# At Day's Close: Night in Times Past

Historian A. Roger Ekirch discussed his book, "At Day's Close: Night in Times Past," which examines the history of nocturnal activity in society in Western Europe, from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean, before the advent of the Industrial Revolution. Ekirch describes how nighttime embodied a distinct culture, with many of its own customs and rituals. Ekirch, a professor of history at Virginia Tech, conducted much of his research on the book at the Library of Congress. Ekirch writes about night perils, official responses to nighttime such as curfews and watchmen, haunts of men and women at work and play, bedtime rituals, sleep disturbances and finally the demystification of darkness underway in cities and large towns by the mid-18th century. This lecture was sponsored by the Center for the Book and the Humanities and Social Sciences Division of the Library of Congress.

- Kind: Talk
- Year: 2005
- By: Library Of Congress
- Genres: Western, History
- Archive: [Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/item/2021687708/)
- Licence or status: Rights statement at the Library of Congress (as the archive states it)
- Credit: Library of Congress
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/loc/2021687708?play=1)