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• Introduction to the House of Fame
• Introduction to the Legend of Good Women.
• Introduction to a Treatise On the Astrolabe.
• Description of the Plates.
• The Hous of Fame.
• Book I.
• Book II.
• Book III.
• The Legend of Good Women.
• The Prologe of .ix. Goode Wimmen.
• I.: The Legend of Cleopatra.
• II.: The Legend of Thisbe of Babylon.
• III.: The Legend of Dido, Queen of Carthage.
• IV.: The Legend of Hypsipyle and Medea.
• V.: The Legend of Lucretia.
• VI.: The Legend of Ariadne.
• VII.: The Legend of Philomela.
• VIII.: The Legend of Phyllis.
• IX.: The Legend of Hypermnestra.
• A Treatise On the Astrolabe.
• Prologue.
• Part I.
• Part Ii
• Supplementary Propositions.
• Critical Notes
• Notes to the House of Fame.
• Notes to the Legend of Good Women.
• Sources of the Canterbury Tales.

PART I.

Here biginneth the descripcion of the Astrolabie.

1. Thyn Astrolabie hath a ring to putten on the thoumbe of thy right hand in taking the heighte of thinges. And tak keep, for from hennes-forthward, I wol clepe the heighte of any thing that is taken by thy rewle, the altitude, with-oute mo wordes.

2. This ring renneth in a maner turet, fast to the moder of thyn Astrolabie, in so rowm a space that hit desturbeth nat the instrument to hangen after his righte centre.

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,5 lo here the figure.

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 lyne5 meridional. And the remenant of this lyne downe to the bordure 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 by5 longe strykes by-twene. Of whiche longe strykes the space bytwene 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.

8. Under the compas of thilke degrees ben writen the names of the Twelve Signes, as Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricornus, Aquarius, Pisces; and the nombres of the degrees of tho signes ben writen in augrim5 above, and with longe devisiouns, fro fyve to fyve; devyded fro tyme that the signe entreth un-to the laste ende. But understond wel, that thise degrees of signes ben everich of hem considered of 60 minutes, and every minute of 60 secondes, and so forth in-to smale fraccions infinit, as seith Alkabucius . And10 ther-for, know wel, that a degree of the bordure contieneth foure minutes, and a degree of a signe contieneth 60 minutes, and have this in minde. And for the more declaracioun, lo here thy figure.

9. Next this folweth the Cercle of the Dayes, that ben figured in maner of degrees, that contienen in noumbre 365; divyded also with longe strykes fro fyve to fyve, and the nombres in augrim writen under that cercle. And for more declaracioun, lo5 here thy figure.

10. Next the Cercle of the Dayes, folweth the Cercle of the names of the Monthes; that is to seyen, Ianuare, Februare, Marcius, Aprile, Mayus, Iuin, Iulius, Augustus, Septembre, October, Novembre, Decembre. The names of thise monthes5 were cleped in Arabiens , somme for hir propretees, and some by statutz of lordes, some by other lordes of Rome. Eek of thise monthes, as lyked to Iulius Cesar and to Cesar Augustus, some were compowned of diverse nombres of dayes, as Iuil and August. Thanne hath Ianuare 31 dayes, Februare 28, March10 31, Aprille 30, May 31, Iunius 30, Iulius 31, Augustus 31, September 30, Octobre 31, Novembre 30, December 31. Natheles, al-though that Iulius Cesar took 2 dayes out of Feverer and put hem in his moneth of Iuille, and Augustus Cesar cleped the moneth of August after his name, and ordeyned it of 31 dayes, yit truste wel, that the sonne dwelleth ther-for nevere the more ne15 lesse in oon signe than in another.

11. Than folwen the names of the Halidayes in the Kalender, and next hem the lettres of the Abc. on which they fallen. And for the more declaracioun, lo here thy figure.

12. Next the forseide Cercle of the Abc., under the cros-lyne, is marked the scale, in maner of two squyres, or elles in manere of laddres, that serveth by hise 12 poyntes and his devisiouns of ful many a subtil conclusioun. Of this forseide scale, fro the cross-lyne un-to the verre angle, is cleped umbra versa, and the5nether partie is cleped the umbra recta, or elles umbra extensa. And for the more declaracioun, lo here the figure.

13. Thanne hastow a brood Rewle, that hath on either ende a square plate perced with a certein holes, some more and some lesse, to resseyven the stremes of the sonne by day, and eek by mediacioun of thyn eye, to knowe the altitude of sterres by nighte. And for the more declaracioun, lo here thy figure.5

14. Thanne is ther a large Pyn, in maner of an extree, that goth thorow the hole that halt the tables of the clymates and the riet in the wombe of the Moder, thorw which Pyn ther goth a litel wegge which that is cleped ‘the hors,’ that streyneth alle5 thise parties to-hepe; this forseide grete Pyn, in maner of an extree, is imagined to be the Pol Artik in thyn Astrolabie. And for the more declaracioun, lo here the figure.

15. The wombe-side of thyn Astrolabie is also devyded with a longe croys in foure quarters from est to west, fro south to north, fro right syde to left syde, as is the bak-syde. And for the more declaracioun, lo here thy figure.

16. The bordure of which wombe-side is devyded fro the poynt of the est lyne un-to the poynt of the south lyne under the ring, in 90 degres; and by that same proporcioun is every quarter devyded as is the bak-syde, that amonteth 360 degrees. And5 understond wel, that degrees of this bordure ben answering and consentrik to the degrees of the Equinoxial, that is devyded in the same nombre as every othere cercle is in the heye hevene. This same bordure is devyded also with 23 lettres capitals and a smal croys + above the south lyne, that sheweth the 24 houres10 equals of the clokke; and, as I have said, 5 of thise degrees maken a mile-wey, and 3 mile-wey maken an houre. And every degree of this bordure conteneth 4 minutes, and every minut 60 secoundes ; now have I told thee twye. And for the more declaracioun, lo here the figure.

