Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 5.djvu/393

 us. V.APRIL 27, 1912.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

321

LONDON, SATURDAY, APRIL r, 1W.

CONTENTS. No. 122.

NOTES : A Runic Calendar, 321 Chirles Dickens, 323 Privilege and Licence to Publish, 321 Inscription at Sta. Maria degli Angeli, Roms Longfellow's Sonnet on St. John's, Cambridge Human Skulls as Drinking-Cups

" My monkey's up," 325 Sir Charles J. Napier's ' Harold ' Philipps : Biographical Note The Clapper of Mende The Personal Name Almroth The Duke of Wellington's Stone Coffin Visa de Via Ferrata Wiltshire Phrases, 326 Cornish Rimes in an Epitaph David Lloyd, Winchester Scholar, 327.

QUERIES : Authors of Quotations Wanted A Dickens Playhouse Eugene Aram as Philologist, 3J7 Ensor Family Camden Society: 'Long Ago' Major-General James Stuart and Herefordshire' The Dog in the Service of Primitive Man ' Sterrett Mazzini and Voltaire Bagenal : Hamilton, 323 Magpies and Water Eckwald the Dwarf in Goethe Medals : Col. J. Dunn C. L. Christinecke " Map of the Paths of Life" T. Walker, Serjeant-at-Law Shropshire Adventurers Arms for Identification Notice on an Old English House Literary Fund, 1850-65, 329 Ballad of Lord Lovel

Dutchman's Anchor "Satan rebuking sin" Vicars of St. Leonard, Exeter Heraldic Charge : its Meaning Longevity and the Sea I'Anson Baker Peter Smith,

330.

REPLIES : " Ethrog," 330 The Thames, 332 ' Lilli- bullero ' Trussel Family, 333 Top-Hat in Sculpture- Sophia Howe Lucius, 334 Matthew Fern, Jacobite Edmund Bacon Danish National Flag Authors or Explanations Wanted, 336 Carronades Elizabeth Polack : Elizabeth Helrue " The memorable lady " Meriet Arms Boydell's Catalogues C. Elstob " Sung by Reynolds in 1820" Six Clerks' Office, 337 County Bibliographies, 338.

NOTES ON BOOKS : ' The English Provincial Printers to 1557 ' The Oxford Dictionary.

Booksellers' Catalogues. Notices to Correspondents.

A RUNIC CALENDAR.

VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, ROOM 132.

(See ante, pp. 261, 285.)

THE epact of a year is the age of the moon at the beginning of the year. Since twelve lunations of 29J days are but 354 days In all, supposing that the moon were new at the beginning of the year, it will clearly be 11 days old at the beginning of the next year. In any case, therefore, the epact will toe 1 1 greater than the epact of the preceding year, with the further condition that 30 must be subtracted from the value whenever possible. Assuming an initial value of 12 (for a reason which will be seen later), the series of epacts will be 12, 23, 4, 15, 26, 7, 18, 29, 10, 21, 2, 13, 24, 5, 16, 27, 8,

19, 30 (or 0). This covers a complete Metonic cycle ; but it should be noted that a further addition of 11 brings the value back to 11 instead of 12. This is because 30 has been deducted each time instead of 29'53, which is only partly counterbalanced by taking the increase of epact as 11 instead of the more accurate value 10*88. The elimination of the error is almost completed by subtracting only 29 the last time.

The nineteen Golden Numbers, and in- cidentally the epacts, have been repre- sented on the calendar by means of a futhork of nineteen runes. The futhork with its Roman equivalent and the numerical values of the Golden Numbers and epacts are given in the table below :

Runic Roman Symbol. Value.

VJ F



r

T i

t X <!>

u

Th O R K

N I

A

T B L M OE D G E

Golden dumber.

1 2

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Epact. 12 23

4 15 26

7

18 29 10 21

2 13 24

5 16 27

8

19 30 (or 0)

The values of the Golden Numbers have been assumed as the most rational and the most natural arrangement. There are nine- teen consecutive numbers to be represented, and nineteen runes to represent them by. The first rune has been assigned to the first number, the second rune to the second number, and so on. (It should be pointed out that the runes in the above table are given in their correct order in the futhork. In any case, the arrangement of Golden Numbers on the calendar requires that the