Daily Life of a Medieval Monk
The Daily Life of Medieval Monks
The daily life of Medieval monks in the Middle Ages were based on the three main vows:
The Vow of Poverty
The Vow of Chastity
The Vow of Obedience
The Daily Life of Medieval Monks
The daily life of Medieval monks was dedicated to worship, reading, and manual labor. In addition to their attendance at church, the monks spent several hours in reading from the Bible, private prayer, and meditation. During the day the Medieval monks worked hard in the Monastery and on its lands.
The life of medieval monks were filled with the following work and chores:
Washing and cooking for the monastery
Raising the necessary supplies of vegetables and grain
Reaping, Sowing, Ploughing, Binding and Thatching, Haymaking and Threshing
Producing wine, ale and honey
Providing medical care for the community
Providing education for boys and novices
Copying the manuscripts of classical authors
Providing hospitality for pilgrims
Monastic Jobs and Occupations
The daily life of Medieval monks included many different jobs and occupations. The names and descriptions of many of these positions are detailed below:
Abbot - the head of an abbey
Almoner - an almoner was an officer of a monastery who dispensed alms to the poor and sick
Barber Surgeon - the monk who shaved the faces and tonsures of the monks and performed light surgery
Cantor - the cantor was the monk whose liturgical function is to lead the choir
Cellarer - the cellarer was the monk who supervised the general provisioning of the monastery
Infirmarian - the monk in charge of the infirmary
Lector - a lector was a monk entrusted with reading the lessons in church or in the refectory.
Sacrist - the sacrist was the monk responsible for the safekeeping of books, vestments and vessels, and for the maintenance of the monastery's buildings
Prior - in an abbey the deputy of the abbot or the superior of a monastery that did not have the status of an abbey
The Daily RoutineThe daily life of a Medieval monk during the Middle Ages centred around the hours.
The Book of Hours was the main prayer book and was divided into eight sections, or hours, that were meant to be read at specific times of the day.
Each section contained prayers, psalms, hymns, and other readings intended to help the monks secure salvation for himself.
Each day was divided into these eight sacred offices, beginning and ending with prayer services in the monastery church.
These were the times specified for the recitation of divine office which was the term used to describe the cycle of daily devotions.
The times of these prayers were called by the following names -
Matins,
Lauds,
Prime,
Terce,
Sext,
Nones,
Vespers and
Compline.
Matins : the night office; the service recited at 2 am in the divine office
Prime : The 6am service
Vespers : the evening service of divine office, recited before dark (4 - 5pm)
Compline : the last of the day services of divine office, recited before retiring (6pm)
Any work was immediately ceased at these times of daily prayer. The monks were required to stop what they were doing and attend the services. The food of the monks was generally basic and the mainstay of which was bread and meat. The beds they slept on were pallets filled with straw.
The daily life of Medieval monks in the Middle Ages were based on the three main vows:
The Vow of Poverty
The Vow of Chastity
The Vow of Obedience
The Daily Life of Medieval Monks
The daily life of Medieval monks was dedicated to worship, reading, and manual labor. In addition to their attendance at church, the monks spent several hours in reading from the Bible, private prayer, and meditation. During the day the Medieval monks worked hard in the Monastery and on its lands.
The life of medieval monks were filled with the following work and chores:
Washing and cooking for the monastery
Raising the necessary supplies of vegetables and grain
Reaping, Sowing, Ploughing, Binding and Thatching, Haymaking and Threshing
Producing wine, ale and honey
Providing medical care for the community
Providing education for boys and novices
Copying the manuscripts of classical authors
Providing hospitality for pilgrims
Monastic Jobs and Occupations
The daily life of Medieval monks included many different jobs and occupations. The names and descriptions of many of these positions are detailed below:
Abbot - the head of an abbey
Almoner - an almoner was an officer of a monastery who dispensed alms to the poor and sick
Barber Surgeon - the monk who shaved the faces and tonsures of the monks and performed light surgery
Cantor - the cantor was the monk whose liturgical function is to lead the choir
Cellarer - the cellarer was the monk who supervised the general provisioning of the monastery
Infirmarian - the monk in charge of the infirmary
Lector - a lector was a monk entrusted with reading the lessons in church or in the refectory.
Sacrist - the sacrist was the monk responsible for the safekeeping of books, vestments and vessels, and for the maintenance of the monastery's buildings
Prior - in an abbey the deputy of the abbot or the superior of a monastery that did not have the status of an abbey
The Daily RoutineThe daily life of a Medieval monk during the Middle Ages centred around the hours.
The Book of Hours was the main prayer book and was divided into eight sections, or hours, that were meant to be read at specific times of the day.
Each section contained prayers, psalms, hymns, and other readings intended to help the monks secure salvation for himself.
Each day was divided into these eight sacred offices, beginning and ending with prayer services in the monastery church.
These were the times specified for the recitation of divine office which was the term used to describe the cycle of daily devotions.
The times of these prayers were called by the following names -
Matins,
Lauds,
Prime,
Terce,
Sext,
Nones,
Vespers and
Compline.
Matins : the night office; the service recited at 2 am in the divine office
Prime : The 6am service
Vespers : the evening service of divine office, recited before dark (4 - 5pm)
Compline : the last of the day services of divine office, recited before retiring (6pm)
Any work was immediately ceased at these times of daily prayer. The monks were required to stop what they were doing and attend the services. The food of the monks was generally basic and the mainstay of which was bread and meat. The beds they slept on were pallets filled with straw.
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