|
Index
List of Abbeys
Cistercian
Benedictine
Augustine
|
There
were three basic types of "Abbeys" Cistercian Abbeys, Benedictine
Abbeys, Augustine Abbeys. First built mostly of wood, however they
were at risk of fire, and so the first priority for rebuilding in
stone was the chancel of the church.
When Henry VIII broke with Rome
in the 1530's, the rich monastic houses were one of his first
targets. Only a few of the abbey churches near large centres of
population survived as cathedrals or parish churches, including
almost all the Cistercian monasteries, were demolished.
Celtic monasteries, These monasteries were often built on
isolated islands, the life of the Celtic monks was one of solitary
contemplation.
The Benedictine Rule, The big change in this early monastic
existence came with the establishment of the Benedictine Rule in 529
AD. The vision of St. Benedict was of a community of people living
and working in prayer and isolation.
Although the daily life differed from one order to the next,
monastic 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, so that the full-fledged
monks could concentrate on prayer and learning.
Abbeys grew their own food, did all their own building, and in some
cases, grew quite prosperous doing so. Throughout the Dark Ages and
Medieval period the monasteries were practically the only place of
scholarship and learning.
The boss was called an abbot or abbess, then came the prior/prioress
then other officers, included the cellerar (food storage and
cooking), and specialists in the care of the sick, building,
farming, etc.
One of the main sources of revenue for monasteries were pilgrims,
who visited any abbey of interest, perhaps the abbey had a religious
relic, a saint's bone, the blood of Christ, a fragment of the cross.
Pilgrims would buy something to show they visited.. However the
Black death of 1348 dealt
a big blow, the number of monks and nuns never fully recovered.
|
