THE MATERIAL PARTS OF A MONASTERY
1. THE CHURCH
In any account of the parts of a monastic establishment the church
obviously finds the first place. As St. Benedict laid down the principle
that “nothing is to be preferred to the _Opus Dei_,” or Divine Service, so
in every well-regulated religious establishment the church must of
necessity be the very centre of the regular life as being, in fact no less
than in word, the “House of God.”
In northern climates the church was situated, as a rule, upon the northern
side of the monastic buildings. With its high and massive walls it
afforded to those who lived there a good shelter from the rough north
winds. As the northern cloister usually stretched along the nave wall of
the church and terminated at the south transept, the buildings of the
choir and presbytery and also the retro-chapels, if there were any, gave
some protection from the east wind. Sometimes, of course, there were
exceptions, caused by the natural lie of the ground or other reason, which
did not allow of the church being placed in the ordinary English position.
Canterbury itself and Chester are examples of this, the church being in
each case on the southern side, where also it is found very frequently in
warm and sunny climates, with the obvious intention of obtaining from its
high walls some shelter from the excessive heat of the sun. Convenience,
therefore, and not any very recondite symbolism, may be considered to have
usually dictated the position of “God’s house.”
Christian churches, especially the great cathedral and monastic churches,
were originally designed and built upon lines which had much symbolism in
them; the main body of the church with its transepts was to all, of
course, a representation of Christ upon the cross. To the builders of
these old sanctuaries the work was one of faith and love rather than a
matter of mere mercenary business. They designed and worshipped whilst
they wrought. To them, says one writer, the building “was instinct with
speech, a tree of life planted in paradise; sending its roots deep down
into the crypt; rising with stems in pillar and shaft; branching out into
boughs over the vaulting; blossoming in diaper and mural flora; breaking
out into foliage, flower, and fruit, on corbel, capital, and boss.” It was
all real and true to them, for it sprang out of their strong belief that
in the church they had “the House of God” and “the Gate of heaven,” into
which at the moment of the solemn dedication “the King of Glory” had come
to take lasting possession of His home. For this reason, to those who
worshipped in any such sanctuary the idea that they stood in the “courts
of the Lord” as His chosen ministers was ever present in their daily
service, as with the eyes of their simple faith they could almost
penetrate the veil that hid His majesty from their sight. As St. Benedict
taught his disciples, mediæval monks believed “without any doubt” that God
was present to them “in a special manner” when they “assisted at their
divine service.” “Therefore,” says the great master of the regular
observance, “let us consider in what manner and with what reverence it
behoveth us to be in the sight of God and of the Angels, and so let us
sing in choir, that mind and voice may accord together.”
[Illustration: BEAULIEU ABBEY GROUND PLAN]
[Illustration: NORWICH CATHEDRAL, WITH CLOISTERS]
So far as the religious life was concerned, the most important part of the
church was of course the presbytery with the High Altar and the choir.
Here all, or nearly all, public services were performed. The choir
frequently, if not generally, stretched beyond the transepts and took up
one, if not two, bays of the nave; being enclosed and divided off from
that more public part by the great screen. Other gates of ironwork, across
the aisle above the presbytery and in a line with the choir screen, kept
the public from the south transept. Privacy was thus secured for the
monks, whilst by this arrangement the people had full access to all parts
of the sacred building except the choir and the transept nearest to the
monastery.
The choir was entered, when the buildings were in the normal English
position, from a door in the southern wall of the church at the juncture
of the northern and eastern walks of the cloister. At the western end of
the same northern cloister there was generally another door into the
church reserved for the more solemn processions. The first, however, was
the ordinary entrance used by the monks, and passing through it they found
themselves in the area reserved for them within the screens which
stretched across the choir and aisle.
