Thursday's Class - Blog

As I read the second half of "Sleep We Have Lost", the question was asked, "How does Ekirch link religion and segmented sleep", it is said that " By the High Middle Ages, the Catholic Church actively encouraged early morning prayer among Christians as a means of appealing to God during the still hours of darkness" (366). According to Ekirch the early Catholic Church popularized the idea of early morning prayer but did not "create" segmented sleep so to say. It was believed by the Christian church at the time that praying during the dark hours were a time to talk and pray to the Lord as a way of sacrifice. I personally like the quote on page 371 that says "A parent instructed his daughter that "the most profitable hour for you and us might be in the middle of the night after going to sleep, after digesting the meat, when the labors of the world are cast off ... and no one will look at you except for God."

Ekirch, A. Roger.  “Sleep We Have Lost:  Pre-industrial Slumber in the British Isles.” The
      American Historical Review 106, no. 2 (2001): 343-386.  JSTOR.
      <http://www.jstor.org/stable/2651611>.