University of Virginia Library

VI.2.1

ITS DESCRIPTION IN THE SO-CALLED
CUSTOMS OF FARFA

Our first complete description of the layout of a Benedictine
monastery later than the Plan of St. Gall is found
in a chapter of the so-called Customs of Farfa (Consuetudines
Farfenses) written between 1030 and 1048.[34]
These customs were believed to pertain to the monastery
of Farfa near Rome, until Dom Ursmer Berlière and Dom
Hildephonsus Schuster showed that they were the customs
of Cluny recording the layout of the monastery built by
Abbot Odilo of Cluny (994-1048).[35] The chapter of the
Farfa text with which we are here concerned falls into two
parts: a description of the layout of the claustral range of
buildings, and a description of the layout of buildings
located peripherally around this complex.[36] Since it forms
the basis for conclusions set forth on the pages that follow,
we feel compelled to quote it verbatim:

[ILLUSTRATION]

LUTTRELL PSALTER

The Psalter, dating ca. 1340, appears to have only these three owls (border ornament, fol.
177v) among its illustrations. They are redrawn here as line interpretations the same size as
the originals.

THE FARFA TEXT HAS BEEN COMPOSED WITH TRANSLATION IN "PARALLEL TEXT" STYLE

I. Ecclesiae longitudinis CXL pedes, altitudinis XL et tres, fenestrae
vitreae CLXta. Capitulum vero XL et V pedes longitudinis, latitudinis
XXXta et IIIIor. Ad oriente fenestrae IIIIor; contra septemtrionem
tres. Contra occidentem XIIci balcones, et per unumquemque afixe in eis
duae columnae. Auditorium XXXta pedes longitudinis; camera vero
nonaginta pedes longitudinis. Dormitorium longitudinis Ctū LXta
pedes, latitudinis XXXta et IIIIor. Omnes vero fenestrae vitreae, quae
in eo sunt XCta et VIIte et omnes habent in altitudine staturam
hominis, quantum se potest extendere usque ad summitatem digiti,
latitudinis vero pedes duo et semissem unum; altitudinis murorum XXti
tres pedes. Latrina[37] LXXtē pedes longitudinis, latitudinis XXti et
tres; sellae XL et quinque in ipsa domo ordinatae sunt, et per
unamquamque sellam aptata est fenestrula in muro altitudinis pedes duo,
latitudinis semissem unum, et super ipsas sellulas compositas strues[38]
lignorum, et, super ipsas constructionem lignorum facte sunt fenestrae
Xcē et VIItē, altitudinis tres pedes, latitudinis pedem et semissem.
Calefactorium XXtt et Ve, pedes latitudinis, longitudinis eademque
mensura.[39] A janua ecclesiae usque ad hostium calefactorii pedes
LXXV. Refectorium longitudinis pedes LXXXXta, latitudinis XXV;
altitudinem murorum XXtt tres, fenestrae vitreae, quae in eo sunt ex
utraque parte octo, et omnes habent altitudinis pedes V, latitudinis tres.
Coquina regularis XXXta pedes longitudine, et latitudine XXtt et V.
Coquina laicorum eademque mensura. Cellarii vero longitudo LXXta,
latitudo LXta pedes.

Aelemosynarum quippe cella pedes latitudinis Xcē, longitudinis
LXta ad similitudinem[40] latitudinis cellarii. Galilea longitudinis LXta
et quinque pedes et duae turraes ipsius galileae in fronte constitute; et
subter ipsas atrium est ubi laici stant, ut non impediant processionem.
A porta meridiana usque ad portam aquilonarium pedes CCLXXXta.
Sacristiae pedes longitudinis L et VIII cum turre, quae, in capite ejus
constituta est. Oratorium sanctae mariae longitudinis XL et quinque
pedes, latitudines XXti, murorum altitudinis XXti et tres pedes.
Prima cellula informorum latitudinem XX et VIItē pedes, longitudinem
XX et tres cum lectis octo et sellulis totidem in porticum juxta
murum ipsius cellulae de foris, et claustra praedictae cellulae habet
latitudinis pedes XIIci. Secunda cellula similiter per omnia est coaptata.
Tertia eodemque modo. Similiter etiam et quarta. Quinta sit
minori ubi conveniant infirmi ad lavandum pedes die sabbatorum: vel
illi fratres, qui exusti sunt ad mutandum. Sexta cellula praeparata[41] sit
ubi famuli servientes illis lavent scutellulas, et omnia utensilia. Juxta
galileam constructum debet esse palatium longitudinis Ctū XXXta et
Ve pedes, latitudinis XXXta, ad recipiendum omnes supervenientes
homines, qui cum equitibus adventaverint monasterio. Ex una
parte ipsius domus sunt praeparata XLta lecta et totidem pulvilli ex
pallio ubi requiescant viri tantum, cum latrinis XLta. Ex alia namque
parte ordinati sunt lectuli XXXta ubi comitisse vel aliae honestae
mulieres pausent cum latrinis XXXta, ubi solae ipsae suas indigerias
procurent. In medio autem ipsius palatiis affixae sint mense sicuti
refectorii tabulae, ubi aedant tam viri quam mulieres.