17. The plate under thy riet is descryved with 3 principal cercles; of whiche the leste is cleped the cercle of Cancer, by-cause that the heved of Cancer turneth evermor consentrik up-on the same cercle. In this heved of Cancer is the grettest declinacioun northward of the sonne. And ther-for is he cleped the5 Solsticioun of Somer; whiche declinacioun, aftur Ptholome , is 23 degrees and 50 minutes, as wel in Cancer as in Capricorne. This signe of Cancre is cleped the Tropik of Somer, of tropos, that is to seyn ‘agaynward’; for thanne by-ginneth the sonne to passe fro us-ward. And for the more declaracioun, lo here the figure.10

The middel cercle in wydnesse, of thise 3, is cleped the Cercle Equinoxial; up-on whiche turneth evermo the hedes of Aries and Libra. And understond wel, that evermo this Cercle Equinoxial turneth iustly fro verrey est to verrey west; as I have shewed thee in the spere solide. This same cercle is cleped also the Weyere,15equator, of the day; for whan the sonne is in the hevedes of Aries and Libra, than ben the dayes and the nightes ilyke of lengthe in al the world. And ther-fore ben thise two signes called the Equinoxies. And alle that moeveth with-in the hevedes of thise Aries and Libra, his moeving is cleped north-ward;20 and alle that moeveth with-oute thise hevedes, his moeving is cleped south-ward as fro the equinoxial. Tak keep of thise latitudes north and sowth, and forget it nat. By this Cercle Equinoxial ben considered the 24 houres of the clokke; for25 everemo the arysing of 15 degrees of the equinoxial maketh an houre equal of the clokke. This equinoxial is cleped the girdel of the firste moeving, or elles of the angulus primi motus vel primi mobilis . And nota, that firste moeving is cleped ‘moeving’ of the firste moevable of the 8 spere, whiche moeving is fro est to30 west, and eft agayn in-to est; also it is clepid ‘girdel’ of the first moeving, for it departeth the firste moevable, that is to seyn, the spere, in two ilyke parties, evene-distantz fro the poles of this world.

The wydeste of thise three principal cercles is cleped the35 Cercle of Capricorne, by-cause that the heved of Capricorne turneth evermo consentrik up-on the same cercle. In the heved of this for-seide Capricorne is the grettest declinacioun southward of the sonne, and ther-for is it cleped the Solsticioun of Winter. This signe of Capricorne is also cleped the Tropik of Winter, for40 thanne byginneth the sonne to come agayn to us-ward. And for the more declaracioun, lo here thy figure.

18. Upon this forseide plate ben compassed certein cercles that highten Almicanteras, of which som of hem semen perfit cercles, and somme semen imperfit. The centre that standith a-middes the narwest cercle is cleped the Senith; and the5 netherest cercle, or the firste cercle, is clepid the Orisonte, that is to seyn, the cercle that devydeth the two emisperies, that is, the partie of the hevene a-bove the erthe and the partie be-nethe. Thise Almicanteras ben compowned by two and two, al-be-it so that on divers Astrolabies some Almicanteras ben devyded by oon,10 and some by two, and somme by three, after the quantite of the Astrolabie. This forseide senith is imagened to ben the verrey point over the crowne of thyn heved; and also this senith is the verrey pool of the orisonte in every regioun. And for the more declaracioun, lo here thy figure.

19. From this senith, as it semeth, ther come a maner crokede strykes lyke to the clawes of a loppe, or elles like to the werk of a womanes calle, in kerving overthwart the Almikanteras. And thise same strykes or divisiouns ben cleped Azimuthz. And they devyden the orisonte of thyn Astrolabie in four and twenty5 devisiouns. And thise Azimutz serven to knowe the costes of the firmament, and to othre conclusiouns, as for to knowe the cenith of the sonne and of every sterre. And for more declaracioun, lo here thy figure.

20. Next thise azimutz, under the Cercle of Cancer, ben ther twelve devisiouns embelif, moche like to the shap of the azimutes, that shewen the spaces of the houres of planetes; and for more declaracioun, lo here thy figure .

21. The Riet of thyn Astrolabie with thy zodiak, shapen in maner of a net or of a loppe-webbe after the olde descripcioun, which thow mayst tornen up and doun as thy-self lyketh, conteneth certein nombre of sterres fixes , with hir longitudes and latitudes determinat; yif so be that the makere have nat erred. The names5 of the sterres ben writen in the margin of the riet ther as they sitte; of whiche sterres the smale poynt is cleped the Centre. [ ] And understond also that alle sterres sittinge with-in the zodiak of thyn Astrolabie ben cleped ‘sterres of the north,’ for they arysen by northe the est lyne. And alle the remenant fixed, out of the10 zodiak, ben cleped ‘sterres of the south;’ but I sey nat that they arysen alle by southe the est lyne; witnesse on Aldeberan and Algomeysa. Generally understond this rewle, that thilke sterres that ben cleped sterres of the north arysen rather than the degree15 of hir longitude, and alle the sterres of the south arysen after the degree of hir longitude; this is to seyn, sterres fixed in thyn Astrolabie. The mesure of this longitude of sterres is taken in the lyne ecliptik of hevene, under which lyne, whan that the sonne and the mone ben lyne-right or elles in the superfice of this lyne,20 than is the eclips of the sonne or of the mone; as I shal declare, and eek the cause why. But sothly the Ecliptik Lyne of thy zodiak is the outtereste bordure of thy zodiak, ther the degrees ben marked.

Thy Zodiak of thyn Astrolabie is shapen as a compas which that25 conteneth a large brede, as after the quantite of thyn Astrolabie; in ensample that the zodiak in hevene is imagened to ben a superfice contening a latitude of twelve degrees, wheras al the remenant of cercles in the hevene ben imagined verrey lynes with-oute eny latitude. Amiddes this celestial zodiak ys imagined a lyne, which30 that is cleped the Ecliptik Lyne, under which lyne is evermo the wey of the sonne. Thus ben ther six degrees of the zodiak on that on side of the lyne, and six degrees on that other. This zodiak is devided in twelve principal devisiouns, that departen the twelve signes. And, for the streitnes of thin Astrolabie, than is35 every smal devisioun in a signe departid by two degrees and two; I mene degrees contening sixty minutes. And this forseide hevenissh zodiak is cleped the Cercle of the Signes, or the Cercle of the Bestes; for zodia in langage of Greek sowneth ‘bestes’ in Latin tonge; and in the zodiak ben the twelve signes that han40 names of bestes; or elles, for whan the sonne entreth in any of the [ ] signes, he taketh the propretee of swich bestes; or elles, for that the sterres that ben there fixed ben disposed in signes of bestes, or shape like bestes; or elles, whan the planetes ben under thilke signes, they causen us by hir influence operaciouns and effectes lyk to the operaciouns of bestes. And understonde also, that whan45 an hot planete cometh in-to an hot signe, than encresseth his hete, and yif a planete be cold, thanne amenuseth his coldnesse, by-cause of the hote signe. And by this conclusioun maystow take ensample in alle the signes, be they moist or drye, or moeble or fix; rekening the qualitee of the planete as I first seide. And everich of[ ]50 thise twelve signes hath respecte to a certein parcelle of the body of a man and hath it in governance; as Aries hath thyn heved, and Taurus thy nekke and thy throte, Gemini thyn armholes and thyn armes, and so forth; as shal be shewed more pleyn in the fifte [ ] partie of this tretis. This zodiak, which that is part of the eighte55 spere, over-kerveth the equinoxial; and he over-kerveth him again in evene parties ; and that on half declineth southward, and that other northward, as pleynly declareth the tretis of the spere. And for more declaracioun, lo here thy figure.

