From the Ancient Greek, γνώμων (gnṓmōn)this pointed noun literally means one that knows or examines, but it is specifically the part of a sundial that casts a shadow as well as referring to other mathematical terms. Sundials have been in use for thousands of years, the first known in China in 2300 BC, used to determine the changes in seasons, orientation, and geographical latitude. There is evidence also of them in Ancient Greece, thought to have been conceived by philosopher Anaximander (610–546 BC). Greek mathematician and astronomer Oenopides used the phrase drawn gnomon-wise to describe a line drawn perpendicular to another, and mathematician and engineer Hero of Alexandria defined a gnomon as that which, when added or subtracted to an entity (number or shape), makes a new entity similar to the starting entity. In other words, it’s a repeating form.
Sundial on a building in Tiradentes Square, Curitiba, Brazil
Sundials come in all shapes and sizes, and long before the pointed gnomon, perforated gnomons, in other words a well-placed hole could create a pinhole image of the sun, its location then measured to tell the time of day and year. This was described in the Chinese Zhoubi Suanjing, possibly dating as early as the early Zhou (11th century BC), and later by Egyptian mathematician Ibn Yunus around AD 1000, while in Italy, astronomer, mathematician and cosmographer Paolo Toscanelli is associated with the 1475 placement of a bronze plate with a round hole in the dome of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence to project an image of the sun on the cathedral's floor.
Pinhole gnomon projection on Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence
But what of gnomons in music? Not much use of the actual word in lyrics, but here’s a selection of pieces using it as a title, and sundials in songs casting some shadow as a metaphor, including the Swiss and French composer partners Elizabeth and Guy Skornik, Of Norway, Wolfmother, Django Django and Paul Heaton with Jacqui Abbot:
Want to cast any more insights into the meaning or cultural use of a gnomon? Feel free to share anything more in relation to anything whether in music or wider culture, such as from film, art, or other contexts, in comments below.
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