44 CALENDAR OF THE DRESDEN CODEX. [^^ 



REAU OF 



shows clearly that he refers thereby to the year bearers, as he says, 

 "They also use this method of coiiiitiiig in order to derive from cer- 

 tain letters a method of counting tlieir epochs and other things." But 

 the list of days commenced witli ''one Yiiiix," and this was consid- 

 ered the commencement of their calendar as Ce (3ipactli was of the 

 Nahautl calendar. He also exj)ressly distinguished the "dominical 

 letter" from this day. As he says, it " * * * has no certain or 

 fixed day on which it falls. Because each one changes its position 

 according to his fitsj own count; yet, for all that, the dominical letter of 

 the year which follows does not fail to come up correctly." Now it is 

 apparent from this language that by " dominical letter" he alludes to 

 the year-bearer and not to Ymix, It is possible, therefore, that the 

 illustration given him was from a series like that uow under considera- 

 tion, which started with this day. 



Returning now to 3 Cib in the list of days (table 0), the count must 

 be carried forward 4 mouths and 10 days (or 90 days). As this is the 

 fourth day of the seventli month (Yaxkin), this should reach the four- 

 teenth day of Zac, the eleventh month; this is 2 Cimi, which agrees 

 with the record, plate 40. Now, counting forward lli months and 10 

 days, it will require (since 2 Cimi is the fourteenth day of the eleventh 

 month, Zac) 7 months and 6 days to reach the end of the year, which 

 in this case, not counting the five intercalary days, will be 5 Eb. 

 If there were no intercalary days, then the next year would commence 

 with 6 Ben, as the days must always follow one another in regnlar 

 sequence. As 5 months and 4 days remain to make up the 12 months 

 and 10 days, it the count is continued, commencing with 6 Ben and 

 without allowing for the five intercalary days, 5 Cib is reached, and 

 this is the proper day as given in the third column of plate 46. But 

 instead of being the nineteenth day of the fifth month, Tzec, it is the 

 fourth day of the sixth month, Xul, for the months of this year would 

 all commence five days earlier than is given in the table. As this 

 extends five days beyond the date given in the codex (third column, 

 plate 46), it proves beyond controversy that the five days should be 

 added before commencing the next year. In order to make this clear, 

 the several steps of the count forward, from 2 Cimi, the fourteenth day 

 of the eleventh month, Zac, will be noted. 



Counting 6 days, 8 Eb, the last day of Zac is reached; then follows 

 the month Ceh, 20 days; Mac, 20 days; Kankin, 20 days; Muan, 20 

 days; Pax, 20 days; Kayab, 20 days; and C'umhu, 20 days, ending 

 with 5 Eb, making in all 7 months and 6 days (or 146 days). Adding 

 to these the 5 intercalary days — 6 Ben, 7 Ix, 8 Men, 9 Cib, and 10 

 Caban — the sum is 7 months and 11 days (or 151 days), leaving 4 

 months and 19 days (or 99 days) of the 12 months and 10 days to be 

 counted. The reader will also observe that the next day of the list is 

 11 Ezanab, the first day of the month Pop, and consequently the first 