In the centre of the choir stood the great raised lectern or reading-desk,
from which the lessons were chanted, and from which, also, the singing was
directed by the cantor and his assistant. The stalls were arranged in two
or more rows slightly raised one above the other. The superior and the
second in command usually occupied the two stalls on each side of the main
entrance furthest from the altar, the juniors being ranged nearest to the
presbytery. This was the common practice except at the time of the
celebration of the Sacrifice of the Holy Mass, or during such portion of
the Office which preceded the Mass. On these occasions the elders took
their places nearest to the altar, for the purpose of making the necessary
oblations at the Holy Sacrifice. In many monastic choirs, for this reason,
the abbot and prior had each two places reserved for their special use,
one on either side near the altar, and the others at the entrance of the
choir. Besides the great lectern of the choir there was likewise a second
standing-desk for the reading of the Gospel at Matins, usually placed near
to the steps of the presbytery. In some cases, apparently, this was always
in its place, but more frequently it was brought into the choir for the
occasion, and removed afterwards by the servers of the church.
[Illustration: CANONS IN CHOIR]
There were in every church, besides the High Altar, several, and
frequently numerous, smaller altars. The _Rites of Durham_ describes
minutely the nine altars arranged along the eastern wall of the church and
facing the shrine of St. Cuthbert.
“They,” says the author, “each had their several shrines and covers of
wainscot over-head, in very decent and comely form, having likewise
betwixt every altar a very fair and large partition of wainscot, all
varnished over, with very fine branches and flowers and other imagery
work most finely and artificially pictured and gilded, containing the
several lockers or ambers for the safe keeping of the vestments and
ornaments belonging to every altar; with three or four aumbries in
the wall pertaining to some of the said altars.”
It would be now quite impossible to describe the rich adornments of an
English mediæval monastic church. The _Rites of Durham_ give some idea of
the wealth of plate, vestments and hangings, and the art treasures, mural
paintings and stained windows, with which generations of benefactors had
enriched that great northern sanctuary. What we know of other monastic
houses shows that Durham was not an exception in any way; but that almost
any one, at any rate of the greater houses, could challenge comparison
with it. A foreign traveller almost on the eve of their destruction speaks
of the artistic wealth of the monastic churches of England as unrivalled
by that of any other religious establishments in the whole of Europe.
2. THE CLOISTERS
In every monastery next in public importance to the church came the
cloisters. The very name has become a synonym for the monastery itself.
The four walks of the cloister formed the dwelling-place of the community.
With the progress of time there came into existence certain private rooms
in which the officials transacted their business, and later still the use
of private cells or cubicles became common, but these were the exception;
and, at any rate, in England till the dissolution of the religious houses,
the common life of the cloister was in full vigour.
[Illustration: THE CLOISTERS, WORCESTER]
In the normal position of the church on the north side of the monastic
buildings, the north cloister with its openings looking south was the
warmest of the four divisions. Here, in the first place, next the door of
the church, was the prior’s seat, and the rest of the seniors in their
order sat after him, not necessarily in order of seniority, but in the
positions that best suited their work. The abbot’s place, “since his
dignity demands,” as the Westminster Custumal puts it, was somewhat apart
from the rest. He had his fixed seat at the end of the eastern cloister
nearest to the church door. In the same cloister, but more towards the
other, or southern end, the novice-master taught his novices, and the walk
immediately opposite, namely, the western side of the cloister, was
devoted to the junior monks, who were, as the Rule of St. Benedict says,
“_adhuc in custodia_”: still under stricter discipline. The southern walk,
which would have been in ordinary circumstances the sunless, cold side of
the quadrangle, was not usually occupied in the daily life of the
community. This was the common position for the refectory, with the
lavatory close at hand, and the aumbries or cupboards for the towels, etc.
It was here also that the door from the outside world into the monastic
precincts was usually to be found. At Durham, for example, we are told
that--
“there was on the south side of the cloister door, a stool, or seat
with four feet, and a back of wood joined to the said stool, which was
made fast in the wall for the porter to sit on, which did keep the
cloister door. And before the said stool it was boarded in under foot,
for warmness. And he that was the last porter there was called Edward
Pattinson.”
