calendars-msg

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calendars-msg - 1/25/08

Medieval calendars and saint's days.

NOTE: See also the files: clocks-msg, sundials-msg, med-calend-art, bells-msg, A-Gear-o-Time-art, Watches-art, holidays-msg.

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NOTICE -

This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday.

This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org

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Stefan at florilegium.org

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From: Ioseph of Locksley

Subj: Historical Dates

Date: 21 May 91

Bede calculated Creation to have occurred 3,952 years before 1 CE,

making it (in 1991 CE) the year 5943 AMB, while Eusebius calculated

5,198, making it (in 1990 CE) the year 7189 AME.

The year of the Christian Nativity must be ascertained by historical

and chronological research, since there is no certain and harmonious

tradition on the subject. The Christian era, which was introduced by

the Roman abbot Dionysius Exiguus, in the sixth century, and came

into general use two years later, during the reign of Charlemagne,

puts the Nativity Dec. 25, 754 Anno Urbis, that is, after the

founding of the city of Rome. Nearly all chronologers agree that

this is wrong by at least four years. CHrist was born 750 AU (or 4

BCE, if not earlier.

According to Mt 2:1 (comp. Lk 1:5, 26), Christ was born "in the days

of King Herod" I,"the Great," who died, according to Josephus, at

Jericho, 750 AU, just before Passover. This date has been verified

by the astronomical calculation of the eclipse of the moon, which

took place March 13, 750 AU, a few days before Herod's death.

Allowing two months or more for the events between the birth of

Christ and the murder of the Innocents by Herod, the Nativity must be

put back at least to February or January, 750 AU (or 4 BCE), if not

earlier.

From: samlb at optilink.UUCP (Sam Bassett)

Date: 12 Jun 91 20:18:03 GMT

Organization: Optilink Corporation, Petaluma, CA

salamon at sdbio2.ucsd.edu (Andrew Salamon):

> What, pray tell, does "CE" stand for?

"CE" stands for "Common Era" or "Current Era" or "Current Epoch" --

it is a way for those who are prissy about not being Christian to use the

conventional way of numbering years without mentioning Jesus or "Our Lord".

"A.D." is from the Latin "Anno Domini" -- "Year of Our Lord".

Instead of "B.C" (Before Christ), you will also see "B.C.E." (Before the Current Epoch". _REALLY_ with-it pedants will date things "A.U.C." -- "Anno (ab) Urbe Condita" -- from the traditional date of the founding of Rome, some 4 or 500 years B.C.

A good book on the history of calendars (hasn't Isaac Asimov written one :-) will give you even more info . . .

From: duncan at rti.rti.org (Stephen Duncan)

Date: 13 Jun 91 13:27:39 GMT

Organization: Research Triangle Institute, RTP, NC

samlb at optilink.UUCP (Sam Bassett) writes:

> "A.D." is from the Latin "Anno Domini" -- "Year of Our Lord".

More precisely, "Year of the Lord", else it would be

A.D.N. (anno domini nostra).

>_REALLY_ with-it pedants will date things "A.U.C." -- "Anno (ab) Urbe

>Condita" -- from the traditional date of the founding of Rome,

>some 4 or 500 years B.C.

>-- Sam'l Bassett -- System Administrator (among other things)

More like 750 BC. You can also date from the start of the Olympic games,

which began at about the same time. Also, the Romans calculated dates

funny, at least in regards to days, figuring both ends in the calculation.

I don't know if it applied to years as well.

Steve Duncan

duncan at rti.rti.org

Sam'l Bassett -- System Administrator (among other things)

7 Gothic Court, Novato CA 94947; 1-415-897-7424

UUCP: uunet!optilink!samlb; Internet: samlb at well.sf.ca.us

Compuserve: 71735,1776; WU Easylink: ESL 6284-3034; MCI: SBassett

From: perkins at msupa.pa.msu.EDU (Really with-it pedant)

Date: 14 Jun 91 16:18:18 GMT

Jeremy de Merstone greets the folk of the Rialto and amplifies some recent

remarks by Stephen Duncan <duncan at rti.rti.org> in response to Sam'l Bassett:

> >_REALLY_ with-it pedants will date things "A.U.C." -- "Anno (ab) Urbe

> >Condita" -- from the traditional date of the founding of Rome,

> >some 4 or 500 years B.C.

> >-- Sam'l Bassett -- System Administrator (among other things)

> More like 750 BC. You can also date from the start of the Olympic games,

> which began at about the same time. Also, the Romans calculated dates

> funny, at least in regards to days, figuring both ends in the calculation.

> I don't know if it applied to years as well.

The year 1 A.U.C. ("anno urbis conditae", or "ab urbe condita") = 753 BC;

Sam'l was probably thinking of the founding of the *Republic*, in 509 BC;

the first year of the first Olympiad = 776 BC (note that an Olympiad is a

group of four years). Since the date of the founding of Rome was only

traditional, whether or not "figuring both ends" applied to years was

irrelevant -- i.e., back in, say, 752 BC, nobody would have said (in Latin

or Etruscan, of course) "this is now 2 A.U.C.", as the "A.U.C." system was

not put into effect until much much later. There was some dispute back

when it did appear as to what the date of the founding of Rome was, with

some scholars arguing for a different starting date. This is similar to

the odd situation that Jesus was born in or before 4 "B.C.". The scholars

who worked out the "A.D." system were working from incomplete or inaccurate

records; by the time more and better historical documents were found, the

"A.D." system had taken root, and the fact that King Herod certainly died

in 4 B.C. by the reckoning of that system was not enough to motivate a

change to the system (except, of course, that it was no longer expected to

*really* have anything to do with Jesus Christ's actual date of birth).

Speaking of which, all of the people who have explained the abbreviation

"CE" as "Common Era (or Epoch)" have pointed out that it was done in order

to avoid the "Christian" connotations of "A.D."; this is only half the

story -- "CE" had been in use to represent "Christian Era" (which the

Random House College Dictionary, among others, still gives as CE's primary

definition); it became more popular when it was realized that a non-secular

meaning could be given to it also, and thereby offend neither Christians

nor non-Christians.

Other calendrical systems have been more fortunate in that they are based

on specific historical events which made an impression *at the time*, so

that the calendric systems derived from them started up within a short

enough time that there was little ambiguity, examples being the Moslem

calendar and the calendar of the SCA.

As for "figuring both ends", the practice of starting calendars with the

year one instead of zero almost automatically does this, even for systems

based on a well-documented event. For example, the twenty-fifth anniver-

sary of the backyard party in Berkeley, fell on 1 May 1991, the first day

of AS XXVI (the twenty-*sixth* year of the Society). We tend to forget

that our "years" are actually ordinal numbers (first, second, third...)

rather than cardinal numbers (one, two, three...), and thereby end up

hearing people argue, for example, about whether the twenty-first century

will start on 1 January 2000 (wrong) or 1 January 2001 (right) [on a purely

practical basis, this confusion will mean putting up with two full years

of "End of the Century Sales" to say nothing of "Start of the New Millenium

Price Bonanzas"].

