Why do we measure time in the way that we do? Why is a week seven days long? At what point did minutes and seconds come into being? Why are some calendars lunar and some solar?
The organisation of time into hours, days, months and years seems immutable and universal, but is actually far more artificial than most people realise. The French Revolution resulted in a restructuring of the French calendar, and the Soviet Union experimented with five and then six-day weeks. Leofranc Holford-Strevens explores these questions using a range of fascinating examples from Ancient Rome and Julius Caesar's imposition of the Leap Year, to the 1920s' project for a fixed Easter.
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Les mer
Leofranc Holford-Strevens explores time measurement and the organisation of time into hours, days, months and years using a range of fascinating examples from Ancient Rome and Julius Caesar's Leap Year, to the 1920s' project for a fixed Easter.
Les mer
Preface ; 1. Principles of time measurement ; 2. Prehistory and history of the modern calendar ; 3. Weeks and seasons ; 4. Easter ; 5. Other calendars ; 6. Marking the year ; 7. Dividing the day ; Further Reading
Les mer
An absorbing exploration of an aspect of our lives which we all take for granted
An accessible look at an immensely complicated subject, using original research and a range of tables and diagrams to fully explain the concepts involved
There is no comparable introduction to this subject available
Covers a wide range of cultures
Les mer
Leofranc Holford-Strevens, a classicist, received a D.Phil from Oxford University in 1971. The author of Aulus Gellius (1988), and co-author of The Oxford Companion to the Year (OUP 1999), he is a desk-editor with Oxford University Press. He has a long-standing interest in calendars, chronologies, and the calculation of time.
Les mer
An absorbing exploration of an aspect of our lives which we all take for granted
An accessible look at an immensely complicated subject, using original research and a range of tables and diagrams to fully explain the concepts involved
There is no comparable introduction to this subject available
Covers a wide range of cultures
Les mer
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780192804990
Publisert
2005
Utgiver
Vendor
Oxford University Press
Vekt
143 gr
Høyde
174 mm
Bredde
111 mm
Dybde
10 mm
Aldersnivå
G, 01
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Heftet
Antall sider
160
Forfatter