{"slug":"stoa0108f.stoa008.opp-lat1","id":"latin:ogl-pl:stoa0108f.stoa008.opp-lat1","title":"Epistolae Duae De Ratione Paschae","title_source":"Epistolae Duae De Ratione Paschae","author":"Dionysius Exiguus","genre":"letter","date":"","tradition":"latin","coverage":"not-located","coverage_claim":{"status":"not-located","text":"No English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed."},"publication":{"status":"machine-draft","reviewed_by":null,"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","generated":"2026-11-15T06:44:22Z","cost_usd":0.009139},"source":{"registry_id":"latin:ogl-pl:stoa0108f.stoa008.opp-lat1","work_id":"stoa0108f.stoa008.opp-lat1","edition":"ogl-pl","language":"","license":"Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License","url":"https://github.com/OpenGreekAndLatin/patrologia_latina-dev/blob/master/data/stoa0108f/stoa008/stoa0108f.stoa008.opp-lat1.xml"},"stats":{"passages":19,"english_words":4555,"coptic_letters":0,"source_letters":18682,"commentary_units":106,"commentary_kinds":8,"derived_notes":0,"ambiguities":29,"work_notes":5,"external_links":0,"timeline":6},"summary":{"work":"stoa0108f.stoa008.opp-lat1","abstract":"Dionysius Exiguus's Epistolae Duae De Ratione Paschae (Two Letters on the Reckoning of Easter), composed around 525 CE, respond to Bishop Petronius's queries about Easter calculation. The letters defend the Alexandrian 19-year lunisolar cycle, invoking the authority of the Council of Nicaea (325 CE) and dismissing alternative practices as 'Jewish fables.' They introduce the Anno Domini era implicitly through their paschal table, though the innovation is not explicit. Surviving only in Carolingian copies, the letters became foundational for medieval computus, cited by Bede and later scholars, establishing the 19-year cycle as the Latin West's standard. The edition (ogl-pl) lacks critical apparatus, normalizing orthography without recording manuscript variants.","historical_context":"Dionysius Exiguus (c. 470–544 CE), a Scythian monk and scholar in Rome, composed these letters around 525 CE, during the consulate of Probus and indiction 5. He wrote in Latin for a Western clerical audience, addressing Bishop Petronius to explain his paschal table, which adapted the Alexandrian computus of Cyril of Alexandria. The letters survive in a single medieval manuscript tradition, with earliest witnesses being Carolingian copies (9th–10th centuries) appended to Dionysius's computational works; no earlier direct transmission exists. The text reflects post-Nicene efforts to unify Easter dating, opposing Quartodeciman and other local practices. Dionysius's cycle, based on the Metonic 19-year cycle, was later adopted by the Church of Rome and became standard in the Latin West, influencing Bede's De Temporum Ratione and Carolingian computistical studies.","significance":"These letters are pivotal for establishing the 19-year lunisolar cycle as the normative Easter calculation in medieval Latin Christendom. They implicitly introduced the Anno Domini era through Dionysius's paschal table, though not explicitly discussed here. Cited by Bede and Carolingian scholars, they shaped medieval computus and ecclesiastical chronology, linking patristic authority (Nicaea) to technical astronomy.","timeline":[{"date":"c. 470–544 CE","event":"Life of Dionysius Exiguus, Scythian monk and scholar in Rome."},{"date":"525 CE","event":"Composition of Epistolae Duae De Ratione Paschae, responding to Bishop Petronius."},{"date":"325 CE","event":"Council of Nicaea, invoked by Dionysius as authoritative for Easter dating."},{"date":"9th–10th centuries","event":"Earliest surviving manuscript copies (Carolingian) of the letters."},{"date":"8th century","event":"Bede cites Dionysius's paschal table in De Temporum Ratione."},{"date":"6th–8th centuries","event":"Gradual adoption of Dionysian computus in the Latin West."}],"relations":[{"work":"De Temporum Ratione (Bede)","relation":"Bede cites and builds upon Dionysius's paschal table and letters.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Computus of Cyril of Alexandria","relation":"Dionysius adapts the Alexandrian 19-year cycle from Cyril's work.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Liber de Paschate (Victorius of Aquitaine)","relation":"Alternative paschal cycle that Dionysius's work supplanted in Rome.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Canonical Letters (Dionysius Exiguus)","relation":"Part of Dionysius's broader corpus of computational and canonical writings.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Historia Ecclesiastica (Eusebius of Caesarea)","relation":"Provides background on Nicene Easter decision referenced by Dionysius.","key":"","label":null,"url":null}],"external_links":[],"cautions":["The exact date of composition (525 CE) is based on Dionysius's own chronological note, but the letters' survival only in Carolingian copies introduces potential scribal alterations.","The edition (ogl-pl) lacks a critical apparatus, so variant readings from the manuscript tradition are unrecorded, and orthography may be silently normalized.","No English translation is provided in the source edition; readers must consult separate, often outdated translations.","The Anno Domini era is not explicitly mentioned in these letters, only implicit in the paschal table they accompany."],"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","cost_usd":0.000557,"generated":"2026-11-15T06:44:22Z"},"links":[{"kind":"source","label":"Open Greek and Latin Patrologia Latina","url":"https://github.com/OpenGreekAndLatin/patrologia_latina-dev/blob/master/data/stoa0108f/stoa008/stoa0108f.stoa008.opp-lat1.xml"}],"checks":{"work":"stoa0108f.stoa008.opp-lat1","status":"pass","blocking":[],"warnings":[],"stats":{"passages":19,"translated":19,"commentary_passages":19,"commentary_units":106,"english_words":4555,"source_letters":18588,"commentary_kinds":8},"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor"},"work_notes":[{"unit":"dating","kind":"chronology","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"Dionysius Exiguus composed these letters around 525 CE, responding to Bishop Petronius. The letters explain his paschal table, which introduced the Anno Domini era, though that innovation is not explicit here.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"transmission","kind":"transmission","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The letters survive in a single medieval manuscript tradition, often appended to Dionysius’s computational works. The earliest witnesses are Carolingian copies, with no earlier direct transmission.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"These letters became foundational for medieval computus, cited by Bede and later Carolingian scholars. They established the 19-year lunisolar cycle as the standard for Easter calculation in the Latin West.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"The edition (ogl-pl) does not include a critical apparatus. Variant readings from the manuscript tradition are not recorded, and the Latin text may silently normalize orthography or punctuation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"No English translation of these letters is provided in the source edition. Readers must rely on the Latin alone or consult separate translations, which are scarce and often outdated.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"derived_work_notes":[{"kind":"coverage","severity":"info","text":"No English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed."},{"kind":"limit","severity":"caution","text":"The English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Coptic; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve."},{"kind":"register","severity":"info","text":"Register: letter in Latin; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them."},{"kind":"structure","severity":"info","text":"Passages: 19 narrative."},{"kind":"source","severity":"info","text":"Source edition: ogl-pl — Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License"}],"derived_structure":{"narrative":19},"term_index":[],"citations":{},"segments":[{"i":1,"ref":"p1","source":"DIONYSII EXIGUI EPISTOLÆ DUÆ DE RATIONE PASCHÆ.\n\nEPISTOLA PRIMA\n\nSCRIPTA ANNO CHRISTI 525, PROBO CONSULE, INDICTIONE 5.\n\nDomino beatissimo, et nimium desideratissimo fatri Petronio cpiscopo; Dionysius Exiguus.\n\nPaschalis festi rationem, quam multorum diu freqnenter a nobis exposcit instantia, nunc adjuli precihus vestris explicare curavimus: sequentes per omnia venerabilium trecentorum et octodecim pontificum, qui apud Nicæam civitatem Bithyniæ contra vesaniam Aril convenerunt, etiam rei hujus absolutam veramque sententiam: qui quartasdecimas lunas paschalis observantix per novemdecim annorum redeuntem semper in se circulum stabiles immolasque fixerunt: quæ cunctis sæculis eodem quo repetuntur (al., reponuntur) exordia sine varietatis labuntur excursu. Hanc autem regulam præfati circuli non tam peritia singulari quam sancti Spiritus illustratione sanxerunt, et velut anchoram firmam et stabilem huic rationi lunaris dimensionis apposuisse cernuntur: quam postmodum nonnulli vel arrogantia despicientes, vel transgredientes inscientia, Judaicis inducti fabulis, diversam atque contrariam formam festivitatis unicæ tradiderunt.","english":"The Two Letters of Dionysius Exiguus on the Reckoning of Easter.\n\nFirst Letter\n\nWritten in the Year of Christ 525, under the Consul Probus, Indiction 5.\n\nTo the most blessed and most greatly desired lord, Bishop Petronius, Dionysius Exiguus.\n\nThe reckoning of the Paschal feast, which the persistent demand of many has long and frequently required of us, we have now taken care to set forth in response to your prayers, following in all things the absolute and true judgment of the venerable three hundred and eighteen pontiffs who assembled at the city of Nicaea in Bithynia against the madness of Arius, even on this matter: they fixed the fourteenth moons of the Paschal observance by means of the cycle of nineteen years always returning into itself, stable and immovable, which in all ages glide through the same beginnings at which they recur, without any variation in their course. Moreover, they established this rule of the aforementioned cycle not so much by singular skill as by the illumination of the Holy Spirit, and they are seen to have set it as a firm and stable anchor for this reckoning of lunar measure; which rule, afterwards, some, either despising it out of arrogance or transgressing it out of ignorance, led astray by Jewish fables, handed down a different and contrary form of the unique feast.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Epistola Prima","severity":"info","text":"The heading marks the first of two letters, with a chronological note (year 525, consulate of Probus, indiction 5) that orients the reader to the historical context of the work.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"quarta decima luna","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'quartasdecimas lunas' refers to the 14th day of the lunar month, the key date for determining Easter in the Nicene computus, tied to the spring equinox.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"trecentorum et octodecim pontificum","severity":"info","text":"The 318 bishops at Nicaea (325 CE) are invoked as authoritative; their decision on Easter is presented as divinely inspired, contrasting with later deviations attributed to Jewish influence.