The Liturgical Hours
in Medieval Times
Breviary of the Hours, or,
the Horarium
| Hour of the Day |
Latin Name |
English Name |
Time of Day (The approximate modern equivalent) |
Vigil |
| During the Night |
Matins |
Readings |
Divided into
| Nocturn |
Time |
| 1 |
2100 |
| 2 |
Midnight |
| 3 |
0300 |
|
Night |
| Sunrise |
Lauds
|
Morning Prayer
|
Sunrise
|
Night |
|
First
|
Prime
|
Pre-Work Prayer
|
0600
|
Day
|
|
Third
|
Terce
|
Mid-Morning Prayer
|
0900
|
Day
|
|
Sixth
|
Sext
|
Midday Prayer
|
Noon
|
Day
|
|
Ninth
|
None
|
Mid-Afternoon Prayer
|
1500
|
Day
|
|
Near Evening
|
Vespers
|
Evening Prayer
|
1800
|
Day
|
|
Nightfall
|
Compline
|
Night Prayer
|
Nightfall
|
—
|
Information gleaned from The
Catholic Encyclopedia
And Gerhard Dohrn-van Rossum, History of the Hour: Clocks and Modern Temporal Orders,
Translated by Thomas Dunlap. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1996.
See also Eamon Duffy, Marking the Hours: English People and Their Prayers, 1240-1570,
Yale University Press, New Haven CT, 2007.
Main web site: http://www.pauahtun.org