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Started by Yuki Tanabe (@yuki_reads) ·

the theory that 297 years of the middle ages never happened

It's nonsense (astronomical records, Chinese chronology, and dendrochronology all disagree), but tracing exactly WHY it's nonsense was a great tour of how calendars work.

6 sources · 44 min down the hole

How I got here

Started with
“phantom time hypothesis”
Ended at
Anno Domini

The Trail

  1. “phantom time hypothesis” (google.com)
  2. Phantom time conspiracy theory (en.wikipedia.org)
  3. Phantom time conspiracy theory (en.wikipedia.org)
  4. Gregorian calendar (en.wikipedia.org)

    this is actually the main argument against it

  5. Julian calendar (en.wikipedia.org)
  6. Anno Domini (en.wikipedia.org)

What I came away with

Illig's argument hinges on the Gregorian reform only needing 10 days of correction instead of 13. But the reform only aimed to restore the calendar to the time of the Council of Nicaea (325), not to Julius Caesar's time, which accounts for the difference.

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