Time

[Kyote Fields]

Just wondering when people in middle earth tell time, what do they tell it on? Watches? Position of the sun? Wrist bound sundials?

[Wayfarer]

Time in middle earth was reckoned first by the lights of the two trees, and later by the sun and Moon.

Although I recall the elves used a 144 sun-year reckoning called the 'yen'.

[afro-elf]

which was later usurped by the japanese:)

[Michael Martinez]

The Elven "sun-year" was just a normal year of 365 days. They called that year a coranar (translated as "sun round"). The yen is a weird thing which doesn't fit well into any of the chronological systems. It was originally determined to be 100 years long, but Tolkien changed that. I think he went with 144 because that was how many First Elves he decided there had been. He probably also liked the mathematical gyrations he could go through with 144. :)

As for how people measured time in Middle-earth, they didn't have wrist-watches, but they did have clocks. I believe the bells of Minas Tirith were used to mark time, although I'm not positive of that. I vaguely recall reading something in The Return of the King where a bell tolls out in the night, marking the change of hour.

Technically, time in Middle-earth was never reckoned by the changing of the lights of the Two Trees. The light was only visible in Valinor (and portions of Eldamar after the Eldar reached Aman). Middle-earth had to mark time by other means.

[Agburanar]

Wahay, I'm posting something in so many discussions today and it's all free!

The Shire had a calendar didn't they? Surely seasons could be seen from trees etc. and days could be counted by dawn to dawn so they could have worked out some form of measurement. The moon seems to play an important part as it's phases mark key events, however when the company were in Moria Gandalf knew the time without seeing the sky or any daylight so it must be part of his wizardly power!

[Comic Book Guy]

The Shire did have it's own time and calendar, which had 12 months called Afteryule, Solmath, Rethe, Astron, Thrimidge, Forelithe, Afterlithe, Wedmath, Halimath, Winterfilth, Blotmath and Foreyule in respect to our Months. The Beginning of each year began on a Saturday and Ended on a Friday. The Moon played a part in the Wandering hobbits year, and also Durins day.