Why Leap-month/ year, What's the Rule??

Why Leap-month/ year, What's the Rule??
Nov 22, 2009 09:59	#11
PIKADIREN Points: 104 Join Date: Jun 18, 2009 Status: Offline	Leap There is one more little complexity. What to do about February? It has a variable number of days. Today we cope with a leap year by adding an extra day at the end of the month - February 29th. The Romans did it differently. Julius added the extra day after the 23rd day of the month - the same place that the bi-annual extra month Mercedonius had been inserted. So the leap day was like a very short Merecedonius and familiar to Romans of the time. But if you are naming days by counting backwards from the next event, adding an extra day affects the names of the previous days as well. In February the ides fell on 13th day of the month. The next day was 16 days before the 1st of March in a normal 28 day February. If an extra day was added, then the day after the ides of February would be 17 days before the 1st of March. But that did not happen. Because - like Mercedonius - the extra day was not part of February. The counting missed a beat, like this. Roman Calendar for last ten days of February Calendar for the last ten days of February Not a leap year Leap year Our date Roman date Our date Roman date 20 10 days before the start of March 20 10 days before the start of March 21 9 days before the start of March 21 9 days before the start of March 22 8 days before the start of March 22 8 days before the start of March 23 7 days before the start of March 23 7 days before the start of March 24 6 days before the start of March 24 6 days before the start of March 25 5 days before the start of March 25 again 6 days before the start of March 26 4 days before the start of March 26 5 days before the start of March 27 3 days before the start of March 27 4 days before the start of March 28 eve of the start of March 28 3 days before the start of March 29 eve of the start of March In other words the extra day did not alter the calendar until after the 24th day - a time

Nov 22, 2009 09:59

#11

PIKADIREN
Points: 104
Join Date: Jun 18, 2009
Status: Offline

Leap
There is one more little complexity. What to do about February? It has a variable number of days. Today we cope with a leap year by adding an extra day at the end of the month - February 29th. The Romans did it differently. Julius added the extra day after the 23rd day of the month - the same place that the bi-annual extra month Mercedonius had been inserted. So the leap day was like a very short Merecedonius and familiar to Romans of the time. But if you are naming days by counting backwards from the next event, adding an extra day affects the names of the previous days as well. In February the ides fell on 13th day of the month. The next day was 16 days before the 1st of March in a normal 28 day February. If an extra day was added, then the day after the ides of February would be 17 days before the 1st of March. But that did not happen. Because - like Mercedonius - the extra day was not part of February. The counting missed a beat, like this.

Roman Calendar for last ten days of February
Calendar for the last ten days of February
Not a leap year Leap year
Our date Roman date Our date Roman date
20 10 days before the start of March 20 10 days before the start of March
21 9 days before the start of March 21 9 days before the start of March
22 8 days before the start of March 22 8 days before the start of March
23 7 days before the start of March 23 7 days before the start of March
24 6 days before the start of March 24 6 days before the start of March
25 5 days before the start of March 25 again 6 days before the start of March
26 4 days before the start of March 26 5 days before the start of March
27 3 days before the start of March 27 4 days before the start of March
28 eve of the start of March 28 3 days before the start of March
29 eve of the start of March
In other words the extra day did not alter the calendar until after the 24th day - a time

Nov 22, 2009 10:00

#12

PIKADIREN
Points: 104
Join Date: Jun 18, 2009
Status: Offline

In other words the extra day did not alter the calendar until after the 24th day - a time when it was always hard to tell the date in Rome. Because the 24th was normally called the sexto kalendae the extra day was called the bis-sexto-kalendae meaning the double, twice or again sixth day before the start of March. Sometimes a Leap Year is referred to as a bissextile for that reason. This odd way of doing things has led some scholars into saying that the extra day was added after the 24th, when in fact logic - and history - determines that it was added after the 23rd. This name and system also implies that February did indeed have 28 and 29 days after Julius Caesar's reforms.

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