The Oxford Companion to the Year explores the
fascinating history of calendars in general and our own
in particular. The calendar used in the West today is
just one of a multitude of systems for parcelling up
time and naming its divisions. Each of its days has over
the centuries acquired its own peculiar significance:
the feast day of a saint, the celebration of a
historical event, the subject of prose or poetry, the
commemoration of a significant historical figure. And
for these feasts and seasons there has grown up a rich
body of traditions, beliefs, and superstitions, many of
them only half-remembered today. Now, for the first
time, this body of knowledge is combined with a
wide-ranging survey of calendars in an authoritative,
absorbing Companion. The first section of The Oxford
Companion to the Year is a day-by-day survey of the
calendar year, revealing the history, literature,
legend, and lore associated with each season, month, and
date.The second part is a broader study of
time-reckoning: historical and modern calendars,
religious and civil, are explained, with handy tables
for the conversion of dates between various systems, and
special attention is given to the calculation of
Easter.There is a helpful index to facilitate speedy
reference. This is a unique reference source, an
indispensable aid for all historians and antiquarians,
and a rich mine of information, inspiration, and delight
for browsers. |
|