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| "1576. the Eightenth yeer of our Raigne" |
The designation of a regnal
year is a way to count the years of a monarch's reign. The first regnal year
began on the day of the monarch's accession to the throne, the day on which
they were formally crowned. For example, Queen Elizabeth I was crowned on
November 17, 1558. Her first regnal year spanned the dates November 17, 1558 -
November 16, 1559. Her second regnal year began on November 17, 1559.
We might wonder why it might
be important to associate a date with the regnal year of a monarch. Sometimes when transcribing older documents,
we might have to borrow Sherlock Holmes' deerstalker hat, and become a
manuscript detective, following the clues in the document. Often, documents
sustain damage over time, and the date may be blurred or truncated. We could even
possibly find a document with no date, and only a reference to the year in the
reign of the monarch in which the document was written.
There was a convention used
in documents that designated the regnal year of the monarch as a form of dating
the documents. Very often, both an actual date and a regnal year were used. For
example, Queen Elizabeth I (who ruled from 1558 - 1603) might have written a
document dated "December 1, 1568, in the eleventh year of our reign".
However, a document might only have the regnal year, and no date, e.g.,
"in the eleventh year of our reign".
Consulting a regnal year chart could narrow down the possible date of
the document in question.
An interesting example of a
monarch's regnal year designation being out of sync with his actual years of
reign is the example of King Charles II. King Charles I, father of Charles II,
was executed on January 30, 1649. The monarchy was overthrown, and a Council of
State was established in February, 1649. After Charles was defeated by Cromwell
at the Battle of Worcester in 1651, he left England and went to the Continent.
When he came back to England, he was proclaimed king on May 5, 1660, and came
to London on May 29, 1660. Instead of
declaring that date as the start of his first regnal year, he dated the
beginning of his first regnal year to January 30, 1649, the date of the
execution of his father, King Charles I. He always considered his reign to have
begun then, even though he did not take the throne until May, 1660, in his 12th
regnal year. For example, if you see a document signed by King Charles II on May
1, 1663, it will say "in the 15th year of our reign".
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| A Handbook of Dates, regnal year chart |
A regnal year chart is an
invaluable tool in any document detective's toolkit. It can allow the
transcriber to place the creation of the document within a more narrow
timeframe, allowing historians to better interpret the piece within the
framework of known historical events.
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| A Handbook of Dates, regnal year chart |
Morristown National
Historical Park has in its collection a document signed by Queen Elizabeth I in
June of 1576. The document concerns the importation of gold bullion into
England. Although the document doesn't appear to be written by Queen Elizabeth
I, it was signed by her. Court scribes usually wrote the body of official
documents. The document ends with "in this the eightenth yeer of our Raign", which would date her
first regnal year to the year 1558. After the death of her sister, Queen Mary
(often referred to as "Bloody Mary"), Elizabeth ascended the throne
on November 17, 1558.
Guide to Regnal Years
Jones, Michael. A Handbook of Dates: For Students of British History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2004 reprint.
COMING SOON
- Preservation 101: How Light and Humidity Impact Paper
- The Cursive Learning Curve & Future Historians' Dilemma
This blog post by Morristown NHP volunteer researcher and transcriptionist, Cynthia N.
