To be CE or AD, that is the question.

[cinzia8]

I'm looking for opinions as to whether I should use CE or AD in my historical novel. It has been suggested to me that the average reader will understand AD easier than CE. Ex. Gaul 451 A.D. rather than 451 CE. I've been using CE. Any thoughts are appreciated. I hope this question hasn't strayed too far from the military aspects of the forum.

 

 

Are you talking about how you should use it in exposition or in dramatization? In dramatization, it would be anachronistic to use CE (a PRC tag adopted in 1949) or AD (also hadn't been invented until 525). So, unless your characters are time travelers, it would be weird for them to use CE or AD. Same thing if the novel is told in the first person. But in standard (i.e., 3rd person) exposition, it's your voice that counts. How do you want to come across? Personally, I think AD sounds old-fashioned and parochial; others think CE sounds politically correct.

 

Thanks Cato. They are not speaking of the year to one another. If they were I would most likely go with what some have mentioned: the year of the consul etc.. This is just a chapter sub-heading, ex. Germania A.D. 448. I use Latin chapter titles, so as suggested, A.D. might blend better because it is Latin. Originally I did use CE, but readers in my writers group mentioned that it might be what's happening in the academic community but the general population is still somewhat unaware. It is a mainstream novel. I also see that movies and TV are still using A.D.. I saw a commercial for Terra Nova and they listed the year as 2149 A.D. It was tagged after the number but as stated in this thread, I believe it is accurate to tag it before the numbers. Also, I went and changed it all, so at this point there's no goin' back. BTW there is a cat in my story named Cato. <g> Better yet, a reader in my group read the scene with the cat and circled the name and wrote Kato beside it. I felt like saying, "Ah, dude (me being cool) that's the Green Hornet's sidekick." Cinzia.

 

Try this [Germania in the year 448]. You don't need to add Anno Domini or Common Era to the end that way and just use B.C. in the form of Germania 25 B.C. for earlier than 1 A.D. this way the person reading it will know by context what you are describing. This Idea doesn't work if you need something like Carthage in the years 25 B.C. and 25 . Depending on who your audience is and what you are discussing A.D. may be be the better choice or C.E. could be. If you are aiming for the Average person use A.D. if it's for the Academic use C.E. If it's general Roman history you can use A.D. but if you are dealing with Jesus then you must use C.E. as having him born in 8 A.D.or before 5 B.C. can confuse and anger the reader.

 

Thanks Romanus for your input. I will keep this advice in mind.

Cinzia

[guy]

This is the only coin minted in Rome to bear the true year date.

 

 

http://www.acsearch.info/record.html?id=1032

 

-. Aureus (Gold, 7.33 g 6), Rome, April, 121. IMP CAES HADRIANVS AVG COS III Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Hadrian to right. Rev. ANN.DCCC.LXXIIII NAT VRB.P.CIR CON. The Genius of the Circus reclining left, nude to the waist and with his head turned back to right, holding chariot wheel on his right knee with his right hand and with his left arm wrapped around three obelisks on a low base (the Spina of the Circus Maximus

 

...it also bears the only true year date ever to appear on a coin struck in the mint of Rome in ancient times (see J.O. Sweeny & R. Turfboer, Tempus in Nummis. I [n.p., 1992], pp. 79-81). The date is the year 874, identified on the coin as being anno natali urbis (= from the year of the birth of the city), more commonly termed by historians and scholars ab urbe condita (= from the founding of the city), and commonly used in historical texts under the abbreviation AUC.

 

guy also known as gaius

[cinzia8]

This is the only coin minted in Rome to bear the true year date.

 

 

http://www.acsearch.info/record.html?id=1032

 

-. Aureus (Gold, 7.33 g 6), Rome, April, 121. IMP CAES HADRIANVS AVG COS III Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Hadrian to right. Rev. ANN.DCCC.LXXIIII NAT VRB.P.CIR CON. The Genius of the Circus reclining left, nude to the waist and with his head turned back to right, holding chariot wheel on his right knee with his right hand and with his left arm wrapped around three obelisks on a low base (the Spina of the Circus Maximus

 

...it also bears the only true year date ever to appear on a coin struck in the mint of Rome in ancient times (see J.O. Sweeny & R. Turfboer, Tempus in Nummis. I [n.p., 1992], pp. 79-81). The date is the year 874, identified on the coin as being anno natali urbis (= from the year of the birth of the city), more commonly termed by historians and scholars ab urbe condita (= from the founding of the city), and commonly used in historical texts under the abbreviation AUC.