The same account describes the cupboards near to the refectory door in
which the monks kept their towels--
“All the forepart of the aumbry was thorough carved work, to give air
to the towels.” There were “three doors in the forepart of either
aumbry and a lock on every door, and every monk had a key for the said
aumbries, wherein did hang in every one clean towels for the monks to
dry their hands on, when they washed and went to dinner.”
We who see the cold damp-stained cloisters of the old monastic buildings
as they are to-day, as at Westminster for example, may well feel a
difficulty in realising what they were in the time of their glory. Day
after day for centuries the cloister was the centre of the activity of the
religious establishment. The quadrangle was the place where the monks
lived and studied and wrote. In the three sides--the northern, eastern,
and western walks--were transacted the chief business of the house, other
than what was merely external. Here the older monks laboured at the tasks
appointed them by obedience, or discussed questions relating to
ecclesiastical learning or regular observance, or at permitted times
joined in recreative conversation. Here, too, in the parts set aside for
the purpose, the younger members toiled at their studies under the eye of
their teacher, learnt the monastic observance from the lips of the
novice-master, or practised the chants and melodies of the Divine Office
with the cantor or his assistant. How the work was done in the winter
time, even supposing that the great windows looking out on to the
cloister-garth were glazed or closed with wooden shutters, must ever
remain a mystery. In some places, it is true, certain screenwork divisions
appear to have been devised, so as to afford some shelter and protection
to the elder members and scribes of the monastery from the sharper
draughts inevitable in an open cloister. The account given in the _Rites
of Durham_ on this point is worth quoting at length:--
“In the cloister,” says the writer--and he is speaking of the northern
walk, set apart for the seniors--“in the cloister there were carrels
finely wainscotted and very close, all but the forepart, which had
carved work to give light in at their carrel doors. And in every
carrel was a desk to lie their books on, and the carrel was no greater
than from one stanchell (centre-bar) of the window to another. And
over against the carrels, against the church wall, did stand certain
great aumbries of wainscot all full of books, with great store of
ancient manuscripts to help them in their study.” In these cupboards,
“did lie as well the old ancient written Doctors of the Church as
other profane authors, with divers other holy men’s works, so that
every one did study what doctor pleased him best, having the Library
at all times to go and study in besides these carrels.”
[Illustration: THE CLOISTERS, GLOUCESTER, SHEWING CARRELS]
In speaking of the novices the same writer tells us that--
“over against the said treasury door was a fair seat of wainscot,
where the novices were taught. And the master of the novices had a
pretty seat of wainscot adjoining to the south side of the treasury
door, over against the seat where the novices sat; and there he taught
the novices both forenoon and afternoon. No strangers or other persons
were suffered to molest, or trouble the said novices, or monks in
their carrels while they were at their books within the cloister. For
to this purpose there was a porter appointed to keep the cloister
door.”
In other monasteries, such for example as Westminster and St. Augustine’s,
Canterbury, these enclosed wooden sitting-places seem to have been very
few in number, and allowed only to those officers of the house who had
much business to transact for the common good. At Durham, however, we are
told that “every one of the old monks” had his own special seat, and in
each window of the south cloister there were set “three of these pews or
carrels.”
3. THE REFECTORY
The refectory, sometimes called the _fratry_ or _frater-house_, was the
common hall for all conventual meals. Its situation in the plan of a
monastic establishment was almost always as far removed from the church as
possible, that is, it was on the opposite side of the cloister quadrangle
and, according to the usual plan, in the southern walk of the cloister.
The reason for this arrangement is obvious. It was to secure that the
church and its precincts might be kept as free as possible from the
annoyance caused by the noise and smells necessarily connected with the
preparation and consumption of the meals.
