The order of the Conclusions in Part ii. differs from that in all the editions hitherto printed, and the MS. terminates abruptly in the middle of a sentence, at the words 'howre after howre' in Conclusion 40 (p. [223]). A portion of the page of the MS. below these words is left blank, though the colophon 'Explicit tractatus,' &c. was added at the bottom of the page at a later period.
Certain allusions in the former part of the MS. render it probable that it was written in London, about the year 1400.
§ 3. B.—MS. E Museo 54, in the Bodleian Library, Oxford. This is an uncorrected duplicate of the preceding, as has been explained, and ends in the same way, at the words 'howre after howre,' followed by a blank space. The chief addition is the rubricated title—'Bred and mylk For childeren,' boldly written at the beginning; in the margin are the following notes in a late hand—'Sir Jiffray Chaucer'—'Dominus Gaufredus Chaucerus'—'Galfredi Chauceri Tractatus de Ratione et vsu Astrolabij ad Ludouicum filium.'
§ 4. C.—MS. Rawlinson, Misc. 1262, otherwise 1370 (leaves 22-42), in the Bodleian Library, Oxford.
This is a beautifully written MS., on vellum, with 38 pages of text, and 4 blank pages. It has the Conclusions in the same order as the preceding, six well-executed diagrams, and corrections on nearly every page. It is of early date, perhaps about A.D. 1420, and of considerable importance. It agrees closely with the text, and, like it, ends with 'howre after howre.' Some variations of spelling are to be found in the Critical Notes. In this MS. the Conclusions are numbered in the margin, and the numbers agree with those adopted in this edition.
§ 5. D.—MS. Ashmole 391, in the Bodleian Library. I have made but little use of this MS., on account of its being very imperfect.
§ 6. E.—MS. Bodley 619. This MS., like B., has the title—'Brede and Milke for children.' Like other good MSS., it ends sect. 40 with 'houre after houre.' But after this, there occurs an additional section, probably not genuine, but printed here (for the sake of completeness) as section 46; see p. [229]. Cf. § [17].
At fol. 21 is an additional section, not found elsewhere, which is printed in the Notes; see p. [360]. This Conclusion has some claims to our notice, because, whether genuine or not, it is translated from Messahala.
§ 7. F.—MS. 424, in the Library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. Very imperfect, especially at the beginning, where a large portion has been lost.
The Conclusions follow the right order, as in the best MSS.