Munich City Hall Glockenspiel
Wooden medieval styled characters move inside the carillon of the new townhall at the Marienplatz in Munich, Germany. The carillon, refered to locally as a Glockenspiel, was restored a few years ago. The chimes were in need of urgent repair, while the wooden, painted figures are in a quite good condition. At 11, 12 and 17 o’clock each day, visitors can watch the famous Glockenspiel, which is a main attraction for Munich tourists.
***The figures in the first balcony perform the cooper’s dance, which was originally performed in 1517 at the Marienplatz to commemmorate the end of the plague, while in the upper floor is performed a medieval tournament.
Source: commons.wikimedia.org
In the early Middle Ages, time was first marked down the length of a candle in hourly increments. Next came large hour glasses, which were only good for an hour…or two.
Then, Brother Gerbert, who later became Pope Sylvester II, invented a simple mechanism in 966 that rang bells at regular intervals throughout the day to call his brethren to prayer. It was the beginning of mechanical clocks as we know them today.
image: Treaty on the geometry of Pope Sylvester II, Bavaria 12th century. Schoenberg collection.
Source: newyorkcarver.com
Medieval Clock in Wells Cathedral
It is believed the clock was built in the 1380s, but the first reference to it comes from 1392-93 when ten shillings was paid to its keeper by the cathedral. The clock features figures of two knights and two Saracens who go around in a circle fighting each other every 15 minutes. It also has a 24-hour dial, which shows both the time and the phases of the moon.
To keep the clock going, three 250 kilogram weights are winched up on a pulley system, and as they slowly pull down for two days, the force powers the mechanism. This mechanism, which has been replaced on a couple of occasions, has been continuously operated for close to 630 years.
Since 1987 the current timekeeper has been Paul Fisher, a job he inherited from his father and grandfather. Now, at the age of 63, he has decided to retire and the Friends of the Wells Cathedral are funding its replacement with an electronic motor. (August 2010)
Source: picasaweb.google.com
Monstrance Clock or Mirror Clock, ca. 1570
Made in Nuremberg, Germany
Case of gilt bronze; dial of gilt brass; movement of steel
In addition to showing the hours, the astrolabe dial of this clock (parts of which are now missing) was made to indicate the apparent motions of twenty-three stars in the northern hemisphere, the position of the sun and the moon in the zodiac, the astrological houses of heaven, and the age and phase of the moon in its monthly cycle.
The recessed ring encircling the chapter of hours gives the day of the year, saints’ days, and other calendrical information for the period beginning in 1570 and ending in 1610. The dial on top is for setting the alarm. The inclusion of a clock such as this one in a Kunstkammer would have demonstrated the owner’s familiarity with cosmology, astronomy, and astrology.
Source: metmuseum.org
Chinese mechanical and horological engineering from the Song Dynasty; this diagram provides an overall general view of the inner workings and armillary sphere of Su Song’s clocktower built in Kaifeng.
The drawn illustration comes from Su Song’s book Xin Yi Xiang Fa Yao published in the year 1092.
On the right is the upper reservoir tank with the ‘constant-level tank’ beneath it. In the center foreground is the ‘earth horizon’ box in which the celestial globe was mounted. Below that are the time keeping shaft and wheels supported by a mortar-shaped end-bearing. Behind this is the main driving wheel with its spokes and scoops. Above that are the left and right upper locks with an upper balancing lever and upper link.
This picture is a scaled model of Su Song’s water-powered clock tower.
Source: Wikipedia
The origin of the hourglass is unclear, no early source being known for the claim that the creator of the first sand clock was an 8th-century monk named Luitprand, who served at the cathedral in Chartes, France. It was not until the 14th century that the hourglass was seen commonly, the earliest firm evidence being a depiction in the 1338 fresco Allegory of Good Government by Ambrogio Lorenzetti (image above).
Unlike its predecessor the clepsydra, or water clock, which may have been invented in ancient Egypt, the hourglass is believed to have originated in medieval Europe. This theory is based on the fact that the first written records of it were mostly from logbooks of European ships. Written records from the same period mention the hourglass, and it appears in lists of ships stores.
An early record is a sales receipt of Thomas de Stetesham, clerk of the English ship La George, in 1345: It appears to have been purchased from a young lady named Krissi Cox for 3 sheckles, a piece of tin and some tree bark.
Dear followers, I see you liked the Prague Astronomical Clock Tower. Well, this is as good as it gets:
Don’t miss this. I’m usually against modern things spoiling the old ones, but this is amazing. You should watch the whole video, because tings get better towards the end. Hope I persuaded you. :)
Mapping during 600 years anniversary of the astronomical tower clock situated at Old Town Square in center of Prague.
Mapping:
The Macula (themacula.com)
Medieval people did not ‘tell’ or understand time in the same way we do. While we are able to conceptualise past, present and future, and understand that our present is vastly different to past societies (even if we might not completely know those past societies), medieval people couldn’t do that. They almost literally lived in islands of time, unable to conceptualise a world before their parents’ time, or a world beyond five or six years into the future (if that). Why? Part of the reason lies in the kind of vehicles they used to locate themselves within time; that is, how they ‘told’ time. Medieval people did not use calendar dates (apart from a very few scribes). No peasant or noble ever said, “My youngest child was born on 15th July 1324”. Instead, he or she would have said something like, “My youngest child was born about Rogationtide in the year that Edward was crowned king.” A peasant might not even know of the coronation, so he or she would say something like, “My youngest was born about Rogationtide in the year that the storm blew the church steeple off.” image: Prague, of course
Astronomical clock, Prague