As a rule, the walls of the hall would no doubt have been wainscotted. At
one end, probably, great presses would have been placed to receive the
plate and linen, with the salt-cellars, cups, and other ordinary
requirements for the common meals. The floor of a monastic refectory was
spread with hay or rushes, which covering was changed three or four times
in the year; and the tables were ranged in single rows lengthways, with
the benches for the monks upon the inside, where they sat with their backs
to the panelled walls. At the east end, under some sacred figure, or
painting of the crucifix, or of our Lord in glory, called the _Majestas_,
was the _mensa major_, or high table for the superior. Above this the
_scylla_ or small signal-bell was suspended. This was sounded by the
president of the meal as a sign that the community might begin their
refection, and for the commencement of each of the new courses. The
pulpit, or reading-desk, was, as a rule, placed upon the south side of the
hall, and below it was usually placed the table for the novices, presided
over by their master.
“At which time (of meals),” says the _Rites of Durham_, “the master
observed this wholesome order for the continual instructing of their
youth in virtue and learning; that is, one of the novices, at the
election and appointment of the master, did read some part of the Old
and New Testament, in Latin, in dinner-time, having a convenient place
at the south end of the high table within a fair glass window,
environed with iron, and certain steps of stone with iron rails of the
one side to go up into it and to support an iron desk there placed,
upon which lay the Holy Bible.”
In most cases the kitchens and offices would have been situated near the
western end of the refectory, across which a screen pierced with doors
would probably have somewhat veiled the serving-hatch, the dresser, and
the passages to the butteries, cellars, and pantry.
[Illustration: THE REFECTORY, CLEVE ABBEY]
Besides the great refectory there was frequently a smaller hall, called by
various names such as the “misericord,” or “oriel” at St. Alban’s, the
“disport” (_deportus_) at Canterbury, and the “spane” at Peterborough. In
this smaller dining-place those who had been bled and others, who by the
dispensation of the superior were to have different or better food than
that served in the common refectory, came to their meals. At Durham,
apparently, the ordinary dining-place was called the “loft,” and was at
the west end of a larger hall entered from the south alley of the
cloister, called the “frater-house.” In this hall “the great feast of
Saint Cuthbert’s day in Lent was holden.” In an aumbry in the wainscot,
on the left-hand of the door, says the author of the _Rites of Durham_,
was kept the great mazer, called the _grace-cup_, “which did service to
the monks everyday, after grace was said, to drink in round the table.”
4. THE KITCHEN
Near to the refectory was, of course, the conventual kitchen. At
Canterbury this kitchen was a square of some forty-five feet; at Durham it
was somewhat smaller; and at Glastonbury, Worcester, and Chester the hall
was some thirty-five feet square. A small courtyard with the usual offices
adjoined it; and this sometimes, as at Westminster and Chester, had a
tower and a larder on the western side. According to the Cluniac
constitutions there were to be two kitchens: the one served in weekly
turns by the brethren, the other in which a good deal of the food was
prepared by paid servants. The first was chiefly used for the preparation
of the soup or pottage, which formed the foundation of the monastic
dinner. The furniture of this kitchen is minutely described in the
Custumals: there were to be three _caldaria_ or cauldrons for boiling
water: one for cooking the beans, a second for the vegetables, and a
third, with an iron tripod to stand it upon, to furnish hot water for
washing plates, dishes, cloths, etc. Secondly, there were to be four great
dishes or vessels: one for half-cooked beans; another and much larger one,
into which water was always to be kept running, for washing vegetables; a
third for washing up plates and dishes; and a fourth to be reserved for
holding a supply of hot water required for the weekly feet-washing, and
for the shaving of faces and tonsures, etc. In the same way there were
to be always in the kitchen four spoons: the first for beans, the second
for vegetables, the third (a small one naturally) for seasoning the soup,
and the fourth (an iron one of large size) for shovelling coals on to the
fire. Besides these necessary articles, the superior was to see that there
were to be always at hand four pairs of sleeves for the use of the
servers, that they might not soil their ordinary habits; two pairs of
gloves for moving hot vessels, and three napkins for wiping dishes, etc.,
which were to be changed every Thursday. Besides these things there were,
of course, to be knives, and a stone wherewith to sharpen them; a small
dish to get hot water quickly when required; a strainer; an urn to draw
hot water from; two ladles; a fan to blow the fire up when needed, and
stands to set the pots upon, etc.
