Before the Dawn. Monks and the Night in Late Antiquity and Early Medieval Europe Author(s): Mary W. Helms Source: Anthropos, Bd. 99, H. 1. (2004), pp. 177-191 Published by: Anthropos Institute Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40466312 . Accessed: 29/07/2013 13:48

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This content downloaded from 152.13.249.96 on Mon, 29 Jul 2013 13:48:56 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions H Anthropos IT] 99.2004:177-191

Beforethe Dawn Monksand theNight in Late Antiquityand EarlyMedieval Europe

MaryW. Helms

Abstract.- Early European monkswere preoccupiedwith the and withformal rules and especiallyritual that night.They were quintessentialmen of the dark,for nocturns, definedand activatedfundamental tenets of faith by fartheir longest liturgical office, was conductedeach night, offices. in the blacknessof unlitchurches. In so monks throughcarefully organized liturgical virtually doing these not only rituallyanticipated the coming of the dawn but Foremostamong ideologicallycharged also, and especially,engaged withthe primordialcosmological monasticsettings and liturgical presentations were darknessthat preceded the original creation of Genesis. Various thegarden or garth situated at thevery heart of the aspects of daily monasticlife preparedmonks for this primary cloistercomplex and theoffice of nocturnssung nightlylabor, the emotional and psychologicaleffects of which in the of thechurch. The the were probablyfurther heightened by physiologicalreactions depths garth, only to chronicsleep deprivation.[Europe, early medievalmonas- formalmonastic space to standopen to thesky, in ticism,spiritual qualities of night,sleep deprivation,ritual and essencemanifested light, not only natural light (it cosmology] was thecloister's major source of lumen) but, more the of W. Helms is Professorof Cultural at significantly,supernatural light (lux), light Mary Anthropology heavenand of thefirst of creation.As a the Universityof North Carolina at Greensboro,USA. Her day quiet interestsinclude cosmology and the legitimationof political Edenicgarden, the garth also stoodas analoguefor and ideological authority.Recent publicationsinclude: Access paradiseand, more specifically, for the first three to Origins:Affines, Ancestors and Aristocrats(Austin 1998); days of thehexaemeron when the newly created Sacred Landscape and the Early Medieval European Cloister worldwas stilland motionlessand Adam lived 2002). {Anthropos alonein innocenceand in fullunion with his God (Leach 1969; Helms2002). In contrast,the office In earlymedieval Western Europe, cenobitic mon- of nocturns(sometimes called vigils),2by farthe asteries1were verydistinctive features of both townand countryside.Sheltered within the walls 1 A cenobiumwas a formof monasticcommunity in which of thesereligious communities, separated both lo- a master and disciples lived in a close village-like or cationallyand by vocationalintent from the mun- communal setting. It contrastswith a laura in which dane life outsidethe thousandsof small cells of individual disciples were scatteredabout earthly gates, in to a centralnucleus menand womendedicated their lives to the countryside general proximity praiseful containgan oratoryand a few otherbuildings. worshipof and communicationwith the divine. 2 The term"nocturns" is used throughoutthis essay to refer The monasticenvironment in whichthey lived to the main night office, although this service is also shapedand facilitatedthis religious labor with ar- sometimescalled by some authors"matins" or "vigils." chitecturalfeatures that encoded basic However,I shall followthe practice of usingmatins to refer cosmologi- to the office nocturns.Authors who use in thevarious morning following cal andtheological precepts special matinsinstead of nocturnsin referenceto the nightoffice purposespaces and places of whichthe monas- (in effectidentifying it as a very,very early morning office) terywas composed(Gilchrist 1989; Helms2002) termthe regularmorning office "lauds."

This content downloaded from 152.13.249.96 on Mon, 29 Jul 2013 13:48:56 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 178 MaryW.Helms longestand most important of the"daily" liturgical men7who acceptedthe demanding ascetical mo- services3and the officethat was chantedin the nasticlife and who,of all Christians,were most depthsof everynight in a virtuallyunlit, pitch deeplyand intenselycommitted to a theologyand black church,manifested darkness. It can be es- cosmologythat emphasized light as a supreme sentiallyunderstood as connectingthe monks with metaphysicaland theologicalconcept, actually the primordialand pre-creationaldark that both heldtheir longest hours of prayerand meditation precededand accompanied the original creation of in thedark of night.8 the worldas describedin Genesisand withthe To be sure,resolution of the paradoxwould powerof the numinous4 that was feltto be present seem to be readilyat hand,given that the night in itsinfinite depths. officewas closelyfollowed by anotherbrief ser- It is the intentof thisessay to exploresome vice (matins,sometimes called lauds; see note aspectsof themonastic life of thenight and the 2), thatcelebrated the coming of thedawn. Thus darkin late Antiquityand theWestern European nocturnscan be easilyunderstood as essentially earlyMiddle Ages.5 To be sure,various com- anticipatory:"rising during the night and watching mentatorsof earlymonastic life have, moreor beforedawn expresses the will to purifyoneself, less in passing,voiced recognition of thefunda- the desire for Christ,and the awaitingof the mentalimportance of nightprayers and of the day" (De Vogüé1983: 183). Yet,in termsof time officeof nocturnsto themonastic vocation,6 but and energyexpended and in termsof devotional detailedscholarly discussions of earlymonastic intensity,it was notthe heralding of thedawn or lifetypically emphasize the activities of the day as of theday, not matins or laudsor anyof theother muchor morethan those of thenight and deeper officesof the day (see note3), butthe phenomenon ideologicalimplications of an emphasison the of darknessand theliturgy of thenight that had spiritualityofthe night remain largely unexplored. to be concludedbefore dawn (since matins must In vocationalterms, however, the nightseems beginat daybreak;Kardong 1996: 183) thatwas to have informedthe very heart of themonastic by farthe primary devotional experience for the endeavor,the nature of whichI am interestedin community.It can be argued,therefore, that, in investigating.I find it singularly appropriate, there- themonastic perspective, night was morethan a fore,to explicitlydiscuss the nocturnal dimension periodof waitingfor the comingof day and it of earlycommunal monastic life specifically and can be positedthat dark night in its own right directlypartly because it matteredso muchto the held additionaltheological and cosmologicalsig- monksand partlybecause, at firstconsideration, nificance relevant to the ultimate monastic spiritual it would appearto addressa majortheological pursuit.Indeed, within the context of the nocturns- andcosmological paradox underlying early monas- centeredexistence that consumed so muchof their ticismgiven that, for hundreds of years, the devout time and attention,monks can be appropriate- ly thoughtof as essentiallymen of the night 3 The standardBenedictine monastic liturgical offices in- ("darknessis our naturalelement . . ."; Harper cludedthe nightly nocturns and the sevenoffices of the 1968:129). day: matins,prime, terce, sext, none, vespers, and com- pline(Kardong 1996: 169-194). See Bradshaw(1981), Taft (1986) forgeneral discussion of the historical development ofthese various offices. The Dark, theNight, and Creation 4 The numinousrefers to an objectivesense of thepresence of something or somepower that is extraordinary,as of In fundamentalcosmological terms, darkness and thesupernatural or the divine (Otto 1950). can be understoodas with 5 This essay primarilyreferences the period from approx- night sharing light imatelythe 4th century, when desert monasticism began an associationwith the generative first principles to flourish,to the formationof the mendicantorders thatinformed original creation. Indeed, darkness of the early 13thcentury. This era was markedtheo- standseven closerthan light to ultimatecosmo- logicallyand cosmologicallyby a generalemphasis on in that will be discussed absolutefirst logical beginnings (as principlesrecognizing an eternal,God- in moredetail darknessis oftenidenti- created,hierarchically-structured and unchanging universe below) in whichthe significance of all realitywas directlyreferred to sacredbeginnings more than to humanhistory. See 7 Women'scommunities are not includedin thisanalysis. Helms (2002:436-438, especiallyn.4), for suggested Less is knownof themand it appearsthat the spiritual references. environmentfor women's houses was notthe same as it 6 For example,"vigils is the Officemost characteristic of was formen. See Gilchrist(1994) foradditional discussion monks"(Kardong 1996: 169, 210); nocturnsconstituted of thispoint. "theprinciple task of the entire monastic day" (Levi 1987: 8 McEvoy 1979; Pelikan1962; Tatarkiewicz1970:27-35, 177). 140-144,226-230, 233,289; Eco 1986.

