THE DAILY LIFE IN A MONASTERY--_continued_
8. THE HIGH MASS
The daily “_Magna Missa_”--the Conventual, or High Mass--began at ten
o’clock. The first signal was given by the ringing of a small bell some
short time before the hour; and forthwith, on the first sound, the juniors
and novices laid aside the tasks upon which they were engaged. All books
were at once replaced on the shelves of the aumbry in the cloister, and
then the monks waited in their places till the second signal. On this
being given, talking at once ceased, and the religious made their way to
the church. Meanwhile, on hearing the first signal, the hebdomadarian, or
priest, who had to sing the Conventual Mass, and the other sacred
ministers, after having again washed their hands “to be ready to fulfil
their functions at the sacred altar with fitting purity” of body and mind,
made their way to the sacristy to vest for the service.
The community having entered the choir and taken their places, the senior
members nearest the altar, the prior, who was up to this time waiting
outside the door of the church, gave the sign for the tolling of the bell
to cease. As he did so, he himself entered the choir and took up his
position in the stall nearest to the presbytery steps and opposite to
that of the abbot when he was present. If Tierce had not already been said
at the time of the morning Mass, after the usual silent Pater and Ave, the
superior made a signal for that Hour “by rapping with his hand upon the
wood of his stall.” Whilst the community were engaged in the recitation of
the Office, the ministers were completing their preparation in the
sacristy, and when it was over, if the day were a Sunday, the priest came
into the choir for the solemn blessing of the holy water. He was preceded
by the thurifer bearing the processional cross between two candle-bearers,
and was accompanied by the deacon and sub-deacon in albs. Two vases of
water had been prepared on the first step of the presbytery by the church
servers, and thither the procession went for the weekly blessing of the
holy water. The cross-bearer mounted the steps and then turning somewhat
to the north, stood with his face towards the priest; the deacon assisted
upon the right hand of the celebrant and the sub-deacon on his left. The
solemn blessings of the salt and water were then chanted by the priest,
the whole community answering and taking part in the service. When the
exorcism and blessing of the salt was finished, the sub-deacon, coming
forward, took a little of it on a smaller dish and handed it to the priest
to mix with the water. The rest of the blessed salt was then taken by one
of the church servants to the refectorian, whose duty it was to see that a
small portion was every Sunday placed in every salt-cellar in the
refectory.
After the blessing of the holy water came the _Asperges_. The priest,
having given the book of the blessings to one of the servers, received the
_aspersorium_, or sprinkler, and dipping it into the vat of water, went to
the altar, and after having sprinkled the front of it thrice, passed
round it, doing the same at the back. Meanwhile the vat-bearer with the
holy water awaited his return and then accompanied him as he gave the
_Asperges_ to all the religious in the choir. At the abbot’s stall the
priest paused, bowed, and presented the sprinkler, so that the superior
might touch it and sign himself with the newly-blessed water. When the
abbot had finished the sign of the cross, the priest passed down the ranks
of the brethren, sprinkling them with the water, first on one side and
then on the other. If a bishop were present in the choir, he was treated
with the same special reverence shown to the abbot, and to him the blessed
water was to be taken first. When all the brethren had received the
_Asperges_, the priest accompanied by his ministers went to the choir
gates and sprinkled those of the faithful who were in the body of the
church.
After this two priests, accompanied by two of the brethren, proceeded to
take the holy water round the house. One pair went through the public
rooms and offices of the monastery sprinkling them and saying appropriate
prayers in each. The other mounted to the dormitory and did the same for
each bed and cubicle, and returning through the infirmary, gave to each of
the sick brethren the same privilege of receiving the holy water, which
their brethren in the church had had.
Whilst this was being done by the two priests and their associates, the
community, under the direction of the precentor, passed out of the choir
into the cloister for the Sunday procession. First walked the bearer of
the holy water which had just been blessed. He was followed by the
cross-bearer walking between two acolytes carrying lighted candles. Then
came the sub-deacon by himself with the book of the Holy Gospels, and
behind him the priest who was to celebrate the Mass accompanied by his
deacon. These were succeeded by the community, two and two, with the abbot
by himself at the close of the double line. Ordinarily the procession
passed once round the cloister, the monks singing the Responsories
appointed for the special Sunday. On greater feasts there was more
solemnity, for then the community were all vested in copes, which had been
brought into the choir by the church servers and distributed to the monks
after the _Asperges_. On these occasions, as also on the Sundays, the Hour
of Tierce followed, instead of being said before the blessing of the holy
water. On the Wednesdays and Fridays of Lent also, and on the Rogation
days, there were processions; but these were penitential exercises, and on
such occasions the community walked barefooted round the cloister.