22. Thanne hastow a label, that is schapen lyk a rewle, save that it is streit and hath no plates on either ende with holes; but, with the smale point of the forseide label, shaltow calcule thyne equaciouns in the bordure of thin Astrolabie, as by thyn almury. And for the more declaracioun, lo here thy figure.5

23. Thyn Almury is cleped the Denticle of Capricorne, or elles the Calculer. This same Almury sit fix in the hed of Capricorne, and it serveth of many a necessarie conclusioun in equaciouns of thinges, as shal be shewed; and for the more declaracioun, lo here5 thy figure.

Here endeth the descripcion of the Astrolabie.

Here begins the first part; i. e. the description of the Astrolabe itself.

1.The Ring. See figs. 1 and 2. The Latin name is Armilla suspensoria; the Arabic name is spelt alhahuacia in MS. Camb. Univ. li. 3. 3, but Stöffler says it is Alanthica, Alphantia, or Abalhantica. For the meaning of ‘rewle,’ see § 13.

2.The Turet. This answers nearly to what we call an eye or a swivel. The metal plate, or loop, to which it is fastened, or in which it turns, is called in Latin Ansa or Armilla Reflexa, in Arabic Alhabos.

3.The Moder. In Latin, Mater or Rotula. This forms the body of the instrument, the back of which is shewn in fig. 1, the front in fig. 2. The ‘large hole’ is the wide depression sunk in the front of it, into which the various discs are dropped. In the figure, the ‘Rete’ is shewn fitted into it.

4. See fig. 1; Chaucer describes the ‘bak-half’ of the instrument first. The centre of the ‘large hole amydde’ is the centre of the instrument, where a smaller hole is pierced completely through. The Southe lyne (marked Meridies in figs. 1 and 2) is also called Linea Meridiei; the North lyne is also named Linea Mediæ Noctis.

5. The Est lyne is marked with the word Oriens; the West lyne, with Occidens.

6. The rule is the same as in heraldry, the right or dexter side being towards the spectator’s left.

7. As the 360 degrees answer to 24 hours of time, 15° answer to an hour, and 5° to twenty minutes, or a Mile-way, as it is the average time for walking a mile. So also 1° answers to 4 minutes of time. See the two outermost circles in fig. 1, and the divisions of the ‘border’ in fig. 2.

8. See the third and fourth circles (reckoning inwards) in fig. 1.

9. See the fifth and sixth circles in fig. 1.

10. See the seventh, eighth, and ninth circles in fig. 1. The names of the months are all Roman. The month formerly called Quinctilis was first called Julius in 44; that called Sextilis was named Augustus in 27. It is a mistake to say that Julius and Augustus made the alterations spoken of in the text; what Julius Cæsar really did, was to add 2 days to the months of January, August (Sextilis), and December, and 1 day to April, June, September, and November. February never had more than 28 days till he introduced bissextile years.

11. See the two inmost circles in fig. 1. The names given are adopted from a comparison of the figures in the Cambridge University and Trinity MSS., neither of which are quite correct. The letters of the ‘Abc.’ are what we now call the Sunday letters. The festivals marked are those of St. Paul (Jan. 25), The Purification (Feb. 2), The Annunciation (Mar. 25), The Invention of the Holy Cross (May 3), St. John the Baptist (June 24), St. James (July 25), St. Lawrence (Aug. 10), The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin (Sept. 8), St. Luke (Oct. 18), St. Martin of Tours (Nov. 11), and St. Thomas (Dec. 21).

12. The ‘scale’ is in Latin Quadrans, or Scala Altimetra. It is certain that Chaucer has here made a slip, which cannot be fairly laid to the charge of the scribes, as the MSS. agree in transposing versa and recta. The side-parts of the scale are called Umbra versa, the lower part Umbra recta or extensa. This will appear more clearly at the end of Part II. (I here give a corrected text.)

13. See fig. 3, Plate III. Each plate turns on a hinge, just like the ‘sights’ of a gun. One is drawn flat down, the other partly elevated. Each plate (tabella vel pinnula) has two holes, the smaller one being the lower. This Rewle is named in Arabic Alhidada or Alidada in Latin Verticulum, from its turning easily on the centre; in Greek Dioptra, as carrying the sights. The straight edge, passing through the centre, is called the Linea Fiduciæ. It is pierced by a hole in the centre, of the same size as that in the Mother.

14. See fig. 4, Plate III. The Pin is also called Axis or Clavus, in Latin-Arabic Alchitot; it occupies the position of the Arctic or North Pole, passing through the centre of the plates that are required to turn round it. The Wedge is called cuneus, or equus restringens, in Arabic Alfaras or the horse, because it was sometimes cut into the shape of a horse, as shewn in fig. 7, Plate IV, which is copied from MS. Univ. Camb. Ii. 3. 3.

15. See fig. 2, Plate II. In the figure, the cross-lines are partly hidden by the Rete, which is separate and removable, and revolves within the border.

16. The Border was also called Margilabrum, Margolabrum, or Limbus. It is marked (as explained) with hour-letters and degrees. Each degree contains 4 minutes of time, and each of these minutes contains 60 seconds of time.

17. We may place under the Rete any plates we please. If only the Mother be under it, without any plate, we may suppose the Mother marked as in fig. 2. The plate or disc (tympanum) which was usually dropped in under the Rete is that shewn in fig. 5, Plate III, and which Chaucer now describes. Any number of these, marked differently for different latitudes, could be provided for the Astrolabe. The greatest declination of the sun measures the obliquity of the ecliptic, the true value of which is slightly variable, but was about 23° 31′ in Chaucer’s time, and about 23° 40′ in the time of Ptolemy, who certainly assigns to it too large a value. The value of it must be known before the three circles can be drawn. The method of finding their relative magnitudes is very simple. Let ABCD (fig. 8, Pl. IV) be the tropic of Capricorn, BO the South line, OC the West line. Make the angle EOB equal to the obliquity (say 23½°), and join EA, meeting BO in F. Then OF is the radius of the Equatorial circle, and if GH be drawn parallel to EF, OH is the radius of the Tropic of Cancer. In the phrase angulus primi motus, angulus must be taken to mean angular motion. The ‘first moving’ (primus motus) has its name of ‘moving’ (motus) from its denoting motion due to the primum mobile or ‘first moveable.’ This primum mobile (usually considered as the ninth sphere) causes the rotation of the eighth sphere, or sphæra stellarum fixarum. See the fig. in MS. Camb. Univ. Ii. 3. 3 (copied in fig. 10, PL V). Some authors make 12 heavens, viz. those of the 7 planets, the firmamentum (stellarum fixarum), the nonum cœlum, decimum cœlum, primum mobile, and cœlum empyræum.

