Below is an example of a date from a letter written to Henry
III in 1261:
VĪCĒNSIMŌ TERTIŌ ¦ DIĒ ¦
OCTŌBRIS
on the 23rd ¦ day ¦ of October
ordinal number in the ablative + diēs in the ablative + the
month in the genitive case
We’ll begin with the months and, in the next post, go into
more detail with specific dates.
Iānuārius, -ī [2/m]
Februārius, -ī [2/m
Mārtius, -ī [2/m]
Aprīlis, -is [3/m]
Maius, -ī [2/m]
Iūnius, -ī [2/m]
Iūlius, -ī [2/m]
Augustus, -ī [2/m]
September, Septembris [3/m]
Octōber, Octōbris [3/m]
November, Novembris [3/m]
December, Decembris [3/m]
The names of the months are often preceded by mēnsis,
-is [3/m]:
(mēnsis) Iānuārius
mēnsis Februārius
mēnsis Mārtius
mēnsis Aprīlis
mēnsis Maius
mēnsis Iūnius
mēnsis Iūlius
mēnsis Augustus
mēnsis September
mēnsis Octōber
mēnsis November
mēnsis December
When this happens the months agree in case with mēnsis:
mēnsis Iānuārius> mēnse Iānuāriō:
in the month of January
mēnsis Februārius> mēnse Februāriō:
in the month of February
[image #1] mēnsibus Iānuāriō, Februāriō et
Mārtiō: in the months of January, February
and March
Note the ending for the other months that don’t end in
–(i)us:
mēnsis Aprīlis > mēnse Aprīlī: in the month of
April
mēnsis September > mēnse Septembrī
mēnsis Octōber > mēnse Octōbrī
mēnsis November > mēnse Novembrī
mēnsis December > mēnse Decembrī
Mēnse Aprīlī erunt nūptiae fīliae meae.
- My daughter’s wedding will be in April. [nuptiae: plural i.e. ‘nuptials’]
Mēnse Decembrī Rōmam ibō.
- I shall go to Rome in December.
Image #2: Early 9th century depiction of the labours of each
month, the names abbreviated
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