THE 
SEAMANS
KALENDER,
OR
An Ephemerides of the Sun, Moone,
and certaine of the most notable
fixed Starres.

Together with many most needfull and necessary mat-
ters, to the behoofe and furtherance principally of Marriners and
Seamen: but generally profitable to all Trauailers, or such
as delight in the Mathematicall studies.

The Tables being for the most part Calculated from the yeere 1601.
to the yeare 1624. By I.T.

London: E. Allde for Iohn Tapp, 1602.






Certaine definitions, meete to be vn­
derstood of those that will practise
Nauigation.


A Spheare or Globe,  is a round fi­
gure, made by the turning of 
halfe a Circle, till it end where
it beganne to be mooued, or a
massie body inclosed with one
plat-forme or surface: in the 
middle wherof is a pricke, from
which all lynes drawne to the 
surface are equall. 

Center,  is the point or pricke
aforesayd, in the middle of a
Spheare, Globe or other Circle. 

Diameter  is a right lyne, drawne through the Center, to the
Circumference or surface of a spheare or circle to each side therof. 

Circumference  is a round circle equally distant on all sides,
from the Center thereof. 

Surface or Superficies,  is the vpper part of any thing. 

A Degree  is the 360. part of the Circumference of any circle. 

A Minute  is the 60 part of a Degree, being vnderstood of
measure: but in time, a Minute is the 60. part of an houre, or 
the fourth part of a degree. 15. degrees answering to an houre,
and 4. Minutes to a degree. 

The Pole  is a point or pricke immagined in the heauens,
wherof are two, the North Pole and the South Pole, oppisite
one to another: the North Pole being the Center to a circle,
described by the motion of the North Starre, or the taile of the 



little Beare: For which point aforesaid, a lyne imagined to 
passe through the Center of the earth, and passing directly to
the opposite part of the heauens, sheweth the South Pole. 

The Equinoctiall,  is a great circle imagined in the heauens:
also deuiding the heauens into two equal parts, and lying iust
in the middle betweene the two Poles, being in compasse from
West to East 360. degrees, euery degr. of terestriall measure,
valewing 20. English Leagues or 60. miles. 

The Meridian,  is a great circle, deuiding the Equinoctiall
at right angles into two equall partes, passing also through
both the Poles and the Zenith: to which Circle, the Sunne
comming twise euery 24. houres, makes the middle of the day
and the middle of the night.

Note that euery place hath a seuerall Meridian, which doe all
meete together in the Poles of the world.

Zenith,  is a point or pricke in the heauens right ouer our
heads, 90. degrees from the Horizon, as the Pole is 90. degrees 
from the Equinoctiall. 

Nadir  is a point or Pricke in the heauens vnder our feete,
opposite to the Zenith. 

Horisont,  is a great circle, deuiding that part of the heauens
which we see, from the other part which we see not. 

Azimuth,  is a great circle crossing the Horizont at right
angles, as the Meridians doe the Equinoctiall, being many as
the Meridians are: and as the Meridians concurre and meete
together in the Poles of the world, so doe the Azimuthes meete
the Zenith, which is the Pole of the Horizon. 

Paralels,  are lynes or circles equally distant in all partes one
from another, as all circles of East and West are Paralell to
the Equinoctiall. 

Almicanterahs,  are circles Paralell to the Horizon, being
also circles of altitude or eleuation, being that the altitude of
the Sunne, Moone or Starres aboue the Horizon are descri­
bed thereby: which Almicantars doe crosse the Azimuths, as
the Paralels or Circles of East and West doe crosse the Meri­
dians. 



The Tropicke,  are two lesser Circles paralell to the Equinocti­
all, limmitting the boundes of the Zodiacke or the greatest decli­
nation of the Sunne on each side of the Equinoctiall: the Tro­
picke of Cancer northward, and the tropicke of Capric. southward:
whose distance from the said Equinoctiall are 23. degrees 28. min. 

The Zodiacke,  is a great Circle crossing the Equinoctiall in two
opposite places thereof, and swaruing Byas wise therefrom, to­
wards eyther of the Poles, touching the tropicke of Canc. on the
north part, and the tropicke of Capr on the south part therof In the
Zodiacke are the twelue signes, viz. [signs for Aries. Taurus. Gemini. Leo. Virgo. Libra. Scorpio. Sagitarius. Capricor. Aquarius. Pisces.].
euery signe being 30. degr. in length, and 12. in breadth: through
which signes the Sunne passing, describeth a yeere, & the Moone
passing like wise through the same, makes a month: the 12. de. that
the Zodiack hath in bredth is allowed for the latitude of the planets. 

