Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Days of a Roman Calendar
#1
Ave Civitas,

I know that in the Later Roman Era the Romans used the Jewish (Christian) seven day week.

My questions are:
1. What day names were used cyclically, Mon, Tue, etc
2. Every eighth day was a market day in ancient Rome. Was that eight day cycle used once the Jewish seven day calendar was adopted?
3. If the eight day market-day cycle was used, then it would seem that the market-days would fall all through the week, one on Monday, the next on Tuesday,etc.
4. If the eight day market-day cycle was abandoned when the Seven day Jewish week was used, did the Romans still have a market-day, like every Saturday, or something?

This came out of a discussion with my wife who is also writing a book, but her's is about ancient Sumer.

Thanks again, you guys are great.

Tom
AKA Tom Chelmowski

Historiae Eruditere (if that is proper Latin)
Reply
#2
Ave Civitas,

I have answered my own question.

I believe that the Romans did not have names for the days of the week. Instead the days were identified by their relation to the three lunar occurances each month, the Kalends, the Nones and the Ides.

So, any day would either be:
The Kalends, The Nones, or The Ides.
If the day was the day before one of these three lunar occurances, then it was
Pridie Kalends, Pridie Nones, or Pridie Ides.
All other days were reported as days prior to those three lunar occurances:
Three days before the Kalends, Two days before the Nones, four days before the Ides.

Am I correct?

Thanks
AKA Tom Chelmowski

Historiae Eruditere (if that is proper Latin)
Reply
#3
Yes, till a certain time, I think. I know for a fact Justin Martyr mentions some of our named days, but for the life of me I can't remember where he says it. When you originally posted this I looked for a while. Let me check again...

Edit: Here we go. It was the First Apology.
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/t ... ology.html
Try chapter 67. Both Saturday and Sunday are mentioned. This was fairly early in the Empire, too.
David J. Cord
www.davidcord.com
Reply
#4
Quote:I know that in the Later Roman Era the Romans used the Jewish (Christian) seven day week.
Really? Where can we find evidence of this?

Quote:What day names were used cyclically, Mon, Tue, etc.
I had imagined that the Romans had no use for day names. They knew that the market day recurred every 8 days -- why label the ones in-between? (This is a separate issue from the need to designate a particular day, which was done -- as you said -- by reference to the kalends, nones and ides.)
posted by Duncan B Campbell
https://ninth-legion.blogspot.com/
Reply
#5
Ave Civitas,

As always, you guys are great. Here I think I answered my own question about days.

My remaining question is:
With the seven day week, how did that change the eight day market cycle?

Thanks again.
tom
AKA Tom Chelmowski

Historiae Eruditere (if that is proper Latin)
Reply
#6
That’s a difficult question, and I’m not sure there is a definitive answer. It may even differ in different parts of the Empire. There appears to be continuous markets and periodic markets. Here is something I found in a book I’m currently reading:

Quote:Inscriptions refer to the creation of periodic markets in rural areas during the Roman period, regulated so as not to damage existing, town-based markets. The longer, three-week cycle which they usually observed presumably reflects the relative slowness of transport between one market pitch and another… Regulated periodic markets within the confines of a Roman assize district offer an attractive explanation for the usual distribution pattern of civic bronze coinage in the imperial period.

Mitchell, Anatolia: Land Men, and Gods in Asia Minor, Volume 1 The Impact of Roman Rule

In regards to things like this it seems that there was flexibility, and such customs were dictated by local conditions.

He also mentions that in modern Turkey there are different market days in different towns. This is for the merchant, so he can go to Town A on Monday, Town B on Tuesday, etc. He speculates if the Romans did something similar, at least here in Asia Minor.

Edit: Hmmm. The "quote" function has turned into italics. I'm not sure what I did wrong there.
David J. Cord
www.davidcord.com
Reply
#7
Ave Epictetus,

That is very interesting and made me wonder if the eight-day market cycle was something that pertained only to Rome, the city, and not the other cities and villages throughout the Empire.

I have found, in my research, that when one thing is found to exist in Constantinople, then it is implied that it is an Empire wide practice, which I later found out is not the case (Diocletians price caps is one, I read somewhere (and I can't find it now) that all the items on Diocletian's list are items that can be found in the Eastern half of the Empire but some of them are not to be found in the west. The assumption is then, that Diocletian's list was not Empire wide.)

Thanks for the response. Good food for thought.

Tom
AKA Tom Chelmowski

Historiae Eruditere (if that is proper Latin)
Reply


Possibly Related Threads…
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  Fasti Praenestini -- A Roman Calendar Clavdivs 3 2,344 02-04-2018, 07:21 PM
Last Post: Clavdivs
  Roman stick calendar jbd_29349 0 1,570 03-21-2015, 06:18 PM
Last Post: jbd_29349

Forum Jump: