Today | News | Books | Recipes Adventure | Science Fiction | Ghost stories | Poetry | Children | History Booky of a planet being found in 'the way of the Sun' at midnight at the time of the Summer solstice, because Chaucer makes no assertion whatever here about the relative positions of the sun and planet; indeed, he carefully repeats 'if' three times. He is only concerned with defining the phrase--'the latitude of a planet from the way of the sun'; and in every possible case, it is clear that a planet can be either (1) situate in the small circle called in the Latin rubric _cursus solis_, or (2) to the north of such a circle, or (3) to the south of such a circle. About this there need be no difficulty at all. It is all copied from Messahala. § 31, l. 7. azimut] azymutz ABC; cf. sect. 32, l. 8. § 33, l. 2. Azimut] Azymutz ABC; minutis P; _the same error as in_ sect. 31, l. 7; _but see_ sect. 32, l. 8. 3. _second_ in] yn P; ABC _omit_. 4. the night] _so in_ AB; CP _om._ the. § 34. _English Rubric_; latitude for] _so in_ CP; latitude and for AB. 6. toucheth] touchiþ P; to which (_sic_) ABC; _see_ sect. 27, l. 6. § 35, l. 15. _After_ west side, AB _add_ & yf he be on the est syde, _a mere superfluous repetition_; see l. 11. 17. sothly] soþly CP; _miswritten_ he settes (!) AB. 18. hir Episicle] _so in_ CP; _by an odd mistake_, AB _put_ hire _after_ manere, _instead of before_ Episicle. § 37, l. 10. than] þan C; AB _omit_. is] AS _omit; but it is obviously wanted_; C _varies here_. 12. 12 house next] 12 hous next C; howses nex (_sic_) AB. 13. thanne] þan C; A _omits_. howse] hous C; howses AB. 17. AB _absurdly insert_ fro _before_ the byginning. 18. _first_ the] þe C; AB _omit_. § 38, l. 1. warpyng MP; werpynge C; weripinge (_sic_) A. 2. _first_ a CP; AB _omit_. 3, 4. an euene C; a enene AB (_twice_). 8. fro the centre; i.e. _above_ the centre. The length of the pin, measured from the centre in which it is inserted, is to be not more than a quarter of the diameter, or half the radius. This would make the ratio of the gnomon to the shadow (or radius) to be one-half, corresponding to an altitude _a_, where tan _a_ = ½; i.e. to an altitude of about 26½°. As Chaucer talks about the sun's altitude being 25½° at about 9 o'clock, at the time of the equinoxes (sect. 3), there is nothing that is particularly absurd in the text of this section. For Mr. Brae's conjectural emendations, see p. 56 of his edition. 16. tak thanne] _so in_ P; tak me thanne AB; take me þan C. But there seems no sufficient reason for thus inserting _me_ here. § 39. At this point MS. A, which has so far, in spite of occasional errors of the scribe, afforded a very fair text, begins to break down; probably because the corrector's hand has not touched the two concluding sections, although section 40 is much less corrupt. The result is worth recording, as it shews what we may expect to find, even in good MSS. of the Astrolabe. The section commences thus (the obvious misreadings being printed in italics):-- 'This lyne M_e_ridional ys but a Man_er_ desc_r_ipc_i_on _or the_ ymagined, that passeth vpon the pooles of þis _the_ world And by the cenyth of owre heued / And hit is _the same_ lyne M_er_idional / for in what place þat any maner man [_omission_] any tyme of the yer / whan that the sonne _schyneth ony thing_ of the firmament cometh to his verrey _Middel lyne of the_ place / than is hit verrey Midday, þat we clepen owre noon,' &c. It seems clear that this apparent trash was produced by a careless scribe, who had a good copy before him; it is therefore not necessary to reject it all as unworthy of consideration, but it is very necessary to correct it by collation with other copies. And this is what I have done. MS. B has almost exactly the same words; but the section is considerably better, in general sense, in MSS. C and P, for which reason I here quote from the former the whole section. [_Rawl. MS. Misc. 1370, fol. 40 b._] DESCRIPCIOUN OF ÞE MERIDIONAL LYNE, OF ÞE LONGITUDES AND LATITUDES OF CITEES AND TOWNES, AS WEL AS OF A (SIC) CLYMATZ. 39. _conclusio._ This lyne meridional is but a man_er_ discripcio[=n] or lyne ymagyned, þat passeþ upon þe pooles of þis worlde, and by þe Cenith of oure heued. ¶ And yt is cleped þe lyne meridional, for in what place þat any man ys at any time of þe [gh]ere, whan þat þe so_n_ne by menynge of þe firmament come to his uerrey meridian place / þan is it þe u_er_rey mydday þat we clepe none, as to þilke man. And þerefore is yt cleped þe lyne of mydday. And no_ta_, þat eu_er_mo of any .2. citees or of 2 townes, of which þat oo towne a-procheþ neer þe est þan doþ þe oþer towne, trust wel þat þilke townes han diuerse meridians. No_ta_ also, þat þe arche of þe equinoxial, þat is contened or bownded by-twixe þe two meridians, is cleped þe longitude of þe towne. ¶ & [gh]if so be / þat two townes haue I-like meridian or one merydian, ¶ Than ys þe distaunce of hem boþe I-like fer from þe est, & þe contrarye. And in þis maner þei chaunge not her meridyan, but soþly, þei chaungen her almyka_n_teras, For þe enhaunsynge of þe pool / and þe distau_n_ce of þe so_n_ne. ¶ The longitude of a clymate ys a lyne ymagyned fro þe est to þe west, I-like distaunte fro þe equinoxial. ¶ The latitude of a clymat may be cleped þe space of þe erþe fro þe by-gynnynge of þe first clymat unto þe ende of þe same clymat / euene-directe a-[gh]ens þe pool artyke. ¶ Thus seyn so_m_me auctours / and so_m_me clerkes seyn / þat [gh]if men clepen þe latitude of a contrey[61], þe arche mer[i]dian þat is contened or intercept by-twixe þe Cenyth & þe equinoxial; þan sey þei þat þe distaunce fro þe equinoxial unto þe ende of a clymat, euene[62] a-gaynes þe pool artik, is þe latitude off þ_a_t climat[62] forsoþe. The corrections made in this section are here fully described. 1. of lyne P; of a line I; or lyne C; or the AB. 2. this] þis the AB, _absurdly;_ CP _omit_ the, _rightly_. 3. ycleped the] y-clupid þe P; cleped þe C; the same (_sic_) AB. 4. is at; _supplied from_ PCI; AB _omit_. 5. by moeving] by meuynge C; by mevyng PI; schyneth ony thing (_sic_) A; schyned eny thing B; _for the spelling_ moeving, _see_ sect. 35, l. 5. 6. meridian CP; meridianale I; Middel lyne of the (_sic_) AB. 8. 2 citees CI; too citees P; any lynes (_sic_) AB. 9. aprocheth] a-procheþ C; ap_ro_chiþ P; _miswritten_ aprochid AB. more toward] neer C; ner P; neerer I; thoward AB. 11. conteyned I; conteynyd P; contened C; consideer_e_d (_sic_) A; contined B. 13. yf P; [gh]if C; if it I; AB _omit_. N.B. It is best to use the spelling _yif_, as the word is commonly so spelt in A. 22. same CPI; s_e_c_on_de AB. The reading _same_ is right; for the 'latitude of a climate' means the breadth of a zone of the earth, and the latitude of the first climate (here chosen by way of example) is the breadth as measured along a great circle perpendicular to the equator, from the beginning of the said f |