Weeks For The Romans.docx

WEEKS, DAYS and NUNDICAL CYCLE The Romans of the Republic, like the Etruscans, used a "market week" of eight days, marked as A to H in the calendar. A nundinum was the market day; etymologically, the word is related to novem, "nine", because the Roman system of counting was inclusive. The market "week" is the nundinal cycle.

The nundinal cycle formed one rhythm of day-to-day Roman life; the market day was the day when country people would come to the city, and the day when city people would buy their eight days' worth of groceries. For this reason, a law was passed in 287 BC (the Lex Hortensia) that forbade the holding of meetings of the comitia (for example to hold elections) on market days, but permitted the holding of legal actions.

The nundinal cycle was eventually replaced by the modern seven-day week, which first came into use in Italy during the early imperial period, after the Julian calendar had come into effect in 45 BC. The system of nundinal letters was also adapted for the week. (See dominical letter.) For a while, the week and the nundinal cycle coexisted, but by the time the week was officially adopted by Constantine in AD 321, the nundinal cycle had fallen out of use. The days were named after the planets of Hellenistic astrology. Can you fill in the ‘origin’ column with the following keys? Moon, Mars (Ares), Jupiter (Zeus) Saturn (Cronos), Sun, Mercury (Hermes), Venus (Aphrodite)

LATIN Dies Lunae Dies Martis

origin

English Monday Tuesday

Spanish Lunes Martes

Italian Lunedì Martedì

French lundì mardì

Dies Mercuri

Wednesday

Miércoles

Mercoledì

mercredì

Dies Jovis Dies Veneris

Thursday Friday

Juvenes Viernes

Giovedì Venerdì

jeudì vendredì

Dies Saturni Dies Solis

Saturday Sunday

Sábado domingo

Sabato Domenica

samedì dimanche

Welsh dydd Llun dydd Mawrth dydd Mercher dydd Iau dydd Gwener dydd Sadwrn dydd Sul

Each day of the Roman calendar was marked on the fasti (plans of official and religiously sanctioned events) with a letter that designated its religious and legal character. These were:     

F (fasti), favourable; N (nefasti), unfavourable; C (comitiales), days for assemblies; NP of elusive meaning, but marking feriae, public holidays; EN (endotercissus, an archaic form of intercissus, "cut in half"), for days that were nefasti in the morning, when sacrifices were being prepared, as well as in the evening, while sacrifices were being offered, but were fasti in the middle of the day.

Fasti of the period between 20-23 a.C: the first letter indicates the nundinal day, the second refers to the type of day and the third shows the celebrations, festivities and games.

Public activities could take place on ‘dies fasti’ and ‘dies comitiales’ and also in the mid part of the dies endotercissi, but could not take place on the dies nefasti nor the beginning and end of the dies endotercissi.