Ave atque vale.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeremy de Merstone George J Perkins perkins at msupa.pa.msu.edu

North Woods, MidRealm East Lansing, MI perkins at msupa (Bitnet)

---------------------------------------------------------------------

From: joshua at paul.rutgers.edu (Josh Mittleman)

Date: 13 Jun 91 15:33:24 GMT

Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.

A.S. = anno societatis "the year of the Society". We currently in the 26th

year of the Society, AS XXVI. "Societatis" is pronounced roughly

"so-kee-eh-tot-is" if you prefer classical Latin, and "so-see-eh-tot-is" if

you prefer medieval Latin.

The Rialto is our name for rec.org.sca. It was suggest by Master Kobayashi

Yutaka as a term that could be used at events if one wished to refer to

conversation here. "I heard it said on the Rialto that..." sounds much

more appropriate than "Someone posted to the net that..." The word

originally is the name of a market district in Venice, apparently known as

an excellent place to find news and gossip. "The Merchant of Venice" (I

think) contains the line "What news on the Rialto?"

Arval.

Date: 17 May 92

From: perkins at msupa.pa.msu.EDU (Jeremy de Merstone)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Tadhg [Tim at f4229.n124.z1.fidonet.org (Tim)] writes:

> LE> Midwinter (winter solstice) ~ 12/21

> No, not "midwinter" - you can't call the first day of winter "midwinter".

> (A common mistake.) Traditionally Yule (12/25)

> [...]

> LE> Midsummer (summer solstice) ~ 6/21

> No, not "Midsummer" - you can't call the first day of summer "Midsummer".

> (A common mistake.) [...]

Such common "mistakes" that they are the *definitions* of those terms in

English and have been for nearly a thousand years...

From the OED:

Midwinter: The middle of winter; spec. the winter solstice, Dec. 21st,

or the period about that time. Also formerly applied to

Christmas.

Midsummer: The middle of summer; the period of the summer solstice, about

June 21st.

For the latter, there is a citation from Byrhtferth's Handboc (c 1055 CE):

"<thorn><aesc>t ys on lyden solstitium & on englisc midsumor". [modernizing

the spelling: "That is in Latin solstitium and in English midsummer"].

This is not unreasonable since the solstice is when the days stop getting

longer and start getting shorter. If the original meaning of summer had

more to do with "time of long days" rather than "time of hot weather", then

the solstice is the logical midpoint, as the longest days of the year are

centered on it.

"Midsummer's Day" in England refers to June 24th (supported exactly by date

in the OED by a quotation from 1530, and indirectly by other citations back

to c 1000), or "St John's Day". The 1992 _Old Farmer's Almanac_ even

recognizes this date (while reporting the solstice a few days earlier), so

the usage is not entirely restricted to England.

The modern concept of the solstices as the *first* days of summer and winter

and the equinoxes as the *first* days of spring and autumn is due to the

influence of the "learned" community. The language we speak, however, is

influenced by the common folk.

Classical Latin practice mirrors that of such common folk (note that these

are the traditional dates as codified by Julius Caesar as part of his

calendrical reforms; they did not move around to accommodate actual

astronomical reality, which was plus or minus about two days from these

values at the time of the Caesars, and gradually further off as the Julian

calendar accumulated error):

Latin term Date English translation Triggering event

Veris initium = 7 Feb = start of spring = warm west wind

"Favonius" arrives

Aequinoctium vernum = 25 Mar = vernal equinox = night/day same

length

Aestatis initium = 9 May = start of summer = heliacal rising

of the Pleiades

Solstitium = 24 Jun = summer solstice = longest day; days

start shortening

Autumni initium = 11 Aug = start of autumn = heliacal setting

of Lyra

Aequinoctium autumni = 24 Sep = autumnal equinox = night/day same

length

Hiemis initium = 11 Nov = start of winter = heliacal setting

of the Pleaides

Bruma = 25 Dec = winter solstice = shortest day; days

start lengthening

Solstice comes from roots meaning "sun-stopped"; equinox from "equal night";

and "Bruma" appears to have started as an abbreviated form of "brevissima",

meaning "shortest". These dates were chosen to approximately coincide with

the astronomical/meteorological events listed in the rightmost column.

(These are all from Leverett's _Latin Lexicon_, BTW).

One can compare this with the lists of "quarter" and "cross-quarter" days

by earlier posters, and find a pretty good match (with a couple of days'

shift in some cases to account for the Gregorian calendar's reset to

"Nicaean" time rather than original "Julian" time). The Celtic cultures

had a similar set of named-days around the same times as these (and for

similar purposes). Other ancient peoples observed many of these as well.

The early Christian church tended to make religious holidays out of them

(and arguing whether this is an example of the Christians assimilating or

being assimilated by the pagans is another thread...;-)

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeremy de Merstone George J Perkins perkins at msupa.pa.msu.edu

North Woods, MidRealm East Lansing, MI perkins at msupa (Bitnet)

Subject: Calendar

Date: 19 May 92

From: jeffs at math.bu.EDU (Jeff Suzuki)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Jeremy de Merstone:

>The Gregorian reforms were supposed to wind the clock back to achieve the

>calendar-to-astronomical reality conditions prevailing at the time of the

>Council of Nicaea in the early 4th century

_supposed_ to being the operative word....

The year is about 365.2422 days long. The Julian calendar (one leap

year every four) gave an average year length of 365.25 days, meaning

that one day was gained every 125 years or so. The Gregorian calendar

made century years not divisible by 400 non-leap years, for an average

year length of 365.2425 days; thus, it gains one day every 3000 years.

Bede noticed that the equinoxes were slipping 'way back when he

miscalculated the date of Christ's birth. The last great unsuccessful

attempt to reset the calendar was sponsored by a certain Pope (I think

it was Clement V) with a team of astronomers and mathematicians headed

by Johann Muller a.k.a Regiomontanus. Muller was assassinated before

he could do much more than think about the problem.

In 1582, Gregory announced the Great Calendrical Reform, and dropped

11 days from the Christian calendar to bring the sun back in line.

(This supposedly caused riots because people felt their lives had been

shortened by 11 days. Pragmatically, it probably played hell with

bookkeeping)

One teensy problem....the Protestant Reformation begain in 1517. Not

everyone agreed with the Pope. England, the most stubborn holdout,

didn't change until 1752, and had to drop 13 days from the calendar.

(After the Revolution, the Soviets also changed, but had to drop 14

days from the calendar...talk about an International Date Line!)

