Time of day from a writer's perspective
- bob
- Mar 2, 2019
- 1 min read
DO NOT USE MINUTES
Ordinary medieval people rarely had occasion to measure hours, minutes, or seconds, but when necessary, they might describe a period as “the time it takes to walk a mile,” or “the time it takes to recite ten PaterNosters.”
NOTE: Sand glasses (hour glasses) were not introduced until the 14th Century, so measuring the equivalent of modern minutes or an hour was difficult
Expressing time:
During daylight hours, at least, one always has three readily apparent observations that serve to establish a basic framework.
In all but the most inclement weather it is a simple operation to mark sunrise, noon, and sunset. All other observations become merely subdivisions of these basic time periods.
Time of day was also set by the conical hours:
For most of the Medieval period, a 24 hour day was divided into the liturgical designations
Until the end of the high Middle Ages, the canonical bells regulated religious time, social time and the work-day.
Conical hours:
Vigils (was also referred to as Nocturns)
Matins (currently called Lauds)
Prime NOT USED UNTIL 12th Century
Terce
Sext
None
Vespers
Compline.
Approximate time of day:
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