Year Gate

First Appearance and Context

The Year Gate is referenced within the Mynster during the daily rite of winding the great clock. In that setting, the avout describe a set of auxiliary weights mounted on the pillars of the Præsidium. The cube weight in this system is said to descend once per year to open the Year Gate.

Structure and Features

Four auxiliary weights ride on rails fixed to the Præsidium’s four pillars: a cube, an octahedron, a dodecahedron, and an icosahedron. Each moves on its own chain and schedule. The cube serves the Year Gate, descending annually to actuate its opening. The octahedron opens the Decade Gate every ten years, and the dodecahedron and icosahedron do the same for the century and millennium gates, respectively. These mechanisms are part of the same clockwork that also drives add-ons such as bells and orreries, drawing power from the daily winding performed in the chancel.

Relationships and Functions

The Year Gate operates as one element of a broader time-gated system interfaced to the Mynster’s clock. Its motion is mechanically coupled through gear trains concealed in the Præsidium and connected to the clock’s main drive. Maintenance and inspection of the chains, sprockets, and escapements are described as the business of the Ita. Within a Decenarian math, the Year Gate stands alongside the Day, Decade, Century, and Millennium gates as an interval-specific portal.

Current Status

In the period described, the cube weight stands near the top of its track when the clock is freshly wound, with no specific opening of the Year Gate depicted. Its annual actuation is indicated by the cube’s eventual descent over the course of the year.