Anno Domini
The terms anno Domini (AD) and before Christ (BC)
This
Traditionally, English follows Latin usage by placing the "AD" abbreviation before the year number, though it is also found after the year.[6] In contrast, BC is always placed after the year number (for example: AD 70, but 70 BC), which preserves syntactic order. The abbreviation AD is also widely used after the number of a century or millennium, as in "fourth century AD" or "second millennium AD" (although conservative usage formerly rejected such expressions).[7] Because BC is the English abbreviation for Before Christ, it is sometimes incorrectly concluded that AD means After Death, i.e., after the death of Jesus, which would mean that the approximate 33 years commonly associated with the life of Jesus would be included in neither the BC nor the AD time scales.[8]
Terminology that is viewed by some as being more neutral and inclusive of non-Christian people is to call this the Current or Common Era (abbreviated as CE), with the preceding years referred to as Before the Common or Current Era (BCE). Astronomical year numbering and ISO 8601 avoid words or abbreviations related to Christianity, but use the same numbers for AD years (but not for BC years in the case of astronomical years; e.g., 1 BC is year 0, 45 BC is year −44).
History
The Anno Domini dating system was devised in 525 by
Bonnie J. Blackburn and Leofranc Holford-Strevens briefly present arguments for 2 BC, 1 BC, or AD 1 as the year Dionysius intended for the Nativity or incarnation. Among the sources of confusion are:[5]
- In modern times, incarnation is synonymous with the conception, but some ancient writers, such as Bede, considered incarnation to be synonymous with the Nativity.
- The civil or consular year began on 1 January, but the Diocletian year began on 29 August (30 August in the year before a Julian leap year).
- There were inaccuracies in the lists of consuls.
- There were confused summations of emperors' regnal years.
It is not known how Dionysius established the year of Jesus's birth. Two major theories are that Dionysius based his calculation on the Gospel of Luke, which states that Jesus was "about thirty years old" shortly after "the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar", and hence subtracted thirty years from that date, or that Dionysius counted back 532 years from the first year of his new table.[12][13][14]
It has also been speculated by Georges Declercq
Popularization
The
On the continent of Europe, Anno Domini was introduced as the era of choice of the
Although Anno Domini was in widespread use by the 9th century, the term "Before Christ" (or its equivalent) did not become common until much later. Bede used the expression "anno [...] ante incarnationem Dominicam" (in the year before the incarnation of the Lord) twice. "Anno ante Christi nativitatem" (in the year before the birth of Christ) is found in 1474 in a work by a German monk.
New year
When the reckoning from Jesus' incarnation began replacing the previous dating systems in western Europe, various people chose different Christian feast days to begin the year: Christmas, Annunciation, or Easter. Thus, depending on the time and place, the year number changed on different days in the year, which created slightly different styles in chronology:[27]
- From 25 March 753 AUC (today in 1 BC), i.e., notionally from the incarnation of Jesus. That first "Annunciation style" appeared in Arles at the end of the 9th century then spread to Burgundy and northern Italy. It was not commonly used and was called calculus pisanus since it was adopted in Pisa and survived there until 1750.
- From 25 December 753 AUC (today in 1 BC), i.e., notionally from the birth of Jesus. It was called "Nativity style" and had been spread by Bede together with the Anno Domini in the early Middle Ages. That reckoning of the Year of Grace from Christmas was used in France, England and most of western Europe (except Spain) until the 12th century (when it was replaced by Annunciation style) and in Germany until the second quarter of the 13th century.
- From 25 March 754 AUC (today in AD 1). That second "Annunciation style" may have originated in Fleury Abbey in the early 11th century, but it was spread by the Cistercians. Florence adopted that style in opposition to that of Pisa, so it got the name of calculus florentinus. It soon spread in France and also in England where it became common in the late 12th century and lasted until 1752.
- From Easter, starting in 754 AUC (AD 1). That mos gallicanus (French custom) bound to a moveable feast was introduced in France by king Philip Augustus (r. 1180–1223), maybe to establish a new style in the provinces reconquered from England. However, it never spread beyond the ruling élite.
With these various styles, the same day could, in some cases, be dated in 1099, 1100 or 1101.