18. See fig. 5, Pl. III. This is made upon the alt-azimuth system, and the plates are marked according to the latitude. The circles, called in Latin circuli progressionum, in Arabic Almucantarät, are circles of altitude, the largest imperfect one representing the horizon (horizon obliquus), and the central dot being the zenith, or pole of the horizon. In my figure, they are ‘compounded by’ 5 and 5, but Chaucer’s shewed every second degree, i. e. it possessed 45 such circles. For the method of drawing them, see Stöffler, leaf 5, back.

19. Some Astrolabes shew 18 of these azimuthal circles, as in my figure (fig. 5, Pl. III). See Stöffler, leaf 13, where will be found also the rules for drawing them.

20. If accurately drawn, these embelife or oblique lines should divide the portions of the three circles below the horizon obliquus into twelve equal parts. Thus each arc is determined by having to pass through three known points. They are called arcus horarum inequalium, as they shew the ‘houres inequales.’

21. In fig. 2, Pl. II, the Rete is shewn as it appears when dropped into the depression in the front of the instrument. The shape of it varied much, and another drawing of one (copied from Camb. Univ. MS. Ii. 3. 3, fol. 66 b) is given in fig. 9, Pl. IV. The positions of the stars are marked by the extreme points of the metal tongues. Fig. 2 is taken from the figures in the Cambridge MSS., but the positions of the stars have been corrected by the list of latitudes and longitudes given by Stöffler, whom I have followed, not because he is correct, but because he probably represents their positions as they were supposed to be in Chaucer’s time very nearly indeed. There was not room to inscribe the names of all the stars on the Rete, and to have written them on the plate below would have conveyed a false impression. A list of the stars marked in fig. 2 is given in the note to § 21, l. 4. The Ecliptic is the circle which crosses the Equinoctial at its East and West points (fig. 2). In Chaucer’s description of the zodiac, carefully note the distinction between the Zodiac of the Astrolabe and the Zodiac of Heaven. The former is only six degrees broad, and shews only the northern half of the heavenly zodiac, the breadth of which is imagined to be 12 degrees. Chaucer’s zodiac only shewed every other degree in the divisions round its border. This border is divided by help of a table of right ascensions of the various degrees of the ecliptic, which is by no means easily done. See Note on l. 4 of this section. I may add that the Rete is also called Aranea or Volvellum; in Arabic, Al’ancabūt (the spider).

22.The Label. See fig. 6, Pl. III. The label is more usually used on the front of the instrument, where the Rete and other plates revolve. The rule is used on the back, for taking altitudes by help of the scale.

23.The Almury; called also denticulus, ostensor, or ‘calculer.’ In fig. 2, it may be seen that the edge of the Rete is cut away near the head of Capricorn, leaving only a small pointed projecting tongue, which is the almury or denticle, or (as we should now say) pointer. As the Rete revolves, it points to the different degrees of the border. See also fig. 9, where the almury is plainly marked.

[Part I. § 1, l. 3.]wol B; wolde AC.

[§ 2, l. 2.]Rowm is here an adjective, meaning large, ample. It is the right reading; we find Rowm AB rowme C; rvm M.

[§ 3, l. 1.]AB omit the.

[§ 9, l. 3.]nombre AB; noumbre C; but nombres in old editions.

[§ 12, l. 5.]The MSS. all1 read—‘vmbra recta or elles vmbra extensa, & the nether partie is cleped the vmbra versa.’ This is certainly wrong.

[§ 13, l. 2.]a certein] so in AB; CM omit a. But Chaucer certainly uses the phrase ‘a certain’; cf. ‘of unces a certain,’ C. T., G 776; and see G 1024.

[§ 14, ll. 2, 5.]The word halt for holdeth, and the expression to-hepe, together, both occur in Troil. iii. 1764:— ‘And lost were al, that Love halt now to-hepe.’

[§ 17, l. 1.]principal C; tropikal AB; M om. The reading tropikal is absurd, because there are but two such; besides which, see l. 34 below.

[17.]the nyht (over an erasure) B; thee nyht (over an erasure) A; þe niȜtes C; þe nyȜtes M.

[§ 20, l. 4.]figure; here (and sometimes elsewhere) miswritten vigur A. Throughout the whole treatise, the scribe has commonly written ‘vigur’; in many places, it has been corrected to ‘figure.’

[§ 21, l. 15.]the (before sterres) supplied from BC.

[27.]where as C; wher AB.

[56.]ouerkeruyd A; ouerkerued B; ouerkerueth (the latter part of the word over an erasure) C; first time only.

[56.]hir] his ABC. a] ABC omit.

[57.]At the word houre four of the best MSS. break off, viz. MSS. ABCE, although E adds one more section, viz. sect. 46; others come to a sudden end even sooner, viz. MSS. DFGHK. But MS. P carries us on to the end of sect. 43, and supplies the words—þu shalt do wel ynow, as in the old editions.

[Part I. § 5, l. 5.]the remenant, &c. i.e. the rest of this line (drawn, as I said,) from the foresaid cross to the border. This appears awkward, and we should have expected ‘fro the forseide centre,’ as Mr. Brae suggests; but there is no authority for making the alteration. As the reading stands, we must put no comma after ‘this lyne,’ but read right on without a pause.

[8.]principals. It it not unusual to find adjectives of French origin retaining s in the plural; only they commonly follow their nouns when thus spelt. Cf. lettres capitals, i. 16. 8; sterres fixes, i. 21. 4. On the other hand, we find principal cercles, i. 17. 34.

[§ 7. 4.]noumbres of augrim; Arabic numerals. The degrees of the border are said to contain 4 minutes of time, whilst the degrees of the signs are divided into minutes and seconds of angular measurement, the degrees in each case being the same. There is no confusion in practice between these, because the former are used in measuring time, the latter in measuring angles.

[§ 8. 9.]Alkabucius; i. e. (says Warton, Hist. E. P. ii. 357, ed. 1871) Abdilazi Alchabitius, whose Introductiorium ad scientiam judicialem astronomiæ was printed in 1473, and afterwards. Mr. Brae quotes the very passage to which Chaucer refers, which I here quote from the edition of 1482, as described in my note to l. 119 of The Compleint of Mars (see vol. i. p. 500); viz. ‘Unumquodque istorum signorum diuiditur in 30 partes equales, que gradus vocantur. Et gradus diuiditur in 60 minuta; et minutum in 60 secunda; et secundum in 60 tertia. Similiterque sequuntur quarta, scilicet et quinta, ascendendo usque ad infinita;’ Alchabitii Differentia Prima.

