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baggottman t1_iw0de3v wrote

Well the sun dials only worked from 8pm onwards for 4 months of the year

2

Gabi_Social t1_iw0fn2a wrote

It’s not a very big bell to cover the whole of England.

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KarmaticIrony t1_iw0fvv1 wrote

As the Wikipedia article mentions this was about preventing unattended fires rather than policing peoples sleep schedule.

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evil_lurker t1_iw0gdrw wrote

Wee Willie Winkie runs through the town, Upstairs and downstairs, in his nightgown; Rapping at the window, crying through the lock, “Are the children in their beds? Now it’s eight o’clock.”

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Super_Turnip t1_iw0hiz5 wrote

This was very interesting. The wiki entry says:

> Historians, poets, and lawyers speak of the Medieval law associated with the curfew bell as being levelled mostly against the conquered Anglo-Saxons. It was initially used as a repressive measure by William I to prevent rebellious meetings of the conquered English. He prohibited the use of live fires after the curfew bell was rung to prevent associations and conspiracies. The strict practice of this medieval tradition was pretty much observed during the reign of King William I and William II of England.[7] The law was eventually repealed by Henry I of England in 1103.[8]

Also:

> The English word curfew is from old French carre-feu or cerre-feu.[2] These initial French words later derived into couvre-feu.[2] The word was again later turned into cover-feu in the Norman language after the conquering of the English.[6] Each of these meant to cover the live flaming fire.

There's a horror novel called Curfew by British author Phil Rickman, that heavily features a village's need to honor an ancient curfew. From goodreads:

> On the border between England and Wales lies the tiny town of Crybbe, not picturesque enough for the tourist trade, quietly sliding into decay. Max Goff means to change all that. Goff has made millions in the record business, but his heart is in New Age philosophy. He has learned that Crybbe was once a spiritual center of sorts, surrounded by ancient standing stones that were emblems of power. He means to replace the stones that have fallen - or been destroyed, as many of them were - and establish a thriving New Age community that will draw tourists and students from all over the world. What Max Goff doesn't know is that the standing stones of Crybbe were destroyed in the sixteenth century for a very good reason. Some of the endearing customs of the town - such as tolling the church bell for curfew each night - are actually deadly serious rituals. The people of Crybbe know that evil has been kept at bay here by the old ways, and that there's nothing quaint about them. And the power about to be unleashed by Max Goff is nothing like the soothing music and herbal remedies he associates with the New Age. This is the power of the old age, pent up for centuries and about to be released with deadly fury!

I'm subbed to /r/horrorlit and talk up the very talented Phil Rickman at every opportunity.

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clichesaurus t1_iw0iplw wrote

That's actually where the term 'bedtime' comes from: it was the time for bed

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no1name t1_iw0iuss wrote

Those were the good old days.

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inthegarden5 t1_iw0lmpa wrote

First Norman king of England. There were kings before William usurped the throne.

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not_a_droid t1_iw0lq0s wrote

I would be yelling in the streets along with everyone else, but secretly really enjoy that rule

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UsrnameInATrenchcoat t1_iw0m1fs wrote

The new King should make a law where people have to eat their veggies and potatas

1

jwg020 t1_iw0nf27 wrote

I live by this law now.

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mojomonkeyfish t1_iw0sbw1 wrote

I made a similar law. I hope it worked out better for him.

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notevilfellow t1_iw0y63l wrote

And I'm still following this law that i just found out existed today

1

Starbuck4 t1_iw192vn wrote

Don’t temp me with a good time

0

longshortandlarge t1_iw1hrju wrote

Replying to Gemmabeta (#505,840)

The "English" were not recently conquered. Alfred the Great and Wessex were English (Anglo-Saxon/Anglish) and simply united the disperate English Kingdoms. More accurate to say "peoples of the recently conquered territories" or something like that.

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IBeTrippin t1_iw1i1mb wrote

As far as laws go, not the worst ever made.

−1

Lego105 t1_iw1pa5h wrote

Replying to StupidMastiff (#506,269)

That’s true, but there were Roman “kings” of England before him, even if they weren’t technically kings by title. Depends on your perspective. It’s complicated to discuss ancient titles that didn’t really have set boundaries the same way modern titles do, even Aelfred wasn’t necessarily king of England in the sense we’d consider it now, and there’s a lot of minutia about whether he even technically ruled the lands he claimed by his title.

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CNWDI_Sigma_1 t1_iw1qj68 wrote

Ah, so that’s why the First British Revolution happened. Cruel (some parts of king’s remains were never found), but necessary.