Eclipticke,  is a circle lying iust in the middle of the Zodiack, out
of which the Sunne neuer goeth, but the Moone and the other pla­
nets are sometime on the one side, and sometime on the other
side thereof, in which the head and tayle of the Dragon al­
so is. 

The head and tayle of the Dragon,  are two opposite points in the 
Eclipticke lyne of the zodiacke, which goeth backward through all
the 12. signes in 19. yeeres: and when it hapneth that the Sunne
and Moone are in Coniunction, in that place of the Eclipticke,
where the head or taile of the Dragon is, then is the Sunne Eclip­
sed, and being in the opposition, the Moone being in eyther of the 
said points, the Moone shall be Eclipsed. 

The Circle Articke,  is a circle which encloseth all those Starres
which doe neuer rise nor set in any latitude, but are alwaies aboue
the Horizon, where the North Pole is raised: the like is vnder­
stood of the Circle Antaricke, where the South Pole is ray­
sed. 

The Polar Circles,  are two little Circles distant from the Poles
of the world, so much as is the greatest Declination of the Zo­
diacke from the Equinoctial: in which Polar circles are the poles
of the zodiacke. 

Colures,  are two great Circles passing through both the Poles,



crossing one another in the said Poles at right angles, and deui­
ding the Equinoctiall and the Zodiacke into foure equall partes,
making thereby the foure seasons of the yeare: the one Colure
passing through the Equinoctiall pointes of Aries and Libra, shew­
eth the beginning of the Spring time and Autumne: at which two
times the dayes and nights are equall. The other Colure passing
through the two tropicall points of Cancer and Capricorne, shew­
eth the beginning of Summer and Winter, at which two times,
the dayes and nights are longest and shortest. 

Altitude in the heauens,  is the height of any thing aboue the Ho­
rizon towards the Zenith. 

Latitude,  is the widenes or distance of the Planets or Stars, from
the Eclipticke, eyther Northward or southward: Also Latitude is
the distance of the Zenith of any place from the Equinoctiall, to­
wards either of the Poles, which is alwaies equall with the height
of the Pole of the same place. 

Longitude,  is length, and in the heauens it is vnderstood the di­
stance of any Starre or Planet, from the beginning of Aries, to the 
place of the said Planet or starre, or from the beginning of any signe
to a certaine other part or degree of the same signe: Otherwise,
Longitude in the earth, is the distance of the Meridian of any place,
from the Meridian which passeth ouer the Isles Azones: where the 
beginning of Longitude is said to be Longitude, is counted vpon
the Equinoctiall, and Latitude vpon the Meridian. 

Declination,  is the declining or distance of the Sunne, Moone or 
Starres, from the Equinoctiall: and is said to bee North or south,
according to that Pole toward which it leaneth. 

Amplitude,  is the distance of the rising and setting of the Sunne,
Moone or starres, from the true East or West point of the Com­
passe vpon the Horizon. 

Ascention,  is the rising of any starre, or of any portion of the E­
clipticke aboue the Horizon. 

The Golden number or Prime,  is the time of 19. yeeres, in which 
time the Sunne and Moone maketh all the variety of their Con­
iunctions, Oppositions, and other aspects. 

Epact,  is the 11. days and three houres, which are added to



the yeere of the Moone, being 354. dayes to make it equall with
the yeere of the Sunne, which consisteth of 365. dayes and 1/4.
By the Prime is found out the Epact: and by the Epact is found
out the age of the Moone. 

The Circle of the Sunne,  is the number of 28: because that in 28
yeeres, all the variety of Dominicall or sunday Letters and Leape
yeeres are expyred, being that the 29. yeere, the said Circle doth be­
gin againe: The vse of which number is to finde out the Domi­
nicall Letter for any yeere past, present or to come. Where note,
that there is but 7. letters which serue for sunday letters, viz. A B 
C D E F G. And albeit that in the daies of the weeke, they proceed
according to theyr naturall order of the Alphabet, yet in the yeeres
they goe backeward: as if G. be for one yeere, F. shal be for the next:
and when it is leape yeere (which is euery fourth yeere) then there
is two letters for that yeere, the first seruing from the first of Ianu­
ary till S. Mathias day, which is then the 25. of February, and 
then the other letter takes place, and serues till the ende of the 
yeere.