Time Keeping

Gorean Year versus Earth Year

The earth-to-Gor comparisons are fairly inaccurate, although they come fairly close. Give or take a couple of weeks perhaps, Gor's seasons will only somewhat to Earth's — within certain years every quarter-century, since there are 356 days in an Earth year and 365 days in a Gorean year, 52 weeks in an Earth year versus 73 in a Gorean year. I have a spreadsheet that I will convert to HTML that details out the year 2007 to current in comparison of the Earth year, month, et al to the Gorean year, month, weeks, et al.

The measure of calendric time on Gor is as follows:

• Hand: The Gorean week consisting of five (5) days.
• Month: The Gorean month consists of five (5) hands, or, twenty-five (25) days.
• Passage Hand: The five (5) day period between each month.
• Waiting Hand: The five (5) day period following the 12th Passage Hand.

"The Gorean week consists of five days. Each month consists of five such weeks. Following each month, of which there are twelve, separating them, is a five-day Passage Hand. The twelfth Passage Hand is followed by the Waiting Hand, a five-day period prior to the vernal equinox, which marks the Gorean New Year." — Tribesmen of Gor, page 26.

"There are twelve twenty-five day Gorean months, incidentally, in most of the calendars of the various cities. Each month, containing five five-day weeks, is separated by a five-day period, called the Passage Hand, from every other month, there being one exception to this, which is that the last month of the year is separated from the first month of the year, which begins with the Vernal Equinox, not only by a Passage Hand, but by another five-day period called the Waiting Hand… it is perhaps, in its way, a period of mourning for the old year… Month names differ, unfortunately, from city to city, but, among the civilized cities, there are four months, associated with the equinoxes and solstices, and the great fairs at the Sardar, which do have common names, the months of En'Kara, or En'Kara-Lar-Torvis; En'Var, or En'var-Lar-Torvis; Se'Kara, or Se'Kara-Lar-Torvis; and Se'Var, or Se'Var-Lar-Torvis. Elizabeth and I had arrived in Ko-ro-ba in the second month, and she departed on the second day of the Second Passage Hand, that following the second month. We estimated that she would surely be in the House of Clark by the Third Passage Hand, which precedes the month of En'Var." — Assassin of Gor, pages 78-79.

The Official Calendars

The keeping of the official calendars of Gor falls to that of the Caste of Scribes.

"Your calendar is well kept," I said. "Worthy of a Scribe."
"I am a Scribe," said the man. He reached under himself to hold forth for my inspection a shred of damp, rotted blue cloth, the remains of what had once been his robes. — Assassin of Gor, page 277.

Chronology of Years; Cultural Differences

In Gorean chronology, most cities mark their years by the terms of their Administrators. Ar, is one exception, which marks its years by its founding date. The equivalent to this on Earth would be Ab urbe condita (related with Anno urbis conditae: AUC or a.u.c.), which is Latin for "from the founding of the City (Rome)", traditionally set in 753 BC. It was used to identify the Roman year by a few Roman historians. Modern historians use it much more frequently than the Romans themselves did; the dominant method of identifying Roman years was to name the two consuls who held office that year. Before the advent of the modern critical edition of historical Roman works, AUC was indiscriminately added to them by earlier editors, making it appear more widely used than it actually was. The regnal year of the emperor was also used to identify years, especially in the Byzantine Empire after Justinian required its use in 537.

"It was the fourth day of the sixth passage hand, shortly before the Autumnal Equinox, which in the common Gorean calendar begins the moth of Se'Kara. In the calendar of Ko-ro-ba, which, like most Gorean cities, marks years by its Administration of my father, Matthew Cabot. In the calendar of Ar, for those it might interest, it was the first year of the restoration of Marlenus, Ubar of Ubars, but, more usefully for the purposes of consolidating the normal chaos of Gorean chronology, it was the year 10,119 Contasta Ar, that is, from the founding of Ar." — Raiders of Gor, pages 1-2.

The Wagon Peoples do not give numbers to their years. Each year is given a name, which is related to some happening of import that occurred during the past fifteen moons. These names are not written down, but are kept in the memories of free women known as Year Keepers. In addition, the women of the Wagon Peoples keep a calendar of their own, based upon the phases of the largest of the three Gorean moons. It consists of fifteen separate divisions, each named after one of the fifteen different kinds of bosk, such as The Moon of the Brown Bosk.