These minute subdivisions were never used; it was a mere affectation of accuracy, the like of which was never attained.

[§ 10. 5.]in Arabiens, amongst the Arabians. But he goes on to speak only of the Roman names of the months. Yet I may observe that in MS. Ii. 3. 3, at fol. 97, the Arabian, Syrian, and Egyptian names of the months are given as well as the Roman.

[§ 16. 12.]& every minut 60 secoundes; i. e. every minute contains 60 seconds. The sentence, in fact, merely comes to this. ‘Every degree of the border contains four minutes (of time), and every minute (of time) contains sixty seconds (of time).’ This is consistent and intelligible. Mr. Brae proposes to read ‘four seconds’; this would mean that ‘every degree of the border contains four minutes (of time), and every minute (of the border) contains four seconds (of time).’ Both statements are true; but, in the latter case, Chaucer should have repeated the words ‘of the bordure.’ However this may be, the proposed emendation lacks authority, although the reprint of Speght changed ‘lx’ into ‘fourtie,’ which comes near to ‘four.’ But the reprint of Speght is of no value at all. See Mr. Brae’s preface, p. 4, for the defence of his proposed emendation, which is entirely needless.

[§ 17. 6.]Ptholome. The St. John’s MS. has ptolomeys almagest. ‘Almagest, a name given by the Arabs to the μεγάλη σύνταξις, or great collection, the celebrated work of Ptolemy, the astronomer of Alexandria [floruit ad 140-160]. It was translated into Arabic about the year ad 827, under the patronage of the Caliph Al Mamun, by the Jew Alhazen ben Joseph, and the Christian Sergius. The word is the Arabic article al prefixed to the Greek megistus, “greatest,” a name probably derived from the title of the work itself, or, as we may judge from the superlative adjective, partly from the estimation in which it was held.’—English Cyclopædia: Arts and Sciences, i. 223. The Almagest ‘was in thirteen books. Ptolemy wrote also four books of judicial astrology. He was an Egyptian astrologist, and flourished under Marcus Antoninus. He is mentioned in the Sompnour’s Tale [D 2289], and the Wif of Bathes Prologue, ll. 182, 324.’—Warton, Hist. E. P. ii. 356, ed. 1871. The word almagest occurs in the Milleres Tale, near the beginning (A 3208), and twice in the Wif of Bathes Prologue (D 183, 325).

Chaucer says the obliquity of the ecliptic, according to Ptolemy, was 23° 50′. The exact value, according to Ptolemy, was 23° 51′ 20″; Almagest, lib. i. c. 13. But Chaucer did not care about the odd degree, and gives it nearly enough. See note to ii. 25. 19.

8. tropos, a turning; Chaucer gives it the sense of agaynward, i. e. in a returning direction.

14. The equinoctial was supposed to revolve, because it was the ‘girdle’ of the primum mobile, and turned with it. See note below to l. 28.

14, 15. ‘As I have shewed thee in the solid sphere.’ This is interesting, as shewing that Chaucer had already given his son some lessons on the motions of the heavenly bodies, before writing this treatise.

[27.]angulus. We should rather have expected the word spera or sphera; cf. ‘the sper solide’ above, l. 15.

[28.]‘And observe, that this first moving (primus motus) is so called from the first movable (primum mobile) of the eighth sphere, which moving or motion is from East to West,’ &c. There is an apparent confusion in this, because the primum mobile was the ninth sphere see Plate V, fig. 10); but it may be called the movable of the eighth, as giving motion to it. An attempt was made to explain the movements of the heavenly bodies by imagining the earth to be in the centre, surrounded by a series of concentric spheres, or rather shells, like the coats of an onion. Of these the seven innermost, all revolving with different velocities, each carried with it a planet. Beyond these was an eighth sphere, which was at first supposed to be divided into two parts, the inner part being the firmamentum, and the outer part the primum mobile; hence the primum mobile might have been called ‘the first moving of the eighth sphere,’ as accounting for the more important part of the motion of the said sphere. It is simpler, however, to make these distinct, in which case the eighth sphere is the firmamentum or sphæra stellarum fixarum, which was supposed to have a very slow motion from West to East round the poles of the zodiac to account for the precession of the equinoxes, whilst the ninth sphere, or primum mobile, whirled round from East to West once in 24 hours, carrying all the inner spheres with it, by which means the ancients accounted for the diurnal revolution. This ninth sphere had for its poles the north and south poles of the heavens, and its ‘girdle’ (or great circle equidistant from the poles) was the equator itself. Hence the equator is here called the ‘girdle of the first moving.’ As the planetary spheres revolved in an opposite direction, thus accounting for the forward motion of the sun and planets in the ecliptic or near it, the primum mobile was considered to revolve in a backward or unnatural direction, and hence Chaucer’s apostrophe to it (Man of Lawes Tale, B 295):—

• ‘O firste moevyng cruel firmament,
• With thy diurnal sweigh that crowdest ay
• And hurlest all from Est til Occident,
• That naturelly wolde holde another way.’

That is—‘O thou primum mobile, thou cruel firmament, that with thy diurnal revolution (or revolution once in 24 hours round the axis of the equator) continually forcest along and whirlest all the celestial bodies from East to West, which naturally would wish to follow the course of the sun in the zodiac from West to East.’ This is well illustrated by a sidenote in the Ellesmere MS. to the passage in question, to this effect:—‘Vnde Ptholomeus, libro i. cap. 8. Primi motus celi duo sunt, quorum vnus est qui mouet totum semper ab Oriente in Occidentem vno modo super orbes, &c. Item aliter vero motus est qui mouet orbem stellarum currencium contra motum primum, videlicet, ab Occidente in Orientum super alios duos polos1 .’ That is, the two chief motions are that of the primum mobile, which carries everything round from East to West, and that of the fixed stars, which is a slow motion from West to East round the axis of the zodiac, to account for precession. This exactly explains the well-known passage in the Frankeleines Tale (C. T., F 1280):—

• ‘And by his eighte spere in his werking,
• He knew ful wel how fer Alnath was shove
• Fro the heed of thilke fixe Aries above
• That in the ninthe spere considered is.’

