Anno Domini
AD redirects here. For other uses of Anno Domini,
see Anno Domini (disambiguation). For other uses of
AD, see AD (disambiguation).
The terms anno Domini[1][2][3] (AD or A.D.) and be-
Dionysius Exiguus invented Anno Domini years to date Easter.
Anno Domini inscription at a cathedral in Carinthia, Austria.
fore Christ[4][5][6][7] (BC or B.C.) are used to label or
number years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The
term anno Domini is Medieval Latin, which means in the
year of the Lord[8] but is often translated as in the year of
our Lord.[9][10]:782 It is occasionally set out more fully as
anno Domini nostri Iesu (or Jesu) Christi (in the year of
Our Lord Jesus Christ).
This calendar era is based on the traditionally reckoned
year of the conception or birth of Jesus of Nazareth, with
AD counting years from the start of this epoch, and BC
denoting years before the start of the era. There is no
year zero in this scheme, so the year AD 1 immediately
follows the year 1 BC. This dating system was devised in
525, but was not widely used until after 800.[11]
The Gregorian calendar is the most widely used calendar
in the world today. For decades, it has been the unocial
global standard, adopted in the pragmatic interests of in-
ternational communication, transportation, and commer-
cial integration, and recognized by international institu-
tions such as the United Nations and the Universal Postal
Union.[12]
Traditionally, English followed Latin usage by placing the
AD abbreviation before the year number.[13] However,
BC is placed after the year number (for example: AD
2015, but 68 BC), which also preserves syntactic order.
The abbreviation is also widely used after the number
of a century or millennium, as in fourth century AD
or second millennium AD (although conservative us-
age formerly rejected such expressions).[14] Because BC
is the English abbreviation for Before Christ, it is some-
times incorrectly concluded that AD means After Death,
i.e., after the death of Jesus. However, this would mean
that the ~33 years commonly associated with the life of
Jesus would not be included in either of the BC and the
AD time scales.[15]
Terminology that is viewed by some as being more neu-
tral and inclusive of non-Christian people is to call this
the Current, or Common Era (abbreviated as CE or
C.E.), with the preceding years referred to as Before the
Common, Christian, or Current Era (BCE or B.C.E.).
Astronomical year numbering and ISO 8601 avoid words
or abbreviations related to Christianity, but use the same
numbers for AD years.
1
2 1 HISTORY

1 History (or 5500 years after the world was created) with the year
6000 of the Anno Mundi calendar marking the end of the
The Anno Domini dating system was devised in 525 by world.[21][22] Anno Mundi 6000 (approximately AD 500)
Dionysius Exiguus to enumerate the years in his Easter was thus equated with the resurrection and the end of the
table. His system was to replace the Diocletian era that world[23] but this date had already passed in the time of
had been used in an old Easter table because he did not Dionysius.
wish to continue the memory of a tyrant who persecuted
Christians.[16] The last year of the old table, Diocletian
247, was immediately followed by the rst year of his ta- 1.1 Popularization
ble, AD 532. When he devised his table, Julian calendar
years were identied by naming the consuls who held of-The Anglo-Saxon historian the Venerable Bede, who was
ce that yearhe himself stated that the present yearfamiliar with the work of Dionysius Exiguus, used Anno
was the consulship of Probus Junior", which was 525 Domini dating in his Ecclesiastical History of the English
People, completed in 731. In this same history, he also
years since the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.[17]
Thus Dionysius implied that Jesus Incarnation occurredused another Latin term, ante vero incarnationis domini-
cae tempus anno sexagesimo (in fact in the 60th year be-
525 years earlier, without stating the specic year dur-
ing which his birth or conception occurred. However, fore the time of the Lords incarnation), equivalent to the
English before Christ, to identify years before the rst
nowhere in his exposition of his table does Dionysius re-
late his epoch to any other dating system, whether con-year of this era.[24] Both Dionysius and Bede regarded
sulate, Olympiad, year of the world, or regnal year of Anno Domini as beginning at the incarnation of Jesus,
Augustus; much less does he explain or justify the un- but the distinction between Incarnation and Nativity was
derlying date.[18]:778 not drawn until the late 9th century, when in some places
the Incarnation epoch was identied with Christs concep-
Blackburn & Holford-Strevens briey present arguments tion, i.e., the Annunciation on March 25 (Annunciation
for 2 BC, 1 BC, or AD 1 as the year Dionysius intended style).[18]:881
for the Nativity or Incarnation. Among the sources of
confusion are:[18]:7789

In modern times, Incarnation is synonymous with

the conception, but some ancient writers, such as
Bede, considered Incarnation to be synonymous
with the Nativity
The civil, or consular year began on 1 January but
the Diocletian year began on 29 August (30 August
in the year before a Julian leap year).
There were inaccuracies in the list of consuls
There were confused summations of emperors reg-
nal years

Two major theories are that Dionysius based his calcula-

tion on the Gospel of Luke, which states that Jesus was
about thirty years old shortly after the fteenth year of
the reign of Tiberius Caesar, and hence subtracted thirty
years from that date, or that Dionysius counted back 532
years (the period during which the dates of Alexandrian
Easter repeat) from the rst year of his new table.[19]
It has also been speculated by Georges Declercq[20] that
Dionysius desire to replace Diocletian years with a calen- Statue of Charlemagne by Agostino Cornacchini (1725), at St.
dar based on the incarnation of Christ was to prevent peo- Peters Basilica, Vatican, Italy. Charlemagne promoted the usage
ple from believing the imminent end of the world. At the of the Anno Domini epoch throughout the Carolingian Empire
time, it was believed by some that the Resurrection and
end of the world would occur 500 years after the birth of On the continent of Europe, Anno Domini was intro-
Jesus. The old Anno Mundi calendar theoretically com- duced as the era of choice of the Carolingian Renaissance
menced with the creation of the world based on informa- by Alcuin. Its endorsement by Emperor Charlemagne
tion in the Old Testament. It was believed that, based on and his successors popularizing the use of the epoch
the Anno Mundi calendar, Jesus was born in the year 5500 and spreading it throughout the Carolingian Empire ulti-
 3

mately lies at the core of the systems prevalence. Accord- also in England where it became common in the late
ing to the Catholic Encyclopedia, popes continued to date 12th century and lasted until 1752.
documents according to regnal years for some time, but
usage of AD gradually became more common in Roman From Easter, starting in 754 AUC (AD 1). That mos
Catholic countries from the 11th to the 14th centuries.[25] gallicanus (French custom) bound to a moveable
In 1422, Portugal became the last Western European feast was introduced in France by king Philip Au-
country to switch to the system begun by Dionysius.[26] gustus (116511801223), maybe to establish a
Eastern Orthodox countries only began to adopt AD in- new style in the provinces reconquered from Eng-
stead of the Byzantine calendar in 1700 when Russia did land. However, it never spread beyond the ruling
so, with others adopting it in the 19th and 20th centuries. lite.
Even though Anno Domini was in widespread use by the
9th century, Before Christ (or its equivalent) did not be- With these various styles, the same day could, in some
come common until much later. Bede used the expres- cases, be dated in 1099, 1100 or 1101.
sion "anno igitur ante incarnationem Dominicam" (so in
the year before the Incarnation of the Lord) twice. "Anno
an xpi nativitate" (in the year before the birth of Christ) 2 Historical birth date of Jesus
is found in 1474 in a work by a German monk.[27] In
1627, the French Jesuit theologian Denis Ptau (Diony-
See also: Nativity of Jesus and Chronology of
sius Petavius in Latin), with his work De doctrina tempo-
Jesus
rum, popularized the usage ante Christum (Latin for Be-
[28][29][30]
fore Christ) to mark years prior to AD.
Most scholars [32] concede the year of the birth of Jesus
to be around 64 BC,[33][34][35][36] though some widen
1.2 Change of year the range to 72 BC,[37][38][39] but there is no denitive
dating.[40]
When the reckoning from Jesus incarnation started re- According to Matthew 2:1[41] King Herod the Great was
placing the previous dating systems in western Europe, alive when Jesus was born, and Matthew 2:16,[42] says
dierent people chose dierent Christian feast days to Herod ordered the Massacre of the Innocents in response
begin the year: Christmas, Annunciation, or Easter. to Jesus birth. Blackburn and Holford-Strevens x King
Thus, depending on the time and place, the year num- Herods death shortly before Passover in 4 BC,[18]:770
ber changed on dierent days in the year, which created and say that those who accept the story of the Massacre
slightly dierent styles in chronology:[31] of the Innocents sometimes associate the star that led
the Biblical Magi with the planetary conjunction of 15
From 25 March 753 AUC (today in 1 BC), i.e., no- September 7 BC or Halleys comet of 12 BC (less likely
tionally from the incarnation of Jesus. That rst since comets were usually considered bad omens); even
Annunciation style appeared in Arles at the end of historians who do not accept the Massacre accept the
the 9th century, then spread to Burgundy and north- birth under Herod as a tradition that is older than the writ-
ern Italy. It was not commonly used and was called ten gospels.[18]:776
calculus pisanus since it was adopted in Pisa and sur- The Gospel of Luke states that Jesus was conceived dur-
vived there till 1750. ing the reign of Herod the Great[Luke 1:5-38] (i.e., before 4
BC) while also stating that Jesus was born when Cyrenius
From 25 December 753 AUC (today in 1 BC), i.e.,
(or Quirinius) was the governor of Syria and carried
notionally from the birth of Jesus. It was called
out the census of the Roman provinces of Syria and
Nativity style and had been spread by the Ven-
Iudaea.[Luke 2:1-3] The Jewish historian Josephus, in his
erable Bede together with the Anno Domini in the
Antiquities of the Jews (ca. AD 93), indicates that Cyre-
early Middle Ages. That reckoning of the Year of
nius/Quirinius governorship of Syria began in AD 6, and
Grace from Christmas was used in France, England
that the census occurred sometime between AD 67,[43]
and most of western Europe (except Spain) until the
which is incompatible with a conception prior to 4 BC.
12th century (when it was replaced by Annuncia-
On this point, Blackburn and Holford-Strevens state that
tion style), and in Germany until the second quarter
St. Luke raises greater diculty ... Most critics there-
of the 13th century.
fore discard Luke.
From 25 March 754 AUC (today in AD 1). That The Gospel of Luke also states that Jesus was about
second Annunciation style may have originated in thirty years old [Luke 3:23] during the 15th year of the reign
Fleury Abbey in the early 11th century, but it was of Tiberius Caesar [Luke 3:1] . Tiberius began his reign as
spread by the Cistercians. Florence adopted that Caesar in September of AD 14. The 15th year of his
style in opposition to that of Pisa, so it got the name reign would then be AD 28 or 29. If Jesus was born in 5
of calculus orentinus. It soon spread in France and or 4 BC, that would put the start of Jesus ministry around
4 5 NO YEAR ZERO

