The Calendar of Harptos

The Calendar of Harptos

The Structure of Time

The people of Faerûn mark time with the Calendar of Harptos, a creation of the wizard Harptos of Kaalinth. It divides the year into twelve months—each exactly 30 days, or three "tendays" (weeks of ten days). Between the months fall five unnumbered feast days—breaks from routine, markers in the current of time. Most years total 365 days. Once every four years, a sixth feast day arrives: Shieldmeet, a leap-day of rituals and renewal.

The Months

Each month carries two names—Common (spoken by merchants and soldiers) and Chondathan (the tongue of old Tethyr):

  1. Hammer (Deepwinter)

  2. Alturiak (Claw of Winter)

  3. Ches (Claw of Sunsets) – Spring equinox around Ches 19

  4. Tarsakh (Claw of Storms)

  5. Mirtul (The Melting)

  6. Kythorn (Time of Flowers) – Summer solstice near Kythorn 20

  7. Flamerule (Summertide)

  8. Eleasis / Eleasias (Highsun)

  9. Eleint (The Fading) – Autumn equinox roughly Eleint 21

  10. Marpenoth (Leaffall)

  11. Uktar (The Rotting)

  12. Nightal (The Drawing Down) – Winter solstice near Nightal 20

Seasonal Festivals

These unnumbered days hold power, pause, celebration:

  • Midwinter (between Hammer 30 and Alturiak 1): a moment of reflection, alliances bound anew.

  • Greengrass (Tarsakh 30 into Mirtul 1): spring’s first breath, truce, floral gifts.

  • Midsummer (Flamerule 30 into Eleasis 1): feasting, betrothals, celebrations marked by excess.

  • Shieldmeet (quadrennial, after Midsummer): councils open, vows renewed, tournaments.

  • Highharvestide (Eleint 30 into Marpenoth 1): harvest thanksgiving, roads teem with travelers.

  • Feast of the Moon (Uktar 30 into Nightal 1): honoring ancestors, tales of old.

Calendar as Storyteller

Understanding the Calendar frames the pulse of campaign life:

  • Tendays govern rhythm—work, respite, market days shift on ten-day cycles.

  • Feast days are narrative hinge-points: sudden festivals, public rituals, surprise closures.

  • Seasons shape ambience: muddy spring roads, blistering flamerule heat, crisp nightal chill.

  • Equinoxes/solstices anchor ceremonies or omens, even without divine purpose.

The year begins in Hammer, a month steeped in winter’s gloom, where life bends toward endurance and introspection. Midwinter follows as a festival day between months, marked by public oaths and the sealing of noble pacts. Greengrass brings early spring’s rebirth, a time for peace offerings, shared feasts, and the stirrings of romance. At the height of light comes Midsummer, when joy and courtship flourish, and the reckoning of the year’s first half takes shape. Every fourth year, Shieldmeet arrives in the wake of Midsummer, a rare occasion for civic renewals, grand tournaments, and open counsel. Highharvestide, in autumn, celebrates the bounty of the fields, offering thanks and ensuring safe travel before the year’s waning. Finally, the Feast of the Moon closes the cycle, a day for honoring memory, venerating ancestors, and telling the stories that hold communities together.