Elizabethan Calendar

GREGORY XIII
Ugo Buoncompagno
1572-1585
Wiki Commons

In Tudor times the calendar year was slightly different to what it is today. The Tudors used the Julian Calendar which had been created by Julius Caesar (c.46BC). It had twelve months of the year and seven days of the week, like the modern calendar, but Caesar had over calculated the length of the year by eleven minutes. By the late sixteenth century the accumulated minutes meant that the European calendar year was inaccurate by ten days. This error was observed by Pope Gregory XIII and he created a new calendar to be used in Christendom from 1582 onwards. This change meant skipping ten days of that year so that 4 October 1582 was followed by 15 October 1582. The new calendar, known as the Gregorian Calendar, was adopted by most European Catholic countries but was not adopted in England because Queen Elizabeth, and the Protestant Church of England, did not recognise the authority of the Pope. The Gregorian Calendar was not adopted in Britain until 1752 when 2 September 1752 was followed by 14 September (by then the accumulated minutes amounted to 11 days).

In Tudor times New Year was celebrated on 1 January, in line with the Julian Calendar, but the numerical New Year started on 25 March. It was not until the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar that the numerical New Year began on 1 January. In 1752 the New Year, which had officially begun on 25 March, was put back to 1 January.

To avoid confusion most historians modernise Tudor dates. For example, Queen Elizabeth's coronation is dated 15 January 1559 not 1558 as it would have been at the time.

Of greater importance in the Tudor era than calendar year was regnal year. This was the year of the sovereign's reign. For example, the first regnal year of Elizabeth I began on 17 November 1558, the day she became queen, and it ended on 16 November 1559.

The Tudor Regnal Years are:

HENRY VII
1: 22 Aug. 1485 - 21 Aug. 1486
2: 22 Aug. 1486 - 21 Aug. 1487
3: 22 Aug. 1487 - 21 Aug. 1488
4: 22 Aug. 1488 - 21 Aug. 1489
5: 22 Aug. 1489 - 21 Aug. 1490
6: 22 Aug. 1490 - 21 Aug. 1491
7: 22 Aug. 1491 - 21 Aug. 1492
8: 22 Aug. 1492 - 21 Aug. 1493
9: 22 Aug. 1493 - 21 Aug. 1494
10: 22 Aug. 1494 - 21 Aug. 1495
11: 22 Aug. 1495 - 21 Aug. 1496
12: 22 Aug. 1496 - 21 Aug. 1497
13: 22 Aug. 1497 - 21 Aug. 1498
14: 22 Aug. 1498 - 21 Aug. 1499
15: 22 Aug. 1499 - 21 Aug. 1500
16: 22 Aug. 1500 - 21 Aug. 1501
17: 22 Aug. 1501 - 21 Aug. 1502
18: 22 Aug. 1502 - 21 Aug. 1503
19: 22 Aug. 1503 - 21 Aug. 1504
20: 22 Aug. 1504 - 21 Aug. 1505
21: 22 Aug. 1505 - 21 Aug. 1506
22: 22 Aug. 1506 - 21 Aug. 1507
23: 22 Aug. 1507 - 21 Aug. 1508
24: 22 Aug. 1508 - 21 Apr. 1509

HENRY VIII
1: 22 Apr. 1509 - 21 Apr. 1510
2: 22 Apr. 1510 - 21 Apr. 1511
3: 22 Apr. 1511 - 21 Apr. 1512
4: 22 Apr. 1512 - 21 Apr. 1513
5: 22 Apr. 1513 - 21 Apr. 1514
6: 22 Apr. 1514 - 21 Apr. 1515
7: 22 Apr. 1515 - 21 Apr. 1516
8: 22 Apr. 1516 - 21 Apr. 1517
9: 22 Apr. 1517 - 21 Apr. 1518
10: 22 Apr. 1518 - 21 Apr. 1519
11: 22 Apr. 1519 - 21 Apr. 1520
12: 22 Apr. 1520 - 21 Apr. 1521
13: 22 Apr. 1521 - 21 Apr. 1522
14: 22 Apr. 1522 - 21 Apr. 1523
15: 22 Apr. 1523 - 21 Apr. 1524
16: 22 Apr. 1524 - 21 Apr. 1525
17: 22 Apr. 1525 - 21 Apr. 1526
18: 22 Apr. 1526 - 21 Apr. 1527
19: 22 Apr. 1527 - 21 Apr. 1528
20: 22 Apr. 1528 - 21 Apr. 1529
21: 22 Apr. 1529 - 21 Apr. 1530
22: 22 Apr. 1530 - 21 Apr. 1531
23: 22 Apr. 1531 - 21 Apr. 1532
24: 22 Apr. 1532 - 21 Apr. 1533
25: 22 Apr. 1533 - 21 Apr. 1534
26: 22 Apr. 1534 - 21 Apr. 1535
27: 22 Apr. 1535 - 21 Apr. 1536
28: 22 Apr. 1536 - 21 Apr. 1537
29: 22 Apr. 1537 - 21 Apr. 1538
30: 22 Apr. 1538 - 21 Apr. 1539
31: 22 Apr. 1539 - 21 Apr. 1540
32: 22 Apr. 1540 - 21 Apr. 1541
33: 22 Apr. 1541 - 21 Apr. 1542
34: 22 Apr. 1542 - 21 Apr. 1543
35: 22 Apr. 1543 - 21 Apr. 1544
36: 22 Apr. 1544 - 21 Apr. 1545
37: 22 Apr. 1545 - 21 Apr. 1546
38: 22 Apr. 1546 - 28 Jan. 1547