Here the eight spheres are the eight inner spheres which revolve round the axis of the zodiac in an easterly direction, whilst the ninth sphere, or primum mobile, contained both the theoretical or fixed first point of Aries from which measurements were made, and also the signs of the zodiac as distinct from the constellations. But Alnath, being an actual star, viz, α Arietis2 , was in the eighth sphere; and the distance between its position and that of the first point of Aries at any time afforded a measure of the amount of precession. Mr. Brae rightly remarks that Tyrwhitt’s readings in this passage are correct (except that eighte speres should be eightespere), and those of Mr. Wright and Dr. Morris (from the Harleian MS.) are incorrect.

It may be as well to add that a later refinement was to insert a crystalline sphere, to account for the precession; so that the order stood thus: seven spheres of planets; the eighth, of fixed stars; the ninth, or crystalline; the tenth, or primum mobile; and, beyond these, an empyræan or theological heaven, so to speak, due to no astronomical wants, but used to express the place of residence of celestial beings3 . Hence the passage in Milton, P. L. iii. 481:—

• ‘They pass the planets seven, and pass the fix’d,
• And that crystalline sphere whose balance weighs
• The trepidation talk’d, and that first mov’d.’

i. e. They pass the seven planetary spheres; then the sphere of fixed stars; then the crystalline or transparent one, whose swaying motion or libration measures the amount of the precession and nutation so often talked of; and then, the sphere of the primum mobile itself. But Milton clearly himself believed in the Copernican system; see Paradise Lost, viii. 121-140, where the primum mobile is described in the lines—

• ‘that swift
• Nocturnal and diurnal rhomb supposed,
• Invisible else above all stars, the wheel
• Of day and night.’

[§ 18. 8.]compowned by 2 & 2. This means that in the best astrolabes, every almicantarath for every degree of latitude was marked; as may be seen in Metius. In others, including the one given by Chaucer to his son, they were marked only for every other degree. See Part II. sect. 5, l. 2.

[§ 19. 7.]cenith, as here used, has a totally different meaning from that of senith, in l. 1 above. The senith in l. 1 is what we still call the zenith; but the cenith in l. 7 means the point of the horizon denoting the sun’s place in azimuth. Contrary to what one might expect, the latter is the true original meaning, as the word zenith is corrupted from the root of the word which we now spell azimuth. The Arabic as-sant is a way or path; al-samt, a point of the horizon, and, secondly, an azimuthal circle. The plural of al-samt is assumūt, whence azimuth. But zenith is a corruption of semt, from samt al-rās, the Arabic name of the vertex of heaven (rās meaning a head); and the qualifying al-rās, the most important part of the phrase, has been improperly dropped. So far from the reading cenith being wrong here, it is most entirely right, and may be found (better spelt cenit) in the same sense in Messahala. See p. 213, second footnote. For cenith, some late copies have signet, evidently taken from the Latin word signum. They make the same mistake even in l. 12 of section 18.

[§ 21. 4.]sterres fixes, fixed stars; here the s again appears in a plural adjective of French derivation; see note above, to § 5. 8. In MSS. Ii. 3. 3 and Ii. 1. 13 in the Cambridge University Library, is an interesting list of the 49 stars most usually placed upon the Astrolabe. The stars which are represented by the points of the tongues in Fig. 2 are the same as those in the diagram from which Fig. 2 is copied, the original of which is in MS. A. I have slightly altered the positions of the points of the tongues, to make them somewhat more correct. The following is the list of the stars there shewn; most of their names are written in the MS. Cf. footnote on p. 186.

Within the Zodiac. In Aries, Mirach, or β Andromedæ, shewn by a short tongue above Aries; in Taurus, Algol, or β Persei, as marked; in Libra, Aliot or Alioth, i. e. ε Ursæ Majoris (the third horse, next the cart, in Charles’s Wain), as marked; also Alramech, Arcturus, or α Boötis, shewn by the tongue projecting above Libra; in Scorpio, Alpheta, Alphecca, or α Coronæ Borealis, as marked; in Sagittarius, Raz Alhagus, or α Ophiuchi, near Alpheta; in Capricornus, Altair or α Aquilæ and Vega or α Lyræ, as marked, whilst near Vega is the unmarked Arided, or α Cygni; and in Pisces, Markab or α Pegasi.

Without the Zodiac. In Aries, under Oriens, the slight projection marks β Ceti or Deneb Kaitos, the Whale’s Tail, and the next curiously shaped projection (with side-tongues probably referring to other stars) means Batnkaitos, the Whale’s Belly, apparently ζ Ceti; next come the long tongue for Menkar or α Ceti, the Whale’s Nose; the star Aldebaran or Bull’s Eye, α Tauri; Rigel or β Orionis, Orion’s Foot; Alhabor or Sirius, the Dog-star, marked by a rude drawing of a dog’s head, the star itself being at the tip of his tongue; then Algomeisa, Procyon, or α Canis Minoris, marked by a tongue pointing to the left, whilst the long broad tongue pointing upwards is Regulus, Kalbalased, or α Leonis; the small tongue above the letter I in the border is Alphard or Cor Hydræ. Above Occidens, in Libra, the first tongue is Algorab or δ Corvi, and the next Spica Virginis or Azimech; close to the 8th degree of Scorpio is α Libræ, and close to the beginning of Sagittarius is a small head, denoting the Scorpion, at the tip of the tongue of which is the bright Kalbalacrab or Antares. The last, a projection below the letter X, is Deneb Algebi or the Goat’s Tail, i. e. δ Capricorni.

[7.]That is, the little point at the end of each tongue of metal is technically called the ‘centre’ of the star, and denotes its exact position.

[9.]The stars of the North are those to the North of the zodiac, not of the equator.

[12.]Aldeberan, &c.; the stars Aldebaran (α Tauri) and Algomeisa (α Canis Minoris) are called stars of the south, because they are to the south of the ecliptic; but as they are meanwhile (see Fig. 2) also to the north of the equator, they of course rise to the N. of the Eastern point of the horizon. The longitude of stars was always measured along the ecliptic, which is denoted in Fig. 2 by the outermost circle of the metal ring on which the names of the signs are written.

In one of the tracts in MS. G (dated ad 1486), p. 30, we find ‘Aldebaran, in the first gre of geminis (sic), of the nature of Mars and Venus’; and ‘Algomeisa, canis minor, in the xvij gre of Cancer, of the nature of Mars and Mercury.’

[29.]Amiddes, &c. Observe that the Ecliptic line in the midst of the celestial zodiac, a belt 12° broad, is on the outer edge of the zodiac as shewn in the astrolabe, which is only 6° broad and shews only the northern half of that belt. The ‘way of the sun’ is elsewhere used of the sun’s apparent diurnal path (see Part ii. sect. 30); but it here refers, as is more usual, to the annual path.

