Endnote 54
Part II, §25, l. 19.  When Chaucer says that the latitude of Oxford is `certain minutes less', he probably means no more than that the latitude of Oxford was 51 degrees and 50 minutes, as in the text.  For I suspect the original reading of the passage made the sun's altitude 38 degrees only, and the latitude 52 degrees; indeed, the passage stands so in MSS. C and P, both good authorities.  But he added the statement that the latitude of Oxford was less than 52 degrees.  It is probable that, on second thoughts, he put in the number of minutes, and forgot to strike out the clause `I sey nat this,' &c., which was no longer necessary.  Minutes were seldom reckoned otherwise than by tens; `a few minutes less than 50' (say 47) is a refinement to which the ancients seldom attained.  Hence the amount of 10 minutes is vaguely spoken of in 1. 31 as `odde Minutes'.  Minutes were clearly not much considered.  In the present case, we are assisted by Chaucer's express statement in sect. 22. l. 6.  The true latitude of Oxford is between 51° 45' and 51° 46'.