While modern in its current coding-driven forms, technical writing has roots in many historical and ancient texts. This systematic writing of instructions can be traced back as far as The Art of War, which was written in 500 BC by Chinese general Sun Tzu. Other notable technical documents include The Code of Hammurabi from 1780 BC and Darwin’s On the Origin of the Species. It wasn’t until the early 1900s that technical writing was recognized in literature, namely by T. A. Rickard with A Guide to Technical Writing, and Samual Chandler Earle with The Theory and Practice of Technical Writing. Due the uptick in need for technical writers as technological advances boomed, Earle became known after publication as the father of technical writing.1
Within this timeline, however, there is a literary giant that most might overlook from a technical writing standpoint. Established London-based poet and author Geoffrey Chaucer has also contributed to the historical texts that brought technical writing into the spotlight. Chaucer was a man of great faith who identified as a writer in the service of his God. Regardless of the content, he saw writing as a chance to honor God’s creations2. The lack of compartmentalization makes modern labeling difficult, as being a “writer” means something different today versus in Chaucer’s time.
Chaucer is most known for The Canterbury Tales, which established him as the proclaimed father of literature and poetry. However, in 1391, Chaucer created what is known as the oldest work in English that is written about an elaborate scientific instrument, the Astrolabe. Chaucer created the document A Treatise on the Astrolabe in free-flowing Middle English with five sections:
- A description of the astrolabe
- Methods for using the instrument
- Multiple tables with measurements (e.g. declinations, latitudes, logitudes,etc.)
- The theory of how celestial bodies move, with an example of the moon
- An introduction to the field of “astrologie,” which is considered modern day astrology and astronomy combined
His reliance on Middle English, which was the mainstream language of the region, allowed his writing to not only reach the commonwealth, but to transcend generations. The astrolabe was a precision instrument used to determine the date, time, position of the stars, the Earth’s latitude, as well as the Earth’s tides. This instrument was also exemplary at determining when the sun entered a specific sign of the zodiac. Different iterations of the instrument were created in the centuries after Chaucer’s publication, with the most popular advancement being the sextant. This instrument, chronicled by Isaac Newton, was developed in the early 1500s to measure the distance between the horizon and a celestial object for navigational purposes.
The success of Chaucer’s writing style with this document can be directly attributed to his voicing — a mixture of rational organization with a personal tone. Chaucer’s understanding of his audience and the purpose of the document allowed him to keep the information and context for the instrument concise and, thus, digestible. Chaucer indirectly suggests the importance of bridging the communication between writers, developers, and readers to ensure rapport and comprehension.3 By understanding our readers’ demographics, we too can create treasure troves of information that can transcend generations, just like A Treatise on the Astrolabe.
Resources
1Roque, Trina Rose B. Historical Background of Technical Writing https://www.scribd.com/document/313767866/historical-background-of-technical-writing
2Winter, Sigumund Eisner. Chaucer as a Technical Writer. Winter 1985. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25093918
3Hager, P.J. and R.J. Nelson. Chaucer’s ‘A Treatise on the Astrolabe’: A 600-year-old model for humanizing technical documents. June 1993. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/222687
