David Barrie, director of The Art Fund, said: “The Canterbury Astrolabe Quadrant offers an extraordinary insight into the scientific and technological capabilities of Chaucer’s England.
“Chaucer himself was an expert on astrolabes and wrote in the Canterbury Tales about men’s love of ‘newfangleness’.”
The British Museum will display the tool, thought to have been made in 1388, next month.
A spokeswoman for the museum said: “Astrolabe quadrants are among the most sophisticated calculation tools ever made before the invention of the modern computer.
“They were an extremely handy tool for their owners, enabling them to carry out timekeeping and other calculations.
“This particular example was made for use with the Sun with the help of the two sighting vanes attached to one side and a now lost plumb-bob.
“Besides enabling the user to determine the date of Easter he could use it to determine the times of sunrise and sunset, the time in equal and unequal hours or the geographical latitude - to name but a few of the many functions.”
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