Book Read Free

At Day's Close

Page 59

by A. Roger Ekirch


  darkness of night preserved by, 72, 74, 220, 335

  disguises prohibited in, 152

  great cloaks in, 136

  illumination shrines in, 72

  Jews of, 228

  lower classes of, 235

  nocturnal labor in, 160

  sexual activity on streets of, 192, 220

  street lighting banned in, 335

  Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare), 192

  Romulus, 62

  Ronsard, Pierre de, 205

  Rothair’s Edict, 87

  Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, xxv, 63, 74, 110, 122, 143, 144

  “Roving Maids of Aberdeen’s Garland, The,” 196

  Rowlands, Samuel, 31

  Rowlandson, Margaret, 270

  Rowlandson, Thomas, 96, 126, 299, 332

  Rowth, Jane, 307

  Ruddocke, Edward, 45–46

  rues de la lanterne, 67

  Rules of Civility, The, 45

  Rush, Benjamin, 290

  rushlights, 106–7, 111, 162, 207, 295, 336

  Russia, 46, 108, 178, 181

  bundling in, 200

  space mirror of, 339

  watchdogs, 95

  Rust, Thomas, 168

  Ryder, Dudley, 222, 291

  Sabba da Castiglione, Monsignor, 13, 60

  Sacchetti, Franco, 158, 193

  Saenredam, Jan, 309

  Samson, 303

  Sand, George, 95

  Sanderson, Robert, 116–17, 125, 305

  Sanditon (Austen), 331

  Sanger, Abner, 169, 171, 174, 201

  Satan, 6, 15–17, 17, 21, 60, 97, 98, 145, 156, 239, 240, 268

  burglars’ impersonation of, 41

  darkness as realm of, 15–16

  at dead of night, 140

  disguises of, 15

  sleep and, 268

  sleep disturbed by, 291–92

  village sites associated with, 16

  wild animals linked to, 30

  witches’ covenant with, 21

  Saxon Consistory, 213

  sbirri, 76

  scavengers, 64, 160, 165, 243

  Schoole of Vertue, The, 264

  scientific rationalism, 6, 325

  Scot, Reginald, 20, 23, 99, 120

  Scotland, 16, 24, 92, 138

  arson by burglars in, 54

  barred windows in, 93

  bogwood in, 108–9

  bundling in, 197–98, 199

  collieries of, 24

  criminal prosecutions in, 12

  curtained beds in, 279

  earthen floors as beds of, 276–77

  farmers of, 168–69

  fishing in, 171, 177

  funeral wakes in, 194

  group travel in, 142

  kelpies in, 18

  law courts of, 87

  peat as fuel in, 103

  pilfering in, 240

  seaweed as fuel in, 103

  spinning bees in, 178

  spinning in, 164

  watchdogs of, 95

  witch hunts of, 20

  Scowrers gang, 225

  Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), 290

  seaweed, as fuel, 103

  “Second Nun’s Tale, The” (Chaucer), 282

  Sedley, Sir Charles, 223

  Seekatz, Johann Konrad, 231, 232

  Seine River, 26, 64

  Semple, Robert, 325

  sentries, 75, 79

  servants, 28, 53, 66, 81, 94, 125, 142, 165, 188, 190, 193, 203, 233–35, 298

  arson of, 54, 55

  beds of, 277–78, 287, 297

  bedtime duties of, 271

  candles of, 52, 109–10

  communal sleep of, 281–82

  at family prayers, 272

  indentured, 233

  as laundresses, 164

  magic employed by, 239

  nightmares and, 292

  of nobility, 212, 224

  nocturnal excursions of, 234–35

  nocturnal labor of, 158–60, 168, 170, 175, 176

  pilfering by, 175, 240, 255

  poaching by, 241

  privacy and, 150

  as private guards, 165

  runaway, 234

  social oversight of, 150–51

  storytelling of, 3, 5, 120–21

  youth dances of, 196

  in youth gangs, 245, 247–48, 252

  Sewall, Samuel, 28, 52, 91, 99, 314, 316, 317

  sexual activity, 116, 191–97, 233, 268

  adulterous, 191, 193–94, 314

  in alehouses, 190, 192

  in bundling, 200–201, 202

  in dreams, 314

  and extinguishing lights, 192–93, 195, 201, 218

  at festivals, 194

  of homosexuals, 230, 231, 281

  in interval of wakefulness, 308–10

  laws against, 191

  in literature, 193

  low light levels and, 192

  marital, 282, 308–10

  as masquerades, 216

  nocturnal labor and, 175

  public displays of affection and, 191

  social class and, 191–92

  social oversight of, 149–50

  venues for, 190, 192, 193, 220

  of young people, 192, 194–202; see also courtship

  youth dances and, 196

  see also prostitutes, prostitution; rapes

  Shakespeare, William, xxxi–xxxii, 8, 18, 82, 106, 127, 138–39, 140, 151, 192, 210, 227, 267, 286

