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When Is a Miscellany Not Miscellaneous? Making Sense of the Kalender of Shepherds

Abstract:An almanac is many things, by its very definition a compilation of calendrical material and useful information. In the past, it might have been variously used as a handbook, a reference work, a prognosticator's guide, and even possibly as a book of instruction for children. This essay examines "The Kalender of Shepherds", a work popular from the fifteenth to the seventeenth century, looking briefly at its publication history and contents, as well as considering some of the sources for its illustration and briefly discussing their subsequent influence, in order to recover the original purpose of the book, which is apparently still influential on the format of the almanac even now.