Early Middle Ages Monasticism

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In every religion, there is a home to the believers. The believers feel comfortable, free to speak, worship and follow in their leader’s footsteps. During the Middle Ages Monasticism, the monks chose a way of life that explored different ideas, and ways of living compared to other religions. This way of life is called the Monastic Ideal and living like this has been around for a very long time. The Early Middle Ages ranged from about 476 to 1000 A.D. This was the time of lords, vasles, and serfs. But during the Early Middle Ages many religions were still co-existing and had many places of peace, worship and safety. One of these places was called a monastery, the monastery was popular among “believers who felt called to renounce the world of material things and pursue a solitary existence of prayer and devotion” (Bishop 144). The monastery was a place where believers came to live …show more content…
During the rule of St. Benedict “medieval monasteries followed the guidelines [he] set forth” (Bishop 144). These rules quite possibly led to influence architectures to create a safe and peaceful area for the monks to live in. The monastery in Switzerland also known as St. Gall, St. Gall “was probably more compact and coherent than any actual monastery of the early Middle Ages” (Bishop 145) the monastery was not entirely built to the blueprints. The idea behind the design of the monastery was to mirror the peacefulness and solidarity that is happening on the inside to the designs on the outside. Another design was shown in St. Domingo in Spain; it is called the cloister. The cloister was created for many reasons just as the design behind the St. Gall, the cloister was a provided “sheltered passageway for monks and nuns, when symbolically shutting out the worlds temptations” (Bishop 145). The life of monks and nuns is one that requires peace and commitment and it truly one deserving of