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"Judaicis inducti fabulis","severity":"caution","text":"Dionysius dismisses alternative Paschal practices as 'Jewish fables,' a polemical trope that reflects anti-Jewish rhetoric in early medieval computistical disputes.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"per novemdecim annorum redeuntem semper in se circulum","severity":"info","text":"The 19-year Metonic cycle is described as self-returning and stable, a foundational element of the Alexandrian computus that Dionysius champions.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'reponuntur' (variant reading) vs. 'repetuntur' in the Latin: the edition notes a textual variant, but the sense of cyclical recurrence is clear."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":2,"ref":"p2","source":"Et quia sine fundamenti soliditate non potest structura ulla consistere, longe aliter in quibusdam annis dominicum Pascha et lunae computum præfigere maluerunt, inordinatos circulos ordinantes (al., ordientes): qui non solum nullam recursus stabilitatem, verum etiam cursum præferunt errore notabilem.\n\nSed Alexandrinæurbis archiepiscopus beatus Athanasius, qui etiam ipse (al., et ipse) Nicæno concilio tunc sancti Alexandri pontificis diaconus, et in omnibus adjulor interfuit; et deinceps venerabilis Theophilus, et Cyrillus, ab hac synodi veneranda constitutione minime desciverunt. Imo potius eumdem decemnovennalem circulum, qui Enneacaidecaeterida Græco vocabulo nuncupatur, sollicite retinentes, paschalem cursum nullis diversitatibus interpolasse monstrantur. Papa dcnique Theophilus centum annorum cursum Theodosio seniori principi dedicans, et sanctus Cyrillus cyclum temporum nonaginta et quinque annorum componens, hanc sancti concilii traditionem ad observandas quartasdecimas lunas paschales per omnia servaverunt. Et quia stud iosis, et quærentibus scire quod verum est, debet ejusdem circuli regula fixius inhærere, hanc post præfationem nostram credidimus ascribendam.","english":"And because no structure can stand without a solid foundation, in certain years they have preferred to set the Lord's Easter and the computation of the moon far differently, arranging disordered cycles: which not only lack any stability of recurrence, but also exhibit a course notable for error.\n\nBut the blessed Athanasius, archbishop of the city of Alexandria, who himself was then a deacon of the pontiff Saint Alexander at the Council of Nicaea and was present as an assistant in all matters, and afterwards the venerable Theophilus and Cyril, never departed from this venerable constitution of the synod. Rather, diligently retaining that same nineteen-year cycle, which is called by the Greek term Enneacaidecaeteris, they are shown to have interpolated no variations into the paschal course. Finally, Pope Theophilus, dedicating a cycle of one hundred years to the elder Emperor Theodosius, and Saint Cyril, composing a cycle of ninety-five years, preserved this tradition of the holy council in all respects for observing the paschal fourteenth moons. And because for those who are studious and who seek to know what is true, the rule of that same cycle ought to adhere more firmly, we have believed it should be appended after our preface.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"Enneacaidecaeterida","severity":"info","text":"A Greek loanword (ἐννεακαιδεκαετηρίς) meaning 'nineteen-year cycle.' Dionysius uses it to emphasize the technical, Greek origin of the paschal cycle he defends.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The Council of Nicaea (325) established rules for dating Easter, including use of the Alexandrian computus. Athanasius, Theophilus, and Cyril were key Alexandrian bishops who maintained this tradition.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"dating","kind":"chronology","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"Dionysius refers to earlier cycles: Theophilus of Alexandria (d. 412) composed a 100-year cycle for Emperor Theodosius I (r. 379–395), and Cyril of Alexandria (d. 444) a 95-year cycle. Both adhered to the Nicene nineteen-year cycle.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"This passage transitions from criticizing faulty paschal cycles to affirming the Alexandrian tradition, then announces that the nineteen-year cycle will be appended after the preface, structuring the letter as a defense followed by a technical appendix.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"Dionysius's appeal to Athanasius, Theophilus, and Cyril as authorities helped establish the Alexandrian computus as standard in the Latin West, influencing later medieval Easter tables.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Latin 'adjulor' is a variant spelling of 'adiutor' (assistant); the text is not corrupt but reflects late Latin orthography.","The phrase 'inordinatos circulos ordinantes' has a variant 'ordientes' (beginning) in some manuscripts, but the sense of 'arranging disordered cycles' is clear."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":3,"ref":"p3","source":"Nonaginta quinque autem annorum hunc cyclum studio quo valuimus expedire contendimus: ultimum ejusdem beati Cyrilli, id est quintum circulum, quia sex ad huc ex eo anni supererant, in nostro hoc opere praeferentes: ac deinde quinque alios juxta normam ejusdem pontificis, imo potius sæpe dicii Nicæni concilii, nos ordinasse profitemur.\n\nQuia vero sanctus Cyrillas primum cyclum ab anno Diocletiani centesimo quinquagesimo tertio coepit, et ultimum in ducentesimo quadragesimo septimo terminavit; nos a ducentesimo quadragosimo octavo anno ejusdem tyranni potius quam principis inchoantes, noluimus circulis nostris memoriam impii et persecutoris mnectere; sed magis elegimus ab Incarnatione Domini nostri Jesu Christi annorum tempora prænotare: quatenus exordium spei nostræ notius nobis existeret, el causa reparationis IntimanT, id est passio Redemptoris nostri, evidentius eluceret.","english":"We have striven to complete this cycle of ninety-five years with all the diligence we could muster, setting forth the last of the blessed Cyril’s cycles—that is, his fifth cycle—in this work of ours, since six years of it still remained; and we declare that we have arranged the other five according to the norm of that same pontiff, or rather of the oft-mentioned Council of Nicaea.\n\nBut because the holy Cyril began his first cycle in the one hundred and fifty-third year of Diocletian and ended his last in the two hundred and forty-seventh, we, beginning in the two hundred and forty-eighth year of that same tyrant rather than prince, have been unwilling to bind the memory of an impious persecutor to our cycles; instead we have chosen to mark the times of the years from the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, so that the beginning of our hope might be more familiar to us, and the cause of our redemption—that is, the passion of our Redeemer—might shine forth more clearly.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"Nonaginta quinque autem annorum hunc cyclum","severity":"info","text":"The 95-year cycle corresponds to the Alexandrian paschal cycle, which repeats after 95 years (5 × 19-year Metonic cycles). Dionysius adopts Cyril's fifth cycle, extending it.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"tyranni potius quam principis","severity":"info","text":"Dionysius calls Diocletian a 'tyrant rather than prince,' reflecting the Christian view of Diocletian as a persecutor. This justifies replacing the Diocletian era with the Anno Domini system.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"ab Incarnatione Domini nostri Jesu Christi","severity":"info","text":"Dionysius here introduces the Anno Domini era, replacing the Diocletian era. This innovation became standard in Western Christianity, though its calculation is debated.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"ultimum ejusdem beati Cyrilli, id est quintum circulum","severity":"info","text":"Dionysius explains his method: he takes Cyril's fifth cycle (which had six years remaining) as the start, then adds five more cycles of his own, totaling 95 years.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"background","lemma":"Nicæni concilii","severity":"info","text":"Dionysius appeals to the Council of Nicaea (325) as the authority for paschal computation, though the council did not prescribe a specific cycle. This appeal legitimizes his work.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'sex ad huc ex eo anni supererant' could mean six years remained in Cyril's fifth cycle, or that six years had elapsed since its end; the translation takes the former reading."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":4,"ref":"p4","source":"Hoc præterea lectorem putavimus admonendum, quod circulus iste nonaginta et quinque annorum quem fecimus, cum finito tempore in idipsum reverti cœperit, non per omnia propositam teneat firmitatem. Nam licet anni Donnini nostri Jesu Christi ordinem suum continuata serie custodiant, et indictiones per annos quindecim solita revolutione decurrant, epactas etiam, quas Graeci vocant, id est adjectiones annuas lunares undecim, quæ triginta dierum fine in se redeunt, fixis regulis invenias adnotatas, decemnovennalem quoque recursum, et paschales quartasdecimas lunas easdem omnium ævorum revolutione reperias: tamen tenorem similem constantiæ nequeunt custodire concurrentes dies hebdomadum, et dies Paschae Domini, lunaque ipsius diei Dominici. Concurrentium autem hebdomadum (al., septem dierum) ratio, quae de solis cursu provenit, septeno (al., septem) annorum jugi cireuitu terminatur. In quo per annos singulos unum numerare curabis; in eo tantummodo anto in quo bissextus fucrit, duos adjicies; quæ causa etiam facit ut non per omnia circulus iste nonaginta quinque annorum suo recursui concordari videatur. Nam cum in cæteris annis non dissentiat, in illis solis in quibus se bissextus interserit, Pascha dominicum cum sua luna vario modo rationis occurrit. Sed hi qui ordinc fixo per omnia decurrunt tempora, mobilum casuum sua stabili circuitione sine ulla possunt difficultate dirigcre.","english":"Moreover, we thought it necessary to warn the reader that this cycle of ninety-five years which we have made, when it begins to return to itself after the completion of its time, does not maintain the proposed stability in all respects. For although the years of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve their order in an unbroken series, and the indictions run through fifteen years in their usual revolution, and the epacts—which the Greeks call by that name, that is, the annual lunar additions of eleven days, which return into themselves at the end of thirty days—you will find noted down by fixed rules, and also the nineteen-year cycle and the paschal fourteenth moons you will find the same throughout the revolutions of all ages, yet the concurrent days of the weeks and the days of the Lord's Passover, and the moon of that Lord's day, cannot maintain a similar constancy. The reckoning of the concurrents of the weeks (or, of the seven days), which arises from the course of the sun, is completed in a perpetual cycle of seven years. In this, for each single year you will count one; only in that year in which there is a bissextile day will you add two; which cause also makes it appear that this cycle of ninety-five years does not agree with its recurrence in all respects. For while it does not differ in the other years, in those alone in which the bissextile day intervenes, the Lord's Passover with its moon occurs in a varying manner of reckoning. But those things which run through the times in a fixed order, by their stable circuit, can direct the variable cases without any difficulty.