ยง 1.
A monastery is a community of men or
women, devoted to the service of God and obeying
a fixed rule. Monastic rules of life varied in strictness
and in detail; while each community supplemented
the rule of its order by its own code of
observances. The object, however, of these different
rules and codes was one. The general term for the
monastic life was 'religion' (
religio): the 'religious'
(
religiosus) was bound by three vows, to poverty
against the deceits of the world, to chastity against
the lusts of the flesh, to obedience against the snares
of the devil. His chief duty was to take part with
his brethren in the recitation of the canonical hours,
and in the celebration of daily masses. A portion of
his day was set apart for meditation in the cloister;
but his surplus time was devoted to labour. The
business affairs of a monastery brought some religious
into touch with the practical side of life. Others
found their vocation in manual labour in the fields or
workshops; while a certain number devoted themselves
to literary work in the cloister.