“Whoever you are, renounce your own will, and take up the strong and bright weapons of obedience,” commanded Saint Benedict in his guidelines of conduct for monks, known as the Rule. Throughout the Middle Ages many heeded Benedict’s mandate, flocking to the thousands of monasteries, abbeys, and convents that sprang up all over western Europe. Eventually, more than a dozen different monastic orders evolved, many with branches for women as well as men.

To lessen dependence on the outside world, Saint Benedict de­creed that “the mon­astery should be so laid out that every­thing essential, that is to say water, mills, garden and workshops for the plying of the various crafts, is found within the monastery walls.” tinder the direction of an abbot, the monastery’s head, the design of the complex within those walls was made to conform to the regimen of its residents. The church, the spiritual center of the monastery, was always the dominant struc­ture. Other buildings contained large rooms for use as refectories and dormitories to accom­modate the monks’ communal lifestyle.

Though they lived apart from society, monks and nuns were not social outcasts. In fact, they garnered widespread respect, and the monastic way of life was upheld as the ideal. The reli­gious orders contri­buted a great deal to the society, opening up large areas for set­tlement, educating a largely illiterate popu­lace, and attending to those in need.

Mind and Body

Every aspect of a monk’s life was strictly regulated. The Rule recommended only one meal a day for the brethren, with a cold snack in the evening. Moreover, the meal could be quite austere: “We consider it to be enough for the daily meal . . . that there should always be served two cooked dishes,” Benedict declared. Bread was the main staple, supplemented by eggs, cheese, fish, and vegetables.

The monks ate together at assigned places at tables in the refectory. Talking was prohibited, so the brothers de­veloped an elaborate system of sign language. At least 100 recorded signals, such as reaching for the throat as a re­quest for vinegar, were used by the monks. While the brothers ate, one of their members, known as a lector, read from the Scriptures or a devotional work, to ensure that mealtime fed the spirit as well as the body.

After the meal the monks spent some time reading and interpreting the Scriptures and other religious literature. Books of the period were handwritten on parchment, and so were both expensive and ~scarce. To increase the size of a monastery’s library, the abbot put monks to work copy­ing manuscripts, and a special room, the scriptorium, was

set aside for this purpose. The copy­ing of texts not only helped to pre­serve classical literature but also provided educational materials that could be used in monastery schools. Benedict considered copying to be of great spiritual benefit, saying, “Every word that you write is a blow that smites the devil.”