I haven't been following this long string with close attention, but I was awake last night between 2:30 and 3:30 approx. Now I recall reading a piece several months back (in the New Yorker, I believe) about how differently sleep patterns and night-time were structured in pre-modern times. Perhaps someone has seen a book titled "A History of the Night," or something like that. I gather that it was normal to go to bed early (no street lighting, of course), sleep for several hours, wake for several hours of work or play, and sleep again until dawn or later. So I suppose that night clothes for those waking hours would be warm and fairly elaborate, so one could get up and move about the house. Such robes, I suppose, would be laid aside before returning to love-making or to sleep. Perhaps the distinction between "naked" and "nude" is modern, but it might be applicable to what's been under discussion here.
Cheers, Jon Quitslund
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From: Hannibal Hamlin <[log in to unmask]>
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