Mechanical Clock

Figure 1

The Beginning

Medieval Europeans began developing the mechanical clock around 1270-1300. The mechanical clock was manufactured to replace less efficient time keeping devices like the sundial and the water clock. The mechanical clock was a very necessary development because it didn't get easily effected by weather like the sundial and water clock.

How was this invention made?

The first mechanical clocks were made almost fully out of iron. They held a weight driven cogwheel and an oscillating pendulum, this contributed to the large size of early clocks. The earliest clocks did not have hands or dials, instead they had bells inside that signaled the passing of time. There were two weights inside of the clock, one that kept the pendulum swinging back and forth, and one to ring the bell. There is not a single inventor of the mechanical clock, but one benefactor was Villard de Honnecourt, a French architect who made the first escapement model. The first drawing of an escapement was submitted by Jacopo di Dondi and his son, this is why we think we know when the mechanical clock was first made. The original mechanical clocks were thought to be more like clock towers than anything else, they used large weight driven cogwheels that contributed to their large size. There were many different versions of the mechanical clock, but they all worked in a similar fashion.

Figure 2

Figure 3

Easily affected by weather

The mechanical clock was invented for many reasons, one of which being simply for a more efficient way to tell time. Other clocks like the water clock and sundial could be affected by weather. When temperatures dropped below zero, the water clock would freeze and become unusable. When weather became overcast, the sundial was just as useless as the frozen water clock.

Figure 4

Spread of Catholicism

The mechanical clock was also invented because of the spread of Catholicism. People of the Catholic faith believe that it is necessary to pray seven exact times per day. This widespread belief in Medieval Europe made the mechanical clock far more necessary than before. The mechanical clock helped people stand strong in their faith and made it easier to do that.

What effect did it have on later civilizations?

Museum "Rooms" - Every student in the group must create a Museum Room which should feature a specific invention or innovation for the team's civilization. Rooms should contain between 300 and 400 words of text, use in text citations or reference phrases as needed. (According to..., As found in...) and should present ALL of the following information:
- - Background information on why this invention or innovation was needed by this civilization
  - How was the invention made?
  - What impact did the invention have on this civilization?
  - What (if any) impact did the invention have on later civilizations?
  - What else made this invention so historically important?
  - At least two images relating to the invention and/or information on the page with identification numbers and captions explaining the images.
  - 3 to 5 links to other websites with related information and why a visitor might find them interesting

Page updated

Report abuse