Forum:Timekeeping policy?

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Well, as this wiki grows, it is time to consider, what do we do to tell years apart from one another? For instance, Star Wars as BBY and ABY (before and after the Battle of Yavin, respectively). I would say that we could use a timeline of BBS (Before the Battle of Sethanon) and ABS (After the Battle of Sethanon). Any comments?--Iner22 17:06, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

I think BR (Before Riftwar) and AR (After Riftwar) suits best. The coronation of King Lyam I marks year 0. - I-am-a-panda (p.s., how do you do the auto. username + time thing?)—Preceding unsigned comment added by I-am-a-panda (talk • contribs)

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I haven't gone beyond Magician, but there, the Kingsmen seem to measure time by the coronation of the current King, which is what I followed in timeline. Since we know the date of Lyam's coronation we will be fine for several years, but I can't tell if we know all Kings' coronation date; if not, this will be a problem MoffRebus 18:07, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

The problem is that after the Serpentwar, there's few records on who became king after. I could try reading into Talon of the Silver Hawk (novel) to see if there is anything, but I can't seem to remember off of the top of my head.--Iner22 18:18, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

The BR/AR approach leaves one without a means to designate the nine years of the Riftwar itself. The two best approaches are (1) using the regnal chronology mentioned by MoffRebus, which is the system used in the Kingdom, or (2) assigning a somewhat arbitrary date based on the founding of the kingdom of Rillanon (750 yrs. before the Riftwar) or the Kingdom of the Isles (approx. 550 yrs. before the Riftwar). Each approach has its disadvantages.

From the books, we can deduce fairly accurate dates for the coronations of Rodric IV, Lyam, Borric, and Ryan, but not Patrick. That allows you to assign regnal years for events from The Riftwar Saga, The Riftwar Legacy, Legends of the Riftwar, Krondor's Sons, The Serpentwar Saga, Conclave of Shadows, and The Darkwar Saga. However, if you want to include events prior to The Riftwar Saga in a timeline, you need to use a system other than the regnal chronology or combine it with the second approach listed above.

--Leowyn Arthur 05:17, 21 June 2009 (UTC)Leowyn Arthur

Did this ever get sorted out? I recommend choosing a point in history like a battle that didn't last for years (Sethanon? Armengar?) or another kind of event (Birth of Pug, death of the dragon that gave Thomas his armour, death of Lord Borric, end of the Riftwar etc.) and working from there.

PatM

No, nothing new; personally I haven't advanced in my read-through. MoffRebus^{My Talk} 11:40, November 26, 2010 (UTC)

A definitive approach to chronology for the series won't occur unless REF decides to create one, and I don't think he has an interest in being that precise on dates and years. With reference to the wiki, a chronological framework will only work if everyone ascribes to it and abides by it. Otherwise, everyone is picking a different event, or a personally satisfying one, and the entire endeavor lacks any continuity or coherence. The regnal chronology works for a majority of the series, and a "from the founding of the Kingdom/Rillanon" chronology serves as a useful ancillary. However, they're Kingdom-specific, and the scope of the series (and timeline) has continued to expand.

Leowyn Arthur 04:41, December 1, 2010 (UTC)

I was through the Servant of the Empire when I discovered a major timing inconsistency which messed up my planned timeline; unless I did something wrong. MoffRebus^{My Talk} 19:11, December 1, 2010 (UTC)

I just finished rereading that one myself while on vacation. What timing inconsistancy are your referring too? I know I was surprised at how LONG of a timespan the book covers (roughly Year 3 or 4 of the Riftwar to at least a year or two AFTER the end of the Riftwar).TripCyclone 05:05, December 2, 2010 (UTC)

I was near the point where the Minwanabis planned to kill Keyoke in an ambush. Around there, it was mentioned that a year passed since Mara ashamed Bruli, and also six years since Sezu died. This means that Daughter of the Empire by itself covered FIVE years!!! 8| However my calculations showed that Daughter covered roughly two years. MoffRebus^{My Talk} 11:53, December 2, 2010 (UTC)

I agree that Daughter was likely about two years. I was thinking between two and maybe three, but definitely not more. I noticed that there were rapid advancements in time in Servent. Maybe that might account for the extra years? I read both on vacation and will be going back through them quickly as I work through page updates.TripCyclone 23:42, December 2, 2010 (UTC)

I have read to the current book, and I think using the battle of Sethanon fits best because it is one specific battle. Using this the whole Riftwar would be unwise because it encompasses a long time frame. It is not unlike Wookiepedia using Yavin because it marked major turning point in the war. Because if they used the entire Alliance/Empire struggles you could not get within a year that an event happened because it was happening over decades. Using the coronation type is unwise as mentioned before because further in the books the center of the story moves from the Kingdom to the whole universe. Also the battle of Sethanon includes Kesh, Rodlem, Tsurani, Dwarves, Elves, and last of the Dragon Riders, which all have parts to play in further books and good basis to start because there a mentions of the battle further in the series. 2Fisch 07:40, December 30, 2010 (UTC)