Reconstruction of the original month names:
I shall now make a reconstruction of the original Proto-Germanic month names that may have been used before the local variations occured, it is of course not certain whether this names were really used but considering the similarities in most old month names it is likely that most of this names were used in some form or another.
The following names are based on a comparison of other calendars, I will also translate them into various other languages so that everybody can understand the meanings of the names too.
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Roman month: January February March April May June July August September October November December |
English name: Wintermonth Horningmonth Springmonth Ostaramonth Pasturingmonth Fallowingmonth Haymonth Harvestmonth Autumnmonth Winemonth Bloodmonth Holymonth |
German name: Wintermonat Hornungmonat Lenzmonat Ostaramonat Weidemonat Brachmonat Heumonat Erntemonat Herbstmonat Weinmonat Blutmonat Heiligenmonat |
Dutch name: Wintermaand Hoorningmaand Lentemaand Ostaramaand Weidemaand Braakmaand Hooimaand Oogstmaand Herfstmaand Wijnmaand Bloedmaand Heiligemaand |
Frisian name: Wintermoanne Hoarningmoanne Maaitiidmoanne Ostaramoanne Greidemoanne Braakmoanne Heamoanne Rispingemoanne Hjerstmoanne Wynmoanne Bloedmoanne Hilligemoanne |
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Swedish name: Vintermånad Horningmånad Vårmånad Ostaramånad Betesmånad Trädemånad Hömånad Skördemånad Höstmånad Vinmånad Blodmånad Heligmånad |
Danish name: Vintermåned Horningmåned Forårsmåned Ostaramåned Betesmåned Brakmåned Hømåned Høstmåned Efterårsmåned Vinmåned Blodmåned Helligmåned |
Norwegian name: Vintermåned Horningmåned Vårmåned Ostaramåned Engmåned Brakkmåned Høymåned Kornmåned Høstmåned Vinmåned Blodmåned Helligmåned |
Icelandic name: Veturmánuður Horningmánuður Vármánuður Ostaramánuður Beitmánuður Hvíldarmánuður Heymánuður Uppskeramánuður Haustmánuður Vinmánuður Blóðmánuður Heilagmánuður |
Proto-Germanic name: Wentrumenoþ Hurningamenoþ Lenþamenoþ Austromenoþ Waiþimenoþ Brekimenoþ Hawjamenoþ Aznomenoþ Harbistamenoþ Winamenoþ Bloþamenoþ Hailagamenoþ |
Seasons:
The Germanic calendar originally had two seasons that were either called Summer and Winter or Spring and Autumn, the four seasons system was later added under Roman influence.
The Germans saw the year as a fight between good and evil; in the first part of the year the world was overtaken by cold, darkness and decay, after the summer solstice the sun gained victory over the cold which caused the second part of the year to be one of warmth, growth, and prosperity.
Most fertility festivals were held during the beginning of Summer to celebrate the victory of life over death and fertility over decline, this was a cycle that kept repeating itself every year and this is also one of the reasons why the sun was so important to ancient peoples, in almost every ancient religion the sun was worshipped as lifebringer; the Aztecs even sacrificed humans to it to ensure its rise the next day.
The ancients were not far from the truth; without the sun there would have been no Earth, no light, no warmt, no growth, no life, and no human existence.
On the Germanic calendar Winter and Summer were both 26 weeks long, so a year was 52 weeks, just like it is today on our modern calendar.
Years:
The year was seen as a ring with two halfs; Winter and Summer, after completing the whole cycle of Winter and Summer the ring was complete and a new ring (year) began, the new year started directly after the Jól celebration.
Although the concept "year" was known to the Germans they often counted in either seasons or Winters (depending on local custom), so if the Germans spoke about an event that took place 3 years ago they would have either said;"This happened 3 Winters ago" or "This happened 6 seasons ago" (they only knew 2 seasons), when a longer period had to be named they referred to an event that took place around the same time, for instance the year 580AD would have been defined by saying; "This happened 3 Winters after the battle of Deorham (which took place in 577AD)".
Leap years were unknown in ancient times, for the Germans this didn't cause any problems since the Germanic calendar was based on the cycle of the moon and other astronomical events, but when fixed dates were introduced in later periods this started to become a problem; during the Middle Ages most countries transitioned to the Roman-made Julian calendar that did not knew leap-years either, in western Europe this problem was eventually solved by introducing the Gregorian calendar that uses leap years.
In Iceland this this problem was adressed much sooner; Thorstein Surt introduced a plan in which an extra week was added every 7th year.
The Proto-Germanic name for "year" was "jera", from which modern names like "year", "jahr", "jaar", "ár" and "år" originate.
