HOW DID THE COSSACKS TELL TIME? PART 2

HOW DID THE COSSACKS TELL TIME? PART 2

The previous article discussed the Cossacks’ measuring time in the 16th century. But what happened in later times?

Many written sources, mainly diaries and property descriptions, can provide helpful information. Clocks are found under the names: dzigarok, dzegar/dzigar, zigarok, chasy. Unfortunately, the names of clocks do not correspond to their types.

In the 18th century, the following clocks were ordinary in Europe: wristwatches, pocket watches, wall clocks, floor clocks, console clocks, carriage clocks, and stone clocks.

Pocket and wall watches were widespread among the Cossack Elders in their everyday lives. Pocket watches were quite different: “High-status”—golden and silver; watches with portraits; encased pocket watches; and, probably, ordinary pocket watches—their different costs evidence this. However, the question of the existence of pocket chiming watches has not been thoroughly investigated, the Diary of Ya. Markovich provides indirect information about the existence of such watches.

The Cossack Elders carried pocket watches in different ways: in a pocket in a case (one side of which could be of glass), in a pocket with additional fastening with a ribbon or a chain.

Wall clocks were also quite diverse: with chimes and without, with and without weights, in cases and open type, open or closed (meaning access to the clock).

The description of the property of the deceased Paraska Sulyma (wife of Colonel Semen Sulyma) indicates that there were wall “clocks” with chimes in the room. The clock itself was in a painted wooden case, which was locked.

The description of Pavlo Polubotok’s confiscated property also mentions clocks: in the courtyard of P. Polubotok in Chernihiv, where stone chambers were built, there was a wall clock in one of the rooms, and another was in a room near the living room.

Written sources also contain a list of problems that clock owners often encountered. The most common was the constant need to correct the time, which caused the clocks to rush or lag. In addition, the mechanism required regular cleaning. The keys used to wind the clocks were often lost, so in response to demand, keys were made available for sale at a reasonable price.

The constant need for maintenance required specially trained professionals. In the first half of the 18th century, clock maintenance was done mainly by monks in monasteries, but over time, master watchmakers appeared.

One could have bought clocks and watches at markets and ordered from merchants and watchmakers. Local and imported clocks, mainly from Western Europe, were sold at the market. For example, M. Khanenko mentions purchasing an English clock.

Thus, the Cossack Elders were the leading class of the Ukrainian people, who introduced the Ukrainians to the latest technological innovations and world trends of the time.

(based on the materials of the Head of the Department of Museum Communications of the Khortytsia National Reserve, O. Kravtsova)

Illustrations:

1-2. English clock of the 18th century. “Spencer Perkins” from the Chernihiv Regional Historical Museum, named after V.V. Tarnovsky.