CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

THE FOUR MONASTIC ORDERS

BECOMING A MONK

THE ARCHITECTURE OF MONASTERIES

MANAGING A MONASTERY

DAILY LIFE I: PRAYER, STUDY, WORK

DAILY LIFE II: PERSONAL LIFE

DAILY LIFE III: DOMESTIC

BEYOND THE CLOISTER

NUNNERIES

THE OTHER ORDERS

DISSOLUTION

FURTHER READING AND WEBSITES

PLACES TO VISIT

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Fifteenth-century stained-glass window depicting Edward the Confessor (reigned 1042–66) granting a charter and a gift of land to a monk at Malvern Priory (Benedictine: Worcestershire).