Chaucer's Astrolabe - The Medieval GPS
Philip Ball tells the story of Chaucer's Astrolabe, the medieval equivalent of GPS, and how England's most renowned poet came to write the world's first scientific manual.
Philip Ball tells the story of Chaucer's Astrolabe and why the famed poet came to write the world's first scientific instruction manual. In the Middle Ages, no self respecting astronomer would be without an Astrolabe, a pocket sized device for working out the movements of the planets and stars. So how did a poet come to write the first user booklet? This story shows Chaucer in a new light: as a pre-eminent astronomer, and offers a new key to unlocking his most famous literary works.
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Broadcasts
- Wed 25 May 2016 21:00±«Óãtv Radio 4
- Wed 31 Aug 2016 15:30±«Óãtv Radio 4
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Science Stories
Surprising stories from the history of science told by Naomi Alderman and Philip Ball.