[34.]streitnes, narrowness, closeness, smallness of size. In Fig. 2, I have marked every degree in the southern half of the zodiac, but only every fifth degree in the northern, in order to avoid an appearance of crowding in so small a figure. In Chaucer’s own Astrolabe, every other degree was marked all round.

[40.]Here Chaucer gives at least three reasons for the name of ‘zodiac.’ The true one is the second, ‘for that the sterres that ben there fixed ben disposed in signes of bestes, or shape like bestes.’ But these imaginary shapes are very absurd and arbitrary.

[50.]Not only the influences here assigned to the signs, but others due to planets, may be found in ‘Porphyrii Philosophi introductio in Claudii Ptolomæi opus de affectibus astrorum,’ fol. Basileæ, n. d. p. 198. I here add a few extracts from the MS. in Trinity College, Cambridge (marked R. 15. 18), to shew the nature of the old astrology. I choose them with especial reference to Aries. The other signs are spoken of in a similar manner. ‘It is principally to be considered that the signes of hevyn haue theire strength and propre significacioun vpon the membris of eny man; as, Aries hath respect to the hed, taurus to the neck, geminis (sic) the Armys, Cancer the brest, leo the hert, virgo the bowels, &c.; as it shall shew in the Chapiters folowyng. Secundarily it is to be noted that plotholomee (sic) saith, that to touche with instrument of yroun while the mone is in the signe of the same membre, is for to be dred; let the surgen beware, and the letter of blode, let hym be aferd to touche that membre with yrene, in the which the mone shal be.’—MS. G; Tract C. p. 12.

‘Thenne Aries hath respect to the hed; And this signe is hote and dry, fiery & colerik. Saturne hath ij witnes in Ariete, a triplicitate and a terme. Jubiter also hath ij, a triplicitate and a terme. Mars hath iij testimonials or iij fortitudis in Ariete, A hows, A face, and A terme. The sonne hath iij fortitudis in Ariete, scilicet, an exaltacioun, a triplicite, and a face. Venus hath ij testimonials, A terme and a face. Mercury hath one testymony, that is to sey, a terme. And luna in Ariete hath no testimoniall. For the which it is to know, that the influens of the planetis may be fortyfied v maner of wayes. And these v maner be called v fortitudis of planetis, or testimonials, which be these: domus, exaltacio, triplicitas, terminus, and facies. Domus gevith to a planet v fortitudis; And a planet in his hows is lyke a kynge in his hall, And in the high trone of his glorie. A planet in his exaltacioun is lyke a kynge when he is crowned. A planet in his triplicite is like a kynge in honour, Amonge his sencible people. A planet in his terme is As a mann amonges his kynnesmenn And fryndis. Facies gyvith to a planet that thyng the which rowme gyvith to a maistre. Wherfore facies gyvith only on fortitude, Terminus ij, Triplicitas iij, Exaltacio iiij, And domus v. And for the more clere declaracioun, the dignytes of planettis in signes be comprehendid in this figure ensuynge, &c.1 ’—Same MS., Tract C. p. 13.

‘The dygnytes of planetis in the signes, most speciall they be to be noted in iudicials. When the mone is in Ariete, it is not gode, but vtterly to be exshewed, both for seke And disesid, for to shafe theire hede or to boist in the eris or in the nek; nor loke þou let no blode in the vayn of the hede. How-be-it, benyficiall it is to begynne euery worke that þou woldest bryng aboute sone. But that thynge that is stabill ought to be eschewed. In this signe it is necessary to dele with noble estatis And rich men, And for to go in-to A bayne [bath]1 .’—Same MS., Tract C. p. 14.

[54, 5.]See Prologue, l. 73. As the zodiak is here called a part of the eighth sphere, so we have been before told that the equinoctial is the girdle of the ninth sphere; see note above to sect. 17. l. 28.

[57.]evene parties, equal parts. That is, the equinoctial bisects the zodiac. But the northern half looks much smaller than the southern on the Astrolabe, owing to the manner in which the zodiac is there represented, viz. by projection on the plane of the equator.

[§ 12, l. 5.]The MSS. all1 read—‘vmbra recta or elles vmbra extensa, & the nether partie is cleped the vmbra versa.’ This is certainly wrong.

[28.]‘And observe, that this first moving (primus motus) is so called from the first movable (primum mobile) of the eighth sphere, which moving or motion is from East to West,’ &c. There is an apparent confusion in this, because the primum mobile was the ninth sphere see Plate V, fig. 10); but it may be called the movable of the eighth, as giving motion to it. An attempt was made to explain the movements of the heavenly bodies by imagining the earth to be in the centre, surrounded by a series of concentric spheres, or rather shells, like the coats of an onion. Of these the seven innermost, all revolving with different velocities, each carried with it a planet. Beyond these was an eighth sphere, which was at first supposed to be divided into two parts, the inner part being the firmamentum, and the outer part the primum mobile; hence the primum mobile might have been called ‘the first moving of the eighth sphere,’ as accounting for the more important part of the motion of the said sphere. It is simpler, however, to make these distinct, in which case the eighth sphere is the firmamentum or sphæra stellarum fixarum, which was supposed to have a very slow motion from West to East round the poles of the zodiac to account for the precession of the equinoxes, whilst the ninth sphere, or primum mobile, whirled round from East to West once in 24 hours, carrying all the inner spheres with it, by which means the ancients accounted for the diurnal revolution. This ninth sphere had for its poles the north and south poles of the heavens, and its ‘girdle’ (or great circle equidistant from the poles) was the equator itself. Hence the equator is here called the ‘girdle of the first moving.’ As the planetary spheres revolved in an opposite direction, thus accounting for the forward motion of the sun and planets in the ecliptic or near it, the primum mobile was considered to revolve in a backward or unnatural direction, and hence Chaucer’s apostrophe to it (Man of Lawes Tale, B 295):—

• ‘O firste moevyng cruel firmament,
• With thy diurnal sweigh that crowdest ay
• And hurlest all from Est til Occident,
• That naturelly wolde holde another way.’

That is—‘O thou primum mobile, thou cruel firmament, that with thy diurnal revolution (or revolution once in 24 hours round the axis of the equator) continually forcest along and whirlest all the celestial bodies from East to West, which naturally would wish to follow the course of the sun in the zodiac from West to East.’ This is well illustrated by a sidenote in the Ellesmere MS. to the passage in question, to this effect:—‘Vnde Ptholomeus, libro i. cap. 8. Primi motus celi duo sunt, quorum vnus est qui mouet totum semper ab Oriente in Occidentem vno modo super orbes, &c. Item aliter vero motus est qui mouet orbem stellarum currencium contra motum primum, videlicet, ab Occidente in Orientum super alios duos polos1 .’ That is, the two chief motions are that of the primum mobile, which carries everything round from East to West, and that of the fixed stars, which is a slow motion from West to East round the axis of the zodiac, to account for precession. This exactly explains the well-known passage in the Frankeleines Tale (C. T., F 1280):—

• ‘And by his eighte spere in his werking,
• He knew ful wel how fer Alnath was shove
• Fro the heed of thilke fixe Aries above
• That in the ninthe spere considered is.’

