Salvete Omnes,
Recently, I was having a conversation with my husband about the months of the year and the days of the week. While the days of week are more Germanic in nature (for English at least), the months of the year have a very interesting history. So, let’s dive in.
The Roman calendar used a system of months, and special days in each month. Some calendars were carved in marble or stone, but many were painted on walls for decoration.
Fasti Antiates maiores – zoom. Owner Patatruc. WikiCommons.
In 45 B.C.E., Romans modified their method of marking time to keep it in phase with season. Eventually, they accomplished the Julian Calendar. Month lengths were extended to bring the calendar’s total to 365 days, making it truly solar. This change was accompanied by addition of an extra day every fourth year (after February 23rd) because of the almost six extra hours beyond 365 days in a tropical year.
Ovid’s monument of Constanța. Owner of photo: Ettore Ferrari. WikiCommons
Copy of Plutarch at Chaeronia, Greece. Owner Odysses. WikiCommons
Much of the knowledge we now have about early Roman calendars came from Ovid’s Fasti, a Roman born in 43 B.C.E., and from Plutarch, a Greek biographer who wrote between C.E. 105 and 115.
Initially, it contained only ten months. It has been suggested that those month lengths reflected growth cycles of crops and cattle. When compared with the solar year, it had an uncounted winter period of approximately sixty days.
| Months in the Republican Calendar (Common Year) | |
|---|---|
| Month Names | Number of Days |
| Januarius | 29 |
| Februarius | 28 |
| Martius | 31 |
| Aprilis | 29 |
| Maius | 31 |
| Iunius | 29 |
| Quintilis | 31 |
| Sextilis | 29 |
| September | 29 |
| October | 31 |
| November | 29 |
| December | 29 |
As you can see from the chart above, that many of the months we will still use today are from Ancient Rome.
January — Janus’s month
Head of Janus, Vatican museum, Rome. Owner: Loudon dodd. WikiCommons.
ETYMOLOGY: Middle EnglishJanuarie
LatinJanuarius“of Janus”
LatinJanu(s)“Janus” + –arius“ary (pertaining to)”
LatinJanuarius mensis“month of Janus”
BACKGROUND: Janus is the Roman god of gates and doorways, depicted with two faces looking in opposite directions. His festival month is January. Januarius had 29 days, until Julius when it became 31 days long. There was also disagreement in Ovid’s day as to the sequence and time at which Januarius (andFebruarius)were added to the original ten months.Januarius became part of the calendar within half a century after Rome was founded because Plutarch said that Numa, the king who followed Romulus, made it the first month of the year and made February the last.
February — month of Februa
ETYMOLOGY: Middle EnglishFebruarius
LatinFebruarius“of Februa”
LatinFebrua(s)“Februa” + –arius“ary (pertaining to)”
LatinFebruarius mensis“month of Februa”
Latindies februatus“day of purification”
BACKGROUND: Februarius had 28 days, until circa 450 BC when it had 23 or 24 days on some of every second year, until Julius when it had 29 days on every fourth year and 28 days otherwise. Also, adding five days at year-end (to extend February’s length to 28) is similar to the change made by many other peoples who, around the time of Rome’s founding, added five days to their own calendar, but considered them to be unlucky and not part of the normal year.Februa is the Roman festival of purification, held on February fifteenth. It is possibly of Sabine origin.
March — Mars’ month
Mars wearing a breastplate, Ancient Roman bronze figurine. (Public Domain)
ETYMOLOGY:Middle EnglishMarch(e)
Anglo-FrenchMarch(e)
Old EnglishMartius
LatinMartius“of Mars”
LatinMarti(s)“Mars” + –us(adj. suffix)
LatinMartius mensis“month of Mars”
BACKGROUND: Martiushas always had 31 days.March was the original beginning of the year, and the time for the resumption of war. Mars is the Roman god of war. He is identified with the Greek godAres.
April — Aphrodite’s month
ETYMOLOGY:Old EnglishApril(is)
LatinAprilis
EtruscanApru
GreekAphro, short forAphrodite.
