Difference between revisions of "Epact"

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== Webster's Dictionary <ref name="term_117501" /> ==
 
<p> (n.) The moon's age at the beginning of the calendar year, or the number of days by which the last new moon has preceded the beginning of the year. </p>
Epact <ref name="term_39180" />
       
<p> In determining the epact we either find the number of days required to make up the lunar to the solar year, and so the numeral of the moon's age on January 1, or, with Scaliger, we may use March 1, which comes to the same thing, and has the advantage of avoiding the ambiguity of leap-year. The old Latin cycles of eighty-four years indicated [[Easter]] by means of the epacts of January 1, and the day of the week on which January 1 fell. </p> <p> The method of determining the months (lunar) was as follows: For the first month of the year, that month was taken whose age was expressed by the epact. The day of December on which it commenced is found by subtracting the epact (when more than one) from thirty-three. The first month was always counted full, then hollow and full succeeded by turns, so that the last month in the year, in a common lunar year, was hollow, in an intercalary year full. From the last begins the new moon of the following year. </p> <p> The Easter new moon being found, Easter-day was, according to the Latin rules, that Sunday which fell on or next after the 16th of the moon, not therefore later than the 22d of the moon. The choice of the month was determined thus: New moon must not be earlier than March 5, and full moon not later than March 21; the first of these rules sometimes having to give way to save the violation of the latter. </p> <p> The following rule is given for the epact of January 1, viz., multiply the golden number by eleven, and divide the product by thirty, the remainder is the epact. But this rule will not give the epacts mentioned above, which were constructed as we have just described with a saltus lunae, or addition of twelve after the 19th year of the cycle, etc. </p>
== Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature <ref name="term_39182" /> ==
 
<p> "in chronology, is the excess of the solar month above the lunar synodical month; or of the solar year above the lunar year of twelve synodical months; or of several solar months above as many synodical months; or of several solar years above as many periods, each consisting of 12 synodical months. The menstrual epact is the excess of the civil calendarmonth above the lunar month. For a month of 31 days, this epact is 1 day 11 hours 15 minutes 57 seconds, if we suppose new moon to occur on the first day of the month. The annual epact is the excess of the solar year above the lunar. As the Julian solar year is (nearly) 365 days, and the Julian lunar year is (nearly) 354 days, the annual epact is nearly 11 days. The epact for two Julian years is, therefore, nearly 22 days; for three years, 33 days; and so on. When, however, the epact passes 30 days, 30 falls to be deducted from it, as making an intercalary month. For three years, then, the epact is properly 3; and for 4 years, adding 11 days, it is 14 days; and so on. Following the cycle, starting from a new moon on the 1st of January, we find that the epact becomes 30 or 0 in the 19th year. The epact for the 20th year is again 11; and so on. The years in the cycle are marked by Roman numerals [[I,]] [[Ii,]] [[Iii,]] etc., called the [[Golden]] Numbers; and a table of the Julian epacts exhibits each year in the cycle with its golden number and epact. As the [[Gregorian]] year, (See [[Calendar]]), differs from and is in advance of the Julian by 11 days (the number lost on the Julian account before the Gregorian computation of time was introduced in England), and as 11 days is the difference between the solar and lunar years, it follows that the Gregorian epact for any year is the same with the Julian epact for the year preceding 1." </p>
== References ==
       
== The Nuttall Encyclopedia <ref name="term_72830" /> ==
<p> [[A]] name given to the excess of the solar month over the lunar, amounting to 1 day 11 hours 11 minutes and 57 seconds, and of the solar year over the lunar amounting to 11 days. </p>
       
==References ==
<references>
<references>
 
<ref name="term_39180"> [https://bibleportal.com/encyclopedia/cyclopedia-of-biblical-theological-and-ecclesiastical-literature/epact+(2) Epact from Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature]</ref>
<ref name="term_117501"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/webster-s-dictionary/epact Epact from Webster's Dictionary]</ref>
       
<ref name="term_39182"> [https://bibleportal.com/encyclopedia/cyclopedia-of-biblical-theological-and-ecclesiastical-literature/epact Epact from Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature]</ref>
       
<ref name="term_72830"> [https://bibleportal.com/encyclopedia/the-nuttall-encyclopedia/epact Epact from The Nuttall Encyclopedia]</ref>
       
</references>
</references>

Revision as of 10:22, 15 October 2021

Epact [1]

In determining the epact we either find the number of days required to make up the lunar to the solar year, and so the numeral of the moon's age on January 1, or, with Scaliger, we may use March 1, which comes to the same thing, and has the advantage of avoiding the ambiguity of leap-year. The old Latin cycles of eighty-four years indicated Easter by means of the epacts of January 1, and the day of the week on which January 1 fell.

The method of determining the months (lunar) was as follows: For the first month of the year, that month was taken whose age was expressed by the epact. The day of December on which it commenced is found by subtracting the epact (when more than one) from thirty-three. The first month was always counted full, then hollow and full succeeded by turns, so that the last month in the year, in a common lunar year, was hollow, in an intercalary year full. From the last begins the new moon of the following year.

The Easter new moon being found, Easter-day was, according to the Latin rules, that Sunday which fell on or next after the 16th of the moon, not therefore later than the 22d of the moon. The choice of the month was determined thus: New moon must not be earlier than March 5, and full moon not later than March 21; the first of these rules sometimes having to give way to save the violation of the latter.

The following rule is given for the epact of January 1, viz., multiply the golden number by eleven, and divide the product by thirty, the remainder is the epact. But this rule will not give the epacts mentioned above, which were constructed as we have just described with a saltus lunae, or addition of twelve after the 19th year of the cycle, etc.

References

  1. ↑ Epact from Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
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