The Calendar
Kara Byers 1CH tutor: Dr. Gerard McCartan'It took several thousand years to establish a satisfactory calendar. Even in this century not all the countries in Europe kept the same calendar. Why was it so difficult? Do we really need an accurate means of recording civil time? Astronomy originated earlier in human history than the other natural sciences. In the earliest civilisations, the divine or occult was used to explain the movement of the stars and the Sun: the Aztecs, for example, believed that the Sun had to be nourished with a sacrifice of blood and a beating human heart, or else it would vanish. In those dark days there was no conflict between science and religion: a priest, magician or shaman would jealously guard scientific knowledge of the seasons and calendar. Knowledge, regarded as a sign of divine work in the world, conferred immense status on priests in their community, because they were able to foretell the future with some success. Astronomy meant power over people. It guided Man through the seasons, showing when to plough, to harvest or to move herds. Religious and sacrificial acts also had to be performed on specific occasions, for example, to coincide with the
The ascertainment of the date of Easter - the principle future date of the ecclesiastical calendar - has dominated the whole history of calendar construction, and involves a curious composition of physical and civil cycles. In its purpose of fixing dates the calendar provides us with a continuos register of days, months and years on which we can record the dates of past and future events and engagements. In this way, the twelve hour night evolved and, probably for the sake of symmetry, a twelve hour day. Its history, structure and improvement Cambridge University press, 1921. As regards the future what we require is to record are chiefly cyclical or periodic events and appointments. Contracts of hiring, loan of money, or of labour or services, are usually made for a fixed interval of time and the remuneration is estimated by reference thereto. The week does not have a basis in the motions of the heavens. In fact, the division of hours into minutes and seconds, like the week, owes its origins to the earliest scientific astronomers, the Babylonians, who carried out all their reckoning in multiples of sixty when they compiled their star catalogues around 1800 BC. That year, Pope Gregory XIII introduced a new and more accurate calendar, directing that the day after 4th October be designated 15th October. So, do we really need an accurate means of recording civil time? It appears that we do in order to maintain order and function in our society. Then a belated 11-day correction was necessary, provoking riots in the streets of London and Bristol, where several people died. Astronomy also helped to guide the traveller. The Calendar has two main purposes, to fix dates and to act as an instrument for measuring out equal intervals of time. By the time Julius Caesar ruled, this process had fallen into such disarray that the winter months fell in the autumn. It is consequently desirable and almost imperative that the necessary intervals should be furnished by and ascertainable to the calendar.
Common topics in this essay:
Industrial Revolution,
Sothis Sirius,
Sun Aztecs,
Ancient Greeks,
Julian Muslims,
View Universe,
Julius Caesar,
London Bristol,
October Protestants,
Unfortunately Julian,
gregorian calendar,
means recording civil,
seven-day week,
accurate means,
means recording,
recording civil,
ancient egyptians,
movement stars,
human history,
'opener year',
uniform standard,
accurate means recording,
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Acceptance Essays
