Medieval Monasteries
What did monks do?
A monk at work on an
illuminated manuscript
 Obeyed Rule of St
Benedict.
 Prayed, worked, ate & slept
together in the monastery.
 Vows of poverty & chastity
and obedience.
 Wore a habit and had hair
cut in a tonsure.
 4 types or orders:
Benedictines, Cluniacs,
Cistercians & Carthusians
(silent)
Work in the Scriptorium
What were the vows that monks made?
 Spend his life in the service
of God
 Give away his property to
others
 Obey the abbot at all times
 Wear a habit and sandals
and have a tonsure
 Stay in the monastery
throughout his life
 Remain celibate
Who worked in a monastery?
 Abbot – Christ’s
representative
 Monks – services,
prayers
 Novices - trainees
 Lay brothers –
estate workers
Glastonbury Abbey
 Obedientaries servants
Obedientaries
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These were men who were responsible for the day to day
running of the monastery, and who ensured the Rule was
followed to the letter. They included:
the cellarer (responsible for provisions),
the fraterer (crockery, linen & lavatorium)
the chamberlain (beds, clothing)
the almoner (charitable gifts to the poor)
the precentor (organisation of church services)
the sacrist (church furnishings)
What did a monk do during the day?
 Daily round of prayers
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& services
Special festivals, e.g.
Christmas, Easter Day
& Saints Days
Benedict believed ‘to
work is to pray’.
Each monk worked on
the farm or in the
workshops.
They also had duties in
the infirmary,
refectory, church and
scriptorium.
Fountains Abbey
Prayers & services
Service
Time
Night office / Matins
12am
Prime
Dawn
Terce
Mid-morning
Sext
12pm
None
Mid-afternoon
Vespers
Late afternoon
Compline
Dusk
Role of the Monasteries
 Scribes preserved the Bible and other writings.
 Set up schools.
 Good farmers, herbalists and doctors.
 Provided food and shelter for the poor and for
travellers.
Romanesque Churches
 Around 1000 A.D. Christians began
to build big, stone churches.
 The first big stone churches were
built in a style called Romanesque.
 On the right is a picture of Clonfert
Cathedral, Co. Galway. There is also
a picture of it on p.100.
 Romanesque churches typically had
round arches, thick, round columns
and dark interiors.
 Pick out these three characteristics
on the following picture.
 A Romanesque Church was dark
and gloomy inside. The roofs was
held up with heavy round columns
and thick walls.
 That meant that there were small
windows, so little light got in.
Gothic
Churches
 The Gothic style of architecture
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came later.
Gothic cathedrals usually have
spires and towers.
The arches over the windows and
doors are pointed. There are often
stone statues carved into the
doorways.
There are arches on the outside to
hold up the roof, these are called
flying buttresses. Can you spot
them on the picture of Notre
Dame Cathedral?
This meant that inside the church
the walls could be held up by slim
columns.
These churches had big windows
with beautiful stained class.
When the sun shone through the
glass, the whole church glowed
with light and colour.
Interiors of Churches – Which is which, and
why?