EDWARD VI
1: 28 Jan. 1547 - 27 Jan. 1548
2: 28 Jan. 1548 - 27 Jan. 1549
3: 28 Jan. 1549 - 27 Jan. 1550
4: 28 Jan. 1550 - 27 Jan. 1551
5: 28 Jan. 1551 - 27 Jan. 1552
6: 28 Jan. 1552 - 27 Jan. 1553
7: 28 Jan. 1553 - 6 Jul. 1553

JANE
1: 6 Jul. 1553 - 19 Jul. 1553

MARY I
1: 19 Jul. 1553 - 5 Jul. 1554
2: 6 Jul. 1554 - 5 Jul. 1555
3: 6 Jul. 1555 - 5 Jul. 1556
4: 6 Jul. 1556 - 5 Jul. 1557
5: 6 Jul. 1557 - 5 Jul. 1558
6: 6 Jul. 1558 - 17 Nov. 1558

PHILIP AND MARY
1: 25 Jul. 1554 - 24 Jul. 1555
2: 25 Jul. 1555 - 24 Jul. 1556
3: 25 Jul. 1556 - 24 Jul. 1557
4: 25 Jul. 1557 - 24 Jul. 1558
5: 25 Jul. 1558 - 17 Nov. 1558

ELIZABETH I
1: 17 Nov. 1558 - 16 Nov. 1559
2: 17 Nov. 1559 - 16 Nov. 1560
3: 17 Nov. 1560 - 16 Nov. 1561
4: 17 Nov. 1561 - 16 Nov. 1562
5: 17 Nov. 1562 - 16 Nov. 1563
6: 17 Nov. 1563 - 16 Nov. 1564
7: 17 Nov. 1564 - 16 Nov. 1565
8: 17 Nov. 1565 - 16 Nov. 1566
9: 17 Nov. 1566 - 16 Nov. 1567
10: 17 Nov. 1567 - 16 Nov. 1568
11: 17 Nov. 1568 - 16 Nov. 1569
12: 17 Nov. 1569 - 16 Nov. 1570
13: 17 Nov. 1570 - 16 Nov. 1571
14: 17 Nov. 1571 - 16 Nov. 1572
15: 17 Nov. 1572 - 16 Nov. 1573
16: 17 Nov. 1573 - 16 Nov. 1574
17: 17 Nov. 1574 - 16 Nov. 1575
18: 17 Nov. 1575 - 16 Nov. 1576
19: 17 Nov. 1576 - 16 Nov. 1577
20: 17 Nov. 1577 - 16 Nov. 1578
21: 17 Nov. 1578 - 16 Nov. 1579
22: 17 Nov. 1579 - 16 Nov. 1580
23: 17 Nov. 1580 - 16 Nov. 1581
24: 17 Nov. 1581 - 16 Nov. 1582
25: 17 Nov. 1582 - 16 Nov. 1583
26: 17 Nov. 1583 - 16 Nov. 1584
27: 17 Nov. 1584 - 16 Nov. 1585
28: 17 Nov. 1585 - 16 Nov. 1586
29: 17 Nov. 1586 - 16 Nov. 1587
30: 17 Nov. 1587 - 16 Nov. 1588
31: 17 Nov. 1588 - 16 Nov. 1589
32: 17 Nov. 1589 - 16 Nov. 1590
33: 17 Nov. 1590 - 16 Nov. 1591
34: 17 Nov. 1591 - 16 Nov. 1592
35: 17 Nov. 1592 - 16 Nov. 1593
36: 17 Nov. 1593 - 16 Nov. 1594
37: 17 Nov. 1594 - 16 Nov. 1595
38: 17 Nov. 1595 - 16 Nov. 1596
39: 17 Nov. 1596 - 16 Nov. 1597
40: 17 Nov. 1597 - 16 Nov. 1598
41: 17 Nov. 1598 - 16 Nov. 1599
42: 17 Nov. 1599 - 16 Nov. 1600
43: 17 Nov. 1600 - 16 Nov. 1601
44: 17 Nov. 1601 - 16 Nov. 1602
45: 17 Nov. 1602 - 24 Mar. 1603