The earliest known examples of the "wind-rose" are those in certain parchment charts preserved in the Biblioteca Marciana in Venice. These go back to 1426 or 1436, the best being ascribed to Andrea Bianco. They have the North indicated by a fleur-de-lys, a trident, a simple triangle, or a letter T; while the East is distinguisht by a cross. The West is marked with a P. (see Fincati, _op. citat._). The eight marks in order, clock wise, run thus,
[Lily] (or T). G. [Cross] (or L) S. O. A (or L). P. M.
The letters correspond to the Italian names of the principal winds:
Tramontano North. Greco North-East. Levante East. Sirocco South-East. Ostro South. Africo or Libeccio South-West. Ponente West. Maestro North-West.
Wind-roses marked with the names of the minor winds are found in Nautonier's _Mécometrie de l'Eyman_ (Vennes, 1602-1604, pp. 151-152), and Kircher's _Magnes Siue de Arte Magnetica_ (Colon. Agripp., 1643, p. 432). The description above given of the early Venetian wind-roses _exactly_ describes the compass-card as depicted by Pedro de Medina in his _Arte de Nauegar_ (Valladolid, 1545, folio lxxx.), in the sixth book entitled "las aguias de navegar"; while in the _Breve compendio de la sphera_ of Martin Cortes (Sevilla, 1551, cap. iii., _de la piedrayman_) a similar wind-rose, without the letters, is found.
{ 58} In the _De Ventis et navigatione_ of Michaele Angelo Blondo (Venet., 1546, p. 15) is given a wind-rose, described as "Pixis uel Buxolus instrumentum et dux nauigantium," having twenty-six points inscribed with the names of the winds, there being six between north and east, and six between south and west, and only five in each of the other quadrants. In the middle is a smaller wind-rose exactly like the early Italian ones just mentioned.
In the _Della Guerra di Rhodi_ of Jacobo Fontano (Venet., 1545, pages 71-74) is a chapter _Dei Venti, e della Bvssola di nauicare di Giovanni Quintino_, giving a wind-rose, and a table of the names of the winds, the north being indicated by a pointer, at the cusp of which are seven stars, and the west by an image of the sun. The other cardinal points are marked with letters.
Barlowe, in _The Navigators Supply_ (Lond., 1597), speaks thus: