5 - Ora et labora: daily life in the cloister

Summary

Humility and chastity make the proper monk.

A framework for living

Claustral life was highly organised and structured around the liturgical Office (opus Dei) celebrated in the church. The day began at daybreak with Lauds and ended with Compline at sunset. In accordance with the Rule of St Benedict the monks spent a part of each day engaged in physical labour and meditative reading (lectio divina); there was a daily chapter meeting and time allocated to eating, sleeping and matters relating to health and hygiene. But how precisely they spent their time varied, depending on the occasion as well as on the status and responsibilities of each monk. For example, there was a weekly Maundy, routine bloodletting and the occasional arrival of visitors. On feast days there was no manual work but an extended liturgy and extra time accorded to reading, whereas at harvest the entire community toiled in the fields and celebrated the Office while working. Elderly and infirm members of the community were released or excused from the daily round, and office-bearers might be exempted from certain communal activities on account of their duties.

Liturgical and daily life was codified in the Rule of St Benedict. These guidelines were elaborated on in the Cistercians’ own prescriptive texts, chiefly the twelfth-century customs (the Ecclesiastica Officia/Usages), the Charter of Charity (Carta Caritatis) and statutes issued by the General Chapter. These detailed documents brought coherence and unity to Cistercian practice. They left few stones unturned and provided instruction on weighty matters such as the format of the liturgy, as well as guidance on more practical concerns that included shaving, bathing and how to deal with anyone who had a nosebleed during the Mass. Still, there was scope for abbots to exercise discretion and practices might fluctuate not only from house to house but from one abbacy to another. Moreover, the official stance did not remain static, for the General Chapter periodically revised its position by introducing new prescriptions and modifying others to accommodate the demands and needs of the time.

This chapter explores daily life in the monastery and considers how the monks spent their time, the conditions under which they lived and how these affected relationships and the mood of the cloister.