Wladyslaw Polakowski wlad@df.ru

2003-why?
Or, really, why on our calendars we have year namely with the number 2003?
(Popular version of article)

Such question, for certain was set also by our ancestors in 1900, both in 1800, and in 1700 years... Nothing to do, but the beginning yearscoring in common era (or in new era, as it referred to as at socialisms, or from Christ Birth, as it refers to as in christian tradition) lays in deep darkness.

If the encyclopedias to trust, everything was rather simple. There was a certain monk from Scythia Dionysis Exiguus. He, according to a traditional science, has decided to count Eastern Table (table, which serves for accounts of Easter) not in Diocletian years, such was the tradition (rather doubtful from the viewpoint of a present science, as all documents of that epoch, both narrative, and act, are exposed by the historians to doubt), and from Christ Birth.

The additional exciter to this was that fact, that he, being the christian, considered, that it's very bad to the christians to count Eastern Table from the emperor, which was persecutor of the christians.

If such fact to not subject a serious astronomical understanding (and from the viewpoint of astronomy, as repeatedly was shown by the researchers of last years, it rather is vulnerable), and to address only in existing in certain where later times chronological traditions (for example, to tradition of the world chronicles, which appeared even in epoch book printing) there will be quickly to be found out, that, first, their authors (not poorest and not the most dark people of that epoch which asked the sanction for the edition of the book at the governors of those times) not always know time distance from the time before Christ time, and, secondly, as in general absolutely differently on chronology look.... Well there is no at them, for example, such concept, as the century (can be, they even up to hundred were not able to consider, was not under a hand of natural analogue, in difference, for example, from the accounts up to twenty, when under a hand there are always twenty fingers), there was only such concept, as century, which totalled rather uncertain number of years.... And even, if to trust certain traditions, not always counted FROM any of the moment, counting sometimes time UP TO any of the moment.... That presently, generally speaking, exotic, though from time to time even in XX century the time was considered before coming of communism, prior to the beginning party congresses or Olympiad, prior to the beginning new millenium...

"25:8 And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years.
25:9 Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubile to sound on the tenth [day] of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land.
25:10 And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout [all] the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family"

And then the question on that, and when has appeared this or that number of year in the account from Christ Birth, will be reduced to very simple questions: when were selebrated the first anniversaries and how organizers of celebrating of the first anniversaries have proved their number?

The traditional history on the first question gives the answer is perfect precisely: the first jubilee from Christ was selebrated in year 1300. And here second that is whence is most 1300-th number has undertaken... Here more and more confused and it is less unequivocal, because of but very often conversations about tradiotion of dating of events beginning since the VI century, more serious information in this topic is very hard to find.

Name of the Roman pope, which stayed on pontificat in that moment was Bonifacy. Under the account he was eighth with this name. His court chronologer, which into a history has come as continuaqtor till his time of the Roman popes book Liber pontificalis - Bernhard Guidonis. He, by the way, also has come in a history and as the author of one of the first manuals for inquisitors, and as the follower of tradition connected to a simultaneous spelling of a history of popes and the emperors, which was begun by Martin Polonus. Among those persons, which he, as bishop and inquisitor, pursued, also there were people, which have left an outstanding trace in a history of a humanitarian idea of west, and, that for us the trace especially is interesting - in have left in the field of chronology. Most outstanding of them has appeared Peter John Olivi, from the modest viewpoint stated Catholic encyclopedia, "Spiritual francian and theological author", which, from the viewpoint of the article's author, the topic of the 1300-th year has illuminated the most better.

Peter John Olivi itself belonged to ioachimists, that is to the followers of the Ioachimus Fiorensis doctrine. In the short article there will not succeed to tell about all sites of his doctrine and activity. But there will be succeed to illuminate one of his doctrine's display from the viewpoint of chronology: he divided a global history into three periods: the perios of Lord-father, Lord-son and Sacred Spirit (Padre, Filii et Spirito Sancto). At it beginning of Christ era, that is first Christ's Advention, concerned by the beginning of common era (that is on the Christ's Birth), his second Advention, which was connected to approach of era of Sacred Spirit, was predicted by Ioachimus Fiorensis (died in 1202) for 1260 (agrees to the 12-th John's Revelation chapter). About it both Fiorensis, and Olivi have treatises).

So in the twelfth chapter of John's Revelation there is figure 1260, and the celebration of the first Christ's Birth jubilee is attributed to year 1300. May be, some information about chronology it's possible to seek in some properties of this figures and in that what role play those figures in treatise of medieval authors?

The figure 1260 has the unequivocal interpretation: as forty two months by thirty days.
11:2 "But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months".
(Though, certainly, a certain reflection gives decomposition of number 1260 on simple multipliers:

1260 = 2*2*3*3*5*7,
That is just two will turn out numbers two, two numbers three, number five and number seven. In more detail about it is written on pages of the book, preparing for the edition, of the author under the preliminary name " Mediterranean. Middle ages. Multivariancy", which in the present moment prepares for the edition.

At Ioachinmus Fiorensis in his chronology, if to trust, for example, researchers of creativity by Ioachimists David Burr or Gert Wendelborn, number forty two are treated as forty two generations, and the number thirty is treated as number of years in generation.

As to number 1300, it in the treatments where is more unequivocal. Rather transparent representation of this number as products 13*100 at once rushes in eyes. That is number 1300 of years is a number of thirteen centuries.

