Note 14 — BENEDICT OF NURSIA AND THE ORDER OF THE BENEDICTINES.
Reading edition
The horæ canonicæ are the Nocturnæ vigiliæ, Matutinæ, Prima, Tertia, Sexta, Nona, Vespera, and Completorium, and are taken (c. 16) from a literal interpretation of Ps. cxix. 164: 'Seven times a day do I praise thee,' and v. 62: 'At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee.' The Psalter was the liturgy and hymn book of the convent. It was so divided among the seven services of the day, that the whole Psalter should be chanted once a week.