age 32 to 34. Most scholars do not see this as a contra-
diction of Lukes claim that Jesus was about thirty years
old. Some scholars rely on John 8:57:[44] thou art not
yet fty years old, making the earliest possible year for
Jesuss birth c. 18 BC.[45]:776
also used by the Ethiopian church. Another system was to
date from the crucixion of Jesus Christ, which as early as
Hippolytus and Tertullian was believed to have occurred
in the consulate of the Gemini (AD 29), which appears
in some medieval manuscripts.

3 Other eras 4 CE and BCE

Further information: Calendar era
Main article: Common Era

During the rst six centuries of what would come to be

known as the Christian era, European countries used var- Alternative names for the Anno Domini era include vul-
ious systems to count years. Systems in use included garis aerae (found 1615 in Latin),[48] Vulgar Era (in
consular dating, imperial regnal year dating, and CreationEnglish, as early as 1635),[49] Christian Era (in English,
dating. in 1652),[50] "Common Era" (in English, 1708),[51] and
Current Era.[52] Since 1856,[53] the alternative abbrevi-
Although the last non-imperial consul, Basilius, was ap- ations CE and BCE, (sometimes written C.E. and B.C.E.)
pointed in 541 by Emperor Justinian I, later emperors are sometimes used in place of AD and BC.
through Constans II (641668) were appointed consuls
on the rst 1 January after their accession. All of these The Common/Christian/Current Era (CE) terminol-
emperors, except Justinian, used imperial post-consular ogy is often preferred by those who[54][55] desire a term that
years for the years of their reign, along with their reg- does not explicitly use religious titles. For example,
[46]
nal years. Long unused, this practice was not formally Cunningham and Starr (1998) write that B.C.E./C.E.
abolished until Novell XCIV of the law code of Leo VI do not presuppose faith in Christ and hence are more
did so in 888. appropriate for interfaith dialog than the conventional
B.C./A.D.[56] Upon its foundation, the Republic of
Another calculation had been developed by the China adopted the Minguo Era, but used the Western
Alexandrian monk Annianus around the year AD 400, calendar for international purposes. The translated term
placing the Annunciation on 25 March AD 9 (Julian) was (x yun, Western Era). Later, in 1949,
eight to ten years after the date that Dionysius was to the Peoples Republic of China adopted (gngyun,
imply. Although this incarnation was popular during the Common Era) for all purposes domestic and foreign.
early centuries of the Byzantine Empire, years numbered
from it, an Era of Incarnation, were exclusively used and
are yet used, in Ethiopia. This accounts for the seven-
or eight-year discrepancy between the Gregorian and 5 No year zero
Ethiopian calendars. Byzantine chroniclers like Maximus
the Confessor, George Syncellus, and Theophanes dated
Further information: 0 (year), Astronomical year num-
their years from Annianus creation of the world. This bering and Millennium
era, called Anno Mundi, year of the world (abbreviated
AM), by modern scholars, began its rst year on 25
March 5492 BC. Later Byzantine chroniclers used Anno In the AD year numbering system, whether applied to
Mundi years from 1 September 5509 BC, the Byzantine the Julian or Gregorian calendars, AD 1 is preceded by 1
Era. No single Anno Mundi epoch was dominant BC. There is no year 0 between them. Because of this,
throughout the Christian world. Eusebius of Caesarea most experts agree that a new century begins in a year
in his Chronicle used an era beginning with the birth with the last digits being 01 (1801, 1901, 2001); new
of Abraham, dated in 2016 BC (AD 1 = 2017 Anno millennia likewise began in 1001 and 2001. A common
Abrahami).[47] misconception is that centuries and millennia begin when
the trailing digits are zeroes (1800, 1900, 2000, etc.);[11]
Spain and Portugal continued to date by the Era of the moreover, this convention was widely used to celebrate
Caesars or Spanish Era, which began counting from 38 the new millennium in the year 2000. For computational
BC, well into the Middle Ages. In 1422, Portugal be- reasons, astronomical year numbering and the ISO 8601
came the last Catholic country to adopt the Anno Domini standard designate years so that AD 1 = year 1, 1 BC =
system.[25] year 0, 2 BC = year 1, etc.[57] In common use, ancient
The Era of Martyrs, which numbered years from the ac- dates are expressed in the Julian calendar, but ISO 8601
cession of Diocletian in 284, who launched the last yet uses the Gregorian calendar and astronomers may use a
most severe persecution of Christians, was used by the variety of time scales depending on the application. Thus
Church of Alexandria and is still used, ocially, by the dates using the year 0 or negative years may require fur-
Coptic Orthodox and Coptic Catholic churches. It was ther investigation before being converted to BC or AD.

