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Volume 14 Number 4 Article 8 Summer 7-15-1988 J.R.R. Tolkien's Calendars, or The Saga of Hador The Incompetent Darrell A. Martin Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore Part of the Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons Recommended Citation Martin, Darrell A. (1988) "J.R.R. Tolkien's Calendars, or The Saga of Hador The Incompetent," Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature: Vol. 14 : No. 4 , Article 8. Available at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol14/iss4/8 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Mythopoeic Society at SWOSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature by an authorized editor of SWOSU Digital Commons. An ADA compliant document is available upon request. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To join the Mythopoeic Society go to: http://www.mythsoc.org/join.htm Mythcon 51: A VIRTUAL “HALFLING” MYTHCON July 31 - August 1, 2021 (Saturday and Sunday) http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mythcon-51.htm Mythcon 52: The Mythic, the Fantastic, and the Alien Albuquerque, New Mexico; July 29 - August 1, 2022 http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mythcon-52.htm Abstract Finds inconsistencies in The Lord of the Rings appendix relating Middle-earth’s calendars to the Gregorian. Additional Keywords Tolkien, J.R.R.—Settings—Middle-earth—Calendar systems; Tolkien, J.R.R. The Lord of the Rings. “Appendices”—Calendars This article is available in Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol14/iss4/8 Page 52 MYTHLORE 54: Summer 1988 J.R.R.Tolkien's Calendars or The Saga of Hador The Incompetent Darrell A. Martin J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth was constructed 1752 adoption of the Gregorian reform. (Students of with a concern for detail, to say the least. One the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle are well aware of prob­ area that has not been examined in depth is the lems arising from regional differences in New- calendars, in their interrelationships and their Year’s.) connection to Terra. The month of lunar phases averages 29.530,588 1 use the word "Terra" to refer to our world days, giving 12.368,264 months in a tropical year. of primary reality. It is dangerous to distinguish it The ratio is thoroughly inconvenient. Most primitive from Middle-earth too much, though, for as Tolkien calendars were lunar, and eventually gave way to says: combined luni-solar years like the Babylonian. The Egyptians kept such a calendar for some purposes, Middle-earth is not an imaginary tied to the heliacal rising of Sirius about the time world.... The theatre of my tale is this of the Summer Solstice (in the second millenium earth, the one in which we now live, but BC). the historical period is imaginary. (Letters, #183, pg. 239) As an aside, note that this heliacal rising of Sirius is the same annual event, mentioned in But why study the calendars at all? I enjoy Lucan's Pharsalia, which occasioned Dorothy playing Tolkien’s "vast game", although I, too, Sayers’ attempt to defend this Roman poet against the attacks of Graves and Housman. Her efforts find that kind of thing only too (Marsden) are illustrative of the difficulties fatally attractive. It is, I suppose, a encountered by literary persons attempting to deal tribute to the curious effect that story with astronomical matters. has, when based on very elaborate and detailed workings of geography, chronol­ The Egyptian civil calendar was unusual in ogy, and language, that so many should being detached from the moon; it had three "sea­ clamour for sheer 'information', or 'lore'. sons" of four 30-day months, plus five epagomenal ( Letters, #160, pg. 210) days at the end of the year. The Roman months (except Februarius) were 29 or 31 days because Although just plain fun is not to be deni­ they thought even numbers unlucky. Every other grated, the Englishness of Tolkien’s mythology and year, when the pontifex maximus didn’t have other literary implications are also to be found. enemies in office whose terms he wanted to The study actually originated in an analysis of shorten, a month was added before Martius. This sources for Tolkien’s histories and annals in Clas­ didn’t have to be announced until Februarius 5, sical Antiquity and earlier. but provincial bureaucrats still had to date their documents. You can imagine their attitude when The following astronomical