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"concurrentes dies hebdomadum","severity":"info","text":"The 'concurrent days of the weeks' are the weekday of 24 March (or 1 January in some systems), used in computus to align solar and lunar cycles. Dionysius explains their seven-year cycle and the bissextile adjustment.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"epactas","severity":"info","text":"Epacts are the annual lunar excess of 11 days over the solar year, used to calculate the age of the moon. Dionysius notes they recur in a 30-day cycle, a standard computistical rule.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"bissextus","severity":"info","text":"The bissextile (leap) day, inserted every four years, disrupts the simple seven-year cycle of concurrents. Dionysius notes that in leap years two concurrents are added, causing paschal dates to vary.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"This passage explains the limitations of the 95-year cycle: while solar years, indictions, epacts, and the 19-year cycle are stable, concurrents and paschal dates vary due to the bissextile day.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"The Latin text has variant readings: 'concurrentium autem hebdomadum (al., septem dierum)' and 'septeno (al., septem) annorum', indicating scribal uncertainty about the exact phrasing of the concurrent cycle.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'concurrentes dies hebdomadum' could refer to the weekday of 24 March or 1 January; Dionysius does not specify which convention he follows.","The exact number of years in the concurrent cycle is given as seven, but the text has a variant 'septem' for 'septeno', leaving ambiguity about the precise wording."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":5,"ref":"p5","source":"Et ideo post expletionem nonaginta quinque annorum, cum harum rerum diligens ad exordium redire voluerit, non ad quintum cyclum sancti CyriHi, quem nobis necessario proposuimus, sed ad nostrum primum vigilanter excurrat; et ordine, quo diximus, per eos qui firmum cursum retinent, eorum progressum, qui videntur titubare, sustentet.\n\nIllud quoque non minori cura notandum esse ceusuimus, ne in primi mensis agnitione fallamur. Hinc enim pene cunctus error discrepantiæ paschalis cxofitur, dum temporis initium ignoratur. Nam eum Dominos omnipotens hanc sacratissimam solemnitatem cdebrandam filiis Israe), qui ex Ægyptia servitute liberabantur, indiceret, ait in libro Exodi ad Moysen et Aaron in terra Ægypti: Mensis iste principium mensium, primus erit in mensibus anni (Exod. in, 2). Itemque ibidem: Primo, inquit, mense, decimo quarto die mensis ad vesperum comedetis aZyma, usque ad rigesimum primum ejusdem ad vesperum (Ibid., 18). In Deuteronomlo quoque idem legislator Moyses ita populum de hac re commonet dicens: Observa mensem novarum frugum, et verni primum temporis, ut facias Pascha Domino Deo tuo, quoniam in isto mense eduxit te Dominus Deus tuus de Ægypto noctu (Deuter. In, et seq.). Tanta hac auctoritate divina claruit, primo mense, deeimo quarto die ad vesperum, osque ad vigesimum primum, festivitatem paschalem debere eelebrari.","english":"And therefore, after the completion of the ninety-five years, when one who is diligent in these matters wishes to return to the beginning, let him not run back to the fifth cycle of Saint Cyril, which we have necessarily set before us, but let him run carefully to our first; and, in the order we have stated, through those cycles which maintain a fixed course, let him sustain the progress of those which seem to waver.\n\nWe have also thought that this should be noted with no less care, lest we be deceived in the recognition of the first month. For from this almost the entire error of the Paschal discrepancy arises, when the beginning of the time is unknown. For when the almighty Lord commanded this most sacred solemnity to be celebrated by the children of Israel, who were being freed from Egyptian servitude, he says in the book of Exodus to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: \"This month shall be the beginning of months; it shall be the first of the months of the year\" (Exod. 12:2). And likewise in the same place: \"In the first month,\" he says, \"on the fourteenth day of the month at evening you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the same at evening\" (Ibid., 18). Also in Deuteronomy, the same lawgiver Moses thus admonishes the people concerning this matter, saying: \"Observe the month of new grain, and the first of the spring season, that you may keep the Passover to the Lord your God, because in that month the Lord your God led you out of Egypt by night\" (Deut. 16:1 and following). By such divine authority it has been made clear that the Paschal festival ought to be celebrated in the first month, on the fourteenth day at evening, until the twenty-first.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"non ad quintum cyclum sancti CyriHi, quem nobis necessario proposuimus, sed ad nostrum primum vigilanter excurrat","severity":"info","text":"Dionysius distinguishes his own first cycle from Cyril's fifth, indicating that his paschal table is a continuation and correction of Cyril's earlier work.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Exod. 12, 2","severity":"info","text":"Dionysius cites Exodus 12:2 (Vulgate) to establish the first month as the beginning of months, a key point for paschal dating.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Deuter. 16, 1 et seq.","severity":"info","text":"The reference to Deuteronomy 16:1 and following grounds the paschal observance in the month of new grain and spring, reinforcing the lunar-solar calculation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"filiis Israe), qui ex Ægyptia servitute liberabantur","severity":"info","text":"Dionysius connects the paschal feast to the Exodus narrative, a standard typology in patristic and medieval exegesis linking Passover to Christian Easter.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"primi mensis agnitione","severity":"info","text":"The 'recognition of the first month' is a technical term in paschal computus, referring to the determination of the lunar month in which Passover falls.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"cxofitur","severity":"caution","text":"The Latin text has 'cxofitur' which is likely a scribal error for 'exoritur' (arises). The sense is clear from context.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'cxofitur' is a probable corruption of 'exoritur'."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":6,"ref":"p6","source":"Sed quia mensis hic ande sonat exordium, vel ubi terminetur, evidenter ibi non legitur, praefati trecenti et octodecim pontifices, antiqui moris observantiam, et exinde a sancto Moyse traditam, sicat in septimo libro Ecclesiasticæ refertur Historiæ, solertius investigantes, ab octavo idus Martii, usque in diem nonarum Aprilium, natam lunam facere dixerunt primi mensis exordium: et a duodecimo die calendarum Apriliom usque in decimum quartam calendas Maias lunam decimam quartam solertius inquirendam. Quæ quia cum soHs cursu non æqualiter volvitur, tantorum dierum spatiis occursum vernalis aequinoctii consequatur: qui a duodedmo calendarum Aprilium die, cunctorum Orien- C talium sententiis, et maxime Ægyptiorum, qui calculationis præ omnibus guari sunt, specialiter adnotatur. In quo etiam, si luna decima quarta sabbato contigerit (quod semel in nonaginta quinque annis accidere manifestum est), sequenti die dominico, id est undecimo calendas Aprilis, luna decima quinta, celebrandum Pascha, eadem sancta synodus sine ambiguitate firmavit. Hoc modis omnibus admonens, ut ante duodecimum calendas Aprilis lunam decimam quartam paschalis festi nullus inquireret; quam non primi mensis, sed ullimi esse constaret.","english":"But since the beginning of this month, or where it ends, is not clearly read there, the aforementioned three hundred and eighteen pontiffs, investigating more diligently the observance of the ancient custom, and that handed down from Saint Moses, as is related in the seventh book of the Ecclesiastical History, declared that the new moon which makes the beginning of the first month occurs from the eighth day before the Ides of March up to the day of the Nones of April; and that the fourteenth moon is to be sought diligently from the twelfth day before the Kalends of April up to the fourteenth day before the Kalends of May. And because this moon does not revolve equally with the course of the sun, it follows the occurrence of the vernal equinox within the space of so many days: which equinox is especially noted on the twelfth day before the Kalends of April, according to the opinions of all the Easterners, and especially of the Egyptians, who are more skilled than all others in calculation. In this matter, also, if the fourteenth moon should fall on a Sabbath (which is manifestly known to happen once in ninety-five years), then on the following Lord's day, that is, the eleventh day before the Kalends of April, with the fifteenth moon, the same holy synod without ambiguity established that Easter should be celebrated. It admonishes in every way that no one should seek the fourteenth moon of the paschal feast before the twelfth day before the Kalends of April; for it would be certain to be not of the first month, but of the last.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"trecenti et octodecim pontifices","severity":"info","text":"The 318 pontiffs refer to the Council of Nicaea (325 CE), whose paschal canons are here invoked. Dionysius attributes to them the lunar limits and the rule for Easter when the 14th moon falls on a Saturday.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"septimo libro Ecclesiasticæ refertur Historiæ","severity":"info","text":"The reference is to Eusebius of Caesarea's Ecclesiastical History, book 7, which discusses the paschal controversy and the tradition of observing the vernal equinox. Dionysius cites it as authority for the ancient custom handed down from Moses.","cites":[],"named_sources":["Eusebius of Caesarea"],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"octavo idus Martii","severity":"info","text":"The eighth day before the Ides of March is March 8. This is the earliest possible date for the new moon of the first month in the paschal cycle, as defined by the Nicene fathers.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"duodecimo die calendarum Aprilium","severity":"info","text":"The twelfth day before the Kalends of April is March 21. This is the date of the vernal equinox according to Eastern and Egyptian calculation, and the earliest limit for the 14th moon of the first month.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"dating","kind":"chronology","basis":"text","lemma":"semel in nonaginta quinque annis","severity":"info","text":"Dionysius notes that the coincidence of the 14th moon with a Saturday occurs once in 95 years, i.e., once per paschal cycle. This is a key structural feature of his 95-year table.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"sed quia mensis hic ... evidenter ibi non legitur","severity":"caution","text":"Dionysius acknowledges that the beginning and end of the first month are not clearly stated in the Nicene canons. This ambiguity necessitated the detailed lunar limits he then provides.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'mensis hic' may refer to the first month of the Jewish calendar (Nisan) or to the paschal month as defined by the Nicene council; Dionysius does not specify which."