Here author of article would like to tell, that the duration of temporary intervals with externally by identical name, those years, when yet it was not unequivocal of perceived chronological concepts, was different. In more detail - in article of the author <a href="saeculumen.htm">"About concept saeculum according to David Burr, Warrren Lewis and Petrus Ioanis Olivi and some chronological aspects of reconstruction", devoted to J.Kesler"</a>.

If in a detail to not press, it is possible to tell briefly: a word saeculum, which in the Latin-Russian dictionary means not that other, as the century, is not necessarily it was meaningful of a temporal interval by duration hundred years. And in it to be concealed much can.

From this point of view the illumination of number thirteen in Bible, and also in works by Ioachius Fiorensis and Petrus Ioannis Olivi, is very interesting.

As to Bilble, general tone Bible is those, that the number twelve there is connected to perfection (example: twelve Christ's apostols), and in this light number thirteen look as number applicationon infringement of such perfection. Not without reason it very much frequently is considered as unfortunate number.

As to Ioachinus Fiorensis and Petrus Ioannis Olivi, the certain items of information on their attitude to number thirteen and about its influence on chronology can be made on the basis of site by David Burr, wholly and completely devoted to Olivi.

For the best understanding of the given quotations we shall tell, that everyone and first two large periods of church - the periods of the Lord-father and Lord-son - Ioachimists divided into seven fineer periods, which they carried, accordingly, to Old and New Testaments.

So, quotation from works by David Burr (in the first inverted commas) and Warrren Lewis (in the second inverted commas):

"Olivi's.... was heavily influenced by Joachim of Fiore, whose commentary on the Apocalypse, written a full century earlier, laid out the same basic historical pattern found in Olivi's. There were, in fact, two patterns. The first involved seven periods of New Testament history paralleling seven periods of Old Testament history. The parallel wasn't exact. History didn't simply reoccur in precisely the same form. Nevertheless, the parallel was close enough so that one could look at what had happened in the Old Testament era and get some insight into what could be expected in the future. In other words, since Olivi thought of himself as standing at the transition point between the fifth and sixth periods of the New Testament era, he could turn to the Old Testament to see what periods six and seven might bring. He could also turn to the Apocalypse, the book of Revelation, the final book in the New Testament....

Olivi's seven periods offer a image of the church as gradually progressing and at times retrogressing. In the fifth period, which began around the eighth century, the church had become big and powerful, but the result had been a gradual moral decay which proceeded until "around the end of the fifth period practically the whole church is infected from head to toe, confused, and turned into a new Babylon as it were." Nevertheless, even as the church had been backsliding, a new age had been coming to birth within it. Olivi, writing at the end of the thirteenth century, thought the sixth period of church history had been born a full century earlier, first with the prophetic gifts bestowed on Joachim of Fiore and then, more definitively, with the birth of St. Francis and ultimate formation of the Franciscan Order.....

Olivi often spoke of Christ's three advents: in the first century in the flesh, in the thirteenth in the spirit, and at the end in judgment. Nor did he mean to imply that the church would be replaced by some new organization. His third age of the Holy Spirit was equivalent to the sixth and seventh periods of church history. It looked not only forward but backward, since the new era was in some ways a fulfillment of the pattern already established in the early church but later abandoned as the church grew".

Here is characteristic still that of the documents from celebrating the first jubilee of Chrst Birth remained not very much, and from celebrating the second jubilee, which was held through fifty years after first, as well as from celebrating the third jubilee, which was held in 1400, of the documents did not remain at all. Only since 1450 all gradually comes back to the places, and the celebratings of anniversaries become more - less regular.. Besides in 1475 the decision was accepted to carry out(spend) celebratings not 50-year's, but 25-year's anniversaries.

It casts certain suspicions that theoretically it is possible, that the jubilee of the 1400-th year is real was referred to the 1300-th year. Besides XIV centuries continue to remain the period of time, when yet wasn't entered the account of time in one of absolute scales, and the current documents are dated mainly in relative chronology.

Interestingly also what in 1408 begins an easter 532-year's cycle, which Russian orthodox church adheres to. If to carry out some reasonings, the 1408 is a year of the expiration equally of thirteen large easter cycles by duration 532 years. Such easter cycles could easily then by chronologers be interpreted as Lord centuries, which have expired from the moment of creation of the world (5508 + 1408 = 532*13). Then the beginning new, fourteenth under the account indiction can be validly referred by the beginning of XV centuries, that is 1409-th year.

Here, probably, it will be pertinent to recollect, that only in 1432 after the decree the pope Eugen the popes office passes to dating from Christ Birth.

So, after some burdensome meditations of historian-theological character, it is possible to reach a conclusion, that the time, which in a traditional history gets for the period from thirteenth about the fifteenth century, is key for world chronology. Just in it, most likely, also there is an answer to a question given in heading of article. Or, at least, it is possible to make even interesting guess on this question. In any case the tradition continuous annalism goes just from times XIV-XV of centuries.

Issue, formulated in heading, and also numberof other questions in the field of chronology and reconstruction of a history of mankind, the author of this article, offers to solve with the help of a method of multivariancy, which is described in the books of a series "Multivariancy". The next book of this series under the name " Mediterranean. Middle ages. The multivariancy ", which creative purpose is the construction of set of the most authentic versions of a history of mankind, soon will leave to the public. Besides other, as one of the chapters there will enter of endurance from the textbook on chronology of authorship of the professor of the Cologne university Anna-Doprothee von den Brincekn for the students of histiran-philological faculties of Western Europe. That is, as it would be desirable hopes to the author of these lines, the educational level of our readers will be tightened to European slightly...

June 8 2003. Translated in English 2 Aug. 2003

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