medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
(1) The monastic HORARIUM varied according to the time of year. Lauds was
always at dawn, Compline at sunset. The "hours" of the day and the "watches"
of the night expanded and contracted during the year. I understand that in
winter the monks only had one meal per day because there was not time for
two as they had in the summer.
I have also attended Compline in a Cistercian Abbey in winter where there
was no lighting for the lay congregation at all - we had to bring our own
torches to avoid tripping over the uneven flagstones. (And it was VERY
cold! - no heating - I was wearing every jumper I possessed! You understood
why the monks needed their thick cowls.) The monks had one or two candles,
mainly one for the Hebdomadarian (?) who chanted the proper bits. The rest
of the monks sang from memory in the dark. The only concession to modernity
was the spot light that suddenly illuminated the statue of Our Lady when
they sang the Salve Regina. (It was SERIOULY impressive!)
(2) You can do a number of things sitting in the dark around a fire: sing,
talk: tell stories, gossip, recite poetry. I suspect that most women could
spin by touch - and suckle their babies.. Going to bed is a way of keeping
warm and saving fuel. You also have less energy in winter. I am thinking
peasant family here where everyone lives, sleeps, eats &c in the same room
with an animal or two over the far side behind a low partition.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Andrew Larsen" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, October 19, 2009 12:46 PM
Subject: Re: [M-R] Medieval lighting
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Again, thanks. Some of that I knew, but much is new and interesting.
One point though. While pre-modern people certainly slept on a
different cycle than we do, they can't simply have gone to bed as soon
as it got dark and gotten up when it was light, for the simple reason
that humans only need about 8 hours of sleep and for most of the year
there is more than 8 hours of darkness.
Depending on the latitude, of course.
BMC
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