Tibaldo and the Hole in the Calendar

  • Abner Shimony
Copernicus: 1998. Pp.165 $21 £15.50

Tibaldo Bondi lives in Bologna, Italy, in the late sixteenth century. In 1582 (the year is significant), we find him at the age of 11 studying at the school of St-Joseph-in-the-Corner, hoping one day to become a great doctor. He is very intelligent and very sensible; a little too good, perhaps. But one day in a Latin dictation he translates a proclamation from the Pope that horrifies him: Gregory XIII has decided to replace the Julian calendar, whose imprecision means that calendar holidays are gradually slipping from their proper season, with a better one concocted by a commission of astronomers.

This is sensible, and satisfies Tibaldo. But, to make up the difference in time accumulated over one-and-a-half millennia, there will be no 15-25 October that year — there will be a hole in the calendar, and Tibaldo's twelfth birthday will fall through it. He becomes obsessed, and sets out with great resourcefulness to fight the calendar and get his birthday back.

This is a lovely book. It is an Improving Tale for children, but not excessively moralistic; it is written in an austere style, but one that allows for some dry humour. And it is beautifully produced, with a cover and illustrations drawn in stylized Renaissance cartoon fashion by the author's son, Jonathan Shimony. They, too, are often playful, and worth lingering over.

On the whole it is also an adult book — Abner Shimony writes about the power of propaganda and the details of childbirth, and he doesn't avoid using difficult words where they are needed. The aim is unashamedly to teach, but the story allows the author to do this naturally: the problem of constructing a consistent calendar leads us to astronomy, especially the astronomy of the late Renaissance. Tibaldo's studies lead us to the medical science of the time; and his quest takes us into the politics.

In every case, we are shown the virtues of common sense. At a time when the natural philosophers of Europe were beginning to appreciate the power of experiment and observation, many of Shimony's ordinary people already have a practical sense that can almost be equated with empirical science.

We see this in the early description of Tibaldo's father, Lorenzo, at work. Once the distinguished professor of medicine, Turisanus, has given his pompous and meaningless diagnosis (which Shimony describes ironically as “the most important part of the treatment”), Lorenzo sets about helping the patient. He cleans and dresses wounds, or sets bones — the things that he and his predecessors have learned from experience. More explicitly, Tibaldo's older sister Anna Maria, a midwife, advises him “to observe which treatments work, and which do not”. Tibaldo is very lucky to be surrounded by such a sensible family, disdainful of superstition, and benefiting from a few centuries of authorial hindsight. Yet somehow the result isn't implausible.

But what about the story? Does Tibaldo succeed in his quest, repair the hole in the calendar and enjoy his birthday feast after all? Or must he grow up and abandon his obsession? I'm not telling. Read it.