Editing Canonical hours (section)

====Western rites====
In the West, the [[Rule of Saint Benedict|Rule]] of Saint [[Benedict of Nursia]] (written in 516) was modeled on his guidelines for the prayers on the customs of the [[basilica]]s of [[Rome]]. It was he who expounded the concept in Christian prayer of the inseparability of the spiritual life from the physical life. St. Benedict set down the dictum {{lang|la|Ora et labora}} – "Pray and work". The Order of Saint Benedict began to call the prayers the {{lang|la|Opus Dei}} or "Work of God".

By the time of Saint Benedict, author of the Rule, the monastic Liturgy of the Hours was composed of seven daytime hours and one at night. He associated the practice with Psalm 118/119:164, "Seven times a day I praise you", and Psalm 118/119:62, "At midnight I rise to praise you".<ref>[http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/benedict.html Rule of Saint Benedict, chapter 16 (original Latin)]; [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/50040/50040-h/50040-h.html#chapter-16-nl-how-the-work-of-god-is-to-be-performed-during-the-day English translation by Leonard J. Doyle]</ref> The fixed-hour prayers came to be known as the "Divine Office" (office coming from {{lang|la|'officium'}}, lit., "duty").

Initially, the term "[[Matins]]" from Latin {{lang|la|matutinus}}, meaning "of or belonging to the morning",<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/invalidquery.jsp?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0059:entry=entry=|title=No document found|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref> was applied to the psalms recited at dawn. At first "[[Lauds]]" (i.e. praises) derived from the three last psalms in the office (148, 149, 150), in all of which the word {{lang|la|laudate}} is repeated frequently, and to such an extent that originally the word Lauds designated the end, that is to say, these three psalms with the conclusion. The Night Office and Lauds are grouped together as a single canonical hour to form a total of seven canonical hours.<ref name="Billett2014" />{{rp|32}}

By the fourth century the word "matins" became attached to the prayer originally offered at cockcrow.<ref>[http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/ANF-07/anf07-49.htm#P7253_2430086 Constitutions of the Holy Apostles] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060807084821/http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/ANF-07/anf07-49.htm#P7253_2430086 |date=7 August 2006 }}, VIII, iv, 34</ref> and, according to the sixth-century ''Rule of Saint Benedict'', could be calculated to be the eighth hour of the night (the hour that began at about 2 a.m.).<ref name="Doyle8">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ewtn.com/library/priests/benrule.htm#Chapter%208%20-%20Divine%20Office%20at%20Night|title=Rule of Saint Benedict, 8}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e4lKAwAAQBAJ&q=oscillated|title=Commentary on the Rule of St. Benedict|first=Paul|last=Delatte|date=29 August 2000|publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers|isbn=9781579104603|via=Google Books}}</ref> Outside of monasteries few rose at night to pray. The canonical hour of the vigil was said in the morning, followed immediately by lauds, and the name of "matins" replaced that of "vigils". Gradually the title "Lauds" was applied to the early morning office.<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09038a.htm Cabrol, Fernand. "Lauds". The Catholic Encyclopedia] Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 6 October 2019{{PD-notice}}</ref>

Already well-established by the [[9th century]] in the West, these canonical hours consisted of daily prayer [[liturgies]]:
* [[Matins]] (nighttime) 
* [[Lauds]] (early morning)
* [[Prime (liturgy)|Prime]] (first hour of daylight)
* [[Terce]] (third hour)
* [[Sext]] (noon)
* [[None (liturgy)|None]] (ninth hour)
* [[Vespers]] (sunset evening)
* [[Compline]] (end of the day)

The three major hours were Matins, Lauds and Vespers; the [[Little Hours|minor hours]] were Terce, Sext, None and Compline.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sun.aei.polsl.pl/~ksim/docs/Rubricae.pdf |title=Code of Rubrics, 138 |access-date=20 May 2019 |archive-date=3 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803095316/http://sun.aei.polsl.pl/~ksim/docs/Rubricae.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://catholic-resources.org/LoH/index.html |title=Felix Just, "The Liturgy of the Hours" |publisher=Catholic-resources.org |access-date=20 May 2019}}</ref>
[[File:Delft, breviario di beatrice van assendelft, 1485, 01.jpg|thumb|Breviary of Beatrice van Assendelft, 1485]]
As the Divine Office grew more important in the life of the Church, the rituals became more elaborate. Praying the Office already required various books, such as a [[Psalter]] for the psalms, a [[lectionary]] to find the assigned Scripture reading for the day, a [[Bible]] to proclaim the reading, a [[hymnal]] for singing, etc. As parishes grew in the Middle Ages away from [[cathedral]]s and basilicas, a more concise way of arranging the hours was needed. So, a sort of list developed called the [[breviary]], which gave the format of the daily office and the texts to be used.

The spread of breviaries eventually reached Rome, where [[Pope Innocent III]] extended their use to the [[Roman Curia]]. The [[Franciscans]] sought a one-volume breviary for their [[friar]]s to use during travels, so the order adopted the {{lang|la|Breviarium Curiae}}, but substituting the Gallican Psalter for the Roman. The Franciscans gradually spread this breviary throughout Europe. Eventually, [[Pope Nicholas III]] adopted the widely used Franciscan breviary to be the breviary used in Rome. By the 14th century, the breviary contained the entire text of the canonical hours.

In general, when modern secular books reference canonical hours in the [[Middle Ages]], these are the equivalent times:
* [[Vigil (liturgy)|Vigil]] (eighth hour of night: 2 a.m.) 
* [[Matins]] (a later portion of Vigil, from 3 a.m. to dawn)
* [[Lauds]] (dawn; approximately 5 a.m., but varies seasonally)
* [[Prime (liturgy)|Prime]] (early morning, the first hour of daylight, approximately 6 a.m.)
* [[Terce]] (third hour, 9 a.m.)
* [[Sext]] (sixth hour, noon)
* [[None (liturgy)|None]] (ninth hour, 3 p.m.)
* [[Vespers]] (sunset, approximately 6 p.m.)
* [[Compline]] (end of the day before retiring, approximately 7 p.m.)

[[Church bell]]s are tolled at the fixed times of these canonical hours in some Christian traditions as a call to prayer.<ref>{{cite web |title=What is the relationship between bells and the church? When and where did the tradition begin? Should bells ring in every church? |url=https://www.suscopts.org/q&a/index.php?qid=1484&catid=386 |publisher=Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States |access-date=8 August 2020 |date=2020}}</ref>