On past the kalends
Apr. 2nd, 2025 08:12 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
melcharNow that it's the day PAST 'Fools', just posting this mostly to myself, as a reminder.
The Romans did not count days in the month as a simple number - but backwards from one of three fixed points in the month: the Kalends, the Nones, and the Ides.
The Kalends are always the first of the month.
The Nones fell on the 7th day of the 4 long months (March, May, Quintilis/July, October), and the 5th on the others. (Note that this long-short distinction refers to their length in the republican calendar**, not the later version.)
Likewise, the Ides fell on the 15th if the month was long, and the 13th if the month was short.
The day before the Kalends (or Nones or Ides) was called 'pridie' (or 2) Kalends, the day before that 3, etc. Therefore, May 3rd would be the 5 Nones of May; March 17 = 16 Kalends of April, or abbreviated in a Latin text: a.d. xvi Kal. Apr.
** the Roman republican calendar was said to have been instituted by Romulus in [approx] 738 bc.
The original Roman calendar began with only 10 months/a year of 304 days. The remaining 61 1/4 days were unofficial & left a gap during winter. The 10 months were called: Martius, Aprilis, Maius, Juniius, Quintilis, Sextilis, September, October, November & December.
The Roman ruler Numa Pompilius [2nd ruler of Rome, ruled 715–672 BC] gets credit for adding January at the beginning & February at the end of the calendar & created the 12-month year. In 452 bc, February was moved between January and March.
The extra days were called 'Mercedonius' & kept the calendar in step with the seasons. The name comes from merces, meaning wages, since workers were still getting paid for those days.
The Romans did not count days in the month as a simple number - but backwards from one of three fixed points in the month: the Kalends, the Nones, and the Ides.
The Kalends are always the first of the month.
The Nones fell on the 7th day of the 4 long months (March, May, Quintilis/July, October), and the 5th on the others. (Note that this long-short distinction refers to their length in the republican calendar**, not the later version.)
Likewise, the Ides fell on the 15th if the month was long, and the 13th if the month was short.
The day before the Kalends (or Nones or Ides) was called 'pridie' (or 2) Kalends, the day before that 3, etc. Therefore, May 3rd would be the 5 Nones of May; March 17 = 16 Kalends of April, or abbreviated in a Latin text: a.d. xvi Kal. Apr.
** the Roman republican calendar was said to have been instituted by Romulus in [approx] 738 bc.
The original Roman calendar began with only 10 months/a year of 304 days. The remaining 61 1/4 days were unofficial & left a gap during winter. The 10 months were called: Martius, Aprilis, Maius, Juniius, Quintilis, Sextilis, September, October, November & December.
The Roman ruler Numa Pompilius [2nd ruler of Rome, ruled 715–672 BC] gets credit for adding January at the beginning & February at the end of the calendar & created the 12-month year. In 452 bc, February was moved between January and March.
The extra days were called 'Mercedonius' & kept the calendar in step with the seasons. The name comes from merces, meaning wages, since workers were still getting paid for those days.
