why did the monks invent the clock?
To regulate daily prayer- and work-schedules strictly and to ensure accuracy
History of timekeeping devices
Medieval religious institutions required clocks because they regulated daily prayer- and work-schedules strictly, using various types of time-telling and recording devices, such as water clocks, sundials and marked candles, probably in combination. When mechanical clocks came into use, they were often wound at least twice a day to ensure accuracy. Monasteries broadcast important times and durations with bells, rung either by hand or by a mechanical device, such as by a falling weight or by rotating beater.
who invented the first mechanical clock in 1300 Catholic monks which of the earliest civilizations used timekeeping devices? Hunter-gatherers, Prehistoric Europe, Mesoamericans, etc
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History of timekeeping devices [SEP] Early mechanical clocks and watches
The earliest medieval European clockmakers were Catholic monks. Medieval religious institutions required clocks because they regulated daily prayer- and work-schedules strictly, using various types of time-telling and recording devices, such as water clocks, sundials and marked candles, probably in combination. When mechanical clocks came into use, they were often wound at least twice a day to ensure accuracy. Monasteries broadcast important times and durations with bells, rung either by hand or by a mechanical device, such as by a falling weight or by rotating beater. Although the mortuary inscription of Pacificus, archdeacon of Verona, records that he constructed a night clock ("horologium nocturnum") as early as 850, his clock has been identified as being an observation tube used to locate stars with an accompanying book of astronomical observations, rather than a mechanical or water clock, an interpretation supported by illustrations from medieval manuscripts.