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CLOISTER (Lat. claustrum; Fr. cloitre...

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Originally appearing in Volume V06, Page 555 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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CLOISTER (Lat. claustrum; Fr. cloitre; Ital. chiostro; Span. claustro; Ger. Kloster)

CLOISTER (See also:
LAT
Lat. claustrum; Fr. cloitre; Ital. chiostro; Span. claustro; Ger. Kloster) . The word " cloister," though now restricted to the four-sided enclosure, surrounded with covered ambulatories, usually attached to coventual and See also:

CATHEDRAL

cathedral churches, and sometimes to colleges, or by a still further See also:

LIMITATION, STATUTES OF

limitation to the ambulatories themselves, originally signified the entire monastery. In this sense it is of frequent occurrence in earlier See also:

ENGLISH

English literature (e.g. See also:

SHAKESPEARE, WILLIAM (1564-1616)

Shakespeare, Meas. for Meas. i. 3, " This See also:

day my See also:

SISTER

sister should the cloister enter"), and is still employed in See also:

POETRY

poetry. The Latin claustrum, as its derivation implies, primarily denoted no more than the enclosing See also:

wall of a religious See also:

house, and then came to be used for the whole See also:

BUILDING

building enclosed within the wall. To this sense the See also:

German " Kloster " is still limited, the covered walks, or cloister in the See also:

MODERN

modern sense, being called " Klostergang," or "Kreuzgang." In See also:

French the word cloitre retains the See also:

double sense. In the See also:

SPECIAL

special sense now most See also:

COMMON

common, the word " cloister " denotes the See also:

QUADRILATERAL

quadrilateral See also:

AREA

area in a monastery or See also:

COLLEGE (Collegium)

college of canons, See also:

ROUND (O. Fr. rond, Lat. rotundus, the Fr. is the source also of Du. rond; Ger., Swed., Dan. and Nor. rond)

round which the See also:

PRINCIPAL

principal buildings are ranged, and which is usually provided with a covered way or See also:

AMBULATORY (Med. Lat. ainbulatorium, a place for walking, from ambulare, to walk)

ambulatory See also:

RUNNING

running all round, and affording a means of communication between the various centres of the ecclesiastical See also:

LIFE

life, without exposure to the See also:

WEATHER (O. Eng. weder; the word is common to Teutonic languages; cf. Du. weder, Dan. veir, Icel. ve8r, and Ger. Wetter and Gewitter, storm; the root is wa- to blow, from which is derived " wind ")

weather. According to the See also:

BENEDICTINE

Benedictine arrangement, which from its suitability to the requirements of monastic life was generally adopted in the See also:

West, one See also:

side of the cloister was formed by the See also:

church, the See also:

REFECTORY (med. Lat. refectorium, from reficere, to refresh)

refectory occupying the side opposite to it, that the worshippers might have the least annoyance from the See also:

NOISE (a word of doubtful origin; O. Fr. nogse or nose; Prov. nausa, which points to Lat. nausea, sickness, as the origin; others take Lat. noxia, harm, as the source)

noise or See also:

SMELL (connected etymologically with " smoulder " and " smoke ")

smell of the repasts. On the eastern side the See also:

CHAPTER (a shortened form of chapiter, a word still used in architecture for a capital; derived from O. Fr. chapitre, Lat. capitellum, diminutive of caput, head)

chapter-house was placed, with other apartments belonging to the common life of the brethren adjacent to it, and, as a common See also:

RULE

rule, the See also:

DORMITORY (Lat. dormitorium, a sleeping place)

dormitory occupied the whole of the upper See also:

story. On the opposite or western side were generally the cellarer's lodgings, with the cellars and See also:

STORE (from O. Fr. estor or estoire, Late Lat. staurum or instaurum, stock, provisions, supply, from the late use of instaurare, to provide, properly to construct, renew, restore)

store-houses, in which the provisions necessary for the sustenance of the See also:

con-fraternity were housed.