If the day was one of the solemn feasts, upon which the abbot celebrated
in pontificals, he was vested by the sacred ministers before the altar in
the sacristy, whilst Tierce was being sung in the choir. At the conclusion
of the Hour he entered with due solemnity, being met at the door of the
choir by the prior and others, and he took his seat upon a throne erected
before his stall in the upper part of the choir until the procession was
formed. The abbot only celebrated at the High Altar on these great feasts;
and never except with full pontifical ceremonies, if he had the right to
use pontificalia at all.
In most monasteries several times a year--four or more, according to
custom and circumstances--there were exceptionally solemn processions with
relics and banners. On these occasions every care was taken to make the
religious pageants worthy of the best traditions of the monastery. Such
processions would be preceded by the vergers of the church with their
maces of office; and the community, all vested in copes, walked in couples
with some four feet between them and between the next couple. Every here
and there a single individual walked in the middle carrying an appropriate
banner; and at intervals the great shrines, which were the special pride
of the house, or the chief notable relics, were borne by the requisite
number of religious clad in sacred vestments. At the close of the
procession came the abbot in full pontificalia, assisted by his sacred
ministers. Finally, following the church servers, walked the _janitor_ of
the church, or “door-keeper,” “who,” according to one Custumal, “was to
raise his rod well above his head, to warn the people who pressed on after
the procession, to stand farther away.”
These were the ceremonies preliminary to the High Mass on Sundays and on
the greater festivals. Ordinarily speaking, the conventual High Mass would
begin either directly after Tierce, or if that Hour had been already
recited at the time of the early Mass, immediately the community had
entered the choir, and the cessation of the bell-ringing had given notice
that the prior was in his place. The two juniors appointed by the cantor
had meanwhile taken the graduals and psalters from the presses in the
choir, and had distributed them to the seniors, juniors, and novices
according to their needs. The cantor of the week, also, had by this time
put on his cope, had chosen a book, and had taken his stand at the lectern
to be ready to lead the singing. The High Mass then commenced and went on
as usual till after the Blessing. At the Offertory the prior or some of
the seniors brought the oblations to the altar and gave them to the
celebrant. On Sundays, after the Blessing, the hebdomadarian priest gave
the usual benediction to the weekly reader, who had come forward from his
place in choir to the steps of the presbytery to receive it. The Gospel of
St. John was said after the priests and the ministers had reached the
sacristy and were standing before the altar there, whilst the community
were leaving the choir for the next conventual duty, or were unvesting, if
they had that day worn copes or albs.
If the abbot celebrated, the ceremonial was somewhat more elaborate. The
prior made the oblation at the Offertory, and assisted the abbot to wash
his hands after the incensing of the altar, and before the Post-Communion
at the end of the Mass. If the abbot had been taking part in the
procession, at the end of it, when the religious returned to the choir for
Tierce, the abbot retired to the sacristy, accompanied by the ministers,
where he took off his cope and put on the dalmatics and chasuble for the
Holy Sacrifice, waiting in the sacristy till the signal was given for
beginning the Mass.
9. THE DINNER
Dinner followed Mass directly, with only a brief interval for the washing
of hands. As a rule, the midday meal would be served about eleven o’clock.
The reader and servers were permitted to take some slight refection
beforehand; and for this purpose could leave the church before the
conclusion of the service with the refectorian and kitchener. On Sundays,
however, the reader had to wait till after he had received the usual
weekly blessing, but he might then go straight from the altar to take his
bread and wine.
Just before the close of the service in the church, the prior came out
into the cloister and either himself began to sound the signal for the
dinner, or caused someone else, appointed for the purpose, to do so. If
through any accident the meal was not quite ready, or, as one Custumal
says, “if the bread be still in the oven,” it was the duty of the
kitchener to wait for the coming of the prior and to inform him of the
delay, so that the signal might not begin to sound before the cook was
ready. In this case the community, upon coming out of the church, after
they had performed their ablutions, sat as patiently as they could in the
cloister till the signal was given. Ordinarily, however, the bell began to
ring at their coming out of the choir, and continued to sound whilst they
were preparing themselves for the meal, and, indeed, until all were in
their places.
