One of the more striking additions to the Castle at Muskogee in 2005 was the construction of the new Golden Harp Tavern, complete with a tower and working Medieval clock (Photo, Above and Right: the driving mechanism for the clock can just be seen at right, half-hidden by a support beam on the ground floor of the tavern). The timely appearance of this unique feature at the Oklahoma Renaissance Festival was entirely due to the efforts of Dr. Calvin L. Cole, Professor in the Department of Physics and Engineering Physics at Northeastern State University, Tahlequah, Oklahoma -- and the same "Inginator" who also built Mjolnir, one of two operational trebuchets on display at that faire. Having mastered siege engine design and construction, Dr. Cole was ready to move on to yet another challenging project by the Fall of 2004: building an authentic Medieval clock. Unlike trebuchets, tho, Dr. Cole not only had a abundance of historic illustrations, genuine plans and Medieval documents -- such as the 15th century Almanus Manuscript -- on which to base his own reconstruction, he could also refer to numerous still-surviving examples of Medieval clocks and their operating devices both in Great Britain and the European Continent, besides. But before he could even begin to build a working prototype, however, there were several design options he had to consider: first and foremost, how many hands his final clockface would have, and whether or not his clock would have a bell or other device to toll the hours (Photo, Below: Dr. Cole stands next to the gravity-driven mechanism he handbuilt to operate his clock in the Golden Harp clocktower above. Directly behind the slowly-falling sandbag -- which provides the necessary energy required to drive the clock -- is a long, vertical driveshaft connecting to a gearbox in the tower, which actually moves the hourhands around the various clockfaces).

It seems our word for a timekeeping device -- "clock" -- is based on the Latin word "cloca", which actually translates into "bell" in English! In fact, the earliest clocks had no clockface or hands at all, but simply tolled a bell to mark the hours, instead. Such a device was designed solely to meet the needs of the monastic "Liturgy of the Hours." While Medieval serfs and peasants working the land had no real need to know the hours of the day, monastic monks on the other hand were strictly bound by papal charter to observe the so-called "Canonical Hours" of prayer: Matins and Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers and Compline. Having a mechanical device to tell time was not only a considerable improvement over previous methods such as the waterclock, the graduated candle, the sundial and the hourglass, but it also freed up a monk who would otherwise be fully occupied simply keeping track of time. As Medieval commerce and society continued to grow and develop in complexity over the years, however, the need to know the (more or less) exact hour of the day eventually led to the development of the modern clockface -- with its' familiar hour, minute and finally second hands -- as we know it. With these historical considerations in mind, Dr. Cole was ready to build his prototype: a period clock in early 14th Century style, with a single hourhand sweeping over a simple clockface, but without a bell or other hourly alarm (Illustration, Below: a simplied schematic from "Beyond Mechanization", by Larry Hirschhorn; MIT paperback edition, copyright 1986; shows one of the more basic Medieval operating mechanisms which inspired Dr. Cole's clock design. As the weight slowly falls downward, it causes the crown wheel to turn one "tick" at a time, which in turn causes the hour hand to rotate around the clockface. Meanwhile, the balance beam -- also called a verge or escapement -- at the top of the mechanism simultaneously rocks back and forth, alternately releasing and checking the crown wheel, thereby preventing the weight from falling free. The verge animation at upper right which demonstrates that motion is courtesy of http://home.comcast.net/~jwisnia18/jeff/clock.html.).

