100 YEARS AGO

One of the most remarkable architectural structures in existence is the left-handed spiral staircase in the Chateau de Blois, Touraine, built during the sixteenth century from designs by Leonardo da Vinci. In a well-illustrated and thoughtful article ... Mr. Theodore Cook shows that the design of this staircase corresponds so exactly with the spirals on the common Mediterranean shell known as Voluta vespertilio as to leave little doubt that the artist had that shell before him as his model. The spiral on the central column of the core of the staircase corresponds exactly, for instance, with the spiral ridges on the columella of the volute, as seen in section. This of itself would be strong, although perhaps not absolutely convincing, evidence as to the origin of the design. But the staircase has also an exquisite outer balustrade, which shows a correspondence to the coils on the external spire of the shell as close as that which obtains between the interior of the staircase and the columella of the volute ... It is remarkable, however, that the spirals in the staircase run in the reverse direction to those in normal examples of the shell, that of the central shaft being left-handed instead of right-handed.

From Nature 8 May 1902.

50 YEARS AGO

Dr. Derek Price has recently written two articles ... in which he describes some very interesting facts brought to light by a recent examination of a manuscript entitled “The Equatorie of the Planetis” in the Perne Library, Peterhouse, Cambridge. This was written in 1392, and if, as is now thought probable, it is a hitherto unknown work of Chaucer, the manuscript is of great importance as it would provide for the first time an example of Chaucer's handwriting and also an uncorrupted specimen of his language and spelling. Various lines of evidence suggest that Chaucer was the author and not Simon Bredon, to whom it was once attributed, as it is now known that the latter died on or before 1372, the date when his will proved. Probably the strongest evidence for the authorship is found in a note adjacent to a table for the conversion of years to solar days ... The “Equatorie” appears to be a free adaptation from an Arabic or Persian source, presumably through a Latin translation.

From Nature 10 May 1952.