Epact Scientific Instruments of Medieval and Renaissance Europe

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Astrolabe
Unsigned
circa 1350; English
Brass; 341 mm in diameter

This astrolabe has an unusual design. Instead of the customary form of mater, there is a single flat plate projected for the latitude of Oxford, with a degree scale on the limb. There are no alternative plates and the 'Y' pattern rete is held by a rivet.

The astrolabe, which belongs to Oriel College, may be associated with the group of mathematicians in 14th-century Oxford known as the 'Merton School'. It may have come to the College among the astronomical instruments bequeathed to Oriel by the astronomer Simon Bredon, who had been a Fellow of Merton in about 1330. As a 14th-century astrolabe made for use in Oxford, it is of great historical interest.

Museum of the History of Science, Oxford
Inventory number 47901

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