Herbs and other plants are the major theme for this blog, which means
that we must also consider the seasons and the calendar. Some plants only grow
well at certain times of the year, so gardeners and farmers develop planting
schedules that show the best calendar dates for planting seeds or transplants. In
my part of Texas I think that timing is the factor most responsible for tomato
production in my garden. If I plant at the right time, I have a good chance of
getting plenty of tomatoes for sauce and fresh eating. If I plant too early in
the spring, the tender young tomato plants may suffer freeze damage and die. If
I plant too late in the spring, by the time the tomatoes start to produce
flowers it may be too hot for them to set fruit. Planting schedules are widely
available from county extension offices to show optimal planting dates for
local regions.
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| Abundant tomato harvest from USDA zone 8, Texas, June 14, 2013. The young tomato plants were planted in early March and protected from early frosts. Picture by Wyrt Wizard. |
In the agricultural society of Anglo-Saxon England, farmers would need
some means of keeping track of times for activities such as planting and
harvesting. The Venerable Bede provided the best overview of the Anglo-Saxon
calendar in his work De temporum ratione
(725 AD), which Faith Wallis translated into modern English (On the
reckoning of time, 1999). Bede listed the names of the Anglo-Saxon months
along with their approximate Julian-calendar equivalents. His explanation of
the month names also yields insight into pagan Anglo-Saxon practices. There are
two months called Giuli (December and January) and two months called Litha
(June and July); the solstices occur during these double months. The double
months may have been been further described with Ærra and Æftera to indicate
the earlier and second months by that name.
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Anglo-Saxon month name, as transcribed by Wallis (as listed by
Bosworth and Toller in parentheses
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Approximate Julian month
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Meaning of Old English month name (according to Bede’s account)
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Giuli (Geóla; Æftera Geóla)
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January
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Reference to the winter solstice, when the sun turns back and begins
to increase
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Solmonath (Solmónaþ)
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February
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Month of cakes, which were offered to the gods
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Hrethmonath (Hréðmónaþ)
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March
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In honor of goddess Hretha, to whom sacrifices were offered this month
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Eosturmonath
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April
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In honor of goddess Eostre, for whom feasts were celebrated
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Thrimilchi (þrimilce)
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May
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Three milkings, because the fertile area allowed cattle to be milked
three times a day this month
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Litha (Líða; Ærra Líða)
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June
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A reference to the gentle breezes suitable for sailing
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Litha (Líða; Æftera Líða)
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July
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(see above)
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Weodmonath (Weódmónaþ)
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August
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Month of tares, because weeds were plentiful at this time
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Halegmonath (Háligmónaþ)
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September
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Month of sacred rites
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Winterfilleth (Winterfylleþ)
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October
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Winter-full, because the winter season began at the full moon this
month when the year was divided into only two seasons (summer and winter)
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Blodmonath (Blótmónaþ)
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November
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Month of immolations, when cattle were consecrated to the gods and
then slaughtered
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Giuli (Geóla; Ærra Geóla)
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December
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(see above)
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Anglo-Saxon months are believed to have started on the evening when the
first crescent moon was sighted, which generally occurs one or two days after
the astronomical new moon but can take three days in some cases.
 |
| August 6, 2013 |
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| August 7, 2013 |
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| August 8, 2013 |
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| August 9, 2013. These pictures from the United States Naval Observatory (USNO) show simulated moon images at 20:00 UT on the August 2013 astronomical new moon date (August 6; top picture) plus the next three nights. The new crescent moon could not be seen until August 9, 2013 (bottom picture). |
If we want to reconstruct the Anglo-Saxon calendar for modern or
historical times, we need to know the dates of first crescent moon sightings.
Tables of astronomical new moon dates and times are widely available for the present day and even
for ancient times
as far back as 2000 BC, but it is more complicated to estimate the date of
first crescent visibility. The time between astronomical new moon and first
crescent visibility depends on many factors, including the observer’s location
on Earth. For the new moon of 6 August 2013, an observer in most of the United
States could first spot the new crescent on 8 August while an observer in the
United Kingdom could not be expected to catch a glimpse of the crescent moon
until 9 August.
