Greenhall Calendar |
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The
days of the week follow the pattern with which we
are familiar, named for the visible planets in the
usual order. The planetary deities, however, bear
different names in the Greenhall, handed down from
misty prehistory. Mercury was called Oestanor, but
was colloquially referred to as "the little wizard"
in the Empeira, and the local names for his day
reflect this apellation. Venus was Eissar. Mars was
Ranki, but was commonly called "the bleeder".
Jupiter was Ravda, a goddess rather than a god, and
Saturn was Skolom. The
chart below shows the day names in Olimaci, along
with an English translation intended to convey, in
a loose way, the connotations of the names used in
the Greenhall, which differ slightly from our
own. Highday
was the last day of the week (not the first), and
was set aside for the worship of the Twin Gods and
other celebratory activities. Day
(Olimaci) Day
(English) Equivalent Lunéźes Monsday
Monday Sanuedoréźies Blodday Tuesday Maźeśléźes Wezarday Wednesday Radvéźes Thorsday Thursday Esaréźies Fresday
Friday Zecoloméźies Saturnsday
Saturday Jesalta Highday Sunday The
year was divided into seven seasons of seven or
eight weeks in length. This was originally an
agricultural calendar, not an astronomical one; the
approximate correspondence of the first day of
winter with the solstice is likely coincidental.
Each season began with a Monsday and ended with a
Highday. Season
(Olimaci) Season
(English) Duration Approximate
dates Primavereiź Spring 7
weeks April
5 - May 23 Ezedaj Summer 8
weeks May
24 - July 18 Mes Harvest 8
weeks July
19 - September 12 Odoumuo Autumn 7
weeks September
13 - October 31 Vozecando Darkening 7
weeks November
1 - December 19 Iverno Winter
8
weeks December
20 - February 13 Solvendo Thawing 7
weeks February
14 - April 4 The
year was thus exactly 52 weeks (364 days) long. To
keep the calendar aligned with the seasons, an
unusual scheme for introducing "leap weeks" was
employed. Every ten years, an eighth week was added
to Spring. Every 12 years, an eighth week was added
to Autumn. Every sixty years, the two cycles would
coincide, producing a year of 54 weeks, referred to
as a royal year. Every 180 years, however, the
additional week of spring was omitted from the
royal year. This resulted in a calendar that lost
step with the season by about one day every 500
years, a discrepancy too small to attract the
attention of the scholars of the time. Days
were not numbered consecutively through a season,
but were referred to by their weekday
names: "Third Thorsday of Autumn", "Fifth
Highday of Thawing", etc. Years
were usually identified by reference to the reign
of a local monarch. When comparison of dates
spanning different realms or historical periods was
needed, historians employed a "scholar's
accounting", which counted years from the date of
the proclamations of the First Lawgiver, 18
centuries prior to the events recorded in
A Wall Against the Morning. For
reference, the reigns of the monarchs of Aronizen
are presented here: Monarch Year
of ascension, scholar's
accounting Time of
Empire Galźon
I 1633
Galźon
II 1657 Julia 1690 Galźon
III 1701 Time of
Riches Beślav 1722 Berendo 1748
Beralta 1781 Clávos
I 1793 Clávos
II 1808 The Imaginarium is a regular feature of Starweaver's Gems from Earth and Sky Copyright © 2008 Tom Waters |
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he
calendar used throughout most of Greenhall during
the Time of Riches was
of ancient origin, and had not been adjusted or
altered since the reforms of the Time of Empire.
Although the names of the days and seasons varied
from place to place according to linguistic custom,
the essential structure of the calendar was the
same in all realms of the Empeira.