Stewards' Reckoning

The Stewards' Reckoning was a calendar reform enacted in Gondor by Mardil Voronwë, the first of the Ruling Stewards, in T.A. 2060. It was designed to correct the accumulating inaccuracies of the Kings' Reckoning, the Númenórean calendar system that had been in use since the beginning of the Second Age.

Origins and Purpose

The Kings' Reckoning, established in Númenor with S.A. 1 as its starting point, had a normal year of 365 days divided into twelve months, ten of thirty days and two of thirty-one. Three days—yestarë, loëndë, and mettarë—belonged to no month. Every fourth year, except the last of a century (haranyë), two enderi or 'middle-days' replaced the single loëndë. The deficit caused by deducting one day from the last year of a century was adjusted only at the end of a millennium, leaving a millennial deficit of 4 hours, 46 minutes, and 40 seconds. These additions were made in Númenor in S.A. 1000, 2000, and 3000. After the Downfall in S.A. 3319, the exiles maintained the system, but the beginning of the Third Age with a new numeration (T.A. 1 = S.A. 3442) introduced further dislocation. By making T.A. 4 a leap year instead of T.A. 3, an extra short year of only 365 days was intruded, causing a deficit of 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds. The millennial additions were made 441 years late: in T.A. 1000 and T.A. 2000. To reduce the errors so caused, Mardil issued the revised calendar to take effect in T.A. 2060, after a special addition of two days to 2059 (S.A. 5500), which concluded five and a half millennia since the beginning of the Númenórean system. This still left about eight hours of deficit. Hador later added one day in 2360, though the deficiency had not quite reached that amount. After that, no more adjustments were made; by the end of the Third Age, after 660 more years, the deficit had not yet amounted to one full day.

Structure and Adoption

Under the Stewards' Reckoning, all months were standardized to thirty days. Two extra days were introduced outside the months: one between the third and fourth months (March and April) and one between the ninth and tenth (September and October). These five days outside the months—yestarë, tuilérë, loëndë, yáviérë, and mettarë—were all holidays. This system was eventually adopted by most users of the Westron language, except the Hobbits. The conservative Hobbits of the Shire continued to use a form of Kings' Reckoning adapted to their own customs, with all months of thirty days, three Lithedays between June and July, and the Yuledays at the year's end. The Shire-folk introduced their own reform, the Shire-reform, which arranged that Mid-year's Day (and the Overlithe in leap years) had no weekday name, so that the year always began on the First Day of the week and ended on the Last Day.

Legacy

The Stewards' Reckoning remained the official calendar of Gondor throughout the remainder of the Third Age. After the fall of Sauron and the crowning of King Elessar, the New Reckoning was instituted in T.A. 3019. This represented a return to Kings' Reckoning adapted to fit a spring-beginning as in the Eldarin loa, with the year beginning on March 25 old style in commemoration of the fall of Sauron and the deeds of the Ring-bearers. The months retained their former names but referred to periods beginning generally five days earlier than previously. The Fourth Age was held to have begun with the departure of Master Elrond in September 3021, but for purposes of record in the Kingdom, Fourth Age 1 was the year that began according to the New Reckoning on March 25, 3021, old style. This reckoning was adopted in all of King Elessar's lands except the Shire, where the old calendar was retained and Shire Reckoning was continued.