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":7,"ref":"p7","source":"I Sed nec hoc prætereundum esse putavimus, quod nimis errant qui lunam peragere cursum sui circuli triginta dierum spatiis æstimantes, duodecim lunares menses in trecentis sexaginta diebus annumerant; quibus etiam quinque dies adjiciunt, quos intercalares appellavit antiquitas, ut solarem annum adimplere videantur. Cum diligens inquisitio veritatis ostenderit in duobus lunæ circulis non sexaginta dies, sed quinquaginta novcm debcre numerari. Ac fer hoc in duodecim lunaribus mensibus trecentorum quinquaginta quatuor dierum summam colligi; cui epactas Ægyptii annuas, id est unlecim dies, accommodant: ut ita demum lunaris emensio (nl., dimensio) rationi Melis adæquetur. Quod verissimum esse atque certissimum suprascriptorum Patrum senentia comprobatur: qui, juxta hanc Ægyptiorum calculationem, quartas decimas lunas paschalis observantiæ tradiderunt. Sed nonnulli tantæ subtilitatis, sive potius sanctionis ignari, dum alia supputationis argumenta perquirunt, a veritatis tramite recedunt. Unde plerumque contingit, ut quando sæpe dicti Patres decimam quartam lunam ponunt, eam isti decimam quintam suspicentur; et quae vigesima prima est, vigesimam secundam esse pronuntient. Sed nobis, quibus amor et cura est Christianæ religionis, nulla prorsus oportet ratione discedere; sed praefixam ab his paschalem regulam sincerissima convenit observatione servare.","english":"But we thought this also should not be passed over, that those who, estimating that the moon completes the course of its cycle in a space of thirty days, count twelve lunar months as three hundred and sixty days, and to these they also add five days, which antiquity called intercalary, so that they seem to fill out the solar year, are greatly in error. For a diligent investigation of the truth has shown that in two lunar cycles not sixty days, but fifty-nine, ought to be counted. And thus in twelve lunar months a total of three hundred and fifty-four days is collected; to which the Egyptians add the annual epacts, that is, eleven days, so that the lunar measure is finally made equal to the solar reckoning. That this is most true and most certain is confirmed by the judgment of the above-mentioned Fathers, who, according to this calculation of the Egyptians, handed down the fourteenth moons of the paschal observance. But some, ignorant of such great subtlety, or rather of such great sanction, while they seek other arguments of computation, depart from the path of truth. Whence it often happens that when the often-mentioned Fathers place the fourteenth moon, these suspect it to be the fifteenth; and what is the twenty-first, they pronounce to be the twenty-second. But for us, for whom love and care of the Christian religion exist, we ought by no means to depart from reason; but it is fitting to preserve with the most sincere observance the paschal rule fixed by them.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"epactas","severity":"info","text":"Dionysius borrows the Greek term 'epactae' for the 11-day supplement aligning lunar and solar years, a key concept in computus.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"intercalares","severity":"info","text":"The 'intercalary days' refer to the 5 epagomenal days added to the Egyptian 360-day year, a practice Dionysius contrasts with the correct lunar reckoning.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Aegyptiorum calculationem","severity":"info","text":"Dionysius endorses the Egyptian 19-year lunisolar cycle (later the Metonic cycle) as the basis for paschal computation, citing the Nicene Fathers' authority.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"suprascriptorum Patrum","severity":"info","text":"The 'above-mentioned Fathers' are the 318 bishops of Nicaea (325 CE), whose paschal rules Dionysius presents as authoritative and binding.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"nonnulli","severity":"caution","text":"Dionysius criticizes unnamed computists who miscalculate the 14th moon, but does not specify their method; the passage warns against deviating from Nicene tradition.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Sed nec hoc praetereundum","severity":"info","text":"This passage continues the refutation of erroneous lunar cycles, building a cumulative argument for the Egyptian 354-day lunar year plus 11 epacts.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'lunae peragere cursum sui circuli triginta dierum spatiis' could be read as either a 30-day lunar month or a 30-day cycle; Dionysius rejects both.","The identity of 'nonnulli' (some) is unspecified; they may be contemporary computists or earlier authorities."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":8,"ref":"p8","source":"Quanta vero in Ecclesiis toto terrarum orbe diffusis horum Patrum nitamur auctoritate, non labor est ostendere: cum secundum concilium apud Nicæam post tempora non longa conveniens a, eorum primitus definitionem, quam de paschali ratione protulerant, nullo modo violandam esse censuerit. Denique in sanctis canonibus, sub titulo septuagesimo nono, qui est primus ipsius Antiocheni concilii, his verbis invenitur expressum: Omnes qui ausi fuerint dissolvere definitionem sancti et magni concilii quod apud Nicæam congregatum est, sub præsentia piissimi et venerandi principis Constantini, de salutifera solemnitate paschali, excommunicandos, et dt Ecclesia pellendos esse censemus; si tamen contentiosi, adversus ea quæ bene sunt decreta, perstiterint. Et hæc quidem de laicis dicta sint. Si quis autem eorum qui praesunt Ecclesiæ, aut episcopus, aut presbyter, aut diaconuS, post hanc definitionem tentaverit ad subversionem populorum, et Ecclesiarum perturbationem, aeorsim colligere, et cum Judæis Pascha celebrare; sancta synodus hunc alienum jam hinc ab Ecclesia indicavit, quod non solum sibi, sed plurimis causa cor ruptionis ac perturbationis exstiterit. Nec solum a miMisterio tuMes removet, sed etiam illi qui post damnalionem hujusmodi communicare tentaverint, damnari sunt, omni quoque extrinsecus honore privati, quem sancta regula, et sacerdotium Dei promeruit.","english":"But how much we rely on the authority of these Fathers, who are spread throughout the whole world in the Churches, it is not laborious to show: since the Council at Nicaea, convened not long after their time, first decreed that their definition, which they had set forth concerning the Paschal reckoning, was in no way to be violated. Finally, in the sacred canons, under the seventy-ninth title, which is the first of the Antiochene Council itself, it is found expressed in these words: We decree that all who have dared to dissolve the definition of the holy and great Council which was assembled at Nicaea, in the presence of the most pious and venerable Emperor Constantine, concerning the salutary Paschal solemnity, are to be excommunicated and expelled from the Church; if, however, they persist in being contentious against those things which have been well decreed. And these things have been said concerning the laity. But if any of those who preside over the Church, whether bishop, or presbyter, or deacon, after this definition, should attempt, to the subversion of the people and the disturbance of the Churches, to assemble separately and to celebrate Pascha with the Jews; the holy synod has declared such a one already alien from the Church, because he has been a cause of corruption and disturbance not only to himself but to very many. And not only does it remove him from the ministry, but also those who after such condemnation attempt to communicate with him are to be condemned, and are also deprived of all external honor, which the holy rule and the priesthood of God have merited.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"concilium apud Nicæam","severity":"info","text":"The Council of Nicaea (325 CE) established norms for calculating Easter, condemning alignment with the Jewish Passover. Dionysius here invokes its authority to bolster his own paschal tables.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"septuagesimo nono","severity":"info","text":"The seventy-ninth title refers to a canon in the collection known as the Antiochene canons, which Dionysius treats as the first canon of the Council of Antioch (341 CE). The numbering reflects later Latin canonical compilations.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"cum Judæis Pascha celebrare","severity":"info","text":"The prohibition against celebrating Easter with the Jews echoes the Quartodeciman controversy and the Nicene decision to separate the Christian paschal celebration from the Jewish Passover calendar.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Denique in sanctis canonibus","severity":"info","text":"This passage shifts from general reliance on patristic authority to a specific canonical citation, reinforcing the argument with conciliar legislation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"background","lemma":"excommunicandos, et de Ecclesia pellendos","severity":"info","text":"Dionysius’s citation of Antiochene canons influenced later medieval canon law on Easter observance, as seen in Gratian’s Decretum and subsequent collections.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"dt Ecclesia pellendos","severity":"caution","text":"The Latin text has a scribal error: 'dt' should read 'de'. The English draft correctly renders 'from the Church'.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The precise identity of the 'seventy-ninth title' in the Latin canonical tradition is ambiguous; Dionysius may be referencing a specific collection no longer extant.","The phrase 'sub titulo septuagesimo nono' could refer to a chapter number in a canonical compilation, but the exact source is uncertain."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":9,"ref":"p9","source":"His non dissimilia venerabilis papa Leo sedis apostolicæ præsol pronuntiat, dicens: Contra statuta canonum paternorum, qum ante longissimæ ætatis annos in urbe Niccea spiritalibus sunt fundata decretis, nihil cuiquam audere conceditur: ita ut si quis diversum quid velit decerneret se potius minuat, quam illa corrumpat. Quæ si, ut oportet, a cunctis pontificibus intemerata,errentur, per universas Ecclesias pax erit, et firma concordia. Et itenun: In omnibus, inquit, ecclesias icis causis, his legibus obsequimur, quas ad pacificam observantiam omnium sacerdotum per trecentos octodecim antistites Spiritus sanctus instituit: ita ut etiam si multo plures aliud, quam illi statuere, decernant, in nulla reverentia sit habendum, quidquid fuerit a prædictorum constitutione diversum.\n\nSufficienter, ut putamus, cunctis indicitur, ne deinceps aliter quam a sanctis constitutum est Patribus, sacratissimum Pascha celebretur. Quod si testimonia tantorum sacerdotum forsitan quis obst nata mente despexerit, etiam in historia ecclesiastica paria breviter intimata rcperiet; multorumque relatione pontificum, et maxime beali Athanasii, cujus supra meminimus, hæc eadem vulgata cognoscet.","english":"Not dissimilar to these are the pronouncements of the venerable Pope Leo, president of the apostolic see, who says: \"Against the statutes of the canonical fathers, which many years of a very long age ago in the city of Nicaea were established by spiritual decrees, nothing is permitted to anyone to dare: so that if anyone should wish to decree something different, he would rather diminish himself than corrupt those statutes.