Night was the oldest enemy of mankind;

Unlike other creatures, humans became weaker during the night, especially when the moon was not full or luminous, to stay safe from nocturnal predators, and this fear developed into superstitions that became part of myths and folk tales all over the earth.

Night was also the favorite time of criminals;

The powerful and the wealthy may be at the top of their societies during the day, but at night the smallest weak criminal can wreak havoc.

It is now normal for people to sleep from 7 to 9 consecutive hours from night until morning, but was this the case permanently?

A recent book on the history of sleep and life in the pre-industrial Western world shows that people in the Middle Ages divided their sleep into two periods during the night.

According to the American "mediavalists" website, Roger Ekirch's book "Night in Bygone Times" reveals that until the modern era - when artificial lights became a reason for us staying up late at night - most people went to sleep with sunset The actual bedtime was divided into two phases: first sleep and second sleep.

Ekirch explained in his book that "the two stages of sleep were about the same length, with a person sometimes waking up between them on their own and then going back to sleep again. Not everyone slept according to a certain schedule, and the longer a person fell asleep, the later he woke up from the first stage, and if He goes to bed after midnight and likely won't wake up until dawn."

The site indicated that the period of vigilance between the two stages lasts about an hour, which is enough to recite the "night prayer", which is usually between two and three in the morning, study or do anything else.

Ekirch stated that "a neighbor's fight or dogs howling - according to some descriptions - woke people prematurely from their first sleep, but most references indicate that it is usual for people to wake up from sleep on their own, not because of disturbance or interrupted sleep.

Medical books between the 15th and 18th centuries advised sleeping on the right side during the first period of sleep for better digestion and a comfortable sleep, and then sleeping on the left side during the second period of sleep.

the dead of night

He added that "French historian Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie did not investigate much on the subject, but his study in 14th-century Montaille indicates that the "first hour of sleep" was a customary division of the night as was the "first mid-sleep hour". Although the term "sleep" is The first” was not very common. Unlike other expressions such as “lighting the candles,” “the dead of night,” or “crowing of the rooster,” it remained a common chronology until the late 18th century, as described in “La Demonolatri” (1595) by Nicholas Remy. He says, “Darkness comes, followed by the falling of the night, then the middle of the night, and the first sleep, and finally, the cover of the night.”

But not everyone follows a two-phase sleep pattern. Ekirch notes that some pre-modern people wrote that they slept all night, but it appears to have been an ancient practice common among people from antiquity.

Jean Verdon mentioned in his book "Night in the Middle Ages" that some people had different sleep patterns.

For example, children were advised to sleep through the night for 9 or 10 hours at a time, but this was more difficult with young children, as evidenced by the 15th century story "La Force de Cuvier", which includes a passage about the troubles of carrying young children. over sleep, which parents nowadays also understand: “If a child wakes up in the night, as children often do, the hardship is to rock the child, to walk him, to carry him, and to feed him in the bedroom, even if it is in the middle of the night.”

The site indicated that the sleeping pattern of monks in the Middle Ages was different.

According to the rule of Saint Benedict, they went to sleep at seven in the evening and then rose to pray at two in the morning.

In other monasteries they were allowed to sleep a second while the Catholic Benedictine monks were kept awake and "may be allowed to nap during the day".

sleep problems

According to Verdon, people in the Middle Ages had the same sleep problems that we do now, such as insomnia, hypersomnia, and even sleepwalking.

Historian Jean Froissar heard the story of a nobleman named Pierre de Biarn who had the agonizing experience of killing an exceptionally large bear in a hand-to-hand combat, while in his sleep he drew his sword and waved it in the air.

And if he did not find his weapon, this nobleman would "noise as if the demons of hell were with him", eventually deserted by his wife and children because of that problem.

The book not only deals with the night, but also studies activities associated with it such as the fear of crime, fire and the paranormal, the importance of moonlight, the increase in the incidence of disease and death at night, evening gatherings of wool spinning and stories, inns, taverns and brothels, strategies of thieves, murderers and conspirators, preventive uses of incantations, meditations and prayers. As well as the dreams of sleepers.