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The cloister (continued)
(2/2)
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; the basins here were
set in recesses, which would have helped to prevent the water from
freezing over. The weekly Maundy also took place. This was the
ritual washing of the monks’ feet in memory of Christ, who
washed the disciples’ feet, and in accordance with John 13:
14-15 [If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet,
you also should wash one another’s feet. For I have given
you an example, that you should do as I have done to you].
Chapter 35 of the Rule
of St Benedict states that the Maundy should be
carried out by the weekly cooks, who should first heat the water
and then wash the brothers’ feet.(5) On
Maundy Thursday the abbot symbolically washed the feet of twelve
members of the community – four
monks, four novices and
four lay-brothers – and
his helpers washed the feet of the remainder of the community.(6) On
this occasion a group of poor folk was led into the cloister for
the ritual washing
of their feet and after the ceremony to the guesthouse, for refreshment.
It was the porter’s
duty to select as many poor people as there were monks and lead them
to the cloister after None; a monk stood in front of each poor person,
washed and kissed his feet and then gave him a coin.
[Ecclesiastica Officia, 21: 7-21 (pp 100-102).]
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The cloister was also the focus for processions
such as those on Palm Sunday, Ascension Day and Assumption Day.
These began in the
church and then progressed to the cloister, stopping first at
the eastern range, then at the refectory and finally at the western
range. The entire community participated in these processions,
which were led by the abbot or prior who was followed in order
by the monks, the novices and finally the lay-brothers, walking
in pairs. At the Blessing
of the Water on Sundays, one of the
monastic
officers sprinkled water and salt around the cloister in an act
of exorcism, while the community offered blessings in the church.
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