MONK IN CELTIC MONASTERY

These orders differed mainly in the details of their religious observation and how strictly they applied those rules. The major orders that established monastic settlements in Britain were the Benedictines, Cistercians and Augustinians

The first buildings of a monastic settlement were built of wood, then gradually rebuilt in stone; many of the monastic remains you can visit today are in the later Gothic style of architecture.

1. Daily Life

Life was generally one of hard physical work, scholarship and prayer. Some orders encouraged the presence of "lay brothers", monks who did most of the physical labour in the fields and workshops of the monastery so that the full-fledged monks could concentrate on prayer and learning.

2. The Daily Grind

The day of a monk or nun was regulated by regular prayer services in the abbey church. These services took place every three hours, day and night. When the services were over, monks would be occupied with all the tasks associated with maintaining a community. Abbeys grew their own food, did all their own building, and in some cases, grew quite prosperous doing so.

3. Learning

Throughout the Dark Ages and Medieval period the monasteries were practically the only place of scholarship and learning. The monks were by far the best educated members of society - often they were the only educated members of society. Monasteries acted as libraries for ancient manuscripts, and many monks were occupied with laboriously copying sacred texts (generally in a room called the scriptorium).

4. Illuminated manuscripts

Monks created "illuminated" manuscripts; beautifully illustrated Bibles and prayer books with painstakingly created images on most pages. These illuminated manuscripts, such as the Book of Kells.

5. The Abbey hierarchy

The abbey (the term for a monastery or nunnery) was under the authority of an abbot. The abbot could be a landless noble, who used the church as a means of social advancement. Under the abbot was the prior, who ran the monastery in the absence of the abbot. Other officers included the cellerar (in charge of food storage and preparation), and specialists in the care of the sick, building, farming, masonry, and education.

6. Pilgrims

One of the main sources of revenue for monasteries throughout the medieval period were pilgrims. Pilgrims could be induced to come to a monastic house by a number of means, the most common being a religious relic owned by the abbey. Such a relic might be a saint's bone, the blood of Christ, a fragment of the cross, or other similar religious artefact. The tomb of a particularly saintly person could also become a target for pilgrimages.