What Did Medieval Peasants Actually Do at Night?

Ever wake up at 3 a.m. for no reason? For most of history, that was completely normal. Medieval families went to bed at sunset, woke up around midnight, spent an hour awake in the dark, then went back for a "second sleep". Here's what they did all night, and why a scientist accidentally brought it back in 1992. Chapters 0:00 Your 3 a.m. 0:58 The bell 2:24 Light was money 3:40 One bed for everyone 4:55 The first sleep 6:57 The lab 8:19 Back to your 3 a.m. Sources A. Roger Ekirch, At Day's Close: Night in Times Past (2005) A. Roger Ekirch, "Sleep We Have Lost", American Historical Review (2001) Geoffrey Chaucer, The Squire's Tale (c. 1390s): "hir firste sleep" Thomas A. Wehr, "In short photoperiods, human sleep is biphasic", Journal of Sleep Research (1992) Statute of Winchester (1285): town gates, the night watch and the hue and cry Gilbert White, The Natural History of Selborne (1789): how long a rushlight burns Paper Ages: what was life REALLY like? One ordinary life at a time, cut from paper. #history #medieval #middleages