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A canonical sundial is one that indicates the canonical hours of liturgical acts. Such sundials were used from the 7th to the 14th centuries by the members of religious communities. == Description == A canonical sundial is a fairly small carving on the south wall of a medieval religious building. The canonical sundial's purpose is to indicate the canonical hours when members of the community must perform certain liturgical acts, not to give the time of day. The dial is usually a semi-circle, divided into 4, 6, 8 or 12 equal sectors. At the centre of the circle, a horizontal stylus, perpendicular to the wall, casts its shadow on the sectors, giving the 'canonical hour'. The original wooden styli have long since disappeared, leaving a circular hole. The dials are called 'canonical' because they mark the canonical hours. By convention, when the shadow of the stylus falls on one of the dividing lines of a sector the corresponding prayers must be said. There were no numerical indications on the dial. The dials were usually placed near the priests' door on the south side of the church at eye level. In an abbey or large monastery the dials were usually carefully carved in the stone walls. In rural churches they were very often just scratched on the wall, and it is sometimes difficult to distinguish them from graffiti. During the 6th and 7th centuries each congregation had its own specific rites, and the number of graduations on the early canonical sundials varies. From the 8th century onwards the Rule of Saint Benedict, used by Benedictine and Cistercian communities was generally adopted. The seven celebrations are: Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers and Compline. Lauds and Compline occur during the night hours. File:St Michael and All Angels, Coningsby - geograph.org.uk - 430021.jpg|St. Michael's church Coningsby, Lincolnshire UK File:Fresney-le-Puceux église Saint-Martin cadran canonial1.JPG|St. Martin Fresney-le-Puceaux, Calvados France Cadran solaire Eglise Saint-Pierre-du-Palais -17- photo 2.JPG|St. Pierre-du-Palais Charente-Maritime France MarshBaldon StPEter sundial.JPG|St Peter's church Marsh Baldon, Oxfordshire UK The Bewcastle Cross (7th century), Nendrum Monastery (9th century) and Kirkdale (11th century) dials are exceptional. The first, which is the oldest known canonical sundial in England, is carved on a magnificent Celtic cross in the church graveyard, and the second gives the name of the sculptor and the priest. By the 13th century, some canonical sundials, like the one at Strasbourg cathedral had become independent sculptures, and were not carved on the wall. File:BewcastleCross2.jpg|The four sides of Bewcastle cross File:Bewcastle cross - south and east faces.jpg|Celtic cross Bewcastle Cumbria, UK Kirkdale Sundial.jpg|Kirkdale canonical sundial ''circa'' 1065 Kirkdale sundial.jpg|St. Gregory's Minster, Kikdale, Yorkshire, UK File:Sun Dial Nendrum Monastery Ruins - geograph.org.uk - 346240.jpg|Nendrum Monastery, North Ireland Musee-de-l-Oeuvre-Notre-Dame-Strasbourg-IMG 4024.jpg|Cathedral ''circa'' 1240 Strasbourg France Towards the end of the 7th century, under the influence of the Venerable Bede (born in 632), and with the missionary activities of English, Irish and Scottish monks, the use of canonical sundials was generalised throughout Europe. The dials were used until the 16th century. From the 14th century onwards though, the cathedrals and large churches began to uses clocks, and the canonical sundials lost their utility, except in small rural churches. There are more than 3000 canonical sundials in England〔(Canonical sundials inventory U.K. )〕〔Cole (1935), pages 10-16, gives a list of 1300 English churches.〕 and at least 1500 in France,〔Denis Schneider, ''Les cadrans canoniaux'', L'Astronomie, 76 (2014), pp. 58-61.〕 mainly in Normandy, Touraine, Charente and in monasteries along the routes to Saintiago de Compostella in northwestern Spain. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Canonical sundial」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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