Draft proposals for rectifying the Julian calendar

<1r>

The Iulian year now in use is very irregular, February has but 28 days & y^e other months 30 & 31 days w^thout any regular order or reason for the irregularity.

The best form of y^e solar year is to divide it {into} by y^e 4 cardinal periods of y^e Equinoxes & Solstices into 4 {eq} quarters, so that y^e quarters of y^e yeare may begin at y^e Equinoxes & Solstices as they ought to do, & then to divide every quarter into 3 equal months w^ch will be done by making the six winter months to consist of 30 days each & y^e six summer months to consist of 31 days each in excepting the leap year & one of them (suppose y^e last) to have but 30 days in excepting one of y^m (suppose y^e last) w^ch in y^e leap year shall have 31 days in y^e other thre years but \only/ 30 days. /or p \And/ At y^e end of every hundred years {illeg} omit the intercalary day in y^e leap year excepting at at y^e end of every five hundred years. For this rule is exacter then y^e Gregorian of omitting it at y^e end of every hundred years excepting at y^e end of every 400 years. And this recconing by five hundreds & thousands of years is rounder then \the other/ by four, hundreds & eight hundreds & twelve hundreds. And this I take to be the \simplest & in all respects the/ best form of y^e civil year that can be thought of. {illeg} Certainly tis much better then y^e

The best form And this is all y^e reformation of y^e year w^ch need be made at first

If As for the Ecclesiastical year if the fixt Feasts be \still/ placed on the same days of the months as in y^e Iulian year \of this New Year as in the Iulian year,/ they will come nearer to y^e truth then they do at p^rsent. For they are now become about 14 days later in respect in this solstitial year then they were in the two later since \then they were in/ y^e first century \in respect of summer & winter/ whereas in y^e|this| new year they will will be but \only/ eight or 9 days too sooner. So that the Civil year \Calendar/ will be amend amended \almost half in half/ by this new year without altering \translating/ the fixt feasts to other days of the months.

But if it \may/ be allowed to translate them to other days of the months so as to bring them nearer to y^e places where they were in y^e first Century in respect of Summer and Winter the Calendar may be still amended as follows. Let

1. Let Lady day \(the first day of the Ecclesiastical year)/ be removed from y^e 25^t of March to y^e first of Aprill & the Ecclesiastical year will begin with at y^e Equinox & on the first day of the month as it ought to do, whereas in y^e present Iulian year it begins neither at y^e at y^e Equinox nor on the first day of {y^e} \the/ month but on y^e 25^t of March w^ch & 16 days after y^e Equinox.

2. Let Michaelmas be removed from the 29 of September to y^e 1^st of October {illeg} & these two principal days of payment will fall on the Equinoxes & on the first days of the mont \months w^ch begin the/ spring & autumnal quarters of the year w^ch is very proper & {illeg} ready for recconing, & also more just for contracts. Let For y^e summer half year \is/ eleven days more \longer/ then y^e winter half year in y^e vugar {sic} Calendar but in {illeg} this new one the difference will be but 5 days.

3 Let \In like manner/ To regulate y^e \days of/ quarterly payments let y^t S^t Iohn Baptists {day} be removed from y^e four & twentith {sic} day of 24^th of Iune to y^e 1^st of Iuly & Christmas \day/ from y^e 25^t of December to y^e 1^st or 2^d of Ianuary or if {illeg} \perhaps/ to y^e 2^d y^t it may be distinguished from New years day.

Thus will the year become fitter for civil uses & also the festivals placed where reduced very nearly t within a day or two to the places where they were in y^e first Century in respect of summer & winter: whereas they now err 14 days from those places. And the like correction may be made <1v> {to} all the other \unmoveable/ Festivals, by setting them 7 or 8 days later.

Easter is determined by making it the first Sunday after y^e first full Moon after \Lady day or/ the first of April. And the rest of y^e moveable Feasts are determined by their distance from Easter as in y^e Vulgar Calendar.

