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The Canonical Hours: celebrating the Hours (4/13)
The monks did not prostrate themselves to pray but remained upright and stood for the night office of Vigils, probably to make sure they kept awake. One of the monastic officials would keep an eye on the monks to make sure that nobody drifted off to sleep and shine his lantern in the face of anyone who looked as if he might nod off. A number of anecdotes recount tales of monks and lay-brothers who fell asleep during the Offices, particularly – and not surprisingly – at the night office of Vigils. These stories were intended as a warning to would-be sleepyheads of the seriousness – and potential repercussions – of dozing off in church. One such tale describes how a particular monk, who was notorious for falling asleep, had a rather rude awakening. The monk nodded off at Vigils and saw in his sleep a tall, misshapen man, holding a filthy wisp of straw, the kind used by grooms to rub down horses. The man leered at the monk, asked why he ‘son of the great Lady’ slept (an allusion to the fact that the Virgin was patron of the Cistercian Order), and then struck him over the face with the filthy straw. At this point the monk awoke, instinctively drew back his head from the blow and, much to the amusement of his fellow brethren, banged his head against the wall.(2) Another monk who was prone to doze off in church was rather less fortunate when he fell asleep at Vigils, for the image of the crucified Christ came down from the altar to waken him up, but struck him with such a blow upon the cheek that the poor monk died three days later.(3)
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