The Calendar of Imladris
The Elves of Rivendell used a solar calendar much like our own. A year was nominally 365 days long, with three extra days added every twelfth year to keep the calendar aligned with the seasons. The year began at the Spring equinox, and was divided into six seasons:
| Name | Translation | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Ethuil | Growing | 54 days |
| Laer | Summer | 72 |
| Iavas | Fruiting | 54 |
| Firith | Fading | 54 |
| Rhîw | Winter | 72 |
| Echuir | Stirring | 54 |
The seasons only total to 360 days, so in every year there were a few days not considered part of any season. These were:
- Methor
Last Day
, following Echuir - Iestor
First Day
, preceding Ethuil - Three Enedhoer or
Middle Days
at the Autumn equinox, following Iavas. In every twelfth year, the Enedhoer were doubled to six days.
The Elves observed a six-day week:
| Name | Translation |
|---|---|
| Orgilion | Star Day |
| Oranor | Sun Day |
| Orithil | Moon Day |
| Orgaladhad | Day of the Two Trees |
| Ormenel | Day of the Heavens |
| Orbelain | Day of the Valar |
The Seventh Age
The Reckoning of Imladris has, regrettably, not been
maintained since the end of the Third Age, and so while we
can still use the calendar to determine the date based on
the seasons, it's unclear how years should be counted. A
few people have attempted to resolve this conundrum by aligning
our own calendar with dates in the Third Age,
but that seems to me like the wrong approach if the goal
is to convert modern dates to the Elvish calendar. It is no
longer the Third Age. As Tolkien wrote in a letter in 1958,
I imagine the gap [between The Lord of the Rings and today]
to be about 6000 years: that is we are now
at the end of the Fifth Age, if the Ages were of about the
same length as S.A. [the Second Age] and T.A. [the Third
Age.] But they have, I think, quickened; and I imagine we
are actually at the end of the Sixth Age, or in the Seventh.
Thus, I've arbitrarily chosen March 22, 1970 as the start of Year 1 of the Seventh Age. This aligns closely with the Unix Epoch of January 1st, 1970, the date from which computers reckon time.