A Medieval English Astrolabe Now in Innsbruck, Linked to the Lancastrian Court and with a Chaucer Connection

Abstract

Abstract A medieval English astrolabe, in an Innsbruck museum and not previously published in detail, is described and discussed. It is probably dated to the late 14th century and is of a size and quality which shows it to have been produced for someone of high social standing. Features of its plates, the calendar of saints’ days, and astrological data are used to associate the astrolabe to the Duchy of Lancaster. Historical events of the period provide circumstantial evidence linking it to Henry of Lancaster (Henry Bolingbroke) and his court. It also provides a link between the “Chaucerian” astrolabes and concurrent “quatrefoil” or Gothic designs which together make up the majority of the corpus of English medieval astrolabes.