In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

C h a p t e r  The Pontifical Calendar and the Law The development of the Roman calendar between the end of the fourth century and the second century can be followed in some detail. In this chapter I will advance the thesis that this development can best be analyzed as a process of rationalization. New rules are developed and coherently applied to procedures. As a whole, this process went far beyond technical changes. It had far-reaching consequences not simply for politics and religion, but for law in particular. Watching the Moon: The Structure of the Roman Months Reports from Roman antiquarians who wrote between the second century b.c.e. and the fifth century c.e. allow for the drafting of a detailed picture of the oldest Roman calendar. On a day close to the appearance of the new moon, a ‘‘scribe’’ observed the moon. This person was an assistant to a group of Roman patricians who were referred to as pontiffs and entrusted for life with all manner of domestic political issues, especially legal and sacral tasks. The goal of this observation was to estimate how many days remained until the first quarter of the moon (or a comparable set measurement). Along with the rex sacrorum, the scribe proceeded to a small shrine on the Capitol called Curia Calabra, which was located near the hut dedicated to the city founder Romulus, a cornerstone of historical memory. Both persons there performed a sacrifice. Afterward, the writer—later known as pontifex minor—addressed the goddess thus: I call to you, Iuno Covella! I call to you, Iuno Covella! I call to you, Iuno Covella! I call to you, Iuno Covella! I call to you, Iuno Covella! The Pontifical Calendar and the Law 95 Repeating this call five times signaled to the participants that the public assembly day, which was determined by the first quarter of the moon, would be in five days, including the day on which the sacrifice and address were performed.1 Thus, depending on the particular phase of the moon, the period of time until the next public assembly could be announced by four or six or, indeed, even seven repetitions of the call. The wife of the rex sacrorum, the queen of the sacrifice (regina sacrorum), sacrificed a sow or a ewe to the goddess Iuno on the same day in the Regia, a cultic building at the entrance to the Forum. But it was the act of calling out, kalo in Latin, which gave the day its name, kalendae. On the day thus announced, the people (though probably only a fraction of the few thousand inhabitants of Rome) assembled again. On this day, the announcements were of more substance. The rex sacrorum announced the situation of all holidays that month, presumably not only the dates but also, as relevant, the places where central rituals would be held and the festive decorations or offerings of the participants.2 Such announcements were still the most important calendary act of communication in medieval churches at the beginning of each year. We know nothing of specific rituals performed on that occasion, but we can assume that the assembly also served as a forum for markets, legal business, and possibly also political gatherings. The name of the day is drawn from the interval between it and the day of the full moon, which was referred to by a word of Etruscan origins as Ides (idus). The ‘‘Nones’’ were ‘‘nine days before the Ides,’’ although Roman inclusive counting meant that the nine days included both the Ides and the Nones. The Ides were the summit of the month. The whole day was feriatus, a festive break in some types of work. The priest of the extraordinary god Iuppiter, the Flamen Dialis, regularly sacrificed a white ram, attended by other religious specialists. The color of the animal relates to the god, who was considered the creator of the bright sky.3 The form of festivities went beyond these routine rituals, however. The oldest games—wagon racing, two-man competitions dedicated to Iuppiter or Mars—took place on the Ides, as did the ludi Romani in September, the ludi Capitolini and the October Horse in October, and later the ludi plebeii, the ‘‘plebeian games,’’ in November. New Year’s rituals on the Ides of March and the sacrifice to Maia, the goddess after whom the month was named, in May, also both...

Share