1

zinky30 t1_iw1rw66 wrote

They didn’t even have clocks back then. How did they know when it was 8pm?

1

SparkySailor t1_iw1uu4r wrote

Replying to zinky30 (#508,295)

There were clocks, they were just uncommon. The ancient greeks had clocks, look up the channel "clickspring" on youtube for a breakdown of a VERY intricate one for modeling the known solar system. Also, even if they didn't have mechanical clocks, you can make clocks using other means. Hourglasses, clock candles, etc. Our ancestors weren't dumb.

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Wendals87 t1_iw1wtd8 wrote

what was he, the sleep police?

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Ythio t1_iw1xyhd wrote

Curfew in older times isn't about going to bed, it's about extinguishing public lighting (curfew => cover fire in french)

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goyboysotbot t1_iw1ysjs wrote

William the Bastard was not the first King of England. There were about a dozen Saxons and Vikings and one possibly mythological native Briton before him.

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goyboysotbot t1_iw1yyly wrote

Replying to listyraesder (#508,451)

Alfred united the kingdoms in spirit. The sibling monarchs, Edward of Wessex and Æthelflæd of Mercia united the kingdoms by sword. Æthelstan stood on their shoulders and died childless. Not a bad king, but only the first by a technicality.

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geekgodzeus t1_iw1zbju wrote

As someone who has a 5 month baby I wish this was a global rule.

2

Gargomon251 t1_iw2541u wrote

What time do they wake up, 4:00 a.m.?

1

TigBiddiesMacDaddy t1_iw29gnp wrote

Replying to goyboysotbot (#508,585)

How funny would it be, that after all of this… it turns out King Arthur was real, was the one to unite all of England and be it’s first king, and he was buried one foot below where the Queen is currently buried?

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Buddy_spiked t1_iw2cqrw wrote

I’m down for this law. Nothing good happens after 8pm.

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MansfromDaVinci t1_iw31atw wrote

Replying to goyboysotbot (#508,585)

Alfred was not the first to hold the position of a sort of English high king, at the very least Egbert, Offa and Penda held similar power and there were other Bretwalda. Æthelstan was certainly the first to unite the kingdoms of England but it's possible Vortigern, Riothamus, or Ambrosius Aurelianus held the lands that became England and Wales earlier

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Pepf t1_iw36esf wrote

Nanny state!

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v-stromtrooper t1_iw40g8v wrote

I see a lot of people arguing who should be considered the first king of England, who's English, and whatnot... but the real question is how the hell did anyone know when 8pm was in a time before clocks!?

1

PoppedUrMomsCherry OP t1_iw4idhm wrote

Replying to v-stromtrooper (#512,623)

My bad, it's hard to get humour on text.

Yeah, I think this very practice was one of the beginnings of those church bells. They were called curfew balls. Archaically, curfew meant to curb the fire as in to put it off. Similar to turning off the light in today's time.

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goyboysotbot t1_iw4t683 wrote

Replying to mooses51 (#514,066)

We all know his dad and aunt could have finished the job. It was for politics that they didn’t. What politics, we can only speculate. But I’m willing to bet that it had something to do with Edward’s hot head and his failed attempt to usurp his sister’s throne.

1

mooses51 t1_iw4u0ms wrote

Replying to goyboysotbot (#514,076)

His dad most likely killed his aunt as he invited her to a feast and she died at like 35 right before it. Also if I remember correctly that made mercia go into rebellion as he also deposed her daughter a few months after so the reason he didn't conquer jorvik is because he pissed off the mercians. If he wouldn't have done that then yeah he probably could have. You say technicality I say failed from poor decisions.

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goyboysotbot t1_iw4xcy6 wrote

Replying to mooses51 (#514,117)

I never heard about the Mercian rebellion. But that would make sense. The Vikings had their own problems but it wasn’t a rebellion but a lack of leadership. I guess Æthelstan had a more stable situation all around

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Fluffy_Web8995 t1_iw57zgf wrote

Scotland was not included in the union of crowns until centuries later

1

KingDarius89 t1_iw58pf4 wrote

Replying to TigBiddiesMacDaddy (#509,018)

I recall reading a book about the history of England that spent a chapter or two on the story of King Arthur, basically saying that they did their best to try and gloss over that he was Welsh because they were in the process of conquering Wales at the time, heh.

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AlDente t1_iw9mh20 wrote

Tell that to all the Britain First fascists.

1