[Illustration: REPTON PRIORY DERBYSHIRE.]
The work of the weekly cooks is also carefully set out in these
constitutions. These officials were four in number, and, upon the sign for
vespers, after making their prayer, they were to proceed to the kitchen
and obtain the necessary measure of beans for the following day. They then
said their vespers together, and proceeded to wash the beans in three
waters, putting them afterwards into the great boiling-pot with water
ready for the next day. After Lauds on the following day, when they had
received the usual blessing for the servers, after washing themselves they
proceeded to the kitchen and set the cauldron of beans on the fire. The
pot was to be watched most carefully lest the contents should be burnt.
The skins were to be taken off as they became loosened, and the beans were
to be removed as they were cooked. When all had been finished, the great
cauldron was to be scoured and cleaned “_usque ad nitidum_.” Directly the
beans had been removed from the fire, another pot was to be put in its
place, so that there might always be a good supply of water for washing
plates and dishes. These, when cleaned, were to be put into a rack to dry;
this rack was to be constantly and thoroughly scoured and kept clean and
sweet.
When the cooking of this bean soup had progressed so far, the four cooks
were to sit down and say their Divine Office together whilst the hot water
was being boiled. A third pot, with vegetables in cold water, was to be
then made ready to take its place on the fire, after the Gospel of the
morning Mass. When the daily Chapter, at which all had to be present, was
finished, the beans were again to be put on the fire and boiled with more
water, whilst the vegetables also were set to cook; and when these were
done the cooks got the lard and seasoning, and, having melted it, poured
it over them. Two of the four weekly cooks now went to the High Mass, the
other two remaining behind to watch the dinner and to put more water into
the cooking-pots when needed. When the community were ready for their
meal, the first cook ladled out the soup into dishes, and the other three
carried them to the refectory. In the same way the vegetables were to be
served to the community, and when this had been done the four weekly cooks
proceeded at once to wash with hot water the dishes and plates which had
been used for beans and vegetables, lest by delay any remains should stick
to the substance of the plate and be afterwards difficult to remove.
5. THE CHAPTER-HOUSE
The chapter-hall, or house, was situated on the eastern side of the
cloister, as near to the church as possible. Its shape, usually
rectangular, sometimes varied according to circumstances and places. At
Worcester and Westminster, for example, it was octagonal; at Canterbury
and Chester rectangular; at Durham and Norwich rectangular with an apsidal
termination. Seats were arranged along the walls for the monks, sometimes
in two rows, one raised above the other, and at the easternmost part of
the hall was the chair of the superior, with the crucifix or _Majestas_
over it. In the centre a raised desk or pulpit was arranged for the reader
of the Martyrology, etc., at that part of Prime which preceded the daily
Chapter, and at the evening Collation before Compline.
[Illustration: THE CHAPTER HOUSE, WESTMINSTER]
6. THE DORMITORY
The position of the dormitory among the claustral buildings was apparently
not so determined either by rule or custom, as some of the other parts of
the religious house. Normally, it may be taken to have communicated with
the southern transept, for the purpose of giving easy access to the choir
for the night offices. In two cases it stood at right angles to the
cloister--at Worcester on the western side, and at Winchester on the east.
The _Rites of Durham_ says that “on the west side of the cloister was a
large house called the Dortor, where the monks and novices lay. Every monk
had a little chamber to himself. Each chamber had a window towards the
Chapter, and the partition betwixt every chamber was close wainscotted,
and in each window was a desk to support their books.”