The prior, or the senior who was going to preside at the meal if he were
absent, remained at the door of the refectory, and gave the sign for the
bell to cease ringing when all was ready. Whilst waiting here, the various
officials who had to make any communication to the prior about the meal,
or ask any permission appertaining to their office, came to make their
reports or proffer their requests. For example, the infirmarian had now to
notify the names and number of the sick under his charge, or to ask
permission for some one of the brethren to dine with them. The
guest-master would do the same in regard to his guests, and, on the great
feasts when the abbot had pontificated, he would frequently send his
chaplain to the prior or presiding senior, when thus standing at the
entrance to the refectory, to acquaint him that he had invited the sacred
ministers who had assisted him in the function, to dine at his table. In
some places also, on every fish-day, the cellarer acquainted the prior at
this time what provision he had made for the community meal, in order that
the superior presiding might judge whether there ought to be anything
further supplied to the religious, by way of a _caritas_, or extraordinary
dish.
The monks on entering the refectory were directed to pause in the middle
and salute the _Majestas_ over the high table with a profound bow. They
then passed to their places to await the coming of the superior. If this
was delayed they could sit down in their places till the bell, ceasing to
ring, told them that the superior had given the sign for his entry. They
then stood in their ranks and returned the bow he made to each side as he
came into the hall. If the abbot dined in the refectory, each monk also
individually saluted him as he passed up to his seat. The usual Grace was
then chanted, and the prior, or whoever presided, gave the blessing to the
reader, who came forward into the middle of the refectory to ask for it.
Whilst the community were sitting down in their places at table, the
reader mounted the pulpit and opened the book at the place he had already
prepared. When all was quiet the superior sounded the small bell at his
table as a sign that the reader might begin; and, when the first sentence
had been read, he sounded it a second time for the commencement of the
meal. That the interval between the two bells might not be over long, the
reader is warned in some monastic directions to make choice in all
refectory reading of a short sentence as the first.
[Illustration: REFECTORY PULPIT, CHESTER]
The monk who read one week had to serve the next, and during his week of
reading he was never to be absent from his duty except with grave cause.
For example, if he were to be invited during his week of office to dine at
the abbot’s table, he was to excuse himself and say that he was the
conventual reader. The reason assigned is obvious: the reading had to be
carefully prepared, and was besides a labour; so that to ask anyone to
take the duty unexpectedly would mean not only that he would have a burden
placed upon him, but that the community would not have proper respect paid
to it, in having to listen to reading that had not been prepared
previously. One common and useful direction given to the refectory reader
is, that he was not to hurry. The quantity he got through was immaterial
compared with distinct pronunciation and careful rendering. Any specially
noteworthy passage should be repeated so as to impress its meaning upon
the hearers.
When the second signal had been sounded by the president’s bell, the
brethren uncovered their loaves, which had been placed under their
napkins, arranged the latter, and broke their portion of bread. At the
second signal, too, the servers began their ministrations. In some of the
greater houses, at the beginning of the meal, two juniors, one from each
side, took their goblets and spoons and came to the table of the presiding
superior. Here they took up their places, standing at either end of the
table, unless the superior should invite them to sit. These junior monks
were to act as the special servers of the religious presiding in the
refectory. They were to assist him in his wants, to anticipate them if
possible, and to act as his messengers should he require them to do so.
On first taking up their position, the senior of the two was directed to
cut the superior’s loaf in two for him, the other was to fill his goblet
with the beer or wine served to the community. These two assistants at the
president’s table had to eat their meals as they stood or sat, as the case
might be, at the ends of the high table, and were to be helped immediately
after the president himself.
When the sign for beginning the meal had been given, two other juniors,
one on each side of the refectory, rose from their places, and, receiving
the jugs of beer or wine from the cellarer or his assistant, proceeded to
fill the goblets set before each of the religious. When this was done they
asked permission from the superior, by a sign, to fill the measure of
drink intended as the convent’s charity to the poor. Meanwhile the servers
had gone to the kitchen-hatch to bring in the dishes. These were taken
usually first to the superior, and from this dish the two juniors serving
at his table were helped; then, should there have been any one of the
brethren lately dead, his portion, to be given to the poor, was served out
into a special dish. Finally, in many places, two dishes were taken by the
servers to the tables on each side of the refectory; one to the top and
the other to the bottom and so passed along the tables, the monk who
passed the dish, and he to whom it was passed, bowing to each other with
ceremonial courtesy.