The Orthodox calendar, if my foggy memory serves me right, uses a

slightly oddball system that gains one day every 7000 years. (They do

something like century years divisible by 900 are leap years, or

something strange) Finally, the Soviet system (if they're still using

it) was supposed to have a change that made it gain only one day every

40,000 years or so.

Fujimoto

CALENDAR

19 May 92

From: perkins at msupa.pa.msu.EDU (Jeremy de Merstone)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Unto the gentlefolk of the Rialto does Jeremy de Merstone send greetings.

Alas, but I must be nit-picky about some otherwise fine postings by

Fujimoto and Tio d'Abaco (as they are both Jeff Suzuki <jeffs at math.bu.edu>,

and neither is especially serious, I will combine these into one posting

and get it over with).

Fujimoto, on calendrical reform:

> In 1582, Gregory announced the Great Calendrical Reform, and dropped

> 11 days from the Christian calendar to bring the sun back in line.

> [...]

*Ten* days were dropped: the day after 4 October 1582 was 15 October 1582

(rather than 5 October 1582). Extending these backwards through time, it

can be seen that the "extra" Julian calendar leap years back through 300

are being retroactively subtracted.

> One teensy problem....the Protestant Reformation begain in 1517. Not

> everyone agreed with the Pope. England, the most stubborn holdout,

> didn't change until 1752, and had to drop 13 days from the calendar.

The day after 2 September 1752 was 14 September 1752, dropping *eleven*

days, not 13 (the only year with any difference in length between the

Julian and Gregorian calendars in the interval 1582-1752 had been 1700,

a leap year under the Julian but a normal year under the Gregorian;

except in Sweden, but that's another story! I would also argue with

this characterization of England -- but not here, as it is peripheral

to the topic at hand).

> (After the Revolution, the Soviets also changed, but had to drop 14

> days from the calendar...talk about an International Date Line!)

*Thirteen* days (the day after 31 January 1918 became 14 February 1918).

Ah well, it's not as if actual numbers matter to a mathematician ;-) :-)

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeremy de Merstone George J Perkins perkins at msupa.pa.msu.edu

North Woods, MidRealm East Lansing, MI perkins at msupa (Bitnet)

Calendar

19 May 92

From: rancke at diku.dk (Hans Rancke-Madsen)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Organization: Department of Computer Science, U of Copenhagen

jeffs at math.bu.EDU (Jeff Suzuki) writes:

>In 1582, Gregory announced the Great Calendrical Reform, and dropped

>11 days from the Christian calendar to bring the sun back in line.

10 days.

>(This supposedly caused riots because people felt their lives had been

>shortened by 11 days. Pragmatically, it probably played hell with

>bookkeeping)

The riots were not as stupid as one might think. The main

grievance was that many workers were paid by the day and

landlords charged rent by the month.

Hans Rancke

University of Copenhagen

rancke at diku.dk

22 May 92

From: perkins at msupa.pa.msu.EDU (Jeremy de Merstone)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Organization: The Internet

Leonard Erickson <Leonard.Erickson at f56.n105.z1.therose.fidonet.org> asks me:

> Jd> (the only year with any difference in length between the Julian and

> Jd> Gregorian calendars in the interval 1582-1752 had been 1700, a leap

> Jd> year under the Julian but a normal year under the Gregorian; except in

> Jd> Sweden, but that's another story!

> Milord, calendrical calculations being a sometimes pastime of mine, I would

> be interested in the details behind this comment...

From the article "The Civil Reception of the Gregorian Calendar" by Owen

Gingerich, pages 265-279 of the reference cited below, and specifically

pages 267-268, during a discussion of the Germanic Protestant countries'

conversion to the Gregorian calendar, circa 1700:

Meanwhile, in Sweden the situation became even more complicated.

First, they omitted the leap day in 1700, thereby keeping their

calendar ten days out of phase with the Gregorian system but now

one day out of phase with the Julian system. Apparently they also

adopted the astronomical calculation of Easter, thus placing Swedish

Easter on a date different from that of everyone else. The Swedes

went back to the Julian dates in 1712 by adding an extra leap day,

February 30, but retaining the astronomical calculation of Easter.

Finally in 1753, a year after England at last became enlightened,

Sweden adopted the Gregorian calendar, becoming the last country of

Western Europe to do so.

Reference:

_Gregorian_Reform_of_the_Calendar:_Proceedings_of_the_Vatican_Conference_

_to_Commemmorate_its_400th_Anniversary,_1582-1982_, eds. G. V. Coyne, M. A.

Hoskin and O. Pedersen, Specola Vaticana, Citta del Vaticano, 1983.

Gingerich gives as a reference to the Swedish calendrical reform F. K.

Ginzel's _Handbuch_der_mathematischen_und_technischen_Chronologie_

(Leipzig, 1914), Band III, Kapitel XIV, Sektion 255, pp 275-276.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeremy de Merstone George J Perkins perkins at msupa.pa.msu.edu

North Woods, MidRealm East Lansing, MI perkins at msupa (Bitnet)

From: greg at bronze.lcs.mit.edu (Greg Rose)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Medieval Calendars

Date: 23 Jul 1993 22:16:47 -0400

Organization: MIT LCS guest machine

Unto the good gentles of the Rialto does Hossein Ali Qomi send greetings

and prayers for the blessings of Allah.

I have been recently deluged with requests for various medieval calendars

of saint's days and feasts. I have copies of quite a few such manuscripts

and it would take an inordinate amount of bandwidth to try to post such

copies to the net (not to mention that editing in vi is a at #$% at !).

Therefore, I have decided to privately publish a compendium of medieval

calendars for SCA use. It will include, at minimum, the following:

The Calendar of St. Willibrord (8th cent.)

The _Kalendarium_ (Leofric B) of the _Leofric Missal_ (c. 970)

Cott. Titus, D (late 10th/11th cent.)

The _Kalendarium_ of the _Bosworth Psalter_ (11th cent.)

The _Kalendarium_ of the _Missal of Robert of Jumieges_ (11th cent.)

Cott., Vitellius, E (c. 1030)

Harl., MSS Cod. 863 (12th cent.)

The _Kalendarium ad usum curialis papae_ (c. 1200)

The _Kalendarium ad usum curialis papae_ (c. 1227-1230)

The _Kalendarium ad usum curialis papae_ (1260)

Harl., MSS 273 (14th cent.)

The _Kalendarium_ of the _Missale Coloniense_ (1481)

The _Kalendarium_ of the _Missale Salzburgense_ (1515)

The _Kalendarium of the _Breviarium ad usum ecclesiae Lundensis_ (1517)

The _Kalendarium_ of the _Breviarium ad usum insignis ecclesiae

Sarum_ (1531)

A translation of each manuscript -- with a brief introduction to each text,

tables for calculating Easter and the other moveable feasts for each

year of period, and a short glossary will be included.

