Chaucer and His Times

by Grace E. Hadow

He wiste it was the eightetehe day
Of April, that is messager to May;
And sey wel that the shadwe of every tree
Was as the lengthe the same quantitee
That was the body erect that caused it.
And therefore by the shadwe he took his wit
That Phebus, which that shoon so clere and brighte,
Degrees was fyve and fourty clombe on highte;
And for that day, as in that latitude,
It was ten of the clokke, he gan conclude;

but Chaucer not only follows this method with an amount of detail and a persistency which show that he enjoyed it for its own sake, he also, as we have seen, writes a treatise on the use of the Astrolabe, for the instruction of his little son. The modesty and sincerity shown in the introduction are worthy of a true scientist. After saying that he purposes to teach little Lewis “a certain nombre of conclusions,” Chaucer continues, “I seye a certein of conclusiouns, for three causes. The furste cause is this: truste wel that alle the conclusiouns that have ben founde, or elles possibly mighten be founde in so noble an instrument as an Astrolabie, ben un-knowe perfitly to any mortal man in this regioun, as I suppose. A nother cause is this; that sothly, in any tretis of the Astrolabie that I have seyn, there ben some conclusiouns that wole nat in alle thinges performen hir bihestes; and some of them ben harde to thy tendre age of ten yeer to conseyve.” He then explains his reason for writing in English instead of Latin, and finally declares: “I nam but a lewd compilatour of the labour of olde Astrologiens, and have hit translated in myn English only for thy doctrine; and with this swerd shall I sleen envye.” The whole Prologue is well worth reading if only for the light it throws upon Chaucer’s view of education and the power it displays of entering into a child’s mind. Scattered references to astronomy, medicine, chemistry, and even astrology, are to be found throughout the Canterbury Tales. The Franklin shows himself well abreast of scientific discovery when he speaks of

This wyde world, which that men seye is round.

Chaucer himself in the Prologue reels off a list of medicaments which might be expected to improve the Somnour’s complexion. Pertelote shows a housewifely knowledge of the properties of herbs.

One tale, indeed, turns on the pseudo-science of the day. After the second Nun has finished her tale of St. Cecilia the pilgrims ride in silence for awhile, till, close to Boghton under Blee, they are joined by a Canon and his man. The Canon’s Yeoman soon begins to boast of his master’s marvellous powers, how

That al this ground on which we ben ryding,
Til that we come to Caunterbury toun,
He coude al clene turne it up-so-doun,
And pave it al of silver and of gold.

Whereupon the Host blesses himself, and asks, not unnaturally, why if the Canon “is of so heigh prudence,” he wears such poor and dirty clothes? The Yeoman answers that

—whan a man hath over-greet a wit
Ful oft him happeth to misusen it;
So dooth my lord ...

and is proceeding to dilate upon the hard share of the work that falls to himself, when the Canon, who is nervous as to what he may be saying, with some sharpness bids him hold his tongue. The Host, however, has no intention of allowing his authority to be over-ridden:—

“Ye,” quod our host, “telle on, what so bityde;
Of al his threting rekke nat a myte!”[205]
“In feith,” quod he, “namore I do but lyte.”