In some houses the method of serving was somewhat different: the portions
were served separately, having been previously divided under the direction
of the kitchener or refectorian. When the first dish was pottage, the
serving always began with the youngest member of the community, the
superior receiving his last; in other cases the first dish was always
taken to the superior’s table. The servers were exhorted always to attend
to their work, not to keep standing about the kitchen-hatch, and much less
to stop gossiping there; but to watch carefully and even anxiously for any
sign that might be made to them by the brethren.
In some Custumals there were minute directions for the serving. Those who
served the brethren were not to rush about, nor stand aimlessly in one
place, nor gossip with the kitchen-servers even about the dishes they
received. They were to watch to supply what was wanted; they were to serve
with decorum and with patience, as if, indeed, they were waiting upon our
Lord Himself; and they should not attempt too much at a time, as, for
example, to try to carry in more dishes, etc., than they were well able to
do. As a rule, they were to be contented to use both hands to carry one
dish.
During the service of the first course, the reading was to proceed
uninterruptedly; but when the community had finished eating it, a pause
was made until the second course had been set on the table. Meanwhile, at
some religious houses at this point in the dinner, the poor man selected
that day to receive the alms of the community, or as the recipient of the
portion of a deceased brother during the thirty days after his death, was
brought into the refectory by the almoner. His share was given to him, and
one of the juniors helped him to carry his food to the door. At this
point, too, that is, after the first course, if there were not many to
serve, permission from the superior was to be asked by a sign for one of
the two servers to sit down and begin his meal.
The second course was served in a way similar to the first. Many and
curious are the directions given as to what the monks might or might not
do according to the code of mediæval monastic manners. The regular food,
for example, was not to be shared with anyone, as, indeed, all had
received their own portion; but if anything special or extra was given to
an individual, except for sickness, then he might, and indeed would be
considered wanting in courtesy if he did not, offer to share it with his
two neighbours. These neighbours, however, were not to pass it on. If the
superior in his discretion sent a brother some extra dish, the recipient
was directed to rise and bow his thanks. If the dish came from the table
of the abbot, when out of the refectory, he who received it was still to
bow towards the abbot’s place as if he were present. If it came from
anyone else than the superior, the recipient had to send it by the server
to the senior presiding in the refectory, that he might, if he so pleased,
partake of it, or even dispose of it altogether according to his pleasure.
If any mistake was made in serving, or if by any accident something was
dropped or spilt on the tables or ground, the delinquent had to do penance
in the middle, until the prior gave a sign to him to rise, by rapping on
the table with the handle of his knife.
Some of the hints as to proper decorum at table seem curious in these
days. No one was to clean his cup with his fingers, nor wipe his hands, or
mouth, or knife upon the tablecloths. If he had first cleaned the knife
with a piece of bread, however, he might then wipe it on his own napkin.
The brethren were exhorted to try and keep the tablecloths clean. Stained
cloths were to be washed without delay; and to avoid stains, all soft and
cooked fruit was to be served in a deep plate or bowl. Every care was to
be taken not to drop crumbs upon the floor; salt was to be taken with a
knife, and the drinking-cup was to be held always in both hands.
When the prior, or the senior presiding at the table in his place, saw
that the monks had finished their repast, he knocked upon the table with
the handle of his knife, as a sign for the collection of remnants intended
for the poor. The two juniors appointed for this purpose then came
forward, each carrying a basket, and bowing in the middle to the superior,
passed down each side of the refectory, collecting the pieces of bread and
anything else that the religious had placed in front of them as their
individual alms. Whatever portion of bread any monk desired to keep for
the evening meal, he guarded by covering it with his napkin. Any loaf, or
part of a loaf, left uncovered after the dinner was over, was claimed by
the almoner, as belonging to “the portion of the poor” at his disposal.
When the two juniors had finished their task, the prior rapping the table
a second time, gave the sign for the servers to collect the spoons and
knives, and take them to the kitchen hatchway to be removed for washing in
the place set aside for that purpose. Meanwhile the monks folded their
napkins and waited silently for a third signal, upon which they rose from
their places and took up their position for Grace, facing each other on
the inner sides of the tables. When they were ready in their ranks, the
reader who was waiting in the pulpit, at a sign from the prior, sang the
usual conclusion of all public reading: “_Tu autem Domine, miserere
nobis_,” the community answering “_Deo gratias_.” Then followed the
chanted Grace, which was concluded in the church, to which the community
went in procession, during the singing of the _Miserere_ or other psalm.
