A Day in the Life of a 13th Century Trinitarian.......

A day in the life of a 13th century Trinitarian  (Part 1)… 

It is midnight.  In the common quarters where the Brothers are sleeping, the assigned Brother lights up the lantern standing at the center of the dormitory.  Then he sounds the bell to awaken the Brothers.  All rise up from their wooden beds, make the sign of the cross, say a short prayer in honor of the Holy Trinity and quickly put on their habits.  Sitting now on one side of their beds, the Brothers await the minister's sign to proceed to the chapel.  At the signal, the junior Brother picks up the lamp and leads the Brothers, two by two, in procession. 

Once in the chapel, the lamp-bearer places it in a lantern at the center of the choir, and each Brother takes his place according to seniority.  The common prayers begin with the recitation of an oration to God the Father, at the end of which all prostrate themselves on the ground in adoration.  At a signal from the minister, the Brothers rise to a kneeling position and recite a second oration in honor of God the Son.  Again, the Brothers prostrate themselves on the ground and, after a few moments in adoration, at the minister's signal, they again rise to a kneeling position.  The third oration, prostration and short adoration in honor of the Holy Spirit follow in similar manner.  

After this ritual, the Brothers stand up and recite the fifteen introductory psalms (psalmi graduales), interposing some orations and intercessions after every fifth psalm. At the end of these psalms, the Our Father is said and the recitation of Matins begins.  This is followed by the Psalms of Lauds.  After each psalm the Brothers make a deep bow as they recite the Glory be to the Father.  On more solemn occasions, an antiphon in honor of the Holy Trinity or the Holy Cross is sung.  After lauds, the Brothers now seated, recite the matins and lauds of the Blessed Virgin Mary in a low voice and without any bows . After about two hours of these liturgical prayers, the designated Brother picks up the lamp and leads the Brothers in procession back to the dormitory , where all return to bed for few more hours of sleep.