Hi all, Well, maybe this time I will reach the end. Now lets go about the office of Terce, Sext, and Non. Benedict doesn't give exacly the time for these prayers but he use words that let us understands it. The commentaries about the rule reach the same (more or less) results. Benedict speaks about these hour writings about the times for work and for eat. FROM THE RULE: Terce: - Ch. 48 - "Id est, a Pascha usque ad Calendas Octobris, mane exeuntes a Prima usque ad horam pene quartam, laborent, quod necessarium fuerit.", and after "A Calendis Octobris, usque ad caput Quadragesimae, usque ad horam secundam plenam, lectioni vacent". And again, "In Quadragesimae vero diebus, a mane usque ad tertiam plenam vacent lectionibus suis". That is "From Easter up to the first of October, from the morning, just finished Prime, till the a little before the begining of the 4th hour, or for others a little after the begining of the 4th hour. On the benedictine medieval sundial dated 1193 of the Acquafredda Abbey, in Italy, there is a mark a little before the begining of the 4th hour. The second passage says: "from the firsth of October up to the start of Lent, the monk must read up to the end of the second hour", so Terce is recited between the end of the 2d and the end of the 3d hour, but commentaries says "Terce was at the begining of the 3d hour." The third passage says: "During Lent days, from the morning up to the full 3d hour the monks must read their books", so they do Terce at the end of the 3d hour.
Sext: - Ch. 48 - "a Pascha usque ad Calendas Octobris . Ab hora autem quarta usque ad horam quasi sextam, lectioni vacent". That is "from Easter till the first of October, from 4th hour up to a little before the begining of the 6th hour (this is confirmed by the same sundial from the abbey of Acquafredda), the monk must read books" so Sext was not at the end of the 6th hour but at the begining. Non: - Ch. 48 - " a Pascha usque ad Calendas Octobris . Et agatur Nona temperius, mediante octava hora", that is "from Easter up to the first of October . And Non shoud be celebrated ad the half of the 8th hour (that is the 7th and half)", and there is a mark exactly there in the abbey sundial of the Acquafredda. Ok, I think that's all. Of course the canonical hours are changed again after Benedict, and it changes between the differen rules too, and special uses and Papal concessions. But it would be an intricate bush, maybe. A software that take care of this rule (sain t Benedict) has been made by Giuseppe Tavernini. It is a calendar and hour conversion program. If you put a date you will heva back all the data of many calendars, and the time in different hour sistems. You may convert the time, fore example from modern to temporal and visualize a graphics of the canonical times in that day. The temporal hours are subdivided as used in antiquity (medieval times) that is in points, moments, minutes, athoms etc. Thank you very much Mario -------------------------------------------------------- Mario Arnaldi V.le Leonardo, 82 I-48020 LIDO ADRIANO - Ravenna Lat. 44° 25' N - Lon. 12° 12' E Italy E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web Site: http://digilander.iol.it/McArdal Shop: http://web.tiscalinet.it/McArdal ----------------------------------------------------------- -