The place itself at Durham, and, indeed, no doubt, usually, was raised
upon an undercroft and divided into various chambers and rooms. Amongst
these were the treasury at Durham and Westminster, and the passage to the
chapter-hall in the latter. The dormitory-hall was originally one open
apartment, in which the beds of the monks were placed without screens or
dividing hangings. In process of time, however, divisions became
introduced such as are described by the author of the _Rites of Durham_,
and such as we know existed elsewhere. The cubicles or cells thus formed
came to be used for the purpose of study as well as for sleeping, which
accounts for the presence of the “desk to support their books” spoken of
above. The dormitory also communicated with the latrine or _rere-dortor_,
which was lighted, partitioned, and provided with clean hay.
For the purpose of easy access, as for instance at Worcester, the
dormitory frequently communicated directly with the church through the
south-western turret; at Canterbury a gallery was formed in the west
gable-wall of the chapter-house, over the doorway, and continuing over the
cloister roof, came out into an upper chapel in the northern part of the
transept; at Westminster a bridge crossed the west end of the sacristy,
and at St. Alban’s and Winchester passages in the wall of the transept
gave communication by stairs into the church.
7. THE INFIRMARY
In the disposition of the parts of the religious house no fixed locality
was apparently assigned by rule or custom to the infirmary, or house for
the sick and aged. Usually it appears to have been to the east of the
dormitory; but there were undoubtedly numerous exceptions. At Worcester it
faced the west front of the church, and at Durham and Rochester apparently
it joined it; whilst at Norwich and Gloucester it was in a position
parallel to the refectory. Adjoining the infirmary was sometimes the
_herbarium_, or garden for herbs; and occasionally, as at Westminster,
Gloucester, and Canterbury, this was surrounded by little cloisters. The
main hall, or large room, of the infirmary often included a chapel at the
easternmost point, where the sick could say their Hours and other Offices
when able to do so, and where the infirmarian could say Mass for those
under his charge. According to the constitutions of all religious bodies
the care of the sick was enjoined upon the superior of every religious
house as one of his most important duties.
“Before all things, and above all things,” says St. Benedict in his
Rule, “special care must be taken of the sick, so that they be served
in very deed, as Christ Himself, for He saith: ‘I was sick, and ye
visited me’; and, ‘What ye did to one of these My least Brethren, ye
did to Me.’”
On this principle not only was a special official appointed in every
monastery, whose first duty it was to look to the care and comfort of
those who were infirm and sick, but the officials of the house generally
were charged with seeing that they were supplied with what was needed for
their comfort and cure. Above all, says the great legislator, “let the
abbot take special care they be not neglected,” that they have what they
require at the hands of the cellarer, and that the attendants do not
neglect them, “because,” he adds, “whatever is done amiss by his disciples
is imputed to him.” For this reason, at stated times, as for instance
immediately after the midday meal, the superior, who had presided in the
common refectory, was charged to visit the sick brethren in the infirmary,
in order to be sure that they had been served properly and in no ways
neglected.
8. THE GUEST-HOUSE
The guest-house (_hostellary_, _hostry_, etc.) was a necessary part of
every great religious house. It was presided over by a senior monk, whose
duty it was to keep the hall and chambers ready for the reception of
guests, and to be ever prepared to receive those who came to ask for
hospitality. Naturally the guest-house was situated where it would be
least likely to interfere with the privacy of the monastery. The
guest-place at Canterbury was of great size, measuring forty feet broad by
a hundred and fifty feet long. The main building was a big hall,
resembling a church with columns, having on each side bedrooms or cubicles
leading out of it. In the thirteenth century John de Hertford, abbot of
St. Alban’s, built a noble hall for the use of guests frequenting his
abbey, with an inner parlour having a fireplace in it, and many chambers
arranged for the use of various kinds of guests. It had also a _pro-aula_,
or reception-room, in which the guest-master first received the pilgrim or
traveller, before conducting him to the church, or arranging for a
reception corresponding to his rank and position.
