Editing Abbey (section)

=== Abbey of St Gall ===
[[File:Abbey st gall 1.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The church of the Abbey of St Gall]]

The plan of the [[Abbey of Saint Gall]] (719 AD) in what is now Switzerland indicates the general arrangement of a [[Benedictine]] monastery of its day. According to the architect [[Robert Willis (architect)]] (1800–1875) the Abbey's lay out is that of a town of individual houses with streets running between them. The abbey was planned in compliance with the Benedictine rule that, if possible, a monastery should be self-contained. For instance, there was a mill, a [[bakehouse]], [[stable]]s, and [[cattle]] stalls.{{sfn|Venables|1911}} In all, there were thirty-three separate structures; mostly one level wooden buildings.

The Abbey church occupied the centre of a quadrangular area, about {{convert|430|ft|m}} square. On the eastern side of the north transept of the church was the "[[scriptorium]]" or writing-room, with a library above.{{sfn|Venables|1911}}

The church and nearby buildings ranged about the [[cloister]], a court about which there was a covered arcade which allowed sheltered movement between the buildings. The [[nave]] of the church was on the north boundary of the cloister.

On the east side of the cloister, on the ground floor, was the "[[pisalis]]" or "[[calefactory]]". This was a common room, warmed by flues beneath the floor. Above the common room was the [[dormitory]]. The dormitory opened onto the cloister and also onto the south transept of the church. This enabled the monks to attend nocturnal services.<ref name="EB" /> A passage at the other end of the dormitory lead to the "[[necessarium]]" (latrines).

On the south side of the cloister was the refectory. The kitchen, at the west end of the refectory was accessed via an anteroom and a long passage. Nearby were the bake house, brew house and the sleeping-rooms of the servants. The upper story of the refectory was called the "vestiarium" (a room where the ordinary clothes of the monks were stored).

On the western side of the cloister was another two-story building with a [[Semi-basement|cellar]] on the ground floor and the [[larder]] and store-room on the upper floor. Between this building and the church was a parlour for receiving visitors. One door of the parlour led to the cloisters and the other led to the outer part of the Abbey.

Against the outer wall of the church was a school and headmaster's house. The school consisted of a large schoolroom divided in the middle by a screen or partition, and surrounded by fourteen little rooms, the "dwellings of the scholars". The abbot's home was near the school.

To the north of the church and to the right of the main entrance to the Abbey, was a residence for distinguished guests. To the left of the main entrance was a building to house poor travellers and [[pilgrim]]s. There was also a building to receive visiting monks. These "[[hospitia]]" had a large common room or refectory surrounded by bed rooms. Each hospitium had its own brewhouse and bakehouse, and the building for more prestigious travellers had a kitchen and storeroom, with bedrooms for the guests' servants and stables for their horses.{{sfn|Venables|1911}} The monks of the Abbey lived in a house built against the north wall of the church.

The whole of the southern and western areas of the Abbey were devoted to workshops, stables and farm-buildings including stables, ox-sheds, goatstables, piggeries, and sheep-folds, as well as the servants' and labourers' quarters.

In the eastern part of the Abbey there was a group of buildings representing in layout, two complete miniature monasteries. That is, each had a covered cloister surrounded by the usual buildings such as the church, the refectory, the dormitory and so on. A detached building belonging to each contained a bathroom and a kitchen.

One of the miniature complexes was called the "oblati". These were the buildings for the novices. The other complex was a hospital or infirmary for the care of sick monks. This infirmary complex included a physician's residence, a [[physic garden]], a drug store, and a chamber for the critically ill. There was also a room for bloodletting and purging. The physic garden occupied the north east corner of the Abbey.{{sfn|Venables|1911}}

In the southernmost area of the abbey was the workshop containing utilities for [[shoemaker]]s, saddlers (or shoemakers, sellarii), cutlers and grinders, [[Trencher (tableware)|trencher]]-makers, [[Tanner (occupation)|tanners]], curriers, fullers, [[Smith (metalwork)|smiths]] and [[goldsmith]]s. The tradesmen's living quarters were at the rear of the workshop. Here, there were also farm buildings, a large granary and threshing-floor, mills, and malthouse. At the south-east corner of the Abbey were hen and duck houses, a poultry-yard, and the dwelling of the keeper. Nearby was the kitchen garden which complemented the physic garden and a cemetery [[orchard]].{{sfn|Venables|1911}}

Every large monastery had [[priory|priories]]. A priory was a smaller structure or entities which depended on the monastery. Some were small monasteries accommodating five or ten monks. Others were no more than a single building serving as residence or a farm offices. The outlying farming establishments belonging to the monastic foundations were known as "villae" or "granges". They were usually staffed by [[lay-brothers]], sometimes under the supervision of a monk.