In course of time the divergence between the Roman and Frankish uses became noticeable and gave rise to confusion. Amalarius remarks: In all missals and lectionaries there are five Sundays in Advent, but in the Antiphoner there are only three offices and a _Dominica vacans_, and the Gregorian missal has only four Sundays in Advent. In support of five Sundays, it was urged that from the beginning of the world until the Christian era five of the seven ages of the world had passed. Even in the tenth century, opinions were expressed in favour of five weeks. It was urged that, according to the other practice, if Christmas fell on a Monday, Advent strictly speaking lasted only three weeks. Abbo of Fleury († 1004) is witness to the existence of a twofold practice in a later period.[357] In the eighth century, an Advent of four weeks was observed in France wherever Roman influence extended. Berno of Reichenau in his writings on Advent is only occupied with the question how to deal with the vigil of Christmas when the 25th December falls on a Monday. The Micrologus does not mention an Advent season of five weeks, nor does Beleth.[358] A deviation from this custom appears in the Milanese and Mozarabic rites which prescribe a duration of six weeks for Advent, thus bringing it into conformity in this respect with Lent. At first Advent was regarded merely as a time for penance and mortification in the same way as Lent. On this account, it was widely observed as a time of fasting, although the Church had nowhere so ordered it. Later on, again, Advent was regarded as a type or memorial of the Old Testament or the time before Christ. However, the view that the four weeks of Advent typify the four thousand years from Adam to Christ, impressive as it is, finds no support from the Liturgy. On the contrary, the lections from Genesis in the Breviary begin in Septuagesima, while during Advent the lections are taken from the Prophet Isaias. As far as the lections from Scripture are concerned, the Gospel for the second Sunday in Advent recounts our Lord’s Messianic labours, while His birth is only commemorated some two or three weeks later. The Gospel for the first Sunday speaks of the end of the world, not, as one would expect, of its creation. The mediæval lectionaries, moreover, replace St Luke xxi. 25 _et seqq._ on this Sunday with the Gospel _Cum appropinquasset Jerusalem_, etc. (St Matthew xxi. 1 _et seqq._),[359] and the preceding Sunday is sometimes called _Dominica in præparatione Adventus_, or _Dominica Quinta ante Natalem Domini_, in which we see a remnant of the more ancient reckoning. The collects of the Mass express the hope of the Messias and the longing for His appearance.