I hope to have this ready for Pennsic. I shall be selling them there at

a price appropriate to my cost (what it takes to photocopy and staple

together a slightly less than 100-page document).

If anyone is particularly interested in having a copy at Pennsic, please

let me know by email (greg at bronze.lcs.mit.edu). I'll be happy to

provide them by snail mail after Pennsic for the base cost of the

text plus postage.

I feel a bit odd about, in effect, advertising on the net, but since I'm

doing this more as a public service than for profit, I hope that it is

appropriate.

Hossein/Greg

From: sclark at epas.utoronto.ca (Susan Clark)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Calendars

Date: 27 Dec 1993 16:33:38 -0500

Organization: EPAS Computing Facility, University of Toronto

A good starting place would be a{ little book by C.R. Cheney

called _A Handbook of Dates for Students of English History_. Despite

the title, it contains a very useful section on calendars in general--

for instance, dates that various countries used as the first day of the

year, when various countries adopted Gregorian rckoning, etc.

Also, I have CA. Capelli's _Cronologia, Cronographia e Caldedrio Perpetuo_,

which is in Italian but gives you a perpetual calendar, an Islamic

calendar since the Hegira, and so forth (unfortunately, no Jewish calendar)

as well as major saint's days and the Revolutionary calendar France adopted

for a bit during the Revolution. A bit off-topic, though related--

Hossein (who is on the net, though probably busy at the moment) has published

a translation of a number of Kalendria of the middle ages--these list

major feast days, etc.

Hope this helps, and....

Happy Holy Innocents' Day!

Nicolaa/Susan

Canton of Eoforwic

sclark at epas.utoronto.ca

From: sherman at trln.lib.unc.edu (dennis r. sherman)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Calendars

Date: 3 Jan 1994 16:43:05 GMT

Organization: Triangle Research Libraries Network

Greetings to the Rialto from Robyyan.

Yosef ben Lazar asks about calendars. Current on the MEDIEV-L mailing

list (look in the FAQ for subscription information) is a relevant

discussion. Here's a snippet or two:

===================

A standard reference for medieval chronology is Cappelli's

_Cronologia, cronografia e calendario perpetuo_, published by Hoepli

and currently in print. There is also an older book, with what I

seem to remember to be an emphasis on England. I'm pretty sure it's by

Powicke (F.M.), and called _Handbook of Medieval Chronology_.

----

Steve Lane

University of Chicago, Department of History

sgl1 at midway.uchicago.edu

==================

One of my collegues here has compressed Grotefend's _Taschenbuch der

Zeitrechnung_ into one page! It seems very useful for historians,

especially for the chronology of the Low Countries. It is possible to

obtain a copy of this "little fellow" (Kleinefend :-)) by means of a

private message to: redmer at let.rug.nl

He'll be glad to send you a copy of his work!

Margriet Hoogvliet

hoogvlie at let.rug.nl

==================

The introductory portion of Cappelli, i.e., the introductory matter, has

been translated into English (citation below) and is available for $6

(4.50 for book, 1.50 for domestic postage) from Exchange and Gift,

University of Kansas Libraries, Lawrence, KS 66045-2800.

The elements of abbreviation in medieval Latin paleography, by Adriano

Cappelli, translated by David Heimann and Richard Kay, Lawrence:

University of Kansas Libraries, 1982

Alexandra Mason, Spencer Research Library, U of Kansas

===================

You might try searching online catalogs for the subject

calendar-history and see what you get, too.

Robyyan Torr d'Elandris Kapellenberg, Windmaster's Hill Atlantia

Dennis R. Sherman Triangle Research Libraries Network

dennis_sherman at unc.edu Univ. of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

From: salley at niktow.canisius.edu (David Salley)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Ancient Calendars

Date: 24 Jan 94 00:54:27 GMT

Organization: Canisius College, Buffalo NY. 14208

To the gentle who was asking about ancient calendars (Jeff Z.?), have I got

a book for you!!!

Title: The Book of Calendars

Editor: Frank Parise

Publisher: Facts on File

460 Park Avenue South

New York, New York 10016

ISBN: 0-98196-467-8

The book covers every calendar I've ever heard of; Babylonian, Macedonian,

Hebrew, Roman, Egyptian, Chinese, Aztec, Catholic Church (feastdays), etc.

How to convert from one to the other, calculate Easter, etc. Great stuff!

Perfect for any GM running a time travel campaign (like me ;-). Only problem,

the main library keeps it in reference and it's non-circulating. :-(

- Dagonell

SCA Persona : Lord Dagonell Collingwood of Emerald Lake, CSC, CK, CTr

Habitat : East Kingdom, AEthelmearc Principality, Rhydderich Hael Barony

Internet : salley at niktow.cs.canisius.edu

USnail-net : David P. Salley, 136 Shepard Street, Buffalo, New York 14212-2029

From: sclark at epas.utoronto.ca (Susan Clark)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: calendars

Date: 10 Apr 1994 23:51:01 GMT

Organization: EPAS Computing Facility, University of Toronto

Calendars are a bit of a hobby for me. As far as I know, different

cultures adoted different dates at different times for the

first day of the year. England is what I know best, so I'll confine

my reply to that country:

England customarily started the year oN Lady Dy, March 25, until

about the 16th century, when he January 1 dat seems to have

been in place. The exact date of the adoption of the practice is not clear

to me, but I could find out quite easily--but someone else out there

doubtless knows.

Cheers!

Nicolaa/Susan

Canton of Eoforwic

sclark at epas.utoronto.ca

From: UDSD007 at DSIBM.OKLADOT.STATE.OK.US (Mike.Andrews)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Two interesting (and perhaps useful) books

Date: Fri, 15 Apr 1994 11:17

Organization: The University of Oklahoma (USA)

Greetings to all on this wondrous bridge. I have recently

acquired two books which I think will be of interest to some

of the congregants here. They are

*Cronologia, Cronografia e Calendario Perpetuo*, 3d. edn.,

by A. Cappelli (Ulrico Hoepli, Milan, It., 1969), and

*Dizionario di Abbreviature Latine ed Italiane*, 6th. edn.,

by A. Cappelli (Ulrico Hoepli, Milan, It., 1969).

- - - -

The Cronologia is divided into the following parts:

I Brief Notions of Chronography

II The Calendars

III Chron-Historic (?) Tables

IV Chronological Tables of Sovereigns and Rulers (?)

of the Principal States of Europe

V Appendices {from 1929 until 1928}

It is in Italian, and contains such tidbits as the style(s) of

documentary dates used in particular times in most areas of

Europe, an apparently-thorough discussion of Roman and ecclesiastic

calendars, and of calender reform, showing by locality the date

on which that locality changed from to the modern calendar, an

alphabetic list of feast- and saints-days, showing (for some) the

year in which the feast was instituted and by whom, a table showing

secular rulers and Popes from 30 A.D. to 1929, lists of ruling

nobles in Italy by district from about A.D. 1000 on, and so forth.

