The Arts in the Middle Ages and at the Period of the RenaissanceJacob, P. L.
History
The Arts in the Middle Ages and at the Period of the Renaissance
Jacob, P. L.
Art, Medieval; Art, Renaissance; Middle Ages
In 1389, the clockmaker Jean Jouvence made one for the Castle of
Montargis. Those of Sens and of Auxerre, as well as that of Lund in
Sweden, date from the same period. In the last, every hour two cavaliers
met and gave each other as many blows as the hours to be struck: then a
door opened, and the Virgin Mary appeared sitting on a throne, with the
Infant Jesus in her arms, receiving the visit of the Magi followed by
their retinue; the Magi prostrating themselves and tendering their
presents. During the ceremony two trumpets sounded: then all vanished,
to re-appear the following hour.
[Illustration: Fig. 146.--Clock with Wheels and Weights. Fifteenth
Century. (Cabinet of Antiquities, Bibl. Imp., Paris.)]
Until the end of the thirteenth century, clocks were destined
exclusively
[Illustration: Fig. 147.--A portable Clock of the time of the Valois.]
to public buildings; or they at least affected, if we may say so, a
monumental character which precluded their admission into private
houses. The first clocks with weights and the flywheel made for private
use appeared in France, in Italy, and in Germany, about the commencement
of the fourteenth century; but naturally they were at first so costly
that only nobles and wealthy persons could obtain them. But an impulse
was given which led to the manufacture of these objects more
economically. In fact, it was not long before portable clocks were seen
in the most unpretentious abodes. This of course did not prevent the
production of expensive examples, either as regards ornamentation or
carving, or in placing the clock on costly pedestals or cases, within
which were suspended the weights (Fig. 146).
The fifteenth century has distinctly left its mark on the progress of
horology. In 1401 the Cathedral of Seville was enriched with a
magnificent clock which struck the hours. In 1404, Lazare, a Servian by
birth, constructed a similar one for Moscow. That of Lubeck, which was
embellished with the figures of the twelve Apostles, dates from 1405. It
is proper to notice also the famous clock which Jean-Galeas Visconti had
made for Pavia; and more especially that of St. Marc of Venice, which
was not executed until 1495.
The spiral spring was invented in the time of Charles VII.: a band of
very fine steel, rolled up into a small drum or barrel, produced, in
unrolling, the effect of the weights on the primitive movements. To the
possibility of enclosing that moving power in a confined space is due
the facility of manufacturing very small clocks. In fact, one finds in
certain collections, clocks of the time of Louis XI., remarkable not
only for the artistic richness of their decoration, but still more so
for the small space they occupy, although they are generally of very
complicated mechanism; some marking the date of the month, striking the
hour, and serving also as alarm-clocks.
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