Marking Time: Royalty, Monks, and Geishas

One of my favorite props, to convey the atmosphere in a room, or a character’s thoughts, is a clock. A timepiece can set the mood while a character writes a letter. In my work-in-progress, set in the 1800s, a girl writes to her father. The ticking of the wall clock, interrupted only by a bell sounding the half-hour, sets the mood. To indicate impatience or boredom, one glance at a clock will let the reader know the character’s thoughts. Here are some interesting facts I’ve come across, while researching timepieces.

In ancient times, sundials displayed the time of day, but because this method needed shadows for time telling, one would have to guess at the hour on cloudy days.

The earliest indoor timekeeping devices were water clocks and hour glasses, whose function was similar: a controlled amount of substance escaped a container, a measure of the amount released marking the passage of time.

With the advent of Christianity, calendars, prominent in monasteries, reminded the monks of Feast Days, of which there were plenty. Church bells wakened the citizens, whereupon they set out for daily tasks. Less important for peasants and commoners during the Middle Ages, timepieces were made with the nobility in mind, because workers began their day with the rising sun, and went to bed at dark.

One of the most charming, yet one of the simplest devices used, was the candle clock, which was designed to tell time at night. One of the ways a candle clock could be employed was to note the period of time it took a candle of controlled size and substance to burn to a certain length. Marks behind the candle, such as is illustrated in the picture to the right, would designate the passing hours as the candle burned.

Along with water and sand, incense was also used for timekeeping. In Japan, as late as 1924, geishas were paid by the number of incense sticks that had burned down.

In the early 1300s, the mechanical clock was invented in Europe, although the Arabs had used a system of gears and weights in their water clocks as early as the 11th century. During the 14th century, an escapement mechanism was devised, and two centuries later, clocks and pocket watches were spring-powered. Later, the pendulum came into use, an example of that slow, mesmerizing movement we see in longcase clocks.

Chained Library at Hereford

Documents dating from the 8th century draw researchers to this old library in the UK. The cathedral stands on a site where worshippers have joined together for twelve-hundred years. Today, the library of the Hereford Cathedral is known for its medieval books and the precious Mappa Mundi, a medieval map that gives visitors an insight as to how medieval scholars saw the world.

The library is perhaps best known for its unique security system. Chaining books was a widespread practice during the Middle Ages, when printed books were priceless and hand-written volumes took years to produce. The Hereford Cathedral library is the largest surviving chained library. The chains, rods, and locks are intact, just as when first utilized.

Chains are attached to the front of the books, and the forepages, instead of the spine, face the front of the shelf. That way, the books can be removed for reading at the desk, without the risk of tangling the chain. The library also has blocks and printing presses from 1611. Music recitals and other cultural events are held there. The library currently serves as a research center for the cathedral, and is a major tourist attraction for the town of Hereford.

Courtly Love

I could not resist turning my thoughts to love, on this, the day set aside in popular culture to celebrate love and lovers. On my overloaded bookshelves is a small book, titled, The Book of Courtly Love: The Passionate Code of the Troubadours, written by Andrea Hopkins. Through the classic tales of the troubadours and other literary and artistic works, the author brings us into the courts of the Middle Ages, the time of star-crossed lovers. Even from ancient Rome, we have evidence of literature that celebrated the joy and pain of love. Ballads of wandering minstrels, singing their poems as they go from court to court, have come to us through the ages. Not to be overlooked are the courtly ladies, known as troubaritz, who also composed courtly songs of love.
From my little book, I have selected ten “rules of love”, taken from a longer list found in the writings of Andreas Capellanus, a twelfth century author who wrote a treatise on love. Ms. Hopkins quoted these rules in the Introduction to her book.

1. The state of marriage does not properly excuse anyone from loving.
2. He who does not feel jealousy is not capable of loving.
3. A mourning period of two years for a deceased lover is required of the surviving partner.
4. No one should be prevented from loving except by reason of his own death.
5. It is unseemly to love anyone whom you would be ashamed to marry.
6. Love that is made public rarely lasts.
7. Love easily obtained is of little value; difficulty in obtaining it makes it precious.
8. Every lover regularly turns pale in the presence of his beloved.
9. On suddenly catching sight of his beloved, the heart of the lover beings to palpitate.
10.A man tormented by the thought of love eats and sleeps very little.

The Book of Courtly Love, besides for being an investigation of love in the Middle Ages, has much to recommend it. The illustrations document clothing and leisure time activities, even showing a marriage bed, and on another page, two lovers playing a game of chess. The book is rich with historical detail, and I heartily recommend it for your bookshelves.