Genoa date query.

I have been enjoying a Eunice Shanahan
"letter of the past" concerning 1840 mail
Liverpool to Genoa (entires).
The markings include Roman/text date format
which I have never come across before.
Illustrating March being the first month of the year.
eg: September= 7BRE (September)
December=XBRE (December)

Anyone aware of a link or details for further reading?
Thanks.

On Mar 17, 1:31 am, "Rod" wrote:
I have been enjoying a Eunice Shanahan
"letter of the past" concerning 1840 mail
Liverpool to Genoa (entires).
The markings include Roman/text date format
which I have never come across before.
Illustrating March being the first month of the year.
eg: September= 7BRE (September)
December=XBRE (December)

Anyone aware of a link or details for further reading?
Thanks.


Rodney:

The explanation that the names come from Latin for numbers of the
months is confusing since these numbers no longer
correspond to the position in which these months fall today.

7br/7bre is September (septembre) from septem for the number 7;
8br/8bre is October (octobre) from octo for the number 8;
9br/9bre is Nov. (novembre) from novem for the number 9;
10br/10bre or xbr/xbre is December (decembre) from decem for the
number 10.
(The "x" in xbr/xbre is an alternate abbreviation from the Roman
numeral for 10.)

However, to us this appears not to make any sense as September is our
ninth month in the calendar year, not the seventh. We mustn't forget
to think in other times and cultures, rather than assuming just
because something is so now, it always was thus. The numbering of
these months is explained simply by the fact that January was not
always the first month of the year. In fact, in the first calendar
upon which our modern ones are based, there were only ten months.
January and February did not exist.

This first calendar was supposedly created by the mythical King
Romulus, first emperor of Rome, when he founded the city in 735 BC.
The year of founding became year one on this ten month calendar.

http://www.goingpostalt-shirts.com/I...mulusRemus.jpg

Modern explanations for why Romulus chose ten rather than twelve
months range from the theory that it more closely approximated the
gestation time of a foetus to this mythical king's apparent love for
the number ten (everything from the Senate to military units had to be
evenly divisible by ten) or to the ten digits on our hands and feet.
For whatever reason, apparently it was already known it took longer
than ten months to complete an annual solar cycle of lunar months.

Nevertheless, this Romulan year of ten months began with March. Thus
counting forward makes September the 7th month, October the 8th, Nov.
the 9th and December the 10th. Thus the explanation of the naming and
numbering of those months.

The other months were named on this initial calendar as follows [in
Latin followed by (English)(French)]:
Martis (March)(mars) for Mars, god of War;
Aprilis (April)(avril) various explanations given by different
scholars, but the one I prefer is "apricus" which means sunny;
Maius (May)(mai) for Maia, goddess of youth and vitality (i.e. new
growth) or Mother Earth;
Junius (June)(juin) for Juno, queen of the gods and the goddess of
marriage - hence a great month for weddings!

Then the months were simply named for their order in sequence:
Quintilis, Sextilis, September, October, Nov. and December. Later
Quintilis was renamed Julius (July)(juli) for Julius Caesar and
Sextilis became Augustus (August)(aout) for Augustus Caesar.

Various other Roman emperors in the Caesar lineage tried (and some
briefly succeeded) in having the other numbered months named after
them. However, when the Senate tried to name September after Tiberius,
he wisely commented "What will you do when there are thirteen
Caesars?"

At one time the Cypriot calendar named months after Augustus Caesar's
wife, Livia; nephew, Agrippa; half-sister, Octavia; stepsons, Nero and
Drusus; and the legendary ancestor from whom the Caesar's claimed to
descend, Aeneas. However, none of these attempts to rename the months
persisted and the calendar returned to the numbers seven through ten.

Romulus's successor, King Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome (715
to 672 BC), during his reign added Januarius (January)(janvier) named
for the god Janus and Februarius (February)(fevrier) named for Februa,
a Roman purification ritual, as the eleventh and twelfth months.

The common explanation for why Numa chose Janus as a month name is
that he intended it for the beginning of the year. Janus is the double
faced god representing both coming and going or beginning and ending.
Hence one face supposedly looked at the year just past and the other
faced forward to the coming year.

Janus Statue at the Thorvaldsen Museum, Copenhagen
http://arthistory.heindorffhus.dk/Th...uropaStamp.jpg

Even if this was Numa's intention, the beginning of the year persisted
as March until centuries later when Julius Caesar introduced his
calendar.

http://www.paulsgaystamps.com/PagesI...usCaesar_a.GIF


Blair

Thanks Blair
that accounts for the two lost months.
(although I disagree, 1840 wasn't that long ago
Thanks for the extended explanation and "in-house" links.
I dips me lid.



"Blair (TC)" wrote in message The explanation that
the names come from Latin for numbers of the
months is confusing since these numbers no longer
correspond to the position in which these months fall today.

7br/7bre is September (septembre) from septem for the number 7;
8br/8bre is October (octobre) from octo for the number 8;
9br/9bre is Nov. (novembre) from novem for the number 9;
10br/10bre or xbr/xbre is December (decembre) from decem for the
number 10.