Meals were eaten in silence and while the monks ate they listened to an edifying passage from the Gospels or the Lives of the Saints, thereby nourishing their minds while feasting their bodies. Any necessary communication was conveyed using sign language – for example, to sign for bread the monk made a circle with his thumb and first two fingers, since bread was usually round.
The sick usually carried a stick as a sign of their weakness and in many cases as a necessary prop, but they also covered their heads to show that they were in a state of penitence.
Sleep, like food, was regarded as a physical need and self-deprivation was a mark of holiness, showing one’s mastery over the senses. But it was also considered an important weapon in the war against evil since it was thought that the devil preyed on monks while they slept and were at their most vulnerable.
The chapter house, library, parlour and dormitory were usually situated in the east cloister range. The chapter house was an important place in the monastery because every day the community met here to discuss any business and deal with disciplinary matters. Each meeting began with a chapter of the Rule of St Benedict, which was read aloud, and it was this which gave the building its name.