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This content downloaded from 152.13.249.96 on Mon, 29 Jul 2013 13:48:56 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Beforethe Dawn 179 fied in lore and legend as one of the condi- verydifferent circumstances for human experienc- tionsthat preceded the formationof the lighted ing. Wherelight emphasizes the outwardforms world.When describing the creationof the uni- andshapes of objects, illuminates their boundaries, verse,many ancient myths (including those of the andexposes the nature of their spatial surfaces and Judeo-Christiantradition and theirpredecessors) appearances,darkness erases formsand shapes, depictan amorphous,undifferentiated, sometimes boundariesand surfacesso that"things" seem to chaoticprimordiality preceding and anticipatingdissolve in the dark,losing their distinctiveness theappearance of a shapedand formed,ordered and identity.Where light can be focusedand has and organizedcosmos (Niditch1985; Van Over a distinctand obvioussource - a lamp,a flare, 1980).The abstractconcept of the amorphous, the the sun, a creatorGod - and thus has edges confused,or theunbounded, however, is typically and limitsof its own, darknessdoes not have presentedin theimagery of disordered,formless, an obviousfocused source but is all-enveloping or seeminglyunlimited elements of the existing and all-consuming.Lacking source, darkness also naturalworld. Thus the condition of the primordial lacksedges and boundaries and thus appears to be may be envisionedas a greatrushing wind, as limitless,with infinite depth and endlessmystery. absolutecalm and silence,as monstrousbattle, as Darknesslurks behind the light. Like silenceand oceandepths (the deep), as unfathomabledarkness, the void,darkness "does away withevery 'this' oras a combinationof such elements, as inGenesis and 'here,'in orderthat 'the whollyother' may 1.1-2: "In the beginningwhen God createdthe become actual" (Otto 1950:70, 220 f.; Zajonc heavensand theearth, the earthwas a formless 1993:2). void and darknesscovered the face of thedeep, Theseinherent contrasts between light and dark whilea windfrom God sweptover the face of the are not as apparentin industrialcultures with waters."9 the technologicalmeans to producestrong and Such imagerydraws upon qualitiesand ob- abundantartificial light so thatday-like light can servedconditions that not only are perceptionallybe extendedand intrudedso farinto the dark as familiarto people but also allow the mythicallyto turnnight into day virtuallyat will. In such remoteera of cosmologicalbeginnings and first societiesthe relationship between night and day, principlesto be eternallypresent in theconstant darkand light,is reversed.Instead of givingway restlessnessof every sea, the power of every wind, each eveningbefore the all-encompassinginevi- or theenveloping impenetrability of the darkness tabilityof thecoming dark and uneasilysensing and silence of everynight as well as in the theadvent of its supernaturalotherness, industrial liturgicalrituals of numerousreligions that have peoples send nightpacking and make physical builtupon themes of darkness,silence, water, and light triumphover naturaldark. Concurrently, thelike.10 This is also to say thatcertain natural thesurface-oriented, here-and-now qualities of the conditions,such as thestillness and darkness of the secularworld of light always seem to predominate night(to focus on those themes especially pertinent and night,instead of beingin its own rightqual- to thisessay), have longbeen perceived as qual- itativelymysterious and uncanny,now is simply itativelycharged circumstances and extraordinaryregarded as thetemporary absence or suspension periodsof timewhen distant spiritual potencies of of lightthat should be gottenthrough as quickly the universedraw nearer and people may reach and insensiblyas possible.In contrast,among outinto the limitless shadows to contactunearthly nonindustrial peoples like thoseof late Antiquity powersand mysteries. and theearly Middle Ages, who could not master This potentialfor direct nocturnal linkage be- and controlthe dark so thoroughly,night carried tweenthe human and the supernatural is temporar- the heavierweight in humanaffairs and clearly ily suspendedwhen day intrudesinto the spatial- constituteda realm of reality,a distinctive"night- temporalqualities of nightto forceattention onto season"as theterm was oftenused in traditional immediatesurroundings and the seemingly urgent, Europe(e. g., Neale and Littledale1976), qualita- thoughshort-lived, here-and-now mundanity of tivelycompletely separate from bright day.11 ordinarydaily activities and cares. In otherwords, (day)lightand (night)darknessinherently present 11 In manyrespects darkness and the medievalnight were regardedin verynegative terms, being associated with 9 Russell1977: 67; Keel 1978:55; Cassirer1955: 96; Peters death,ghosts, malignant airs, night-witches, sin, heresies, 1911;Picard 1952; Van Over 1980. thedemonic, thieves, murderers, and thelike. Yet it was 10 Levi 1987:21;Le Goff1988: 175; Cassirer1955:97; Otto a timefor more positive family visits, social events,and 1950:68-70. partying,too. Nightalso providedthe deep silencethat

