Glossary of Terms

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

Choir – the part of the church where the community sits

Cloister – covered way giving access to main buildings of monastery

Dorter – dormitory

Eucharist – the holy communion meal, the Lord’s Supper

Hours – (as in a Book of Hours) the services of worship in the monastic day

Lay – not ordained

Liturgy – structured worship

Office – the set worship taking place at regular intervals through the day

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 – latrines situated convenient to sleeping quarters

Rule – the Benedictine Rule: document guiding daily life, written by St Benedict