Liturgical Hours
Aside from Mass – which was not strictly part of them – ritualised prayers, as set out in the sixth century by the Regulation of Saint Benoît, were to be said several times a day. They regulated the rhythm of the day. Monks and nuns were not permitted to dine before nightfall, that is until after vespers. This strict routine of prayers was largely adhered to until the eleventh century, when it was reduced to enable monks and nuns to devote more time to reading and manual labour.
Matins: at 2.30 a.m. or 3 a.m.
Lauds: just before dawn, between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m.
Prime: around 7.30 a.m., the first prayers of the day, as soon as possible after sunrise and just before Mass.
Terce: around 9 a.m.
Sext: around midday.
None: between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. in the afternoon.
Vespers: at the end of the afternoon, at roughly 4.30 p.m. or 5 p.m., at sunset.
Compline: after vespers, the last prayers of the day, sometime between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Measurements
It is quite difficult to translate some measurements to their modernday equivalents, as the definitions varied from region to region.
League: about 2 ½ miles (4 kilometres).
Ell: about 45 inches (114 centimetres) in Paris, 37 inches (94 centimetres) in Arras.
Foot: as today, 12 inches (30 centimetres).
Ounce: as today, about 28 grams.