6 Proposed reforms
The following are proposed reforms of the Gregorian cal-
endar:
Human Era
International Fixed Calendar (also called the Inter-
national Perpetual calendar)
Leap week calendars
Common-Civil-Calendar-and-Time
Pax Calendar
Symmetry454
World Calendar
World Season Calendar
7 See also
Ante Christum Natum
Calendar
Common Era
8 Notes and references
Notes
[1] The word anno is often capitalized, but this is consid-
ered incorrect by many authorities and either not men-
tioned in major dictionaries or only listed as an alternative.
Wikipedias manual of style also prescribes lowercase.
[2] http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/
anno-domini
[3] https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=
anno%20Domini
[4] The word before is often capitalized, but this is con-
sidered incorrect by many authorities and either not men-
tioned in major dictionaries or only listed as an alternative.
Wikipedias manual of style also prescribes lowercase.
[5] http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/bc
[6] https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=
before%20Christ
[7] http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bc
[8] Anno Domini. Merriam Webster Online Dictionary.
Merriam-Webster. 2003. Retrieved 2011-10-04. Ety-
mology: Medieval Latin, in the year of the Lord
[9] Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2011-10-04.
5
[10] Blackburn & Holford-Strevens 2003, p. 782 since AD
stands for anno Domini, 'in the year of (Our) Lord'".
[11] Teresi, Dick (July 1997). Zero. The Atlantic.
[12] Eastman, Allan. A Month of Sundays. Date and Time.
Archived from the original on 2010-05-06. Retrieved
2010-05-04.
[13] This convention comes from grammatical usage. Anno
500 means in the year 500"; anno domini 500 means in
the year 500 of Our Lord. Just as 500 in the year is
not good English syntax, neither is 500 AD; whereas AD
500 preserves syntactic order when translated (Chicago
Manual of Style 2010, pp. 4767; Goldstein 2007, p. 6).
[14] Chicago Manual of Style, 1993, p. 304.
[15] Donald P. Ryan, (2000), 15.
[16] Blackburn & Holford-Strevens 2003, 767
[17] Nineteen year cycle of Dionysius Introduction and First
Argumentum.
[18] Blackburn & Holford-Strevens 2003
[19] Tndering, Claus, The Calendar FAQ: Counting years
[20] Declercq, Georges, Anno Domini. The Origins of the
Christian Era Turnhout, Belgium, 2000
[21] Wallra, Martin: Julius Africanus und die Christliche
Weltchronik. Walter de Gruyter, 2006
[22] Mosshammer, Alden A.: The Easter Computus and the
Origins of the Christian Era. Oxford University Press,
2009, p. 254, p. 270, p. 328
[23] Declercq, Georges: Anno Domini. The Origins of the
Christian Era. Turnhout Belgium. 2000
[24] Bede 731, Book 1, Chapter 2, rst sentence.
[25] Gerard, 1908
[26] General Chronology. New Advent Catholic Encyclo-
pedia. Vol III. Robert Appleton Company, New York.
1908. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
[27] Werner Rolevinck in Fasciculus temporum (1474) used
Anno an xpi nativitatem (in the ...(th) year before the birth
of Christ) for all years between creation and Jesus. xpi
is the Greek in Latin letters, which is an abbreviation
for Christi. This phrase appears upside down in the cen-
tre of recto folios (right hand pages). From Jesus to Pope
Sixtus IV he usually used Anno Christi or its abbreviated
form Anno xpi (on verso foliosleft hand pages). He used
Anno mundi alongside all of these terms for all years.
[28] Steel, Duncan (2000). Marking time: the epic quest to
invent the perfect calendar. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-471-
29827-4. Retrieved 2010-06-01.
[29] Hunt, Lynn Avery (2008). Measuring time, making his-
tory. p. 33. ISBN 978-963-9776-14-2. Retrieved 2010-
06-01.
6 8
[30] Petau, Denis (1758). search for ante Christum in a 1748
reprint of a 1633 abridgement entitled Rationarium tem-
porum by Denis Petau. Retrieved 2010-06-01.
[31] C. R. Cheney, A Handbook of Dates, for students of British
history, Cambridge University Press, 19452000, pp. 8
14.
[32] Dunn, James DG (2003). Jesus Remembered. Eerd-
mans Publishing. p. 324.
[33] Paul L. Maier The Date of the Nativity and Chronology
of Jesus in Chronos, kairos, Christos: nativity and chrono-
logical studies by Jerry Vardaman, Edwin M. Yamauchi,
1989, ISBN 0-931464-50-1, pp. 113129
[34] New Testament History by Richard L. Niswonger, 1992,
ISBN 0-310-31201-9, pp. 121124
[35] The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Introduction to
