OLD FIDDLERS

This page shows the Numan Calendar, the official calendar for the Roman Empire from around 500 BC until the advent of the simpler Julian Calendar in 46 BC. (Historical note; meddling with calendars can be dangerous; 23 of Jules' 'friends' stabbed him to death soon after!). The Numan replaced the old Romulan calendar, which had ignored the winter months completely. It had twelve months in odd-numbered years and an extra leap-month in even-numbered years. It was... complicated.

Roman dating systems worked - backwards! Here's how to work out your birthday in Latin. First find the special days for the month you were born in. Each month has three, listed on the month sheets:

KALENDAE

Latin = to count out loud, always the 1^st day of the month.

IDES

Latin = special. The 13^th of most months but the 15^th of March, May, July, and October.

NONES

Latin = nine. Nine days before the Ides counting inclusively, thus the 5^th of most months but the 7^th of March, May, July and October.

1) If you are lucky enough to have a birthday on one of the three special days, use the day name followed by the genitive form of the month (the Latin word type meaning 'of' something, listed on the month sheet):

1ST JANUARY = KALENDAE IANVARIIS

13TH APRIL = IDES APRILIS

15TH JULY = IDES QVINTILIS/IVLIVS

7TH OCTOBER = NONES OCTOBRIS

2) If your birthday falls the day before any of these special days, add the word pridie (Latin, meaning 'pre-day' or ’the day before‘) before the day and month. More examples:

12TH APRIL = PRIDIE IDES APRILIS

30TH JUNE = PRIDIE KALENDAE MAIVS

31ST DECEMBER = PRIDIE KALENDAE IANVARIIS

3) For other dates, work out the difference in days between your birthday and the next special day (this might be the Kalendae of the next month). Remember, count both the start and finish days. Then write the words ante diem (Latin for ‘days before’) followed by the Roman numeral of days before, then the special day and genitive month name. Here are the Roman numerals and words for 1st-20th, and some more examples:

I: 1 (primvs)

II: 2 (secvndvs)

III: 3 (tertivs)

IV: 4 (qvartvs)

V: 5 (qvintvs)

VI: 6 (sextvs)

VII: 7 (septimvs)

VIII: 8 (octavvs)

IX: 9 (nonvs)

X: 10 (decimvs)

XI: 11 (vndecimvs)

XII: 12 (dvodecimvs)

XIII: 13 (tertivs decimvs)

XIV: 14 (qvartvs decimvs)

XV: 15 (qvintvs decimvs)

XVI: 16 (sextvs decimvs)

XVII: 17 (septimvs decimvs)

XVIII: 18 (dvodevicesimvs)

XIX: 19 (vndevicisemvs)

XX: 20 (vicesimvs)

28TH DECEMBER = ANTE DIEM V KALENDAE IANVARIIS

2ND APRIL = ANTE DIEM VIII NONES APRILIS

17TH JUNE = ANTE DIEM XV KALENDAE IVLIVS/QVINTILIS

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* Under the first (Romulan) calendar, the Romans ignored the 57 coldest winter days. When they created two new months out of these, Ianvarivs got 29 and Febrvarivs 28. Simple - until the Romans went and messed around with it! Under the Numan Calendar, Febrvarivs had 28 days in odd-numbered years and 23 in even-numbered ones, the last five days 'transferring' to become the last five days of Mercedonivs. Julius Caesar's reforms briefly gave it 30 days (31 in leap-years) before his nephew Augustus grabbed back the two extra days to make his renamed month a long one.

**Just as we have a leap-day every four years or so, the Romans had a leap-month every even-numbered year. Originally just called INTERCALARIS (Latin inter calaris = in between the counting), it was either 20 or 21 days long, adding the extra day every four years. Confusingly it didn't start at the end of Febrvarivs but after the 23rd day of that month, with the last five days of Febrvarivs being renamed the last five days of Intercalaris. Imagine giving your friends and relations an excuse to miss your birthday every other year! Of course they wouldn't..... would they?

The month acquired the name of Mercedonivs, partly because many people got paid during this month and Mercury was also the god of merchants and thieves.

What finally finished off the Numan Calendar was political corruption (depressing I know; thing's don't change!) Because they were always up to a set date in the calendar, sneaky Roman politicians and officials often added extra days and months to give themselves longer in office and more money. The result was that, by the start of 46 B.C. the Numan Calendar was nearly three months out! It was all sorted out by army leader Julius Caesar, who used the standard Roman solution - use another civilization's brains. An Egyptian mathematician called Sosigenes worked it all out for him, although the year 46 B.C. was a mess as a result. Ianvarivs and Febrvarivs moved from the end of the year to the start, and the year ended with an unexpected Mercedonivs and two one-off months, Vndecimber and Dvodecimber. This meant 46 B.C., also known as the Last Year of Confusion, was an amazing 445 days long! The following year Caesar's calendar (the Julian Calendar) began in earnest, with twelve months and a leap-day every four years. The Roman Senate (parliament) was so grateful that 23 of Caesar's closest friends got together and stabbed him to death the very next year! But they later renamed Qvintilis after him, as Ivlivs (July). The only subsequent change that stuck was the renaming and lengthening of Sextilis as Avgvstvs. The Julian Calendar was fairly accurate and lasted until 1752 in Great Britain, when it was replaced by the Gregorian Calendar.

We may not have seen the last of Vndecimber and Dvodecimber, or for that matter Mercedonivs. If/when humans settle on the planet Mars, they will need a calendar with 20 months to a (Martian) year. It has been suggested that these two months could join with other 'new' Roman months to make a new Martian Calendar. And yes - you would have to wait 20 months between birthdays!

Tredecimber* (13)

Quattuordecimber (14)

Quindecimber (15)

Sedecimber (16)

Septendecimber (17)

Duodeviginti (18)

Undeviginti (19)

Viginti (20)

* Because many Earth cultures, including the Americans, are superstitious about the number 13, it may be that the 13th month acquires the other disused name, that of Mercedonius.

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