Monastic Life
Monasteries were places where men could go and
devote their entire life to God. Most of their waking
hours were governed by a set of rules, laid down by
St Benedict in the sixth century. Since the latin for a
rule is 'regula', they are usually known as 'regular
clergy'. In contrast, the priests were called 'secular
clergy', from the latin 'saecularis', meaning 'of the
world' - in other words, they were not shut up in a
monastery all the time.
Monastic life was not easy. The Rule of Saint
Benedict really does account for every hour of a
monk's life, with prayer and work. The work the
monks initially had to do was first in the field, or building the monastery, but later the
monks began the important task of copying and translating manuscripts. Their life
was supposed to be spent entirely inside the monastery, with little contact with the
outside world, as the following extract from the Rule shows:
'When brethren return from a journey, they should lie prostrate on the floor of the
oratory and ask for the prayers of all for any faults that may have overtaken them on
their journey, such as the sight or hearing of an evil thing or idle chatter.'
Clearly the outside world was seen as a very bad influence. However, some contact
was inevitable, if only to sell the monastery's produce at market. Ælfric wrote a
Colloquy to help with learning Latin at the end of the tenth century, which includes
references to traders or merchants (ciepemenn), so perhaps practical necessity overrode the Rule from time to time. Larger monasteries would have a lay staff of
workmen and officials as well as the monks.
Large monasteries were known as abbeys, whilst
smaller ones, or ones based at cathedrals were called
priories. Abbeys were dotted throughout the country.
The monk in charge of an abbey was the abbot, elected
by the bretheren. His deputy was the prior (which was
also the title of the monk in charge of a priory).
Within the abbey, some monks had particular jobs to
do and specific titles, such as the cellarer. On the
whole though, it would seem that monastic life was not
for the ambitious. However, of the 116 bishops
appointed to English sees between 960 and 1066, no
fewer than sixty-seven were monks.
In addition to abbeys for men, there were also those
for women, the most famous being the Nunnaminster
at Winchester, founded by King Alfred's widow
Ealhswith. These were run along exactly the same lines as the houses for men.
Monk's Garb
A monk was given a ground length tunic or habit of dark
undyed wool upon becoming a novice. This was belted, and a
drawstring pouch was suspended from this containing,
perhaps, a few meagre belongings. A monk would have one
book a year lent to him by the community. Over the tunic he
wore a scapula, a long strip of cloth also of a dark undyed
wool. The scapula was meant to protect the habit. The monk
would also have a hood or cowl. The scapula was often
cinched in at the waist by a (rope) girdle. Anglo-Saxon
translations of the Benedictine Rule demonstrate that monks
were expected to have socks and hose, and other literary
evidence suggests that monks often wore leg-bindings. The
only other things the monk might have were a pendant cross
and a pair of shoes or sandals, although some may have gone
barefoot as a lifelong penance. The monk's hair was tonsured
and shaved thrice yearly. Abbots received a ring and staff of
office, the same as a bishop's.
Nun's garb is rarely shown in illustrations, but when it is it seems to have been
broadly similar to the simpler forms of everyday woman's costume, but usually
included a 'holy veil', and of course would have been of sombre colours. The term
'rift' is often used of nun's clothing, and came to stand for the religious life, much as
we may speak of a woman 'taking the veil' today.
Footnote: The image of the Abbot (centre image) is in memory of Steve
Hurley who died in in the summer of 1998. He will be sadly missed by all
those re-enactors who knew him