Originally, people tied strings or cloth to the
tops of buildings so that they could see which way the wind was
blowing. Later, banners became a popular ornament, and that is
where we get the “vane” in weathervane; an Old English word that
meant “banner” or “flag.” They all served the same purpose,
which was to turn and point in the direction of the wind.
The components of a weathervane are the vane, the mast, and the
directionals, which display the four points of the compass —
North, South, East, and West. The vane usually resembles an
arrow shape (with the rooster on top), which rotates freely and
points in the direction the wind is coming from while the
directionals remain stationary. So if the rooster and arrow are
pointing north, that means the winds are coming from the north,
and is referred to as “a North wind.”
In the biblical passages describing these events, it was said
that Peter would deny Jesus three times “before the rooster
crowed.” Because of this, the rooster became known to Christians
as the symbol of St. Peter. Sometime between 590 and 604 A.D.,
Pope Gregory I, took this a step farther, declaring that the
rooster, emblem of St. Peter, was the most suitable symbol for
Christianity. It is thought that this declaration led to the
first roosters appearing on top of weathervanes.
In the 9th century, Pope Nicholas made the rooster official. His
decree was that all churches must display the rooster on their
steeples or domes as a symbol of Peter’s betrayal of Jesus. In
accordance with the decree, churches started using weathervanes
with the rooster.
As centuries went by, the rule about placing roosters atop
churches went by the wayside, but roosters stayed on
weathervanes. European settlers brought weathervanes wherever
they traveled, including to the New World. Now you will find
weathervanes — mostly with roosters, but sometimes with other
symbols — topping buildings throughout the United States, Europe
and elsewhere.
Sep 24, 2020
Roosters on Weather Vanes
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