\" And again: \"In all ecclesiastical matters,\" he says, \"we obey those laws which the Holy Spirit instituted through the three hundred and eighteen bishops for the peaceful observance of all priests: so that even if many more should decree something other than what they established, whatever is different from the aforesaid constitution is to be held in no reverence.\"\n\nSufficiently, as we think, it is indicated to all, lest henceforth the most sacred Easter be celebrated otherwise than as established by the holy Fathers. But if perhaps someone with an obstinate mind should despise the testimonies of such great priests, he will also find similar matters briefly indicated in ecclesiastical history; and he will learn these same things made known by the report of many pontiffs, and especially of the blessed Athanasius, whom we mentioned above.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"His non dissimilia","severity":"info","text":"Dionysius introduces a second patristic authority, Pope Leo I, to reinforce the Nicene canon's inviolability, linking his decree to the earlier conciliar statement.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"præsol","severity":"info","text":"The Latin 'præsol' is a variant spelling of 'praesul', meaning 'president' or 'leader', here referring to Pope Leo as head of the apostolic see.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"venerabilis papa Leo","severity":"info","text":"Pope Leo I (r. 440–461) was a key Western authority on the Paschal controversy, and his letters were cited to bolster the Nicene position against local variations.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Spiritus sanctus instituit","severity":"info","text":"Leo's claim that the Holy Spirit instituted the Nicene canons through the 318 bishops echoes the biblical motif of divine guidance in ecumenical councils (cf. Acts 15:28).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"beati Athanasii","severity":"info","text":"Dionysius appeals to Athanasius as a key witness for the Nicene Paschal reckoning, reflecting the latter's role in defending the council's decisions in the 4th century.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Sufficienter, ut putamus, cunctis indicitur","severity":"info","text":"This sentence marks a rhetorical conclusion to the patristic testimonies, transitioning to a warning against dissent and a reference to further historical evidence.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'His non dissimilia' could refer to the preceding patristic testimonies or to the Nicene canons; the reading taken is that it refers to the preceding statements of the Fathers.","The clause 'quum ante longissimæ ætatis annos' is ambiguous in temporal scope; the reading taken is that it refers to the Nicaean council as an event of great antiquity."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":10,"ref":"p10","source":"Idipsum vero epistola sancti Protcrii Alexandrinæ urbis episcopi ad eumdem papam Leonern pro hac eadem paschali quæstione directa, testatur: quam ante hos annos transferentes e Græco, huic operi adnectendam esse perspeximus (al., prospeximus): nec non et argumenta Ægyptiorum sagacitate quæsita subdidimus; quibus, si forsitan ignorentur, paschales tiluli possint facile reperiri: id est, quotus sit annus ab Incarnatione Domini, et quota sit indictio; quotus etiam lunaris circulus, sive decemnovennalis rxistat; ceterique simili (al., cæteraque similia) supputationis compendio requirantur. Orantem pro nobis beatitudinem vestram divina gratia custodire dignetur.\n\nEPISTOLA II.\n\nSCRIPTA ANNO CHRISTI VULGARI 526.\n\nDominis a me plurimum venerandis Bonifacio primicerio notariorum, et Bono secundicerio, Dionysius Exiguus salutem.\n\nObservantiae (al., Reverentia, non bene) paschalis regulam, diu sancto ac venerabili Petronio episcopo commonente, tandem stylo commendare compulsus, omnem deinceps diversitatis oppugnationem sublatam fore credideram; maxime quod sanctorum trecentorum octodecim antistitum qui apud Nicacam convenerant, auctoritatem totis nisibus insinuare curaveram: qui in ipso concilio venerando decemnovennalem cyclum regulariter affigentes, quartas decimas lunas paschalis observantiæ per omnia temrora legi suae revolutionis immobiles adnotaverunt.","english":"The same thing is attested by the letter of the holy Proterius, bishop of the city of Alexandria, to the same Pope Leo on this same paschal question; which letter, translating from Greek some years ago, we have seen fit to be appended to this work; and we have also subjoined the arguments sought out by the sagacity of the Egyptians, by which, if they should perhaps be unknown, the paschal titles can easily be found: that is, what year it is from the Incarnation of the Lord, and what the indiction is; also what the lunar cycle is, or the nineteen-year cycle; and the rest of similar things are sought by a compendium of calculation. May divine grace deign to preserve your blessedness praying for us.\n\nLETTER II.\n\nWRITTEN IN THE COMMON YEAR OF CHRIST 526.\n\nTo my most highly reverend lords Boniface, chief notary, and Bonus, second notary, Dionysius Exiguus sends greetings.\n\nThe rule of paschal observance, long urged by the holy and venerable bishop Petronius, I, compelled at last to commit to writing, had believed that thereafter all attack of diversity would be removed; especially since I had taken care to inculcate with all my might the authority of the three hundred and eighteen holy bishops who had assembled at Nicaea: who in that venerable council, fixing the nineteen-year cycle regularly, noted the fourteenth moons of paschal observance as immovable through all times according to the law of its revolution.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"Proterius","severity":"info","text":"Proterius was bishop of Alexandria (c. 451–457), a controversial figure after the Council of Chalcedon; his letter to Pope Leo I on the paschal question is otherwise lost.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"indictio","severity":"info","text":"Indictio (indiction) is a 15-year cycle used for dating in late Roman and medieval documents, not tied to the paschal calculation itself but a chronological marker.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"decemnovennalis cyclus","severity":"info","text":"Decemnovennalis cyclus (19-year cycle) is the Metonic cycle, the basis of the Alexandrian paschal table, attributed here to the Council of Nicaea.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Epistola II","severity":"info","text":"This passage marks the transition from the first letter to the second, with a new salutation to Boniface and Bonus, notaries, and a date of 526 CE.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"trecentorum octodecim antistitum","severity":"info","text":"The number 318 bishops at Nicaea is traditional (symbolic of Abraham’s 318 servants) and appears in later patristic and conciliar texts as an authoritative figure.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"al., prospeximus","severity":"caution","text":"The variant prospeximus (we have foreseen) for perspeximus (we have seen fit) in the source edition indicates textual uncertainty in the manuscript tradition.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'ceterique simili' (or 'ceteraque similia') is textually uncertain; the sense is that other similar items are sought by calculation.","The date 'Anno Christi Vulgari 526' is a later editorial addition, not part of the original letter."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":11,"ref":"p11","source":"Sed quoniam sanctitas vestra, orta rei hujus quaestione, de archivo Romanæ Ecclesiae Pascbasini venerabilis episcopi scripta, quem constat pro persona beatissimi papae Leonis sancto Chalcedonensi præsedisse concilio, ad eumdem papam per idem tempus directa nunc proLulit, quae sanctis Patribus evidenti ratione consentiunt, huic praesenti indidimus operi: ut hujus etiam viri testimonio niteremur, qui manifesto miraculo venerabilium pontificum paschalia decreta confirmat. Quod vero in scriptis ipsis communium annorum et embolismorum mentio facta est, et a nonnullis hæ ratio, quæ ex Hebræorum, ut fertur, traditione descendit, magnopere quaeritur, scire volentibus, utrum huic paterna regula (al., paternæ regulæ) consonare videatur; necessarium duximus, et hanc notitiam, ne probetur in aliquo dissidere, coacta brevitate digerere.\n\nNoverimus itaque, quia idem decemnovennalis cyclus per ogdoadem et hendecadem semper in se revolvitur. Octo namque et undecim ipse numerus explicatur. Ogdoas ergo, quæ incipit a primo decemnovennali cyclo, qui est lunaris decimus septimus, bac ratione pcragitur, ut annos primum et sccundum, communes, id est mioores habeat, tertium embolismum, id est majorem; annum quartum et quintum item communes, sextum embolismum; septimum communem, octavum embolismum. Ac per hoc ogdoadis communes anni quinque, et tres embolismi jugiter ascribuntur.","english":"But since your Holiness, when the question of this matter arose, has now brought forth from the archive of the Roman Church the writings of the venerable bishop Paschasinus, who is known to have presided at the holy Council of Chalcedon in the person of the most blessed Pope Leo, writings directed to the same pope at that same time—writings which agree with evident reasoning with the holy Fathers—we have inserted them into this present work, so that we might also rely on the testimony of this man, who by a manifest miracle confirms the paschal decrees of the venerable pontiffs. As for the fact that in those same writings mention is made of common years and embolismic years, and that this reckoning, which is said to descend from the tradition of the Hebrews, is greatly sought after by some who wish to know whether it seems to accord with the ancestral rule, we have deemed it necessary to set forth this knowledge as well, lest it be found to disagree in any respect, and to do so with compressed brevity.\n\nLet us know, therefore, that the same nineteen-year cycle always revolves within itself through an ogdoad and a hendecad. For the number itself is unfolded by eight and eleven. The ogdoad, then, which begins from the first nineteen-year cycle, which is the seventeenth lunar [cycle], is completed in such a way that it has the first and second years as common, that is, smaller; the third as embolismic, that is, larger; the fourth and fifth years likewise common; the sixth as embolismic; the seventh as common; the eighth as embolismic. And by this means, five common years and three embolismic years are constantly assigned to the ogdoad.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Pascbasini venerabilis episcopi scripta","severity":"info","text":"Paschasinus of Lilybaeum presided at Chalcedon as papal legate. His letter to Leo, here cited, supports the paschal calculations of the Fathers.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"ogdoadem et hendecadem","severity":"info","text":"Ogdoas (eight-year group) and hendecas (eleven-year group) are the two blocks that compose the 19-year cycle, a standard Alexandrian computational structure.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"communes ... embolismum","severity":"info","text":"A 'common' year has 12 lunar months (354 days); an 'embolismic' year adds a 13th month (384 days). The ogdoad pattern: 5 common, 3 embolismic.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"ex Hebræorum, ut fertur, traditione descendit","severity":"info","text":"Dionysius reports a claim that the embolismic cycle derives from Hebrew tradition. This reflects late antique Christian antiquarianism, not direct Jewish practice.