I

f we are writers who want to give an accurate depiction of medieval life, we need to be true to its rhythms: the seasons of planting, growing and harvesting; the church calendar of feast- and fast-days, the church bells and, perhaps the most basic to our minds, sunrise and sunset.

Because of the infringement of city and traffic lights, most of us have no idea of the immense splendour of the night sky.  Weather permitting, the moon could provide lighting for a task that our medieval heroes and villains were unable to perform during the day. The moon was not only a secondary source of lighting for them. For some, unless they were clerics or monastics with offices of prayer to perform, they could use it to calculate the hour (or as close as would have been satisfactory to them).

Does knowing the nature of the moon matter when writing about and creating medieval characters?  Reading Moonstruck will give you answers to questions you probably didn't even know to ask.