Monasteries dotted Europe during the medieval period. They were large houses where men, known as monks, lives quiet lives of prayer and work in an effort to get close to God. Larger monasteries were headed by an abbot, who was elected by the other monks to rule over them, and these monasteries were also known as abbeys.
             Monks made vows, solemn promises to God of obedience,
             stability and conversion of their lives to the life of a monk. Monastic life was generally an order of hard physical work, scholarship and prayer. The day of monks was regulated by regular prayer services in the abbey church. They prayed for other's souls. It was a harsh life St. Benedict had established which reflected the
             two primary principles of monastic life "Ora et labora" and "Prayer and work".
             These services took place every three hours, day and night. When the services were over, monks would be occupied with different tasks. Other specialists took care of the sick, buildings, masonry and education.
             The cellelar was in charge of food, storage and preparation. Abbeys grow their own food and healed common maladies with herls from their gardens, and taught local children. They imbibed on wine from their vineyards. Out in the field, monastic farmers were the agricultural experts taking on any craggy outcropping and turning it into a verdant field.
             Monks were by far the best educated members of society and
             monasteries acted as libraries for ancient manuscripts. Many monks were occupied with laboriously copying sacred tasks generally in a room called The Scriptorium. Printing didn not exist in Europe until 1450, so every document and book had to be copied by hand.
             Moral structure governed monastic life and it was a communein which all possessions were held in common. If nothing different happened in their daily routines, every monk spent their time on t
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