From the beginning, the biblical Psalter has been the church’s main hymnal. Christians in the Book of Acts prayed the Psalms. Early church writers commend singing Psalms, and one anonymous writer said Christians everywhere chanted “David first, middle, and last.” Benedict required monks to chant the entire Psalter every week and lamented he couldn’t expect them to sing it every day, as earlier monks are said to have done. Liturgies of East and West are packed with Psalms, and William Peter Mahrt argues that Gregorian chant provided the “fundament” of Western musical culture.