Yale, Takamiya 9

Lytyl Lewys my son I perseyve wel by certeyn evidence thyn habilite to lern science towchyng noumbres and proporcions and as wel as I considre thy busy prayour in special to lern thes tretys of astroloby Than for as much as the Philosofre saythe he wrappith hym on his frend[es]hond that condescendith to þe ryghtful prayer of his frend Therfor have I ȝeve the a sufficiant astrolaby as for owr Orizont / componyd aftyr the latytud of Oxonford upon wiche by mediacon of this litil tretis I purpos to to teche the a certeyn nombre of conclusions for certeyn causes The furst cause is this Trust wele that al the conclusions that have be fownden in so noubel an Instrume[n]t as in an astrolaby beþ unknowe p[er]fiteliche to eche mortal man in this region as I suppose And an othir cause is this that sothe[?]- ly in a tretys of the astrolaby that I have sey ther beth som conclusions that wolnoght in al thyng p[er]form theyr byhestis and som of hem bethe to hard to thy tendre age of .10. ȝere to conseyve This tretis is devydid in .5. partes and that I schal schew the in lyght revlys and naked wordys in Englische For latyn ne canst þ[o]u ȝet but small

my litil Son But nevyr the lasse hit suffisithe to teche trew conclusions in Englishe as wele as hit suffisithe to thes noble Clerkis grekis the sam concluions in grekishe tongis and to Arabions in arabul and to Jewis in Ebrew and to the latyn folk in latyn wiche latyn folk had hem furst out of othir div[er]s langages and writen hem in owr tong/ that/ is to say in latyn and god wote that in al the langages and mony mo have thes conclusions Sufficianly lernyd and tauȝt/ and ȝet by diverse ryȝt / as div[er]se partis ledyn div[er]se folk the ryȝt way to Rom and now wol I pray ev[er]y meke person devouteliche that redithe outher herith his litil tretys to have my rude endityng excusid and my sup[er]fluite of wordis for twey. causes The furst Cause is for that curious endityng and hard Sentence is ful hevy at onys for suche a child to lerne. And the secund cause is this that sothely me semyth hit is betyr to write a child twys a good Sentence þan he forȝet hit onys And Lewys ȝeff hit be so that I schew þe in my liȝt / English as trew conclusions towchyng the mater and noȝt / only as trew but as mony and as sotyl as ben schewis in latyn in any comyn tretis of þe astrolaby

conn me the mor thank and pray god to save that is lord of langage this and al that hym seyth beryth and to hym obeyith ech in his Degre the mor and ek þe lasse But considre wele that I ne usurp noȝt to have this work of my labour outhir of myn Engyn for I am but a lewd compilato[ur] of the labour of astrlogies & have hit translatyd in myn Englishe un liche for thy Doctrin The furst parte of this Tretis I schal rehers the figures and the nombres of thyne astrolaby by cause that þow schalt have the grettir knowyng of thy own Instrument The Secund part schal teche the to know the partyes of the forsayd conclusions as far forth and as narow as may be schewd In so smale an Instrument portatife for wele ȝe wote and ev[er]y Astrologian that smale fractions wol nought be schewyd In so smale an Instrument as bethe calclyd in tables of Astronomy as mynutis secundis t[er]cies quartes and othir The third part schal conteyn Div[er]se tables of longitudis and latitudis of the Sterrys fix in the Astrolaby and tables of the declinat[i]ons of the Sonn And

Also tables of the longitud of Cytes and townes and tables as wele for the governance of the clokk as for to fynd the altitud meridian and mony an other notable conclusion of the kalanderis of the rev[er]ent Clerkis Domyr and Lynne The fourth part of this boke schal be theoryk to declare the menyng of Celestial bodyes with the cause þe wiche the ferþe part in special schal schew a table of the very menyng of the mone from owr to owr, every day and ev[er]y Sygn aftir thyn Almenak up on the wich table ther folowith a canon sufficient to teche as wele a man[er] of the worchyng of that Sam conclusion as to know in owr orizont with wiche degre of the zodiak that the mone arysithe in any latitud And the rysyng of any planet aftir his latitude from the Ecliptik lyne The fyft part of the Book schal be an Introductory after the statutis of owr Docto[r]is In wiche thow mayst lern a grete part of the gen[er]al rewlys of theorik in astrologie In the wiche fyfte part thow schalt fynd tables of Equacions of Eusis aftyr the latitud of Oxonford

And tables of dignites of planetis and other nedfull thyngis giff god woll fouchesafe and his moder the blessid mayd me than I be hote [??] Thyn astroloby hathe a ryng to putt on the thom on the lift hond in takyng the heyght of thyngis And now tak kepe for as much as fro hennys forward I wol kepe the heyght of any thyng that is take by this reule the altitud w[i]t[h] out mo wordis This ryng remevyth in a maner to fast to the modyr of thyn astolaby in a roum Space that it destourbelyth nought the Instrument to hang aftir his centr[e] &c[etera] Thyn moder of thyn astoloby is thykkest by the brenkis that is the owtmost thyng withe the degreis And all the myddil withe Inne the ryng schal be thynner to reteyne the plaetis for div[er]s climatis and eke for the rethe that is schape in a man[er] of a nett of ellis aftir the webb of a loppe This modir is on the bakhalf w[i]t[h] a lyne that comyth descendyng from the ryng down to the neddmyst[?] bordur the wiche lyne fro the forsayd ryng un to the centre is clepyd the sowth lyn merydional And the remanent [th]ilk down to the bordue is clepid the north lyne or ellis the lyne of mydnyght Ovyr this forsayd lyne ther crossyd hym an