Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1906-05-22
THE SNARLS OF TIME
POPE GREGoRyS CORRECTION OF
THE JULIAN CALENDAR.

At Oue Time October was the ears
Shortest Month-It Contained Only
Twenty-one Days la 15S2-Commo-
ton the Change Made In England.
Did you ever hear Of the famous
short month of October, which had
only twenty -one days? Some three CEN
turies ago la southd Il Europe men
tried to correct an error that had been
growing continually for more than a
thousand years, and the result was
that they called the day after Oct 4,
1852. Oct. 10 instead of Oct. 5.
We get our ideas and principles re-
garding the calendar from two sources,
Roman and Jewish. Every one knows
that the names of the months are
Latin. and In the histories we read how
the various Roman rulers changed the
distribution of days within the month,
ETC., to suit their pride or political
schemes, much as modern politicians
hasten or postpone convention, and
brought things into great confusion
until julius Caesar decreed that the
coming year should consist of 365 days
and every fourth year of 366. The ex-
ira day was to be inserted between the
oath and 25th of February. In their
way of numbering the days of the
month, which seems to us so awkward,
the 24th was sexto calendas, or the
sixth day before the calends or
March. When the extra day was in
serted 1t was called the second sixth,
or. in Latin, bissexto calendas, whence
our bissextile.
From Jewish sources we get other
features The great Jewish festival of
the passover was celebrated on the
very day of the first full moon after
the spring equinox. The early Chris
tians, or many of them, took the same
day, but this led to charges of heresy,
to discussion, criticism and even con-
tempt; so it was decreed probably by
Constantine the Great In 325 A. D., in
connection with the council Of Nicaea,
that the Christian festival Easter
should be Observed on the Sunday fol
lowing the passover, and the other
movable feasts of the church were
made dependent on this. So the ele-
ment of fixed day of the week was
brought into the calculation.
In this year-325-the yernal equinox
fell on March 81, and, if Caesars work
in establishing the Julian calendar had
only been correct, this event would have
happened on this date forever. But ma
ture seems to abhor simple ratios as she
was said to abhor a vacuum. Unfortu
nately for simplicity the year is NOT ex-
actly 365 days 6 hours, but about IL
minutes IA seconds less So the inser
ton of the extra day in four years was
OVERRIDING the correction, as was known
even in the dark ages, but after the re-
vival of learning and the establishment
of observatories it was commented on
in the council of Trent and was very
much discussed by mathematicians.
And by the middle of the sixteenth cen
fury the hundreds of small errors had
accumulated to ten days, so the vernal
equinox fell not on the Dist, but on
the 18th, of March
This was the condition of things
when, in 1872, Pope Gregory XIII. was
elected. He realized the glory that it
would be to his reign if this confusing
matter was settled, and so set q COM
pany of mathematician to work out
the problem, not only of rectifying the
old errors, but of providing rules to
prevent errors in the future. The hard
est part of the work was to fix the
movable church feasts without doing
violence to the traditions That good
deal could be said about the work is
evidenced by the book of 800 pages
written by Clavius, one of the compa-
ny. The result was that In 1881 a pa
pal bull was issued declaring, among
other things, that in 1852 the day fol-
lowing Oct. should be called Oct. Is
and that centuries should not be leap
years unless Invisible by 400
Rulers and states that were then
Catholic responded to the pope's re-
quest for acceptance of the reform. In
France the ten days were dropped aft
er Dec. 8. 1882; in Catholic Germany
the change was made in 1884, but the
Protestant states delayed until Feb
Poland there was such resistance made
that the troops were necessary to sup
press it,
The change was long delayed In Prot
estant England, which would not will
ingly accept an alleged reform due to
a pope that had encouraged the ar
mazda. But the need of the uniformity
among neighboring states was too
great, and in 1751 Lord Chesterfield in
troduced into parliament bill for the
reform Of the calendar. Some details
Of the law may be quoted from maya
zine of September, 1852: Sept. IL
This day the Gregorian style took place
In all Europe, Asia, Africa and Amer
lea. This day. had not this act passed,
would have been the Sd of September,
but 1t was now reckoned the 14th. elev-
en- nominal days being omitted. Every
fourth year will be bissextile, or leap
year, until 1900, which will be COM
mon year of 1865 days, but 1904 will be
leap year. Easter and the movable
feasts thereon depending are to be
reckoneG according to the new tables
prefixed to the act of parliament. All
the fixed feast days are to be
kept on the same nominal day as here
tofore. Payment of rent notes,
the attainment of majority or expira-
ton of apprenticeships -" shall |
not be accelerated hereby. II
servants wages are usually paid at
the quarter days. eleven days wages
may be deducted out of the present
quarter and the reckoning for the |
future go regularly on" Such were
some of the minute provisions of the
act. 1t will be readily believed that
ignorant people could not understand
this. and we are told of mobs marching
through the land crying, "Give us back
our eleven daysv'
GA = ToRTA.
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