Question: When on the Roman Calendar Are the Nones?
Nones are related to a Latin word for nine, so why aren't the nones on the ninth day of the Roman month?
Answer: The nones of the Roman calendar, depending on the length of the month, were on the fifth or seventh; yet the word nones comes from the Latin for nine.
It might seem at first as though the nones should be on the ninth of the month, but the Romans didn't count forward from the current day, as we do. Instead, they counted backwards from a future date -- whichever came next: kalends, nones, or ides.
Romans used inclusive counting. Their "week" was called a nine-day (nundinae, -arum f.pl.), but was actually only eight-days, according to our way of counting. The nones were one "nundinae" (or nine-day) before the ides. So, if the month were one of the 31 day months with the ides on the fifteenth, the nones -- 8 days earlier by our reckoning -- were on the 7th. On other months, not limited to the 30-day months, when the ides were on the thirteenth, the nones would be on the 5th.
Romans used inclusive counting. Their "week" was called a nine-day (nundinae, -arum f.pl.), but was actually only eight-days, according to our way of counting. The nones were one "nundinae" (or nine-day) before the ides. So, if the month were one of the 31 day months with the ides on the fifteenth, the nones -- 8 days earlier by our reckoning -- were on the 7th. On other months, not limited to the 30-day months, when the ides were on the thirteenth, the nones would be on the 5th.
Calendar and Time FAQ Index
- What are the Nones?
- When is Quintilis?
- What is the Julian Calendar?
- What is the significance of the number 60?
