The Lord of the Rings

the week, or the names and lengths of months). But owing to their general interest in genealogy, and to the interest in ancient history which the learned amongst them developed after the War of the Ring, the Shire-hobbits seem to have concerned themselves a good deal with dates; and they even drew up complicated tables showing the relations of their own system with others. I am not skilled in these matters, and may have made many errors; but at any rate the chronology of the crucial years S.R. 1418, 1419 is so carefully set out in the Red Book that there cannot be much doubt about days and times at that point.
    It seems clear that the Eldar in Middle-earth, who had, as Samwise remarked, more time at their disposal, reckoned in long periods, and the Quenya word
yén,
often translated ‘year’ (p. 377 ), really means 144 of our years. The Eldar preferred to reckon in sixes and twelves as far as possible. A ‘day’ of the sun they called
ré
and reckoned from sunset to sunset. The
yen
contained 52,596 days. For ritual rather than practical purposes the Eldar observed a week or
enquië
of six days; and the
yén
contained 8,766 of these
enquier,
reckoned continuously throughout the period.
    In Middle-earth the Eldar also observed a short period or solar year, called a
coranar
or ‘sun-round’ when considered more or less astronomically, but usually called
loa
‘growth’ (especially in the north-western lands) when the seasonal changes in vegetation were primarily considered, as was usual with the Elves generally. The
loa
was broken up into periods that might be regarded either as long months or short seasons. These no doubt varied in different regions; but the Hobbits only provide information concerning the Calendar of Imladris. In that calendar there were six of these ‘seasons’, of which the Quenya names were
tuilë, lairë, yávie, quelle, hrívë, coirë,
which may be translated ‘spring, summer, autumn, fading, winter, stirring’. The Sindarin names were
ethuil, laer, iavas, firith, rhîw, echuir.
‘Fading’ was also called
lasse-lanta
leaf-fall’, or in Sindarin
narbeleth
‘sun-waning’.
    Lairë
and
hrívë
each contained 72 days, and the remainder 54 each. The
loa
began with
yestarë,
the day immediately before
tuilë,
and ended with
mettarë,
the day immediately after
coirë.
Between
yavië
and
quelle were
inserted three
enderi
or ‘middle-days’. This provided a year of 365 days which was supplemented by doubling the
enderi
(adding 3 days) in every twelfth year.
    How any resulting inaccuracy was dealt with is uncertain. If the year was then of the same length as now, the
yén
would have been more than a day too long. That there was an inaccuracy is shown by a note in the Calendars of the Red Book to the effect that in the ‘Reckoning of Rivendell’ the last year of every third
yén
was shortened by three days: the doubling of the three
enderi
due in that year was omitted; ‘but that has not happened in our time’. Of the adjustment of any remaining inaccuracy there is no record.
    The Númenóreans altered these arrangements. They divided the
loa
into shorter periods of more regular length; and they adhered to the custom of beginning the year in mid-winter, which had been used by Men of the North-west from whom they were derived in the First Age. Later they also made their week one of 7 days, and they reckoned the day from sunrise (out of the eastern sea) to sunrise.
    The Númenórean system, as used in Númenor, and in Arnor and Gondor until the end of the kings, was called Kings’ Reckoning. The normal year had 365 days. It was divided into twelve
astar
or months, of which ten had 30 days and two had 31. The long
astar
were those on either side of the Mid-year, approximately our June and July. The first day of the year was called
yestarë,
the middle day (183rd) was called
loëndë,
and the last day
mettarë;
these 3 days belonged to no month. In every fourth year, except the last of a century
(haranyë),
two
enderi
or ‘middle-days’ were substituted for the
loëndë.
    In Númenor calculation started with S.A. 1. The
Deficit
caused by deducting 1 day from the last year of a century was not adjusted until the last year of a millennium, leaving a
millennial deficit
of 4 hours, 46 minutes, 40 seconds. This addition was made in Númenor in S.A. 1000, 2000, 3000. After the Downfall in S.A. 3319 the system was maintained by the exiles, but it was much dislocated by the beginning of the