THE ROMAN CALENDAR

The Julian Calendar of the Romans is the basis of our own, and is identical with it in the number of months in the year and in the number of days in the months.

A) PECULIARITIES

The Roman calendar has the following peculiarities:

I. The days were not numbered from the beginning of the month, as with us, but from three different points in the month:

1. The Calends, the first of each month.

2. The Nones, the fifth day of the month -- but the seventh day in March, May, July, and October.

3. The Ides, the thirteenth day of the month -- but the fifteenth in March, May, July, and October.

II. From these three points the days were numbered, not forward, but backward. Hence after the Ides of each month, the days were numbered from the Calends of the following month.

III. In numbering backward from each of these points, the day before each was denoted by pridie Kalendas, pridie Nonas, etc.; the second before each by die tertio (not secundo) ante Kalendas, etc.; the third by die quarto ante Kalendas, etc.; and so on through the month.

1. This peculiarity in the use of the numerals designating the second day before the Calends, etc., as the third, and the third as the fourth. etc. arises from the fact that the Calends, etc., were themselves counted as the first. Thus pridie Kalendas, the day before the Calends; die tertio ante Kalendas, the second day before the Calends.

2. In dates the name of the month is added in tbe form of an adjective in agreement with Kalendas, Nonas, etc., as, die quarto ante Nonas Januarias, often shortened to quarto ante Nonas Jan., or IV ante Nonas Jan., or without ante, as, IV Nonas Jan., the second of January.

3. Ante diem is common, instead of die ... ante, as, diem quartum Nonas Jan. for die quarto ante Nonas Jan.

4. The expressions ante diem Kal., etc., pridie Kal., etc., are often used as indeclinable nouns with a proposition, as, ex ante diem V. Idus Oct., from the 11th of Oct.; ad pridie Nonas Maias, till the 6th of May.

B) CALENDAR FOR THE YEAR

Days of the Month

March, May, July, October

January, August, December

April, June, September, November

February

1

KALENDIS *

KALENDIS

KALENDIS

KALENDIS

2

VI. Nonas *

IV. Nonas

IV. Nonas

IV. Nonas

3

V. "

III. "

III. "

III. "

4

IV."

Pridie Nonas

Pridie Nonas

Pridie Nonas

5

III. "

NONIS

NONIS

NONIS

6

Pridie Nonas

VIII. Idus

VIII. Idus

VIII. Idus

7

NONIS

VII. "

VII. "

VII. "

8

VIII. Idus

VI. "

VI. "

VI. "

9

VII. "

V. "

V. "

V. "

10

VI. "

IV. "

IV. "

IV. "

11

V. "

III. "

III. "

III. "

12

IV. "

Pridie Idus

Pridie Idus

Pridie Idus

13

III. "

IDIBUS

IDIBUS

IDIBUS

14

Pridie Idus

XIX. Kalend. **

XVIII. Kalend. **

XVI. Kalend.**

15

IDIBUS

XVIII. "

XVII. "

XV. "

16

XVII. Kalend. **

XVII. "

XVI. "

XIV. "

17

XVI. "

XVI."

XV. "

XIII. "

18

XV. "

XV. "

XIV. "

XII. "

19

XIV. "

XIV. "

XIII. "

XI. "

20

XIII. "

XIII. "

XII. "

X. "

21

XII. "

XII. "

XI. "

IX. "

22

XI. "

XI. "

X. "

VIII. "

23

X. "

X. "

IX. "

VII. "

24

IX. "

IX. "

VIII. "

VI. "

25

VIII. "

VIII. "

VII. "

V. " (VI.) ***

26

VII. "

VII. "

VI. "

IV. " (V.)

27

VI. "

VI. "

V. "

III. " (IV.)

28

V. "

V. "

IV. "

Pridie Kalend. (III. Kalend.)

29

IV. "

IV. "

III. "

(Pridie Kalend.)

30

III. "

III. "

Pridie Kalend.

n/a

31

Pridie Kalend.

Pridie Kalend.

n/a

n/a


Notes

* To the Calends, Nones and Ides, the name of the month must of course be added. Before Nonas, Idus, etc., ante is sometimes used and sometimes omitted.

** The Calends of the following month are of course meant; the 16th of March, for instance, is XVII Kalendis Apriles.

*** The forms in parentheses apply to the leap year.

C) English and Latin Dates

The above table will furnish the learner with the English expression for any Latin date, or the Latin expression for any English date; but it may be convenient also to have the following rule:

I. If the day is numbered from the Nones or Ides, subtract the number diminished by one from the number of the day on which the Nones or Ides fall:

VIII ante Idus Jan. = l3 - (8 - 1) = 13 - 7 = January 6th.

II. If the day is numbered from the Calends of the following month, subtract the number diminished by two from the number of days in the current month:

XVIII ante Kal. Feb. = 31- (18 - 2) = 31 - 16 = January 15th.

NOTE. -- In leap-years the 24th and the 25th February are both called the sixth before the Calends of March, VI Kal. Mart. The days before the 24th are numbered as if the month contained only 28 days, but the days after the 25th are numbered regularly for a month of 29 days: V. Kal. Mart., IV. Kal. Mart., III. Kal. Mart., and pridie Kal. Mart.

D) The Roman Day

The Roman day, from sunrise to sunset, and the night, from sunset to sunrise, were each divided at all seasons of the year into twelve hours.

1. The night was also divided into four watches of three Roman hours each.

2. The hour, being uniformly 1/12 of the day or of the night, of course varied in length with the length of the day or night at different seasons of the year.

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