Monk and Nun Questions | AskHistorians Archive Observer

I’m vastly oversimplifying here and relying on my off-the-top-of-my-head knowledge as a medievalist, but to answer your questions briefly:

What did monks do all day? Did they just sit around growing plants?

The [Rule] (http://www.osb.org/rb/) of St. Benedict (c. 520) is the effective origin of western monasticism. Its regimen can be encapsulated in the phrase “ora et labora,” “work and pray” with the emphasis on pray. The Rule (regula in Latin, as in “regulation”; thus monks are part of the “regular” orders who live by a rule) specified seven periods throughout the day and night when monks gathered as a community to pray the psalms; this was the “Opus dei” or “divine office.” These periods of prayer meant that monks prayed through the 150 psalms weekly. Benedict specified that monks were to be self-sufficient, meaning that, where necessary, they should do manual work. Everything the monks in the monastery needed to survive theoretically should be supplied by the work of their hands. I stress “theoretically” here.

Who was in charge at a Monastery?

The abbot was in absolute charge of the monastery (the name derives from the word for “father”). He was elected by his fellow monks who put themselves under his charge.

Were Monasteries often near Churches and towns, possibly even castles?

All monasteries had a church (sometimes called the “oratory”) connected to them in which they gathered to pray. Often these churches became quite large. The famous monastery of [Cluny] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluny_Abbey) had a church that was the largest church in Christendom before the new St. Peter’s in Rome was built in the 16th century. In the beginning they were not founded near towns since urban life would be a distraction to their prayerful life. But they often became a “pre-urban nucleus” around which a town would grow. Likewise for castles; they usually wouldn’t be founded near them. But I’m greatly oversimplifying their evolution over the course of the Middle Ages here.

Were they subservient to a feudal overlord or did they just listen to the Pope

Initially they were subservient to lords, who usually founded them on their lands and, against the spirit of Benedict’s Rule, appointed their abbot. A [reform movement began in 910] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluniac_Reforms) when a pious duke founded Cluny, the monastery I mentioned above, and gave it independence from both secular and papal control. Monasteries were usually even exempt from the authority of the bishops in whose dioceses they were.

Did they do any form of fundraising?

Essentially they were funded by pious donations made to them in exchange for prayers for the donors and their families. Monks were “professional pray-ers.” But they also could raise money by establishing saints’ shrines which people visited seeking health and other blessings. They could also take these relics on tour, as the monks of Laon did in 1112 when their church burned and they needed to raise fast cash.

Could monks leave the monastery at will, or did they have to have a reason? If so, what reason?

Ideally, monks could only leave the monastery temporarily if on the monastery’s business. The whole point of Benedictine monasticism was for the monks to be cloistered—cut off—from the outside world.

Were there different types of monks? (Aside from their monastic order)

No, a monk was a monk. They started as novices for a few years before they professed their final vows, and lay people could be attached to some monasteries as tertiaries, sort of “associate monks” but without formal vows. But there were various monastic orders, mostly living some variations of Benedict’s Rule. After the Benedictines, new orders arose in the late 11th & 12th centuries: notably [Cistercians] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cistercians) and [Carthusians] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carthusians).

What purpose did Gregorian Chants serve?

In brief, singing, adopted from Hebrew chant, was considered a better way of praising God. I would guess that it also made group praying easier.

Did Nuns have their own form of something like a Gregorian Chant?

This is more complicated than my expertise, but there were regional variations of chant in monasteries and convents. There were additions to chanting of psalms—antiphons and hymns, for instance. Women like [Hildegard of Bingen] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hildegard_of_Bingen) and [Hroswitha of Gandersheim] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hrotsvitha) were famous composers of chant and hymns.

How and how often did monks and nuns interact?

Not often in theory, but originally there were “double monasteries” where monks and nuns lived side by side but in different buildings. They might even be under the ultimate authority of an abbess. These establishments died out over time.

What did monks do with their brewed beer?

Like everyone else, they drank it where beer was more available than wine. But medieval beer, or ale, was brewed at a much lower alcoholic content than today. More like modern “near beer” I gather. Even kids drank it.

One useful reference site: [“Religious Orders”] (http://www.the-orb.net/encyclop/religion/monastic/monastic.html) at “ORB: Online Reference Book for Medieval Studies.”