Ghyll:Encyclopedant Calendar
To nurture the creation of a Ghyll Encyclopedia that will be of use to all of Ghyll's citizens, the Encyclopedants--key editors, and instigators of the encyclopaedic effort--are taking certain measures to ensure that some regional variations are normalised to canonical systems. One of the regional variations that the Encyclopedants have felt it foremost necessary to address is that of dates and times.
What this means to scholars is that when you submit entries that contain dates and times in a regional system, you will be asked (if we can get a message back to you) to provide them instead in the Encylopedant Calendar. It is the aim of this notice to define that calendar, and provide you with tips on the conversion. Should it be impossible for you to be contacted, the Encyclopedants will take up the changes themselves, attempting to provide normalisations where possible, and omitting dates otherwise.
The Encyclopedant Calendar
The Encyclopedant Calendar (EC) is based on years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, and seconds. There are sixty seconds to a minute, sixty minutes to an hour, twenty-four hours to a day, seven days to a week, four weeks to a month, and a dozen months to a year. Hence there are three hundred and thirty six days in a year, as corresponds with a full rotation of our seasons.
The epoch for the Encyclopedant Calendar, i.e. 0 EC, is based on the date that the call for entries was first set forth over the fair lands of Ghyll. Hence, the first year of the creation of the Ghyll Encyclopedia will take place throughout 0 EC. Since scholars will generally be mentioning dates only when they have occured before the creation of the dictionary, it is expected that dates prior to 0 EC will be most heavily represented in entries: the syntax for doing so is to use a negative number for the amount of years. Note that -1 EC is the year before the creation of the Ghyll Encyclopaedia. It is expected that the first round of definitions for the twenty six letters of the alphabet will take one EC year to complete, and hence the next time we call for definitions of words beginning with "A" is predicted to occur at the start of 1 EC.
To identify a Ghyll month, use the year followed by a slash followed by the number of the month. Likewise, for a day, use the year followed by a slash followed by the number of the month followed by another slash followed by the day. Example: the fifth day of the seventh month of -20 EC would be written as -20/7/5 EC. For the names of individual months and days, consult the Bursine Calendar (on which the EC is based).
Ghyll Timeline
In order to aid scholars' abilities to convert their regional dates into EC, the Encyclopedants have taken it upon themselves to research the dates for the events described in the first set of entires received for the letter "A". It has been a painstaking and laborious process, but it should enable scholars to more easily research the EC date for events that they describe. The timeline is as follows:
Date | Ghyll Event |
---|---|
-??,???,??? EC | The Avazian civilization falls. |
-10,000,000 EC | (Circa) Common ancestors to Ghyll humanoids and Burnflies roam the planet. |
-5000 EC | (Circa) Ghyll humanoids are settled on the coasts of the Dagger Seas. |
-3000 EC | (Circa) Rise of city-states on the Dagger Peninsulas. |
-2000 EC | (Circa) References to the Budgerigar Master have been dated from this period. |
-??? EC | (Circa) The Chesix System Of Measures originates around this period. |
-900 EC | The Nitenmangrey culture became extinct. |
-400 EC | Primitive forms of Bindlet Ball have been discovered in art of this period. |
-400 EC | Bute University is founded; an experiment in tolerance. |
-400 EC | King Harandraff the Great marches on Bute University and begins siege. |
-400 EC | King Harandraff the Great finds himself in a Civil War. |
-400 EC | Members of the Carsokian Clan are known as violent traditionalists. |
-400 to -323 EC | (Circa) The Battle of Barnum Stones takes place; exact dates unknown. |
-400 to -323 EC | (Circa) Salerny Redthighs is the shaman-chief of the Looliers. |
