Richard of Wallingford (1292–1336) was an English mathematician, astronomer, horologist, and cleric who made major contributions to

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

and

horology Horology (; related to Latin '; ; , interfix ''-o-'', and suffix ''-logy''), . is the study of the measurement of time. Clocks, watches, clockwork, sundials, hourglasses, clepsydras, timers, time recorders, marine chronometers, and atomic cl ...

while serving as

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...

of St Albans Abbey in Hertfordshire.

Biography

Richard was born, the son of a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

, at Wallingford in Berkshire (now

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

) in England in 1292. When he was

orphan An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...

ed he was taken to William de Kirkeby the

Prior Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be l ...

of Wallingford Priory and dedicated to the Holy Trinity. (Wallingford was a dependant priory to S Albans Abbey) Richard subsequently spent six years studying at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

before becoming a monk at St Albans. He later studied for nine more years at Oxford. In 1327 he became

abbot of St Albans {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022 This is a list of abbots of St Albans Abbey up to its Dissolution in 1539. # Willegod (793–796) # Eadric # Wulsig # Wulnoth (Walworth) (c. 930) # Eadfrith # Wulsin (d. c. 968) # Aelfric # Ealdred # Eadmer # Leo ...

. Richard of Wallingford is best known for the

astronomical clock An astronomical clock, horologium, or orloj is a clock with special mechanisms and dials to display astronomical information, such as the relative positions of the Sun, Moon, zodiacal constellations, and sometimes major planets. Definition ...

he designed, while he was abbot, which is described in the ''Tractatus Horologii Astronomici'' (1327). The clock was completed about 20 years after Richard's death by William of Walsham but was apparently destroyed during

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

and the

dissolution Dissolution may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books * ''Dissolution'' (''Forgotten Realms'' novel), a 2002 fantasy novel by Richard Lee Byers * ''Dissolution'' (Sansom novel), a 2003 historical novel by C. J. Sansom Music * Dissolution, in mu ...

of St Albans Abbey in 1539. His clock almost certainly was the most complex

clock A clock or a timepiece is a device used to measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month and the ...

mechanism in existence at the time in the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

, and one of the most sophisticated ones anywhere. The only other clocklike mechanism of comparable complexity that is documented in the 14th century is the

astrarium An astrarium, also called a planetarium, is the mechanical representation of the cyclic nature of astronomical objects in one timepiece. It is an astronomical clock. History Greek and Roman World The first astraria were mechanical devices. Archi ...

Giovanni de Dondi Giovanni Dondi dell'Orologio (c. 1330 – 1388), also known as Giovanni de' Dondi, was an Italian physician, astronomer and mechanical engineer in Padua, now in Italy. He is remembered today as a pioneer in the art of clock design and construct ...

. Richard’s clock gave the mean time in equal and unequal hours, as well as the true solar time. It also displayed the phases of the moon and showed the positions of the lunar nodes and the height of tide at London Bridge. Based on the 14th-century literary evidence still surviving in the 20th century, several scholars of

horological Horology (; related to Latin '; ; , interfix ''-o-'', and suffix ''-logy''), . is the study of the measurement of time. Clocks, watches, clockwork, sundials, hourglasses, clepsydras, timers, time recorders, marine chronometers, and atomic clo ...

history have tried to build recreations of Richard of Wallingford's clock. The best known of these was built by Haward Horological and for many years was displayed at the Time Museum (now defunct) in

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, located in the far northern part of the state. Situated on the banks of the Rock River, Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County (a small portion of the city is located in Ogle County). ...

; it is currently on display at the Halim Time and Glass Museum in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...

. One was built by Eric Watson and is now in the

Wallingford Museum Wallingford Museum is a museum with collections of local interest, housed in a Tudor house in High Street, Wallingford, Oxfordshire (formerly Berkshire). The museum has an extensive collection relating to the town's history. Displays include ...

; one built in 1988 is located at

St Albans Cathedral St Albans Cathedral, officially the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban but often referred to locally as "the Abbey", is a Church of England cathedral in St Albans, England. Much of its architecture dates from Normans, Norman times. It cease ...

; and one was built by Don Unwin for the

Whipple Museum of the History of Science Whipple may refer to: People * Whipple (surname) (including a list of people with the surname) * Whip Jones (1909–2001), American ski industry pioneer, founder, developer and original operator of the Aspen Highlands ski area in Aspen, Colorado * ...

in Cambridge. Richard suffered from what was then thought to be

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...

(although it might have been scrofula or

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

) which he apparently contracted when he went to have his position as abbot of St Albans Abbey confirmed by the Pope at

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

. He died at

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

in 1336.

Studies in astronomy and mathematics

Richard also designed and constructed calculation devices: a

torquetum The ''torquetum'' or turquet is a medieval astronomical instrument designed to take and convert measurements made in three sets of coordinates: Horizon, equatorial, and ecliptic. It is said to be a combination of Ptolemy's astrolabon and the p ...

, the ''

Rectangulus The rectangulus was an astronomical instrument made by Richard of Wallingford around 1326. Dissatisfied with the limitations of existing astrolabes, Richard developed the rectangulus as an instrument for spherical trigonometry and to measure the ...

'', and an

equatorium An equatorium (plural, equatoria) is an astronomical calculating instrument. It can be used for finding the positions of the Moon, Sun, and planets without arithmetic operations, using a geometrical model to represent the position of a given c ...

, which he called ''Albion''. The Albion could be used for astronomical calculations such as

lunar Lunar most commonly means "of or relating to the Moon". Lunar may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lunar'' (series), a series of video games * "Lunar" (song), by David Guetta * "Lunar", a song by Priestess from the 2009 album ''Prior t ...

, solar and planetary

longitudes Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east–west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek letter ...

and could predict

eclipses An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ce ...

, and was capable of doing this without relying on a set of tables that had to be copied out.Hannam, James. God's philosophers: how the medieval world laid the foundations of modern science. Icon Books Ltd, 2009, 156 This is described in the ''Tractatus Albionis''. He published other works on

trigonometry Trigonometry () is a branch of mathematics that studies relationships between side lengths and angles of triangles. The field emerged in the Hellenistic world during the 3rd century BC from applications of geometry to astronomical studies. T ...

, celestial coordinates, astrology, and various religious works.

References

* *North, J. (2004) God's Clockmaker: Richard of Wallingford and the Invention of Time. Oxbow Books. *North, J. (1976) Richard of Wallingford – Volume I Texts and Translations, Volume II – The Life of Richard of Wallingford – Introductions and Commentaries to Text, Volume III – Illustrations, Tables, Appendices, Glossaries, Bibliography and Indexes; An edition of his writings, with introductions, English translation and commentary, Oxford Univ Press. *Watson, E (1979) The St Albans Clock of Richard of Wallingford. ''Antiquarian Horology'', Number 4, Volume 11, Summer 1979, p. 372–384. * * * * *

External links

The Astronomical Clock of Richard of Wallingford

Images of Richard of Wallingford and the Astronomical Clock of Richard of Wallingford from the British Library

Wallingford History Gateway

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richard Of Wallingford 1292 births 1336 deaths 14th-century astrologers 14th-century English mathematicians Medieval English mathematicians 14th-century English Roman Catholic priests Abbots of St Albans English clockmakers Horology Medieval English astrologers Medieval English astronomers People from Wallingford, Oxfordshire Catholic clergy scientists 14th-century English astronomers 14th-century Latin writers

Biography

Studies in astronomy and mathematics

See also

References

External links