The cloister stood at the centre of the precinct,
where it was sheltered from noise and disruption. It was made up
of a large central area, known as the cloister garth, and surrounded
by arcading; this was glazed in the fifteenth century to keep out
the wind and rain. The cloister at Byland was one of the largest
in the country, covering almost fourteen square metres. There was
probably at least one tree here, as there certainly was in the
twelfth-century cloister at Stocking, for the night before John
of Kingston left Byland to lead a new community at Fors (later
Jervaulx), he had a
dream in which the Virgin and
Christ-child appeared by a tree in the cloister garth.(10)
The Collation reading
The monks assembled in the north cloister walk for the daily Collation
reading. The reader stood at the lectern with his book open, ready
to begin when the abbot arrived. Each monk bowed as the abbot passed.
The abbot sat opposite the reader, the monks occupied stone benches.
At the end of the reading the monks faced eastwards to bow and salute,
as it was believed that this was the direction from which Christ would
return.
All the buildings necessary
for monastic life could be accessed from the cloister, but entry
was restricted. The monks observed
silence here, which meant that the cloister was well suited to
meditation and prayer. The south, east and west cloister walkways
essentially functioned as passageways, whereas the north alley
was used extensively by the monks who sat here on stone benches
to read, meditate and perhaps also to copy manuscripts. They might
even lay out their parchment here to dry.(11) In
the later Middle Ages there would have been carrels or desks for
the monks.(12) The novice-master might
instruct novices in
the north alley and the whole community gathered here for the daily
Collation reading. A door in the middle
of the north wall projected onto the cloister forming a porch,
the ‘Collation porch’. Here, the reader stood to address
his brethren.(13)
The cloister would have been warm and bright
in the summer, but the monks would have found it rather bleak during
the
chilly winter
months. When it was extremely cold they were permitted instead
to read or perhaps copy manuscripts in the chapter-house. According
to the twelfth-century Cistercian customs, on chilly winter days
the monks might wrap themselves up, and wear both of their cowls
and all three of their robes; if they were still cold they might
then wear their scapulars on top.
The cloister was also used
for more practical activities. It was here that the monks shaved,
washed themselves and their clothes,
and hung the laundry to dry. Lead pipes carried water to a
wall arcade outside the refectory, where pewter basins were set
in recesses.