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Night,the Dark, and Early Monasticism and thebetrayal in Gethsemane,the crucifixion, theresurrection.17 For monks,who, by definition,renounced the su- For early Christians,the Parousiawas also perficialthings of the secular world of the day, the expectedto occur in dark of night(Matthew spiritualside of nightheld a particularattraction. 24.29,42-14, 25.1-13; Taft 1997:34, 35). This Nightprovided deep silenceand quietudewhen anticipationmay providepartial explanation for one's thoughtscould be morereadily drawn to thefact that regular nightly devotions were a basic supernaturalmysteries. ("Meditation during the and verydistinctive part of earlyChristian prac- day is, of course,good; but that at nightis better tice.18Writings by variousearly Church fathers . . . withworldly occupations put aside andthe at- (Tertullian,Cyprian, Hippolytus, Clement of Alex- tentionundivided, the whole man, at night,stands andria,Origen) emphasize the propriety ofrising at in the divine presence";Niceta of Remesiana nightto prayand refer to assembliesheld at night 1949:63). 12 Therefore, dark night was the most (Bradshaw1981: 48 f., 51, 54; Taft1986: 18-24; compellingtime to formallyacclaim in communal Jungmann1959: 100) and commentaryby pagan ritual(as well as in privateprayer) the presence observersindicates that it was commonknowledge andthe power of God.13 thatthe chief Christian services were held at night In so doing,monks were continuinga very ("Theyare a skulkingbreed, they shun the light distinctiveattribute of earlyChristianity that, to a of day";Minucius, quoted in Dodds 1965:111; see lesserextent, is reflectedin earlierJudaic religious also Cabaniss1970: 32 f.).All in all,the emphasis texts and traditions,too. For example,major on thespiritual value of thenight in theopening Old Testamentfigures encountered God in the centuriesof Christianitywas such thatGuiver dark14and theJewish celebration of thePassover speaksof it as a veritable"preoccupation" with meal began aftersunset, as nightdarkened, in thedark (1988: 51 f.). commemorationof how (afternumerous trials, The earlyChristian emphasis on the nightas some of whichalso involvedthe night) Pharaoh theproper time for religious expression continued allowedMoses to lead thechildren of Israelout as a verycharacteristic, indeed definitive, aspect of Egyptat night.15The chaos of the final"day of theascetic monasticism that developed in the of the Lord" foretoldby the prophetswas also fourthand fifth centuries in Egypt,Palestine, Syr- to be accompaniedby the darkeningof the sun, ia, and Cappadocia(Salmon 1967:918; Guiver moon,and stars (Niditch 1985: 72-73). In theNew 1988:51 f.), althoughnight prayers now declined Testament,the major transitional events of Jesus' in nonmonasticecclesiastical settings which came lifeoccur in thedark: the nativity,16 the visit of the insteadto emphasizedaily morning and evening Magi,the flight into Egypt, the miracle of walking prayersalong with a fairlyshort weekly vigil from on the water,the transfiguration,the last supper cockcrowto dawn on Sundaymornings (Bradshaw 1981:chap. 4; Taft1986: chap. 3). Fourth-century monks,however, focused explicitly on thenight as encouragedmeditation and prayerful union with the divine. thebest time for prayers and especially psalmody. See Wolkomirand Wolkomir(2001), Ekirch(2001), and Therewas considerable in actual Verdón(2002) for general introductions tothe nonindustrial flexibility prac- Europeannight. tice but typically(and in brief)Egyptian desert The factthat the length of thehour varied seasonally hermitsspent most of, if not the entire,night in day and in night,as each was dividedinto 12 parts standingin personal whilemore basedon durationof andof vigil organized daylight darkness,respectively, cenobitic communities (such as thoseformed in encouragedand reflectedthe separation between the two. Day andnight do notbecome one unituntil after the 13th UpperEgypt by Pachomius)preferred that pri- centuryinvention of the mechanical clock with escapement vate nightwatches be followedby a communal mechanismand theidea of theuniform hour (Dohrn-van officeat dawn; alternatively,(in lower Egypt) Rossum 1996). prayermight begin at cockcrowand end at dawn. 12 See also Picard 1952:134 f.; Taft 1997:263; Chitty At the end of the and 1966:26; Mulcahy1938: 26, 31. day evening earlynight 13 Russell1977: 139, 152, 154; Le Goff1984: 178; Warner prayerswere observed,followed by a periodof 1976:106; Benko 1993: 65, 75, 214. restbefore rising again to prayin the dark.In 14 hor example,God wrestledwith Jacob at theriver ford (Genesis32.22-30) andtried to kill Moses at night (Exodus 4.24). See Russell(1977: 180). 17 See thevarious Gospel accounts of theseevents. Guiver 15 Deuteronomy16.6; Exodus 10.21-23, 12.8, 29 f., 42, (1988:220 f.) presentsan extensivelist of New Testament 14.20f.; see also Chupungco(1977: 16f., 56, 73, 81-84). referencesto night. 16 Liturgicallycelebrated on thedarkest day of thesolar year 18 See discussionby Jungmann 1962: 1 1 1; Cabaniss1970: 34 f.; (Rahner1963: 164; Quenot1997: 129). Bradshaw1981:21, 37-39, 57 f.;Taft 1986: chap. 1.

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Near Easternmonastic communities, heavily in- mankind.The monk must somehow regain the per- fluencedby Egyptianpractices, night prayers in fectionof his first creation . . ." (Marx1946: 9, 75). some cases beganat midnight,in othercases at This fundamentalprinciple underlay the monks' cockcrow.19Regardless of particulars,night after effortsto approximatethe incessantprayer that nightof prayerfulwakefulness and psalmody was ideallywould keep theirsouls constantlyunited recognizedas a physicallygrueling regimen but withGod (Marx 1946:9, 29), whilethe necessary one of unquestionablespiritual value: "when they purityof heartwas to be furtherachieved by singwith the angels - forangels, too, are singing - rigorousasceticism, including sleepless watching 'Praisethe Lord from the heavens' . . . Thinkwhat at night.Monks were also persuadedthat God was it was forthem to spendthe whole night in this nearerin thebeauty and unsulliednature of the employment"(John Chrysostom, quoted in Taft stilldesert "where the air is purer,the sky is more 1986:81; see also Cassian 1991:210; Bradshaw open,and God is closer"(Binns 1991: xiii; Marx 1981:97). 1946:73). Giventhe emphasis accorded to night In additionto the single-minded focus on prayer prayers,however, it wouldfurther appear that not and praise,lengthy night devotions provided a onlythe open sky of thestill desert but especially particularlyfocused and intensiveexpression of thedesert's clear and opennight, when darkness, the New Testamentadmonition to praywithout obliteratingearthly things, brought the supernat- ceasing(1 Thessalonians5.17) thatconstituted part ural even closer and prayerwas most intense, of the ideal monasticlife ("the wakefulmonk providedthe optimal conditions for this outreach toilsnight and day to praycontinually . . ." [Abba to theperfection of thebeginning. Consequently, Hyperichus,quoted in Chadwick1958:46, no. itis understandablewhy, though early Christianity 17; see also Timko1990: 105-107, 115, 118f.]). initiallydeveloped the "preoccupation"with the Prayingat night,instead of sleeping,also ob- night,it was fourth-centurydesert monks who, viouslyexpressed with particular forcefulness and recognizingthat there is a sensein whichdarkness claritythe eschatologicalnecessity of watching has moreof God thanlight has, especiallycame forthe comingof Christand of asserting"life" to "specialize"in it (Guiver1988: 51 f.; see also throughconstant wakefulness so thatthe dark and Robertsonin Otto1950: 20 f.). its attendantsleep-cum-death did not ultimately triumph(Clement of Alexandriain Taft1986: 15; Chupungco1977: 93). Combatingthe dark through The NightOffice in WesternEurope wakefulnesswas also an essentialpart of thecon- stantvigilance against the ubiquitous demons that, Monasticismwas introducedto Italyand thence amongtheir many other temptations, urged sleep to Gaul duringthe fourth and fifthcenturies and withits troublingdreams on fatiguedmonks or a diversityof typesof monasticestablishments triedto thwartprayerful concentration by forcing quicklyarose (Rousseau 1978: 79-91).20 Although themto yawn or presentingtantalizing images the various communityfounders individually of food or women(Valantasis 1992: 66 f.; Taft adoptedand adapteddirectives for community 1986:67). life as each saw fit (De Vogüé 1977), for all Furthermore,and of greatsignificance it would the nightcontinued to offerthe greatestshelter appear,the night was theoptimal period of time for and nourishmentfor spirituallife. The general desertmonks to reach toward unity with the creator nocturnaltrend that can be discernedduring this God of Genesis.In his discussionof Athanasius' period of WesternEuropean monastic "mixed "Lifeof Antony,"Marx states that, because God rule,"as it is sometimescalled, was an increasing createdsouls to be virtuous,the condition of moral formalizationand ritualizationof the communal renewaland perfectionthat monks sought was vocal worshipconducted at night(as well as "equivalentto abidingand persisting in thecondi- periodicallyduring the day) (Dunn 2000:94). tionof creation." "Hence the goal of asceticlife is As partof thisprocess, the fifth-century"Ordo in somemanner identified with the original state of

