The Reckoning of Time

Last updated

The Reckoning of Time (Latin : De temporum ratione, CPL 2320) is an English era treatise written in Medieval Latin by the Northumbrian monk Bede in 725.

Contents

Background

In mid-7th-century Anglo-Saxon England, there was a desire to see the Easter season less closely tied to the Jewish Passover calendar as well as a desire to have Easter observed on a Sunday. [1]

Continuing a tradition of Christian scholarship exploring the correct date of Easter, a generation later, Bede sought to explain the ecclesiastical reasoning behind the Synod of Whitby's decision in 664 to favor Roman custom over Irish custom. [2]

Bede's resulting treatise provides justification for a precise calculation for Easter. It also explains why time, and the various units of time, are sacred. [3]

Structure

The treatise includes an introduction to the traditional ancient and medieval view of the cosmos, including an explanation of how the Earth influenced the changing length of daylight, of how the seasonal motion of the Sun and Moon influenced the changing appearance of the new moon at evening twilight, and a quantitative relation between the changes of the tides at a given place and the daily motion of the Moon. [4]

The Reckoning of Time describes the principal ancient calendars, including those of the Hebrews, the Egyptians, the Romans, the Greeks, and the English. [5] The focus of De temporum ratione was calculation of the date of Easter, for which Bede described the method developed by Dionysius Exiguus. De temporum ratione also gave instructions for calculating the date of the Easter full moon, for calculating the motion of the Sun and Moon through the zodiac, and for many other calculations related to the calendar.

Bede based his reasoning for the dates on the Hebrew Bible. The functions of the universe and its purpose are generally referred to a scriptural foundation. According to the introduction by Faith Wallis in the 1999 English translated edition of The Reckoning of Time, Bede aimed to write a Christian work that integrated the astronomical understanding of computing with a theological context of history. The book is also regarded by Bede to be a sequel to his works The Nature of Things and On Time. [6]

Sections

The work is divided into six sections:

Technical preparation (Chapters 1–4)

This section familiarizes the reader with terminology regarding measurements.

In chapter 3 Bede defines a day as being 12 hours long. An hour consists of increments of puncti, partes and mementa. Each of which are small increments of time within the hour. The smallest increment of time is the atom.

The Julian calendar (Chapters 5–41)

Here, Bede gives an exhaustive overview of the date of the Earth's creation, the months, the weeks and the Moon.

He argues that the first day did not, as it was generally believed, take place at the time of an equinox. According to the religious accounts of God's creation of the universe, light was created on the first day. It was not until the fourth day, however, that God created the stars and therefore there was no measurement of hours.

Much of this section is devoted to the Moon. Bede goes into extensive detail about measuring the moon's cycles, the Moon's relationship to the Earth and Sun. Bede discusses the Moon's relationship to the tide and calculating kalends.

Anomalies of lunar reckoning (Chapters 42–43)

These two chapters pick up where the previous section left off on examining the irregularities of the Moon creating a leap year as well as why, according to Bede, the Moon appears older than it actually is.

The Paschal table (Chapters 44–65)

This section explores different year cycles that include varying numbers of months and days, determining the year cycle of Christ's incarnation, Easter, and other moon cycles.

The Major Chronicle (Chapter 66)

Bede gives an exhaustive description of the Six Ages of the World. The "Major Chronicle" is the starting point for several later chronicles, such as the Chronicon universale usque ad annum 741 and the Chronicon Moissiacense .

Bede details the First Age, from Adam to Noah, as being 1,656 years long according to the Hebrew Bible or 2,242 years according to the Septuagint.

The Second Age, from Noah to Abraham, is 292 years or 272 years long based on Bede's evaluation of the Hebrew Bible and Septuagint respectively.

The Third Age is said to be 942 years long according to both the Hebrew Bible and Septuagint spanning from Abraham to David.

The Fourth age is from David until the Babylonian exile. This is 473 years according to the Hebrew Bible or 485 according to the Septuagint.

The Fifth age is from the Babylonian exile to the advent of Christ.

The Sixth age is the current age lasting from the advent of Christ until the end of days.

Prophecy (Chapters 67–71)

Finally, Bede goes on to discuss the end of the Sixth Age, the Second Coming of Christ, the Antichrist, and Judgement Day, and the Seventh and Eighth ages of the world to come. [6]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Bequette, John P (2022). Bede the Theologian: History, Rhetoric, and Spirituality. Catholic University of America Press. pp. 31–32. ISBN   978-0-8132-3501-1.
  2. ↑ Bequette, John P (2022). Bede the Theologian: History, Rhetoric, and Spirituality. Catholic University of America Press. p. 33. ISBN   978-0-8132-3501-1.
  3. ↑ Bequette, John P (2022). Bede the Theologian: History, Rhetoric, and Spirituality. Catholic University of America Press. p. 34. ISBN   978-0-8132-3501-1.
  4. ↑ Wallis (2004:82–85;307–312).
  5. ↑ Wallis (2004:41-54;281–287
  6. 1 2 Wallis, Faith (1999). Bede: The Reckoning of Time. Liverpool University Press. ISBN   0853236933.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bede</span> Anglo-Saxon monk, writer and saint (672/3–735)

Bede, also known as Saint Bede, the Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable, was an English monk and an author and scholar. He was one of the greatest teachers and writers during the Early Middle Ages, and his most famous work, Ecclesiastical History of the English People, gained him the title "The Father of English History". He served at the monastery of St Peter and its companion monastery of St Paul in the Kingdom of Northumbria of the Angles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Easter</span> Christian commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus

Easter, also called Pascha or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred on the third day of his burial following his crucifixion by the Romans at Calvary c. 30 AD. It is the culmination of the Passion of Jesus Christ, preceded by Lent, a 40-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance.