Here the eight spheres are the eight inner spheres which revolve round the axis of the zodiac in an easterly direction, whilst the ninth sphere, or primum mobile, contained both the theoretical or fixed first point of Aries from which measurements were made, and also the signs of the zodiac as distinct from the constellations. But Alnath, being an actual star, viz, α Arietis2 , was in the eighth sphere; and the distance between its position and that of the first point of Aries at any time afforded a measure of the amount of precession. Mr. Brae rightly remarks that Tyrwhitt’s readings in this passage are correct (except that eighte speres should be eightespere), and those of Mr. Wright and Dr. Morris (from the Harleian MS.) are incorrect.

It may be as well to add that a later refinement was to insert a crystalline sphere, to account for the precession; so that the order stood thus: seven spheres of planets; the eighth, of fixed stars; the ninth, or crystalline; the tenth, or primum mobile; and, beyond these, an empyræan or theological heaven, so to speak, due to no astronomical wants, but used to express the place of residence of celestial beings3 . Hence the passage in Milton, P. L. iii. 481:—

• ‘They pass the planets seven, and pass the fix’d,
• And that crystalline sphere whose balance weighs
• The trepidation talk’d, and that first mov’d.’

i. e. They pass the seven planetary spheres; then the sphere of fixed stars; then the crystalline or transparent one, whose swaying motion or libration measures the amount of the precession and nutation so often talked of; and then, the sphere of the primum mobile itself. But Milton clearly himself believed in the Copernican system; see Paradise Lost, viii. 121-140, where the primum mobile is described in the lines—

• ‘that swift
• Nocturnal and diurnal rhomb supposed,
• Invisible else above all stars, the wheel
• Of day and night.’

[50.]Not only the influences here assigned to the signs, but others due to planets, may be found in ‘Porphyrii Philosophi introductio in Claudii Ptolomæi opus de affectibus astrorum,’ fol. Basileæ, n. d. p. 198. I here add a few extracts from the MS. in Trinity College, Cambridge (marked R. 15. 18), to shew the nature of the old astrology. I choose them with especial reference to Aries. The other signs are spoken of in a similar manner. ‘It is principally to be considered that the signes of hevyn haue theire strength and propre significacioun vpon the membris of eny man; as, Aries hath respect to the hed, taurus to the neck, geminis (sic) the Armys, Cancer the brest, leo the hert, virgo the bowels, &c.; as it shall shew in the Chapiters folowyng. Secundarily it is to be noted that plotholomee (sic) saith, that to touche with instrument of yroun while the mone is in the signe of the same membre, is for to be dred; let the surgen beware, and the letter of blode, let hym be aferd to touche that membre with yrene, in the which the mone shal be.’—MS. G; Tract C. p. 12.

‘Thenne Aries hath respect to the hed; And this signe is hote and dry, fiery & colerik. Saturne hath ij witnes in Ariete, a triplicitate and a terme. Jubiter also hath ij, a triplicitate and a terme. Mars hath iij testimonials or iij fortitudis in Ariete, A hows, A face, and A terme. The sonne hath iij fortitudis in Ariete, scilicet, an exaltacioun, a triplicite, and a face. Venus hath ij testimonials, A terme and a face. Mercury hath one testymony, that is to sey, a terme. And luna in Ariete hath no testimoniall. For the which it is to know, that the influens of the planetis may be fortyfied v maner of wayes. And these v maner be called v fortitudis of planetis, or testimonials, which be these: domus, exaltacio, triplicitas, terminus, and facies. Domus gevith to a planet v fortitudis; And a planet in his hows is lyke a kynge in his hall, And in the high trone of his glorie. A planet in his exaltacioun is lyke a kynge when he is crowned. A planet in his triplicite is like a kynge in honour, Amonge his sencible people. A planet in his terme is As a mann amonges his kynnesmenn And fryndis. Facies gyvith to a planet that thyng the which rowme gyvith to a maistre. Wherfore facies gyvith only on fortitude, Terminus ij, Triplicitas iij, Exaltacio iiij, And domus v. And for the more clere declaracioun, the dignytes of planettis in signes be comprehendid in this figure ensuynge, &c.1 ’—Same MS., Tract C. p. 13.

‘The dygnytes of planetis in the signes, most speciall they be to be noted in iudicials. When the mone is in Ariete, it is not gode, but vtterly to be exshewed, both for seke And disesid, for to shafe theire hede or to boist in the eris or in the nek; nor loke þou let no blode in the vayn of the hede. How-be-it, benyficiall it is to begynne euery worke that þou woldest bryng aboute sone. But that thynge that is stabill ought to be eschewed. In this signe it is necessary to dele with noble estatis And rich men, And for to go in-to A bayne [bath]1 .’—Same MS., Tract C. p. 14.

[1 ]As far as I can ascertain.

[1 ]This is doubtless quoted from some gloss upon Ptolemy, not from the work itself. The reference is right, for the ‘motus celi’ are discussed in the Almagest, lib. i. c. 8.

[2 ]This star (α Arietis) was on the supposed horn of the Ram, and hence its name; since El-nâtih signifies ‘the butter,’ and ‘El-nath’ is ‘butting’ or ‘pushing.’ See Ideler, Die Bedeutung der Sternnamen, p. 135.

[3 ]Well expressed by Dante, Parad. xxx. 38—

• ‘Noi semo usciti fuore
• Del maggior corpo al ciel ch’é pura luce.’

Dante, like Chaucer, makes the eighth sphere that of fixed stars, and the ninth the primum mobile or swiftest heaven (ciel velocissimo); Parad. xxvii. 99.

[1 ]Here follows a table, shewing that, in Aries, the value of Saturn is 5, of Jupiter 5, &c.; with the values of the planets in all the other signs. The value 5, of Saturn, is obtained by adding a triplicite (value 3) to a terme (value 2), these being the ‘witnesses’ of Saturne in Aries; and so on throughout.

[1 ]So on p. 12 of another tract (D) in the same MS., we find—

• ‘Aries calidum & sucum; bonum.
• Nill capiti noceas, Aries cum luna refulget,
• De vena minuas & balnea tutius intres,
• Non tangas Aures, nec barbam radere debes.’

Each of the signs is described in similar triplets, from the grammar of which I conclude that Aries is here put for in Ariete, in the first hexameter.