and historical infor­ they learned they had guessed wrong. The Julian mation is taken from various sources; where it has reform established the pattern we now use; the been commonly accepted for some time it will not shifting of days when Sextilis was renamed Augus­ be referenced. Days may be expressed to six deci­ tus is a legend. mal places (not hours, minutes, and seconds) for ease of calculation; "0.000,001 days per year" is The Egyptians chose dawn twilight to start equal to 14 minutes 24 seconds in 10,000 years. their day (they found both twilights important, and gave them separate hours). The Babylonians used By 1956 international definition, 1900 AD was sunset. Hellenistic astronomers found noon more 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, 45.9747 seconds convenient. The Babylonian Kidinnu used a day of (365.242,199 days) long (Sandow). The year’s length 6 "watches", each of 60 ges and 3,600 gars. is very slowly decreasing, at a rate of about 5.3 Hipparchos took the Egyptian 24-hour day and the seconds per millenium. Babylonian divisions of 60, began the day at mid­ night, and eventually bequeathed to the Romans The year’s beginning is arbitrary. The Egyp­ their horas, pars minuta, and pars secunda. tian civil year began at the Summer Solstice at one time, and had "seasons" named from the Nile flood; but since it was exactly 365 days long, its start ******* "wandered" through the tropical year. The Babylo­ nian lunar year began between March 25 and April 21. The Romans’ Ianuarius 1 was supposed to be The source for Tolkien’s calendars is Appendix about a week after the Winter Solstice. The English D to LotR. I assume familiarity with the second civil calendar generally abandoned January 1 for edition. There are major changes between editions December 25 in the 7th Century, switched to March and a few relevant texts outside Appendix D. Tol­ 25 in 1338, and returned to January 1 with the kien used modern month-names in his narrative to MYTH LORE 54: Summer 1988 avoid confusion; I have used untranslated month- to 3-42). The first complete Gregorian cycle, names, even in quotations. 1601-2000 AD, covers all but eighteen years since the Gregorian reform in 1582. I have selected The first revision involves intercalations made 1953-1968 as four leap-year cycles close to the time in the 3rd Age by the Stewards. In the first edi­ when Tolkien was writing and revising Appendix D. tion, Mardil added two days to 2060; in the revi­ sion, to 2059. Hador added one day to 2360 in both editions. The first edition had no detailed account­ ing for the additions. Table 2. More interesting as "lore" are revisions in relating the Shire calendar to the Gregorian (see Dates o f the Solstices and Equinoxes, Gregorian Table 1). Ephemeris Time (O ff is li t t l e differen t) Day of month: 19th 20th 21st 22nd 23rd 24th Table 1. SUMMER (JUNE) SOLSTICE Appendix D paragraph relatin g Shire OED **** and Gregorian dates 1601-2000 0 26 301 73 0 0 20th Century 0 0 64 36 0 0 1953-1968 0 0 12 4 0 0 FIRST EDITION COMMON TO BOTH SECOND EDITION and Year’ s End was CONSENSUS **** were o rig in ally intended to correspond AUTUMNAL (SEPTEMBER) EQUINOX as much as possible OED **** **** to the surnner 1601-2000 0 0 0 135 255 10 and winter 20th Century 0 0 0 10 82 8 solstices 1953-1968 0 0 0 1 15 0 , and s t i l l did so. CONSENSUS *** In that case * the Shire dates were actually in advance o f ours by some WINTER (DECEMBER) SOLSTICE nine ten OED **** **** days, and 1601-2000 0 10 227 162 1 0 our New Year’ s Day 20th Century 0 0 22 77 1 0 corresponded more or less 1953-1968 0 0 4 12 0 0 to Afterlithe CONSENSUS *** * 8. 9. VERNAL (MARCH) EQUINOX OED **** Appendix D also says "the Numenoreans... 1601-2000 22 270 108 0 0 0 adhered to the custom of beginning the year in 20th Century 0 43 57 0 0 0 mid-winter..." 1953-1968 0 8 8 0 0 0 Accounts of the marriage of Aragorn and Arwen CONSENSUS *** * use the term "Midsummer", which is not found in Appendix D (III, pgs. 251, 343). Appendix B says "Mid-year’s Day" (III, pg. 376). "Midsummer" is a definite day in English, see OED Eve def.2. quote, "...on mydsomer eue kyng edward bygan to sayll It is clear that the OED dates are trustworthy toward fraunce." Midsummer def.l. "the summer over a long period. For the Summer Solstice, June solstice, about June 21st”, "that ys on lyden solsti- 21st is the clear choice; the other consensus dates tium & on englisc midsumor"; or defs. 2. and 3.
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