At day's close

Night was demonised in the middle ages as Satan's playtime. If you didn't bump into Old Nick himself on your travels, you were sure to encounter one of his minions. An imp, perhaps, or a hobgoblin, a will-o'-the-wisp, a sprite, a pixie, a dobby, a kelpie, an elf, a troll, a boggle, a boggart or a waft. Witches were especially feared. They were thought to be responsible for deaths, broken legs, withered arms and even "bewitched genitals".

"Nightwalkers" were obviously up to no good. Honest people were too exhausted from working all day to wander abroad at night. As one French adage put it: "The good people love the day and the bad the night." In fact, as A Roger Ekirch reveals in this wise and compendious history of nighttime during the early modern era (c1500-1750), the reason why the night had such a bad reputation was because it undermined the social order that prevailed during the day. Under cover of darkness adolescents, servants and the poor escaped from the prying eyes of their parents, masters, owners or employers, and they made the most of it.