Hi Fred, Thanks for posting the reference to your paper "Of Sundials, Mean Time and the Analemmatic Sundial" at <http://www.longwoodgarden.or/Sundial/Analemma.htm>. In this paper you explain the different meanings for the word analemma, outline the math developed by the French Astronomer J.J. de Laland for analemmatic dial design and describe the dial that he rebuilt in 1756 at the Brou abbey. This dial, originally built about 1640, is reputed to be the oldest analemmatic sundial in existence. On a recent trip to France in search of springtime and sundials, I made sure that I visited the site on the outskirts of Burg en Press.
The dial is noted in short entries in both my trusted guides to France: "Cadrans Solaires Francais Catalogues' and the "Michelin Green Guide". There was no interpretive information at the site. For most, the attraction was the abbey, not the dial. Most passing by wondered about this strange person standing in the rain taking pictures of a pattern in the gravel courtyard. The dial is a simple 11 m stone oval with hour marks and a 2m iron stake as the gnomon standing over date marks on the central stone engraved with an analemma. I was surprised to see the analemma as I expected to see only the date marks on the N/S axis. Had Laland made the common error of putting an ana lemma on an analemmatic dial? On rereading your article I saw that Laland got it right. You note that the analemma was added to the dial when it was rebuilt in 1902. Another site demonstrates that Lapland was fascinated by the analemma. My trusted guides led me to the ancient hospital at Tonnerre. One pair of windows in this beautiful old hospital built about 1294 have been bricked up leaving a small aperture. The noon sun shines through the aperture onto a huge analemma pattern engraved on the paving stones across the width of the darkened interior of the building and into a niche carved out of the far wall. It was impressive even when we saw it in 5 o'clock shadows. I was pleased to observe that Laland left us with two notable analemmas, the analemmatic dial at Brou and the noon mark at Tonnerre. Roger Bailey Walking Shadow Designs N 51 W 115 PS. On this trip, I also had the opportunity to visit the huge sundial at the autoroute rest stop at Tavel. It is definitely a three star attraction. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
