Florentine calendar
Encyclopedia
The Florentine calendar was used in Italy in the Middle Ages. In this system, the new day begins at sunset. When the reference of a birth was, for example, "two hours into the day", this meant two hours after sunset. This means a birth date of August 12 would, by modern reckoning, be considered to be August 11.
The year also began not on January 1 but rather on March 25, which is why some dates have an apparent one-year discrepancy. For example, a birth date of March 10, 1552 in Florentine
reckoning translates to March 10, 1553 in modern reckoning. This was not unusual; the French year began on Easter
day until 1564, the Venetian year on March 1 until 1522, and the English year on March 25 until 1752 (see beginning of the year). Italy was one of the few nations to immediately convert from the Julian calendar
to the Gregorian: October 4, 1582 was followed by October 15, 1582 (Gregorian).
The Florentine calendar shares this feature with the Celtic
and Hebrew
calendars: Celtic days too began at sundown: they keep birthdays and the beginnings of months and years in such an order that the day follows the night, their adversary Julius Caesar observed in his Gallic Wars
.
The year also began not on January 1 but rather on March 25, which is why some dates have an apparent one-year discrepancy. For example, a birth date of March 10, 1552 in Florentine
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
reckoning translates to March 10, 1553 in modern reckoning. This was not unusual; the French year began on Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
day until 1564, the Venetian year on March 1 until 1522, and the English year on March 25 until 1752 (see beginning of the year). Italy was one of the few nations to immediately convert from the Julian calendar
Julian calendar
The Julian calendar began in 45 BC as a reform of the Roman calendar by Julius Caesar. It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year .The Julian calendar has a regular year of 365 days divided into 12 months...
to the Gregorian: October 4, 1582 was followed by October 15, 1582 (Gregorian).
The Florentine calendar shares this feature with the Celtic
Celtic calendar
The Celtic calendar is a compilation of pre-Christian Celtic systems of timekeeping, including the Gaulish Coligny calendar, used by Celtic countries to define the beginning and length of the day, the week, the month, the seasons, quarter days, and festivals....
and Hebrew
Hebrew calendar
The Hebrew calendar , or Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today predominantly for Jewish religious observances. It determines the dates for Jewish holidays and the appropriate public reading of Torah portions, yahrzeits , and daily Psalm reading, among many ceremonial uses...
calendars: Celtic days too began at sundown: they keep birthdays and the beginnings of months and years in such an order that the day follows the night, their adversary Julius Caesar observed in his Gallic Wars
Commentarii de Bello Gallico
Commentarii de Bello Gallico is Julius Caesar's firsthand account of the Gallic Wars, written as a third-person narrative. In it Caesar describes the battles and intrigues that took place in the nine years he spent fighting local armies in Gaul that opposed Roman domination.The "Gaul" that Caesar...
.