In the greater monastic establishments there were frequently several
places for the reception of guests. The abbot, or superior, had rooms to
accommodate distinguished or honoured guests and benefactors of the
establishment. The cellarer’s department, too, frequently had to entertain
merchants and others who came upon business of the house: a third shelter
was provided near the gate of the monastery for the poorer folk, and a
fourth for the monks of other religious houses, who had their meals in the
common refectory, and joined in many of the exercises of the community.
The _Rites of Durham_ thus describes the guest-house which the author
remembered in the great cathedral monastery of the North:--
“There was a famous house of hospitality, called the Guest Hall,
within the Abbey garth of Durham, on the west side, towards the water,
the Terrar of the house being master thereof, as one appointed to give
entertainment to all states, both noble, gentle, and whatsoever degree
that came thither as strangers, their entertainment not being inferior
to any place in England, both for the goodness of their diet, the
sweet and dainty furniture of their lodgings, and generally all things
necessary for travellers. And, withal, this entertainment continuing,
(the monks) not willing or commanding any man to depart, upon his
honest and good behaviour. This hall is a goodly, brave place, much
like unto the body of a church, with very fair pillars supporting it
on either side, and in the midst of the hall a most large range for
the fire. The chambers and lodgings belonging to it were sweetly kept
and so richly furnished that they were not unpleasant to lie in,
especially one chamber called the ‘king’s chamber,’ deserving that
name, in that the king himself might very well have lain in it, for
the princely linen thereof.... The prior (whose hospitality was such
as that there needed no guest-hall, but that they (the Convent) were
desirous to abound in all liberal and free almsgiving) did keep a most
honourable house and very noble entertainment, being attended upon
both with gentlemen and yeomen, of the best in the country, as the
honourable service of his house deserved no less. The benevolence
thereof, with the relief and alms of the whole Convent, was always
open and free, not only to the poor of the city of Durham, but to all
the poor people of the country besides.”
In most monastic statutes, the time during which a visitor was to be
allowed free hospitality was not unlimited, as, according to the
recollection of the author of the _Rites of Durham_, appears to have been
the case in that monastery. The usual period was apparently two days and
nights, and in ordinary cases after dinner on the third day the guest was
expected to take his departure. If for any reason a visitor desired to
prolong his stay, permission had to be obtained from the superior by the
guest-master. Unless prevented by sickness, after that time the guest had
to rise for Matins, and otherwise follow the exercises of the community.
With the Franciscans, a visitor who asked for hospitality from the convent
beyond three days, had to beg pardon in the conventual chapter before he
departed for his excessive demand upon the hospitality of the house.
9. THE PARLOUR OR LOCUTORIUM
In most Custumals of monastic observance mention is made of a _Parlour_,
and in some of more than one such place. Here the monks could be sent for
by the superiors to discuss necessary matters of business, when strict
silence had to be observed in the cloister itself. Here, too--it may be in
the same, or in another such room--visitors could converse with the
religious they had come to see. Sometimes, apparently, among the
Cistercians, the place where the monastic schools were held, other than
the cloister, was called the _auditorium_ or _locutorium_. At Durham, the
room called the parlour stood between the chapter-house and the church
door, and is described as “a place for merchants to utter their wares.” It
apparently had a door which gave access to the monastic cemetery, as the
religious were directed to pass through it for the funeral of any of the
brethren. During the times of silence, when anything had to be settled
without unnecessary delay, the officials could summon any of the religious
to the parlour for the purpose; but they were warned not to make any long
stay, and to take great care that no sound of their voices disturbed the
quiet of the cloister.
