The Matter of Manred

The Calendar of Iathrann

Telling Time in the Land of Droma

The people of Droma are part of the Five Kingdoms of Iathrann, which are populated by people who call themselves "Gallavachs," as distinguished from the Foreigners who have been raiding and settling on their southern seacoasts.

The Calendar of the Gallavachs of Iathrann consists of 13 months of 28 days each, with one extra "intercalary" day (a day which does not belong to any month of the year) at the Midwinter Solstice. Each month is divided into 4 weeks of 7 days each, and is roughly equivalent to the sidereal orbit of the moon. The calendar coincides with actual lunar and solar orbits once every 18.314 years (a period of time derived from the ancient Shynn calendar and known as a sarú.

The Gallavachna are also astute astrologers, and have observed the band in the heavens centered on the ecliptic that encompasses the apparent paths of all the "Wanderers of the Night" (planetary celestial bodies). This band in the heavens is divided into 13 constellations or signs which the Gallavachna believe have the power to influence their daily reality.

The Five Seasons and Their Equivalents

The Gallavach year is divided into five seasons, associated with pastoral concerns such as seed-sowing, harvest, and the onset of winter.

Burgeoning (Beth 1st) — The time of rest and breaking bud. (December 24 – March 5; Winter through Early Spring.)

Flowering (Nion 17th) — The time of awakening and bringing forth. (March 6 – May 16; Early to Mid-Spring.)

Ripening (Uath 5th) — The time of bringing to fruition and climax. (May 17 – July 27; Mid-Spring to Early Summer.)

Gathering (Tinne 21st) — The time of reaping the reward of good husbandry. (July 28 – October 7; Summer to Early Autumn)

Fading (Gort 9th) — The time of ending and settling of accounts. (October 8 – December 18; Late Autumn)

Sorrowing (Ruis 25th) — The Five "Dark Days" surrounding the Winter Solstice, the dead of the year, when time stands still (December 19-December 23).

The Thirteen Months and Their Equivalents

The months of the Gallavach calendar are named for thirteen trees considered sacred by the Gallavach people.

Each month is 28 days long. The Gallavachs do not observe a weekly day of rest, but instead celebrate a Scíthlana or Rest Day on the Fifteenth Day of each month, at the height of each New Moon.

Beith: December 24 – January 20

Luis: January 21 – February 17

Nion: February 18 – March 17 (note that there is never a Leap Year Day in February)

Fearn: March 18 – April 14. This is the month in which A Merchant's Tale takes place.

Saille: April 15 – May 12. This is the month in which The Romance of Eowain takes place.

Uath: May 13 – June 9

Duir: June 10 – July 7

Tinne: July 8 – August 4

Coll: August 5 – September 1

Muin: September 2 – September 29

Gort: September 30 – October 27

Ngetal: October 28 – November 24

Ruis: November 25 – December 22

The Nameless Day: December 23, day of the Winter Solstice

Days of the Week

The Gallavachs observe a seven-day week. Thus, each 28-day month is exactly 4 weeks long.

Gallavachs also measure their days from each sunset to the following sunset.

Uiria: Sunday

Daivaith: Monday

Teilmon: Tuesday

Gath: Wednesday

Riuben: Thursday

Cailep: Friday

Ose: Saturday

Interpreting the Calendar

Thus, when The Merchant in his Prologue to A Merchant's Tale states that he arrived in Droma "[o]n the fifteenth day of the month of Fearn, Teilmon being the day of the week, under the dark of the moon," he is saying he arrived on Tuesday, April 1st, which is in the second season (Flowering) of the year, on the night of the New Moon.