How did ancient people count their calendar years?

Question

I am asking specifically of the Celtic and Norse cultures. I understand there is limited information and that every culture is different and has a different starting point. I'd be interested how the Greeks counted as well. Please no biblical answers, that's not what I'm looking for.

I am asking specifically of the Celtic and Norse cultures. I understand there is limited information and that every culture is different and has a different starting point. I'd be interested how the Greeks counted as well. Please no biblical answers, that's not what I'm looking for.

I know about their calendar year already, I know the names of the months, moons, cycles, blah, blah, blah... I was asking about a starting point... like how the Christians have Christ. What is the Celtic starting referance point?

Answer 1

Much of what you will find about calendars concerns simply how the days, months, etc., of each individual year are tracked. In fact, many societies have not been particularly concerned with tracking long periods of history. They often have little benefit for the common man. . . typically they matter more to the elites -- rulers, priests, record keepers -- who have some reason to preserve records.

But what you are looking for is the "EPOCH" -- or reference point from which a "calendar ERA" is counted.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epoch_%28reference_date%29
http://www.answers.com/topic/calendar-date


Speaking generally specific epochs to mark the beginning of an ear might be things like: "the origin of a state or cosmology, the birth of a leader, or another significant historical or mythological event"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Era


Many such systems have been used in various cultures. The ones we are most familiar with are those in which ONE epoch is used for counting LONG eras of history... even (hypothetically) to count ALL of human history.

Thus the Roman calendar (culminating in the Julian calendar) was supposed to begin with the founding of Rome; the Christian calendar (which began by adapting the Julian system) attempted to begin with the birth of Christ. Before all this the Greek empire of the Seleucids dated things from the founding of the Seleucid dynasty.


Here is a list of many of the world's major systems, used to mark long eras:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calendar_era


But far more common are systems in which the eras are rather short -- often the reign of one king or leader, though sometimes it might be a key historical (or mythological) event. These are typical of the ancient world.
http://webexhibits.org/calendars/calendar-ancient.html


We cannot say for sure that the groups you mentioned (ancient Greeks, Norse, Celts) never had such a system. But no major epochs have come to light that they may have used for dating long periods of time, let alone a complete calendar system. (Compare the list at http://www.kelsung.com/calendar.htm) It may well be that they never went beyond dating things for a relatively short period -- such as the reign of a king.

Some modern day self-proclaimed "heathens" have attempted to resurrect ancient calendrical systems of the Celts, etc., and some have chosen a particular epoch from which to date the years. But they acknowledge that we know nothing about any specific epoch used by these groups.
http://www.thecrookedheath.com/elder/calen.htm

Answer 2

I don't know for sure, but the answer may be that they do not have a starting point. The Romans, for example, identified years by who was the consul in a particular year (until Little Dennis invented BC/AD in the fourth century)

Answer 3

Ancient people (greeks and others) studied the stars for ages to map the time taken for earth to make one revolution, this they divided into months - calculating according to the moons face and the constellations, In modern times we just use this calender to keep a check on our years ...as its accurate to the last minute :)

Answer 4

The ancient people count their calendar years through the weather at any paticular time in which they are in because each time of the calendar years signifies something which they already know through the weather at that moment in which they are in.

Answer 5

The Celts used the shortest day of the year to determine the beginning of the new year.

Answer 6

A variety of NLP sites which I hope you find helpful.

Best wishes.

Answer 7

by using a calendar.

Answer 8

I think they used TimeandDate.com.