Geoffrey Chaucer

A Treatise on the Astrolabe is a medieval instruction manual on the astrolabe by Geoffrey Chaucer. It is notable for being written in prose, in English and for describing a scientific instrument.

The procession that crosses Chaucer's pages is as full of life and as richly textured as a medieval tapestry. The Knight, the Miller, the Friar, the Squire, the Prioress, the Wife of Bath, and others who make up the cast of characters — including Chaucer himself — are real people, with human emotions and weaknesses. …