diff --git a/docs/themes.rst b/docs/themes.rst
index 664b4466..19fd9274 100644
--- a/docs/themes.rst
+++ b/docs/themes.rst
@@ -68,6 +68,19 @@ categories      A list of (category, articles) tuples, containing
 pages           The list of pages
 =============   ===================================================
 
+Sorting
+-------
+
+URL wrappers (currently categories, tags, and authors), have
+comparison methods that allow them to be easily sorted by name:
+
+    {% for tag, articles in tags|sort %}
+
+If you want to sort based on different criteria, `Jinja's sort
+command`__ has a number of options.
+
+__ http://jinja.pocoo.org/docs/templates/#sort
+
 index.html
 ----------
 
diff --git a/pelican/contents.py b/pelican/contents.py
index 0dc0f0e9..5bde3c0a 100644
--- a/pelican/contents.py
+++ b/pelican/contents.py
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import logging
 import functools
 import os
 import re
+import sys
 
 from datetime import datetime
 from sys import platform, stdin
@@ -90,7 +91,10 @@ class Page(object):
                 self.date_format = settings['DEFAULT_DATE_FORMAT']
 
         if isinstance(self.date_format, tuple):
-            locale.setlocale(locale.LC_ALL, self.date_format[0])
+            locale_string = self.date_format[0]
+            if sys.version_info < (3, ) and isinstance(locale_string, six.text_type):
+                locale_string = locale_string.encode('ascii')
+            locale.setlocale(locale.LC_ALL, locale_string)
             self.date_format = self.date_format[1]
 
         if hasattr(self, 'date'):
@@ -250,7 +254,9 @@ class Article(Page):
 class Quote(Page):
     base_properties = ('author', 'date')
 
+
 @python_2_unicode_compatible
+@functools.total_ordering
 class URLWrapper(object):
     def __init__(self, name, settings):
         self.name = name
@@ -263,8 +269,20 @@ class URLWrapper(object):
     def __hash__(self):
         return hash(self.name)
 
+    def _key(self):
+        return self.name
+
+    def _normalize_key(self, key):
+        return six.text_type(key)
+
     def __eq__(self, other):
-        return self.name == other
+        return self._key() == self._normalize_key(other)
+
+    def __ne__(self, other):
+        return self._key() != self._normalize_key(other)
+
+    def __lt__(self, other):
+        return self._key() < self._normalize_key(other)
 
     def __str__(self):
         return self.name
diff --git a/pelican/generators.py b/pelican/generators.py
index 01d9fc9b..dda8c431 100644
--- a/pelican/generators.py
+++ b/pelican/generators.py
@@ -416,11 +416,10 @@ class ArticlesGenerator(Generator):
         # order the categories per name
         self.categories = list(self.categories.items())
         self.categories.sort(
-                key=lambda item: item[0].name,
                 reverse=self.settings['REVERSE_CATEGORY_ORDER'])
 
         self.authors = list(self.authors.items())
-        self.authors.sort(key=lambda item: item[0].name)
+        self.authors.sort()
 
         self._update_context(('articles', 'dates', 'tags', 'categories',
                               'tag_cloud', 'authors', 'related_posts'))
diff --git a/tests/test_contents.py b/tests/test_contents.py
index 3f3d858c..9bb77ec3 100644
--- a/tests/test_contents.py
+++ b/tests/test_contents.py
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 # -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 from .support import unittest
 
-from pelican.contents import Page, Article
+from pelican.contents import Page, Article, URLWrapper
 from pelican.settings import _DEFAULT_CONFIG
 from pelican.utils import truncate_html_words
 from pelican.signals import content_object_init
@@ -197,3 +198,31 @@ class TestArticle(TestPage):
         article_kwargs['metadata']['template'] = 'custom'
         custom_article = Article(**article_kwargs)
         self.assertEqual('custom', custom_article.template)
+
+
+class TestURLWrapper(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_comparisons(self):
+        """URLWrappers are sorted by name
+        """
+        wrapper_a = URLWrapper(name='first', settings={})
+        wrapper_b = URLWrapper(name='last', settings={})
+        self.assertFalse(wrapper_a > wrapper_b)
+        self.assertFalse(wrapper_a >= wrapper_b)
+        self.assertFalse(wrapper_a == wrapper_b)
+        self.assertTrue(wrapper_a != wrapper_b)
+        self.assertTrue(wrapper_a <= wrapper_b)
+        self.assertTrue(wrapper_a < wrapper_b)
+        wrapper_b.name = 'first'
+        self.assertFalse(wrapper_a > wrapper_b)
+        self.assertTrue(wrapper_a >= wrapper_b)
+        self.assertTrue(wrapper_a == wrapper_b)
+        self.assertFalse(wrapper_a != wrapper_b)
+        self.assertTrue(wrapper_a <= wrapper_b)
+        self.assertFalse(wrapper_a < wrapper_b)
+        wrapper_a.name = 'last'
+        self.assertTrue(wrapper_a > wrapper_b)
+        self.assertTrue(wrapper_a >= wrapper_b)
+        self.assertFalse(wrapper_a == wrapper_b)
+        self.assertTrue(wrapper_a != wrapper_b)
+        self.assertFalse(wrapper_a <= wrapper_b)
+        self.assertFalse(wrapper_a < wrapper_b)