Religious Life

What was the lifestyle of a monk? 

A monk is a man who lives a life dedicated to God under the guidance of an abbot in a building with other monks. He observes three or more vows, usually those of poverty, chastity and obedience. Poverty means that he agrees to live simply, without any personal belongings; chastity means not to marry and have a family (or even a girlfriend); and obedience means to do as his superiors tell him. In the case of the Benedictine Order, the monk also makes the vow of stability, which means he will never leave his monastery unless there is an extremely good reason for doing so. 

The vow about not having personal possessions and living simply was interpreted differently by different religious orders. Some monks were extremely ascetic (that means they lived with as few physical comforts as possible), perhaps were vegetarian and only ate one small meal a day. Some orders did not allow the monks or nuns to speak unless it was the recreation period, which may have lasted half an hour. A number of signs were invented so that monks could communicate with each other during the silent periods, which included meals.

How could a monk make his wishes known if he was not allowed to talk?

• If you want to indicate anything about the church, then make with your two hands as if you were ringing a bell, then put your index finger to your mouth and raise it up.
• If you need a thin candle, then blow on your index finger.
• If you need a knife, then cut with your finger over the other, as if you were eating.
• The sign for honey is that you place your finger on your tongue.
• If you want fish, then move your hand in the way that the fish moves its tail when it swims.
• If you need water, then make as if you were going to wash your hands.
• The sign for a quill is that you join your three fingers together as if you were holding a quill, and dip them, and move your fingers as if you were going to write.

(from D. Banham (ed.), Monasteriales Indicia, Anglo-Saxon Books, 1991. With thanks to Elizabeth Semper-O'Keefe of the Herefordshire Record Office for recommending this source.)

One thing all monks had in common is that they spent long hours in prayer. To help the older monks who might not be able to stand for so long, the misericord was invented. This is a lip on the bottom of the seat that you could prop yourself up on when the seat was folded back. Often misericords were decorated with interesting carvings, including imaginary creatures and bizarre monsters. Others illustrated scenes from well-known tales and Bible stories.
 
With no heating in most rooms of the monastery, monks and nuns would have been extremely cold during the winter. They spent long hours praying or working in the fields and very few hours sleeping. Other monasteries were more relaxed in their approach and critics have filled many a page complaining about the wealthy and often sinful life style of some religious houses.

Nuns also had to follow strict rules. Some religious houses were double houses, with a monastery on one side and a convent on the other. These double houses were usually ruled by an abbess. (What does that tell us about the status of women? But on the other hand, the Bishop would come along periodically and tell the abbess what to do, and he was always a man! So even though some women had important roles or were famous saints, the true power of the Church always lay with men.)

During the Middle Ages becoming a monk or a nun was a popular career choice. Either you chose to live the religious life or - and this is just as likely - your parents or guardians would choose this vocation for you. In fact in some cases people put their (often tiny) children into monasteries to be raised and educated by the monks. These children were called oblates. Some left the monasteries when they became adults, but most stayed on and became fully fledged monks. At the other end of the scale, some women only chose to become nuns after their husbands had died.

Within the Christian church there are many different groupings of monks and nuns, called orders. Each order has different rules and regulations and a different ethos and way of life. Some orders concentrated on praying and working the land, others built hospitals and ran schools. Some monasteries had scriptoria, where monks would copy and decorate manuscripts. As books had to be hand-written in the Middle Ages, they were very valuable and only a few individuals could afford to own them. In Hereford Cathedral (and formerly also at All Saints Church in Hereford), the books in the library were chained to the desks. You can still visit the famous Chained Library at Hereford Cathedral today. 

Two large orders, the Franciscans and the Dominicans, were preaching orders. Initially the friars, as these monks were called, travelled about and preached. Eventually they settled and built schools. Many small orders were also created or split off from the larger ones.

[Original author: Toria Forsyth-Moser, 2002-3]