the New Testament by Andreas J. Kstenberger, L. Scott
Kellum 2009 ISBN 978-0-8054-4365-3. p. 114
[36] Christianity and the Roman Empire: background texts by
Ralph Martin Novak, 2001, ISBN 1-56338-347-0, pp.
302303
[37] Some of the historians and Biblical scholars who place the
birth and death of Jesus within this range include D. A.
Carson, Douglas J. Moo and Leon Morris. An Introduc-
tion to the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan
Publishing House, 1992, 54, 56
[38] Michael Grant, Jesus: An Historians Review of the
Gospels, Scribners, 1977, p. 71.
[39] Ben Witherington III, Primary Sources, Christian His-
tory 17 (1998) No. 3:1220.
[40] Doggett 1992, p579: Although scholars generally believe
that Christ was born some years before AD 1, the histor-
ical evidence is too sketchy to allow a denitive dating.
[41] Matthew 2:1
[42] Matthew 2:16
[43] Flavius Josephus. The Antiquities of the Jews, Book 18,
Chapters 12. Josephus indicates that the census under
Cyrenius (i.e., Quirinius) occurred in the 37th year af-
ter Octavians (i.e., Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus) vic-
tory over Marc Antony at Actium, which secular histori-
cal records date to 2 September 31 BC. Therefore 31 BC
+ 37 years = AD 67.
[44] John 8:57
[45] Blackburn & Holford-Strevens 2003, p. 776 Most critics
therefor discard Luke; some have rehabilitated John, who
seems to imply that Jesus was born c. 18 BC.
[46] Roger S. Bagnall and Klaas A. Worp, Chronological Sys-
tems of Byzantine Egypt, Leiden, Brill, 2004.
[47] Alfred von Gutschmid, Kleine Schriften, F. Ruehl,
Leipzig, 1889, p.433.
NOTES AND REFERENCES
[48] Johannes Kepler (1615). Joannis Keppleri Eclogae chroni-
cae: ex epistolis doctissimorum aliquot virorum & suis mu-
tuis, quibus examinantur tempora nobilissima: 1. Herodis
Herodiadumque, 2. baptismi & ministerii Christi annorum
non plus 2 1/4, 3. passionis, mortis et resurrectionis Dn. N.
Iesu Christi, anno aerae nostrae vulgaris 31. non, ut vulgo
33., 4. belli Iudaici, quo funerata fuit cum Ierosolymis &
Templo Synagoga Iudaica, sublatumque Vetus Testamen-
tum. Inter alia & commentarius in locum Epiphanii ob-
scurissimum de cyclo veteri Iudaeorum. (in Latin). Fran-
cofurti : Tampach. Retrieved 2011-05-18. anno aerae
nostrae vulgaris
[49] Kepler, Johann; Vlacq, Adriaan (1635). Ephemerides
of the Celestiall Motions, for the Yeers of the Vulgar Era
1633... Retrieved 2011-05-18.
[50] Sliter, Robert (1652). A celestiall glasse, or, Ephemeris
for the year of the Christian era 1652 being the bissex-
tile or leap-year: contayning the lunations, planetary mo-
tions, congurations & ecclipses for this present year ... :
with many other things very delightfull and necessary for
most sorts of men: calculated exactly and composed for ...
Rochester. London: Printed for the Company of Station-
ers.
[51] The History of the Works of the Learned 10. London:
Printed for H. Rhodes. January 1708. p. 513. Retrieved
2011-05-18.
[52] BBC Team (8 February 2005). History of Judaism
63BCE1086CE. BBC Religion & Ethics. British Broad-
casting Corporation. Archived from the original on 2011-
05-13. Retrieved 2011-05-18. Year 1: CE What is
nowadays called the 'Current Era' traditionally begins with
the birth of a Jewish teacher called Jesus. His followers
came to believe he was the promised Messiah and later
split away from Judaism to found Christianity
[53] Raphall, Morris Jacob (1856). Post-Biblical History of
The Jews. Moss & Brother. Archived from the original
on 2011-05-11. Retrieved 2011-05-18. The term com-
mon era does not appear in this book; the term Christian
era [lowercase] does appear a number of times. Nowhere
in the book is the abbreviation explained or expanded di-
rectly.
[54] Robinson, B.A. (20 April 2009). Justication of the use
of CE & BCE to identify dates. Trends. Religious-
Tolerance.org.
[55] William Sare (17 August 1997). On Language:
B.C./A.D. or B.C.E./C.E.?". The New York Times Maga-
zine.
[56] Cunningham, ed. by Philip A. (2004). Pondering the Pas-
sion : whats at stake for Christians and Jews?. Lanham,
Md. [u.a.]: Rowman & Littleeld. p. 193. ISBN 978-
0742532182.
[57] To convert from a year BC to astronomical year number-
ing, reduce the absolute value of the year by 1, and prex
it with a negative sign (unless the result is zero). For years
AD, omit the AD and prex the number with a plus sign
(plus sign is optional if it is clear from the context that the
year is after the year 0). [Doggett, 1992, p. 579]
 7

