Dates in the Order of Hermes

The Hermetic dating convention has the year change at the Spring Equinox, around March the 13th, which is the closest Hermetic Season change to the Mundane year-change at the end of March. The year itself is variously numbered according the Mundane year (Anno Domini 1220) or the Hermetic year (Anno Arietis 1359).

We have tabulated calendars for 1220, 1221, 1222 & 1223 (including date of Easter, Full and New moons).

For the most part, magi use the mundane system to number the days of the month, but strict Classicists, such as the Quaesitores, and some Bonisagi, insist on quoting the Roman dating system, so here is an explanation of the Roman Calendar. Since even they have to admit that revising the year number according to the naming of the days of the month runs counter to the Order's official year numbering system, they are forced to stay with the official Anno Arietis, and a New Year at the start of the Hermetic Spring Season.

Roman Calendar

The Roman Calendar originally used a Lunar Calendar, and started the year in Spring.

After several calendar reforms, they had a twelve month system with the New Year on the Kalends of March (March the 1st), but ended up starting on the Kalends Ianuarii, the 1st of January. (However, by the 13th Century, Europe had mostly moved to March again, but now to the end of the month, not the beginning.)

Roman dating (post Julius' reforms) was based on 3 Festivals: the Kalends, the Nones and the Ides of the month. They named days as the number of days before the next festival.

Kalends: The Kalends are always the first day of the month
Nones: usually the 5th but sometimes the 7th of the month
Ides: the 13th or 15th of the month

All the days after the Ides of the month are numbered as before the Kalends of the next month.
The day-before is known as the Pridie, rather than the nth ante-diem.

	JAN	FEB		MAR	APR	MAI	IUN
1	KAL	KAL		KAL	KAL	KAL	KAL
2	IV	IV		VI	IV	VI	IV
3	III	III		V	III	V	III
4	Pridie	Pridie		IV	Pridie	IV	II
5	NON	NON		III	NON	III	NON
6	VIII	VIII		II		II	VIII
7	VII	VII		NON	VII	NON	VII
8	VI	VI			VI		VI
9	V	V		VII	V	VII	V
10	IV	IV		VI	IV	VI	IV
11	III	III		V	III	V	III
12	Pridie	Pridie		IV	Pridie	IV	Pridie
13	IDUS	IDUS		III	IDUS	III	IDUS
14	XIX	XVI	XVII	Pridie	XVIII	Pridie	XVIII
15	XVIII	XV	XVI	IDUS	XVII	IDUS	XVII
16	XVII	XIV	XV	XVII	XVI	XVII	XVI
17	XVI	XIII	XIV	XVI	XV	XVI	XV
18	XV	XII	XIII	XV	XIV	XV	XIV
19	XIV	XI	XII	XIV	XIII	XIV	XIII
20	XIII	X	XI	XIII	XII	XIII	XII
21	XII	IX	X	XII	XI	XII	XI
22	XI	VIII	IX	XI	X	XI	X
23	X	VII	VIII	X	IX	X	IX
24	IX	VI	VII	IX	VIII	IX	VIII
25	VIII	V	VI	VIII	VII	VIII	VII
26	VII	IV	V	VII	VI	VII	VI
27	VI	III	IV	VI	V	VI	V
28	V	Pridie	III	V	IV	V	IV
29	IV		Pridie	IV	III	IV	III
30	III			III	Pridie	III	Pridie
31	Pridie			Pridie		Pridie
	XXXI	XXIIX	XXIX	XXXI	XXX	XXXI	XXX

IVL AVG SEP OCT NOV DEC

1 KAL KAL KAL KAL KAL KAL

2 VI IV IV VI IV IV

3 V III III V III III

4 IV Pridie Pridie IV Pridie Pridie

5 III NON NON III NON NON

6 Pridie VII VII Pridie VII VII

7 NON VII VII NON VII VII

8 VII VI VI VII VI VI

9 VII V V VII V V

10 VI IV IV VI IV IV

11 V III III V III III

12 IV Pridie Pridie IV Pridie Pridie

13 III IDUS IDUS III IDUS IDUS

14 Pridie XIX XVIII Pridie XVIII XIX

15 IDUS XVIII XVII IDUS XVII XVIII

16 XVII XVII XVI XVII XVI XVII

17 XVI XVI XV XVI XV XVI

18 XV XV XIV XV XIV XV

19 XIV XIV XIII XIV XIII XIV

20 XIII XIII XII XIII XII XIII

21 XII XII XI XII XI XII

22 XI XI X XI X XI

23 X X IX X IX X

24 IX IX VIII IX VIII IX

25 VIII VIII VII VIII VII VIII

26 VII VII VI VII VI VII

27 VI VI V VI V VI

28 V V IV V IV V

29 IV IV III IV III IV

30 III III Pridie III Pridie III

31 Pridie Pridie Pridie Pridie

XXXI XXXI XXX XXXI XXX XXXI

The calendar above does not mark the Roman feast days, as the Order of Hermes shows no sign of celebrating those feast (Lupercalia, Saturnalia etc.).

A more full description can be found here, with an explanation of the system. Those pages also include a full year's calendar, allowing you to click on the date and be given the modern day, the festival explanation and other details.

Leap years

The roman calendar doesn't seem to allow for leap years, being "fixed from year to year", but by the Middle Ages people were using a calendar including them. I have assumed that the Order uses the leap Year system, and just counts days down from the 29th of Feb instead of the 28th.

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