Calendar Elements
the Roman Way

The dates displayed on this site are based on the format and style expressed by the later Roman calendars.

Just point and tap the section about the calendar that you’re looking for.

• A.D. Years
• A.U.C.Years
• Calends
• Ides
• dies solis and other day names
• Nones
• Pridie Days

Lives of great men all remind us,
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing leave behind us
Footprints on the sand of time.

A.D. Years

The initials A.D. is an abbreviation of anno Domini, “in the year of the [our] Lord” which indicates the Christian era from “the birth of Christ” onward. One of the problems with this system is that there is no real consensus as to when Christ was really born. According to Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable, “The system of dating was introduced by the monk Dionysius Exiguus who lived in the first half of the 6th century.”

In formal writing, the initials A.D. are usually presented in small capital letters and precede the specific dates in the Christian era; for example, A.D. 1999. When a reference to a date prior to the birth of Christ is indicated, the initials B.C. go after the date; for example, 45 B.C. An informal usage of A.D. may sometimes follow the date, particularly when the date is general and not specific; therefore, one may say, “during the twentieth century A.D. ” (Based on information found in Harper Dictionary of Contemporary Usage by William and Mary Morris; Harper & Row, Publishers; N Y, 1975.)

A.U.C. or Ab Urbe Condita

A.U.C. (ab urbe condita, I.e. “from the establishment of the city [Rome]”) is customarily used to indicate Roman years and traditionally started in 753 B.C. The Latin elements ab = “from”, urbe = “city”, and condere = “to build”, or “to found”. To determine the current A.U.C. year, subtract the B.C. year from 754 or if you want to know the equivalent A.D. year, add the A.D. year to 753.

Calends, the First Day of Every Roman Month

The Calends (Kalends) was always the first day of the Roman-calendar month and one of the three major divisions of the month as were the Nones and the Ides.

• The English word, “calendar”, is a direct descendant of the Roman Calends.
• The Calends or “callings” of the Nones as either the fifth or seventh days of the months sometimes coincided with the days of the visible “new moon” or waxing crescent.
• The “calling” was made by a pontiff who addressed Juno Covella either five or seven times to date the Nones as the fifth or the seventh day for each particular month.
• As a result of speaking to Juno Covella on every Kalends, all Kalends were sacred to Juno.

Ides, an Essential Element of Every Roman Month

The Ides was one of the three major points, or dividers, in the Roman calendar from which all of the other days were counted, the others being the Calends and the Nones.

• The Ides fell on the thirteenth day in all months except March, May, Sextilis (July) and October; when it fell on the fifteenth of those months.
• Originally, the Ides were considered the “dividers” which split the old thirty-day month in half.
• The Ides were supposed to take place sixteen days before the last day of the month, because half of thirty was sixteen, not fifteen, on the duodecimal system which the Romans used in computing fractions.
• Some scholars believe that the Ides became prominent because they were sometimes concurrent with the days of the full moon and they were sacred to Jupiter.

Dies Solis and other Latin Names for the Days of the Week

Latin Days of the Week

Our “western” calendar, also known as the Gregorian, or New Style Calendar, is based on the Roman calendar that was in existence for hundreds of years before the Christian era (also called the C.E., Common Era) and so the Latin day names should be known.

• Our Sunday was the Roman dies solis or “day of the sun”.
• Our Monday was the Roman dies lunae or “day of the Moon”.
• Tuesday was the Roman dies Martis or “day of Mars”.
• Wednesday was the Roman dies Mercurii or “day of Mercury”.
• Thursday was the Roman dies Jovis or “day of Jove”.
• Friday was the Roman dies Veneris or “day of Venus”.
• Saturday was the Roman dies Saturni or “day of Saturn”.

Most Latin-based languages currently use a version of the Latin names for their week days.

Nones, a Part of Every Roman Month

The Nones were the “ninth-days” before, and including, the Ides, sometimes marking the days of the moon’s first quarter. The Calends or “callings” of the Nones as either the fifth or seventh days of the months sometimes coincided with the days of the visible new moon (or waxing crescent). The “calling” was made by a pontiff who addressed Juno Covella either five or seven times to date the Nones as the fifth or the seventh day for each particular month. The Nones always fell on the fifth day of all months except Martius, Maius, Quintilis (Julius), and Octobris when Nones occurred on the seventh day.

Since the priest always spoke to Juno Covella on every Kalends, all Kalends were sacred to Juno. On the Nones, the rex sacrorum announced the festivals or feriae for the month; which explains why almost all sacra publica occur after the Nones of the months.

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Pridie Days of the Month

Pridie [PRIGH dee] simply means “on the day before” a particular date in the Roman calendar. March 14, for example, was expressed in Latin as, pridie Idus Martias, and means “on the day before the Ides of March”. There were three pridie days in Roman calendars: Pridie Nonas (Nones), Pridie Idus (Ides), and Pridie Kalendas (Calends).

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