  shamans, dreams of, 317

  sheep-stealers, 41, 172, 241

  shepherds, 171–72

  shepherd’s lamp, 129

  Sheppard, Jack, 34

  “She Went to Bed in the Dark,” 281–82

  Shirley, James, 224

  shoemakers, 158, 160

  “wetting the block” ceremony of, 162

  shrines, illuminated, 71–72

  shutting-in, xxxii, 91–93, 138, 268

  Sicily, 70–71, 121, 143

  evening parties in, 212

  white witchcraft in, 98

  Sidney, Sir Philip, 286

  Siena, 75, 86–87

  sight, sense of, 8, 124, 128

  Signori di Notte, 85

  Silesia, 19

  silversmiths, 156

  slaves, 109, 113, 132, 233–35, 237, 298

  amulets of, 99

  arsons of, 55, 257

  dogs of, 241

  dreams of, 317

  ghost stories used in control of, 256

  insurrections of, 257–58

  magic of, 99, 143, 239, 257–58

  night-kingdoms of, 251–52

  nocturnal excursions of, 233–34, 235, 236, 255–56

  nocturnal labor of, 168, 170, 174, 176–77

  personal gain of, 176–77

  pilfering by, 240, 241, 256

  runaway, 234

  sleep of, 286, 287

  social oversight of, 150–51

  youth gangs of, 245, 246, 248–49, 251–52

  sleep, xxv, xxvi–xxvii, 14, 24, 46, 51, 59, 60, 145, 261–62, 263–84, 285–87, 304

  burglaries and, 37, 38, 42

  as classless, 286, 287

  communal, see communal sleep

  concoction as impetus for, 263

  in the day, 218

  death in, 268–69, 269, 272

  evolution of, 261

  excessive, 264
>
  historical indifference to, 262

  immune system and, 14

  as like death, 286

  in literature, 267, 285–86

  medieval medical view of, 263

  modern research on, 268, 280, 303–4, 322–23

  optimal temperatures for, 294

  positions for, 271–72, 302

  proper amount of, 264–65

  quality of, 267–68

  REM, 322–23

  salutary effects of, 263–64

  staying awake vs., 60, 77, 203, 338

  time needed for lapsing into, 280–81

  typology of, 267–68

  vulnerability of, 268–69

  of wild animals, 290, 303

  see also beds; bedtime rituals; bedtimes; broken sleep; dreams

  sleep deprivation, 298–99

  sleep disturbances, xxvi, 285–99, 302

  anxiety in, 286, 289–90

  beds and, 295–96, 297

  communal sleep and, 296

  demonic intruders in, 291–92

  depression in, 289, 290

  excretory needs and, 296–97, 305

  fears in, 290–92

  frigid temperatures and, 294, 297

  illness in, 288–89, 297

  insects and, 288, 294–95, 295, 297–98

  of lower classes, 290, 297–99

  nightmares in, 272–73, 291, 292

  by nightwatch, 75, 78–79, 293

  noisiness in, 291, 292–94, 297, 327

  pain in, 288–89

  reeking chamberpots and, 296–97

  rural, 293

  urban, 292–93

  in wintertime, 290, 294

  sleeping houses, 236

  sleepwalking, 267, 319–20

  smell, sense of, 133, 192