- - - - -

The Dizionario is divided (informally) into the following parts:

A discussion of medieval shorthand ("brachygraphia")

Transcripts of nine facsimiles {of manuscripts}

Nine facsimile manuscripts {fold-out inserts}

A chapter of abbreviations for words beginning with each

letter of the alphabet, showing facsimile examples

with century (or centuries) of use.

A chapter of nonalphabetic abbreviations and abbreviations of

conventional signs.

A chapter of printed sigla and abbreviations, with their expansions

into Latin or Italian, as appropriate

A bibliography

It is in Italian, and is intended for the use of people reading

(or attempting to read) manuscripts.

- - - -

If anyone knows of other books of this sort from Hoepli, I will be

interested to hear of them.

Pray for the repose of the soul of Katherine Conway Godfrey

Michael Fenwick of Fotheringhay, O.L. (Mike Andrews)

Barony of Namron, Kingdom of Ansteorra

From: dafyd at scribe.equinox.gen.nz (Dafyd the Scribe)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Dutch Bible

Date: Wed, 04 May 94 22:07:00 GMT

Organization: Illuminations Unlimited

> Dafyd the Scribe asks:

> >In a Latin Bible of 1419 AD, Certain passages had to be read on

> >certain days of the week and those days were indicated by the letters

> >A to G. BUT... in this particular bible there is occasional mention

> >of a day H. As there are only seven days in the week, what is the

> >day H for?

> During certain parts of the Middle Ages, there were eight days a week

> in the Netherlands.

> Griffins, McDonald, et al, in _The Octal Week: Studies in Temporal

> Reform in the Dutch Republic, 1398-1520_, note that the eight day week

> was only in force for about a century, which happened to coincide with

> the apex of Dutch power. It ended after a band of angry peasants, who

> because of the eight day week worked an average of 14% more than their

LOVE IT!!!! BTW, which universe did this happen in? :-)

+==============================+===============================+

| Dafyd the Scribe | dafyd at scribe.equinox.gen.nz |

| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | dafyd.scribe at mcbbs.gen.nz |

| Illuminations Unlimited | Fidonet: 3:770/140.4 |

| Christchurch, New Zealand | Telephone: 64-3-355-4082 |

+==============================================================+

From: aj at wg.icl.co.uk (Tony Jebson)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: The Medieval Calendar

Date: 12 Jul 1994 05:54:10 -0500

Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway

I read with interest Susan Caroll-Clark's article on time (looking forward to

seeing the rest of these!), and thought I'd summarise some of the starts to

the calendar year (I've found 8). All of these are expressed relative to our

current Jan 1 start:

1. The Annunciation (25th March) preceding January 1st. Known as the "Stylus

Pisanus", used in Pisa.

2. September 1st preceding January 1st. Known as the Constantinople

Indiction.

3. September 24th preceding January 1st. Known as the Caesarean

Indiction.

4. December 25th (Christmas Day, Mid-Winters day) preceding January 1st.

5. January 1st! Yes, some places actually used this one...

6. The Annunciation (25th March) after January 1st. Known as the "Stylus

Florentinus", used in Florence.

7. March 1st after January 1st. Used in Venice.

8. Easter. Wonderful! A different start every year... Used in France.

Of these, I'm most familiar with the usage in Anglo-Saxon England... Here it

seems (from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and Bede) that the September 24th

start was used until around 890, at which time the December 25th start took

over. Some evidence for this switch can be seen in the dating of the victory

over the Danes in Nov. 891. This is placed by some versions of the A-S C

using the *new* reckoning of the year, and in others using the *old* reckoning.

Knowing of these differences can help sort out apparent inconsistencies in

the sources, for example the entry for 851AD in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

reads:

"Here alderman Ceorl accompanied by the men of Devonshire fought against

heathen men at Wicganbeorge, and there made great slaughter and won the

battle. And that same year King AEthelstan and Duke Ealchere

slaughtered a great (Danish) army at Sondwic in Kent and took 9 ships and the

others were put to flight. And heathen men stayed over the winter. ..."

(heathen men == the Danes)

in the A-S C the Danes are consistently referred to as "heathen men",

and their army is referred to using the word "here". Anglo-Saxon forces are

generally referred to using the word "fierd".

</digression>

If the chronicler was using the Jan 1 start, then the last phrase about the

Danes wintering in England makes little sense, as it would be following a

*serious* defeat. However, if the Sept 24 start is used then winter *precedes*

the campaigning season. In modern terms the Danes wintered in England in 850

and were defeated in 851.

Tony

--- Tony Jebson --- International Computers Limited (ICL)

--- +44 625 617193 --- +44 61 223 1301 ext 3099 (work)

--- aj at wg.icl.co.uk --- All opinions expressed here (however stupid) are my own,

----------------------- and nothing stated here is an official statement by ICL.

From: HAROLD.FELD at hq.doe.GOV

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: What year is it?

Date: 12 Jul 1994 16:42:21 -0400

Unto all who read these words, greetings from Yaakov.

The most learned Nicholla gave a most excellent discourse

upon the subject of time and calendars. I would, however,

supplement it with a few words of mine own as touching to

the Jewish people, and correct a misunderstanding in her

words.

First, Nicholla writes that the Jewish calendar begins with

the beginning of Mossaic law. This is not so. We reackon

the number of years from the Creation of the World, which

took place on Rosh Hashanna, the new year. Thus, as I write

here, it is the fourth of the month of Av in the 5047th year

since the creation of the world, (1294) being also the

1224th year since the destruction of the Temple, may it be

speedily rebuilt in our days!

As to the matter of time and the date, I shall set them

forth here as we reackon them among the Jews. In all else,

Nicholla was most accurate. Yet I shall attempt, in my own

porr way, to set forth items in more detail so that those

who are interested in such matters may study them. And

further, I would urge that those who know of other systems

and ways of keeping time should also set them down, so that

the knowledge of those of us who sit here may increase.

The day begins at sunset, as it is written "And it was

evening and morning of the first day." (Genesis). Each day

is divided into 12 hours of equal lengths. Therefore, the

length of the hour varies. It is important to keep track of

the hours, as the morning prayer may only be said (according

to the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda, whom we follow) until the

fourth hour. On those days when it is recited, the musaf

may only be said until the 7th and a half hour. Mincha (the

afternoon prayer) cannot be said until the 7th and a half

hour, and should ideally be said between the 9th and end of

the 12th hour.

The evening prayer should not be said until the night

begins. There is debate among the Rabbis as to whether the

night begins with the setting of the sun or the rising of

the stars. Therefore, it is best to be cautious and put off

those things that are permissible to put off until after the

stars rise. Those things which cannot be put off, such as

the Sabbath, should be done by the sunset.

