This week you will explore a plan from the 9th century for a monastery. The St. Gall monastery plan incorporated a vision of an ideal monastic environment for monks who followed the Rule of St. Benedict. Consider the daily life of the monk in the middle ages. Read excerpts from the Rule of the Benedict to learn about what monks ate and drank, and how they slept. Then explore the plan of St. Gall, which was not built in the middle ages but now rises in Southern Germany. What do you find most interesting about the plan and the lives of medieval monks? What do you think is the appeal of constructing a medieval monastery in the 21st century?
Read excerpts
from the Rule of St. Benedict here
Click here to explore a site on the Plan of St. Gall
Read a news article on the construction of the monastery in Germany
Groups 4, 5, and 6: Please submit posts by Saturday, 3/24
Groups 1, 2, and 3: Please comment on a classmate’s post by Saturday, 3/24
See instructions on how to “post” and “comment” under “Blogging Guidelines” above
i think that the monks AT that time lived a unique/better life than the average person in the area they were at because everyone always or usually respected the church, so they were/seemed well connected with the high archy of that society, i also think that the construction of the monestary, would be great because it would show people, how the building would have looked like during that time
i agree with you and feel that the bulding contruction would will give people a better view on how everything was before .
what i found interesting about the plan is that it had churches, houses, stables, kitchens, workshops, brewery and other stuff all in one area surrounding the church. Practically having no excuse to leave town. The monks had a following the rules life. They would get a food and shelter as long they go by the elder monks rules. I wouldn’t like to live like that in my opinion.
the appeal about constructing a medieval monastery in the 21st century is like going back in time and seeing how life would of been like.
i do agree that it was so interesting that they had everything they needed in the surroundings of the church which basically means the church and the places right around it were the only places they needed to go which meant more time and focus on church itself and i do agree about the elder monks like “calling the shots”
its kinda like having a ruler only because they were elder.
I agree that it is interesting how the monasteries had everything they would need and more to support themselves. They were very disciplined and leaved a meager way of life. Most of the time they had to listen to the elders, but the symbiotic relationship they had is what made the monastery work.
I think one of the more interesting things about a monastery is the self-containment and self-sufficiency of it. The monks build everything they need. Most importantly they have their own brewery! The appeal of building the moastery is to see how they did it so many years ago. Also, the construction site is a major tourist attraction.