Almanac

Almanacs are publications including information about specific topics and the dates such information is relevant. 
== Etymology ==
De Plancy gives one potential etymology for "Almanac" that was believed during his lifetime: it comes from the words "Al mon agt", which mean "Observation of all moons" in an ancient language (possibly an early version of Frankish from the wording)de Plancy, J. C., (1863). Dictionnaire Infernal. 6ed. pg.21
An alternative etymology comes from a variant of Arabic, where "Al-Manack" meant "The Memorial". If this is indeed the case, this form of Arabic is either very obscure or has been lost to us. 
== History ==
According to de Plancy, the Chinese were the first to make what we would recognise as almanacs. They detailed the effects of constellations on human lives at various times in the year, being based on twenty-eight constellations instead of the twelve used by the most similar later European counterpart (the Almanach de Liege). They offered predictions of the future and contained occult lore. 
The earliest known printed almanac dates to 1457 and was found in Mainz in 1804 by Fischer. 
The Almanach de Liege, also known as the Almanac of Matthieu Laensberg, is one of the most famous European almanacs, and has been published in one form or another since 1636. 
In 1648, the Marshal of Gassion was shot and killed during the Siege of Lens, and Guillaume Marcel, a rhetoric professor at the College of Lisieux, composed a Latin eulogy for him. As he was about to recite it, he was stopped by the rector who informed him that the Marshal had died in a Catholic university. A meeting was held and decided that the priest was correct, meaning the eulogy could not be given. In Pierre Larrivey's almanac for that year, it was written "LATIN LOST!", leading to the belief that this event was predicted. 
== Further Reading ==
Almanach de Liege
== References ==
Category:Dictionnaire Infernal