The officials and religious who had been occupied with serving, stood on
one side at the end of the meal, and as the brethren went out from the
refectory they bowed to them, to show their reverence for the community in
its corporate capacity. The servers then went to the lavatory and washed
their hands in preparation for their own meal. The refectorian remained
behind when the community went out of the refectory, so as to see that all
was ready for the second table. At this second meal the cellarer generally
presided; and one of the junior monks was appointed to read whilst it was
being eaten by the servers and by all those who for any reason had been
prevented from dining at the first table.
10. AFTER DINNER
The community dinner would probably have taken about half an hour; and by
the time the monks came from the church after finishing their Grace, it
would have been about 11.30 in the morning. The first duty of the monks on
coming into the cloister was to proceed to the lavatory to wash their
hands again--a not wholly unnecessary proceeding in the days when forks
were unknown, and fingers supplied their place at table. At Durham a
peculiar custom was observed by the monks each day after dinner on coming
from the church. They betook themselves to the cemetery garth “where all
the monks were buried; and they did stand all bareheaded, a certain long
space, praying among the tombs and graves for their brethren’s souls being
buried there.” If None had already been said in choir, the community had
now several hours to devote to reading or work, or both. If that canonical
Hour had yet to be said, then the religious, after their ablutions, took
their books and sat in the cloister till the monks at the second table had
finished their meal, when the signal was given, and all went to the church
and recited None together, returning to their occupations immediately
afterwards, by which time it would have been about midday.
After washing his hands on coming out from Grace, the prior, or the senior
who had presided in the refectory in his place, was directed in some
houses to go and satisfy himself that all was well at the second table,
and that those who had served others were themselves well served. From the
refectory he had to go to the infirmary to visit the sick, and to see for
himself that their needs had been properly supplied. When these two duties
had been fulfilled, it was the custom in some places for the prior on
occasions to invite some of the seniors to his room for a glass of wine,
to warm themselves in winter, and for what is called in one Custumal “the
consolations of a talk.” When the prior was not present, the presiding
senior was allowed to invite some of the brethren to the _domus
recreationis_--the recreation-room. At certain times and on certain feasts
the whole community joined in these innocent and harmless meetings.
At this same time the juniors and novices with their masters were
permitted with leave to go out into the garden and other places to unbend
in games and such-like exercises proper to their age. In this way they
were assisted when young to stand the severe strain of cloister
discipline. Without the rational relaxation intended by such amusements,
to use the simile constantly applied to these circumstances, “as bows
always bent” they would soon lose the power of “aiming straight at
perfection.”
The monk, it must be remembered, was in no sense “a gloomy person.” There
is hardly anything that would have interfered more with the purpose of his
life than any disposition to become a misanthrope. His calling was no bar
to reasonable recreation. In fact, the true religious was told to try and
possess _angelica hilaritas cum monastica simplicitas_. Thus at Durham we
read of the greensward “at the back of the house towards the water” where
the younger members of the community played their games of bowls, with the
novice-master as umpire. On the stone benches, too, in the cloisters at
Canterbury, Westminster, Gloucester, and elsewhere, traces of the games
played centuries ago by the young religious may still be seen in the holes
and squares set out symmetrically, and oblongs divided by carefully-drawn
cross-lines. Sometimes we read of hunting, contests of ball, and other
games of chance. Archbishop Peckham was apparently somewhat shocked to
find that the prior of Cokesford, in Norfolk, at times indulged in a game
of chess with some of his canons. In other houses he found that dogs were
kept and even stranger pets like apes, cranes, and falcons were retained
in captivity by the religious. It is difficult to draw the exact line by
passing which monastic gravity is supposed to be injured, and so there
was, no doubt, constant need for regulation on all these matters. But some
such amusements were necessary, and by them, the tension of long-continued
conventual exercises was relieved. The monastic granges to which from time
to time the religious went for a change of scene and life were most
useful in this regard and enabled them to recreate their strength for
another period of service.