References 9 External links

Abate, Frank R(ed.) (1997). Oxford Pocket Dic- Calendar Converter
tionary and Thesaurus (American ed.). New York:
Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-513097-9.
Goldstein, Norm, ed. (2007). Associated Press
Style Book. New York: Basic Books. ISBN 0-465-
00489-X.
Bede. (731). Historiam ecclesiasticam gentis Anglo-
rum. Accessed 2007-12-07.
Chicago Manual of Style (2nd ed.). University of
Chicago. 1993. ISBN 0-226-10389-7.
Chicago Manual of Style (16th ed.). University of
Chicago. 2010. ISBN 0-226-10420-6.

Blackburn, Bonnie; Holford-Strevens, Leofranc
(2003). The Oxford companion to the Year: An ex-
ploration of calendar customs and time-reckoning.
Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-214231-3.
Corrected reprinting of original 1999 edition.
Cunningham, Philip A; Starr, Arthur F (1998).
Sharing Shalom: A Process for Local Interfaith Di-
alogue Between Christians and Jews. Paulist Press.
ISBN 0-8091-3835-2.
Declercq, Georges (2000). Anno Domini: The ori-
gins of the Christian era. Turnhout: Brepols. ISBN
2-503-51050-7. (despite beginning with 2, it is En-
glish)
Declercq, G. Dionysius Exiguus and the Introduc-
tion of the Christian Era. Sacris Erudiri 41 (2002):
165246. An annotated version of part of Anno Do-
mini.
Doggett. (1992). Calendars (Ch. 12), in P. Ken-
neth Seidelmann (Ed.) Explanatory supplement to
the astronomical almanac. Sausalito, CA: Univer-
sity Science Books. ISBN 0-935702-68-7.
Gerard, J. (1908). General Chronology. In
The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert
Appleton Company. Retrieved 2008-07-16 from
New Advent: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/
03738a.htm
Richards, E. G. (2000). Mapping Time. Oxford:
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Riggs, John (January 2003). Whatever happened
to B.C. and A.D., and why?". United Church News.
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Ryan, Donald P. (2000). The Complete Idiots Guide
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8 10 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