"The years, incidentally, are not numbered by the Wagon Peoples, but given names, toward their end, based on something or other which has occurred to distinguish the year. The year names are kept in living memory by the Year Keepers, some of whom can recall the names of several thousand consecutive years." — Nomads of Gor, page 12 (footnote).

"In the thinking of the Wagon Peoples it is called the Omen Year, though the Omen Year is actually a season, rather than a year, which occupies a part of two of their regular years, for the Wagon Peoples calculate the year from the Season of Snows to the Season of Snows; Turians, incidentally, figure the year from summer solstice to summer solstice; Goreans generally, on the other hand, figure the year from vernal equinox to vernal equinox, their new year beginning, like nature's, with the spring; …" — Nomads of Gor, page 11.

The Rune-Priests of the North number their years from the time of Thor's gift of the Stream of Torvald to Torvald, the legendary hero and founder of the northern lands known as Torvaldsland.

"The sun, for Torvaldsland, was hot. In the chronology of Port Kar, it was early in Year 3 of the Sovereignty of the Council of Captains. In the chronology of Ar, which serves, generally, to standardize chronology on Gor, it was 10,122 C.A., or Contasta Ar, from the founding of Ar…  Most Gorean cities use the Spring Equinox as the date of the New Year. Turia, however, uses the Summer Solstice. The Spring Equinox, incidentally, is also used for the New Year by the Rune-Priests of the North, who keep the calendars of Torvaldsland. They number years from the time of Thor's gift of the stream of Torvald to Torvald, legendary hero and founder of the northern fatherlands. In the calendars of the Rune-Priests the year was 1,006." — Marauders of Gor, page 58.

Standardization of Calendars

At the great fairs each year, scribes attempt to standardize the calendars and years of the greater cities of Gor for uniformity, but never have succeeded.

"It was natural that he, of Ar's Station, would give the date in the chronology of Ar. Different cities, perhaps in their vanity, or perhaps simply in accord with their own traditions, often have their own chronologies, based on Administrator Lists, and such. A result of this is that there is little uniformity in Gorean chronology. The same year, in the chronology of Port Kar, if it is of interest, would have been Year 8 of the Sovereignty of the Council of Captains. The reform of chronology is proposed by a small party from among the castes of scribes almost ever year at the Fair of En'Kara, near the Sardar, but their proposals, sensible as they might seem, are seldom greeted with either interest or enthusiasm, even by the scribes. Perhaps that is because the reconciliation and coordination of chronologies, like the diction and convolutions of the law, are regarded as scribal prerogatives." — Renegades of Gor, page 347.

The Gorean Calendar

Below is the Gorean Calendar, mapped out specifically by book references. Please note that although on this calendar, there are a few references to specific holidays or noted events, a more complete calendar of all of the festivals, celebrations and events by chronological order can be found on the Events and Festivals page

 

 

Special Note

Because of the differences in publishing the books, depending upon whether published in the U.S. or Europe, depending upon whether a first publishing or a Masquerade Books release, page numbers will often vary. All of my quotes are from original, first-printing U.S. publications (see The Books page for a listing of publishers and dates) with the exception of the following books:

• Tarnsman of Gor (2nd Printing, Balantine)
• Outlaw of Gor (11th Printing, Balantine)
• Priest-Kings of Gor (2nd Printing, Balantine)
• Assassin of Gor (10th Printing, Balantine)
• Raiders of Gor (15th Printing, Balantine)
• Captive of Gor (3rd Printing, Balantine)

Disclaimer

These pages are not written for any specific home, but rather as informational pages for those not able to get ahold of the books and read them yourself. Opinions and commentaries are strictly my own personal views, therefore, if you don't like what you are reading — then don't. The information in these pages is realistic to what is found within the books. Many sites have added information, assuming the existences of certain products and practices, such as willowbark and agrimony for healing, and travel to earth and back for the collection of goods. I've explored the books, the flora, the fauna, and the beasts, and have compiled from those mentioned, the probabilities of certain practices, and what vegetation mentioned in the books is suitable for healing purposes, as well as given practicalities to other sorts of roleplaying assumptions.

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