BACKGROUND: Aprilis had 30 days, until Numa when it had 29 days, until Julius when it became 30 days long. According to Ovid, April was sacred to Venus, and her festival – the Festum Veneris and Fortuna Virilis – occurred on the first day of this month.” Apparently Aprilisstems from aphrilis, corrupted from Aphrodite, a Greek name for Venus.
May — Maia’s month
ETYMOLOGY:Old FrenchMai
Old EnglishMaius
LatinMaius“of Maia”
LatinMaius mensis“month of Maia”
BACKGROUND: Maiushas always had 31 days.Maia (meaning “the great one”) is the Italic goddess of spring, the daughter of Faunus, and wife of Vulcan. Maiuswas said by some to be named after the goddessMaia, a daughter of Atlas, andJunius“is indirectly named after the goddessJuno, the Roman equivalent of Frigga.
June — Juno’s month
ETYMOLOGY:Middle Englishjun(e)
Old Frenchjuin
Old Englishjunius
LatinJunius“of Juno”
LatinJunius mensis“month of Juno”
BACKGROUND: Juniushad 30 days, until Numa when it had 29 days, until Julius when it became 30 days long.Juno is the principle goddess of the Roman Pantheon. She is the goddess of marriage and the well-being of women. She is the wife and sister of Jupiter. She is identified with the Greek goddessHera.
The Tusculum portrait, possibly the only surviving sculpture of Caesar made during his lifetime. Archaeological Museum, Turin, Italy (Public Domain)
July — Julius Caesar’s month
ETYMOLOGY:Middle EnglishJulie
LatinJulius“Julius”
LatinJulius mensis“month of Julius”
Latinquintilis mensis“fifth month”
BACKGROUND: Quintilis(and laterJulius) has always had 31 days. Julius Caesar reformed the Roman calendar (hence the Julian calendar) in 46 BC. In the process, he renamed this month after himself.
August — Augustus Caesar’s month
ETYMOLOGY:LatinAugustus“Augustus”
LatinAugustus mensis“month of Augustus”
Latinsextilis mensis“sixth month”
BACKGROUND: Sextilis had 30 days, until Numa when it had 29 days, until Julius when it became 31 days long.Augustus Caesar clarified and completed the calendar reform of Julius Caesar. In the process, he also renamed this month after himself.
September — the seventh month
ETYMOLOGY:Middle Englishseptembre
LatinSeptember
Latinseptem“seven” +-ber(adj. suffix)
Latinseptember mensis“seventh month”
BACKGROUND:Septemberhad 30 days, until Numa when it had 29 days, until Julius when it became 30 days long.
October — the eighth month
ETYMOLOGY:Middle Englishoctobre
LatinOctober
Latinocto“eight” +-ber(adj. suffix)
Latinoctober mensis“eighth month”
BACKGROUND:Octoberhas always had 31 days.
November — the nineth month
ETYMOLOGY:Middle EnglishNovembre
LatinNovember
LatinNovembris mensis“nineth month”
BACKGROUND:Novembrishad 30 days, until Numa when it had 29 days, until Julius when it became 30 days long.
December — the tenth month
ETYMOLOGY:Middle Englishdecembre
Old Frenchdecembre
Latindecember“tenth month”
Latindecem“ten” +-ber(adj. suffix)
BACKGROUND:Decemberhad 30 days, until Numa when it had 29 days, until Julius when it became 31 days long.
Intercalaris — inter-calendar month
ETYMOLOGY:LatinIntercalaris“inter-calendar”
LatinMercedonius(popular name) “?”
BACKGROUND: Intercalaris had 27 days until the month was abolished by Julius Caesar. It theoretically occurred every two (or occasionally three) years, but was sometimes avoided or employed by theRoman pontiffs for political reasons regardless of the state of the solar year. It was also known as Mercedoniusmeaning “Work Month” in Latin.
Well, I hope this helps with any future conversations or debates regarding the months of the year.
