Middle Ages

•The monks

•Imagine you are a monk of the Middle Ages and explain your job.

What did your job consist of?• My job was to pray for the good

of everyone, do crafts, read and copy books, as they say the rules of St. Benedict, from the still VI. The manual labors consisted primarily of agriculture.

• We were alxo concerned for the We were alxo concerned for the construction of monasteries, construction of monasteries, with our abbot, who planned with our abbot, who planned and directed the work. We had and directed the work. We had to know well the terrain. Before to know well the terrain. Before start building, we had to know start building, we had to know if there was enough land for if there was enough land for our crops, forests if they had to our crops, forests if they had to fetch firewood, if they had fetch firewood, if they had mines to obtain the necessary mines to obtain the necessary materials for construction, etc. materials for construction, etc. We had to make canals, We had to make canals, fishponds, divert rivers, build fishponds, divert rivers, build farms, roads and lift doors farms, roads and lift doors open.open.

Now, I will explain an ordinary day in my life.

• I lived in a small building that was in the monastery, with my other classmates.

• I woke before dawn, just before two in the morning. I drank a glass of milk and ate bread and cheese.

• Then I went to the first sentence of the day, which was in the choir of the monastery. There we read and sang parts of the Bible, and Gregorian chants.

• Then I would sit on the latrines , where I could read a book quietly and listening to the sound of the river water. When an hour passed, I turned again to the church to pray.

• Then the day began, an hour and a half of work, and then pray again. I usually worked in the cultivation of wheat, beans and vegetables, until one afternoon. This culture was used for our own consumption.

• Sometimes during this time I locked myself in the scriptorium or library room, where I copied books borrowed from other monasteries. It was on parchment (lambskin), using different colors of ink on those wet feathers.

• After, we rejoined us in prayer, around 13.20 p.m. After which, we had lunch. We ate in silence on long tables, next to each other. In the meantime, one of us, each day we read in the Bible, taking turns. Usually we ate cooked vegetables in a large saucepan and drizzled with a bacon or lard. It also gave us bread and some wine. The meat and fish was reserved for Sundays or special occasions.

• About three in the afternoon, we returned again to pray together, and then continue with our work. Before the new sentence the whole community gathered in the so-called Chapter House, to read a chapter from the Rule of St. Benedict.

• At this meeting the Abbot (the one who ruled the monastery), reported on everyday issues, they made public confessions of sins and punished the monks who had committed some fault (miss a prayer, talking over lunch, arguing with a brother ...).

•Then we had a bit of free time, which I would normally read, prayed in particular, and chatting with others.

• At 19:00 we returned again to the church to pray, we had dinner at 20:00, in the same way as food. Finishing dinner, we returned to pray to God and asked for protection against hazards of the night.So, me and the other monks retreated to our dormitory.

How much did you earn?

• I didn’t earn money but I earned faith and welfare.

Where did you work? Describe your workplace.

• The construction of a monastery consists of various parts and rooms.

• - The church: was the main building and the place of prayer.

• - The cloister: a square building of two stories.In the center of the plant's first floor was a well, and in the space left had a small garden with four paths. Behind a wall of the cloister was a very large library and a study room. Behind the second wall, was the Chapter House, which was very important and with rich ornamentation. Behind another wall was a large dining room and kitchen. The monks' dormitory was on the top floor. Beside of the cloister, was the scriptorium, the orchard, the nursing and the Parlor. The cemetery was behind the church.

Did you work alone or did you have any employees?

•I worked with forty monks that the monastery had.

Who did you work for?I worked for the abbot and for myself of course.

Did you enjoy your job? Did you think it was useful?

• I liked my work and I thought it was very useful for me and my life.

Tell us about the importance of your job at

that time.• At that time, my job it was very important because I prayed for myself, my family and other people who asked me, while I work to improve the spiritual life.

How many orders did you have in a day?

• My orders in a day were pray seven times on day and do the work than give me the abbot ( two or three diferent works on day).

Did you work with uniforms?

•Yes, I did. Our uniform was a white robe that covered the entire body, and a black hood over. The neck had a triangular shape. I always wore dark brown shoes. For work, we wore a scapular.

Did you have a permanent hour to finish your work?

• In my work was very important to In my work was very important to always respect the working hours. always respect the working hours. And we should going to bed early to And we should going to bed early to work well tomorrow. work well tomorrow.

How many hours did you work in a day?

• It could say I worked all day, although I rested for eat, pray and in the leisure time.

Was it a hard job compared to others?

• I think this job is not very difficult compared to others, but I think it is the most important.

Who did you buy your tools to? Was it an exchange or

did you pay for them?

• The abbot paid us all tools, in exchange for hard work on our part.

Could women also do this job?

• Yes, they could.

At what age did you start working? Whas there an

age of retirement?• I started working with the age of 20 years old.

There was no retirement age but I had to be a monk to die.

Did you liked it? Why?•I liked my job because I feel I liked my job because I feel

protected by God and I struggle protected by God and I struggle for a better world. for a better world.

By: Sabina Oaie