In Cistercian monasteries the western side was usually occupied by the " domus conversorum," or lodgings of the See also:

lay-brethren, with their day-rooms and workshops below, and dormitory above. The cloister, with its surrounding buildings, generally stood on the See also:

south side of the church, to secure as much See also:

SUNSHINE

sunshine as possible. A very See also:

early example of this disposition is seen in the See also:

plan of the monastery of St See also:

Gall (see See also:

ABBEY, fig. 3). See also:

LOCAL

Local requirements, in some instances, caused the cloister to be placed to the See also:

north of the church. This is the See also:

case in the English cathedrals, formerly Benedictine abbeys, of See also:

Canterbury, See also:

Gloucester and See also:

Chester, as well as in that of See also:

Lincoln. Other examples of the northward situation are at Tintern, Buildwas and See also:

SHERBORNE

Sherborne. Although the coveredambulatories are absolutely essential to the completeness of a monastic cloister, a See also:

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief See also:

OBJECT

object of which was to enable the inmates to pass from one See also:

PART

part of the monastery to another without inconvenience from See also:

RAIN (O.E. regn; the word is common to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Regen, Swed. and Dan. regn; it has been connected with Lat. rigare, to wet, Gr. 13pixeav)

rain, See also:

wind, or See also:

sun, it appears that they were sometimes wanting. The cloister at St Albans seems to have been deficient in ambulatories till the abbacy of See also:

Robert of Gorham, 1151—1166,.when the eastern walk was erected. This, as was often the case with the earliest ambulatories, was of See also:

wood covered with a sloping roof or " See also:

PENTHOUSE

penthouse." We learn from Osbern's See also:

account of the conflagration of the monastery of See also:

Christ Church, Canterbury, 1067, that a cloister with covered ways existed at that See also:

time, affording communication between the church, the dormitory and the refectory. We learn from an early See also:

DRAWING

drawing of the monastery of Canterbury that this cloister was formed by an See also:

ARCADE

arcade of See also:

Norman See also:

ARCHES, COURT OF

arches supported on shafts, and covered by a See also:

SHED

shed roof. A fragment of an arcaded cloister of this See also:

PATTERN

pattern is still found on the eastern side of the infirmary-cloister of the same See also:

FOUNDATION (Lat. fundatio, from fundare, to found)

foundation.

This earlier See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form of cloister has been generally superseded in See also:

England by a range of windows, usually unglazed, but sometimes, as at Gloucester, provided with See also:

glass, See also:

LIGHTING

lighting a vaulted ambulatory, of which the cloisters of See also:

Westminster Abbey, See also:

Salisbury and See also:

Norwich are typical examples. The older See also:

DESIGN (Fr. desiin, drawing; Lat. designare, to mark out)

design was preserved in the South, where " the cloister is never a window, or anything in the least approaching to it in design, but a range of small elegant pillars, sometimes single, sometimes coupled, and supporting arches of a See also:

LIGHT

light and elegant design, all the features being of a See also:

CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character suited to the See also:

PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place where they are used, and to that only " (See also:

Fergusson, Hist. of See also:

Arch. i. p. Oro). As examples of this description of cloister, we may refer to the exquisite cloisters of St See also:

John Lateran, and St See also:

Paul's without the walls, at See also:

Rome, where the coupled shafts and arches are richly ornamented with See also:

RIBBONS

ribbons of See also:

MOSAIC (corresponding to Lat. opus musivum, from Gr. µovoeiov, an artificial grotto often decorated with mosaics; the word is only found in the sense of mosaic in late Greek, which generally uses k oXI yrlµa)

mosaic, and those of the See also:

CONVENT (Lat. conventus, from convenire, to come together)

convent of St Scholastica at See also:

SUBIACO (anc. Sublaqueum)

Subiaco, all of the 13th See also:

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century, and to the beautiful cloisters at See also:

Arles, in See also:

SOUTHERN

southern See also:

France; those of See also:

Aix, Fontfroide, See also:

ELNE

Elne, &c., are of the same type; as also the Romanesque cloisters at See also:

Zurich, where the design suffers from the deep See also:

ABACUS (Gr. 15t(34, a slab; Fr. abaque, tailloir)

abacus having only a single slender See also:

shaft to support it, and at Laach, where the quadrangle occupies the place of the " See also:

ATRIUM (either from ater, black, referring to the blackening of the walls from the smoke of the hearth, or from the Greek aiOpeov, open to the sky, or from an Etruscan town, Atria, where the style of building is supposed to have originated)

atrium " of the early basilicas at the west end, as at St See also:

Clement's at Rome, and St See also:

Ambrose at See also:

Milan. See also:

Spain also presents some magnificent cloisters of both types, of which that of the royal convent of Huelgas, near See also:

BURGOS

Burgos, of the arcaded form, is, according to Fergusson, " unrivalled for beauty both of detail and design, and is perhaps unsurpassed by anything in its See also:

AGE (Fr. age, through late Lat. aetaticum, from aetas)

age and See also:

style in any part of See also:

EUROPE

Europe." Few cloisters are more beautiful than those of See also:

MONREALE (contraction of monte-reale, so called from a palace built here by Roger I.)

Monreale and See also:

CEFALU (anc. Cephaloedium)

Cefalu in See also:

SICILY (Ital. Sicilia)

Sicily, where the arrangement is the same, of slender columns in pairs with capitals of elaborate foliage supporting pointed arches of See also:

GREAT

great elegance of form. All other cloisters are surpassed in dimensions and in sumptuousness of decoration by the " Campo Santo " at See also:

Pisa. This magnificent cloister consists of four ambulatories as wide and lofty as the See also:

NAVE

nave of a church, erected in 1278 by Giovanni See also:

Pisano round a See also:

CEMETERY (Gr. Korrsnri7pwv, from Hoiµav, to sleep)

cemetery composed of See also:

SOIL

soil brought from See also:

PALESTINE

Palestine by See also:

ARCHBISHOP (Lat. archiepiscopus, from Gr. apxceatorcoros)

Archbishop Lanfranchi in the See also:

MIDDLE

middle of the 12th century. The window-openings are semicircular, filled with elaborate See also:

TRACERY

tracery in the latter See also:

HALF

half of the 15th century. The inner walls are covered with frescoes invaluable in the See also:

HISTORY

history of See also:

art by See also:

ORCAGNA (c. 1308-c. 13681)

Orcagna, See also:

SIMONE (1457—1508)

Simone Memmi, Buffalmacco, Benozzo See also:

GOZZOLI, BENOZZO

Gozzoli, and other early painters of the Florentine school. The ambulatories now serve as a museum of See also:

sculpture. The See also:

INTERNAL

internal dimensions are 415 ft. 6. in. in length, 137 ft. to in. in breadth, while each ambulatory is 34 ft.

6. in. wide by 46 ft. high. The cloister of a religious house was the See also:

SCENE (Fr. scene, Lat. scaena, Gr. oflvil, a tent or booth, a stage or scene)

scene of a large part of the life of the inmates of a monastery. It was the place of See also:

EDUCATION

education for the younger members, and of study for the elders. A See also:

CANON

canon of the See also:

ROMAN

Roman See also:

COUNCIL (Lat. concilium, from cum, together, and the root cal, to call)

council held under See also:

EUGENIUS

Eugenius II., in 826, enjoins the erection of a cloister as an essential portion of an ecclesiastical See also:

ESTABLISHMENT (0. Fr. establissement, Fr. etablissement, late Norm. Fr. establishement, from O. Fr. establir, Fr. etablir, Lat. stabilire, to make stable)

establishment for the better discipline and instruction of the clerks. See also:

Peter of See also:

BLOIS

Blois (Serm. 25) describes See also:

SCHOOLS

schools for the novices as being in the west walk, and moral lectures delivered in that next the church. At Canterbury the monks' school was in the western ambulatory, and it was in the same walk that the novices were taught at See also:

Durham (See also:

Willis, Monastic Buildings of Canterbury, p. 44; See also:

RITES

Rites of Durham, p. 71). The other alleys, especially that next the church, were devoted to the studies of the See also:

elder monks. The constitutions of Hildemar and See also:

DUNSTAN, SAINT (924 or 925-g88)

Dunstan enact that between the services of the church the brethren should sit in the cloister and read See also:

THEOLOGY

theology. For this purpose small studies, known as " carrols," i.e. a See also:

RING (O.E. hring; a word common to Teutonic languages; and probably cognate with the Lat. circus, Gr. KtpKOS or KpLKOS, Skt'. chakra, wheel, circle, cf. also " harangue "); in art, a band of circular shape of varying sizes, made of any material and used f

ring or enclosed space, were often found in the recesses of the windows.

