Monastic Hours. Medieval monks kept time in the same way that all other people in the Middle Ages did: according to the positions of the sun and the moon. The time from daylight to sunset was divided into twelve equal parts. The twelve hours of the monastic day had more than just an organizational purpose. They structured a series of religious devotions that occurred approximately every three hours during the day and that were central to monastic life. The monastic day began in the middle of the night, around 2:00 or 3:00 A.M., when the monks rose from their beds and recited the prayers known as Matins and Lauds. These prayers lasted for an hour to an hour and a half, unless it was a high holy day when the service might be even more elaborate and longer. The...