Objectif This project will study how calendars evolved in late antique and medieval societies towards ever increasing standardization and fixation. The study of calendars has been neglected by historians as a technical curiosity; but in fact, the calendar was at the heart of ancient and medieval culture, as a structured concept of time, and as an organizing principle of social life.The history of calendars in late Antiquity and the Middle Ages was a complex social and cultural process, closely related to politics, science, and religion. The standardization and fixation of calendars was related in Antiquity to the rise of large, centralized empires in the Mediterranean and Near East, and in the Middle Ages, to the rise of the monotheistic, universalist religions of Christianity and Islam. The standardization and fixation of calendars contributed also, more widely, to the formation of a unified and universal culture in the ancient and medieval worlds.The standardization and fixation of ancient and medieval calendars will be analyzed by focusing on four, specific manifestations of this process: (1) the diffusion and standardization of the seven-day week in the Roman Empire; (2) the production of hemerologia (comparative calendar tables) in late Antiquity; (3) the use of Jewish calendar fixed cycles in medieval manuscripts; (4) the production and diffusion of monographs on the calendar by medieval Muslim, Christian, and Jewish scholars, especially al-Biruni’s Chronology of the Ancient Nations and Isaac Israeli’s Yesod Olam. Study of these four research areas will enable us to formulate a general interpretation and explanation of how and why calendars became increasingly standardized and fixed.This will be the first ever study of calendars on this scale, covering a wide range of historical periods and cultures, and involving a wide range of disciplines: social history, ancient and medieval astronomy and mathematics, study of religions, literature, epigraphy, and codicology. Champ scientifique humanitieshistory and archaeologyhistoryancient historyhumanitieshistory and archaeologyhistorymedieval historyhumanitiesphilosophy, ethics and religionreligionsislamhumanitiesphilosophy, ethics and religionreligionschristianityhumanitieslanguages and literatureliterature studieshistory of literature Programme(s) FP7-IDEAS-ERC - Specific programme: "Ideas" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013) Thème(s) ERC-AG-SH6 - ERC Advanced Grant - The study of the human past Appel à propositions ERC-2012-ADG_20120411 Voir d’autres projets de cet appel Régime de financement ERC-AG - ERC Advanced Grant Institution d’accueil UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON Contribution de l’UE € 2 499 006,00 Adresse GOWER STREET WC1E 6BT London Royaume-Uni Voir sur la carte Région London Inner London — West Camden and City of London Type d’activité Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Contact administratif Jennifer Morgan (Ms.) Chercheur principal Sacha David Stern (Prof.) Liens Contacter l’organisation Opens in new window Site web Opens in new window Coût total Aucune donnée Bénéficiaires (1) Trier par ordre alphabétique Trier par contribution de l’UE Tout développer Tout réduire UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON Royaume-Uni Contribution de l’UE € 2 499 006,00 Adresse GOWER STREET WC1E 6BT London Voir sur la carte Région London Inner London — West Camden and City of London Type d’activité Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Contact administratif Jennifer Morgan (Ms.) Chercheur principal Sacha David Stern (Prof.) Liens Contacter l’organisation Opens in new window Site web Opens in new window Coût total Aucune donnée