20 Theseincluded laura-like communities (see note1), ceno- bitichouses, urban monastic communities at holyshrines 19 Lives of theDesert Fathers 1980:22, 71, 77, 107, 115; and basilicas,and small,informal, often ephemeral com- Rousseau1985: 78 f. and n.4, 86n.50; Taft1982: 521 f., munitiesthat arose among the well-to-doon private 524 and 1986:80-82, 87; Burton-Christie1993: 117 f.; estates(Dunn 2000:82-84, 91; Rousseau1978: 152-160; Bradshaw1981: 95 f.,99, 101-105;Chitty 1966:26; Marx O'Sullivan1965:32-46; Desprez 1990: 109-112; Percival 1946:77; Williams1985: 86-90. 1997).

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This content downloaded from 152.13.249.96 on Mon, 29 Jul 2013 13:48:56 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 182 MaryW. Helms monasterii,"21Cassian's "Institutes"(1991, espe- eachnight in summerand 99 in winter(Bradshaw ciallyBook II), also fifthcentury, and thedirec- 1981:133-134). As Tafthas notedin general, tivesoffered in thesixth century by Caesariusof thesepractices added up to "a staggeringnight Ariesand his successor,Aurelian22 as well as the pensum"(1986: 110) and,as Columbanushimself Irish-Celticsixth-century "Regula monarchorum" recognized (Dunn 2000: 154f.), to a generalstate of Columbanus(Curran 1984, esp. chap.22) also for monksof more or less constantfatigue in describeseasonal variations in nightobservances which,as Jeromesuccintly summarized a century (notan Easterntradition) to accomodatethe differ- or so earlier,"you will go to bed exhaustedand inglengths of day and night in summerand winter youwill sleep while you are walking. After insuf- and indicatethe far greater length of nocturnsat ficientsleep you will have to arise. . ." (Quotedin anyseason compared with the always much shorter Desprez 1990:105; see also Kardong1996: 170; dayoffices. Bradshaw1981:134). A generalsense of the exceptionalemphasis Fortunatelyfor monks, the length of thenight accordednocturns and of thelength of thatoffice officewas significantlymoderated in the sixth- accordingto seasonand relative to theshorter of- centuryRule of St. Benedict,a morecompassion- ficescan be obtainedby simplynoting the number ate and humanedirective destined to eventually of psalmsrequired of each,for psalmody was at constitutethe standard for cenobitic monastic life theheart of everyoffice.23 Thus, for example, the in the earlyMiddle Ages and beyond.Because Ordostipulates that 18 psalmsbe sungeach night it containsgreater programmatic completeness, in winterand 12 in summerbut thatonly three Benedict'srule also indicateshow otherareas of psalmsare required for each of the "little hours" of monasticlife were directly related to, or influenced theday (terce,sext, none).24 Under Caesarius the by, the conductof nocturnsand thusprovides littlehours each containedsix psalmsand under us with a fullerpicture of the overallimpact Aureliantheir number was raisedto 12, butnoc- of nocturnson monasticlife. Concerning,first turnswas longerstill, containing 36 psalmseach of all, lengthof office,Benedict stipulates that nightin winterand 18 in summer.25Continuing nocturnsin both winterand summerwas to to elaboratethe nocturnalprocess, Columbanus includea modestnightly total of 12 psalmsplus stipulatedthree separate offices each nightwith Psalms3 and 94, alongwith a hymnand several psalmodythat added up to a grandtotal of 48 readings,the numberof which varied slightly psalms on each summerweeknight and 60 on betweenthe seasons. However, as usual,nocturns each winterweeknight while, for Saturdayand was lengthenedyear-round with additional lessons Sundayvigils, the numbersrose to 60 psalms and canticlesfor the weekly Saturdaynight- Sundaymorning vigil, thougheven thensome rest was 1996:169- 21 Regulationsfor a Monastery;Lawless 1987:75-77,167- always granted(Kardong 171;Taft 1986:94-96; Bradshaw 1981: 124-126. 183).26Though it is difficultto reconstructin 22 Taft1986: 101, 105-109; Bradshaw 1981: 127-133; Curran detailthe clock time spent in nocturns,27Kardong 1984:180 f. suggests(1996: 170, 178) thatBenedict's own 23 Psalms were apportionedamong the day officesand not far from in winter nocturnsin various In earlierrules the monks,living Rome, ways. psalmswere went to bed about 7 and arose simplysung in orderbeginning with prime on Sunday. probably pm Thus,in the courseof the week,prime was to include about2 am to beginnocturns (i. e., at the"eighth Psalms 1-19; nocturns,Psalms 20-108; vespers,Psalms hour"[solar time] stipulated in theRule) whilein 109-117and 128-147;the little hours of theday, Psalms midsummerthe of restwould have been 118-127 are short In thestandard period (these particularly psalms). shorter,from about 9 to 2 or 3 am BenedictineRule (see below) a few specificpsalms are pm (sundown) specifiedfor particular offices, e. g.,portions of Psalm118 (compareKnowles 1969: 213). forthe little hours on Sunday.Otherwise most psalms are to be sungin order with intent that the entire Psalter be recited 26 See also the descriptionof the officesin the "Regula each week(Kardong 1996: 197-201; see also McKinnon Magistri"(Rule of the Master; Eberle 1977), another sixth- 1999;Dyer 1999). centuryrule thoughtto be closelyassociated with that 24 Taft1986: 94-96; Bradshaw 1981: 124-126. When Cassian writtenby Benedict(Dunn 2000:182 f.; Taft1986: 122- institutedthe serviceof lauds at sunriseto preventhis 125; Bradshaw1981:140). monksfrom going back to bed and harmfulsleep after 27 Time is indicatedin textsin verygeneral terms (e. g., nocturnsand matinsit, too,contained only three psalms "about"midnight, at sunrise,etc.) and hourswere not of (Stewart1998:74; Taft 1986:96-100). Thoughall the equal lengthsince seasonal reckoning of timeaccorded 1 2 officesfocused primarily on psalms,they also included hourseach to day and to nightregardless of variations variousscriptural readings and somehymns. in lengthof lightand dark.In addition,each monastery 25 Bradshaw1981: 128, 130; Taft1986: 101, 106; McCarthy exercisedsome degree of flexibilityin shiftingthe time of 1960:72. thehours.