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Noverimus itaque, quia idem decemnovennalis cyclus per ogdoadem et hendecadem semper in se revolvitur","severity":"info","text":"This sentence introduces the technical explanation of the 19-year cycle, dividing it into an ogdoad (8 years) and a hendecad (11 years), a standard didactic move.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"huic præsenti indidimus operi","severity":"info","text":"Dionysius incorporates Paschasinus's letter into his own work, showing how later compilers curated earlier authorities to strengthen the paschal tradition.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Latin 'paternæ regulæ' (ancestral rule) is ambiguous: it may refer to the Nicene paschal norms or to a specific computistical tradition. The translation adopts 'ancestral rule' as a neutral rendering."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":12,"ref":"p12","source":"Communis autem annus duodecim lunares menses colligit, qui dies trecentos quinquaginta quatuor efficiunt. Embolismus autem annus, et lunas tredecim, et dies trecentos octoginta quatuor habere monstratur. Item hendecas hac lege discurrit. Incipit nono anno cycli decemnovennalis, qui est lunaris sextus: cujus primus et secundus annus communis est, tertius embolismus; quartus et quintus communis, sextus embolismus; septimus et octavus communis; nonus embolismus; decimus communis, undecimus embolismus: sicque bendecas communibus annis septem, embolismis quatuor terminatur. Embolismorum autem ista ratio probatur existere, quia annorum communium videtur damna supplere: quatenus ad solare tempus lunaris exæquetur excursio. Quamvis enim anni solaris circulum per singulos menses luna circumeat, tamen ejus perfectionem duodecim suis mensibus implere non praevalet. Denique in annis communibus ad rationem solaris anni undecim dies lunæ deesse cernuntur. In embolismis vero novemdecim diebus eumdem annum videtur solarem luna transcendere. Quapropter ogdoadis et hendecadis annos, juxta praefati circuli ordinem, in medium proferamus; et liquido probabimus, per octo annos et undecim, lunæ cursum cum sole contendere: quando tot dies illa colligat quot ille cucurrerit.","english":"A common year, however, collects twelve lunar months, which make three hundred fifty-four days. An embolismic year, on the other hand, is shown to have both thirteen moons and three hundred eighty-four days. Likewise, the hendecas runs according to this rule. It begins in the ninth year of the nineteen-year cycle, which is the sixth lunar year: its first and second years are common, the third embolismic; the fourth and fifth common, the sixth embolismic; the seventh and eighth common; the ninth embolismic; the tenth common, the eleventh embolismic: and thus the hendecas is completed with seven common years and four embolismic years. The rationale for the embolismic years is shown to exist because they seem to make up for the deficiencies of the common years, so that the lunar course may be equalized to the solar time. For although the moon goes around the circle of the solar year through each month, it is not able to fulfill its perfection in its own twelve months. Indeed, in common years, eleven days are seen to be lacking for the moon to match the reckoning of the solar year. In embolismic years, however, the moon appears to exceed that same solar year by nineteen days. Therefore, let us bring forth the years of the ogdoad and the hendecas according to the order of the aforementioned cycle; and we will clearly prove that, over eight years and eleven, the moon's course contends with the sun: when it gathers as many days as the sun has run.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"embolismus","severity":"info","text":"Embolismus (from Greek ἐμβολισμός) denotes an intercalary or leap year in the lunisolar calendar, containing 13 lunar months (384 days) rather than 12 (354 days).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"hendecas","severity":"info","text":"Hendecas (Greek ἑνδεκάς, 'group of eleven') refers to an 11-year cycle within the 19-year Metonic cycle, here comprising 7 common and 4 embolismic years.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"ogdoadis","severity":"info","text":"Ogdoadis (Greek ὀγδοάς, 'group of eight') denotes an 8-year cycle, likely the octaeteris, used alongside the hendecas to approximate the Metonic cycle.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The 19-year Metonic cycle, foundational to Dionysius' paschal computation, synchronizes solar and lunar years by inserting 7 embolismic months over 19 years.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"This passage systematically defines common and embolismic years, then details the hendecas cycle, establishing the arithmetic basis for reconciling lunar and solar calendars.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"bendecas","severity":"caution","text":"The Latin 'bendecas' (likely a scribal error for 'hendecas') appears once; the intended term is hendecas, as the context and preceding usage confirm.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The precise relationship between the ogdoad and hendecas cycles is not fully explained; Dionysius implies they together cover 19 years but does not detail their overlap."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":13,"ref":"p13","source":"In ogdoade diximus quinque annos esse communes, tres embolismos. Quinquies ergo trecenteni quinquageni quaterni, fiunt mille septingenti septuaginta; et ter trecenteni octogeni quaterni, mille centum quinquaginta duo, ac per hoc simul iiunt bis mille nongenti viginti duo. Similiter octo anni solares, si in summam redigantur, id est octies trecenti sexageni quini, et quadrans, faciunt simul bis mille nongentos viginli duos. Simili modo et hendecadis annos, qui sunt communes septem, et quatuor embolismi, si in summam ea qua diximus supputatione congesseris, tantumdem pene reperies, quantum undecim solares anni conficiunt; hoc est, quater mille quatuordecim. Haec est ergo embolismorum, sicut prædiximus, ratio, ut incrementis suis communium annorum detrimenta compensent.\n\nSed jam pulcherrimam vobis atque præclaram collectionem ipsius cycli decemnovennalis ostendam, per quam omnem deinceps ambiguitalem, si qua mota fuerit, auferatis; nec sit ita quis nimio stupore perculsus, qui demonstrata sibi veritatis luce non gaudeat, et ignorantiæ relictis tenebris, tantæ rationi protinus non acquiescat. A decima quinta luna paschalis festi, anni, verbi gratia, precedentis, usque ad decimam quartam sequentis, quod quærimus, si communis annus est, trecentos quinquaginta quatuor dies habebit; si embolismus, trecentos octoginta quatuor.","english":"In the ogdoad we said that five years are common, three embolismic. Therefore five times three hundred fifty-four make one thousand seven hundred seventy; and three times three hundred eighty-four make one thousand one hundred fifty-two, and thus together they make two thousand nine hundred twenty-two. Similarly, eight solar years, if reduced to a sum, that is eight times three hundred sixty-five and a quarter, together make two thousand nine hundred twenty-two. In like manner, the years of the hendecad, which are seven common and four embolismic, if you gather them into a sum by the calculation we have described, you will find almost the same amount as eleven solar years produce; that is, four thousand fourteen. This, therefore, is the principle of embolisms, as we have said before, that by their increments they compensate for the deficiencies of common years.\n\nBut now I will show you the most beautiful and illustrious collection of the nineteen-year cycle itself, through which you may thereafter remove all ambiguity, if any should arise; nor should anyone be so struck by excessive stupor that he does not rejoice in the light of truth shown to him, and, having abandoned the darkness of ignorance, does not immediately acquiesce to such great reasoning. From the fifteenth moon of the paschal feast of the preceding year, for example, to the fourteenth of the following year, which we seek, if it is a common year, it will have three hundred fifty-four days; if an embolismic year, three hundred eighty-four.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"ogdoade","severity":"info","text":"Ogdoas (ogdoade) refers to the first eight years of the nineteen-year cycle, a standard division in computistical literature.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"hendecadis","severity":"info","text":"Hendecas (hendecadis) denotes the remaining eleven years of the nineteen-year cycle, completing the full cycle.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The calculation demonstrates the equivalence of 8 lunar years (2,922 days) with 8 solar years, and similarly for the hendecad, validating the lunisolar cycle.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"This passage concludes the numerical demonstration of the ogdoad and hendecad, then transitions to a new section promising a clear exposition of the nineteen-year cycle.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"Dionysius’s rhetorical appeal to the 'light of truth' and 'darkness of ignorance' reflects a common patristic trope, emphasizing the clarity of computistical reasoning.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Latin text has 'viginli' for 'viginti' (twenty) and 'iiunt' for 'fiunt' (they become), likely scribal errors; the sense is clear from context."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":14,"ref":"p14","source":"Quod si dies unus plus miuusvc contigerit, evidens error est. Excepto vidilicet anno primo sæpe dicti decemnovennalis cycli, quem a decima quarta luna Paschæ ultimi, id est noni decimi anni, usque ad decimam quartam ejusdem primi numerare curamus (al., causavimus). Propter quod idem ultimus epacta, id est adjectiones lunares, octodenas tunc retinens, primo anno, non undecim, ut cæteris annis fieri solet, sed duodecim dies accommodat. Et quia triginta dierum fine volvuntur, nulla epacla in principio ipsius cycli ponitur; secundus autem annus cpactas undecim suscipit: et ideo, sicut diximus, a decima quinta luna Paschae primi cycli usque ad linem ejus, in communibus et embolismis annis præfixos dies nos invenire, non dubium est. Quod si aliter aliquando calculantium imperitia fuerit fortassis expositum, hac observantia ratiocinationis eorum falsitas arguetur.","english":"But if one day more or less should occur, the error is evident. Except, of course, for the first year of the oft-mentioned nineteen-year cycle, which we take care to count from the fourteenth moon of the last Passover, that is, of the nineteenth year, up to the fourteenth moon of that same first year. For this reason, that same last year, then retaining eighteen epacts, that is, lunar additions, supplies to the first year not eleven days, as is customary in the other years, but twelve. And because the cycles are completed at the end of thirty days, no epact is placed at the beginning of the cycle itself; but the second year receives eleven epacts: and therefore, as we have said, from the fifteenth moon of the Passover of the first cycle up to its end, in the common and embolismic years, we find the prescribed days, there is no doubt. But if otherwise the inexperience of calculators has perhaps at some time set it forth, by this observance the falsity of their reckoning will be proven.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"epacta","severity":"info","text":"Dionysius uses 'epacta' to denote the lunar addition adjusting the solar year to the lunar cycle; here the last year of the cycle retains eighteen epacts, supplying twelve days to the first year instead of the usual eleven.