The night is also divided into 12 equal parts. These parts

are grouped as three watches of 4 hours each. As it is

written: "A thousand years are as a day to you, as a

watch in the night." (Psalms) The evening prayer should,

ideally, be said by midnight, lest one forget to say it.

Every seven days is one week, with Sabbath as the ending

day, as it is written: "Six days shall you work, and on the

Seventh ye shall rest." (Exodus)

The months are 12, except in leap year, when they are

13. Leap years are necessary so that Passover will come in

the spring, after the barley harvest, so that we may bring

the Sheaf Offerring (the Omer). Of old, it was the Rabbis

who determined if an extra month was necessary, and could do

so even after Purim (Tractate Megillah). Hillel the Second,

the memory of the righteous is as a blessing, established

the mathematical means by which the days and months became

fixed in their calendar, so that one might determine from

now until the end of time, the year 6000, the proper days of

the holidays.

Each month may have 29 or 30 days, as they follow the course

of the moon from new to new. Of old, it required witnesses

to declare the month. Observers of the new moon would rush

to the Sanhedrin, which would examine their testimony and

declare the new month. Then signal fires would light for

the crowns of Jerusalem unto the cities of Persia. A month

29 nine days is called Chaser (missing or incomplete) and a

month of 30 days is Malae (full). since Hillel established

the calendar, these days are set in such a pattern so that

Yom Kippur will not fall on Friday or Sunday, since this

would place an undue hardship on Israel.

The beginning of a month, called Rosh Chodesh, is a minor

festival. In the times of the Temple, may it be speedily

rebuilt in our days! special sacrifices were brought. In

these days of our exile, special prayers are said.

It is also the custom that women should do no work on Rosh

Chodesh. This was given to them as a reward for their

steadfast devotion in the incident with the Golden Calf. As

it says, "And they plucked out the gold rings that were in

the noses of their wives and their sons and daughters, and

brought it to Aaron." (Exodus) From this we learn that it

was the husbands who brought Aaron the gold from which was

fashioned the Golden Calf. Therefore God gave them Rosh

Chodesh as a holiday.

Of old the months were merely numbered, that is why it says

in the Bible: "And on the 14th day of the first month...on

the 10th day of the 7th month..." After the Destruction of

the First Temple, the Jews took the habit of naming the

months after the Babylonian calendar, as a remeberance of

exile. This was preserved by the Rabbis so that our exile

would not be forgotten. Therefore are the months called as

they are: Nissan, Iyar, Sivan rather than merely first,

second or third.

It is our custom to number the days and to keep track of

them. Even in our regular documents, we refer to: the tenth

day of Sivan, or the fifteenth day of Cheshvan. This manner

of dating is used for all legal documents. In this way

there is no legal confusion, and a debt in one country may

be enforced easily in another.

There are four new years: the new year of months, which is

the first of Nissan, the New Year of the World, which is the

first of Tishrei, the new year for trees, which is the 15th

of Shvat (Beit Shammai says the first, but we go by Beit

Hillel), and the new year of animals, which is the first of

Ellul. (Tractate Rosh Hashanna)

Nissan is the new year of months, as it is written: "This

month shall be for you the first of months" (Exodus). The

reigns of Jewish kings are numbered from the first of

Nissan. Of old, when there were kings in Jerusalem (may

you be speadily restored in our days, oh Scion of David!) it

was the custom to date legal documents "in the third year of

the reign of king ploni on the 12th day of the month of

Tavate." Now, when there is no king, we date our documents

from the New Year of the World, which is the first of

Tishrei.

The First of Tishrei is the new year of the World, wherein

the Holy One, Blessed Be He, judges all things and all

peoples pass before Him. From this day are the reigns of

non-Jewish kings numbered.

The other new years are of little importance to those who

read these words, since they concern setting the date for

the first fruits (the new year of trees) and the yearling

offering (the new year of animals).

If a legal document must be fulfilled in one year's time,

that year is 365 days, not until the next time the same date

occurs.

This discourse grows overlong, and I would not pray upon

your patience further.

In Service, written on this 4th day of Av in the 5054th

since the creation of the World, in the month of our

suffering,

Mar Yaakov HaMizrachi

From: HAWORTH at GFDI.FSU.EDU (Tracy Haworth)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: RE: Gregorian Calender Reform

Date: 11 Oct 1994 16:18:24 GMT

Organization: GEOPHYSICAL FLUID DYNAMICS INSTITUTE / FLORIDA STATE UNIV.

There is a great book called "Of Time, Space and Other Things" by the late

Isaac Asimov that has lots of information on how people used to measure time

and many of the various calenders that were used, including Egyptian solar

calenders, the Gregorian calender, and the "Lost 11 days" panics. (It is

non-fiction, BTW). I know some people don't realize that he wrote any

non-fiction.

Theadora Tracy the Confused, Oldenfeld, Trimaris

mka Tracy Haworth, Tallahassee, FL, USA

From: jeffs at math.bu.edu (Jeff Suzuki)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Help with Time

Date: 4 Oct 1995 16:05:03 GMT

Organization: Boston University

CONNECT (connect at aol.com) wrote:

: It has come to my attention that New Years hasn't always been celebrated

: as Jan. 1st. What date did people think the new year started? And during

: what centuries? (This would be for Europeans, please.)

Major day of celebration was Ladyday (March 25, I believe), well into

the 15th century (16th or later if you're English). That this happens

to be near the spring equinox is no coincidence. I believe that when

the calendar switched to Gregorian (1572 for most of Europe; 1752 for

England), the start of the year also switched to January 1. (In

English correspondence, this fact led to the habit of letters during

the early part of the year sometimes being given two dates: e.g.,

January 18, 1718/19. For the superprecise, you could theoretically

have written "January 18,1718/January 29, 1718" or so, given the

discrepancy was not only the start of the year but a matter of 10

days, to get the old Julian calendar aligned with the sun)

This led to the custom of April Fools; those who persisted in thinking

the year began in March were the fools spoken of.

William the Alchymist

From: IVANOR at delphi.com

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Help with Time

Date: 5 Oct 1995 01:00:53 GMT

Quoting connect from a message in rec.org.sca

>It has come to my attention that New Years hasn't always been celebrated

>as Jan. 1st. What date did people think the new year started? And during

>what centuries? (This would be for Europeans, please.)

>Your help is greatly appreciated.

Up until the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar, the most common date was

March 1 or March 15.

The Liturgical year of the Christian Church begins at the beginning of

Advent (i.e. 40 days before Christmas.) (Source, BCP)

The Jewish and Muslim years begin at different dates in each 365-day year,

because they both run on lunar calendars. In addition, as I understand it,

the Muslim calendar is based, not on calculation, but on direct observation,

so requires cloudless nights for the establishment of festivals, etc., which

has, at times, resulted in such situations as Ramadan being observed

different days in neighboring villages, depending on whether/when the moon

was visible.

