sfflim has a lock which prevented intrusion into the chamber of one of the veiled beauties of Khorsabad. These locks were huge affairs, with keys two or more feet long. It was such a key that the Hebrew Prophet had in mind when he wrote: “And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder.”
During the time of the Middle Empire in Egypt keys of brass and iron were commonly used. Iron keys have been dug out of the ruins of “Many Gated Thebes.” A fine example of one of these keys is described by Wilkinson in his “Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians.” This particular key is of iron with a shaft five inches long. The handle is a loop while the other end is turned at right angles to form the operative end of the key. It has three teeth to fit into corresponding cavities in the lock.
For the very earliest description of the lock one must turn to the Bible where—1,350 years before our era—we learn that Eglon, King of Moab, used a lock to fasten shut the door of his summer palace. Head in Judges 3, verses 23 and 25 how “Ehud went forth through the porch and shut the doors of the parlor upon him and locked them. . . his servants. . .took a key and opened them.” The results were not pleasant for Eglon.
The Greeks had keys, for Homer tells us that Penelope, wanting to open a wardrobe, used a sickle shaped brass key with an ivory handle. Incidentally, the early Greeks, probably owing to the fact that they were sailors, were peculiar in that they used intricate knots to safeguard valuables—the only nation of which this interesting fact is recorded. In the eighth book of the Odyssey, Ulysses is represented securing the rich presents of Alcinous and his Queen by a cord.
fastened in a knot “closed with Circean Art;” and the story of the Gordian Knot, which Alexander severed with a blow of his sword, is woven into our everyday language.
The early Homans very generally pinned their faith to padlocks, a distinct improvement over the bar type of lock, because the mechanism was contained within metal walls and keys could be
made smaller. Togas had no pockets, so the Hoble Roman usually carried his keys slung on a thong around his neck. Ovid appreciated the weakness of the padlocks for he relates that thieves used to pry loose the staples from the doors of the wineshops and he says “Escute forte Seram”—“Shake the lock hard.”
Warded locks came next in point of antiquity. Those mysterious people, the Etruscans, used them. Rude specimens have been found on the sites of Luni and Populonia, proud cities thirty centuries ago.
With the break-up of the Roman Empire and the consequent state of unrest into which the world was thrown, there arose a great demand for lock making—indeed for the perfection of ironwork in general. The danger of robbery acted as a spur to human ingenuity to improve the method of securing portable property.
Contemporaneously, the dignity of manual labor became more and more appreciated. A goldsmith was made a bishop; several blacksmiths, archbishops ; and a carpenter, pope. The Saints Calendar is filled with the names of those who, before winning a crown of martyrdom, won a living by the work of their hands.
The troubled history of the Middle Ages indicates that the crying demand was for security. Barons built imposing castles of stone for security. Men clad themselves in steel. Mere locks
Diagram illustrating method of operating Creek locks in use 500 B. C. Note that the kev is used to shove back the bolt which slides through three staples on the doors. The thong, looped and ready to hand, which protrudes through the hole, is used to lock the door
Greek keys. Figure in lower left corner shows manner in which
keys of this type were carried
During the time of the Middle Empire in Egypt keys of brass and iron were commonly used. Iron keys have been dug out of the ruins of “Many Gated Thebes.” A fine example of one of these keys is described by Wilkinson in his “Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians.” This particular key is of iron with a shaft five inches long. The handle is a loop while the other end is turned at right angles to form the operative end of the key. It has three teeth to fit into corresponding cavities in the lock.
For the very earliest description of the lock one must turn to the Bible where—1,350 years before our era—we learn that Eglon, King of Moab, used a lock to fasten shut the door of his summer palace. Head in Judges 3, verses 23 and 25 how “Ehud went forth through the porch and shut the doors of the parlor upon him and locked them. . . his servants. . .took a key and opened them.” The results were not pleasant for Eglon.
The Greeks had keys, for Homer tells us that Penelope, wanting to open a wardrobe, used a sickle shaped brass key with an ivory handle. Incidentally, the early Greeks, probably owing to the fact that they were sailors, were peculiar in that they used intricate knots to safeguard valuables—the only nation of which this interesting fact is recorded. In the eighth book of the Odyssey, Ulysses is represented securing the rich presents of Alcinous and his Queen by a cord.
fastened in a knot “closed with Circean Art;” and the story of the Gordian Knot, which Alexander severed with a blow of his sword, is woven into our everyday language.
The early Homans very generally pinned their faith to padlocks, a distinct improvement over the bar type of lock, because the mechanism was contained within metal walls and keys could be
made smaller. Togas had no pockets, so the Hoble Roman usually carried his keys slung on a thong around his neck. Ovid appreciated the weakness of the padlocks for he relates that thieves used to pry loose the staples from the doors of the wineshops and he says “Escute forte Seram”—“Shake the lock hard.”
Warded locks came next in point of antiquity. Those mysterious people, the Etruscans, used them. Rude specimens have been found on the sites of Luni and Populonia, proud cities thirty centuries ago.
With the break-up of the Roman Empire and the consequent state of unrest into which the world was thrown, there arose a great demand for lock making—indeed for the perfection of ironwork in general. The danger of robbery acted as a spur to human ingenuity to improve the method of securing portable property.
Contemporaneously, the dignity of manual labor became more and more appreciated. A goldsmith was made a bishop; several blacksmiths, archbishops ; and a carpenter, pope. The Saints Calendar is filled with the names of those who, before winning a crown of martyrdom, won a living by the work of their hands.
The troubled history of the Middle Ages indicates that the crying demand was for security. Barons built imposing castles of stone for security. Men clad themselves in steel. Mere locks
Diagram illustrating method of operating Creek locks in use 500 B. C. Note that the kev is used to shove back the bolt which slides through three staples on the doors. The thong, looped and ready to hand, which protrudes through the hole, is used to lock the door
Greek keys. Figure in lower left corner shows manner in which
keys of this type were carried