纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 062希伯来星盘（1）（在线收听）

062：EPISODE 62 - Hebrew Astrolabe 希伯来星盘

Hebrew astrolabe (made fourteenth century), probably from Spain

I've got the whole world in my hands - in fact, not just the world, but the cosmos. What I'm holding is a portable model of the heavens, in the shape of an exquisite, circular brass instrument that looks a bit like a large brass pocket watch, and it's called an astrolabe. With an astrolabe in my hands, I can tell the time, do a bit of surveying, work out my position in the world by sun or stars and, if that's not enough, I can also devise my horoscope.

Although perfectly familiar to the ancient Greeks, this was an instrument that was particularly important for the Islamic world, as it allowed the faithful to find the direction of Mecca, and so it's not surprising that the oldest astrolabe to survive is an Islamic one from the tenth century. But the astrolabe I'm holding is, in fact, a Jewish one. It was made about 750 years ago, in Spain. It's inscribed in Hebrew lettering, but it contains Arabic and Spanish words, and it combines both Islamic and European decorative elements. It is not just an advanced scientific instrument, but it's also an emblem of a very particular moment in Europe's religious and political history.

"There's a Spanish word that's often used to describe the relationship between the different religions and ethnic communities, which is 'convivencia', living together." (John Elliott)

"The astrolabe is much more than just a scientific instrument, it's also a symbol of knowledge. It symbolises that one understands what's going on in the heavens - one literally holds the latest knowledge in one's hands. So it has so many functions, it really is like a medieval type of Blackberry." (Silke Ackermann)

希伯来星盘

黄铜星盘，可能来自西班牙

公元一三四五年至公元一三五五年

这是一个可以随身携带的宇宙模型，外表精致，呈圆形，由黄铜打造，看起来像只大号的黄铜怀表。拿在手里，可以了解时间，做一些勘测工作，或是通过太阳和星辰了解自己在地球上所处的位置。如果掌握必要信息，甚至还可以做星象占卜。

虽然古希腊人对星盘十分熟悉，但它却是一种在伊斯兰世界格外重要的工具，因为能帮助信徒找到麦加的方向，所以传世最早的星盘是十世纪的伊斯兰物品，似乎是顺理成章的。本节图中所示的星盘出现于七百五十年前，是一个犹太人在西班牙制作的。上面雕刻了希伯来字母的铭文，但其中夹杂了西班牙文与阿拉伯文词汇，并结合了伊斯兰教和欧洲的装饰元素。它不只是一件先进的科学仪器，也是欧洲特殊的宗教和政治时期的一个象征。