Modern Roman Calendar?

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Modern Roman Calendar?

Postby Anonymous on Mon Sep 19, 2005 8:45 pm

Exactly which calendar do most modern Roman Pagans use and where can I see one online?
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Postby Quintus Pomponius Atticus on Wed Sep 21, 2005 3:21 pm

Salve Calde,

I don't know about modern practice, but there is an excellent Religio Romana calendar on our website, drawn up by sodalis Horatius Piscinus.

You can find it at http://www.societasviaromana.org/Collegium_Religionis/index.php

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Postby Anonymous on Thu Sep 22, 2005 1:41 pm

Salve Atticus,
Thanks for the link...
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Postby Anonymous on Sat Nov 19, 2005 2:59 pm

Salvete Omnis!
I was looking at the above site and well it says on http://www.societasviaromana.org/Colleg ... calfeb.php that I was born on X KAL MART..(Feb.20th),Doesnt Kal Mart mean March?Im coonfused.
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Roman Calendar

Postby Aldus Marius on Sun Nov 20, 2005 5:41 am

Salve, Calde...

...Ahh, now we get down to the peculiarities of Roman time-reckoning.

The Ancients did not number their days straight through from the beginning of a month to its end. Rather, the Roman calendar is organized around three "pivot days": the Kalends, on the first day of each month; the Nones, which occurs on the 5th day of a short month and the 7th of a long one; and the Ides, on the 13th of a short month or the 15th of a long one. (Short months--Februarius, Aprilis, Junius, September, November; long months--Ianuarius, Martius, Maius, Julius, Augustus, October, December)

All other days are said to be so many days before the next pivot day, e.g. "ante diem (a.d.) XVII Kalendas Februariis" is the 17th day before the Kalends (1st) of February, inclusive--better known to us as January 16th. So your dies natalis would be recognized by the Ancients as "Ten days before the Kalends of March".

A given day will also fit into one of three religious categories: dies fasti, considered auspicious for all public and private business; dies nefasti partes, when government business is prohibited but private enterprise is not ("Federal holidays," so to speak); and dies nefasti, "bad-luck days," when no public meetings may take place nor shops be open for business. (Dies nefasti tend to take place on high holy days, the anniversaries of national disasters, or as days of public mourning for a fallen hero.)

The week is eight days long, with a "weekend"--the nundina or market day--on the eighth day. The days of the week are not individually named.

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Re: Roman Calendar

Postby Horatius Piscinus on Tue Nov 22, 2005 5:37 am

Salvete

Marius Peregrine wrote:A given day will also fit into one of three religious categories: dies fasti, considered auspicious for all public and private business; dies nefasti partes, when government business is prohibited but private enterprise is not ("Federal holidays," so to speak); and dies nefasti, "bad-luck days," when no public meetings may take place nor shops be open for business. (Dies nefasti tend to take place on high holy days, the anniversaries of national disasters, or as days of public mourning for a fallen hero.)


Uhm, close enough. I don't really know what you mean by dies nefasti partes. A dies fasti is a civil day when government and private business may be conducted. Some of these are designated as dies comitialis as they are dies fasti when a comita could be called to assemble or certain court proceedings could take place. Dies nefasti are high holy days as Marius explained, but they are not 'bad luck days' Those would be dies ater. The day after every kalends, nones, and ides are designated as dies ater as are the anniversaries of Cannae and the battle on the Allio. On those days no new project should be begun, but you can continue some ongoing business. It is just an ill-omened day. There were also the dies nefasti publicae. No one is quite sure but it may be those holidays when rites were to be performed at home in conjunction with rites performed in public. Then there are the dies endotercisus when the morning and evening are nefasti but the midday is fasti.

The weekdays were designated by the letters A thru H, the same system as was used in the Book of Hours in the 15th century.

There was not a standard calendar. Each town had its own holidays, and thus its own religious categories for days. The imperial army also had its own calendar based around the imperial culti divi.

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