Birth date of Jesus
The date of birth of Jesus of Nazareth is not stated in the gospels or in any secular text, but most scholars assume a date of birth between 6 BC and 4 BC.[28] The historical evidence is too fragmentary to allow a definitive dating,[29] but the date is estimated through two different approaches—one by analyzing references to known historical events mentioned in the Nativity accounts in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew and the second by working backwards from the estimation of the start of the ministry of Jesus.[30][31]
Other Christian and European eras
During the first six centuries of what would come to be known as the Christian era, European countries used various systems to count years. Systems in use included consular dating, imperial regnal year dating, and Creation dating.[citation needed]
Although the last non-imperial consul, Basilius, was appointed in 541 by Emperor Justinian I, later emperors through to Constans II (641–668) were appointed consuls on the first of January after their accession. All of these emperors, except Justinian, used imperial post-consular years for the years of their reign, along with their regnal years.[32] Long unused, this practice was not formally abolished until Novell XCIV of the law code of Leo VI did so in 888.
Another calculation had been developed by the
Spain and Portugal continued to date by the
The
CE and BCE
Alternative names for the Anno Domini era include vulgaris aerae (found 1615 in Latin),[34] "Vulgar Era" (in English, as early as 1635),[35] "Christian Era" (in English, in 1652),[36] "Common Era" (in English, 1708),[37] and "Current Era".[38] Since 1856,[39] the alternative abbreviations CE and BCE (sometimes written C.E. and B.C.E.) are sometimes used in place of AD and BC.
The "Common/Current Era" ("CE") terminology is often preferred by those who desire a term that does not explicitly make religious references but still uses the same estimated date of Christ's birth as the dividing point.[40][41] For example, Cunningham and Starr (1998) write that "B.C.E./C.E. […] do not presuppose faith in
No year zero: start and end of a century
In the AD year numbering system, whether applied to the Julian or Gregorian calendars, AD 1 is immediately preceded by 1 BC, with nothing in between them (there was no year zero). There are debates as to whether a new decade, century, or millennium begins on a year ending in zero or one.[4]
For computational reasons, astronomical year numbering and the ISO 8601 standard designate years so that AD 1 = year 1, 1 BC = year 0, 2 BC = year −1, etc.[note 3] In common usage, ancient dates are expressed in the Julian calendar, but ISO 8601 uses the Gregorian calendar and astronomers may use a variety of time scales depending on the application. Thus dates using the year 0 or negative years may require further investigation before being converted to BC or AD.
See also
Notes
- ^ The words anno and before are often capitalized, but this is considered incorrect by some and either not mentioned in major dictionaries or only listed as an alternative.
- versofolios—left hand pages). He used Anno mundi alongside all of these terms for all years.
- ^ To convert from a year BC to astronomical year numbering, reduce the absolute value of the year by 1, and prefix it with a negative sign (unless the result is zero). For years AD, omit the AD and prefix the number with a plus sign (plus sign is optional if it is clear from the context that the year is after the year 0).[43]
References
Citations
- ^ "Anno Domini". Merriam Webster Online Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. 2003. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
Etymology: Medieval Latin, in the year of the Lord
- ^ "Online Etymology Dictionary". Retrieved 4 October 2011.
- ^ Blackburn & Holford-Strevens 2003, p. 782 "since AD stands for anno Domini, 'in the year of (Our) Lord'"
- ^ a b Teresi, Dick (July 1997). "Zero". The Atlantic.
- ^ a b Blackburn & Holford-Strevens 2003, pp. 778–79.
- ^ Chicago Manual of Style 2010, pp. 476–7; Goldstein 2007, p. 6.
- ^ Chicago Manual of Style, 1993, p. 304.
- ^ Donald P. Ryan, (2000), 15.
- ^ Blackburn & Holford-Strevens 2003, p. 767.
- ^ Nineteen year cycle of Dionysius Introduction and First Argumentum.
- ^ Blackburn & Holford-Strevens 2003, p. 778.
- S2CID 117094612.
- ^ Tøndering, Claus, The Calendar FAQ: Counting years Archived 24 September 2021 at the Wayback Machine
- ISBN 978-0191562365.
- ^ Declercq, Georges(2000). "Anno Domini. The Origins of the Christian Era" Turnhout, Belgium,[page needed]
- ^ Wallraff, Martin: Julius Africanus und die Christliche Weltchronik. Walter de Gruyter, 2006
- ^ Mosshammer, Alden A. (2009). The Easter Computus and the Origins of the Christian Era. Oxford University Press, pp. 254, 270, 328
- ^ Declercq, Georges (2000). Anno Domini. The Origins of the Christian Era. Turnhout Belgium.[page needed]
- ^ Halsall, Guy (2013). Worlds of Arthur: Facts & Fictions of The Dark Ages. Oxford University Press, pp 194 - 200
- ^ Bede 731, Book 1, Chapter 2, first sentence.
- ^ Blackburn & Holford-Strevens 2003, p. 881.
