Sundials which dictated hourly system by themselves

Abstract

The mayor focus in this research is on the manner of determining the time interval on the simply sundials, a typical of the European Middle Ages (ecclesiastical sundials, monastic sundials, missionary sundials). Here are corresponding formula and analysis hourly length during the year at the different geographical latitude: A particular hourly system is defined. One of the oldest preserved Serbian and South Slavic sundials is placed at the Church of the Virgin Mary (fig. 1), the largest and the most important building of Studenica monastery. These sundials are a typical of the European Middle Ages (fig. 2). These sundials weren't constructed exactly in a manner of gnomonic's rules, as well as they didn't indicate hours of the formal temporal hourly system (fig. 5). It's opposite, hourly system doesn't dictate the constructed form of sundials, but the hourly scale dictates hourly system: a visual dictated hourly system. The units of hourly system can be exactly determined (photo 4), and their length and changes during the year can be analyzed too (photo 5, 6). The sundials in a form of the Studenica's style were found in the area about 30° north geographical latitude, where the disharmony with temporal hourly system is not huge. Later, they were spread by inertia all over the Europe. Going to the north, disharmony with temporal hourly system was becoming more expressive (fig. 7), and numerous variations present result of tendencies to reduce that disharmony. Studenica's style sundials, or hourly system which was dictated by sundials, are a typical characteristic of the European Middle Ages. We can say, approximately, that the end of construction of these sundials, has marked the ending of the Middle ages at the specific area.

Težište rada je na načinu određivanja vremenskih razmaka na jednostavnim sunčanicima tipičnim za evropski Srednji vek (ecclesiastical sundials, monastic sundials, missionary sundials); jedan takav nalazi se u Srbiji, na Bogorodičnoj crkvi manastira Studenice. Dati su odgovarajući obrasci i analizirano trajanje časova tokom godine i na raznim geografskim širinama: definisan je svojevrstan časovni sistem.