Nocturns (Latin: nocturni or nocturna) is a Christian canonical hour said in the nighttime. In the liturgy of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, nocturns refer to the sections into which the canonical hour of matins was divided from the fourth or fifth century until after the Second Vatican Council. A nocturn consisted of psalms accompanied by antiphons and followed by readings, which were taken either from Scripture or from the Church Fathers or similar writings. Matins was composed of one to three nocturns.