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Originally Posted by Lalwendë
Merry possibly just knew it was time to get up. My grandfather never used an alarm clock and always got up at 5.30am; I used to have the same ability when I was a kid but nowadays it takes a clock radio with the volume set to an ear-splitting level to get me out of bed which may be due in no small way to having to go to work instead of lovely school.  But I do not have a watch and tend to know roughly what time it is without looking at a clock.
But, how did they know it was 4am if it was dark and they didn't have a clock anyway? How would anyone know the time in the middle of the night in Middle-earth unless there was someone posted to the job of counting it? |
Well I don't think them having clocks would be that outrageous - they have basic technology and as has been pointed out there have been various forms of clock for a very long time - the chinese had mechanical clocks in 200AD and
" Another advance was the invention of spring-powered clocks between 1500 and 1510 by Peter Henlein, a German locksmith from Nuremberg. Replacing the heavy drive weights permitted smaller (and portable) clocks and watches. Henlein nicknamed his clocks "Nuremberg Eggs". Although they slowed down as the mainspring unwound, they were popular among wealthy individuals due to their size and the fact that they could be put on a shelf or table instead of hanging from the wall. They were the first portable timepieces. However, they only had an hour hand, minute hands did not appear until 1670, and there was no glass protection. Glass over the face of the watch did not come about until the 17th century. Still, Henlein's advances in design were precursors to truly accurate timekeeping.
Accurate Mechanical Clocks
In 1656, Christian Huygens, a Dutch scientist, made the first pendulum clock, regulated by a mechanism with a "natural" period of oscillation. Although Galileo Galilei, sometimes credited with inventing the pendulum, studied its motion as early as 1582, Galileo's design for a clock was not built before his death. Huygens' pendulum clock had an error of less than 1 minute a day, the first time such accuracy had been achieved. His later refinements reduced his clock's errors to less than 10 seconds a day. "
http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa071401a.htm
It is quite possible that wealthy hobbits would have had clocks. I don't think it is wrong to assume that 16th century technology is beyond them although I think it more likelythey got them from Dwarves - didn't Bilbo obtain clockwork toys from Dale as presents for his party... or have I just made that up?
Alternatively, I think it is possible to tell the time from the stars?