A doubt/question

[Sri]

Here's my question, if all artificiers have guilders (which act as Gram) how did Kvothe be able to burn Hemme in the first book? Sorry if this has been asked before but I couldnt find anything regarding that and it has been nagging me.

[Reads with Scotch]

Hemme, said he wasn't wearing it. Unfortunately to me this says he is just an asshole and not actually a bad guy. He doesn't actually believe an arcanist would attck him via sympathy.

Revealed the first time Kvothe goes up on the horns.

[Reads with Scotch]

Actually all this proves is he is stupid- or he IS the bad guy at the university and so doesn't see the need to wear it because if anyone will be practicing sympathy on anyone it would be him.

[Chris, Master Artificer]

I thought this as well but they clearly say "weren;t you wearing a gram?" Seemed a bit of a plothole to me.

[Ancapaillmor]

To me it just shows what a cocky a-hole that hemme is and how he looks down on the students and everyone else. "Pfft as if a student could harm me".

[Ions]

11? isn't a span 11days? or was it that 22days was about 2 span? I always get confused when authors make their own weeks, lol

[Ions]

well played. I only have the audiobook so I can't go back and check these little bits. thank you. I'm now embarrassed that I didn't catch this in my two listens, but in defense, listening to both back to back kinda taxes my short term memory. lol.

although it's bad that I held to an eleven day week for so long.

thanks again!

[Lik-hang]

Rachel wrote: "In Chapter 30 of The Name of the Wind, it explains that a month is 40 days, with 4 spans of 10 days each... "

A span is 11 days. I made the same mistake before because a span of hands was 10 fingers but I then found it didn't make sense in context of the book.

Reference http://kkc.wikia.com/wiki/Span

[Ions]

Touche wiki

[Lik-hang]

We can possibly derive a reasonable conclusion mathematically and historically.

**Lunar Months vs Current Calendar**

We know that months are (traditionally) placed to roughly correspond to lunar synodic periods which in our world are approximately 29.5 days. Running the numbers we have;

12 months x 29.5 days (approximately equals) 355 days

Of course our system does not operate on a lunar system but is rather calibrated based on the earths’ rotation around the sun which is approximately 365.25 days.

But the discrepancy relative to the current system is only 2.8% so we can almost safely say that months are placed to reflect a lunar synodic period.

**Formulation of Year**

"Six terms E’lir. Eight terms Re’lar. Ten terms El’the ... six years" (NotW Chapter 44)

So we know (assuming six years total for gilder) that 6+8+10 = 24 terms is equivalent to 6 years. Therefore we know;

Terms per year = 24 / 6 = 4

We know from Chapter 40 that there are 2 months per term.

Therefore we can deduce that there are;

Months per year = Terms per year x Months per Term = 4 x 2 = 8

**Spans per Month**

We will run under the common understanding that there are 4 spans per month

This will result in

Spans per year = 8 x 4 = 32

**Synodic Period in NotW**

Synodic period... “Of the moon?”... “Seventy-two and a third days" (NotW Chapter 36)

If we run with 10 day spans

Days per year = 320 + (7 Days High Mourning) = 327

If we run with 11 day spans

Days per year = 352 + (7 Days High Mourning) = 359

Now

(10 day spans) 327/72 = 4.54 = (approximately) 4.5 months

(11 day spans) 359/72 = 4.99 = (approximately) 5 months

So it is from my speculation that a lunar system should follow the whole integer rather than a decimal figure.

**Historic Spectulation**

“Good. For tomorrow, you can prepare a report on Yll’s lunar calendar compared to the more accurate, civilized Aturan calendar” (NotW Chapter 33)

Now this is where all my previous speculation with the somewhat illogical mathematical ramble forms a stronger case for the fact that the Aturan calendar is lunar.

1) Lunar Calendars are made for accuracy and consistency
2) The moon is heavily emphasised throughout PRs works which seems that the Aturan Empire holds the moon in high regard

“When the morning of the eleventh day came, Tehlu went to Encanis a third and final time” (NotW Chapter 23)

Since the Aturan Empire formed many of their days off the Tehlin Church’s Book of the Path, it would make sense that our equivalent of the Sunday (the day of rest) would be the 11th day for Aturans (the day which Encanis was defeated).

I know a lot of my argument is speculative, but I still firmly believe that 11 day spans are truly the correct interpretation.

This is just my guess that the span should be 11 days

[Eric]

Also just speculation (that has little bearing on the story) but the Yllish lunar calendar is probably no longer used because after the moon was stolen it was no longer accurate.

[Eric]

Rachel wrote: "Which makes absolutely no sense with what is said in Chapter 30 of Name of the Wind. That is all I am saying. I am not saying I am right. I am just saying, Rothfuss isn't explicit, and there is ev..."

It's the same moon, but it was stolen. It's currently tied to the Faen realm. So its synodic period may have changed and necessitated the switch to the Aturan calendar (which may or may not be lunar, not touching that one with a ten-foot pole).

[Ions]

my. god. what have I started! lol

[Amber, Master Sympathist]

agree with Rachel. Wasnt the moon being stolen the whole reason for the creation war?

[Ions]

in the very beginning of the book, just before chronicler gets robbed. either the folks at the inn say it or the 3rd person narrator says how long its been since a trader made their way through.
"it was 2 span. 22 days"
I finally started the books again last night and caught that bit

[Lik-hang]

Wise Mans Fear "There are so many books in the Archives... reading all the titles would take you a full span... eleven full days without pause..." (Chapter 14 WMF)

[Ions]

that being cleared up, I apologize for altering the topic to something entirely different. lol

[Tabbycatz]

Thank you everyone for clearing up how long a span is, has been driving me crazy! I am just up to chapter 40 on the 2nd book and I must of overlooked also when they said how long it was. I was like is it a week, a month, 2 weeks?????

[Amber, Master Sympathist]

OMG Tabbycatz, your eating these books alive LOL.

:)

[Ashley]

A small bone of contention. The masters are not articifers. Folk that work in the articery (sp?) are articifers by stint of the work they do.

Gil'the s, or guilders, have grams. The sharing of the making of the gram is part of their promotion. Mastery and rank of a master comes after this.

Also Eric's idea of the change in calender from Yllish bears some weight. Yllish pre-dates modern 4c's. whether or not it was considered 'Yllish' pre-CW. It may very well be that such as system was considered redunadant becuase of the moon, in a rising culture post CW.