Clockkeeper
Encyclopedia
A clockkeeper, sometimes seen as clock keeper, refers to a form of employment seen prevalently during Middle Age
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

 Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 involving the tracking of time and the maintaining of clock
Clock
A clock is an instrument used to indicate, keep, and co-ordinate time. The word clock is derived ultimately from the Celtic words clagan and clocca meaning "bell". A silent instrument missing such a mechanism has traditionally been known as a timepiece...

s and other timekeeping devices. However, the practice and its appearance throughout history fluctuated in centuries following the Middle Ages, and the necessity of an attendant to clockkeep remained long after the invention of the mechanical clock.

The clockkeeper was often paid considerable amounts of money to ensure the accuracy of a given clock or clocks, as the practice involved at least basic skills in mathematics and number
Number
A number is a mathematical object used to count and measure. In mathematics, the definition of number has been extended over the years to include such numbers as zero, negative numbers, rational numbers, irrational numbers, and complex numbers....

s in a time when education had not yet made a widespread appearance. Clockkeepers were also expected to keep the clocks in good working order, and that they did not malfunction. The prominence of the position throughout the period varies, and the contexts in which it was applied also varies; often, the lord of a settlement or manor would employ a clockkeeper, and, just as often, an entire town may have had a designated person to regulate the town clock. They were also seen in use in cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...

s and monasteries
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...

. Time keeping in the latter case was important considering the various schedules of the Church, the complexity of its day, and the various daily, weekly, monthly and annual rituals it took part in. Recorded instances of such holy places requiring a clockkeeper during the late 13th and early 14th centuries included, among others:
  • St Paul's Cathedral
    St Paul's Cathedral
    St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...

  • Palace of Westminster
    Palace of Westminster
    The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...

  • Cambrai Cathedral


The dimensions of clockkeeping were also interchangeable. During the period, most clocks needed rewinding at least twice a day, but, depending on the specifics of the employment, this may have differed. Other details included whether the clockeeper was permanent, or periodic—some clockkeepers were merely employed to check and ensure the good order of the clock, rather than to constantly monitor the time.

In modern times, a clockkeeper is the official in charge of clocking playing time in certain sporting events.

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