Academic literature on the topic 'Sundials'

Abstract This article offers the first comprehensive study of a newly discovered type of medieval sundial made of ivory which might well be the precursor of the well-known diptych dial form made from ivory and wood. These sundials are unique for the combination with a wax writing tablet (tabula cerata) on the reverse side, such as has been deployed as a reusable and portable writing surface in Antiquity and throughout the Middle Ages. Three previously unpublished examples of this type of sundial have been located in Germany, Italy and England. This article gives a detailed analysis of the sundials and the underlying construction principles, including considerations from the history of science, chronology and cultural history in order to answer the questions of where, when and by whom these sundials were made.

An update of an 1890 article about sundials in Scotland by Thomas Ross, including an updated catalogue of Scottish sundials. The article describes the different styles of sundial found in Scotland and speculates on the dates in which these designs may have been fashionable during the 17th and 18th centuries. The author then considers the reasons why Scotland might have developed such a strong interest in sundials during this period, including the potential influence of European styles and the impact of Renaissance and Calvinist thought.

Prof. Radovan Danic, PhD (1893-1979), an honorary lifetime President of the Astronomical Society Rudjer Boskovic in Belgrade, owned a brass universal equinoctial ring sundial (98 mm in diameter), preserved by his descendants, who continued his work on popularizing astronomy through the activities of the society. The sundial (ring dial) was measured, tested and compared to similar portable sundials (pocket sundials) exhibited in various European museums. In the classification scheme, along with the Parmenion?s and astronomical rings, it belongs to a group of pocket armillary sundials that do not require a compass. More precisely, it is a self-orienting armillary sundial whose rings are located under the circles of the celestial sphere of the same name at the moment of measurement. Therefore, when the apparent solar time is known, it turns into a solar compass. A corresponding sundial on the horizon to the self-orienting armillary sundial is the analemmatic sundial. The construction of a self-orienting armillary sundial was first described in the late 16th century by the English mathematician William Oughtred (1574-1660). In collaboration with the gnomonists from England and Austria, we determined where and when Professor Danic?s sundial was constructed: Vienna, second quarter of the 18th century. Originally, the sundial was adjusted for the latitude of Belgrade or Zemun (nowadays, a Belgrade municipality), which were under the Austrian rule for a long time during the 18th century. It is a beautiful, well-crafted, well-preserved, expensive sundial and astronomical instrument that should be kept in a museum, in the first place in the Museum of Astronomy of the Astronomical Observatory in Belgrade.

Following the inclusion of Astronomy in the revised National Science Curriculum for England and Wales the Association for Astronomy Education, AAE, embarked on a programme of in-service training workshops for teachers to help them to understand the new ideas and deliver the new curriculum. Teacher confidence and knowledge has been the greatest challenge to establishing astronomy in school curricula. As part of the the AAE team I gave presentations on a host of activities including simple cut and paste sundials for pupil projects. We are now seven years on from the revised Science Curriculum and my interest in sundials has stepped up a gear. I have developed an interest in real dials, both studying existing dials and making dials for the homes of friends and families and for schools. This presentation, which has as its focus, the sundial as an architectural feature, uses slides I have taken of some of the dials to be seen in the central London area including some of my own.

This paper lists and discusses all known Anglo-Saxon stone sundials in the light of recent work published on Anglo- Saxon and Romanesque sculpture. Typical features of these sundials are given, including differences between the sundials and the ‘scratch dials’, the latter being more numerous and largely of post-Conquest date. The function and working of the sundials, and the systems of time-measurement used on them, are described and discussed. The second half of the paper discusses the twelve Anglo-Saxon stone sundials which contain an inscribed text, considering in particular the nature of the texts and the vocabulary employed. This vocabulary is compared with time-measurement vocabulary used in contemporary manuscripts. Finally the question is addressed as to why Anglo-Saxon sundials are always found in association with churches.

The paper discusses the importance of the motif of clocks and sundials in the biography of the Eighteens century poet Franiszek Dionizy Kniaźnin and shows various stages of an image – in subsequent Polish poetry and prose – of this poet, deranged in his late years, after the fall of the independent Poland, as he used to stand for hours in front of a sundial, staring at the movement of the shadow and contemplating the arrival of his own end as well. This presentation covers a period of more than 170 years.