10 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

10.1 Text
Anno Domini Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anno_Domini?oldid=686015436 Contributors: MichaelTinkler, Derek Ross, Wo-
jPob, Dan~enwiki, Mav, Bryan Derksen, Zundark, Tim Chambers, Ffaker, Amillar, BenBaker, Andre Engels, Christian List, Roadrunner,
SimonP, Zoe, Panairjdde~enwiki, Karl Palmen, Fonzy, Olivier, Someone else, Leandrod, Frecklefoot, Edward, D, Michael Hardy, Paul
Barlow, Wshun, Llywrch, Brian Sayrs, Dante Alighieri, Jtdirl, Taras, Sannse, Ihcoyc, Ahoerstemeier, Mac, J'raxis, Stevenj, Docu, Snoyes,
Kingturtle, Vzbs34, Tkinias, Susurrus, Andres, Kaihsu, Mxn, Dwo, Hashar, Jengod, Mulad, HolIgor, Adam Bishop, Harris7, RickK,
Ike9898, Sbwoodside, Jerey Smith, Furrykef, Zero0000, Karukera, Raul654, Dpbsmith, Jusjih, JorgeGG, RadicalBender, Mrdice, Phil
Boswell, AlexPlank, Robbot, Ke4roh, Josh Cherry, Astronautics~enwiki, Chrism, Nurg, Chris Roy, Rursus, Gidonb, DHN, Caknuck, Sun-
ray, Wikibot, Wereon, Diberri, David Gerard, Alerante, Centrx, DocWatson42, Barbara Shack, Oberiko, Rafaelgr, Ringbark, Tom harrison,
Meursault2004, Lupin, Quadra23, Bkonrad, Mcapdevila, Henry Flower, Bensaccount, Varlaam, Joe Kress, Matt Crypto, Pne, Bobblewik,
Manuel Anastcio, Utcursch, LordSimonofShropshire, Uranographer, Toytoy, Bringiton, Gdr, Antandrus, JimWae, Tothebarricades.tk,
Pmanderson, Arcturus, John Mark Williams, Gary D, Neutrality, Ratiocinate, Zondor, Lacrimosus, Mike Rosoft, Perey, DanielCD,
Dablaze, Groucho~enwiki, Discospinster, Rich Farmbrough, Qutezuce, Roybb95~enwiki, Dbachmann, AlanBarrett, Bender235, Dewet,
Andrejj, Closeapple, Aranel, El C, Kwamikagami, The Noodle Incident, Bobo192, Shenme, Joe Jarvis, Chuckstar, Sam Korn, Jonathunder,
Chicago god, Nsaa, HasharBot~enwiki, Espoo, Msh210, WideArc, Alansohn, Lonewulf44, The Rev of Bru, Sligocki, Snowolf, Velella,
Paul Martin, RainbowOfLight, Kusma, Jguk, Nuno Tavares, Georgia guy, Uncle G, Scjessey, Nakos2208~enwiki, GregorB, Mb1000, Gra-
ham87, Yuriybrisk, Mendaliv, BorgHunter, Sj, Ligtvoet, Rjwilmsi, Red King, Oblivious, TracBenBoy, Brighterorange, Deus Homoni,
MarnetteD, DirkvdM, CDThieme, Ian Pitchford, RobertG, Musical Linguist, KarlFrei, RexNL, Mathrick, Codex Sinaiticus, Alphachimp,
Srleer, WikiWikiPhil, Glenn L, Imnotminkus, MoRsE, CJLL Wright, DVdm, EamonnPKeane, Sortan, Wester, Jimp, RussBot, Pleonic,
Fabartus, John Quincy Adding Machine, Pigman, Chris Capoccia, Yamara, Gaius Cornelius, CambridgeBayWeather, Bobbybuilder~enwiki,
Rsrikanth05, Wimt, Draeco, NawlinWiki, Fabhcn, Yserarau, Wiki alf, Pagrashtak, Semolo75, BirgitteSB, Irishguy, John H. Victor,
Wknight94, Avraham, Igin, Sandstein, Zargulon, Deville, Dru, Zzuuzz, Bayerischermann, Theda, Closedmouth, E Wing, Pb30, Sitenl,
Fourohfour, Jack Upland, Squell, NeilN, Locke Cole, Veinor, SmackBot, RDBury, FocalPoint, Raywood~enwiki, Jclerman, F, Zazaban,
Reedy, KnowledgeOfSelf, VigilancePrime, Zerida, Clpo13, Delldot, Cessator, DLH, Srnec, Nocabbages, Ga, Yamaguchi , Gilliam,
Ohnoitsjamie, Hmains, Skizzik, Endroit, Quinsareth, Persian Poet Gal, Grimhelm, Miquonranger03, Greatgavini, Dlohcierekims sock,
FBM, Darth Panda, Oatmeal batman, Stedder, Can't sleep, clown will eat me, Lbbzman, The Placebo Eect, Vanished User 0001, Rrburke,
Squamate, Midnightcomm, AgentFade2Black, Khoikhoi, Isonomia, Aldaron, Nakon, Savidan, Iblardi, Dreadstar, PatrickA, Andrew c, Just
plain Bill, Metamagician3000, Kukini, Will Beback, SirIsaacBrock, CIS, SashatoBot, Barmysot, Mksword, Kuru, 5telios, IronGargoyle,
Loadmaster, JHunterJ, MarkSutton, Optakeover, SandyGeorgia, Romeu, Dhp1080, Midnightblueowl, Ryulong, TJ Spyke, DabMachine,
Iridescent, Stpaul, Grblomerth, Slicedoranges, Clarencedonath, Igoldste, Richard75, Courcelles, Tawkerbot2, Greier, Chris55, Alexan-
der DeRoest, JForget, Tonyhansen, Dr.Bastedo, Standonbible, Vanished user fj0390923roktg4tlkm2pkd, Joshualeefreeman, Cydebot,
Mike Christie, Bellerophon5685, Red Director, Zginder, Viscious81, Tawkerbot4, Doug Weller, M karzarj, PamD, Thijs!bot, Epbr123,
Mercury~enwiki, Brian Boru is awesome, Kablammo, Sagaciousuk, Ishdarian, Keraunos, N5iln, Mrjinx, Roger Pearse, Gerry Ashton,
Doyley, Outwest14, Ludde23, Floridasand, Uruiamme, Escarbot, Trengarasu, BualoChip97, AntiVandalBot, Fireplace, Luna Santin,
Seaphoto, Lostcaesar, Joan-of-arc, AstroLynx, Scepia, Modernist, Dylan Lake, Credema, Tgwizard, MikeLynch, JAnDbot, Husond,
Shulgi, Barek, MER-C, Nwe, OLP1999, Petepittsburgh, Andonic, Some thing, DarthM, TAnthony, Joshua, Xact, Acroterion, VoABot
II, 1995hoo, Kuyabribri, Shiadon, Jim Douglas, Randomazn69, Bloovee, Teapotgeorge, MetsBot, Vssun, DerHexer, Padawan3000, Xl-
boy~enwiki, Seba5618, Riccardobot, Phoogenb, MartinBot, Racepacket, Nikpapag, Anaxial, R'n'B, AlexiusHoratius, Jan Z, Lilac Soul,
EdBever, AlphaEta, J.delanoy, Trusilver, HotWheels53, A Nobody, Tdadamemd, BrokenSphere, Dgillig, Smeira, McSly, Koven.rm, Haj