In festivitatibus magnis sit ipsa domus adornata cum cortinis et
palliis et bamcalibus in sedilibus ipsorum. In fronte ipsius sit alia
domus longitudinis pedes XLta et V, latitudinis XXXta. Nam ipsius
longitudo pertingant usque ad sacristiam, et ibi sedeant omnes sartores
atque sutores ad suendum, quod camerarius[42] eis praecipit. Et ut praeparatam
habeant ibi tabulam longitudinis XXXta pedes, et alia tabula
afixa sit cum ea, quarum latitudo ambarum tabularum habeat VIItē
pedes. Nam inter istam mansionem et sacristiam atque aecclesiam, nec
non et galilaeam sit cimiterium, ubi laici sepeliantur. Ad porta meridiana
usque ad portam VIItem trionalem contra occidentem sit constructa
domus longitudinis CCtū LXXXta pedes, latitudinis XXti et V,
et ibi constituantur stabule equorum per mansiunculas partitas, et
desuper sit solarium, ubi famuli aedant atque dormiant, et mensas
habeant ibi ordinatas longitudinis LXXXta pedes, latitudinis vero
IIIIor. Et quotquot ex adventantibus non possunt reficere ad illam
mansionem, quam superius diximus, reficiant ad istam. Et in capite
ipsius mansionis sit locus aptitatus, ubi conveniant omnes illi homines,
qui absque equitibus deveniunt, et caritatem ex cibo atque potum in
quantum convenientia fuerit ibi recipiant ab elemosynario fratre. Extra
refectorium namque fratrum LXta pedum in capite latrine sint cryptae
XIIci, et todidem dolii praeparati, ubi temporibus constitutis balnea
fratribus praeparentur; et post istam positionem construator cella
novitiorum, et sit angulata in quadrimodis, videlicet prima ut meditent,
in secunda reficiant, in tertia dormiant, in quarta latrina ex latere.
Justa istam sit depositam alia cella, ubi aurifices vel inclusores seu vitrei
magistri conveniant ad faciendam ipsam artem. Inter cryptas et cellas
novitiorum atque aurificum habeant domum longitudinis Ctum, XXti et
quinque pedes, latitudinis vero XXti et quinque et ejus longitudo perveniat
usque ad pistrinum.[43] Ipsum namque in longitudinem cum turrem,
quae in capite ejus constructa est, LXXta pedes, latitudinis XXti.

END OF PARALLEL TEXT TREATMENT

(After Albers, Cons. Mon, I, 1937-39)

I. The length of the church is 140 feet, the height 43 feet, with 160
glass windows. The chapter house is 45 feet long, 34 feet wide with
four windows on the east, three on the north. On the west are
twelve arches with two columns affixed to each. The inner parlor is
30 feet long. The camera, 90 feet long. The dormitory is 160 feet
long, 34 feet wide. All the windows are glass, 97 in total, as tall as a
man extending his arm, and 2½ feet wide. The walls are 23 feet
high. The latrine is 70 feet long, 23 feet wide. In that building there
have been arranged 45 seats with a small window above each seat,
2 feet high, ½ foot wide. Above those seats is built a wooden structure
and above this wooden construction, there are 17 windows,
3 feet high, 1½ feet wide. The warming room is 25 feet wide, and
the same in length. From the door of the church to the door of the
warming room there are 75 feet. The refectory is 90 feet long, 25
feet wide. The height of the walls is 23 feet; there are glass windows,
eight on each side, 5 feet high and 3 feet wide. The monks' kitchen
is 30 feet long, 25 feet wide. The lay kitchen has the same dimensions.
The cellar is 70 feet long, 60 feet wide. The almonry is 10
feet wide, 60 feet long, the same width as the cellar. The narthex is
65 feet long with two towers placed in front of it. Underneath is an
atrium where the laity stand so as not to impede the processions.
From the south entrance to the north, there are 280 feet. The length
of the sacristy is 58 feet with the tower, which is at its head. The

chapel of St. Mary is 45 feet long and 20 feet wide; its walls are 23
feet high. The first cell of the sick is 27 feet wide and 23 feet long
with eight beds and as many seats outside in the portico of that cell,
and the cloister of that cell is 12 feet wide. The second cell is the
same in all respects. Also the third and the fourth. Let a fifth be
smaller, where the sick might come to wash their feet on the
sabbath, or those brothers who have been burnt to change [their
bandages]. A sixth cell should be prepared where the servants attending
them can wash the pans and all the utensils. Near the narthex
must be built a house for distinguished guests 135 feet long, 30 feet
wide, to receive all the visitors who, along with their squires, shall
come to the monastery. On one side of that house have been prepared
forty beds and as many straw matresses for the repose of as
many men, and forty latrines. On the other side have been arranged
thirty beds where countesses or other noble women can rest, with
thirty latrines where alone they can see to their needs. In the center
of that lodging there should be placed tables like those of the
refectory, where both the men and the women can eat.

