Elven New Year

[eldarinprincess]

I've always wondered when the Elven New Year would be; i.e. in terms of the Shire Calender. This link here gives an interpretation: tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Elven_New_Year

Curious to hear thoughts/ideas/rants/comments....

It's important for me to know the date as certain events in my new story depend upon it, but no rush really

[Elf of cave]

According to Encyclopedia of Arda the date of Yestarë was different in some of the calendars. In the Reckoning of Imladris it corresponds to our modern day 28th of March while in the calendar of the Númenóreans, it corresponds to our 22nd of December.

But since no race or culture in Arda used our modern calender it becomes a lot harder to answer that question. Boris Shapiro has written an essay in which he attempts to adapt the calendars of Imladris, Gondor, and the Shire for Gregorian reckoning.

You can find it here: www.elvish.org/gwaith/calendars.htm

I hope this can be of some help (you will have to do the math yourself )

[eldarinprincess]

Wow, my head is spinning from reading that. Very interesting stuff, though my math skills stopped early

I am looking for the correspondence into the Shire Calendar since in the RotK appendices all the events are listed as such. I shall try to give it a go (doing my own math) sometime. Although if I fail horridly (very likely) I will default to using the date listed in the article I posted. Thanks so very much though!

[randy]

I may be telling you something you already know, but in Appendix B, Tale of Years it says:

'And on the day of the New Year of the Elves, Celeborn and Thranduil met in the midst of the forest; and they renamed Mirkwood Erynlasgalen, The Wood of Greenleaves.'

'April 6 Meeting of Celeborn and Thranduil.'

[eldarinprincess]

Thanks Randy. It's that very quote I am working into my story. If it's listed somewhere in the appendices April 6 I've missed it. Just to verify, April 6 of the Shire Reckoning, correct?

[randy]

If it's listed somewhere in the appendices April 6 I've missed it. Just to verify, April 6 of the Shire Reckoning, correct?

It's on the page right after that long quote about the battle under the trees and Thranduil and Celeborn renaming the woods. As for Shire Reckoning, I don't know. If the dates given in the Tale of Years are Shire Reckoning, then yes.

[eldarinprincess]

Again thanks Randy, I will be looking at that section again for verification.

[eldarinprincess]

Wow, just one turn of the page I bookmarked in the appendix and there it was. Also, the months and dates are in Shire Reckoning.

[russandol]

May 11, 2011 11:40:49 GMT -6 randy said:

I may be telling you something you already know, but in Appendix B, Tale of Years it says:

'And on the day of the New Year of the Elves, Celeborn and Thranduil met in the midst of the forest; and they renamed Mirkwood Erynlasgalen, The Wood of Greenleaves.'

'April 6 Meeting of Celeborn and Thranduil.'

It is confirmed again in Unfinished Tales, in the final notes of "The Quest of Erebor":

"3 The Elvish solar year (loa) began with the day called yestarë, which was the day before the first day of tuilë (Spring); and in the Calendar of Imladris yestarë "corresponded more or less with Shire April 6." (The Lord of the Rings, Appendix D.)"

This also confirms correspondence with the Shire calendar.