LoTR Discussion: Appendix D

[Forkbeard]

Appendix D: Calendars

Oi. The calendars. When I took on this assignment, I thought "How Great! An opportunity to really dig into Tolkien's calendrics and see how he uses medieval and ancient calendars here and what he does!" I still think it a great opportunity, unfortunately I'm not up to the challenge at the moment. So for what its worth, here's my discussion.

The appendix opens with the Shire Calendar and some explanation of it. The hobbits adopted and then adapted the calendar of the Numenoreans, the calendar of Arnor specifically and it was called the King's Reckoning. Shire years were calculated from the founding of the Shire, however, rather than in Numenorean years. Each year has 12 months, each month 4 weeks, each week 7 days, sounding very like our current calendar. However, every month has 30 days. In order to make up a full year of 365 days, there are 5 days that belong to no months. Two occur at the end/beginning of the year: Yule 1 and Yule 2 occurring between the last day of the calendar and the first day of the New Year. 3 others occur at mid-year: Lithe, Mid-Year's Day, and Lithe 2. In leap years, an extra day was added here, called Overlithe and was a special holiday. This means that every year each day will fall on the same day of the week without fail.

The names of the months as given in the calendar are said to be derived from the men of the Vales of the Anduin among whom the hobbts once lived before migrating over the Misty Mtns. Interestingly enough the names of the months correspond to those the Venerable Bede gives for the months in Anglo-Saxon England in Bede's _The Reckoning of Time_ The names of the days roughly correspond to ours, and are said to derive ultimately from the elves through the Dunedain calendar adopted for Shire Reckoning. The week worked somewhat differently so that Saturday is the first day of the week, and Friday, after noon esp. was a time of feasting and relaxation, so that Thursday then was essentially as our Friday. The seven day Hobbit week was taken over from the Dunedain, who themselves took it from the Eldar, with an innovation. The Eldar have a six day week, each day named after something known to the elves: the Stars, the Sun, the Moon, the 2 Trees, Heaven, and the Valar. The Dunedain added a seventh named after the Sea, and Tresday was altered to refer to the White Tree only. The Hobbits' names of the weekdays: Sterrendei, Sunnendei, Monendei, Trewesdei, Hevensdei, Meresdei, Highdei which at the Time of the War of the Ring had become Sterday, Sunday, Monday, Trewsday, Hevensday or Hensday, Mersday, Highday.

On a different note, one can see that Tolkien is having us on a little by deriving modern English weekday names as if they from the Elves and Dunedain, and one can see with his derivation how very believable it is! As Shippey would say, a philologists joke.

The Dunedain's calendar differs little from the Shire's beyond what was already noted. Shire Reckoning of course is so called because it counts years from the foundation of the Shire. Both started the year in midwinter, and had a week of 7 days, and 365 days a year. The Nemenorean months were little different: 12, ten of which had 30 days, 2 of 31, and 3 days of the year belonged to no month: the first day of the year, Mid-Year Day, and the last day of the year. Every fourth year, 2 "middle days" were observed. Years were counted from Second Age 1, the founding of Numenor. This was known in Middle Earth as the King's Reckoning. Mardil the Steward made seom calendrical reforms to correct a deficit, and over corrected it. This revised calendar was known as the Steward's Reckoning. In this calendar all the months were 30 days with 2 days belonging to no month, one inserted in the Spring and one in the Autumn in addition to the three days of the King's Reckoning.

The Eldar measured things in longer periods of time. Their yen is 144 of our years (the elves seem to like counting by sixes and twelves). A day of the sun was called re and was from sunset to sunset rather than sunrise to sunrise as the Hobbits and Dunedain counted. IN a yen there werew 52596 days. The elves observed a six day week, "more for ritual than practical purposes, and in a yen there were 8,766 weeks or enquie. The elves of Middle Earth observed a "sun-round" or year or loa (growth) noting the seasonal changes of vegetation. The loa consisted of 6 units: spring, summer, autumn, fading, winter, and stirring. Fading in Sindarin was alsocalled "leaf-fall".

In the interests of getting this up, and because I can't think of anything to ask, I'll go ahead and post this. Let discussion ensue!