Time in Tamriel is not merely a measure of days but a cosmological structure, bound to the motion of the heavens, the turning of divine cycles, and the practical needs of empire. While cultures interpret time through their own mythic lenses, a standardized calendar system has existed for centuries, allowing trade, governance, religion, and history to function across provincial and racial boundaries. This system is most commonly referred to as the Tamrielic Calendar, derived from the ancient Cyrodilic tradition and formalized under Imperial administration.
This calendar governs civil life, contracts, military campaigns, religious observances, and historical recordkeeping across the continent.
A standard Tamrielic year consists of 12 months, each containing 30 days, for a total of 360 days. An additional 5 intercalary days—known collectively as the Old Life period—are appended at the end of the year, bringing the total to 365 days. These days exist outside the normal month structure and are ritually and administratively distinct.
Timekeeping assumes a solar year, anchored to the movement of Magnus and the celestial firmament, but remains heavily influenced by lunar observation due to the presence of Masser and Secunda.
Midwinter / Renewal
The first month of the year marks rebirth after winter’s deepest cold. Civil administrations reset records, contracts renew, and New Life celebrations dominate the early days. Weather remains harsh in northern provinces, while southern lands begin subtle thaw.
Light Returns
Associated with clarity, truth, and the gradual strengthening of daylight. Religious observances emphasizing balance and healing are common. Snow remains prevalent in Skyrim, while central Cyrodiil begins its first planting preparations.
Beginning of Labor
The agricultural year begins in earnest. Fields are planted, irrigation systems opened, and land disputes ritually settled. In forested or arid provinces, the month marks symbolic rather than literal planting.
Growth and Uncertainty
Unpredictable weather defines this month. Rains, floods, and early storms are common. Historically associated with upheaval, satire, and social inversion, making it a favored time for festivals of mockery and release.
Stability and Reinforcement
A corrective month following Rain’s Hand. Failed crops are replanted, alliances reaffirmed, and corrections made to earlier misjudgments. Often used by states to reassess military and economic readiness.
Zenith of the Sun
The longest days of the year. Trade peaks, travel is safest, and war campaigns often commence. The Midyear point holds symbolic significance as a moment of balance between ascent and decline.
Heat and Excess
The hottest month in most provinces. Commerce flourishes but tempers fray. This month hosts major trade holidays and enforced rest periods to prevent collapse from overwork. In desert regions, activity shifts to night hours.
Harvest Begins
Early harvests are gathered, and surplus begins to accumulate. Rural communities grow inward-focused, while cities experience increased food flow and price stabilization.
Preparation and Memory
Fires are lit earlier, homes reinforced, and communities prepare for colder months. This is a month of storytelling, remembrance, and reflection on mortality. Funerary rites increase.
The Turning Cold
Winter asserts itself. Mountain passes become dangerous, and naval travel declines. The veil between life and death is believed to thin, making this a favored month for rites involving spirits and the unseen.
Decline and Vigilance
The year wanes. Food stores are rationed, and martial readiness increases. Many cultures associate this month with warriors, defense, and sacrifice in anticipation of hardship.
Closure and Reckoning
The final month before the Old Life days. Contracts expire, grudges are addressed, and final judgments rendered. It is a solemn but communal time, emphasizing gratitude, excess before restraint, and remembrance.
Following Evening Star are five intercalary days that exist outside the months. These days are not assigned weekday names and are often considered liminal time—neither past nor future.
Common characteristics of the Old Life period:
No official court sessions or trade charters
Reduced enforcement of minor laws
Increased religious observance and funerary rites
Symbolic release of the year’s burdens
In many regions, these days are treated as spiritually dangerous or sacred. Dreams, omens, and prophetic experiences are believed to be more common.
The Tamrielic week consists of 7 days, standardized across the Empire for civil use:
Sundas
Morndas
Tirdas
Middas
Turdas
Fredas
Loredas
These names are used in contracts, travel schedules, military orders, and temple services. While some cultures maintain alternative naming traditions, Imperial week-names are universally understood.
The current system measures years according to Eras, each beginning with a major metaphysical or political event. Dates are written as:
Era Number – Year – Month – Day
Example: 4E 201, Sundas, 17th of Last Seed
Most civil records omit the weekday unless precision is required. Religious texts often include celestial alignment or lunar phase instead.
While the solar calendar governs civil life, the moons Masser and Secunda exert strong influence over ritual, magic, and certain cultures:
Full Moons: Heightened magical potency, lycanthropic transformations, and lunar rites
New Moons: Associated with secrecy, death, and transitions
Dual Full or Dual New Events: Rare, considered highly auspicious or catastrophic
Elsweyr, in particular, tracks lunar cycles alongside the standard calendar, often annotating dates with moon-phase glyphs.
Although standardized, the calendar is interpreted differently across provinces:
Skyrim: Seasons are felt earlier and more severely; Frostfall often arrives before its calendar marker.
Hammerfell: Heat seasons dominate; Sun’s Height and Last Seed are the most dangerous months.
Morrowind: Ash storms disrupt seasonal predictability; months are often referenced by Temple feast-days.
Valenwood: Time is cyclical and narrative; dates matter less than seasonal meaning.
Black Marsh: Flood cycles override months; Hist-guided time supersedes written calendars.
Summerset Isles: Time is ritualized; exact hours and days are meticulously observed.
Despite these differences, all provinces recognize the Tamrielic calendar for diplomacy and trade.
Clocks are rare outside major cities. Most people measure time by:
Sun position
Temple bells
Work shifts (dawn, high sun, dusk)
Magical chronometers exist but are restricted to scholars, temples, and state institutions.
To Imperials, time is linear and administrative.
To Nords, it is cyclical and heroic.
To Altmer, it is a broken remnant of divine eternity.
To Argonians, it is irrelevant beside memory.
Yet the Tamrielic calendar endures because it provides a shared illusion of order — a scaffold upon which wildly different civilizations can agree that today exists.
The Tamrielic calendar is a unifying abstraction, not a universal truth. It standardizes chaos without erasing culture, allowing empires to rise, fall, and be remembered with precision.
12 months of 30 days
5 intercalary Old Life days
7-day weeks
Era-based year numbering
Solar-based civil time with lunar metaphysical influence
It is not time itself that binds Tamriel together — but agreement on how to name its passing.