I want to create a calendar for my campaign setting, but I need help naming the months. This is a 13 month calendar, with 28 days per month for a total of 364 days a year and a yearless and monthless holiday after the last month of each year celebrating the transition into a new year. Each year begins on the day Spring begins (like the modern world, there is a specific day of the year where Spring is considered to start), and ends when Winter ends. I would like to borrow the names for the months from one of the dominant cultures of the world (Hellenic, Germanic, Hispanic, Sinitic, Iranian).
Your best bet is probably the Celtic Calendar or some Native American one that has 13 months.
For instance, there are usually said to be 13 'tree months' in Celtic calendars.
B – Beth, the Birch Month (December 24th – January 20th)
L – Luis, the Rowan Month (January 21st – February 17th)
N – Nion, the Ash month (February 18th – March 17th)
F – Fearn, the Alder Month (March 18th – April 14th)
S – Saille, the Willow Month (April 15th – May 12th)
H – Huath, the Hawthorn Month (May 13th – June 9th)
D – Duir, the Oak Month (Jun 10th – July 7th)
T – Tinne, the Holly Month (July 8th – August 4th)
C – Coll, the Hazel Month (August 5th – September 1st)
M – Muin, the Vine Month (September 2nd – September 29th)
G – Gort, the Ivy Month (September 30th – October 27th
Ng – Ngetal, the Reed Month (October 28th – November 24th)
R – Ruis, the Elder Month (November 25th – December 23rd)
Dotted for awesomeness
I need to rework the calender for my campaign. It was based off of magical beasts (astrological signs). So thanks
Do you have to have a 365 day year? I run a 5 day week (after fingers, with a 'half-day' off), 4 week month and 20 month year (400 days). Elves track the moon for their 'weeks' and the seasons for 'months'. They tend to be a touch less concerned with time than Humans.
One of the 3pp had a zodiac for a fantasy world, or maybe an old Dragon, complete with feats, etc. You might look for it.
Do you have to have a 365 day year? I run a 5 day week (after fingers, with a 'half-day' off), 4 week month and 20 month year (400 days). Elves track the moon for their 'weeks' and the seasons for 'months'. They tend to be a touch less concerned with time than Humans.
One of the 3pp had a zodiac for a fantasy world, or maybe an old Dragon, complete with feats, etc. You might look for it.
I don't have to, it just works for me.
Your best bet is probably the Celtic Calendar or some Native American one that has 13 months.
For instance, there are usually said to be 13 'tree months' in Celtic calendars.
B – Beth, the Birch Month (December 24th – January 20th)
L – Luis, the Rowan Month (January 21st – February 17th)
N – Nion, the Ash month (February 18th – March 17th)
F – Fearn, the Alder Month (March 18th – April 14th)
S – Saille, the Willow Month (April 15th – May 12th)
H – Huath, the Hawthorn Month (May 13th – June 9th)
D – Duir, the Oak Month (Jun 10th – July 7th)
T – Tinne, the Holly Month (July 8th – August 4th)
C – Coll, the Hazel Month (August 5th – September 1st)
M – Muin, the Vine Month (September 2nd – September 29th)
G – Gort, the Ivy Month (September 30th – October 27th
Ng – Ngetal, the Reed Month (October 28th – November 24th)
R – Ruis, the Elder Month (November 25th – December 23rd)
I'd have to translate the names to be Germanic or Hellenic, but the themes given work.
Our understanding of the Celtic tree calendar (and tree alphabet) is largely derived from the White Goddess by Robert Graves. While not historically accurate, the calendar discussion is quite extensive and fairly similar to what you describe as you end goal. For a fantasy calendar, it's a good starting point.
For Hellenic, the ancient Greeks didn't have a common civil calendar, so each city essentially had a separate calendar based around its particular religious festivals. Most of these were essentially lunar, with about 10 months named after the festival that took place in that month. The easiest thing to do for Greek would be to pick a city and adapt its calendar.
The defined days for spring equinox, summer solstice, autumn equinox, and winter solstice are derived from solar calendars. The Roman Julian calendar is the bases of the solar calendar we use today, and the Latin month names are the basis of the Spanish names. Before the Julian calendar, the year was counted as 304 days divided into 10 months, starting with March, with a long intercalary period between December and March. Later they added January and February and brought the year to 355 days, and Julius Caesar brought the day count up to 365.
I'm not that familiar with ancient Germanic calendars, but there was certainly a solar component that gave us Jul/Yule ("wheel") as the name of the winter solstice. I suppose if you want Germanic, you could start with the Celtic tree calendar, transliterate the letter from the tree alphabet into Futhark (Germanic runic alphabet), and use the name of the name of the equivalent rune for the month.
I'd have to translate the names to be Germanic or Hellenic, but the themes given work.
Thanks. There's also some stuff on wikipedia.