History of Western Civilization, Knox

The Julian Calendar

The old Roman calendar was not entirely accurate, and by Caesar's day it had become badly out of step; seasonal festivals, for example, were being celebrated at the wrong time of year. Caesar set up a commission to rectify the situation and he himself took an interest in its work.

The new calendar had twelve months instead of ten, and the length of the months were modified. This became known as the Julian calendar and is the calendar we still use, with a few minor adjustments.

If you know Latin (or Italian or Spanish), you may have noticed that the names for September, October, November and December don't make much sense. Septem is seven, but September is actually the ninth month. Those four months still bear their Roman names: the seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth months, for the old calendar had ten months.

Caesar added two months in the middle of the year, but the succeeding months did not change their name. The new months eventually were named after the first Caesars: July (Julius) and August (Augustus).

History of Western Civilization
Dr.Ellis L. Knox
Boise State University