Carolyn Boselli, Host of Custom Forum 35, SCAdians on Delphi

From: Gerekr at aol.COM

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Help with Time

Date: 7 Oct 1995 14:57:35 -0400

William the Alchymist wrote:

>Major day of celebration was Ladyday (March 25, I believe), well into

>the 15th century (16th or later if you're English). That this happens

>to be near the spring equinox is no coincidence. I believe that when

>the calendar switched to Gregorian (1572 for most of Europe; 1752 for

>England), the start of the year also switched to January 1. (In English

>correspondence, this fact led to the habit of letters during

>the early part of the year sometimes being given two dates: e.g.,

>January 18, 1718/19. For the superprecise, you could theoretically

>have written "January 18,1718/January 29, 1718" or so, given the

>discrepancy was not only the start of the year but a matter of 10

>days, to get the old Julian calendar aligned with the sun)

Its a bit more complicated than this. Charlemagne moved New Years to Mar

25. One source I have says, "Actually the year number changed as a rule on

Christmas Day, Lady Day (25 March) or Easter Sunday; but 1 January was

considered the first day of the new year in spite of that." 1 January was

also known as All Fool's Day according to this source. In the early 16th c,

Germany & the Low countries moved back to Jan 1. I have three sources that

say that the Gregorian decree occured in 1582. One of them is more specific

saying it was issued Mar 1, 1582. I have a fourth source that says 1562, so

take that as you wish. All agree that whatever year it was it went into

effect, October 5 which became October 15. That is in those few countries

that recognized Papal authority at this point. Notably not England,

Protestant Northern Germany, Denmark, Norway (I don't know about Sweden),

England, and the Orthodox countries such as Greece & Russia. England adopted

the Gregorian reform in 1751, but further adjusted two days and went into

effect Sept 2, 1752 which became Sep 14, 1752. Iceland adopted it in 1700,

Nov 16 to Nov 28, 11 days. In England the new year was celebrated at

Christmas until the 12th C, then at Mar 25 until 1752 when they adopted Jan

1. Iceland celebrated the New Year on Christmas Day until the 16th C when

Jan 1 became dominant. Until then they only celebrated Jan 1 as "Octave" or

the 8th day of Christmas.

This is of course only discussing the Roman Calendar refered to variously as

the Julian Calendar and the Gregorian Calendar after the major reformers.

There was also a Celtic Calendar, but whether it was used post-Roman I don't

know. There were various Germanic Calendars, especially the Old Norse

Calendar which was never completely replaced. There was the Jewish Calendar.

There was the Islamic Calendar. None of these used a fixed starting day in

relation to the Gregorian calendar, which in theory is fixed to the

solstices/equinoxes, sort of.

Sumardagr fyrsti the first day of the Old Norse Calendar occurs on the

Thursday in the week April 9 to 15 (Julian) or April 19 to 25 (Gregorian). I

have a copy of a Norwegian primstav (Calendar Stick) from 1707 that shows

this as Apr 14 of that year (hadn't yet adopted Gregorian apparently). It is

always a Thursday, I've reconstructed how it works and it does work. Next

year, 1996, it would fall on April 25.

Meistari Gerekr

Gerekr at aol.com

From: RCMANN at delphi.com

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Help with Time

Date: 19 Oct 1995 02:27:38 GMT

Quoting jeffs from a message in rec.org.sca

>Gerekr at aol.COM wrote:

>: (neat stuff deleted)

>: Calendar which was never completely replaced. There was the Jewish

>Calendar. : There was the Islamic Calendar. None of these used a

>fixed starting day in : relation to the Gregorian calendar, which in

>theory is fixed to the : solstices/equinoxes, sort of.

>The Islamic and Jewish calendars are both lunar calendars, which makes

>it difficult to establish equivalent dates (roughly like the

>difference between temperature in Rankine and temperature in Celsius).

>This also has some interesting effects on Ramadan, during which month

>all good Moslems abstain from food and drink during the day...which is

>all right as long as Ramadan doesn't end up in mid-summer!

>William the Alchymist

The Jewish calendar is lunar AND solar. The months are solar, but

there are adjustments (such as a leap month) to make sure that the

holy days will NOT wander all around the seasons. Therefore,

Passover will always occur in the Spring, Rosh Hashanah in the

Autumn, etc. I don't know the details, but no doubt one of the

learned folk on this bridge -- m'lord Yaakov? -- can explain.

Robin Carroll-Mann ** rcmann at delphi.com

SCA: Brighid ni Chiarain, Settmour Swamp, East

From: HAROLD.FELD at hq.doe.GOV

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Calendars

Date: 19 Oct 1995 11:57:39 -0400

Unto all who read these words, greetings from Yaakov:

The learned Brighid wrote:

>The Jewish calendar is lunar AND solar. The months are solar, but

> there are adjustments (such as a leap month) to make sure that the

> holy days will NOT wander all around the seasons. Therefore,

> Passover will always occur in the Spring, Rosh Hashanah in the

> Autumn, etc. I don't know the details, but no doubt one of the

> learned folk on this bridge -- m'lord Yaakov? -- can explain.

>Robin Carroll-Mann ** rcmann at delphi.com

>SCA: Brighid ni Chiarain, Settmour Swamp, East

Poor in knowledge as I am, I shall attempt to reply.

Our months are based upon the observation of the new moon, so that the

apperance of the new moon is the first of the month. Of old, this

required two eye-witnesses to appear before the Sanhedrin (may it be

speedily re-established in our days!) and testify that they had seen

the new moon. If this did not occur by the thritieth day, the sages

would automaticly declare the new month. Thus, a month can be either

29 days (called "chaser" or "missing") or 30 days (called "maley", or

full).

Of old, when the Sanhedrin declared the month, they would kindle a

bonfire. This would be seen in the hills of Judea, and they would

likewise kindle a flame, and so would the flame leap from hill-top to

hill-top until it could be seen even in the lands of Persia. Yet

there was some concer that the time taken to transmit the message

would ause confusion of the day. Therefore, in the lands of our exile

(may the Holy One, Blessed Be He, gather us to his mercy and forgive

our sins!), do we observe two days of holiday instead of one, whenever

a festival occurs.

Now, if it were merely as I have said, then the months would indeed

wander, as do the months of the peoples of Al-Islam, so that Ramadan

is now in spring, now in winter, and so forth. But it is not so. For

the Holy One, Blessed Be He, ordained that the holidays should fall in

their proper season, as it is writte: "Take care to observe the

holiday of matzot [Peasach]...the holiday of the spring, for in the

season [lit. month] of spring you left Egypt." Exodus 33. And there

it is also written "And the feast of weeks you shall make for

yourselves, at the time of the wheat harvest, and the holiday of

gathering [Succot], at the end of the year."

