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The Common Era (CE), sometimes known as the Current Era or as the Christian Era, is the period of measured time beginning with the year 1 on the Gregorian calendar. The notations CE and BCE (Before the Common Era or Before the Christian Era) are alternative notations for AD (anno Domini, Latin for "in the year of the Lord") and BC (Before Christ), respectively. The CE/BCE system of notation is chronologically equivalent to dates in the AD/BC system, i.e. no change in numbering is used, and neither includes a year zero. The abbreviations may also be written C.E. and B.C.E. The term common era is preferred by some as an alternative to the more overtly religious AD and BC, since Common Era does not explicitly make use of religious titles for Jesus, "Christ" and "Lord", that are used in the AD/BC notation. Some criticize Common Era notation as a euphemism that does not alter the pivotal year 1 still centering on the life of Jesus. Others criticize the notation as an unnecessary attempt at political correctness. The phrase 'Common Era' has its equivalents in other languages: For example, since the People's Republic of China succeeded the Republic of China in 1949, most Chinese have used the literal translation of Common Era, gōngyuán 公元, for date notation. Some Chinese use zhŭhoù 主後 (lit. After the Lord). Additionally, the term "CE" is preferred by academics in some fields (e.g. by the American Anthropological Association).•
Chronology and notation The calendar practice prompting the coining of the term common era is the system of numbering years from the supposed beginning of the life of Jesus. This system was devised by the monk Dionysius Exiguus in the year 525, who named it anno Domini. Two centuries later, the Anglo-Saxon historian Bede used a Latin term (ante incarnationis dominicae tempus) that is roughly equivalent to the English term before Christ to identify years before the first year of this era. The term "common era" is an alternative way of referring to this era. Using this nomenclature, human beings first walked on the Moon in the year 1969 of the common era, and the French Revolution is considered to have begun in year 1789 of the common era. When used as a replacement for BC/AD notation, the common era is abbreviated as CE and its years are numerically equivalent to AD years. Similarly, the time before the common era is written as BCE and is equivalent to BC. Both Common Era abbreviations are written following the year, thus Aristotle was born in 384 BCE (or 384 BC), and Genghis Khan died in 1227 CE (or AD 1227). As with anno Domini, the year zero is not used, except for astronomical uses. So 1 CE is immediately preceded by 1 BCE. On (rare) occasions, one may find the abbreviation "e.v." or "EV" instead of "CE";• this stands for "Era Vulgaris", the Latin translation of "Common Era". Gregorian versus Julian calendar The terms common era, anno Domini, before the common era, and before Christ can be applied to dates that rely either on the Julian calendar or the Gregorian calendar. Modern dates are understood to be in the Gregorian calendar, but writers should specify the calendar for older dates. Dates in the Gregorian calendar have always used the common era, but a wide variety of eras have been used with the Julian calendar over the millennia. Origins The term "common era" has early antecedents. A 1716 book by English Bishop John Prideaux says, "The vulgar era, by which we now compute the years from his incarnation." In 1835, in his book Living Oracles, Alexander Campbell, wrote "The vulgar Era, or Anno Domini; the fourth year of Jesus Christ, the first of which was but eight days." In its article on General Chronology, the 1908 Catholic Encyclopedia uses the sentence: "Foremost among these (dating eras) is that which is now adopted by all civilized peoples and known as the Christian, Vulgar or Common Era, in the twentieth century of which we are now living."• "Vulgar" comes from the Latin word vulgāris (from vulgus, the common people), meant "of or belonging to the common people, everyday". By the late 1800s, however, vulgar had come to mean "crudely indecent" and the Latin word was replaced by its English equivalent, "common". The first known Jewish use of this practice is from an inscription on a gravestone in a Jewish cemetery in Plymouth, England:
This inscription uses the Hebrew calendar (5585), but ends by providing the common year (1825); presumably the "VE" means "Vulgar Era", and presumably VE was used instead of AD in order to avoid the Christian implications. Usage Many Jewish, Islamic, Hindu, and other sources prefer the notation's neutrality, while some Christians have used the term CE to mean Christian Era. Jehovah's Witnesses exclusively use CE and BCE in their publications, generally explaining in footnotes that the terms stand for "Common Era" and "Before the Common Era". Some non-religious academics in the fields of history, theology, archaeology, sociology and anthropology have also in recent decades begun using this system. More visible uses of common era notation have recently surfaced at major museums in the English-speaking world: The Smithsonian Institution prefers Common Era usage, though individual museums are not required to use it.• Furthermore, several style guides now prefer or mandate its usage.• and the unusual combination of BC and CE in other cases.• In June of 2006, the Kentucky State School Board reversed its decision that would have included the designations B.C.E. (Before the Common Era) and C.E. (Common Era) in referring to dates. The decision resulted in an explosion of protest that has gained national attention. • Support and opposition to the use of CE/BCE over AD/BC A range of arguments exist both for and against the use of CE and BCE over AD and BC. Support Supporters of common era notation promote it as a religiously-neutral notation suited for cross-cultural use. Arguments given for standardizing common era notation include: Opposition Efforts to replace AD/BC notation with CE/BCE notation have given rise to opposition. Arguments against the common era designation include: Other calendar eras Several systems of calculating the year have existed: See also | ||||||||
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