The Edict of Roussillon (french: Édit de Roussillon) was a 1564

edict An edict is a decree or announcement of a law, often associated with monarchism, but it can be under any official authority. Synonyms include "dictum" and "pronouncement". ''Edict'' derives from the Latin edictum. Notable edicts * Telepinu Pro ...

decreeing that the year would begin on 1 January in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. During a trip to various parts of his kingdom, the King of France, Charles IX, found that depending on the

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

, the year began either at

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

(at

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

, for instance) or on 25 March (as at

Vienne Vienne (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Viéne'') is a landlocked department in the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It takes its name from the river Vienne. It had a population of 438,435 in 2019.Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

. In order to standardise the date for the new year in the entire kingdom, he added an article to an edict given at

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

in January 1563 which he promulgated at Roussillon on 9 August 1564. It started being applied on 1 January 1567. The 42 articles that comprised this edict concerned justice, except the last four, added during the king's stay at Roussillon. It was article 39 that announced a 1 January start date for every year henceforth.

List of regions

References

*''Dictionnaire Historique de la France'', by Ludovic Lalanne, p. 84, vol. 1, 1877, Reprinted by Burt Franklin, New York, 1968. *''The New American Cyclopaedia: A Popular Dictionary of General Knowledge'', p. 493, ed. George Ripley, Charles A. Dana. D. Appleton and Company, 1858.
Le calendrier grégorien en France by Rodolphe Audette
1564 in France Roussillon Charles IX of France Calendars New Year celebrations 1564 in law {{france-hist-stub