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This is a copy of a message recently posted to the HASTRO-L mailing
list (History of astronomy) by Rob van Gent, a name many listmembers
may recognise. I can't recall any such songs in the English language,
but others might well do so, in English or some other lingo.

It's a bit puzzling, to me, how one could simply "tell the time at
night from their meridian culminations";  wouldn't that change with
the season?

Anyway, if you can respond, contact Rob directly, but you may wish to
share it with the Nav-l list.

George

contact George Huxtable at george@huxtable.u-net.com
or at +44 1865 820222 (from UK, 01865 820222)
or at 1 Sandy Lane, Southmoor, Abingdon, Oxon OX13 5HX, UK.

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I have recently published a (Dutch) paper on 17th-century Dutch star
songs
that were apparently used by sailors for recognising the
constellations and
telling the time at night from their meridian culminations.

I intend to publish a more detailed paper on this topic in the near
future
and I would be interested to learn of similar star songs from roughly
the
same period in other European languages (Spanish, Portuguese, English,
French, German, etc.).

So far, I have found no examples outside of the Low Countries but I
find it
difficult to believe that there were none while I have found at least
four
different versions in the Dutch language.

Thanks in advance.

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*                                           *
*  Robert H. van Gent                       *
*  E-mail: r.h.vangent@astro.uu.nl          *
*  Homepage: http://www.phys.uu.nl/~vgent/  *
*                                           *
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