INNER CRYPT
On the other hand, it is equally clear that the inner crypt
must have been used for the services the monks conducted
before the tomb of St. Gall. Its entrance, between the two
flights of stairs that lead from the crossing to the high altar,
is in an area entirely set aside for the monks. It is designated
with the title, "access to the confessio" (accessus ad confessionem).
That such private oratories should be constructed
"near the place where the sacred bodies rest, so
that the brothers can pray in secrecy" (ut ubi corpora
sanctorum requiescunt aliud oratorium habeatur, ubi fratres
secrete possint orare), was ordered by Charlemagne in a
capitulary issued in 789.
[72]
