Breviary – monastic prayer book
Cellarer – monk responsible for oversight of all provisions; a key role in the community
Chapter – daily meeting governing practical matters, where a chapter of St
Benedict’s Rule was read and expounded by the abbot
Chapter House – meeting room for community affairs
Choir – the part of the church where the community sits
Cloister – covered way giving access to main buildings of monastery
Cistercian – order of monks, reform of Benedictine tradition
Dorter – dormitory
Esquire – personal assistant to a man of high status
Eucharist – the holy communion meal, the Lord’s Supper
Homily – short religious teaching address
Hours – (as in a Book of Hours) the services of worship in the monastic day
Jordan – one medieval slang term for a toilet, used in this story for the commode
Lay – not ordained
Liturgy – structured worship
Missal – book of words for the Mass (Eucharist service)
Office – the set worship taking place at regular intervals through the day
Parlour – small room where conversation was allowed
Physic garden – the medicinal herb patch beside the infirmary
Porter – doorkeeper
Postulant – new member not yet made a novice
Precentor – worship facilitator
Prior – in an abbey, the deputy leader; in a priory, the leader
Reredorter – monastery toilets
Rule – the Benedictine Rule: document guiding daily life, written by St Benedict
Superior – community leader