Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

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Century
(1,902 words)

1. Definition and prior history

The century became established as a chronological convention towards the beginning of the early modern period in spite of the lack of any direct ancient or Christian tradition. It took hold in phases, particularly observable at the turns of certain centuries (1300, 1600, 1800, 1900). It is also possible to trace how the century developed from a unit of reckoning to a designation for a particular epoch.

Century in this sense is an abbreviation of …

Cite this page
Dohrn-van Rossum, Gerhard, “Century”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_021578>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20160907



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