Pope Sylvester II and the Clock

Old Man's Blog: A Fiery Blast Vol. 219
World History Curiosity Series 34

Whether someone is punctual or loose with time seems to be a standard for evaluating people in Japan. Perhaps the reason why announcements are repeated inside train stations and on trains when a railway is two or three minutes late is to accurately convey the reason for the delay to those waiting for passengers at the destination.
In medieval Europe, the places that were strict about time were monasteries. Daily routines were organized in 15-minute increments, and living a disciplined life was mandatory. For this reason, bells were hung in high bell towers to inform not only those inside the monastery but also the people in the city of the time.
This is a story from that time. People in Europe were able to know the time by the sound of church bells. In 966, when Pope Sylvester II (Gerbert of Aurillac) was a monk, he installed a machine in the church bell tower that would automatically ring the bells to notify the villagers of prayer times. This is said to be the origin of the mechanical clock.
After that, machines that rang bells began to be installed on the high towers of churches, monasteries, and cathedrals in Italian cities, and clocks equipped with dials also appeared. For this reason, the English word "clock" is derived from the Latin word "clocca" (bell).
Sylvester's range of scholarship was very broad and has influenced later generations, but in this article, I will limit myself to introducing the episode regarding clocks.