A few facts on telling the time in the middle age…
The aspect of time is an inevitable and unchangeable process, it has only been in the last few centuries that we have developed the capability to record it.
The first mechanics to be able to tell time, although vague, began in the 12th century and it was Edward III who first displayed timepieces in his castles.
The division of time was based mainly on astrology which meant that the division of hours was derived from the amount of sunlight and this was divided into 12 equal segments. The seasonal light changes were problematic as the days were longer in the summer than the winter so once the sun had set the ability to predict time vanished as it was the position of the sun that the society of the middle ages relied on.
Time was not as specific as it is nowadays, for example, measuring time in minutes did not exist, by the time timepieces had developed further it was still only on a quarterly basis. If you are the kind of person who finds themselves running late often then the middle ages would have suited you well as there was no concept of lateness, it was not a time you could arrange a meeting with your manager at 9 am on the dot.
The society of the middle ages believed that time belonged to God, therefore, there was no such thing as late fees as you could not put a price on the time that was wasted as it did not belong to you, so people of the middle ages need not worry about paying late fees for overdue library books!
The first literary reference to time dated back to 1320 by Dante Alighieri as it was mentioned in his work The Divine Comedy in which he comments on the hours that struck from his timepiece where he worked.
Now we live in a time where we hear people mentioning that there aren’t enough hours in the day, however, although some of us feel this way we are lucky to have accessories which help us plan our days but also add to our look and attire, so if you are looking for a new timepiece now is certainly the era and you also happen to be in the right place, if you are interested in the variety of watches we stock then click here to view.
What are your thoughts on telling time in the middle age? Let us know in the comments below!
All images used in this blog are sourced from pixabay.
