LAYOUT AND FURNISHINGS
From the western gable wall of the refectory an arched door
leads into the "exit to the kitchen" (egressus ad coquinam).
This passage is not straight, but broken, to baffle the kitchen
noise—a courtesy to the hebdomadarius reading in the refectory.
It had the additional advantage of removing the
working area of the kitchen from the sight of the dining
monks while the dishes were being carried in and out, and
perhaps also to serve as a barrier for the kitchen odors. It is
wide enough (44 inches) to permit two persons to pass each
other.
The kitchen forms a square approximately 30 × 30
feet,[188]
which appears to be the norm for the period (fig.
211). The monks' kitchen of the Abbey of Cluny, described
in the
Consuetudines Farfenses measured 30 × 25 feet, and
the kitchen for the guests of the same monastery had the
same dimensions.
[190]
In the center of the kitchen a space
almost 10 feet square is taken up by a large "hearth on
arches" (
fornax super arcus) with four circular openings for
cooking. Around the stove are four work tables, and in each
corner of the building is a large circular container. These
are either tubs for washing the vegetables and dishes or
additional cauldrons for heating water. A continuous range
of wall benches, or work tables, runs around the entire
periphery.