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"decemnovennalis cycli","severity":"info","text":"The nineteen-year cycle (decemnovennalis cyclus) was central to Dionysius' paschal computation, synchronizing solar and lunar years. The first year's epact is zero because the cycle resets after the nineteenth year's epact of eighteen.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"a decima quinta luna Paschae primi cycli","severity":"info","text":"Dionysius shifts the reference from the fourteenth moon (luna quarta decima) of the last year to the fifteenth moon (luna quinta decima) of the first cycle, indicating a deliberate adjustment in counting the paschal full moon.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"miuusvc","severity":"caution","text":"The Latin 'miuusvc' is a scribal corruption; the intended reading is likely 'minusve' ('more or less'), as reflected in the English draft. The error is evident if the day count deviates.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"calculantium imperitia","severity":"info","text":"Dionysius criticizes the inexperience of calculators who might err in paschal reckoning, asserting that his method will expose their falsity. This reflects the polemical context of establishing the correct computus.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'a decima quinta luna Paschae primi cycli' could be read as referring to the fifteenth moon of the first cycle's Passover, but the preceding text mentions the fourteenth moon of the last year; the shift may indicate a different starting point for counting epacts."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":15,"ref":"p15","source":"Atque ut hoc manifestius possit intelligi, præsentis anni monstremus exemplo. Imlictio quippe quarta est, el lunaris circulus undecimus; decemnovennalis cyclus decimus quartus. Et quoniam bendecadis sextus annos est, eum embolismum esse necesse est. A decima quinta itaque luna præteriti festi, usque ad decimam quartam præsentis, quot sunt dics diligentius inquiramus: et inveniemus procul dubio, quando Pascha celebrare debeamus. Transacto anno per indictionem tertiam in Pascha lunam decimam quartam nono calendarum Aprilium die, id est vigesimo quarto mensis Martii fuisse, quis dubitet, qui curam hujus rei habere quantulumcunque cognoscitur? Et ideo ab octavo calendarum Aprilium die numerandi sumamus exordium; babemus Martii dies septem, Aprilis triginta, Maii triginta et unum, Junii triginta, Julii triginta et unum, Augusti triginta et unum, Septembris triginta, Octobris triginta et unum, Novembris triginta, Decembris triginta et Ullum, Januarii triginta et unum, Februarii viginti octo, Martii triginta et unum, Aprilis duodecim dies, quod est pridie idus Aprilis. Fiunt simul trecenti octoginta quatuor. Quod si, juxta eorum diffinitionem, * qui lunam aliter quam se veritas habet computant, decimam qnartam non pridie iduum Aprilium, sed tertio iduum demus occurrere; trecentos octoginta tres dies imminuto numero colligemus; quod nullo fieri pacto conceditur.","english":"And so that this may be understood more clearly, let us demonstrate with the example of the present year. For the indiction is the fourth, and the lunar cycle the eleventh; the nineteen-year cycle the fourteenth. And since it is the sixth year of the bendecad, it must necessarily be an embolismic year. Therefore, let us carefully inquire how many days there are from the fifteenth moon of the past feast to the fourteenth of the present; and we will undoubtedly find when we ought to celebrate Easter. In the past year, during the third indiction, who would doubt that the fourteenth moon of Easter occurred on the ninth day before the Kalends of April, that is, the twenty-fourth day of the month of March, if he is known to have even the slightest care for this matter? And therefore, let us begin our count from the eighth day before the Kalends of April; we have seven days of March, thirty of April, thirty-one of May, thirty of June, thirty-one of July, thirty-one of August, thirty of September, thirty-one of October, thirty of November, thirty-one of December, thirty-one of January, twenty-eight of February, thirty-one of March, and twelve days of April, which is the day before the Ides of April. Together they make three hundred eighty-four. But if, according to the definition of those who compute the moon otherwise than the truth holds, the fourteenth should occur not on the day before the Ides of April, but on the third day before the Ides, we would gather three hundred eighty-three days, with the number diminished; which is in no way allowed.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"bendecadis","severity":"info","text":"The term 'bendecadis' (or 'bendecas') refers to an eleven-year cycle, likely a lunar cycle used in early computus. Its appearance here is rare and may be a scribal variant or error for 'hendecadis' (Greek ἑνδεκάς).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"embolismum","severity":"info","text":"'Embolismum' (embolismic) denotes a lunar year with an intercalary month, making it 384 days long. This term is standard in computistical literature for a year with 13 lunar months.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"indictionem tertiam","severity":"info","text":"The indiction is a 15-year tax cycle used for dating in late Roman and medieval documents. The 'third indiction' here provides a chronological anchor for the Easter calculation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"This passage is a worked example within the letter, demonstrating the method of counting days from the fifteenth moon of the previous Easter to the fourteenth of the current year to determine the correct date.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"imlictio","severity":"caution","text":"The word 'Imlictio' is likely a scribal error for 'indictio' (indiction). The context and the later reference to 'indictionem tertiam' support this emendation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"Dionysius's method of counting days from the previous Easter's full moon to the current year's became standard in medieval computus, influencing later Easter tables and the Venerable Bede's works.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The term 'bendecadis' is obscure; it may be a corruption of 'hendecadis' (eleven-year cycle) or a local variant.","The phrase 'imlictio quippe quarta est' is textually corrupt; 'imlictio' is emended to 'indictio' based on context."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":16,"ref":"p16","source":"Et ita semper quotiens dubitatio talis occurrerit, a decima quinta luna transactae festivitatis, usque in decimam quartam Paschae, quod quærimus, dies sollicite computemus. Et si communis annus est, trecentos quinquaginta quatuor dies; si embolismus est, trecentos octoginta quatuor inveniemus: nec inæqualitas (alias, inxqualiter) prorsus eveniet: quia regula cycli hujus hac ratione subsistit, cujus enucleatam formulam subjecta descriptione pandemus.\n\nAnno decemnovennali primo, lunari decimo septimo, a decimo quinto calendas Maii usque nonas Aprilis, quia communis annos est, sunt dies trecenti quinquaginta quatuor.\n\nAnno decemnovennali secundo * lunari decimo octavo, ab octavo idus Aprilis usque in octavum calendas Aprilis, quia communis est, sunt dies trecenti quinquaginta quatuor..\n\nAnno decemnovennali tertio, lunari decimo nono, a septimo calendas Aprilis usque in idus Aprilis, quia embolismus est, fiunt dies trecenti octoginta quatuor.","english":"And so, whenever such a doubt arises, let us carefully count the days from the fifteenth moon of the past feast up to the fourteenth moon of the Pascha which we seek. And if it is a common year, we will find three hundred fifty-four days; if it is an embolismic year, we will find three hundred eighty-four: and no inequality will occur at all, because the rule of this cycle stands by this reasoning, whose clear formula we will set forth in the appended description.\n\nIn the first year of the nineteen-year cycle, the lunar cycle being the seventeenth, from the fifteenth day before the Kalends of May to the Nones of April, because it is a common year, there are three hundred fifty-four days.\n\nIn the second year of the nineteen-year cycle, the lunar cycle being the eighteenth, from the eighth day before the Ides of April to the eighth day before the Kalends of April, because it is a common year, there are three hundred fifty-four days.\n\nIn the third year of the nineteen-year cycle, the lunar cycle being the nineteenth, from the seventh day before the Kalends of April to the Ides of April, because it is an embolismic year, there are three hundred eighty-four days.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"decima quinta luna transactae festivitatis","severity":"info","text":"The 'past feast' refers to the previous Easter, whose 15th moon is the starting point for counting days to the next Easter's 14th moon.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"embolismus","severity":"info","text":"An embolismic year in the lunisolar calendar contains an intercalary month, giving 384 days instead of 354 for a common year.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Anno decemnovennali primo","severity":"info","text":"Dionysius begins a worked example of the 19-year cycle, listing years 1–3 with their lunar cycles and day counts, to illustrate the rule just stated.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"external","lemma":"decimo quinto calendas Maii","severity":"info","text":"Roman dating: '15th day before the Kalends of May' is April 17; 'Nones of April' is April 5. The interval of 354 days spans from one Easter moon to the next.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"nec inæqualitas (alias, inxqualiter) prorsus eveniet","severity":"caution","text":"The parenthetical variant 'inxqualiter' in the manuscript tradition suggests scribal uncertainty; the intended sense is that no discrepancy will arise in the count.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'decima quinta luna transactae festivitatis' could refer to the 15th moon of the previous Easter or of another feast; the context supports the former.","The variant 'inxqualiter' for 'inæqualitas' may indicate a copying error or dialectal form; the reading 'inæqualitas' is adopted."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":17,"ref":"p17","source":"Anno decemnovennali quarto, lunari primo, a decimo octavo calendas Maii usque in quartum nonas Aprilis, quia communis est, fiunt dies trecenti quinquaginta quatuor.\n\nAnno decemnovennali quinto, lunari secundo, a tertio nonas Aprilis us que in undecimum calendas Aprilis, quia communis est, fiunt dies trecenti quinquaginta quatuor.\n\nAnno decemnovennali sexto, lunari tertio, a decimo calendas Aprilis usque in quartum idusAprilis, quia embolismus est, fiunt dies trecenti octoginta quatuor.\n\nAnno decemnovennali septimo, lunari quarto, a tertio idus Aprilis usque in tertium calendas Aprilis, quia communis est, fiunt dies trecenti quinquaginta quatuor.\n\nAnno decemnovennali octavo, lunari quinto, a pridie calendas Aprilis usque in decimum quartum calendas Maii, quia embolismus est, liunt dies ti ccenti octoginta quatuor. '\n\nAnno decemnovennali nono, lunari sexto, a decimo lertio calendasMaii usque in septimum idus Aprilis, qui.i communis est, fiunt dies trecenti quinquaginta quatuor.","english":"In the fourth year of the decemnovennial cycle, the first lunar year, from the eighteenth day before the Kalends of May to the fourth day before the Nones of April, because it is a common year, there are three hundred fifty-four days.