Experimental calendar reconstruction

[ott]

Also, in which sources did you locate the Old Dutch and Flemmish namings?

A delayed answer: Wikipedia "Oude Nederlandse maandnamen"
And on Fryskednis blog: TWILIF ~ twelve: a special number

[Bjorn_Steinthorsson]

Maybe an annoying question, but why do we assume 12 months? I know we have 12 now, but 13, 10 and 22 have also been done.
Month might just as well be related to monad? Like unit? The wheel has 6 spokes.

Just an idea, but if you see the sunrise each morning it moves like a pendulum. So you have a beginning, middle and end. The solstices and equinoxes.

1 period of solstice
2 movement from solstice to equinox
3 equinox to solstice
4 period of solstice
5 movement solstice to equinox
6 movement equinox to solstice

6 periods

Just an idea

[ott]

(...) why do we assume 12 months? (...)
Month might just as well be related to monad? Like unit? The wheel has 6 spokes.
(...) a beginning, middle and end. The solstices and equinoxes.
1 period of solstice
2 movement from solstice to equinox
3 equinox to solstice
4 period of solstice
5 movement solstice to equinox
6 movement equinox to solstice

It's a good question, but it's not easy to distribute the names given in OL over these 6 periods. Six periods may have been even older and could have still be used next to the 12 periods system. OL demonstrates that various names may have been used at the same time by the same people. I did not even know the English word 'monad'! It's just as close to MÔNATH as 'month'. (Must also be the root of 'money') At least deserves a footnote to the translation.

Personally I like the Mayan calender, 13 months makes sense. Moon(month) cycles vs the sun cycle.
Mooncycle may have been very usefull for knowing the (spring)tides.

Not only 13 months, but also cycles of 4, 13, 20 and 260 days. I find that very useful too and have used it (for almost 20 years now) next to the regular calendar.

[Coco]

In the context of ancient Egypt, the civil calendar, which was utilized for long-term planning, was of a solar nature, while a distinct lunar calendar was employed for agricultural purposes. When seeking historical accuracy, it may be erroneous to fill the temporal gaps present in a Julian calendar. Bede's account suggests that the Fryas utilized a lunisolar calendar, characterized by 12 months in a standard year and 13 months in a leap (or "embolismic") year. The leap month was incorporated subsequent to the summer solstice month to ensure the most accurate harvest season and to coincide with the summer solstice festival, i.e., Frya's Day. A similar approach is observed in the Chinese lunisolar calendar, which also adds a leap month after the summer solstice.

As a concise review: A lunisolar calendar is a system of reckoning based on the moon's phases; however, a leap month is added to the year every 2-3 years to align the calendar with the solar year of approximately 365.24 days and thereby prevent season drift. An entire moon cycle is referred to as a lunar or synodic month, which is an average of 29.53 days, not the average 30.44 days in a Julian month. In contrast, solar calendars are based on the sun and adjust to align with the timing of lunar events, such as plant growth, fertility cycles, and tides. Lunisolar calendars, on the other hand, are based on the moon and adjust to align with the timing of solar events, including solstices and equinoxes. Our civil calendar is an updated version of the solar Julian calendar; the Romans modified their original 10-month lunar calendar to include two additional months and a leap month, thereby transitioning to a lunisolar calendar. The Julian calendar merely adopted solar reckoning, potentially influenced by their veneration of the sun god, Sol.

[ott]

So keisar/kēsur might have come from an original meaning of “ship channel navigator” or “steerer.”

I think it's from KJASAR (lit.: chooser), albeit not in the specific meaning in which it is used in OL.
[022] IS HWA SJVGUN JÉR KJASAR SÁ MÉI HI HELPA EN HÉRMAN JEFTHA KÉNING TO KJASANE.

'Augustus' may be explained as HÁCHST or HÁGEST: 'highest'.

(Julius: JOL; Hera: HÉRA, 'to hear'; Diana: THJANJA, 'to serve'; many examples that make sense.)

[ott]

It would also be more logical for Sella Month to be in spring, when it is more feasible to reopen the markets.

Thanks for the suggestion. We've changed the translation to 'Selling month'.