The \old/ Rule for finding Ester {sic} by the Prime & Dominical Letter is to be corrected at y^e end of every Century \hundred or two hundred years/ by Ecclesiastical authority & so is the Rule for finding the new Moon by the Epact in y^e margin of y^e Calendar, & w^th such correction both Rules may {illeg} be retained for ever.

^{[Editorial Note 1]} <2v>

Ianuary

February

March

April

May

Iune

<2r>

Iuly

Iuly|August|

Septemb.

Octob.

Novemb.

Decemb

^{[Editorial Note 2]} <3v>

Make Ian 1 1701 the 2^d day of the first month of the second cycle

Or make Decem 31 1700 the first day of y^e first month of y^e second cycle.

Or if the 1^st & last cycle have 17 months & y^e middlemost 15, make Decemb 31 1700 the first day of y^e great cycle of 49 months.

NB. {illeg} Anno 1780 Mar 20 st. n. hor. 16 48′ post med noctem Luna \media/ fuit plena et hora 10$\frac{3}{4}$ circiter Luna plena \apparens/ fuit plena. Lit. Domin B. A. Epact 29 Aur. num. 14 Pascha Mar 26 \juxta cal Greg/. Rectius Luna plena Apr. 19. 5^h post med. noct Pasch Apr 23 st. vetero n.

Item anno 1867. Aur num 6. Epact 1. Luna media plena Mar 20. 14^h 49′ et iterum Apr 19. 3^h. 33′. Litera Dominica F. Pascha Ap. 21. Had y^e Dominical letter been D y^e Pascha would have been on y^e new moon Apr 219.

<4r>

The only feasts in the beginning till y^e reign of Trajan were y^e L^ds day, Easter & Whitsonday. |See| Origen l 8 cont. Cels. Christmas began to be celebrated in divers places about y^e year 190 (Theophilus Cæsariensis in epist. paschal.

On cer The Martyrs began to be commemorated on their passiō days about y^e year 170 & these days at length {illeg} were celebrated as Feasts. T by y^e institution of Constantine y^e great Euseb. in vit. Const. l. 4 who also instituted y^e observation of friday. Euseb. ib. The heathen Feasts turned into y^e Christiā Theodoret l 8 de martyribus & Greg. M. l 9 cap 71 citante Hospin. De Origin. Christ. Fest. p 15.

The Greeks celebrated y^e Epiphany or baptism of Christ on y^e same day w^th his birth, \the latines on Ian 6/ Hospin ad Ian 6.

Timothy \martyred/ on Ian 24. Pauli Conversio Ian 25. The burning of lights on Candlemas day \Feb 2/ taken from y^e sacra of Ceres seeking her daughter Proserpina w^th lighted torches. Feb 1 The Bacchinal rights turned into Christian carnivals in y^e 3 first days of y^e q|Q|uinquagesima or week before Lent. Matthias Feb. 24. Festū annunciationis Mariæ Mart. 25. S^t Mark |marty\red/| Apr. 25. The Greeks celebrated \to all y^e Apostles/ y^e feast of Peter & Paul to all y^e Apostles, that \Iun 29/ the Latines y^t of Philip & Iames \May 1./ At length the day is left Phil. & Iames alone. Quadratus May 26. Nativity of Iohn Baptist Iune 24. Peter & Paul on Iune 29 on w^ch day y^e Heathens celebrated y^e feast of Hercules & y^e Muses. Iuly 25 S^t Iames. Aug. 24 S^t Bartholomew Sept 21 S^t Matthew. Sept 25 Cleopas. Sept 25 S^t Michael & all angels. Octob 18 S^t Luke. Octob 28 Simon & Iude. Novemb. 28 Adventus Domini. Nov. 30 S^t Andrew

^{[Editorial Note 3]} <5v>

Arrogant

Invincible

Strong