In the ancient Roman calendar, Quintilis or Quinctilis was the month following

Junius Junius often refers to: * Junius (writer), the pseudonym of an 18th-century British political writer of strongly Whig principles * The nomen of the ancient Roman * or , the month of June on the ancient Roman calendar * Rosa Luxemburg's ''Junius Pa ...

(June) and preceding Sextilis (August). ''Quintilis'' is Latin for "fifth": it was the fifth month (''quintilis mensis'') in the earliest calendar attributed to

Romulus Romulus () was the legendary foundation of Rome, founder and King of Rome, first king of Ancient Rome, Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus ...

, which began with

Martius Martius may refer to: * Martius (month) the month of March on the ancient Roman calendar * Campus Martius, the "Field of Mars" in ancient Rome * Telo Martius, an ancient name for Toulon, France People * Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius (1794–1 ...

(" Mars' month," March) and had 10 months. After the calendar reform that produced a 12-month year, Quintilis became the seventh month, but retained its name. In 45 BC,

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

instituted a new calendar (the Julian calendar) that corrected astronomical discrepancies in the old. After his death in 44 BC, the month of Quintilis, his birth month, was renamed ''Julius'' in his honor, hence July."Los Cielos de Agosto" (Spanish: "The Skies of August"), Jorge R. Ianiszewski, ''Circulo Astronomico'', 2006, webpage
CirA-Agosto
Quintilis was under the guardianship ''( tutela)'' of the Romans' supreme deity Jupiter, with sacrifices made particularly to

Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 times ...

and Apollo. Agricultural festivals directed at the harvest gradually lost their importance, and the month became dominated in urban Imperial Rome by the Ludi Apollinares, games ''( ludi)'' in honor of Apollo. Ten days of games were celebrated in honor of Julius Caesar at the end of the month.

Dates

Like the modern month of July, this was one of the "long" months that had 31 days. The Romans did not number days of a month sequentially from the 1st through the last day. Instead, they counted back from the three fixed points of the month: the Nones (''Nonae,'' 5th or 7th, depending on the length of the month), the Ides (''Idūs,'' 13th or 15th), and the Kalends (''Kalendae,'' 1st) of the following month. Thus, the last day of Quintilis was the ''pridie Kalendas Sextilis'', "day before the Kalends of Sextilis" (August). Roman counting was inclusive; July 5 was ''ante diem III Nonas Quintilis'', "the 3rd day before the Nones (7th) of Quintilis," usually abbreviated ''a.d. III Non. Quint.'' (or with the ''a.d.'' omitted altogether); July 23 was ''X. Kal. Sext.'', "the 10th day before the Kalends of Sextilis."

Each day was marked with a letter such as F for '' dies fasti'', days when it was legal to initiate action in the courts of

civil law Civil law may refer to: * Civil law (common law), the part of law that concerns private citizens and legal persons * Civil law (legal system), or continental law, a legal system originating in continental Europe and based on Roman law ** Private la ...

; C, for ''dies comitalis,'' a day on which the Roman people could hold assemblies ''( comitia)'', elections, and certain kinds of judicial proceedings; N for ''

dies nefasti The Roman calendar was the calendar used by the Roman Kingdom and Roman Republic. The term often includes the Julian calendar established by the reforms of the dictator Julius Caesar and emperor Augustus in the late 1stcenturyBC and sometimes ...

'', when these political activities and the administration of justice were prohibited; or NP, the meaning of which remains elusive, but which marked '' feriae'', public holidays. Days were also marked with

nundinal letters The nundinae (), sometimes anglicized to nundines,. were the market days of the ancient Roman calendar, forming a kind of weekend including, for a certain period, rest from work for the ruling class ( patricians). The nundinal cycle, market ...

in cycles of ''A B C D E F G H'', to mark the "market week" A '' dies natalis'' was an anniversary such as a temple founding or rededication, sometimes thought of as the "birthday" of a deity. On a ''

dies religiosus The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...

'', individuals were not to undertake any new activity, nor do anything other than tend to the most basic necessities. During the Imperial period, some of the traditional festivals localized at Rome became less important, and the birthdays and anniversaries of the emperor and his family gained prominence as Roman holidays. On the calendar of military religious observances known as the ''

Feriale Duranum The ''Feriale Duranum'' is a calendar of religious observances for a Roman military garrison at Dura-Europos on the Euphrates, Roman Syria, under the reign of Severus Alexander (224–235 AD). History and description The small papyrus roll w ...

'', sacrifices pertaining to Imperial cult outnumber the older festivals. After the latter 1st century AD, a number of dates are added to calendars for spectacles and games ''( ludi)'' held in honor of various deities in the venue called a " circus" ''(ludi circenses)''. By the late 2nd century AD, extant calendars no longer show days marked with letters ''(F, N, C'' and so on) to show their religious status, probably in part as a result of calendar reforms undertaken by Marcus Aurelius.Salzman, ''On Roman Time'', p. 17. Unless otherwise noted, the dating and observances on the following table are from

H.H. Scullard Howard Hayes Scullard (9 February 1903 – 31 March 1983) was a British historian specialising in ancient history, notable for editing the ''Oxford Classical Dictionary'' and for his many published works. Scullard's father was Herbert Hayes S ...

, ''Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic'' (Cornell University Press, 1981), pp. 158–169.

Notes

{{reflist July Months of the Roman calendar

Dates

See also

Notes