comprehensive survey'' London: Phaidon, 1957 revised 1965.</ref>


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.<ref>[http://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&hl=en&q=Forster+Circle+%22devised+as+an+emblem%22 Thomas Ignatius M. Forster, ''Circle of the Seasons'', p. 18]</ref>
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.<ref>[http://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&hl=en&q=Forster+Circle+%22devised+as+an+emblem%22 Thomas Ignatius M. Forster, ''Circle of the Seasons'', p. 18]</ref> Another theory says that the weathercock was not a Christian symbol<ref>[http://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&hl=en&q=William+White+%22steeples+may+possibly%22 William White, ''Notes and Queries'']</ref> but an emblem of the sun<ref>[http://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&hl=en&q=Jennings+%22innumerable+weathercocks%22 Hargrave Jennings, ''Phallicism'', p. 72]</ref> derived from the Goths.<ref>[http://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&hl=en&q=Shepard+Walsh+%22derived+from+the+Goths%22 William Shepard Walsh, ''A Handy Book of Curious Information'']</ref>  
[[File:Windrichtungsgeber.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|A modern scientific weathervane gives the direction of the wind as an electrical signal.]]
[[File:Windrichtungsgeber.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|A modern scientific weathervane gives the direction of the wind as an electrical signal.]]
Another theory says that the weathercock was not a Christian symbol<ref>[http://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&hl=en&q=William+White+%22steeples+may+possibly%22 William White, ''Notes and Queries'']</ref> but an emblem of the sun<ref>[http://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&hl=en&q=Jennings+%22innumerable+weathercocks%22 Hargrave Jennings, ''Phallicism'', p. 72]</ref> derived from the Goths.<ref>[http://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&hl=en&q=Shepard+Walsh+%22derived+from+the+Goths%22 William Shepard Walsh, ''A Handy Book of Curious Information'']</ref>
A few churches used weather vanes in the shape of the [[Saint symbolism | emblems]] of their patron saints. The [[City of London]] has two surviving examples. The weather vane of [[St Peter upon Cornhill]] is not in the shape of a rooster, but of a [[Keys of Saint Peter | key]];<ref>{{cite web|url= https://historylondon.wordpress.com/2013/12/30/vanity-and-wind/|title= History of London: Vanity and Wind|publisher= Wordpress|access-date= 1 June 2016|archive-date= 13 October 2016|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161013031020/https://historylondon.wordpress.com/2013/12/30/vanity-and-wind/|url-status=dead}}</ref> while [[St Lawrence Jewry]]'s weather vane has the form of a [[Gridiron (cooking) | gridiron]] (symbolising [[Saint Lawrence]]).<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.stlawrencejewry.org.uk/photos.php?pgid=2&photoid=1278087163|title= Our Weather Vane|publisher= St Lawrence Jewry|access-date= 1 June 2016}}</ref>
A few churches used weather vanes in the shape of the [[Saint symbolism | emblems]] of their patron saints. The [[City of London]] has two surviving examples. The weather vane of [[St Peter upon Cornhill]] is not in the shape of a rooster, but of a [[Keys of Saint Peter | key]];<ref>{{cite web|url= https://historylondon.wordpress.com/2013/12/30/vanity-and-wind/|title= History of London: Vanity and Wind|publisher= Wordpress|access-date= 1 June 2016|archive-date= 13 October 2016|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161013031020/https://historylondon.wordpress.com/2013/12/30/vanity-and-wind/|url-status=dead}}</ref> while [[St Lawrence Jewry]]'s weather vane has the form of a [[Gridiron (cooking) | gridiron]] (symbolising [[Saint Lawrence]]).<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.stlawrencejewry.org.uk/photos.php?pgid=2&photoid=1278087163|title= Our Weather Vane|publisher= St Lawrence Jewry|access-date= 1 June 2016}}</ref>


[[File:Dragon weather vane by Dorothy Hay Jensen 1943.8.8070.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Dragon weather vane from the Index to American Design, National Gallery of Art.]]
[[File:Dragon weather vane by Dorothy Hay Jensen 1943.8.8070.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Dragon weather vane from the Index to American Design, National Gallery of Art.]]
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 buildings | 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 ''[[aerovane]]s'' 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.
==Modern use==
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 buildings|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.