The Synod of Whitby was a Christian administrative gathering held in Northumbria in 664, wherein King Oswiu ruled that his kingdom would calculate Easter and observe the monastic tonsure according to the customs of Rome rather than the customs practiced by Irish monks at Iona and its satellite institutions. The synod was summoned at Hilda's double monastery of Streonshalh (Streanæshalch), later called Whitby Abbey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dionysius Exiguus</span> Byzantine saint (c. 470 – c. 544)

Dionysius Exiguus was a 6th-century Eastern Roman monk born in Scythia Minor. He was a member of a community of Scythian monks concentrated in Tomis, the major city of Scythia Minor. Dionysius is best known as the inventor of Anno Domini (AD) dating, which is used to number the years of both the Gregorian calendar and the (Christianised) Julian calendar. Almost all churches adopted his computus for the dates of Easter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Date of Easter</span> Calculation of its date

As a moveable feast, the date of Easter is determined in each year through a calculation known as computus. Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the Paschal full moon. Determining this date in advance requires a correlation between the lunar months and the solar year, while also accounting for the month, date, and weekday of the Julian or Gregorian calendar. The complexity of the algorithm arises because of the desire to associate the date of Easter with the date of the Jewish feast of Passover which, Christians believe, is when Jesus was crucified.

The epact used to be described by medieval computists as the age of a phase of the Moon in days on 22 March; in the newer Gregorian calendar, however, the epact is reckoned as the age of the ecclesiastical moon on 1 January. Its principal use is in determining the date of Easter by computistical methods. It varies from year to year, because of the difference between the solar year of 365–366 days and the lunar year of 354–355 days.

In Anglo-Saxon paganism, Rheda is a goddess connected with the month '"Rhedmonth"'. Rheda is attested solely by Bede in his 8th century work De temporum ratione. While the name of the goddess appears in Bede's Latin manuscript as Rheda, it is reconstructed into Old English as *Hrēþe and is sometimes modernly anglicized as Hretha. Hrēþmōnaþ is one of three events that refer to deities in the Anglo-Saxon calendar—the other two being Ēostermōnaþ and Mōdraniht.

<i>Anno Mundi</i> Calendar era based on the biblical account of creation

Anno Mundi, abbreviated as AM or A.M., or Year After Creation, is a calendar era based on the biblical accounts of the creation of the world and subsequent history. Two such calendar eras have seen notable use historically:

A year zero does not exist in the Anno Domini (AD) calendar year system commonly used to number years in the Gregorian calendar ; in this system, the year 1 BC is followed directly by year AD 1. However, there is a year zero in both the astronomical year numbering system, and the ISO 8601:2004 system, the interchange standard for all calendar numbering systems. There is also a year zero in most Buddhist and Hindu calendars.

The controversy over the correct date for Easter began in Early Christianity as early as the 2nd century AD. Discussion and disagreement over the best method of computing the date of Easter Sunday has been ongoing ever since and remains unresolved. Different Christian denominations continue to celebrate Easter on different dates, with Eastern and Western Christian churches being a notable example.

Augustalis was the first bishop of Toulon, according to some authorities. He was appointed in 441. He attended the Council of Orange that year, and the Council of Vaison the following. He is associated with the civitas of Arles by the Martyrologium Hieronymianum, which honors him on September 7. He is also named by the Martyrologium romanum on that day, with his location noted as in Gallia. An Augustalis, most likely this man, appears among a group of bishops addressed by Pope Leo I in letters dated 22 August 449 and 5 May 450, the latter of which addresses issues of jurisdiction between Arles and Vienne.

Polemius Silvius was the author of an annotated Julian calendar that attempted to integrate the traditional Roman festival cycle with the new Christian holy days. His calendar, also referred to as a laterculus or fasti, dates to around 448–449. He was active in southeastern Gaul.

Wēodmōnaþ or Ƿēodmōnaþ was the Anglo-Saxon name for the month of August.

Hāliġmōnaþ or Hāliȝmōnaþ was the Anglo-Saxon name for the month of September.

In the Anglo-Saxon calendar, Blōtmōnaþ was the month roughly corresponding to November.

Hrēðmōnaþ was the Anglo-Saxon name for the month of March.

In the Anglo-Saxon calendar, Solmōnaþ was the month roughly corresponding to February.

Ġēolamōnaþ or Ȝēolamōnaþ was the Anglo-Saxon name for the month of both December and January. The Anglo-Saxon scholar Bede explains in his treatise De temporum ratione that the entire winter solstice period was known as Ġēola. Later on, December became known as Ǣrra-ġēolamōnaþ and January became known as Æfterra-ġēolamōnaþ, as this later Old English passage points out:

Se mōnaþ is nemned on Leden Decembris, and on ūre geþeōde se ǣrra geōla, forðan ða mōnþas twegen syndon nemde ānum naman, ōðer se ǣrra geōla, óðer se æftera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Computus clock</span>

A computus clock is a clock equipped with a mechanism that automatically calculates and displays, or helps determine, the date of Easter. A computus watch carries out the same function.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.