  Smith, Samuel, 284

  Smith, Sir Thomas, 115

  Smith, Thomas, 116

  smoking, 79, 189

  Smollett, Tobias, 75, 135, 136, 212, 243, 306

  smudges, 37

  smugglers, 242–43, 244, 250

  burglars’ impersonation of, 243

  social activities, 185–202

  dancing, 187, 194, 196, 235, 236

  in drinking houses, 187–90; see also alehouses

  drinking in, 186, 187, 188, 189–90

  games of chance, 72, 186, 189, 189, 221, 328

  of lower classes, 177–84, 235–37

  music in, 187, 189

  of nobility, 210–17, see also masquerades

  see also courtship; sexual activity; spinning and knitting bees; storytelling

  social classes, xxvi, 134, 136

  broken sleep and, 304

  dress differences in, 8

  lanterns and, 126–27

  lower, see lower classes

  masquerades and, 214, 216, 328–29

  middle, 157, 186–87, 191–92, 208, 280, 304, 324–25, 326, 329, 330

  nocturnal excursions and, 125, 126–27, 136–37

  sexual attitudes and, 191

  sleep as leveler of, 286, 287

  solitude of, 203

  street lighting and, 335–36

  upper, see upper classes

  social oversight, 333–34

  of lower class, 150–51

  by neighbors, 147–51, 153, 191–92

  solitude, 202–9

  needlework in, 208

  personal piety in, 206–7

  personal reflection in, 202–3, 207

  social differences in, 203

  writing in, 207–8

  see also reading

  Somme River, 62

  space mirror, Russian, 339

  Spain, 20

  burglaries in, 38

  carrying weapons banned in, 66

  Holy week processions in, 70

  illuminated shrines in, 72

  marranos of, 228

  murder weapons in, 43

  ventas of, 187

  white witchcraft in, 98

  youth dances in, 196

  youth gangs in, 250

  Spartans, 119–20

  Spectator, 16–17, 216, 321

  Spenser, Edmund, 286, 288

  sperm whales, 104–6

  Sperrgeld, 63

  spinning, 164, 173, 174, 176

  spinning and knitting bees, 178–79, 181, 184, 195

  courtship at, 194–96

  emotional support provided by, 183

  French shelters for, 182

  gossip exchanged in, 182–83

  men’s views of, 183

  oral readings at, 203

  Spinnstube, A (Beham), 195

  sprites, 18

  Spurmakers Guild of London, 156

  squatters, 238

  Squire Oldsapp: or, the Night Adventures (D’Urfey), 222

  “Squire’s Tale, The” (Chaucer), 301, 311

  Stadtpir, 151

  Stainhurst, Richard, 79

  Standonck, Jean, 203

  stars, 129–30, 138, 139, 234, 326

  telling time by, 138, 236

  in weather forecasting, 171

  Statute of Artificers, 157

  Statute of Winchester, 31, 75, 76

  Steele, Richard, 218, 304

  Steen, Jan, 189, 190

  Steiner, George, 319

  Sterne, Laurence, 271

  stillborn infants, magic properties of, 41–42

  St. John’s Eve, 140

  Stockholm:

  fire alarms in, 79

  murders in, 46

  nightwatch’s weapons in, 77

  scaling city walls as crime in, 62

  Stoddard, Solomon, 231

  Stoeckhlin, Chonrad, 317

  Stom, Matthias, 273

  stormy petrals, as oil lamps, 107–8

  storytelling, 179–82, 184

  ghost stories in, 3, 5, 120–21, 180, 256

  magic in, 179, 180

  motifs of, 180–82

  at spinning and knitting bees, 183

  stoves, 102

  Stower, Mary, 164

  Strassenräubers, 36

  straw pallets, 274, 276–77, 287

  street lighting, 10, 26, 67–74, 332–37

  Argand oil lamps in, 331

  carrying lights mandated for, 67, 129

  Catholic Church and, 69–72, 70, 71, 335

  coal gas lamps in, 331, 332–34, 332, 335, 336–37

  coast of, 73, 74

  crime and, 330–31, 332–34, 336

  electric, 337

  illuminated shrines as, 71–72

  inadequacy of, 73–74

  increasing use of, 72–73

  lanterns as, 67–68, 73, 74, 129, 246, 337

  for military hostilities, 68–69

  by oil lamps, 72, 73, 330–31

  opposition to, 335

  poor quality of, 74

  problems of, 74

  at public celebrations, 69

  restricted to darkest nights, 68, 73, 74, 335

  rural resistance to, 336–37

  social differentiation of, 335–36

  social oversight increased by, 333–34

  vandalism of, 74, 246, 336, 337

  street mobs, 254

  streets, 29, 34, 36, 60, 63, 124, 125–26, 134, 140, 222, 324–25

  as beds of urban poor, 278

  broken pavements of, 27

  excrement emptied in, 27–28, 29, 165

 
filthy, 27, 81

  fixed barriers on, 64, 65, 75

  mishaps in, 26–28, 29

  sexual activity on, 192, 220

  see also pedestrians

  strix, 4

  Stubbes, Philip, 194

  Stubley, John, 165

  Stüller, Nicklauss, 42

  Sturt, George, 337

  Stutz, Jakob, 179

  suicides, 18, 19

  Sumerians, 5

  sumptuary legislation, 8

  Sunderland, Samuel, 38

  Sussex Weekly Advertiser, 321–22

  Sweden:

  death penalty in, 87

  ljusinbrinning in, 162

  miners of, 161

  nightwatch of, 82

  nocturnal labor in, 156–57

  weaving in, 173

  white witchcraft in, 98

  Swetman, Joshua, 282

  Swift, Jonathan, 109, 129

  Mohocks gang feared by, 225

  Swinburne, Henry, 38

  Switzerland, 84, 90, 134

  bundling in, 198

  mattresses in, 296

  nightwatch of, 75

  storytelling in, 179

  witch hunts of, 20

  young people’s meetings in, 196

  youth gangs in, 246, 248

  Sykes, Mary, 308

  Synesius of Cyrene, 319

  Tabourot, Etienne, 182, 195

  Tahiti, 4

  Taillepied, Noel, 23, 142, 301

  tailors, 156, 158, 160

  tallow candles, 68, 106, 107, 162, 207, 336

  tallow-chandlers, 52, 73, 160

  Talmud, 3, 261

  taverns, 188, 189, 190, 192–93, 219

  brawls in, 46–47, 220, 223

  Taylor, Jeremy, 15, 265

  Taylor, John, 51, 174

  Taylor, John, the Water-Poet, 188, 276

  Teniers, David, the Younger, 231

  Tertullian, 311

  Tess of the d’Urbervilles (Hardy), xxvii

  Thames river, 26, 160, 166

  thatchers, 170, 171

  theft, thieves, 6, 7, 31, 33–42, 68, 79, 92, 93, 142, 236, 322, 329

  dark nights preferred for, 39–40, 128

  of dead bodies, 237

  dignity and self-worth lent by, 243–44

  disguises worn by, 40

  Dogberry’s approach to, 82

  from farmers, 169, 172, 240

  by fire-priggers, 55–56

  linkboys and, 125

  magic spells of, 41–42

  pilfering, 74, 175, 240–41, 244, 255, 256, 306

  poachers, 33, 241–42, 243–44, 306, 336

  punishments of, 87, 88

  roguish demeanor of, 151

  sheep-stealers, 41, 172, 241

  see also burglaries, burglars; robberies

  thief’s candle charm, 41–42

  Thietmar of Merseburg, 18

  Thistlewood, Thomas, 246

  Thomas, Keith, 100

  Thomas, Philip, 32

 

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