==World's largest weather vane==
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.
According to the [[Guinness World Records]], the [[world's largest weather vane]] is a [[Tío Pepe]] [[sherry]] advertisement located in [[Jerez de la Frontera|Jerez]], Spain. The city of [[Montague, Michigan]] also claims to have the largest standard-design weather vane, being a ship and arrow which measures {{convert|48|ft|m}} tall, with an arrow {{convert|26|ft|m}} long.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.michigan.org/Property/Detail.aspx?p=G4884|title=The World's Largest Weather Vane - Ella Ellenwood|access-date=2010-06-01|archive-date=2012-02-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229194424/http://www.michigan.org/Property/Detail.aspx?p=G4884|url-status=dead}}</ref>


A challenger for the title of the world's largest weather vane is located in [[Whitehorse, Yukon]] in Canada. The weather vane is a retired [[Douglas DC-3]] CF-CPY atop a swiveling support. Located at the Yukon Transportation Museum<ref>[http://www.goytm.ca goytm.ca]</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.explorenorth.com/library/aviation/cf-cpy.html |title=DC-3 CF-CPY: The World's Largest Weather Vane - ExploreNorth |publisher=ExploreNorth |access-date=2010-02-13}}</ref>
According to the [[Guinness World Records]], the [[world's largest weather vane]] is a [[Tío Pepe]] [[sherry]] advertisement located in [[Jerez de la Frontera|Jerez]], Spain. The city of [[Montague, Michigan]] also claims to have the largest standard-design weather vane, being a ship and arrow which measures {{convert|48|ft|m}} tall, with an arrow {{convert|26|ft|m}} long.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.michigan.org/Property/Detail.aspx?p=G4884|title=The World's Largest Weather Vane - Ella Ellenwood|access-date=2010-06-01|archive-date=2012-02-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229194424/http://www.michigan.org/Property/Detail.aspx?p=G4884|url-status=dead}}</ref> A challenger for the title of the world's largest weather vane is located in [[Whitehorse, Yukon]] in Canada. The weather vane is a retired [[Douglas DC-3]] CF-CPY atop a swiveling support. Located at the Yukon Transportation Museum<ref>[http://www.goytm.ca goytm.ca]</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.explorenorth.com/library/aviation/cf-cpy.html |title=DC-3 CF-CPY: The World's Largest Weather Vane - ExploreNorth |publisher=ExploreNorth |access-date=2010-02-13}}</ref> A notably tall weathervane is located in [[Westlock]], [[Alberta]].  The classic weather vane that reaches to {{convert|59|ft|m}} is topped by a 1942 Case Model D Tractor.  This landmark is located at the Canadian Tractor Museum.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dunford |first1=Les |title=Tractor museum’s weatherwave stands at 59 feet |url=https://www.townandcountrytoday.com/westlock-news/tractor-museums-weatherwave-stands-at-59-feet-7070810 |access-date=29 June 2025 |work=Town and Country Today|date=31 May 2023 |language=en}}</ref>
 
A challenger for the world's tallest weather vane{{cn|date=March 2023}} is located in [[Westlock]], [[Alberta]].  The classic weather vane that reaches to {{convert|50|ft|m}} is topped by a 1942 Case Model D Tractor.  This landmark is located at the Canadian Tractor Museum.


==Slang term==
==Slang term==
The term "weather vane" 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.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article.html?in_article_id=71265&in_page_id=2 |title=Quebec bans 'weathervane' insult |date=2007-10-17 |work=Metro |access-date=2019-06-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023173914/https://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article.html?in_article_id=71265&in_page_id=2 |archive-date=2007-10-23}}</ref>
The term "weather vane" 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.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article.html?in_article_id=71265&in_page_id=2 |title=Quebec bans 'weathervane' insult |date=2007-10-17 |work=Metro |access-date=2019-06-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023173914/https://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article.html?in_article_id=71265&in_page_id=2 |archive-date=2007-10-23}}</ref>
==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.


==Gallery==
==Gallery==
Line 91: Line 82:


==See also==
==See also==
* [[Anemoscope]]
* [[Apparent wind indicator]], in sailing
* [[List of weather instruments]]
* [[List of weather instruments]]
* [[Weather station]]
* [[Weather station]]

Latest revision as of 15:48, 29 June 2025

Template:Short description Script error: No such module "redirect hatnote". Script error: No such module "For". Template:Sister project

A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is a type of anemoscope 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 Script error: No such module "Lang"., meaning "flag".

File:Wind vane 05643.jpg
A cockerel is a traditional figure used as a vane placed on top of the cardinal directions.

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. If employed on a boat, they are referred to as apparent wind indicators.

