Anno Domini
(abbreviated as AD or A.D., sometimes found in the irregular form ) and Before Christ (abbreviated as BC or B.C.) are designations used to label years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars.
The calendar era to which they refer is based on the traditionally reckoned year of the conception or birth of Jesus, with AD denoting years after the start of this epoch, and BC denoting years before the start of this epoch. There is no year zero in this scheme, so the year AD 1 immediately follows the year 1 BC. This dating system was devised in AD 525, but was not widely used until after AD 800.
The Gregorian calendar, and the year numbering system associated with it, is the calendar system with the most widespread use in the world today. For decades, it has been the unofficial global standard, recognized by international institutions such as the United Nations and the Universal Postal Union. It is also a basis of scholarly dating.
The term Anno Domini is Medieval Latin, translated as In the year of (the/Our) Lord.
- Bede. (731). Historiam ecclesiasticam gentis Anglorum. Accessed 7 December 2007.
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- Declercq, G. "Dionysius Exiguus and the Introduction of the Christian Era". Sacris Erudiri 41 (2002): 165–246. An annotated version of part of Anno Domini.
- Doggett. (1992). "Calendars" (Ch. 12), in P. Kenneth Seidelmann (Ed.) Explanatory supplement to the astronomical almanac. Sausalito, CA: University Science Books. ISBN 0-935702-68-7.
- Gerard, J. (1908). "General Chronology". In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved 16 July 2008 from New Advent: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03738a.htm
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