Why is the Camera Obscura here?

The CO(Camera Obscura) was primarily used by the Alchemists and Limners.

Alchemists used the CO for:

• Tracking the movement of the sun, moon and the stars at night. They did this by spreading a canvas on the floor and taking "readings". The purpose of tracking the planetary bodies was for almanacs and writing horoscopes.
• They also played with light and mirrors (glasses), could start fires, make amusements in the form of shadow theatre, split light with prisms (not that they knew that was what they were doing…) see the MN for more…

Limners:

• Were really learning about perspective through use of the CO
• Using it to paint both large canvases and small limnings But landscape painting is not an "art", it is just background. So they would not be painting just the garden, they would want a sketch to place behind a figure - especially for allegorical paintings. In other words not the garden for the garden's sake.

Terms:

Relevant Portions of the Magiae Naturalis

READ ME!!! I am not long.

Take Note:
The Seventeenth book "Of Strange Glasses" contains very many tricks you can do with mirrors (glasses) and coloured filters (crystals) it is well worth a read to get in your head exactly how much could be done. NO! you don't have to remeber or understand any of it - just know that there is a lot and the Alchemists know how it's all done. In essence, blame them.

Time line:

Names you need to know in order:
Aristotle 330BC, Roger Bacon 1266, Leonardo da Vinci 1490, Dutch scientist Reinerus Gemma-Frisius, Giovanni Battista della Porta

• 5th century BC - Chinese philosopher Mo-Ti called a CO his "collecting place"
• 300 BC - Euclid's Optics, presupposes the camera obscura as a demonstration that light travels in straight lines
• 330 BC - Aristotle viewd partially eclipsed sun through the holes of a sieve
• 965 - 1039 AD - Alhazen (Abu Ali al-Hasan Ibn al-Haitham) wrote about experiments with 5 lanterns outside a darkened room
• 1220 AD - "invention" of Plano-convex lenses
• 1266 AD - Roger Bacon describes the CO and uses a lens De Multiplicatione Specierum (Book II, ch.viii) and Perspectiva
• 1490 AD - Leonardo da Vinci describes one suggesting they be made from sheet iron
• 1521 AD - Vitruvius's Architecture
• 1521 AD - Francesco Maurolico's Theorameta de Lumine et Umbra
• 1542 AD - Plubach's Theoricae Novae Planatarum
• 1544-5 AD - Dutch scientist Reinerus Gemma-Frisius used a CO to obsever a solar eclipse and publishes book De Radio Astronomica et Geometrica.
• 1501- 1576 AD - Gerolomo Cardano, an Italian mathematician, introduced a glass disc in place of a pinhole in his camera
• 1558 AD - Giovanni Battista della Porta in Magiae Naturalis writes instructions on how to make one and suggests that it could be used for drawing.
• 1573 AD - Egnacio Danti in commentary on his translation of Euclid's Optica, adds a description of the camera obscura
• 1575 AD - the first movable cameras appear (we could talk about how nice it would be if we could rotate the room)
• 1584 AD - The extended Magiae Naturalis in English with extensive section on mirrors and concave lenses
• 1606 - Kepler observes the transit of Mercury
• 1601 - 1680 AD - Athanasius Kircher described one which consisted of an outer shell with lenses in the centre of each wall, and an inner shell containing transparent paper for drawing; the artist needed to enter by a trapdoor.
• 1608 - Jan Lippershey applies for pqatten for the telescope BUT!!! they have been known to be in use for some time before that - like the CO and in MN

What can you do?

Scientific:
I have a small sundial/compass that I use to check the time on the hour and check the position of the sun in the co - very good as "sun time" in high summer is one hour earlier - 1pm is "midday" great because you can say "lo tis noon!" and they all look at their watches, especially the adults and then you can make them feel silly explaining that in the summer the days are longer...

Mirrors - this year we have had the Magiae Naturalis for ten years and know all about tricks with inverting the image to make it right way up with mirrors

We also know loads of stuff you can do with lenses look at the Magiae Naturalis (MN) section on lenses for all the cool tricks we can play.

Artistic:
we also know you can draw with it now (1556 was two years before the MN) so I have procured three A3 gesso'ed poplar and ash boards we can draw on. One for each view and one to be used by someone on the bridge, could be to fill in the details - that will give someone something active to do and you don't have to just stand there keeping the littel darlings from going on to the next station or running off to the biscuit tent...

Games:
To go along with the den of iniquity, dice games - especially when it rains. Entice a teacher to play Meier/Mia with you

If it rains:
It gets so dark you can't see anything so feel free to go inside with stools and play cards or 9 Man's Morris or Meier/Mia - it makes interesting conversation and the punters don't feel cheated.

When it is so dark, it can take a long time for the kids eyes to adjust and you really don't have time for that and try to think of the kids having to wait their turn in the rain- so either let them all in and "game" or pass them on...

Equipment:

• There are no chairs or stools - if you want to make and bring with you the equiv of the folding stool I would advise it...
• Please bring your own dice pots and dice, Morris boards or whatever you wish to amuse yourself with in the rain - and yes - that is acceptable too, but keep it clean for the kiddies...
• Extra convex lenses and/or small mirrors to make ammusing tricks with - try getting them out of cheap kiddie's telescopes...

What can you say inside?

What to do with little ones:

Suggest making a camera obscura when they go home.

All they need is a large heavy piece of paper or card (say sheet or board) in which they cut a small hole and place before a window. They must be careful to make the room as dark as they can so that there is no light but that which passes through the hole. (Demonstrate using hole cut in the wall.) And hang a large white cloth or bed sheet on the opposite/wall.

Suggest some experiments like tracking the movement of the sun or try drawing the landscape.

With older more rebellious students:

Witchcraft was rife during the middle ages and to curse an individual you would draw his image and invert it

It was also believed that if a person's images was inverted it would leave them open to possession by the devil or that they were possessed by the devil as that is how errant souls are punished in hell by being hung upside down.

So when the little bleeders start f-ing and blinding - step in front of the lens and in a dark loud voice shout the following:
"You have just entered the most evil place on the Manor! Here men's souls are RIPPED from their very bodies and FLUNG against the far wall to hang upside down for all eternity as if in HELL ITSELF! You have entered the Camera Obscura! ROOM OF DARKNESS!!! "

Shuts them up every time. Then step aside from the lens and show them how it works and tell them that is it not true to invert a man's image is to open his soul to possession?

With teachers:

I have already mentioned the strong connection with the alchemists; build upon it - especially weeks with Dr Rob present. Tell all the children how the alchemists spread a great cloth upon the floor to track the movement of the stars and the moon - but be careful mistress! Be wary when approached by alchemists who ask you if you would like to chart the heavens!!!