AQQ
"Medieval man had to live by daylight. At night he could travel only by the intermittent moon. Few trades could be carried on by artificial light. Winter in the north was the time of repose, of fireside diversions, of song and storytelling. It was also the time of hardship, perpetual chill, scanty, monotonous, vitaminless food, further restricted by Lenten fast. So when spring came, it roused people to a pagan frenzy. After the harshness of winter, the sun shone blessedly down, sap flowed, as did the lusty blood. Most love poems were timed with the spring. Weather really meant something in those days."
Morris Bishop, The Middle Ages (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1968), p. 126-127.
