[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [Archaeology, epigraphy and coins](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy) › [Book of Indian Eras, with Tables for Calculating Indian Dates](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.cunningham-1883) › c30 # Book of Indian Eras, with Tables for Calculating Indian Dates c30: XXV.—Christian Era Book of Indian Eras, with Tables for Calculating Indian Dates c30 - **Language:** English ### XXV.—Christian Era ### [c30.1](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.cunningham-1883.c30.1) The era which has been adopted by all Christian nations is reckoned from the supposed date of the birth of Christ, and has, therefore, been called \*Anno Domini\*, or the "year of our Lord." The era was first brought into use by Dionysius Exiguus, a Roman Abbot, who fixed the birth of Christ in the 45th year of the Julian era, or A.U.C. 753 of the Roman Calendar. "Previous to this, the Christian Churches had for about a century dated from the Diocletian era, or year of Martyrs." The true date of the nativity is now admitted to be four years earlier, or in 4 B.C. of the present Christian reckoning. But the use of the Christian era did not become general until A.D. 730, in the time of Pope Gregory II. ### [c30.2](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.cunningham-1883.c30.2) The year was the same as the Julian year, and consisted of 365¼ days, the fraction being arranged by making three consecutive years of 365 days, and adding a whole day to the 4th year. But after the lapse of many centuries it was discovered that this value of the solar or sidereal year was too much. In A.D. 1582, when the amount of excess was ten days, the calendar was corrected by order of Pope Gregory XIII by striking out ten days in October from the 5th to the 14th. In England the correction was not made until A.D. 1752, when, the error having still further increased, eleven days were struck out from 3rd to 14th September. The true length of the year is 365·24219 days, but for convenience it is made 365·2425 days, or three days less than the Julian reckoning in 400 years. This is effected by omitting the extra day in the three odd hundred periods of four centuries. Thus the years 1600 and 2000 are leap years, but 1700, 1800 and 1900, are common years. ### [c30.3](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.cunningham-1883.c30.3) The accompanying tables for ascertaining the week day of any date either before or after Christ, and according to either the Julian or Gregorian reckoning, were prepared by myself more than twenty years ago. Since then I have had ample opportunities of testing their usefulness in facilitating the very common operation of finding the week day of any given date. According to my experience, their use is both more rapid and less troublesome than any others that I have tried. Every week day is shown at once by simple inspection. I have also invented the following short process for finding the initial day of any year of the Old Style or Julian reckoning. ### [c30.4](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.cunningham-1883.c30.4) Rule.—Set down the date and add one-fourth, rejecting fractions. Deduct two years, if leap year, but only one year if an ordinary one. Divide by 7, and the remainder, counted from Sunday as 1, will be the initial day of the year. The following examples will be sufficient. Both results agree with the table— ### [c30.5](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.cunningham-1883.c30.5) | A.D. 1600, leap year. | A.D. 1625, ordinary year. | | ÷ 4 — | ÷ 4 — | | 400 | 406 | | — | — | | 2000 | 2031 | | — 2 | — 1 | | — | — | | 1998 | 2030 | | ÷ 7 — | ÷ 7 — | | 285+3 = Tuesday. | 290 = Saturday. | ### [c30.6](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.cunningham-1883.c30.6) There is an old memorial verse, which is much used for ascertaining the initial day of each month when the initial day of the year is known. The capital letters are the Dominical letters showing the days of the week, counting from Sunday as 1. ### [c30.7](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.cunningham-1883.c30.7) At Dover Dwell George Bruce, Esquire, Good Christopher Finn, And David Fryer. ### [c30.8](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.cunningham-1883.c30.8) Here we see at once the initial day of each month. But as the same may also be obtained at once from an inspection of the table, the chief use of this memorial verse is when the table is not at hand. ### [c30.9](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.cunningham-1883.c30.9) The tables themselves are so clear and simple that they scarcely require any explanation. But suppose it be required to find the week day of the 20th October 1712 A.D. First look in Table III of the Julian Calendar for the year 1700 A.D., then run the eye down until it meets the horizontal line opposite of the year 12, and the intersection will show the initial day of the year 1712 as Tuesday. Next look in Table II at top for the horizontal line of week days, beginning with Tuesday, which is the third one of the seven, and as 1712 was a leap year, look for the name of October in the right hand column. Then, taking the 20th day of October, and running the eye upwards until it meets the horizontal line of week days, of which Tuesday was the 1st of January in that year, it will be seen that Monday was the 20th of October, as recorded at the head of the Spectator “Monday, October 20th, 1712.” ### [c30.10](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.cunningham-1883.c30.10) As a second example let it be required to find the week day of the 7th November 1752 after the Gregorian reckoning or New Style had been adopted in England. First look in Table IV of the Gregorian Calendar for the initial day of A.D. 1752, which will be found to be Saturday. Then with this as the first day of January look in Table II as before for the month of November and the seventh day, which will be Tuesday. The Adventurer is dated “Tuesday, Nov. 7th, 1752.” ### [c30.11](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.cunningham-1883.c30.11) As a last example, I will take a still earlier date recorded by Bacon, “1617, Feby. 6th, Friday.” Here the date being prior to the 25th March the true year was 1618, as now reckoned. The initial day in Julian reckoning was Thursday, and the year being an ordinary one, the names of the months must be read from the left side of Table II, which gives Friday as the 6th February 1618. --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.cunningham-1883.c30](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.cunningham-1883.c30) · Pramāṇa