Calendar of Harptos

The Calendar of Harptos was the calendar used across most of Faerûn. It was created by the wizard Harptos of Kaalinth, although most people associate the word “Harptos” with the calendar. It was split into twelve months, each lasting three tendays (or thirty days). There were an additional five days that fell between months, bringing the total number of days in most years to 365.

Months:

  • Hammer (“Deepwinter”)
  • Alturiak (pronounced: awl-TUR-ee-ak, “The Claw of Winter” or “The Claws of the Cold”)
  • Ches (“The Claw of Sunsets”)
  • Tarsakh (pronounced: TAR-sack, “The Claw of Storms”)
  • Mirtul (pronounced: MER-tul, “The Melting”)
  • Kythorn (pronounced: KY-thorn, “The Time of Flowers”)
  • Flamerule (pronounced: FLAME-rool, “Summertide”)
  • Eleasis (pronounced: eh-LEE-sis, “Highsun”)
  • Eleint (pronounced: eh-LAINT, “The Fading”)
  • Marpenoth (“Leaffall”)
  • Uktar (“The Rotting”)
  • Nightal (“The Drawing Down”)

Holidays:

  • Midwinter – between Hammer 30 and Alturiak 1
  • Greengrass – betweenTarsakh 30 and Mirtul 1
  • Midsummer – between Flamerule 30 and Eleasias 1
  • Shieldmeet – occurs the day after Midsummer, once every four years
  • Highharvestide – between Eleint 30 and Marpenoth 1
  • Feast of the Moon – between Uktar 30 and Nightal 1

Solstices/Equinoxes:

  • Spring Equinox – Ches 19
  • Summer Solstice – Kythorn 20
  • Autumn Equinox – Eleint 21
  • Winter Solstice – Nightal 20

Date Conventions

The days making up a tenday did not have formal names. If precision was required, the number of the day and the number of the tenday were used, as in, “the fourth day of the first tenday of Flamerule”. Days of the month were typically written as the numerical date followed by the month name, for example, “15 Hammer” or “15th Hammer”. Informally or poetically this could be spoken or written as “the 15th of Deepwinter”.

Hours of the day

Most inhabitants of Faerûn divided the day into ten segments. None of these divisions were precise. Different folk’s usages might overlap with others. In general, however, these slots of time ranged between one and four hours. Common names for these divisions of the day are given below:

  • Godswake: The time before dawn
  • Dawn: The time around sunrise
  • Harbright: From Dawn to Highsuna
  • Morning: The time between sunrise and highsun
  • Elsun: The latter hours of morning
  • Highsuna: When the sun was directly overhead; also called “noon” or “twelve bells”
  • Afternoon: The time after noon
  • Thulsun: The early hours of afternoon
  • Tharsun: The latter hours of afternoon
  • Dusk or Nightfall: The time before sunset
  • Sunset: The time around sunset
  • Evening or Eventide: The time after sunset
  • Midnight or Deepnight: The time roughly 12 hours after noon; also called “twelve bells”
  • Moondark: The darkest part of night; also called “night’s heart”
  • Night’s end: The time before sunrise
  • Night: The hours of darkness

In larger cities, bells were sometimes used to mark the hours. The churches of Gond and Lathander were also particularly interested in accurate timekeeping. In such cases, hours were numbered 1 through 12 twice, with 12 being both highsun and midnight.

Magically Auspicious Times

When practicing the Art, the position of the sun could have noticeable effects on the efficacy of certain spell components. These times of day and the item affected, as told by Elminster, are listed below:

  • Foredawn: The quarter-hour before 5 am to the quarter-hour after 5 am. Magical immersions using turquoise were best used at this time
  • Mornbright: The quarter-hour before 8 am to the quarter-hour after 8 am. Any spells or magical writings using amethysts were more likely to succeed during this interval
  • Midmorn: The quarter-hour before 10 am to the quarter-hour after 10 am. Magical workings using sapphires were best done during this period
  • High morn: The quarter-hour before 11 am to the quarter-hour after 11 am. When enchanting a weapon adorned with garnets, starting the procedure during this interval generally produced the most favorable results
  • Highsun: “Noon”, as above. Magical workings involving diamond dust produced an increase in effectiveness when the sun was directly overhead
  • Waterclock: The quarter-hour before 2 pm to the quarter-hour after 2 pm. Casting spells or other magical processes using emeralds as a component had an increased chance of success if performed at this time
  • Time of summer sunset: About 5 o’clock in the afternoon. Enchantments involving powdered ruby were most effective when performed at this time of day
  • Twilight: Around 6 o’clock in the evening. Steps of an enchantment process using opals had the greatest chance for success at this time
  • Candleglass time: The quarter-hour before 9 pm to the quarter-hour after 9 pm. Powdered jade was best added to magical immersions during this interval