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Benedictinemonks slept in a commonroom in hindranceto thecareful observance of thenight whicha candleburned all night.They slept fully officein theearly Middle Ages, but in at leastone clothed,both for modesty and to facilitatea quick importantrespect the absence of such may actually and readyrising for nocturns, the beginningof have helped to heightenthe cosmologicaland their"day."28 Benedict is explicitabout the impor- spiritualsignificance of the experience. Discussing tanceof promptreadiness to undertakethe night howconcepts of timeand eternity are constructed vigiland Kardong emphasizes that such nocturnal in ritual,Rappaport (1986) commentsthat the punctualityin risingcan be understoodas consti- detailedmechanical calculation and numbering tutingan importantact of monasticfaith.29 (This of time (as in equal hours,minutes, seconds) pointcan be especiallyappreciated if one thinks overwhelmsand ultimately defeats the sense of the of the rigorsof risingat nightin a dimlylit eternal(1986: 22). Conversely,the absence of such and unheateddormitory in winter,with intent to detailedcalculations would imply that, in theearly spenda numberof hoursin an equallycold, dark, MiddleAges, the very indeterminancy oftemporal and dampchurch, in morenortherly portions of reckoningat night,combined with the need for Europeand in England.See Crossley'sevocative heavyreliance on "God-created"conditions, such description[1936: 28]). Beforerising, however, as thestars, for calculating a pointin time,would monkswould have to be awakenedat the ap- have explicitlydeepened an appreciationof the propriatehour, not an easy featsince they lived eternal. in a worldlacking constant length of hours(see Astronomicalobservations occasioned by noc- note27) andalarm clocks. Thus the issue of early turnswould also have encouragedcontemplation medievaltimekeeping, specifically the problem of of the orderlinessof the universeas evidenced howto identifya particular point in time,becomes in the "order,peace, and harmonyof the starry associatedwith the monastic night office. nightsky", the constellations,and thephases of Earlymonastic rules say littleabout how time the moon (Spitzer1963:112, 153n.24) and by was determined,though the Rule of the Master extensionmay have further enhanced the sense of (see note26) notesthat pairs of monks took turns, thepresence of thespiritual other that infused the in weeklyshifts, trying to stayawake whilethe conductof nocturns when the monks, assembled in othersslept in orderto awakenthe abbot on time theirown organizational order as evidencedin the (Eberle1977: 193). Severalpossibilities for deter- strictand unvaryingposition accorded to each in miningthat time are likely, however, including the thechurch choir,31 sought with structured chant to use of calibratedcandles or lampsof oil, whose emulateand participatein theeverlasting cosmic consumptionrate indicated passage of a known orderand harmonyof theangelic heavenly court. periodof time,the recitation of a certainnumber In short,monastic nocturnal time-reckoning, far ofpsalms, possibly the use ofa waterclock(though fromconstituting a déterrant to propermonastic it wouldfreeze in winter)and, especially, weather experiences,would have heralded the conjunction permitting,observation of the stars,the method betweenthe ordered monastic world, the ordered advocatedby Cassianand evidencedby thecon- physicaluniverse, and the ordered cosmic eternity siderablemonastic attention given to thefeatures thatmonastic liturgy in generaland nocturns most of thenight sky throughout the changing seasons of all soughtto defineand effect. of theyear.30 It mayseem to us thatthe absence of definitivetime pieces would have constituted a

31 The brotherssat in choirin an invariantorder according 28 Kardong1996:224-230; De Vogüé 1983:181; see also to theirindividual rank in thecommunity as determined Eberle1977: 147 f., 190-194,203, 240, 246. primarilyby dateof entrybut also by qualityof religious 29 Kardong1996: 228 f.; Bauer1987:99; Symons 1953: 11 f. lifeand by theabbot's decision (Kardong 1996:515-517, 30 McCluskey1998: 100, 106, 110-112; Constable 1975: 4 f.; 519,523-525). Within that order, in choirjunior members Bauer 1987:102; Le Goff1988: 176; North1975; Stock of the communityand novicessat in the frontrows, 1988. This markedinterest is illustratedmost notably seniormembers in thesecond or back rows.These rows by Gregoryof Tours'sixth-century "De cursustellarum" constitutedtwo parallel ranges of seatsfacing each other (McCluskey1998: 101, 104-110),which includes discus- acrossan open centralarea wherea largelectern stood sion of theconstellations as timeregulators, and by the to supportbooks and wherethe precentor or chiefsinger 11th-centurystar timetable, the horologium stellare monas- directedthe conduct of the chant that the brothers knew by ticum(Constable 1975), which notes the exact positions of memory.For furtherdetails see, amongothers, Kardong constellationsrelative to variousmonastic buildings when 1996:171 f., 175, 134f., 415; Guiver 1988:96; Eberle observedfrom a fixedpoint on thegrounds of a monastery 1977:18; Harper 1991: 36-38; Anson 1949: 187-189; Cook probablylocated in north-centralFrance. 1961:81-84;Dickinson 1961: 17-22.

