cinzia8 Posted July 4, 2014 Report Share Posted July 4, 2014 Hi all: When I was writing my novel and I had chapter headings using a date, I was told here and by others for literary purposes use AD 451, which I agreed with and did. Now I'm writing an Author's Note and I'm wondering when I reference a date should I write, 132 or AD132 or 132CE. I've seen in another Author's Note the writer uses " in 69 …. " Does the average reader relate to the BCE, CE usage? I also see that some online information sites (wikipedia, Princeton, Ency. Brit.) use AD and others CE or not at all. I'm going to check with my editor, but I'm wondering if any published author on this forum might be able to comment. Thanks, Cinzia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viggen Posted July 5, 2014 Report Share Posted July 5, 2014 ...the previous thread about this was here http://www.unrv.com/forum/topic/14422-to-be-ce-or-ad-that-is-the-question/ I don't think there would be a need to switch from one to the other, if you have decided for one format, that i would stick to it throughout the book.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinzia8 Posted July 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2014 Viggen: Thanks again for 'saving the day'. I revisited the old thread and bookmarked this time. I took my author's notes to a writing group and one person went on about CE being more appropriate. I stated that my sources familiar with this historical time period leaned toward AD. Also, I've notice in some historical or author's note, the dates being shown as 132 or 69 with no mention of AD or BC. Are people assuming it's just AD unless specified by BC? Cinzia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onasander Posted July 6, 2014 Report Share Posted July 6, 2014 Doesn't matter, just CE means your a atheist who hates God so much you need to make a statement. But it is understood none the less in both systems, as timelines are identical in terms of dates. Yes, note AD and BC, or BCE or CE.... not everyone is a expert on history, and the sequencing of events can get confusing.... I get confused myself qith dates around Caesar and Augustus and Tiberius for example.... the BC-AD dividing point makes it easier to hold the history of the era to scale in a way I can grasp, thiugh I gotta sit there and do the math if its 15BC to 14AD.... 29 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinzia8 Posted July 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2014 Sounds good. BC-AD works for me. Thanks for commenting. Cinzia 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted July 7, 2014 Report Share Posted July 7, 2014 Although I'm not a published author, as a reader who is familiar with both BCE/CE and BC/AD usage, I have to say I prefer the latter. I think BCE/CE was created in order to provide a "politically correct" alternative to BC/AD, which has obvious Christian connotations. But let's be honest, most of us (Christian or otherwise) are aware that the current year 2014 means 2014 years after what is believed to be the birth of Christ. So I think it's perfectly reasonable to stick to the more common date reference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinzia8 Posted July 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2014 Thanks, Aurelia. Your viewpoint definitely helps and I agree. Within my story I use AD (mostly chapter headings) and for references in my author's note I'm just going to use 451. I'm thinking that if I anyone is writing in BC/BCE the will say 451BC. I'm in the US and people see on the History Channel (as I was told) the BCE/CE reference. So, some believe it is the standard now in the entire academic community. Cinzia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onasander Posted July 7, 2014 Report Share Posted July 7, 2014 Your aware Roman Christians didn't really use BC/AD divisions themselves, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted July 7, 2014 Report Share Posted July 7, 2014 Your aware Roman Christians didn't really use BC/AD divisions themselves, right? Nobody said they did. We were merely discussing literary conventions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinzia8 Posted July 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2014 Your aware Roman Christians didn't really use BC/AD divisions themselves, right? Nobody said they did. We were merely discussing literary conventions. I imagine 'Anno Domini' came later (quick check says Medieval) and BC, I have no clue because Before Christ is in English. However, the general reading population I think will relate easier to BC/AD and as Aurelia mentioned and for my purposes is a literary convention. Onasander, I know in a previous thread related to this topic someone mentioned AUL. Perhaps it was you. For me, AD works better than CE. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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