9. In the early 1390s, Chaucer began a treatise that he dedicated to "little Lewis"; scholars are undecided as to whether or not the Lewis in question was Chaucer's own son or that of a friend. What topic did this factual treatise cover?
- Alchemy
- The Astrolabe
- The Cannon
- The Printing Press
The answer is b. The Astrolabe.
Chaucer's Treatise on the Astrolabe is the oldest known "technical manual" in the English language. It remained unfinished, possibly because the young man to whom it was dedicated passed away. The theory of the astrolabe is ancient in origin; fully-realized devices were introduced to western Europe in the 12th century.
Alchemy was a protoscience, the precursor of chemistry, and a discipline of medieval philosophical thought. The cannon had come into fairly common use by the middle of the fourteenth century. The printing press with movable type was not used in the west until Johann Gutenberg devised one in the late 1440's.