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Darkness,Genesis, and the Harrowingof Hell and eternaltimelessness, Isidore of Seville, in the seventhcentury, explicitly characterized the The darknessthat the community encountered in deep of nightas a timefree of all movement thenocturnal church passed effortlessly beyond the and thuscorresponding, in a sense,to an absence wallsto blendinto the primordial darkness of the of earthlytime (Verdón 2002: 1). This unearthly universethat extended beyond. More specifically, stillness and quiet also madenight itself the perfect to connectthe darknessof the early medieval timefor the products of creationto seek contact abbeychurch at nightwith the elemental darkness withtheir maker. As Hippolytus,writing in the of the universeis to connectthe abbey night thirdcentury, explained, it is importantto pray withGenesis and with absolute,first principle at midnightbecause "at thathour all creation cosmologicalorigins as expressedin the nature is stillfor a moment,to praisethe Lord; stars, of darkness.In the openingchapter of Genesis trees,waters stop for an instantand all thehost this darknessis presentedor impliedin three of angels(which) ministers to him praisesGod separatecontexts: as a basic conditionof the with the souls of the righteousin this hour" uncreated,amorphous, primordial universe; as (quotedin Bradshaw1981:54; see also Joneset the preconditionfrom within which the cosmic al. 1992:87 f.). In like manner,the calm and the creationwill emerge;and as indicativeof the quietof the night, "this most holy time of day, the qualitiesof thebeginnings of creationitself. hourswhen peace dothall embrace,"34the time As was indicatedearlier in thisessay, primeval when "silenceand quiet are [offered]to us by darknessas a fundamentalcondition of the un- thenight itself (Nicetaof Remesiana1949: 65), createduniverse is repeatedlyreferenced in the recommendedthe nocturnalhours as particu- Old Testament.32Primordial dark as creational larlysuitable for monastic devotions, "for we the preconditionis suggestedby theJudeo-Christian couch all promptlyleave at quiettime of nightto interpretationof such darknessas the dwelling pray."35 place of thecreative God (Chupungco1977: 82) The variousearly medievalmonastic rules, and by theimplication that the Godly darkness is and especiallyBenedict's detailed description of prescientlyanticipatory of creativepower, that is, the properconduct of the opus Dei (Workof withoutdarkness light cannot appear.33 Primordial God),36clearly indicate that duringthe early darkas expressiveof the qualities of the beginning MiddleAges the office of nocturns heightened this of creationitself involves the formation, differen- traditional nocturnal spiritual exercise by formally tiation,and identificationof "night"and "day" ritualizingthe relationship between the monks and (Genesis1.4 f.) whichsubjects the great darkness thenight, shaping, ordering, and transformingthe itselfto thecreational process and accords it a de- experiencingof primordialdarkness with commu- finedand limited or contained place in that creation nal liturgy.In so doing,nocturns as ritualbecame as thenewly named "night" (Ladner 1995: 68, 69; itselfa creationalact that,by deliberatelyand Chupungco1977: 47). Darknessthereby becomes formallysacralizing the timeof night,validated furtherassociated with the characteristicsof the a specific"mythic" identity or "essence"(Cassirer verybeginning of thehexaemeron when the earth 1955:89) forthe darkness and broughtit closer, was "perfect"and "ideal"in itsstillness and in its so to speak,to theassembled choir where it could unitywith heaven (Leach 1969). be integratedinto the pattern of prayer,readings, As attributesof darknessas well as of eternity and silentmeditation and theverbal and musical and of paradise,perfection, stillness, and related structureinherent in the psalmic chant.37 Nocturns, qualitiessuch as timelessnessand immutabilityas the lengthiestformal communal office of the have been expressedin variousways. Regard- monasticopus Dei, therebywent beyond individ- ing darknessand perfection,Benko capturesthe thoughtindirectly when he characterizescondi- tionsin the beforecreation 34 Fromthe hymn "Primo Die Quo Trinitas"by Gregorythe verybeginning, right in "when'the ofGod was overthe face Great, Mulcahy(1938: 6). Spirit moving 35 rromthe hymn lu, TnnitatisUnitas attributed toGregory of the waters'"(Genesis 1.2), as "theunspoiled theGreat, in Mulcahy(1938: 26, 31). stateof creation" (1993: 10f.). Regarding stillness 36 See specificsand inteipretationalcommentary in Kardong (1996);also Eberle (1977) regarding the Rule of the Master. 37 Rappaport(1986) discusseshow ritual structures space and 32 Forexample, Genesis 1.1-4; Job 26.10; 38.9; see also May especiallytime. Limits on lengthprevent a moredetailed 1939;Peters 191 1:51 f.; Niditch1985: 72 f. discussionof the application of his ideas to earlymedieval 33 Forrester-Brown1974:34, 32; May 1939:207; Ladner monasticoffices here, but the exerciseis veryinforma- 1995:66. tive.

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This content downloaded from 152.13.249.96 on Mon, 29 Jul 2013 13:48:56 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Beforethe Dawn 185 ual privateprayer and eventhe ideal of ceaseless the sacredcave (Heyden 1987; Weinberg1986), prayerto informthe experience of thenuminous furtherexpressed in thecrypt, a standardfeature thatorganized cenobitic monasticism sought to of earlymedieval churches that was often(though achieve. not always) constructedas a semisubterranean Since the ritualof nocturnswas held each vaultin close proximityto the altarand to the and everynight, the monks regularly experienced monks'choir (Crook 2000). The cryptenclosed themystery of thedivine darkness and, in addi- remainsof saintsor otherholy personagesand tion,just as regularlyanticipated the archetypical part of the spiritualservice rendered by monks processof the firstcreation, the verybeginning in choirinvolved the watchthat they kept over of lightand life,that was replayedeach dawn theseearthly relics (Jungmann 1959:281; Dunn withthe adventof the day. Withinthe broader 2000:91; Wallace-Hadrill1983: 61). contextof Christianliturgy and theology,this Perhapsthe ultimatemedieval identification cosmicevent was also replayedand celebratedin accordedthe sacred cave, however,was as a theophanicform in Christ's death and resurrection. powerful otherworldly place relatedto theland of Thesesecond-creational Christological events can thedead (Russell 1984:144, 224 and 1977:62 n. be transferredto the nocturnalmonastic setting 12) and perhapsthe most popular early Christian to provideanother dimension for the realization andmedieval image of salvation (also incorporated of thepower and mysteryof themonastic dark. intothe Apostle's Creed) is thelegend known as To do so, however,we mustconsider nocturns in the"Harrowing of Hell"38in which,on HolySat- conjunctionwith its two shortbracketing offices urday,between his deathand resurrection,Christ of compline(at dusk) and matins(at dawn). A (like the sun crossingthe dark regionbeneath seriesof tropescan be associatedwith this trio of the earth;Rees 1992:80) descendsinto the vast night-relatedoffices such that compline : nocturns darknessof the cavernousunderworld to break : matins:: thesetting sun : thenocturnal journey openthe gates of hell, flood it with salvational light of thesun : theemergence of light:: thedeath of (an obviousparallel with the original creation in Christ: Christ'srest in thegrave and descent into Genesis;cf. Quenot1997:80) and, defeatingthe thenetherworld of the dead : theresurrection :: devil,release the souls imprisonedthere (Mac- Good Friday: HolySaturday : Easter Sunday (cf. Culloch 1930). There is muchin thesethemes Rahner1963: 112-114, 117; Chazelle2001: 28 f.; to engagemonastic sensibilities, for the monastic see Table1). vocationwas itselfa kindof liminaldeath, closed to secularearthly life but still awaitingrelease included Table1: Night-RelatedOffices and Tropes intoeternal salvation; the monastic goal prevailingover soul-destroying demonic lures and Compline Nocturns Matins temptations;and the longesthours of monastic when monkswere most monkish, of liturgy, truly Settingsun Nocturnaljourney Emergence wereserved at in a dark,cavernous church of sun light night in close to a restin Resurrection proximity crypt-tomb.39 Deathof Christ Christ's Consideredin this context,therefore, the thegrave and descentinto hell lengthyhours of nocturnsregularly experienced on each can be understoodthemselves GoodFriday HolySaturday EasterSunday weeknight as recalling,in a restrainedfashion, Christ's rest in the darksilence of the tomband the descent Withinthese relational chains, night and noc- to the underworldof the dead40while the more turnsare associatedwith the absence of thesun, extendedweekly vigil on Saturdaynight - Sunday Christ'srest in the quiet of the tomband de- morningbespoke more fullyand intenselythe scentinto hell, and Holy Saturday;themes that relatethe monastic darkness to death-like earthly the ofNicodemus. and the void or 38 See 3rd-4th-centuryApocryphal Gospel extinction pre-salvational abyss 39 It couldbe saidor earlymedieval monks garnered togetner thatawaits the (re)emergenceof life and light. in theabbey church (as in a kindof otherworldlysacred Variouslate Antique and early medieval monastic cave),as ofthe desert anchorites, their vocational forebears themesand practices can be relatedto thesetropes whooften utilized caves as shelters,tombs, and oratories, considerationof the that"in thecave thehermits died with Christ to theworld; (see also below),including as Christin Hades enclosed herethey fought demons, vanquished physicalatmosphere of the dark abbey thedevil . . . herethey were reborn; here they tasted the churchand choirwithin the context and imagery fruitsof paradise"(Williams 1962: 38). of the tomb and its close conceptualrelative, 40 McNamara2000: 362; Taft1997: 263; Clement1993: 192.

