Everything about Regnal Year totally explained
A
regnal year is a year of the reign of a
sovereign. From Latin
regnum meaning kingdom, rule.
The oldest dating systems were in regnal years, and considered the date as an
ordinal, not a
cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year of rule, a third, and so on, but a
zero year of rule would be nonsense. Applying this ancient
epoch system to modern calculations of time, which include zero, is what led to the
debate over when the third millennium began.
Reckoning in various cultures
In ancient times,
calendars were counted in terms of the number of years of the reign of the current
monarch. The oldest such reckoning is preserved in the
Sumerian king list.
In England, and later the
United Kingdom, until 1963, each
Act of Parliament was defined by its serial number within the regnal year in which it was enacted. Each regnal year begins on the anniversary of the day the sovereign succeeded to the throne. A table of English regnal years, from 1066 to 1962, is given
here
.
The
Zoroastrian calendar also operated with regnal years following the reform of
Ardashir I (3rd century).
Asian era names
Chinese
The Chinese eras or
Nian Hao were used sporadically from 156 BC and continuously from 140 BC. Until 1367 several were used during each emperor's reign. From 1368 until 1912 only one era name was used by each emperor, who was posthumously known by his era name.
Korean
Korean eras were used from 391 to 963 and from 1894 to 1910. During the later years of the
Joseon Dynasty, years were also numbered from the founding of that dynasty in 1393. From 1952 until 1961, years were numbered in
Dangi in
South Korea, counting from the founding of
Gojoseon in 2333 BC.
Japanese
The official Japanese system or
Nengo numbers years from the accession of the current
emperor, regarding the calendar year during which the accession occurred as the first year. The current emperor
Akihito succeeded to the throne in 1989, and the new era name
Heisei was decreed by the
Cabinet. Thus that year corresponds to . The system was in use sporadically from 645 and continuously from 701. Until 1867 several were used during each emperor's reign. From 1868 only one era name has been used by each emperor. Since 1868 each emperor has been known posthumously by his era name.
Notable king lists
Further Information
Get more info on 'Regnal Year'.
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