Of this arrangement there are examples at Gloucester, Chester and elsewhere. The use of these studies is thus described in the Rites of Durham:—" In every wyndowe " in the north See also:

ALLEY (from the Fr. allee, a walk)

alley " were iii pewes or carrells, where every one of the olde monkes had his carrell severally by himself e, that when they had dyned they dyd resorte to that place of cloister, and there studyed upon their books, every one in his carrell all the afternonne unto evensong tyme. This was there exercise every daie." On the opposite wall were cupboards full of books for the use of the students in the carrols. The cloister arrangements at Canterbury were similar to those just described. New studies were made by See also:

Prior De Estria in 1317, and Prior Selling (1472–1494) glazed the south alley for the use of the studious brethren, and constructed " the new framed contrivances, of See also:

LATE

late styled carrols (Willis, Mon. Buildings, p. 45). The cloisters were used not for study only but also for recreation. The constitutions of Arch-See also:

bishop See also:

LANFRANC (d. 1089)

Lanfranc, See also:

SECT

sect. 3, permitted the brethren to converse together there at certain See also:

HOURS, CANONICAL

hours of the day. To maintain necessary discipline a special officer was appointed under the See also:

TITLE (0. Fr. title, mod. titre, from Lat. titulus)

title of prior clausiri. The cloister was always furnished with a See also:

stone See also:

BENCH (an O.E. and Eng. form of a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Bank, Dan. baenk and the Eng. doublet " bank ")

bench running along the side.

It was also provided with a lavatory, usually adjacent to the refectory, but sometimes See also:

STANDING

standing in the central area, termed the cloister-See also:

GARTH, SIR SAMUEL (1661-1719)

garth, as at Durham. The cloister-garth was used as a place of sepulture, as well as the surrounding alleys. The cloister was in some few instances of two stories, as at Old St Paul's, and St See also:

Stephen's See also:

CHAPEL

chapel, Westminster, and occasionally, as at See also:

Wells, See also:

CHICHESTER

Chichester and See also:

HEREFORD

Hereford, had only three alleys, there being no ambulatory under the church wall. The larger monastic establishments had more than one cloister; there was usually a second connected with the infirmary, of which there are examples at Westminster Abbey and at Canterbury; and sometimes one giving See also:

ACCESS (Lat. accessus)

access to the See also:

KITCHEN (O.E. cycene; this and other cognate forms, such as Dutch keuken, Ger. Kiuche, Dan. kokken, Fr. cuisine, are formed from the Low Lat. cucina, Lat. coquina, coquere, to cook)

kitchen and other domestic offices. The cloister was not an appendage of monastic houses exclusively. It was also attached to colleges of See also:

SECULAR (Lat. saecularis, of or belonging to an age or generation, saeculum)

secular canons, as at the cathedrals of Lincoln, Salisbury, Wells, Hereford and Chichester, and formerly at St Paul's and See also:

Exeter. It is, however, absent at See also:

York, See also:

LICHFIELD

Lichfield, See also:

Beverley, See also:

Ripon, See also:

Southwell and See also:

WIMBORNE (WIMBORNE MINSTER)

Wimborne. A cloister forms an essential part of the colleges of See also:

ETON

Eton and See also:

Winchester, and of New College and Magdalen at See also:

Oxford, and was designed by See also:

WOLSEY, THOMAS (c. 1475–1530)

Wolsey at Christ Church. These were used for religious processions and lectures, for ambulatories for the studious at all times, and for places of exercise for the inmates generally in wet weather, as well as in some instances for sepulture. For the arrangements of the Carthusian cloisters, as well as for some account of those appended to the monasteries of the See also:

East, see ABBEY. (E.

End of Article: CLOISTER (Lat. claustrum; Fr. cloitre; Ital. chiostro; Span. claustro; Ger. Kloster)

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