- ^ a b Patrick, 1908
- ^
"General Chronology". New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. III. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1908. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
- ^
ISBN 978-0-471-29827-4. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
- ^
Hunt, Lynn Avery (2008). Measuring time, making history. p. 33. ISBN 978-963-9776-14-2. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
- ^ Petau, Denis (1758). search for "ante Christum" in a 1748 reprint of a 1633 abridgement entitled Rationarium temporum by Denis Petau. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
- ^ C. R. Cheney, A Handbook of Dates, for students of British history Archived 5 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Cambridge University Press, 1945–2000, pp. 8–14.
- ^ Dunn, James DG (2003). Jesus Remembered. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 324.
- ^ Doggett 1992, p579: "Although scholars generally believe that Christ was born some years before AD 1, the historical evidence is too sketchy to allow a definitive dating".
- ISBN 0-931464-50-1pp. 113–29
- ISBN 0-310-31201-9pp. 121–24
- ^ Roger S. Bagnall and Klaas A. Worp, Chronological Systems of Byzantine Egypt Archived 17 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Leiden, Brill, 2004.
- ^ Alfred von Gutschmid, Kleine Schriften, F. Ruehl, Leipzig, 1889, p. 433.
- ^
OCLC 62188677.
anno aerae nostrae vulgaris
- ^ Kepler, Johann; Vlacq, Adriaan (1635). Ephemerides of the Celestiall Motions, for the Yeers of the Vulgar Era 1633... Retrieved 18 May 2011.
- ^ Sliter, Robert (1652). A celestiall glasse, or, Ephemeris for the year of the Christian era 1652 being the bissextile or leap-year: contayning the lunations, planetary motions, configurations & ecclipses for this present year ... : with many other things very delightfull and necessary for most sorts of men: calculated exactly and composed for ... Rochester. London: Printed for the Company of Stationers.
- ^ The History of the Works of the Learned. Vol. 10. London: Printed for H. Rhodes. 1708. p. 513. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
- ^
"History of Judaism 63BCE–1086CE". BBC Team. BBC. 8 February 2005. Archived from the original on 13 May 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
Year 1: CE – What is nowadays called the 'Current Era' traditionally begins with the birth of a Jewish teacher called Jesus. His followers came to believe he was the promised Messiah and later split away from Judaism to found Christianity
- ^
Raphall, Morris Jacob (1856). Post-Biblical History of The Jews. Moss & Brother. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
CE BCE.
The term common era does not appear in this book; the term Christian era [lowercase] does appear a number of times. Nowhere in the book is the abbreviation explained or expanded directly. - ^ Robinson, B.A. (20 April 2009). "Justification of the use of "CE" & "BCE" to identify dates. Trends". ReligiousTolerance.org.
- ^ Safire, William (17 August 1997). "On Language: B.C./A.D. or B.C.E./C.E.?". The New York Times Magazine.
- ISBN 978-0742532182.
- ^ Doggett, 1992, p. 579
Sources
- Abate, Frank R., ed. (1997). Oxford Pocket Dictionary and Thesaurus. American. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-513097-9.
- Goldstein, Norm, ed. (2007). Associated Press Style Book. New York: Basic Books. ISBN 978-0-465-00489-8.
- Bede. (731). Historiam ecclesiasticam gentis Anglorum Archived 9 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2007-12-07.
- Chicago Manual of Style (2nd ed.). University of Chicago. 1993. ISBN 0-226-10389-7.
- Chicago Manual of Style (16th ed.). University of Chicago. 2010. ISBN 978-0-226-10420-1.
- ISBN 0-19-214231-3. Corrected reprinting of original 1999 edition.
- Cunningham, Philip A.; Starr, Arthur F. (1998). Sharing Shalom: A Process for Local Interfaith Dialogue Between Christians and Jews. Paulist Press. ISBN 0-8091-3835-2.
- Declercq, Georges (2000). Anno Domini: the origins of the Christian era. Turnhout: Brepols. ISBN 2-503-51050-7. (despite beginning with 2, it is English)
- Declercq, G. "Dionysius Exiguus and the Introduction of the Christian Era". Sacris Erudiri 41 (2002): 165–246. An annotated version of part of Anno Domini.
- Doggett. (1992). "Calendars" Archived 8 December 2019 at the ISBN 0-935702-68-7.
- Patrick, J. (1908). "General Chronology" Archived 25 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved 2008-07-16 from New Advent: Catholic Encyclopedia: General Chronology Archived 25 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine
- Richards, E. G. (2000). Mapping Time. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-286205-7.
- Riggs, John (January 2003). "Whatever happened to B.C. and A.D., and why?". United Church News. Retrieved 19 December 2005.
- Ryan, Donald P. (2000). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Biblical Mysteries. Alpha Books. p. 15. ISBN 0-02-863831-X.
must mean after death not so.
External links