10. THE ALMONRY
No religious house was complete without a place where the poor could come
and beg alms in the name of Christ. The convent doles of food and clothing
were administered by one of the senior monks, who, by his office of
almoner, had to interview the crowds of poor who daily flocked to the gate
in search of relief. His charity was to be wider than his means; and where
he could not satisfy the actual needs of all, he was at least to manifest
his Christian sympathy for their sufferings. The house or room, from which
the monastic relief was given, frequently stood near the church, as
showing the necessary connection between charity and religion. In most of
the almonries, at any rate in those of the larger monasteries, there was a
free school for poor boys. It was in these that most of the students who
were presented for Ordination by the religious houses in such number
during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, (as is shown by the
episcopal registers of the English dioceses), were prepared to exercise
their sacred ministry in the ranks of the parochial clergy.
11. THE COMMON-ROOM OR CALEFACTORY
The common-room, sometimes called the calefactory or warming-place, was a
room to which the religious resorted, especially in winter, for the
purpose of warming themselves at the common fire, which was lighted on the
feast of All Saints, November 1st, and kept burning daily until Easter. On
certain occasions, such as Christmas night, when the Offices in the church
were specially long, the caretaker was warned to be particularly careful
to have a bright fire burning for the community to go to when they came
out of the choir. The common-room was also used at times for the purpose
of recreation.
“On the right hand, as you go out of the cloisters into the
infirmary,” says the _Rites of Durham_, “was the Common House and a
master thereof. This house was intended to this end, to have a fire
kept in it all the winter, for the monks to come and warm them at,
being allowed no fire but that only, except the masters and officers
of the house, who had their several fires. There was belonging to the
Common House a garden and a bowling alley, on the back-side of the
said house, towards the water, for the novices sometimes to recreate
themselves, when they had leave of their master; he standing by to see
their good order.
“Also, within this house did the master thereof keep his _O Sapientia_
once a year--namely, between Martinmas and Christmas--a solemn banquet
that the prior and convent did use at that time of the year only, when
their banquet was of figs and raisins, ale and cakes; and thereof no
superfluity or excess, but a scholastical and moderate congratulation
amongst themselves.”
12. THE LIBRARY
“A monastery without a library is like a castle without an armoury” was an
old monastic saying. At first, and in most places in England probably to
the end, there was no special hall, room, or place which was set aside for
the reception of the books belonging to the monastery. In the church and
in the cloister there were generally cupboards to hold the manuscripts
in constant use. It was not till the later middle ages that the practice
of gathering together the books of an establishment into one place or room
became at all common. At Durham, about 1446, Prior Wessington made a
_library_, “well replenished with old written doctors and other Histories
and Ecclesiastical writers,” to which henceforth the monks could always
repair to study in, “besides their carrels” in the cloister. So, too, at
St. Alban’s, Michael de Mentmore, who was abbot from 1335 to 1349, besides
enriching the presses in the cloister with books, made a collection of
special volumes in what he called his study. This collection grew; but it
was not till 1452 that Abbot Whethamstede finally completed the _library_,
which had long been projected. About the same time, at Canterbury, Prior
Thomas Goldstone finished a library there, which was enriched by the
celebrated Prior William Sellyng with many precious classical manuscripts
brought back from Italy. In the same way many other religious houses in
the fifteenth century erected, or set apart, special places for their
collections of books, whilst still retaining the great cloister presses
for those volumes which were in daily and constant use.
[Illustration: WATTON PRIORY. E R YORKS]
In addition to the above-named parts of every religious house, there were
in most monasteries, and especially in the larger ones, a great number of
offices. The officials, or obedientiaries, for instance, had their chequer
or _scaccarium_, where the accounts of the various estates assigned to the
support of the burdens of their special offices were rendered and checked.
There were also the usual workrooms for tailors, shoemakers, etc., under
the management of the chamberlain, or camerarius, and for the servants of
the church, under the sacrist and his assistant. The above, however, will
be sufficient to give some general idea of the material parts which
composed the ordinary English religious house. More, however, will be
learnt of them, and especially of their use, when the work of the
officials, and the daily life led by the monks in the cloister is
discussed.