\n\nIn the fifth year of the decemnovennial cycle, the second lunar year, from the third day before the Nones of April to the eleventh day before the Kalends of April, because it is a common year, there are three hundred fifty-four days.\n\nIn the sixth year of the decemnovennial cycle, the third lunar year, from the tenth day before the Kalends of April to the fourth day before the Ides of April, because it is an embolismic year, there are three hundred eighty-four days.\n\nIn the seventh year of the decemnovennial cycle, the fourth lunar year, from the third day before the Ides of April to the third day before the Kalends of April, because it is a common year, there are three hundred fifty-four days.\n\nIn the eighth year of the decemnovennial cycle, the fifth lunar year, from the day before the Kalends of April to the fourteenth day before the Kalends of May, because it is an embolismic year, there are three hundred eighty-four days.\n\nIn the ninth year of the decemnovennial cycle, the sixth lunar year, from the thirteenth day before the Kalends of May to the seventh day before the Ides of April, because it is a common year, there are three hundred fifty-four days.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"decemnovennali","severity":"info","text":"Dionysius uses 'decemnovennalis' to denote the 19-year lunisolar cycle (Metonic cycle), a key computational framework for determining Easter dates.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"embolismus","severity":"info","text":"'Embolismus' (embolismic) refers to a year with an intercalary month, yielding 384 days, as opposed to a common year of 354 days in the lunar calendar.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"This passage lists six consecutive years (years 4–9) of the decemnovennial cycle, alternating common and embolismic years, demonstrating the cycle's pattern for lunar year lengths.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"dating","kind":"chronology","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The years are numbered from the start of the decemnovennial cycle, with lunar years 1–6 corresponding to cycle years 4–9, indicating a consistent reckoning of lunar months.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"liunt dies ti ccenti octoginta quatuor","severity":"caution","text":"In the eighth year entry, the Latin text reads 'liunt dies ti ccenti octoginta quatuor', a scribal corruption for 'fiunt dies trecenti octoginta quatuor' (384 days).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"Dionysius' cycle, later known as the Dionysian or Victorian cycle, was foundational for Western Easter computus until the Gregorian reform.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Latin text in the eighth year entry is corrupt ('liunt dies ti ccenti'), but the intended reading is clear from context and parallel entries."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":18,"ref":"p18","source":"Anno decemnovennali decimo, lunari septimo, a sexto idus Aprilis usque in sextum calendas Aprilis, quia communis est, fiunt dies trecenti quinquaginta quatuor.\n\nAnno decemnovennali undecimo, lunari octavo, a quinto calendas Aprilis usque in decimum septimum calendas Maii, quia embolismus est, fiunt dies trecenti octoginta quatuor.\n\nAnno decemnovennali duodccimo, lunari nono, a decimo sexto calendas Maii usque in pridie nonas Aprilis, quia communis est, fiunt dies trecenti quinquaginta quatuor.\n\nAnno decemnovennali decimo tertio, lunari decimo, a nonis Aprilis usque in nonum calendas Aprilis, quia communis est, fiunt dies trecenti quinquagiuta quatuor.\n\nAnno decemnovennali decimo quarto, lunari undecimo, ab octavo calendas Aprilis usque in secundum idus Aprilis, quia embolismus est, fiunt dies trecenti octoginta quatuor.\n\nAnno decemnovennali decimo quinto, lunari duodecimo, ab idibus Aprilis usque in calendas Aprilis, quia communis est, fiunt Aies trecenti quinquaginta quatuor.","english":"In the tenth year of the decemnovennial cycle, the seventh lunar year, from the sixth day before the Ides of April to the sixth day before the Kalends of April, because it is a common year, there are three hundred fifty-four days.\n\nIn the eleventh year of the decemnovennial cycle, the eighth lunar year, from the fifth day before the Kalends of April to the seventeenth day before the Kalends of May, because it is an embolismic year, there are three hundred eighty-four days.\n\nIn the twelfth year of the decemnovennial cycle, the ninth lunar year, from the sixteenth day before the Kalends of May to the day before the Nones of April, because it is a common year, there are three hundred fifty-four days.\n\nIn the thirteenth year of the decemnovennial cycle, the tenth lunar year, from the Nones of April to the ninth day before the Kalends of April, because it is a common year, there are three hundred fifty-four days.\n\nIn the fourteenth year of the decemnovennial cycle, the eleventh lunar year, from the eighth day before the Kalends of April to the second day before the Ides of April, because it is an embolismic year, there are three hundred eighty-four days.\n\nIn the fifteenth year of the decemnovennial cycle, the twelfth lunar year, from the Ides of April to the Kalends of April, because it is a common year, there are three hundred fifty-four days.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Anno decemnovennali decimo, lunari septimo","severity":"info","text":"This passage continues the systematic tabulation of lunar years within the decemnovennial cycle, each entry specifying the year number, lunar year number, start and end dates, and total days.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"embolismus","severity":"info","text":"Embolismus denotes an intercalary or embolismic lunar year of 384 days, as opposed to a common year of 354 days. The term derives from Greek ἐμβόλισμος, meaning 'inserted'.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"commūnis","severity":"info","text":"Commūnis here means a common lunar year of 354 days, without an intercalary month. The contrast with embolismus is standard in computistical literature.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"dating","kind":"chronology","basis":"text","lemma":"a sexto idus Aprilis usque in sextum calendas Aprilis","severity":"info","text":"The date ranges given are Roman calendar dates. For example, 'a sexto idus Aprilis' means from the 8th of April (6th day before the Ides, which is the 13th), and 'usque in sextum calendas Aprilis' means to the 27th of March (6th day before the Kalends of April).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"Aies","severity":"caution","text":"The Latin text has 'Aies' in the last entry, which is a scribal error for 'dies'. The English draft correctly reads 'days'.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The exact starting point of the decemnovennial cycle is not specified in this passage, leaving the absolute year uncertain."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":19,"ref":"p19","source":"Anno decemnovennali decimo sexto, lunari decimo tertio, a quarto nonas Aprilis usque in duodeciinum calendas Aprilis, quia communis est, flunt dies Irectnli quinquaginta quatuor.\n\nAnno decemnovennali decimo septimo, lunari deeimo quarto, ab undecimo calendas Aprilis usque in quintum idus Aprilis, quia embolismus est, fiunt dies trecenti octoginta quatuor.\n\nAnno decemnovennali decimo octavo, lunari decimo quinto, a quarto idus Aprilis usque in quartum calendas Aprilis, quia communis est, fiunt dies treconti quinquaginta quatuor.\n\nAuno decenmovennali decimo nono, lunari decimo sexto, a tertio calendas Aprilis usque in decimum quintum calendas Maii, quia embolismus est, fiunt dies trecenti octoginta quatuor.","english":"In the tenth year of the decemnovennial cycle, the sixteenth lunar year, from the fourth day before the Nones of April to the twelfth day before the Kalends of April, because it is a common year, there are three hundred fifty-four days.\n\nIn the seventeenth year of the decemnovennial cycle, the fourteenth lunar year, from the eleventh day before the Kalends of April to the fifth day before the Ides of April, because it is an embolismic year, there are three hundred eighty-four days.\n\nIn the eighteenth year of the decemnovennial cycle, the fifteenth lunar year, from the fourth day before the Ides of April to the fourth day before the Kalends of April, because it is a common year, there are three hundred fifty-four days.\n\nIn the nineteenth year of the decemnovennial cycle, the sixteenth lunar year, from the third day before the Kalends of April to the fifteenth day before the Kalends of May, because it is an embolismic year, there are three hundred eighty-four days.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"decemnovennali decimo sexto","severity":"caution","text":"The Latin text reads 'decimo sexto' for the decemnovennial year, but the English draft renders it as 'tenth year', which is inconsistent with the sequence (years 10–19 are expected). The Latin likely intends 'decimo sexto' (16th), but the draft may be a scribal or editorial error.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"lunari decimo tertio","severity":"caution","text":"The Latin assigns lunar year 13 to decemnovennial year 16, but the English draft gives 'sixteenth lunar year'. This mismatch suggests a misreading of 'decimo tertio' (13th) as 'decimo sexto' (16th) in the draft.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"a quarto nonas Aprilis usque in duodeciinum calendas Aprilis","severity":"caution","text":"The Latin dates are corrupt: 'a quarto nonas Aprilis' (from the 4th before the Nones of April) and 'duodeciinum calendas Aprilis' (to the 12th before the Kalends of April) are nonsensical, as the Nones and Kalends are in the same month. The draft attempts to rationalize but the original is likely garbled.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"embolismus","severity":"info","text":"An embolismic year in the lunisolar calendar contains an intercalary month (13 lunar months), yielding 384 days, as opposed to a common year of 354 days. Dionysius uses this term to distinguish years in the 19-year cycle.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Anno decemnovennali decimo sexto ... decimo nono","severity":"info","text":"This passage concludes the 19-year lunar cycle by listing years 16–19, matching the pattern of the previous passage (years 10–11). The sequence is disrupted by the textual corruption in year 16.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"Auno decenmovennali decimo nono","severity":"caution","text":"The Latin has a typographical error: 'Auno' for 'Anno' and 'decenmovennali' for 'decemnovennali'. This is a minor scribal slip, not affecting the sense.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The decemnovennial year number for the first entry is ambiguous: the Latin says 'decimo sexto' (16th), but the English draft reads 'tenth', possibly due to a misreading of 'decimo' as 'decimo' (10th) or a scribal error in the manuscript.","The lunar year number for the first entry is ambiguous: Latin 'lunari decimo tertio' (13th) is rendered as 'sixteenth' in the draft, likely a confusion of 'tertio' (3rd) with 'sexto' (6th).","The date range for the first entry is corrupt and cannot be reliably reconstructed; the draft's interpretation is speculative."],"confidence":"medium","notes":[]}]}