History

File:Romney Ryan RALLY Iin Michigan (7854972358).jpg
Wind vanes feature on small horizontal-axis wind turbines

The oldest known textual references to weather vanes date from 1800-1600 BCE Babylon, where a fable called The Fable of the Willow describes people looking at a weather vane "for the direction of the wind."[1] In China, the Huainanzi, dating from around 139 BC, mentions a thread or streamer that another commentator interprets as "wind-observing fan" (Template:Transliteration, Script error: No such module "Lang".).[2]

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.[3]

Military documents from the Three Kingdoms period of China (220–280 AD) refer to the weather vane as "five ounces" (Template:Transliteration, Script error: No such module "Lang".), named after the weight of its materials.[2] By the third century, Chinese weather vanes were shaped like birds and took the name of "wind-indicating bird" (Template:Transliteration, Script error: No such module "Lang".). The Template:Transliteration (Script error: No such module "Lang".), 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.[2]

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.[4][5]

Vikings were known for creating ornamental, gilded weathervanes. They were originally crafted to adorn longships, however, became reappropriated for church use after the ships were retired.[6] A notable example is the Söderala vane from Template:Circa 1050.

Christianity

File:Cowls and windVanes of Glottenham Oast - geograph.org.uk - 3487216.jpg
Oast houses have wind-steered vanes to ensure a controlled draught of air flows through the building.

Pope Gregory I (in office 590 to 604) regarded the cockerel 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).[7][8] Pope Leo IV (in office 847 to 855) had a weathercock placed on the Old St. Peter's Basilica or old Constantinian basilica.[9] As a result of this,[7] rooster representations gradually came into use as a weather vanes on church steeples, and in the ninth century Pope Nicholas I[10] (in office 858 to 867) ordered the figure to be placed on every church steeple.[11] The Bayeux Tapestry, likely commissioned by Bishop Odo of Bayeux in the 1070s, depicts a man installing a weathercock on Westminster Abbey.[12]

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.[13] Another theory says that the weathercock was not a Christian symbol[14] but an emblem of the sun[15] derived from the Goths.[16]

File:Windrichtungsgeber.jpg
A modern scientific weathervane gives the direction of the wind as an electrical signal.

A few churches used weather vanes in the shape of the emblems of their patron saints. The City of London has two surviving examples. The weather vane of St Peter upon Cornhill is not in the shape of a rooster, but of a key;[17] while St Lawrence Jewry's weather vane has the form of a gridiron (symbolising Saint Lawrence).[18]

File:Dragon weather vane by Dorothy Hay Jensen 1943.8.8070.jpg
Dragon weather vane from the Index to American Design, National Gallery of Art.

Modern use

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.

According to the Guinness World Records, the world's largest weather vane is a Tío Pepe sherry advertisement located in Jerez, Spain. The city of Montague, Michigan also claims to have the largest standard-design weather vane, being a ship and arrow which measures Template:Convert tall, with an arrow Template:Convert long.[19] A challenger for the title of the world's largest weather vane is located in Whitehorse, Yukon in Canada. The weather vane is a retired Douglas DC-3 CF-CPY atop a swiveling support. Located at the Yukon Transportation Museum[20] 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.[21] A notably tall weathervane is located in Westlock, Alberta. The classic weather vane that reaches to Template:Convert is topped by a 1942 Case Model D Tractor. This landmark is located at the Canadian Tractor Museum.[22]

Slang term

The term "weather vane" 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.[23]

Gallery

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See also

References

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Further reading

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External links

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  1. ↑ Neumann J. and Parpola, S. (1989), "Wind Vanes in Ancient Mesopotamia, About 2000-1500BC," Bulleting of the American Meteorological Society, vol. 64, No. 10
  2. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ 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
  5. ↑ Fedele Savio, Gli antichi vescovi d'Italia. La Lombardia, Bergamo 1929, p. hi 188
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ a b John G. R. Forlong, Encyclopedia of Religions: A-d - Page 471
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ ST PETER'S BASILICA.ORG - Providing information on St. Peter's Basilica and Square in the Vatican City - The Treasury Museum [1]
  10. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Sir Frank Stenton (ed) et al., The Bayeux Tapestry. A comprehensive survey London: Phaidon, 1957 revised 1965.
  13. ↑ Thomas Ignatius M. Forster, Circle of the Seasons, p. 18
  14. ↑ William White, Notes and Queries
  15. ↑ Hargrave Jennings, Phallicism, p. 72
  16. ↑ William Shepard Walsh, A Handy Book of Curious Information
  17. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  18. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  20. ↑ goytm.ca
  21. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  22. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  23. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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