-333 EC | The Civil War against King Harandraff the Great ends; entire family tree dead. |
-330 EC | Birth of Andelphracia. |
-322 EC | The Carsokian Clan "relocates" to the Sarfelogian Mountains. |
-300 EC | (Circa) Birth of Briorus Jan-Vanderschusen. |
-300 EC | Andelphracia and Quezlar 6 were active in this period. |
-280 EC | Arariax the poet was born in the Evesque Valley. |
-260 to -251 EC | Arariax holds the Calends Gala Author Laureat for 9 years. |
-250 EC | (Circa) The Extraordinarily Bloodless Revolution occurs. |
-??? EC | The Brothers of the Lantern school is established (exact date unknown). |
-200 EC | Bute University celebrates its bicentennial by expanding their campus. |
-200 EC | Historical records before this point are difficult to decipher. |
-192 EC | Birth of Captain Riquiras. |
-183 EC | Significant numbers of the Carsokian Clan move back to Cranee from the Sarfelogian Mountains. |
-183 EC | The Cranee Historical Society is founded. |
-180 EC | Berell is rumored to have left the Brothers of the Lantern. |
-175 EC | The Carsokian Clan "discovers" that Captain Riquiras is a member. |
-174 EC | The Carsokian Clan "discovers" that Captain Riquiras isn't a member. |
-172 EC | Earliest recorded drawings of Besq Boats date from this time period. |
-159 EC | Captain Riquiras and his men discover the "Brass Hell", also known as "Captain Riquiras' Idol". |
-158 EC | The Barnum Stones are moved to Stindersgrough by Corvin Axehand. |
-157 EC | Death of Captain Riquiras. |
-157 EC | The Carsokian Clan "discovers" that Corvin Axehand is a member. |
-157/7 EC | Birth of Mary Elizabeth Carsokian. |
-150 EC | Earliest known use of the phrase "Andelphracian Lights". |
-150 EC | (Circa) Alarius published "Stepping Stones", considered one of his greatest poems. |
-100 EC | The Brothers of the Lantern begin to specialize in four classical subjects. |
-100 EC | (Circa) Wild budgerigar birds are believed to have become extinct. |
-100/7 EC | On an unknown Ulfsday, Mary Elizabeth Carsokian becomes head of the Carsokian Clan. |
-100 EC | Wilhelmina Corinne Bardway invents the ghoulwood viola and the supranatural luminescence meter. |
-98 EC | Supetupheraraphes founds the Bureau of Forgotten Knowledge. |
-98 EC | Supetupheraraphes becomes President of the Bureau of Forgotten Knowledge. |
-97 to -94 EC | A battle wages between a branch of the Carsokians and Endlessly Rising Staircase Movement. |
-90 EC | An unknown traveler writes in his journal about cactus forests. |
-90 EC | Last recorded stargazing session at Baleman amphitheatre. |
-87 EC | Birth of Mork Waterson. |
-77 EC | Meldersen becomes President of the Bureau of Forgotten Knowledge. |
-75 EC | The Earthquake of Fijjit destroys the Baleman amphitheatre. |
-70 EC | Two transcriptions of the Echecharion are known to exist. |
-70 EC | (Circa) Birth of Bysted Timperton. |
-69/4/12 EC | Birth of Bavarian Creame. |
-62/7/11 EC | Birth of Baron Claude Lloyd Albert Smallwood. |
-60 EC | (Circa) The current form of Bindlet Ball, based on Awal shrinkage, is developed. |
-60 EC | Bavarian Creame is, at the early age of 9, admitted to the Amphitheatre aristocracy. |
-58 EC | Birth of Windsor Creame. |
-56 EC | Rancticirchiretic becomes President of the Bureau of Forgotten Knowledge. |
-54 EC | Ghyll Bindlet League, for Bindlet Ball, is founded. |
-54/10/12 EC | Inaugural Day of Champions. |
-53 EC | The Bureau of Forgotten Knowledge's Steering Committee begins using three oxen in its motif. |
-50 EC | The last reported, though questionable, sighting of the Budgerigar Master. |
-50 EC | Ball Lightning Liqueur and "Awal Sleeps" begin to see common usage. |
-46 EC | Brother (of the Lantern) Honuphrius denounces Arariax's early/middle poems. |
-45 EC | Bavarian Creame weds Baron Claude Lloyd Albert Smallwood. |
-38 EC | Incumbent Folktown mayor loses re-election; purportedly prefers another Bindlet Ball team. |
-37 EC | A battle occurs over an Aelfant petrified dung-ball at the Plain of Brahang. |
-35 EC | Bavarian Creame becomes mayor of Folktown, at the early age of 34. |
-33 EC | Bavarian Creame divorces Baron Claude Lloyd Albert Smallwood. |