In the disposition of the early part of the afternoon, some slight changes
had to be made between the winter and summer observance. In summer,
immediately after the dinner, the community retired to the dormitory for a
sleep, or rest, of an hour’s duration. This was the rule from Easter till
the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in September, and all the
community were bound to observe the hour for repose if not for sleep. The
period of rest, thus allowed at midday, was taken in reality from the
night. During the summer the times for vespers, and supper, and bed were
each an hour later than they were in the winter months, when the light
failed earlier. This hour, by which in summer the sleep before Matins was
shortened, was made up by the rest after dinner. During the same period,
except on vigils and such-like days when None was said before the dinner,
that canonical Hour was recited after the midday sleep. On the signal for
the termination of the hour of repose the religious came from the
dormitory and, having washed, sat in the cloister till the notice was
given to proceed to the church for None, which at this time of the year
would have been finished some time between 12.30 and one o’clock.
11. THE DAILY WORK
The chief working hours in a mediæval monastery, including a period for
recreation and outdoor exercise, were between twelve o’clock and five in
winter, and one o’clock and six in summer. It was during these five hours
that the chief business and work of the house was transacted. The
officials then attended to the duties of their offices; the writers and
rubricators made progress in their literary and artistic compositions in
the cloister or scriptorium; the juniors and novices studied with their
masters, or practised public reading and singing under the precentor or
his assistant; those who had work in the kitchen, or the bakehouse, or the
cellar, etc., addressed themselves to their allotted tasks. In a word,
whilst the morning of each monastic day was devoted mainly to prayer and
the church services, the afternoon was fully occupied in many and various
labours and in the general administration of the monastery. Of course
manual labour, that is the working in the gardens, or fields, or workshops
of the establishment, always occupied at least a part of the working hours
of every monastery, and frequently a large part. This manual labour was
necessary for health and exercise, and it was insisted upon in all
monastic codes, not so much as an end in itself, as a means to avoid
idleness, and to strengthen the constitution of individuals by regular and
systematic corporal exercises. The work of a labourer in the fields and
gardens was never looked upon as derogatory to the monastic profession;
and St. Benedict expressly tells his followers that they are to look upon
themselves “as true monks, when they have to live by the labour of their
hands.”
[Illustration: CARMELITE IN HIS STUDY]
This manual labour was generally a conventual work, that is, undertaken in
common; and the permission of the superior was always required to stay
away from it. In some Orders, such as the Cistercian and Cluniac, it was
performed with a certain amount of ceremonial usage. The prior, for
example, rang the bell, or struck the _tabula_ to call the brethren
together, distributed the necessary tools amongst them, and then led the
way to the place where they were to dig, or weed, or plant, etc. In the
Cluniac houses, the abbot went with the community. When they were
assembled at the door of the cloister he was to be informed, and he then
came into their midst saying, “_Eamus ad opus manuum_”--“Let us go to our
manual labour.” Upon this, the youngest leading the way, the monks went in
procession to where they had to work, saying the _Miserere_ or other
psalm. Arrived at the place, they stood round the abbot till the psalm was
ended, then the abbot said the _Deus in adjutorium_--“O God, come to my
aid,” etc., with the “Our Father” and the versicle of Prime to obtain
God’s blessing on the labours of the day: “Look down, O Lord, upon Thy
servants and upon Thy works, and guide Thou Thy sons.” To which the
community replied: “And may the glory of the Lord our God be upon us, and
may He guide us in the works of our hands and direct us in our manual
labour.” Then bowing to the abbot and to each other, they began the task
allotted to them.
At the conclusion of their period of labour the religious returned to the
cloister as they had come; the tools were gathered up and put away; and
after a short time allowed for washing, they went to the refectory for an
afternoon drink of some kind. After this they returned to their places in
the cloister: the novices and juniors to their studies, the seniors to
their reading or writing.
12. THE VESPERS
At five o’clock in winter and at six in summer the bell rang for Vespers.
In some houses, however, as for instance at Durham, the Vespers were
always sung at the fixed hour of three in the afternoon, which would
divide the working hours of the day into two portions. This would probably
have been the rule in all cathedral monastic churches, where, as being
public places of worship, regularity of hours would have been aimed at. At
the first signal for the Vesper hour the books were all replaced in the
aumbry in the cloister, and the community then waited until the
commencement of the tolling of the great bell, when they betook themselves
to their places in choir. The Vespers were sung with varying pomp and
ceremony, according to the rank of the feast celebrated, and the monks
were vested for the service in cowls, albs, or copes, according to the
solemnity of the occasion.
