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Appearance move to sidebar hide From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Moment (time)) Medieval unit of time "Moment (time)" redirects here. For a point in time, see Instant.

A moment (momentum) is a medieval unit of time. The movement of a shadow on a sundial covered 40 moments in a solar hour, a twelfth of the period between sunrise and sunset. The length of a solar hour depended on the length of the day, which, in turn, varied with the season.[1] Although the length of a moment in modern seconds was therefore not fixed, on average, a medieval moment corresponded to 90 seconds. A solar day can be divided into 24 hours of either equal or unequal lengths,[2][3] the former being called natural or equinoctial, and the latter artificial. The hour was divided into four puncta (quarter-hours), 10 minuta, or 40 momenta.[4]

History

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The unit was used by medieval computists before the introduction of the mechanical clock and the base 60 system in the late 13th century. The unit would not have been used in everyday life. For medieval commoners, the main markers of the passage of time were the call to prayer at various intervals throughout the day, and the passage of the sun.[5]

The earliest reference found to the moment is from the 8th century writings of the Venerable Bede,[6] who describes the system as 1 solar hour = 4 puncta = 5 lunar puncta[7][8] = 10 minuta = 15 partes = 40 momenta. Bede was referenced five centuries later by both Bartholomeus Anglicus in his early encyclopedia De Proprietatibus Rerum (On the Properties of Things),[9] as well as Roger Bacon,[8] by which time the moment was further subdivided into 12 ounces of 47 atoms each, although no such divisions could ever have been used in observation with equipment in use at the time.

References

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1. ^ North, John David (1988). Chaucer's Universe. University of Michigan Press.
2. ^ Bede (1999). The Reckoning of Time. Liverpool University Press. p. 267. ISBN 9780853236931. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
3. ^ Bacon, Roger. Opera quaedam hactenus inedita. Oxford University Press. p. 45. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
4. ^ Bede (1999). The Reckoning of Time. Liverpool University Press. p. 268. ISBN 9780853236931. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
5. ^ "How Did People in the Middle Ages Tell Time?". HuffPost. 2015-07-29. Retrieved 2025-06-20.
6. ^ Bede (1999). The Reckoning of Time. Liverpool University Press. p. 15. ISBN 9780853236931. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
7. ^ Bede (1999). The Reckoning of Time. Liverpool University Press. p. 73. ISBN 9780853236931. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
8. ^ a b Bacon, Roger. Opera quaedam hactenus inedita. Oxford University Press. p. 48. Retrieved 5 July 2014. Note the distinction between minucia and minuta, as well as the introduction of the ostenta, the precursor to the modern minute.
9. ^ Middle English dictionary. University of Michigan Press. 1977-12-31. p. 644. ISBN 978-0472011360. Retrieved 5 July 2014.

v t e Time measurement and standards
Chronometry Orders of magnitude Metrology
International standards	Coordinated Universal Time offset UT ΔT DUT1 International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service ISO 31-1 ISO 8601 International Atomic Time 12-hour clock 24-hour clock Barycentric Coordinate Time Barycentric Dynamical Time Civil time Daylight saving time Geocentric Coordinate Time International Date Line IERS Reference Meridian Leap second Solar time Terrestrial Time Time zone 180th meridian
Obsolete standards	Ephemeris time Greenwich Mean Time Prime meridian
Time in physics	Absolute space and time Spacetime Chronon Continuous signal Coordinate time Cosmological decade Discrete time and continuous time Proper time Theory of relativity Time dilation Gravitational time dilation Time domain Time-translation symmetry T-symmetry
Horology	Clock Astrarium Atomic clock Complication History of timekeeping devices Hourglass Marine chronometer Marine sandglass Radio clock Watch stopwatch Water clock Sundial Dialing scales Equation of time History of sundials Sundial markup schema
Calendar	Gregorian Hebrew Hindu Holocene Islamic (lunar Hijri) Julian Solar Hijri Astronomical Dominical letter Epact Equinox Intercalation Julian day Leap year Lunar Lunisolar Solar Solstice Tropical year Weekday determination Weekday names
Archaeology and geology	Chronological dating Geologic time scale International Commission on Stratigraphy
Astronomical chronology	Galactic year Nuclear timescale Precession Sidereal time
Other units of time	Instant Flick Shake Jiffy Second Minute Moment Hour Day Week Fortnight Month Year Olympiad Lustrum Decade Century Saeculum Millennium
Related topics	Chronology Duration music Mental chronometry Decimal time Metric time System time Time metrology Time value of money Timekeeper

v t e Time
Key concepts	Past Present Future Eternity
Measurementand standards	Chronometry UTC Universal Time TAI Unit of time Orders of magnitude (time) Measurementsystems Italian six-hour clock Thai six-hour clock 12-hour clock 24-hour clock Relative hour Daylight saving time Chinese Decimal Hexadecimal Hindu Jain Metric Roman Sidereal Solar Time zone Calendars Main types Solar Lunar Lunisolar Gregorian Julian Hebrew Islamic Solar Hijri Chinese Hindu Panchang Maya List Clocks Main types astronomical astrarium atomic quantum hourglass marine sundial watch 24-hour wristwatch mechanical stopwatch water-based Cuckoo clock Digital clock Grandfather clock History Timeline
Chronology History	Astronomical chronology Big History Calendar era Deep time Periodization Regnal year Timeline
Philosophy of time	A series and B series B-theory of time Chronocentrism Duration Endurantism Eternal return Eternalism Event Moving spotlight theory Perdurantism Presentism Temporal finitism Temporal parts The Unreality of Time
Religion Mythology	Ages of Man Destiny Immortality Dreamtime Kāla Time and fate deities Father Time Wheel of time Kalachakra
Human experienceand use of time	Chronemics Generation time Mental chronometry Music tempo time signature Rosy retrospection Tense–aspect–mood Time management Yesterday – Today – Tomorrow
Time in science	Geology Geological time age chron eon epoch era period Geochronology Geological history of Earth Physics Absolute space and time Arrow of time Chronon Coordinate time Instant Proper time Spacetime Theory of relativity Time domain Time translation symmetry Time reversal symmetry Other fields Chronological dating Chronobiology Circadian rhythms Clock reaction Glottochronology Time geography
Related	Leap year Memory Moment Six-hour day Space System time Tempus fugit Time capsule Time immemorial Time travel Time value of money
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