 

guy also known as gaius

 

Gaius:

 

What a beautiful coin!! The dating system here seems simple enough and makes sense (from the year of the birth of the city). Thanks for posting this.

 

Cinzia

[Renassault]

To be honest with you (the OP), as someone who has read many times works from the actual Roman era, aside from the archaic 18th century English I occasionally had to deal with, it was a total pain to try to calculate what year the author was talking about when I needed it either for research or something that was very interesting. Although, from the suggestions I've seen, I agree that using the name of the proconsul in the year that he was in office is best (proconsuls lasted only 1 year from roughly the summer to the next spring, and Olympiads were rarely used, not to mention AUC and although Diocletian's reckoning was used, it will downright confuse everyone), keep in mind that many of your readers won't know who you're talking about (not to mention some won't even know what a proconsul is), so try to avoid as many references in the characters' mouths about dates as you can. And you can always, if you don't mind, have the characters use AD, despite its invention in the 6th century. After all, everyone knows your novel isn't meant to be a history book, and the only need for meticulous accuracy would be if you're trying to fool the scholarly community that this work actually comes from that time (which you aren't ).

[GhostOfClayton]

I don't recall the year ever being mentioned in a Falco novel (help me out here, Crispina!) I think the nearest clue was 'during the time Vespasian was Emperor'. Though Wikipedia states "Falco was born on 20 or 21 March 41 AD" and references the first novel 'The Silver Pigs'. I don't recall it being mentioned, and no longer have the book.

[cinzia8]

To be honest with you (the OP), as someone who has read many times works from the actual Roman era, aside from the archaic 18th century English I occasionally had to deal with, it was a total pain to try to calculate what year the author was talking about when I needed it either for research or something that was very interesting. Although, from the suggestions I've seen, I agree that using the name of the proconsul in the year that he was in office is best (proconsuls lasted only 1 year from roughly the summer to the next spring, and Olympiads were rarely used, not to mention AUC and although Diocletian's reckoning was used, it will downright confuse everyone), keep in mind that many of your readers won't know who you're talking about (not to mention some won't even know what a proconsul is), so try to avoid as many references in the characters' mouths about dates as you can. And you can always, if you don't mind, have the characters use AD, despite its invention in the 6th century. After all, everyone knows your novel isn't meant to be a history book, and the only need for meticulous accuracy would be if you're trying to fool the scholarly community that this work actually comes from that time (which you aren't ).

 

Thank you for the suggestions, much appreciated. My characters mention only Attila, Valentinian and a few others that are specific to this time period. I have used chapter subtitles that mention the time of year and year and decided to go with Augustus, A.D. 450 etc. I agree with you, this is fiction and I have noticed through my writing group that even three Roman names together confound some. <g> Consequently, I think keeping the time marker closer to a modern context will be a benefit for the reader. This is a plot driven book in a historical setting. However, I want to immerse the reader into the historical time period as well and strive for a simple accuracy.

 

Cinzia

[cinzia8]

I don't recall the year ever being mentioned in a Falco novel (help me out here, Crispina!) I think the nearest clue was 'during the time Vespasian was Emperor'. Though Wikipedia states "Falco was born on 20 or 21 March 41 AD" and references the first novel 'The Silver Pigs'. I don't recall it being mentioned, and no longer have the book.

 

Hi:

 

In Steven Saylor's first novel ROMAN BLOOD the first chapter mentions Cicero (a character in the novel) to place us, but in the front of the book after the contents page is a map of Rome titled: ROME At the time of Sulla's Dictatorship, 80 B.C.

 

I have Silver Pigs and will look to see if I can find it.

 

Cinzia