Roman months

The months bore the names Martius, Aprilis, Maius, Juniius, Quintilis, Sextilis, September, October, November, and December—the last six names correspond to the Latin words for the numbers 5 through 10.

1. Why did the Romans add two months?
2. When did the Roman calendar change to 12 months?
3. What were the Roman days of the month?
4. What were the original 13 months?

Why did the Romans add two months?

Why are there 12 months in the year? Julius Caesar's astronomers explained the need for 12 months in a year and the addition of a leap year to synchronize with the seasons. At the time, there were only ten months in the calendar, while there are just over 12 lunar cycles in a year.

When did the Roman calendar change to 12 months?

In 45 B.C., Julius Caesar ordered a calendar consisting of twelve months based on a solar year. This calendar employed a cycle of three years of 365 days, followed by a year of 366 days (leap year).

What were the Roman days of the month?

Days. Roman dates were counted inclusively forward to the next one of three principal days within each month: Kalends (Kalendae or Kal.), the 1st day of each month. Nones (Nonae or Non.), the 7th day of "full months" and 5th day of hollow ones, 8 days—"nine" by Roman reckoning—before the Ides in every month.

What were the original 13 months?

In 1849 the French philosopher Auguste Comte (1798–1857) proposed the 13-month Positivist Calendar, naming the months: Moses, Homer, Aristotle, Archimedes, Caesar, St Paul, Charlemagne, Dante, Gutenberg, Shakespeare, Descartes, Frederic and Bichat.