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Title: |
A Regiment for the Sea and Other
Writings on Navigation by William Borne of Gronesend, a Gunner (Hakluyt Society Works Ser
.: No 2 Vol 121) |
Author: |
E. G. R. Taylor (Editor) |
Publisher: |
Cambridge University Press |
ISBN: |
0811504077 |
Availability: |
Out of print for 38 years! But I got one through the Used book searcher at
Amazon.
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URL: |
Available,
Possibly, at Amazon.com |
Review: |
Outstanding!!
This actually a reprinting (with intelligent and well founded commentary before each
facsimile) of three workes by Bourne published by the Haklyut society (An English society
dedicated to not letting nautical writings become lost for ever):
the "Almanack and Prognostications for Three Yeeres", Published in 1571, and
including the "Rules of Navigation"the "Regiment for the Sea",
published in 1574, and expanede in 1580 (the compiler wisely includes the full text of the
First publication and then appends only the additional information form the 1580 edition)
, which is a gold mine of information on period cosmology, Period navigational techniques,
the use of period instruments, and lots of other stuff, including how to derive the tides
form the phases and declinations of the moon.and the "Almanack and Prognostications
for .X. Yeeres", published in 1581, shortly before his death which is also useful fo
rthe including of one of the earliest printed tables of solar declinations for each day in
the whole calendar, with times for the suns rising and setting, a table most useful to
sailors, as you can bet. Added for good measure is an excerpt of some tables from a work
by John Dee, called the Canon Gubernauticus.
A good book to have for reference for anybody interested in the artes of the navigator,
though it may be hard to follow, if the reader is not familiar with the early modern
English writing and language conventions. It is not impossible to figure out, though since
the language is very close to modern. Also a problem with bournes writings are the ways he
concatenated formula after formula in his work, which make it necessary to read this with
a heavy investment of attention, which also makes for very tiring reading. |
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