13. THE SUPPER
Immediately after the Vespers, at the beginning of the “Suffrages of the
Saints,” or later if Vespers of the “Office of the Dead” were to be said,
the cellarer and refectorian left the choir to see that all was prepared
for the evening meal, should there be one. At Durham the hour of supper
was always five o’clock, after which the doors of the cloister and public
rooms were locked and the keys given to the sub-prior until seven o’clock
the following morning. In English monasteries the general rule as to
supper apparently was that during the summer half of the year--that is
from Easter to the 14th September--the second meal was served on all days,
except on vigils and fast days. From the feast of All Saints to Advent,
supper was only granted on the great feast days, when the community were
vested in copes in the choir. During Advent, and in fact till Easter,
except during the short time between Christmas and the Epiphany, there was
but one meal a day in most religious houses. The infirm and those who
through weakness needed more food had to receive special dispensation from
the superior.
On supper days the prior, or whoever was presiding in the choir, left the
church at the same time as the cellarer and refectorian, and began to ring
the bell or gong for the meal. The community then came out of the church
and, as at dinner, went to wash their hands at the lavatory, and thence to
their places in the refectory. In many monasteries it was the custom for
the seniors to serve and read during this meal, which was short,
consisting of one good and full dish (_generale_), and one pittance or
light additional plate, consisting of cheese, fruit, nuts, or the like.
The prior was served, as at dinner, by two juniors, who took their places
at the ends of his table and had their meal there. There was a special
“pittance” for this table, and from it the prior, or whoever was acting
for him, was supposed to reserve something for the senior who was reading.
One dish with the “pittance,” and sufficient to serve those who sat
thereat, was placed at the head of each table and passed down.
The conclusion of the supper was like that of the dinner. The religious
went to finish their Grace in the church, and thence passed up to the
dormitory to change their day habits, girdles, and boots for those better
adapted for the night. When this was done they went again into the
cloister to wait there till the signal should be given for the evening
Collation or reading. At Durham there was no interval between the supper
and the Collation; but “Grace being said,” we are told, “the monks all
departed to the chapter-house to meet the prior, every night, there to
remain in prayer and devotion till six of the clock, at which time upon
the ringing of a bell they went to the _Salve_.”
14. THE COLLATION AND COMPLINE
About half-past six in winter, and half-past seven in summer, a small bell
was rung in the cloister to call all together for the evening reading,
called the _Collation_, which took place in the chapter-room. Whilst the
bell was ringing any of the community who desired, on days when there was
no supper, could go to the refectory and obtain some kind of drink, called
the _potum caritatis_, with which possibly was also given a small portion
of bread, to sustain them till their dinner the following day. When they
had finished this very modest refection, the brethren at once betook
themselves to their places in the chapter-hall, where the reader was
already waiting in the pulpit with the book open at the place where he
left off the night before.
Meanwhile the abbot, or prior in the absence of the abbot, waited for a
time in the private parlour ready to hear any petitions for exemption from
rule, and grant any leave that might be necessary. When this business had
been transacted he came to the Collation, at which all were bound to be
present. The reading apparently only occupied a short time, and in the
brief interval between this and the Hour of Compline the community could
in the summer pass into the cloister, or in winter time could go to warm
themselves at the fire in the common recreation-room.
15. COMPLINE AND BED
At seven o’clock in the winter, and eight in the summer, the tolling of
the bell called the community to Compline--the last conventual act of the
monastic day. This Hour was not necessarily said in the choir of the
church. At St. Mary’s, York, for example, the brethren recited their
Compline standing in the Galilee, the juniors nearest to the door. The
Office began with the _Confiteor_, as the Collation had already taken the
place of the _Capitulum_, with which otherwise the Hour of Compline
commenced. When the anthem to the Virgin Mother of God, with which
Compline always concluded, was being said or sung, all turned to the
Crucifix or _Majestas_.
Immediately the triple-prayer of the Pater, Ave, and Creed, said at the
end, was finished, the superior gave a signal, and the community rose and
passed to the door of the church. Here either the superior or the junior
priest who had said the prayers at Compline was ready to sprinkle each
with holy water as he passed in solemn silence to the dormitory. Before
half-past seven, then, in winter, and an hour later than this in summer,
all would have been in bed, and the busy round of duties, which so
completely filled the working day of every mediæval monastery, would have
come to an end.