University of Virginia Library

VI.4.2

ADAPTATION OF THE WEST RANGE
FOR LAY BROTHERS

The Cistercians stressed St. Benedict's ruling that the
monastery should be self-sustaining and further proposed
to live entirely on produce cultivated by their own members.[138]
Towards this goal manual labor was re-established
as a basic monastic obligation for the monks. But, in order
to maintain the economic independence of the monastery
and attend to outlying farms without interfering with the
monks' full observance of the rule within the monastery,
lay brothers were attached to the monastic body.

The introduction of the lay brothers as a permanent segment
of the monastic community was the innovation which
most significantly affected the layout of the Cistercian monastery.

[ILLUSTRATION]

WEST RIDING, YORKSHIRE, ENGLAND. KIRKSTALL ABBEY. PLAN

519.B

KIRKSTALL ABBEY. SITE PLAN 1:8,000

519.A

Most of the church and all primary claustral structures
date from 1152-1175. Its rapid construction and
unusually complete preservation made Kirkstall,
among Cistercian ruins of England, an exciting visual
experience.

The east range is virtually identical with corresponding
ranges at Bardney, Thetford, and Castle Acre. On
the ground floor are: chapter house (originally con-
tained within the range, but in the 13th century expan-
ded eastward), parlor, day stairs to dormitory,
passageway to buildings lying east of the cloister, and
an undercroft of uncertain purpose. The dormitory
extended over the entire length of this range, termina-
ting in the south with the monks' latrine. In the south
range the refectory, initially parallel to the southern
cloister walk, was soon after completion repositioned at
right angles, thus allowing installation of a warming
room to its east, and a kitchen-brewhouse to its west.

The new refectory, originally of one storey, was in the
15th century divided into two levels, the lower serving
as a MISERICORD (where meat was served in violation
of the original rules). The west range, like its eastern
counterpart, was formed by a two-storey building,
accommodating in the undercroft cellar and refectory of
the lay brothers, and overhead their dormitory that
extended the entire length of the range, terminating in
the south with the latrine attached at an oblique angle
over a water channel. An infirmary hall and a guest
house were added in the 13th century, the former to the
east and the latter at some distance west of the cloister.

Lay brothers had existed in other orders, but only
in the Cistercian order were they instituted in a form and
to an extent that called for special housing within the inner
cloister.[139] Since the lay brothers often outnumbered the
monks, a large area was needed to shelter and feed them.[140]
The lay brothers' daily schedule differed greatly from that
of the monks; accordingly they needed a place apart where
they would not interfere with the monks' routine. Like the
monks, the lay brothers were required to sleep in a common
dormitory, eat the same food, and attend required mass at
regular hours each day. Their quarters needed to be within
easy access of the church and their refectory close to the
kitchen which they shared with the monks.

The east range belonged traditionally to the monks. No
written source designates which part of the cloister housed
the lay brothers, but the cloister buildings themselves indicate
that the traditional Benedictine west range was adapted
for this purpose.[141] In order to accommodate the large number
of lay brothers, the Cistercian west range was extended
beyond the cloister square to the south and arranged to
nearly duplicate the monks' living facilities in the east
range. The lay brothers' dormitory occupied the entire
second floor of the west range; their latrine was located at
an angle to its south end. The ground floor of the west
range was divided in the center by a passage. The area to
the left of this passage was usually the cellar, traditionally
located in the west range of the cloister. To the right of the
passage was the lay brothers' refectory. The lay brothers
not only had their own refectory, dormitory and latrine, but
usually had a separate infirmary to the west. In some cases
they may even have had a separate warming room and
auditorium.[142] Except for the fact that lay brothers and
monks were served from the same kitchen, there actually
existed two monasteries in one, parallel to each other, one
on the east and the other on the west side of the cloister
yard, with little contact between the two.[143]

In some monasteries, such as Kirkstall (fig. 519), an
open lane of almost twice the width of the monks' cloister
walk lay between the west range and the monks' cloister,
from which it was cut off by a solid masonry wall. In other
monasteries the west range lay directly along the west walk
of the monks' cloister. The two arrangements exist side by
side, but the west range separated by a lane may possibly
be the older type since it exists in the first monasteries of
the order, Clairvaux and Citeaux.[144] The two types are constructed
concurrently, as for example at Roche Abbey
(Yorkshire) and Byland Abbey (Yorkshire) and a general
reason for the development of the two types has not been
determined.[145] The lane for the lay brothers may have originated
as a small cloister yard, since it is twice as wide as
would have been necessary for it to serve only as a passage
to the church. In some monasteries, such as the one at
Byland, it was even fitted with stone benches. In monasteries
without a lane the lay brothers would have merely
congregated in the area west of their quarters to which
exterior day stairs gave access, as at Fountains (fig. 520).

The introduction of a special lane for the lay brothers
at the place which in the Benedictine plan was occupied by
the western cloister walk in a certain sense insulated the
outer parlor from the monks' cloister. Although no Cistercian
document mentions an entrance or an outer parlor
where the monks could meet with seculars, one or two
bays, as can be seen at Kirkstall (fig. 519) and at Fountains
(fig. 520), are usually divided off from the cellar on the
north end of the west range next to the church, and must
have served this traditional purpose. In order to pass from
the outer parlor to the door near the south end of the lay
brothers' lane, which gave access to the inner cloister at
Kirkstall and at Clairvaux (fig. 521), it was necessary to
cross the length of the lay brothers' lane. The lay brothers'
lane thus separated the cloister from the place in which the
monk had contact with seculars. And in the same way the
lay brothers' quarters themselves acted as a buffer between
the monks and the outside world.