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Fountains Abbey: History
Fountains Abbey: Buildings
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The lay-brothers' choir (12/13)
The lay-brothers’ choir occupied the first six bays of the nave in the western part of the church; a seventh bay housed an altar and also the rood screen, which divided the two communities. The lay-brothers, like the monks, had two entrances to the church, one which provided access during the day, the other for the night office of Vigils. Whenever the lay-brothers celebrated their Hours in the church, they would have occupied inward-facing wooden choir stalls, similar to those used by the monks. At the Mass and the Hours, the seniormost lay-brother sat nearest the altar, but this order was reversed when the brethren assembled in the church after dinner for grace. Although the two choirs were divided by the rood screen, a central door in this partition would have allowed for some contact between the two communities. Still, they essentially remained apart and whilst the lay-brothers would have heard the monks chanting, they would have seen little of what went on in the eastern part of the church. The monks, in contrast, would not – or should not – have seen or heard the lay-brothers, who celebrated the Hours in silence, so as not to disturb the monks. With the
demise of the lay-brothers in the mid-thirteenth century, their
choir stalls were removed and this area of the church was
restructured to provide side chantries. Here, ordained members
of the community could say private
masses and offer prayers for
benefactors. The nave was also used for processions and for burial. |