aminus, DAOWAce, WebHamster, GhostPirate, Richard D. LeCour, NewEnglandYankee, Stynger, Trilobitealive, Rosenknospe, Aer-
vanath, Mufka, Kre326, Largoplazo, Youknowyouknowmyname, LCecere, Cometstyles, Treisijs, Dswanny, CardinalDan, Zman.Firestar,
Caribbean H.Q., RAult, CWii, Ericdn, Je G., Soliloquial, Classical geographer, RunningAway, TXiKiBoT, GimmeBot, Cosmic Latte,
ChicSpandex, Adazka, Steven J. Anderson, Brunton, Saibod, Mannafredo, Simian534, Terrymacro, Wooley, Plerin Gris, Sarcha 45, Ch-
naDragn, Cantiorix, Anthony71, Vchimpanzee, WatermelonPotion, Insanity Incarnate, Dmcq, Logan, NHRHS2010, Hughey, CMBJ,
April Is Really Fooled, The Random Editor, Deriksmith, SieBot, Coee, Moonriddengirl, Gustavo Bessolo, Meldor, Liliput 2007, Gerak-
ibot, Gravitan, Keilana, Firey017, AndrewNJ, Gately, Toddst1, Quest for Truth, Flyer22, Radon210, Sue Wallace, Wilson44691, Oxy-
moron83, Ddxc, Avnjay, J496, Emmazunz84, Diego Grez-Caete, Vanished user ewsn2348tui2f8n2o2utjfeoi210r39jf, Anchor Link
Bot, Spazure, Fearmongerer1367, Minymidge, Kajd, Neo., TFCforever, Atif.t2, Rmassara, ClueBot, Phoenix-wiki, Fyyer, The Thing
That Should Not Be, Helenabella, Godfollower4ever, Ewawer, Dylanbforthree, Der Golem, Wolvereness, TheOldJacobite, Treynate2,
Flybkbrfr, Puchiko, AssegaiAli, Ilikecakepie, Erebus Morgaine, Gee Emm Christlur, Iancanton13, Bchaosf, Adband1, Ykhwong, Jotter-
bot, Steven Evens, Elizium23, Johnsgreat, Ark25, La Pianista, AMC0712, Versus22, Ozgurbey, MelonBot, Berean Hunter, SoxBot III,
Editor2020, DumZiBoT, Forbes72, Pichpich, Teezacc, Koro Neil, Little Mountain 5, NellieBly, Thrave, Aunt Entropy, Jabberwoch, Bare-
nakedjames, Razze48, Addbot, Bberrios, The Sage of Stamford, Eltone, Hda3ku, Albamhandae, Stone Oak Drive, Fieldday-sunday, Mr.
Wheely Guy, Scientus, Leszek Jaczuk, Balls4life1127, Lanitrix, Jim10701, Download, Glane23, Favonian, Deamon138, CuteHappyBrute,
AgadaUrbanit, Ehrenkater, LarryJe, Lightbot, Kyuko, Zorrobot, Dtate888, Candidulus, Luckas-bot, Yobot, Vague, TaBOT-zerem, Alf-
cab, Alexandre8, AnomieBOT, 1exec1, VX, Jim1138, Ularevalo98, LlywelynII, Kingpin13, Landok, Materialscientist, Citation bot, Xqbot,
Addihockey10, Capricorn42, Khajidha, Jerey Mall, Jsharpminor, Grim23, Permethius, Time501, GrouchoBot, Sweeeeeetness, Omni-
paedista, Smurdah, RibotBOT, Tcalight, Edward-F, Obliviatrix, Gordonrox24, Shadowjams, Eugene-elgato, FrescoBot, Jc3s5h, Sdigov7,
Listor1989, Civilizededucation, Per Ardua, Josephjong, Jschnur, Happypigglet, MastiBot, Homersimpson1517, Bgpaulus, Mercy11, Vrena-
tor, Paulmm1988, Reach Out to the Truth, DARTH SIDIOUS 2, RjwilmsiBot, Ec.Domnowall, TheArguer, Alph Bot, Kglogauer, Bjrn Fel-
ten, DASHBot, EmausBot, Behn-kihl-nahm, Ghostofnemo, Lipsio, RenamedUser01302013, NotAnonymous0, Torturella, Wikipelli, Paul
Bedson, Swungpoke, Shuipzv3, Iwanttoeditthissh, Anir1uph, Elektrik Shoos, Wayne Slam, Tolly4bolly, JoeSperrazza, 2010 June 28, Jas-
sim14, Donner60, BioPupil, Arcorann, ChuispastonBot, Robin Lionheart, DASHBotAV, Sir Ian Richmond, ResearchRave, ClueBot NG,
Satellizer, Pappy20332, Rezabot, CaroleHenson, Iamastupidbutt, Helpful Pixie Bot, Overseer19XX, Schrdingers Neurotoxin, Juro2351,
Smallerjim, Gomada, JohnChrysostom, Ninney, Especially Lime, FoxCE, Soerfm, Glevum, Anbu121, ChrisGualtieri, Mrspike309, Eu-
roCarGT, AutomaticStrikeout, Crumpled Fire, Lugia2453, SFK2, Andyhowlett, Password24375674ty, Epicgenius, AmaryllisGardener,
Tentinator, JackinTrade, Byjinglemen, Puthoni, JustBerry, Ginsuloft, Werddemer, AddWittyNameHere, Dineshjude, EV1L DUCKEY,
History by Christians, Epic Failure, Monkbot, PorkyPie58848, Yija Honkgua, Ia Devat, Quark8967, Secretkeeper12, JudeccaXIII, Ri-
tikchanana, WyattAlex, Patrickisverysmart, JasonPlaysPro, Mrjimbentley, Allendrulia, Zoe Clent, Ivanjaviervillalaz, Abed.mobile.android,
Naleang and Anonymous: 867
10.2 Images 9

10.2 Images
File:Austria_Klagenfurt_Dome_12.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Austria_Klagenfurt_Dome_
12.jpg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Charlemagne_Agostino_Cornacchini_Vatican_2.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/
Charlemagne_Agostino_Cornacchini_Vatican_2.jpg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Myrabella
File:Portal-puzzle.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fd/Portal-puzzle.svg License: Public domain Contributors: ?
Original artist: ?
File:Scriptorium.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Scriptorium.jpg License: Public domain Contribu-
tors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Wiktionary-logo-en.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Wiktionary-logo-en.svg License: Public
domain Contributors: Vector version of Image:Wiktionary-logo-en.png. Original artist: Vectorized by Fvasconcellos (talk contribs),
based on original logo tossed together by Brion Vibber

10.3 Content license

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