During the great holidays that house should be decorated with
curtains and drapes and bench coverings. In front of that house let
there be another, 45 feet long, 30 feet wide. Its length should reach
clear to the sacristy, and in it should sit all the cobblers and tailors,
who sew what the chamberlain tells them. They should have there a
table 30 feet long, and another table joined to it. Both tables should
be 7 feet wide. Between that house and the sacristy and the church
and also the narthex there should be a cemetery for the burial of the
lay. From the south gate to the north gate let there be built on the
west a house 280 feet long, 25 feet wide for the separate stalls of the
horses, and above that a solarium where the servants can eat and
sleep. They should have tables 80 feet long, 4 feet wide, and when
they cannot feed some of the visitors at the above-mentioned
building, they should feed them at this one. At the head of that
building let there be a place where those can come together who
arrive without squires and there receive from the alms brother
sufficient charity in the form of food and drink. Outside of the
refectory of the brothers 60 feet from its head twelve latrines should
be dug and as many baths, where at fixed times the brothers can
bathe. After that location let the cell of the novices be built and it
should be divided off into four parts: in the first they might meditate;
in the second, ear; in the third, sleep; and the fourth have a
latrine on the side. Next to that one let there be built another cell
where the goldsmiths or jewelers or glaziers come for their craft.
Between the latrines and the cells of the novices and of the goldsmiths
they should have a house 125 feet long, 25 feet wide and its
length should extend to the bakery. Its length including the tower
at its head is 70 feet, its width, 20 feet.

[ILLUSTRATION]

515. CLUNY. PLAN OF MONASTERY ABOUT 1050

REDRAWN FROM CONANT, VARIOUS VERSIONS

Cluny sprang from a nucleus of five or six monasteries united by its first abbot,
Berno (909-927). Under the leadership of Abbot Odo (927-942) and his
successors, and vigorously supported by the Papal See, Cluny became the
center of an order that included, by about 1150, no fewer than 314 monasteries
all over Europe as well as the Holy Land.

The fabric of Cluny was almost utterly destroyed during the French Revolution.
Through intimate knowledge of the topography and archaeology of the site,
superior draftsmanship, and an ingenious synthesis of historical sources,
Kenneth John Conant has reconstructed the various stages of the architecture of
this great center of monastic reform, thus making a major contribution to its
visual history.

The church of this plan, Cluny II, was built by Abbot Mayeul around
954-981, perhaps over the court of the original villa given to its monks in 910.
The adjoining conventual buildings were erected ca. 991-1048 by Abbot Odilo,
replacing Mayeul's claustrum. Conant believes that Odilo rebuilt the east and
west ranges of the cloister outside Mayeul's buildings, thus taking them out of
alignment with the transept and façade of Mayeul's church, thereby forming the
peculiar L-shaped bend of the northern cloister walk where it clears the transept.
Insertion of a chapter house in the east range, together with the small size of
both Odilo's cloister yard and Mayeul's church caused extension of the east
range beyond the limits of the cloister square—a feature that in the 12th century
became widespread among independent Benedictine churches of England (figs.
516, 518); and standard among 12th-century Cistercian houses (figs. 519-521).

Attempts to convert the prose account of the monastery
described in the Consuetudines Farfenses into a graphic
reconstruction were made by Julius von Schlosser in 1889,
by Georg Hager in 1901, and by A. W. Clapham in 1934.[44]
The views set forth by these scholars have been expanded
and refined by Kenneth John Conant in a series of studies
published over a period of nearly thirty years.[45] Schlosser
felt that the Latin text was confused, ambiguous, and
disconnected, and consequently assumed that the description
of the buildings around the cloister followed no logical
order. He had overlooked the dimensional clues in the
text which could help to clarify the order.[46] Hager made use
of these clues and, by grouping buildings of identical widths
together, discovered that the author of the text describes
the monastery in a continuous order away from the church
and clockwise around the compound of the cloister, describing
first the east range, then the south range, and finally
the west range. Hager noted that the resulting order coincided
with the layout of later monasteries, in particular that
of the Abbey of St. Peter and Paul of Hirsau, which he used
as a model for his reconstruction.[47]

Conant focused upon the task of superimposing the order
of buildings recorded in the Farfa text upon the actual
building site of the monastery of Cluny, and in doing so,
demonstrated that the Farfa text was compatible with the
topography of Cluny. Conant published his findings in a
number of plans; the latest in 1965 (fig. 515) and 1968.
In developing these schemes he depended upon a plan of
the monastery of Cluny drawn up between 1700 and 1710
(now in the Musée Ochier), and to some extent on the
results of his excavations conducted from 1928 onwards
with the permission of the French authorities under the
auspices of the Medieval Academy of America.

The Farfa description discloses that the monastery built
toward the middle of the eleventh century by Odilo of
Cluny was, in its basic features, still like the layout of the
buildings shown on the Plan of St. Gall. There are of course
some modifications—most notably the introduction of a
separate chapter house at the head of the east range—but
these changes remain within the framework set forth on
the Plan of St. Gall.