Chaucer's Works, Volume 3 — The House of Fame; The Legend of Good Women; The Treatise on the Astrolabe; The Sources of the Canterbury TalesChaucer, Geoffrey
General
Chaucer's Works, Volume 3 — The House of Fame; The Legend of Good Women; The Treatise on the Astrolabe; The Sources of the Canterbury Tales
Chaucer, Geoffrey
English poetry -- Middle English, 1100-1500
3. The Moder of thyn Astrolabie is the thikkeste plate, perced
with a large hole, that resseyveth in hir wombe the thinne plates
compowned for diverse clymatz, and thy riet shapen in manere
of a net or of a webbe of a loppe; and for the more declaracioun,
lo here the figure. 5
4. This moder is devyded on the bak-half with a lyne, that
cometh dessendinge fro the ring down to the nethereste bordure.
The whiche lyne, fro the for-seide ring un-to the centre of the
large hole amidde, is cleped the south lyne, or elles the lyne
meridional. And the remenant of this lyne downe to the bordure 5
is cleped the north lyne, or elles the lyne of midnight. And for
the more declaracioun, lo here the figure.
5. Over-thwart this for-seide longe lyne, ther crosseth him
another lyne of the same lengthe from est to west. Of the
whiche lyne, from a litel croys + in the bordure un-to the centre
of the large hole, is cleped the Est lyne, or elles the lyne Orientale;
and the remenant of this lyne fro the forseide + un-to the bordure, 5
is cleped the West lyne, or the lyne Occidentale. Now hastow
here the foure quarters of thin Astrolabie, devyded after the foure
principals plages or quarters of the firmament. And for the more
declaracioun, lo here thy figure.
6. The est side of thyn Astrolabie is cleped the right side, and
the west side is cleped the left side. Forget nat this, litel Lowis.
Put the ring of thyn Astrolabie upon the thoumbe of thy right
hand, and thanne wole his right syde be toward thy left syde, and
his left syde wol be toward thy right syde; tak this rewle general, 5
as wel on the bak as on the wombe-side. Upon the ende of this
est lyne, as I first seide, is marked a litel +, wher-as evere-mo
generaly is considered the entring of the first degree in which the
sonne aryseth. And for the more declaracioun, lo here the
figure. 10
7. Fro this litel + up to the ende of the lyne meridional, under
the ring, shaltow finden the bordure devyded with 90 degrees;
and by that same proporcioun is every quarter of thin Astrolabie
devyded. Over the whiche degrees ther ben noumbres of augrim,
that devyden thilke same degrees fro fyve to fyve, as sheweth by 5
longe strykes by-twene. Of whiche longe strykes the space by-twene
contienith a mile-wey. And every degree of the bordure
contieneth foure minutes, that is to seyn, minutes of an houre.
And for more declaracioun, lo here the figure.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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