The outstanding English philosopher Thomas Hobbes, not being superstitious, was afraid of the darkness of the night. He said that he «has no fear of spirits, but is afraid of getting hit on the head for the sake of 5 or 10 pounds.»
The outstanding English philosopher Thomas Hobbes, not being superstitious, was afraid of the darkness of the night. He said that he «has no fear of spirits, but is afraid of getting hit on the head for the sake of 5 or 10 pounds.» What other problems — everyday, legal, psychological — did Europeans (townspeople and rural residents, aristocrats and ordinary people) face with the onset of darkness in the XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries? This unusual topic is the subject of a book by the American historian Roger Eckerch. The reader will learn about how the expression “My house is my fortress” came about, about the lighting of houses and streets, about the then shutters and bolts, beds and bedding, night terrors and dreams. And also about people who were awake at night: gravediggers and smugglers, scavengers and robbers, innkeepers and prostitutes. By the way, the author notes, “the oldest profession should be considered not prostitution, but night watch”, the first attempt of a city dweller to resist his own irrational fear of darkness.
Alphabet, 512 p.