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Christologicalpower and mysteryof thedark as sinsof the flesh.42 It is notsurprising, therefore, to it mirroredthe ultimateliturgical experience of finda steadystream of commentsin themonastic theholiest cosmological night of all - thegreat literatureregarding fatigue and the constant burden paschal vigil commemoratingin Christologicalof enduringinsufficient sleep (and food), even termsthe archetypical sacred night "which dispels thoughsome rules, most notably Benedict's, urged theprimoridal darkness, brings everything back to moderationalong these lines.43 light,form and order,and transformsthe chaos The correlationsthat early monasticfathers of sin ... intothe cosmos of divinegrace . . . the positedbetween limited sleep, fasting,and re- secondcreation [which] like the first, commenced ducedphysical drives and passions may have been on thenight between Saturday and Sunday,when accuratelyobserved (Dunn 2000: 16f.; Stewart God createdthe worldand Christrose fromthe 1998:72). Experimentaland clinicalstudies have tomb"(Gregory of Nazianzus,quoted in Chu- shownthat sleep deprivation (analogous to monas- pungco1977: 84; De Puniet1939: 175). tic vigils)and fastingmay result in a significant Confidentthat this greatestof all nocturnal degreeof drivereduction by (possibly)directly mysterieswould be repeatedin the Parousia, or indirectlyenhancing the activity of endogenous monksawaited in theirown version of thesacred opioidsin thebody (Bushell 1995).44 Heightened dark, sharingtheir nightly liturgical lives not opioid activityalso enhancestranquility and a only with attendingheavenly angels but also sense of euphoria,properties associated by mo- withthe entombed whose still and silentspiritual nasticfathers with the deepest form of prayerin "presence"enhanced the stillnessand silenceof whicha senseof God's immediatepresence might thenuminous atmosphere. Indeed, during the ninth be obtained.Research into sensorydeprivation centuryand thereafter, the office of nocturns came (as would have obtainedduring nocturns in a tobe accompaniedby a liturgicaloffice of the dead darkchurch) and rhythmicauditory stimulation thatwas conductedin conjunctionwith nocturns (such as sustainedchanting) has also revealed proper,one of the manyactivities emphasizing drive reductionsand, presumably,increases in theclose association felt between monks and those opioidactivity that would be conduciveto altered whohad died "good" deaths before them (Knowles awareness(especially when added to variousself- 1933; Paxton 1990:134-136; Bloch and Parry mortificationpractices). 1982:15 f.). Consideredoverall, Bushell suggests that, by enhancingendogenous opioids, the practice of a fullascetical and meditational program (such as he Sleep Deprivationand theExperience studiedamong contemporary Ethiopian Christian of theNuminous ascetics)may lead to a reductionof drives and their replacementwith euphoric states of bliss.45 Within Whenthe monasticbrothers conducted nocturns the contextof earlymedieval monasticism, it is andthe related office of thedead they,like Christ easy to understandthat, from the point of view on Holy Saturday,strove to defeatthe sleep of of asceticism,regular nightly participation in the deathas theystrove to shapeand control the dark lengthyoffice of nocturnsin the close to total (Chupungco1977: 92 f.). One way to attainthis was to remainawake goal especiallyat night, 42 De Vogüé1983: 182, 231-234; Peifer 1966: 456 f.; Lives of normallythe proper time for physical sleep, and theDesert Fathers 1980: 22 f.; St. Maximusthe Confessor to abstainfrom sleep as muchas possibleat any 1955:162, 176; Valantasis1992: 72, 54, 55. othertime. On a broaderplane, sleeplessness was 43 See also Cassian 1991:chap. 17, 316, 406. For example, of the of asceticism "Let [themonk] come weary and as ifsleep-walking tohis part generalpattern practiced bed,and let him be forcedto risewhile his sleep is notyet by monkswho also soughta returnto an original finished"(Columbanus, quoted in Lawrence 1989: 45); "our Adamicstate of ideal innocenceand humanpu- foodis scanty,. . . oursleep often upon our book. Under rity.From the earliest days of monasticismsleep- ourlimbs there is buta hardmat; when sleep is sweetest, lessnesswas the ascetic since we mustrise at a bell's bidding. . ." (Ailredin Knowles ideal,41 watching, 1969: see also with was to 90); Jerome,quoted above. together fasting, thought help purify 44 The bodymanufactures various opiate-like peptides known the heartby encouragingthe will to overcome as endogenousopioids. Through actions both within the eviland, by generally weakening the body, taming centralnervous system and in peripheralareas outside the concupiscence,thereby helping greatly to destroy CNS theopioids influence numerous bodily functions and exertprofound effects on moodand motivation.See, for example,papers in Almeidaand Shippenberg (1991). 41 "An hour'ssleep is enoughfor a monk:that is, if he is a 45 Bushell1995: 560 f.; see also Appenzeller1987:476-478; fighter"(Abba Arsenius, quoted in Chadwick1958: 49). Winkelman1997: 397-402.

