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The Julian Calendar

The Julian Calendar. LATN 6030 - Caesar Hermanus R. Lemmer Wednesday, 23 June 2010. Introduction to the Roman Calendar. How to Write a Roman Calendar Date. Kalends = 1 st of the month Nones = 5 th of the month (7 th of March, May, July, and October)

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The Julian Calendar

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  1. The Julian Calendar LATN 6030 - Caesar Hermanus R. Lemmer Wednesday, 23 June 2010

  2. Introduction to the Roman Calendar

  3. How to Write a Roman Calendar Date • Kalends = 1st of the month • Nones = 5th of the month (7th of March, May, July, and October) • So called because it occurs nine days before the Ides. • This is because March, May, July, and October originally had two more days than other months did. • Ides = 13th of the month (15th of March, May, July, October) • pridie = the day before one of these • a.d. iii = two days before one of these • a.d. iv = three days before one of these, etc.

  4. The Origins of the Names of the Months (Censorinus 22.9-15) • Theory 1: Romulus gave the names to the months. • Theory 2: The names were Latin in origin. • N.B. in the time of Romulus, January and February did not exist.

  5. The Origins of the Names of the Months (Censorinus 22.9-15) • March = from Mars • April = either from Aphrodite or from aperio, to open • May = either from maioresor in honor of Maia, whose sacrifice was that month. • June = either from iuniores or from Juno, who was honored that month. • Quinctilis (July) – December = ordinal numbers • Quinctilis renamed July after Julius Caesar in 44 BC • Sextilis renamed August after Augustus Caesar in 8 BC • January = named after Janus • February = from the ritual occurring in that month in which Romans purified themselves with hot salt, februum.

  6. The Evolution of the Julian Calendar

  7. The Pre-Julian Calendar • Romulus: 10-month calendar • The year started at the full moon closest to Arcturus. • January and February unaccounted for • NumaPompilius: 12-month calendar with intercalary month • March, May, July, October had 31 days • All other months except February had 29 days. • February had 28 days, with an occasional intercalary month lasting 22-23 days.

  8. The Pre-Julian Calendar: the Fundamental Problem • The calendar had fallen out of line. • Throughout the Roman Republic, pontiffs randomly inserted days or even months into the calendar. • Julius Caesar saw that the calendar gave a date that falls during the spring when he was putting his troops in their winter quarters.

  9. What Julius Caesar Did(Suetonius Julius 40) • Made the length of the year 365 days. • Added a “leap-year day” every 4 years. • a.d. VI KalendasMartias happened twice. • On our calendar, this would be the same as having 24 February last for two days. • This would have been great in 2004, a leap year in which Mardi Gras occurred on 24 February. • Added two months between November and December, so that 1 January would fall at the appropriate time.

  10. How Julius Caesar Fixed It • The astronomer Sosigenes advised Julius Caesar that the year was 365¼ days long. • Julius Caesar made the calendar 365 days long, with a 366-day year every four years. • The year 46 B.C. (708 A.U.C.) was made 445 days long. • Starting with March, each month would alternate 31 days and 30 days, except February, which would have 29 days each year, 30 in leap years. • August is 31 days long today because Augustus Caesar took a day from February and tacked it on to August.

  11. How Julius Caesar Fixed It Month (under Julius / under Augustus) January (31 / 31) July (31 / 31) February (29 / 28, August (30 / 31) 30 / 29 in leap year) March (31 / 31) September (31 / 30) April (30 / 30) October (30 / 31) May (31 / 31) November (31 / 30) June (30 / 30) December (30 / 31)

  12. This will only work with Julius Caesar’s original calendar reforms!

  13. The Calendar Today • We still use the calendar Julius and Augustus Caesar made. • By 1582, the calendar fell inaccurate by 10 days. • In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII reformed the calendar by • removing 10 days from the calendar, so that Thursday, 4 Oct. 1582 was followed by Friday, 15 Oct. 1582. • stipulating that years ending in “00” are not leap years except when divisible by 400.

  14. The Julian Calendar Today • Julian calendar in use in Orthodox church • The Orthodox Church saw the earliest possible Easter date this year (22 March) • The Western church last saw Easter on 22 March in 1818. This will not happen again until 2285. • Julian calendar was used in • England and U.S. until 1752 • Japan until 1873 • China until 1912 • Turkey until 1916 • Yugoslavia and Romania until 1919 • Greece until 1923

  15. Primary Sources • Censorinus, De die natali • Ovid, Fasti • Pluatch, Life of Numa • Suetonius, Life of Julius Caesar, Section 40

  16. Secondary Sources • Bushell, W.F. “Calendar Reform.” The Mathematical Gazette, 45.352 (May 1961), 117-124. • Castle, W.E. “Calendars and Calendar Reform.” Scientific Monthly 56. (Feb. 1943), 163-168. • Dershowitz, Nachum and Edward M. Reingold. Calendrical Calculations. New York: Cambridge University Press (1997) • Michels, Agnes Kirsopp. “The ‘Calendar of Numa’ and the Pre-Julian Calendar.” TAPA 80 (1949), 320-346. • Morrow, Martha G. “Reforms in Our Calendar.” The Science News-Letter 53.7 (Feb. 14, 1948), 106-107. • Simpson, D.P. Cassell’s Latin Dictionary. New York: Wiley Publishing Inc. (1968)

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