-32 EC | Awal becomes President of the Bureau of Forgotten Knowledge. |
-31 EC | Bavarian Creame weds Sir Bartholemew Sinch. |
-31 EC | Birth of Siam Sinch, daughter of Bavarian Creame. |
-31 EC | Death of Sir Bartholemew Sinch, husband of Bavarian Creame. |
-25 EC | Birth of Daniel Mboya. |
-25/4/1 EC | H.A.N.D.B.A.G. petitions the Bureau of Forgotten Knowledge and is ignored. |
-23 EC | The 4th Edition of Gala Rules and Traditions is released. |
-20 EC | Death of Edvard von Craghelm. |
-19 EC | Bindlet Ball, Its Rules And History published (Aliens Press, 964 pages). |
-18 EC | Birth of Gibbous Saunders. |
-17 EC | The Bureau of Forgotten Knowledge's motto is translated, and quickly changed. |
-16 EC | Fefferberry crop nearly lost due to extremely late ripening; wine of this vintage is highly sought. |
-14 EC | An act is passed that prohibits professional Bindlet Ball players from running for political office. |
-14 EC | Bobby Shwarmph publishes paper in Brothers of the Lantern scholarly journal. |
-13 EC | Folktown Records weekly newspaper founded, Ulfsday, the 22nd of Conti. |
-11 EC | Doggerel plague sweeps parts of Ghyll. |
-11 EC | Blivingdel becomes President of the Bureau of Forgotten Knowledge. |
-11 EC | Much-publicised marriage of artist Siam Sinch and statesman Gabson Foye. |
-11 EC | First, often revealing, lumograms of Bethany Mboya released. |
-10 EC | The Night of Cloaks and Daggers occurs in relation to the Charterhouse Collection. |
-9 EC | First writings, in the form of small pamphlets, by Bethany Mboya released. |
-8 EC | Birth of Morphous Ibb. |
-8 EC | Daniel Mboya and Niala Wallinger end their relationship. |
-8 EC | Windsor Creame weds Bavarian Creame. |
-7 EC | Daniel Mboya suffers an "unfortunate accident", suffering retardation. |
-7 EC | The longest, and still in the 4th period, Bindlet Ball game starts. |
-5 EC | A documented study of the cactus forests takes place. |
-4 EC | Daniel Mboya returns to society, after years of rehabilitation. |
-4/7/22 EC | Last known appearance of Bobby Shwarmph. |
-2 EC | Bethany Mboya exposed by Gabson Foye. |
-2 EC | All who studied the cactus forests in -5 EC die on Rishbard Nonce. |
-1 EC | Mork Wasterson, 87 years old, wins the Author Laureat at the Calends Gala. |
0 EC | Bute University completes its new science buildings. |
0 EC | Death of Daniel Mboya. |
0 EC | Ghyll Encyclopedia founded. |
Folktown Records History
From the first set of entries received for the Encyclopaedia, it is clear that many dates are stated indirectly using Folktown Records edition numbers. Since the Folktown Records has only been running since -13 EC, this only works for recent events, but those are the events most relevant to the inhabitants of Ghyll today, and the Folktown Records are common and popular enough that we can expect more excerpts from them in entries to come. As the editions of Folktown Records have been produced without fail every week from -13/3/22, we can provide the following dates for landmark issues:
Date | Folktown Records Event |
---|---|
-13/3/22 EC | The 1st edition of the Folktown Records (FR1). |
-12/4/1 EC | The 50th edition of the Folktown Records (FR50). |
-12 EC | Windsor Creame joins the writing staff. |
-11/4/15 EC | The 100th edition of the Folktown Records (FR100). |
-9/5/15 EC | The 200th edition of the Folktown Records (FR200). |
-8/6/1 EC | The 250th edition of the Folktown Records (FR250). |
-7/6/15 EC | The 300th edition of the Folktown Records (FR300). |
-7/9/15 EC | Gibbous Saunders writes to FR312. Managing Editor: Garth Haversham. |
-5/7/15 EC | The 400th edition of the Folktown Records (FR400). |
-3/8/15 EC | The 500th edition of the Folktown Records (FR500). |
-2/1/8 EC | FR519 conjectures about Bobby Shwarmph's possible death. |
-1/4/1 EC | Morphous Ibb writes to FR578. Tim Timperton responds. |
-1/9/15 EC | The 600th edition of the Folktown Records (FR600). |
0/1/1 | Ghyll Encyclopedia founding coincides with FR614. |
Note also that the following dates are currently unknown:
- Mr. Bowers had a series entitled "Ersatz Bite: False Teeth through Time" published.
- The current owners of the Folktown Records are of the Amphitheatre Elite.