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This content downloaded from 152.13.249.96 on Mon, 29 Jul 2013 13:48:56 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Beforethe Dawn 187 darkness01 a cave-likechurch while coping with followingnoctums and matins, as somerules per- limitedsleep and permanent chronic fatigue would mitted,or a noon siestain summer,as Benedict havebeen regarded as profoundlyspiritually bene- permitted)constituted mainly optional sleep which ficialif theseopioid-enhanced practices not only could be avoidedif the abbotfelt it appropriate facilitatedcelibacy but also enhancedthe sense of formonks to stayawake aftermatins. However, calmand peace attendantupon deep involvementin communitiesgoverned by morerigorous rules, inprayer and heightened the overall awareness of a especiallythose with longernight offices, the supernaturallyimbued atmosphere for the brothers chronicfatigue expressed by monasticcommen- duringthose hours of darknesswhen the qualities tatorsmay have reflected a persistent insufficiency ofnight, which could not be literallyseen, instead of coresleep as well as of optionalsleep. Judging had to be "envisioned"in otherways.46 fromrecent studies, sleep loss in generalwould However,Bushell further explains that, para- have impactedmotivation rather than actual ca- doxically,continued sleep deprivationmay ulti- pacityto performnecessary duties provided sleep matelyalso lead to a sense of increasingenergy was notreduced below a certaincritical point and and the gradualreduction (though not the total if sustainedwakefulness did notexceed 24 hours elimination)of sleepinessand fatigue (1995: 556). (Dingesand Kribbs1991: 118, 119). However,a Althoughearly monksmight well have ques- sleepyperson, such as a monkin choirduring tionedthe point, an explanationmay be at hand noctums,would have fluctuated between alertness if we considerthe contrastsoffered by Home and drowsymicrosleeps as motivationto perform betweentwo modes of sleep,"core" and "option- competedwith pressure for sleep (Dinges and al" (1991: 172-175). Duringa periodof normal Kribbs1991:119). sleep bothessential core sleep, whichrefreshes cerebralfunction, and optionalsleep are active. However,core sleep liftsafter about six hours, Beforethe Dawn leavingonly optional sleep to continue.Compared withcore sleep,optional sleep seemsto be more Nocturnalwakefulness allowed gradual defeat of flexible,even dispensible, for over time it can be sin and facilitatedthe longed-forattainment of reduced(or extended)or eventotally relinquished the innocent Adamic nature as it was beforethe dependingon environmentalfactors (e. g., sense fall;rejection of sleepdefeated the image of death of safety,boredom, seasonal changes in lengthof suchthat watchfulness atnight was correlatedwith days,etc.). Home also notesthat the fatigue caused triumphantlife, specifically with the resurrection. byloss of core sleep is morephysiologically rooted These intertwinedmonastic goals presentearly whilethat caused by loss ofoptional sleep is more medievalmonks both as creaturesof the night who "behavioural"or subjectivein nature.This may rituallyexplored the extraordinarysupernatural explainwhy, after about five days of prolonged realmmanifested by darknessand as watchers sleepdeprivation, a turning point is reachedwhere forthe comingday forwhom the darkwas the the overallfeeling of sleepinesslevels offand setting,the backdrop, for liturgy that anticipated subjectseven show some improvement, suggesting itsannihilation and conquest by the light. Although that,while core sleepinessremains, the needs of thesetwo orientationsare by no meansmutually theoptional sleep process have eased. Home there- exclusive,the former seems to have outweighed foresuggests that, whereas core sleepinesscan thelatter to theextent that exploration of thedark onlybe assuagedby sleep,optional sleepiness can prevailedover conquest by thelight in liturgical be counteractedeither by sleep or by increasing terms,given that the early morningoffice at incentiveto stayawake. daybreak(matins) was farshorter in lengththan Turningto earlymedieval monasticism, it can was noctums,whose immense importance in early be suggestedthat, in a moderateprogram, such medievalmonastic life cannotbe overstated.In as Benedict'sRule provides,the early night sleep otherwords, if thecoming of thelight were the beforenoctums provided for essential core sleep greaterritual goal, one mightexpect the arrival of and whateverlater sleep mightbe allowed(e. g., thedawn and theflowering of day ultimatelyto be accordedthe greaterpraise, whereas, in fact, thedepths of nightseem to have heldthe greater 46 Cassian explicitly recognized that mystical experience fascinationfor the brothers. could occurduring recitation of theoffice (Kirk 1931 : 206 n. Of it is reasonableto desertmonks visions as normal course, quite arguethat, 2). Early regardedpersonal ritualthat and experiencesbut Benedict emphasized spiritualexperience by lengthynight tamed,organized, in the contextof communaloffices instead. sanctifiedthe night, monks facilitated ("created")

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This content downloaded from 152.13.249.96 on Mon, 29 Jul 2013 13:48:56 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 188 MaryW. Helms the arrivalof the dawn; thatit was theirtask in earth'sshadows, liturgical life in the church to preparethe way for lightby personaland choirat nightbespoke both an opennessto the liturgicalentrance into and triumphover the veryfirst creational act and to the pre-Adamic darknessand that the ultimate goal, the coming of dawnmarking the beginning of the beginning (day the(salvational) illumination, essentially spoke for one) and acquaintancewith the infinite primordial itself.Understood in theseterms the early morning and eternaldarkness that held the presenceof dawnwould be theculmination and climax of the theever-existing God of theuniverse. Monks, as laborsof the night office (Levi 1987:20) as, at the imperfectpost- Adamic men, heralded the dawn for beginningof theoriginal creation in Genesis,the bothits Christological and its Edenic promise and originaldawn was theculmination and climaxof wistfullypursued Adam's perfectstate of grace, theprimordial but also anticipatoryprecreational but monks were also pre-Adamicmen who spent dark.That is to say,just as the initialbursting theirmost intense and extensivevocational (opus forthof lightout of darknessgives the story Dei) effortsseeking with psalmic praise and prayer of the creationin Genesisits mostfundamental to penetrate the ineffable mysteries of the darkness significance(Cassirer 1955: 96), so thearrival of thatpreceded both Adam and thedawn. theearly light of day informeda verysignificant partof themeaning of thenight for monks.47 However,it is equallypossible to arguethat, in ReferencesCited secularterms, the coining of theearthly day also signaleda returnof mundane earthly here-and-now Almeida, O. F. X., and T. S. Shippenberg (eds.) 1991 of Berlin: dutiesthat even a monasteryhad to take into Neurobiology Opioids. Springer-Verlag. accountif it wereto survive,and that the purpose Anson, Peter F. of the short offices 1949 The Evolution of the Monastic Choir. The Downside periodic, day (prime,terce, Review 67: 183-193. sext,none) was to keepthe (nightly) realm of the ineffablewithin at leasttentative reach until, with Appenzeller, Otto 1987 The Autonomie Nervous System and Fatigue. Func- thecoming of evening and the descent of darkness, tional 2: 473^485. the tenebrousworld of the numinouswas once Neurology more at hand.From this Bauer, Nancy completely perspective 1987 Monasticismafter Dark: From Dormitoryto Cell. The the monasticspecialization in darknesswould AmericanBenedictine Review 38: 95-114. seem to have includeda genuineinterest in the of itselfand in the Benko, Stephen space/time eternity mysteries 1993 The VirginGoddess: Studiesin thePagan and Christian of the numinousthat were containedwithin the Roots of Mariology.Leiden: E. J. Brill. darkand closer the Dawn was brought by night. Binns, John unquestionablythe termination of theexperience 1991 Introduction.In: Cyril of Scythopolis,Lives of the ofthe night, but that does not necessarily mean that Monks of Palestine.Transi, by R. M. Price; pp. ix-lii. itwas the entire purpose or focus of the night office Kalamazoo: CistercianPublications. per se; nocturnsproper ended before the actual Bloch, Maurice, and Jonathan Parry comingof the light that matins heralded with only 1982 Introduction.In: M. Bloch and J.Parry (eds.), Death a briefritualistic exclamation point. and the Regenerationof Life; pp. 1-44. Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press. In thefirst version of the story of the creation in Genesis,Adam as theideal sinlessman inhabiting Bradshaw, Paul F. was createdon thesixth and 1981 Daily Prayerin theEarly Church: A Studyof theOrigin paradise day thereby and Early Developmentof the Divine Office.London: entered,in all his perfection,into a fully(sun)lit Alcuin Club; SPCK. (fourth world. medievalmonks lived day) Early Burton-Christie,Douglas as sinfuland imperfectmen in thedarkling post- 1993 The Word in the Desert: Scriptureand the Quest for fallworld where perfect Adamic purity remained Holiness in Early ChristianMonasticism. New York: elusive,though cloistered ascetical efforts to reach OxfordUniversity Press. thatoriginal state at least encouragedthe hope Bushell, William C. of attainingpurity of soul and futureparadisiacal 1995 Psychophysiological and Comparative Analysis of salvation.In addition,though daily life was lived Ascetico-MeditationalDiscipline: Toward a New Theory of Ascetism.In: V. L. Wimbushand R. Valantasis(eds.), Asceticism;pp. 553-575. New York:Oxford University Press. 47 David Knowles famouslyremarked that no one can really understandthe monastic vocation who has not seen the sun Cabaniss, Allen come slowlyup at theend of a long nightoffice through the 1970 Liturgyand Literature.University, AL: Universityof greateast windowof an abbey church(see Levi 1987: 201). Alabama Press.

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