Volvelles

Originating as a slide chart with overlapping rotatable paper or parchment circles that are connected in the center and contained within a manuscript or codex, the volvelle was used between the 13th and 16th centuries to predict or record external events based on the alignment of written or drawn symbols or words. Being useful just as they are intricate and striking, they are deployed often to teach concepts to individual learners. The volvelle defies the formal convention of the book due to its impermanence, and its reliance on interaction. It connects external events to the book, integrating the instrument and book, extending its relevant authority contained within the text in a practical way to obtain real world information.

The creation and use of the volvelle can be traced to medieval Europe during the 13th century, and its inclusion in

Metal astrolabes precursor to the volvelle

manuscripts increased and grew in popularity between the 14th and 16th centuries. As an era of both deconstruction and devastation, as well as innovation and construction, the exploration of science spurred its invention. Its structure was derived directly from the astrolabe, a metal instrument that was used exclusively for astronomy, predicting the positions of the sun, moon, stars, and planets . During this period, astronomy and religion had deep-rooted connections within the medieval mind, associating “the above” as a significant mystery within Christianity as well as early scientific thought . The elements outside of Earth’s sphere were considered “heavenly bodies” and the volvelle helped to inform the viewer of their movements in the distant and intriguing features of the sky. The calculations done in such arenas were considered very sacred with “supernatural potential” because it entered the realm of the underlying structure of the universe, connoting for many the entrance into the mind of the Creator (Werner).

Apian wheels, a subcategory of volvelles