Sleep in Early Modern England

In early modern England sleep was a ritualized form of devotion, a means of staving off illness, a source of solace, and marker of sociability. In short, it was both a physical and cultural practice. Sleep in Early Modern England by Sasha Handley does not recover a uniform system of sleep wholly distinct from our own, but instead shows how understandings of sleep varied by individual preferences, resources, spiritual sentiments, and environmental landscapes. The study is most valuable for showing how something as routine as sleep can open a window onto the physical, spiritual, and emotional lives of the past. The author tends to favor the word ‘practice’, perhaps as a reminder that sleep, like so many embodied acts, is culturally produced. It may be natural and necessary, but it is also historically specific.