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| August 6, 2013 |
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| August 7, 2013 |
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| August 8, 2013.
These illustrations of the visibility of the new crescent moon
following the new moon of 6 August 2013 were obtained through the Websurf portal of Her Majesty's
Nautical Almanac Office (HMNAO), at the next new moon
page. The red colored area shows where the crescent moon was expected to be
easily visible without optical aids. On 6 August 2013 (top picture) the crescent moon would
not have been visible anywhere on Earth. On 7 August 2013 (middle picture) the crescent moon was
expected to be easily visible only in southern parts of South America. On 8
August 2013 (bottom picture) the crescent moon was expected to be easily visible across much of
the planet including most of the United States, but on this date the crescent
moon was not yet visible from the United Kingdom.
© Crown Copyright 2013. Contains material generated by Her Majesty's
Nautical Almanac Office (HMNAO) and reproduced by permission of the United
Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) and Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) |
The Websurf portal of Her
Majesty's Nautical Almanac Office (HMNAO) has a calculator which will estimate
the date and approximate time of first
crescent visibility for any given location on Earth. For more ancient
historical times I could not find a comparable calculator to provide tables of
first crescent sightings, but the Sky
View Café will display simulated lunar images for times going back before
Christ and for any specified location on Earth, allowing the user to scan the daily
images by month and visually estimate when the crescent first became visible.
With these tools, it is possible to estimate the starting dates of the
Anglo-Saxon months for historical, present, and future times.
Bede indicates that the months were lunar and the years were solar. Intercalary
months were inserted into the summers of some years to keep the lunar months
reasonably in sync with the solar year, in the same way that we add an extra
day (leap day) to some years. Unfortunately, Bede did not indicate how it was known
when to insert an intercalary month, or a third Litha month. The timing of
intercalary months may have been determined by observation of astronomical
events or by following a set cycle such as an eight-year or 19-year cycle
during which years with intercalary months (embolismic years, or “swollen”
years; symbolized by E) would occur at specific times relative to ordinary (O)
years: for example, OOEOOEOE in an eight-year cycle. Lance Latham suggests that
an eight-year cycle would be simple to follow and accurate over long periods of
time. Wooden rune staves, which would not be expected to survive intact into
the present day, could have been used to keep track of the years. (Latham’s
work was posted at http://www.cs.albany.edu/~llatham/papers/angsax1.pdf
as of July 9, 2012, but Latham died in
2008 and his SUNY-Albany site is no longer active. I have posted his paper here.)
Swain Wodening reconstructs the Anglo-Saxon
calendar in modern times by following a 19-year Metonic cycle: OOE OOEOOEOE
OOEOOEOE.
Although it is certainly plausible that Anglo-Saxons followed
eight-year or 19-year cycles, it is also possible that they used rules based on
astronomical observations to determine when intercalary months should be
inserted. John Robert Stone suggests three possible rules
based on examining the timing of the first sightings of the new crescent moon
around the winter solstice and/or the summer solstice.
Rule #1: The next month is intercalary if the first crescent of the
after Litha is observed on or before July 4, the eleventh evening after
Midsummer Eve (June 23).
Rule #2: The next month is intercalary if the first crescent of the
after Litha is observed before Midsummer.
Rule #3: The next summer will contain a third Litha if the first
crescent of the after Giuli is observed within the eves of Christmastide
(December 24 to January 4).
Stone based his rules around specific Julian or Gregorian calendar
dates but suggested that these rules could be modified if desired to make
reference to the astronomical phenomena (the solstices) rather than the Julian
or Gregorian calendar dates occurring around the time of the solstices. Stone
reported that Rule #2 did not regulate the years as strictly as Rule #1, but I
did not find this to be the case over a thirteen year period I examined. Stone’s
rules are simple to follow and work reasonably well, though I did find some
instances in which Rule #1 and Rule #3 gave conflicting results. Rules #1 and #3
also occasionally resulted in the winter solstice occurring in Blodmonath
rather than Giuli. I experimented with two-step rules and soon realized that Stone’s
Rule #2 was sufficient to coordinate the lunar and solar aspects of the year
over a thirteen-year period I examined. I tried both Stone’s original version
of Rule #2 as well as a modified version with the astronomical summer solstice
date rather than a Julian or Gregorian calendar date as the reference point:
Modified Rule #2: The next month is intercalary if the first crescent
of the second Litha is observed on or before the 4th day from summer solstice
(generally June 25, if solstice is June 21).
