Volume 1
Desiderata curiosa: or, a collection of divers ... pieces relating chiefly to matters of English history : consisting of choice tracts, memoirs, letters ... etc / Transcribed ... and illustrated with ample notes ... By Francis Peck.
- Francis Peck
- Date:
- 1779
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Desiderata curiosa: or, a collection of divers ... pieces relating chiefly to matters of English history : consisting of choice tracts, memoirs, letters ... etc / Transcribed ... and illustrated with ample notes ... By Francis Peck. Source: Wellcome Collection.
267/298 page 231
![225 7. The antient Romans divided the night into four watches ; each watch containing three of our hours : and after the fame manner they divided the day. 0 8. Their firft watch of the night began at our fix, & ended at our nine of the clock, in the evening. 9. In the camp, among them, every watch in the night was opened with the found of cor¬ nets & trumpets i and yet, in every watch, the mufic was fo diftind, that the foldiers might thereby as eafily perceive what watch was founded, as we can now tell, by counting of the clock, what hour is begun. 1 o. Among chriftians, in antient times, thofe who profeffed an afcetic, or afterwards a mo¬ nadic, life, kept a religious watch 3 & the monaftic’s conftantly went to public fervice everv third hour, night & day. 5 11. To this end the natural day was, by them, divided into eight canonical watches, or hours of prayer. 11. In great abbies, thefe hours were founded on great large bells, which diftinguiffied themfelves above thofe belonging to parifti churches by their folemn, deep notes. 1 13. c Pope Sabinian was the firft who ordained that the hours of the day & night fhould be * rongyn in kyrkes.*’ And each of thefe hours of prayer had likewife its particular name. 14. Thus the chriftian watch (beginning at our fix, & ending at our nine of the clock in the evening) may be called, as to its firft part, with the antient Romans, folis occafus. Or, as to its fecond part, with the Greeks, ’ApQtXvxi]: or, with the aforefaid Romans, erepufculum vefpertinum. Or, as to its third part, with the Greeks, ’Oijtf. 15. The firft part of this watch may be called, with the antient Romans, folis occafus; fun- fet. Becaufe, both at the autumnal & vernal equinox, the fun fets at fix of the clock. 16. The fecond part of this watch may be called with the Greeks, ’A[utptXvKT]; or, with the Romans, erepufculum vefpertinum, the evening twilight. Becaufe the evening twilight begins when the fun is about 16. degrees below the horizon 3 which (when the fun fets at 6.) we may fuppofe it will be at feven, or fomewhat fooner. 17. The third part of this watch may be called with the Greeks, ’Oijy; or more fimply, as we our felves exprefs it, the night, or, the dark. Becaufe, when the evening twilight goes off, then & not before, as philofophers hold, the night it felf commences. 18. The fervice ufed at this time of the evening was antiently called, by the Greeks, 'EtncB^oi nrpulvj; by the Latins, offtcium vefpertinum primum 3 the firft vefpers. Or, as our old common prayer books very well render it, the firft evening fong. Becaufe antiently the office of the firft vefpers began at fix of the clock. 19. Before the reformation the bell which rung for this fervice, was called the Ave Maria bell} the angelical falutation being then always faid.3 ao. For in monafteries, as they had many bells, lo they alfo rung them at particular fer- vices. 21. Thus at Oufney abby they had fix bells, called Douce, Clement, Auftin, Hauteder, Gabriel & John.4 12. And in an old MS. relating to the religious offices performed in that abby, it is faid, finito Agnus Dei cnollentur Douce, Clement, G? Auftin 3 G? poft Miffam, per non magnum fpa- tium, pulfentur. - Et notandum, quodfemper poft magnam Miffam pulfetur Hauteder : ad Com- pletorum Gabriel vel John.5 23. The next watch (beginning at our nine of the clock in the evening, & ending at our twelve of the clock in the night) may be called, as to its firft part, with the ancient Romans, prima fax. Or, as to its fecond part, with the fame Romans, vefperum, or prim a nox. Or, as to its third part, with the fame Romans, concubium. Or, as to its fourth part, with the fame 1. Hill. Abbies by Br. Willis, efq. vol. I. p. 141. 4. Colle&ion of curious difcourfes, publi(hed by Mr. 2. Chron. irrotulatum MS. penes me,-p. 39. Hearne, p. 303. 3. See Rapin’s Hill. vol. V. p.403. 5. Idem, ibidem. G g Romans,](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b3045637x_0001_0267.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