Dr. Cole used Legos and cardboard in the design phase of his initial prototype. That allowed him to make any necessary changes to his model almost "on the fly" as he mastered the production techniques required to construct his clock. It took him nearly six months alone to perfect his prototype, but by late February of 2005 he was read to begin construction of the actual clock (Photo, Right: Dr. Cole works on the delicate escapement mechanism of his Medieval clock, carefully readjusting it after a thoughtless student collided sharply with it during School Day at faire in early May. Behind and below the crown wheel can be seen the windlass, where the sandbags -- seen at the top of this photo -- are attached to his device). At that point, he approached faire management with a proposal to build a clock for the Oklahoma Renaissance Festival somewhere on the grounds of the Castle at Muskogee. As it just so happened, construction plans for the new Golden Harp Tavern were also being finalized at the same time when Dr. Cole made his offer. With such impeccable timing, festival management was not only happy to accept his proposal but they also altered the blueprints for the Tavern, adding a clock tower on the spot! Over the next two months, Dr. Cole and his team of engineering students from Northeastern State University, Tahlequah, worked closely with the construction crew raising the Tavern. But even with such close coordination of their efforts, final installation of Dr. Cole's clock was not completed until just a few days before the Castle at Muskogee opened for the 2005 Faire Season. Even then, Dr. Cole was called on to make periodic fine adjustments to the operating mechanism throughout Opening Weekend (Photo, Left: this antique clock mechanism restored to its original 14th century configuration is still on display in the Cathedral at Salisbury, England. It was created out of hand-forged iron sometime around 1386, making it one of the oldest working clocks in the world. Contrast and compare this surviving Medieval example with Dr. Cole's modern effort, above)!

Ryleh found the Muskogee clock to be a most ingenious, unique and, aye, wond'rous device, indeed. It was truly fascinating watching the internal movements of the various clockwork parts while Dr. Cole explained their diverse functions and operation that weekend at faire. On the practical side, the Tavern clocktower is not only easily visible from most of the fairegrounds but the clock itself seems to keep reasonably accurate time, too. Despite the lack of a minute hand, Ryleh was always able to read the hour to within 15 minutes, give or take (Photo, Right: just a glance is all it takes to tell time at the Oklahoma Renaissance Festival. In this view, the hour is close to 4:30pm). That was sufficient enough so that Ryleh never missed a regularly-scheduled Muskogee event -- nor did he ever have to dig frantically thru his beltpouch for his mundance watch just to check the time that weekend. Being off by only 15 minutes one way or the other is a phenomenal achievement by Medieval standards, especially when most timepieces of the period were only accurate to within 30 minutes at best! As such, the clocktower at the Golden Harp Tavern will stand as a lasting tribute to Dr. Cole's engineering skills and expertise. So next time you find yourself at Muskogee Castle, plan to stop on by the Tavern and talk with the "Master Inginator" himself. He'll be delighted to explain the history and function of this unique clock -- and more than happy to answer your questions regarding its marvelous operation!

"Time's the king of men:
For he's their parent, and he is their grave,
And gives them what he will, not what they crave."
Shakespeare, Pericles (Act 2, Sc. 3)

CLOCKWORK: THE SCIENCE OF GEARS -- This site not only provided the verge escapement diagram for Ryleh's article, above, but also offers concise discussions and clear illustrations on the history of keeping time, the inner workings of clocks and much more.

HISTORY OF THE DE VICK CLOCK -- Completed in 1379, this French clock continued to operate in Paris until 1850. In this article, a brief history of early timekeeping leads into a detailed description of the De Vick mechanism, followed by further developments heralding the modern clock as we know it.

HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE CLOCK -- The definitive Wikipedia article on clocks of all kinds, detailing their specific history, individual development, different types and various purposes.

HELD OF HARROGATE -- This commercial site offers Medieval clock kits for sale. Four styles -- Gothic, Knight, Rotating Dial and Wooden Wheel -- are available. Some assembly required. Inquire first for pricing.

HOW TO BUILD AN EARLY MEDIEVAL CLOCK -- by D. M. Swan, gives detailed instructions and precise plans for constructing your own Medieval clock out of wood. If you are a woodworking hobbyist or a home handyman, this may be the book for you. Otherwise, you might want to simply order one of the kits, above.

Standard Disclaimer: This webpage is strictly an *Unofficial* look at the Oklahoma Renaissance Festival held in Muskogee, OK. The author of these pages is in no way, shape, manner or form connected with the Oklahoma Renaissance Festival (3400 Fern Mountain Road, Muskogee OK 74401 :: 918-687-3625 :: 800-439-0658), the Castle at Muskogee and/or any of the sponsors associated with this event. All opinions expressed are strictly this author's own. Unless noted otherwise, all photographs are copyright ©2000-2006 by George Laking.