Solstice
dates are courtesy of Fred Espenak, www.Astropixels.com.
With either version of Rule #2, the resulting calendar kept winter solstice
within Giuli and summer solstice within Litha, for every year 2013 through
2025. Results are similar but not identical using the two versions of Rule #2.
The first two years of the calculation are shown below, and the calendar for
2013 through 2025 (using the 4th day from the actual solstice dates
as the reference point) can be downloaded.
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New moon (USNO)
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Starting date of month – estimate of 1st crescent sighting, time of
best visibility, Canterbury (HMNAO)
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Month calculated using modification of Stone’s Rule #2 based on 4th
day from actual summer solstice dates
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1/11/2013 19:44
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1/12/2013 16:50
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(Æftera) Giuli
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2/10/2013 7:20
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2/11/2013 17:57
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Solmonath
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3/11/2013 19:51
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3/12/2013 18:27
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Hrethmonath
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4/10/2013 9:35
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4/11/2013 19:26
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Eosturmonath
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5/10/2013 0:28
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5/11/2013 20:15
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Thrimilchi
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6/8/2013 15:56
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6/10/2013 20:39
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(Ærra) Litha
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7/8/2013 7:14
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7/10/2013 20:26
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(Æftera) Litha
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8/6/2013 21:51
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8/9/2013 19:43
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Weodmonath
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9/5/2013 11:36
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9/7/2013 18:40
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Halegmonath
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10/5/2013 0:34
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10/6/2013 17:37
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Winterfilleth
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11/3/2013 12:50
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11/5/2013 17:05
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Blodmonath
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12/3/2013 0:22
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12/4/2013 16:42
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(Ærra) Giuli
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1/1/2014 11:14
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1/2/2014 16:50
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(Æftera) Giuli
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1/30/2014 21:38
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1/31/2014 17:19
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Solmonath
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3/1/2014 8:00
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3/2/2014 18:29
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Hrethmonath
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3/30/2014 18:45
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3/31/2014 18:59
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Eosturmonath
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4/29/2014 6:14
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4/30/2014 19:56
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Thrimilchi
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5/28/2014 18:40
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5/30/2014 20:34
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(Ærra) Litha
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6/27/2014 8:08
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6/29/2014 20:37
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(Æftera) Litha
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7/26/2014 22:42
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7/29/2014 20:05
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Weodmonath
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8/25/2014 14:13
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8/27/2014 19:04
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Halegmonath
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9/24/2014 6:14
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9/26/2014 18:09
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Winterfilleth
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10/23/2014 21:57
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10/25/2014 17:10
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Blodmonath
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11/22/2014 12:32
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11/23/2014 16:29
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(Ærra) Giuli
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12/22/2014 1:36
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12/23/2014 16:49
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(Æftera) Giuli
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The cycle of ordinary and embolismic years happens to be identical to
that calculated by Wodening based on the 19-year metonic cycle, at least within
the period examined (2013-2025). We don’t know if the early Anglo-Saxons
applied a rule like this to keep track of ordinary and embolismic (thrilithi,
or three Lithas) years, but it is simple, based on observations of nature, and
requires no advanced calculations. It is also interesting to note that the time
point for observation is close in time to the Christian commemorations of the
Nativity of John the Baptist (June 24) and the Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul
(June 29). The Nativity of John the Baptist was set relative to the dates of
Christmas and the Annunciation. The Old English poem Menologium notes
that the feast of St. Peter and St. Paul was celebrated five nights after
Midsummer:
But the apostles
Peter and Paul,
Much celebrated,
Faithful to the
Lord,
Five nights
after midsummer,
Suffered at Rome
Grievous torment
from the people,
Glorious martyrdom
We can imagine that if the pre-Christian Anglo-Saxons used a calendar
observation date shortly after the summer solstice, they may have celebrated
the day in some way.
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