How is the matter reconciled? It was given to the Sanhedrin to ordain

a extra month. Of old, when the time of Peasach would approach, the

Sanhedrin would take counsel and, if it would fall too early, would

ordain a second month of Adar (that being the month before Nisan, when

the holiday of Peasach falls)* And this could take place even after

Purim occured on the 14th of Adar, as is recorded in Tractate

Megillah. A year with an extra month is called "merubah," pregnant.

Yet all this power was given to the Sanhedrin, as it is written "And

this shall be *for you* the first of months." What does this mean

"for you?" That the power to declare the month rested with the

Sanhedrin. Yet, in the times of the Romans (may the Rock curse all

evil-doers!) the Sanhedrin was threatened and ceased to be. In that

time of great danger, Hillel the Second (the memory of the righteous

is as a blessing) set forth the computations and formulas by which the

new months and the leap years could be determined from now until the

end of days (may it come speedily, oh Lord!). And these calculations

where adopted by the Sanhedrin. So that now all the months are fixed,

and the leap years also, and which months should be maley or chaser.

In addition, they did establish certain rules for convenience. They

set it so that Yom Kippur should never fall on a Friday (since then

one could not prepare for Sabbath) or a Sunday (since one is commanded

to prepare a meal and eat on the day before). Purim never falls on

Sabbath, since one would come to carry the Megillah to the synogogue.

etc.

The occassion of the new moon is considered as a minor holiday. In

the days of the Temple (may it be speedily rebuilt in our days),

special sacrifices were brought. Even today, the Hallel, psalms in

praise of a festival, are said in an abbreviated form (as opposed to

on festivals, when they are read in full), the musaf, commemoratin g

the sacrifice, is said, and the section of the torah recounting the

sacrifice is read in the morning prayers. It is also a tradition to

declare the new month in the synogogue on the Sabbath preceding it,

and a special blessing is said.

I hope this makes some answer to your question. If I have made errors

in my memory or in my writings, I pray the Holy One, Blessed Be He,

forgive my ignorance and the poverty of my understanding.

Written by my hand, this 25th day of Tishrei,

Mar Yaakov HaMizrachi

*[Before the first exile, the months had no name, but only number.

Thus, Peasach comes in "the first month" as it is written "And this

month shall be for you the first of months." -Exodus 12. In exile, it

became the custom to use the Babylonian names for the months. As it

is written: "And the lot fell upon the twelfth month, that is, the

month of Adar"- Esther 3. And all this is explained further by our

sages in Tractate Rosh Hashanna.]

From: jeffs at bu.edu (Jeff Suzuki)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: History of April Fools' Day?

Date: 12 Feb 1996 17:35:16 GMT

Organization: Boston University

Sandra Unger (ssunger at ix.netcom.com) wrote:

: I'm looking for references on the history of April Fools day, All Fools Dayy, a Festival of Fools

: and related holidays. I'd love to find examples of these festivals with a description of the

: activities and costumes and any plays or theater performances.

: Any suggestions of web pages or good books?

: Thanks,

: Ursula

Don't know about web pages, but you might want to check out Aveni's

_Empires of Time_, which goes into a fair bit of detail about

calendars. (It's been a while since I've read it, so I don't know for

certain if he talks about April Fool's Day or not)

William the Alchymist

From: bl252 at FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Aaron Wilcox)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Why did the year start?

Date: 30 Sep 1996 00:09:57 GMT

Organization: The National Capital FreeNet

Jeff Suzuki (jeffs at bu.edu) writes:

> Why did the year begin on January 1?

Apparently, Jan. 1 was the start of both the Roman year and the fiscal

year in Europe for centuries before it was adopted as the "official" New

Year.

> More specifically: the logical place to begin the new year is at the

> equinox or solstice. (This is how a lot of cultures do it, and even

> the French did it during the Republican period) The equinox comes on

> around March 21, thanks to Julius Caesar and the Council of Nicea.

> But why? Why not make March 1 the vernal equinox, or April 1, or

> March 15 (the ides of March) or March 9 (the nones of March) or

> _something_ logical (or at least comprehensibly mystical)????

Actually, the start of the New Year tended to vary from country to

country. England used the Feast of the Annunciation (the start of Mary's

pregnancy), the Holy Roman Empire and much of 13th century Europe used

Christmas, France used Easter during Philip Augustus' reign. In the 13th

century an intrepid traveller of southern and western Europe might visit

three "different" years while travelling between Venice, Florence, Pisa,

Provence and Paris.

From: Rebekah and Chip <rinman at ucsd.edu>

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Why did the year start?

Date: Mon, 30 Sep 1996 11:51:14 -0700

Organization: University of California, San Diego

Susan Carroll-Clark wrote:

> I seem to recall that both Jews and Russians reckoned their year from

> (different) dates in September which fall close to the autumnal equinox.

The Byzantine new year also starts in what we call mid-September, in

conjunction with the autumnal equimox. They date their calendar from the

beginning of time, based (IIRC) on the calculations of theological

scholars working their way back through Genesis.

Chip

From: greycat at tribeca.ios.com (Greycat Sharpclaw)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Why did the year start?

Date: Wed, 02 Oct 1996 02:58:00 GMT

Emrys sends greetings to all upon this bridge...

There is an allegation that bl252 at FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Aaron

Wilcox) wrote:

>Jeff Suzuki (jeffs at bu.edu) writes:

>> Okay, I've exhausted my library, and still no luck. So, I submit the

>> following unto the Rialtans, in the hopes that some classical scholar

>> can tell me...

>> Why did the year begin on January 1?

>Apparently, Jan. 1 was the start of both the Roman year and the fiscal

>year in Europe for centuries before it was adopted as the "official" New

>Year.

Actually, the Roman year only started in January in the late

Roman period. Note that the 9th-12th months name literally means

7th (Septem-) 8th (Octo-), 9th (Novem-) and 10th (Decem-). My

understanding is that Julius Caesar caused the shift, arguing

that the year should start on the month of Janus, the Roman god

of (among other things) beginnings.

Lord Emrys Cador David M. Mann

Barony of Settmour Swamp greycat at tribeca.ios.com

Eastrealm

Date: Thu, 11 Sep 1997 20:34:43 -0400 (EDT)

From: Fideli <jfideli at suffolk.lib.ny.us>

To: mark_harris at quickmail

Subject: Greetings...just some small tidbits for you...

Latin for the fun of it.

A little something for each month

By Da`ved Man of Letters

Lord Xaviar the Eccentric.

Januarius Named after janus, the two-faced god of entryways.

Panati, Charles; The Browser's Book of Beginnings: Origins of