Trapeza redirects here; for the prehistoric Greek settlement, see Trapeza, Crete. Trapeza redirects here for the prehistoric Greek settlement see Trapeza Crete. Trapeza Crete is a Neolithic and Bronze Age settlement on the Island of Crete in Greece.
A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. A dining room is a room for consuming food In modern times it is usually adjacent to the Kitchen for convenience in serving although in Medieval times This article concerns the buildings occupied by monastics. For the life inside monasteries and its historical roots see Monasticism. A boarding school is a School where some or all pupils not only study but also live during term time with their fellow students and possibly teachers One of the places it is most often used today is in graduate seminaries. A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is a specialized and often live-in Higher education institution for the purpose of instructing students It is derived from the Latin reficere: to remake or restore, via Late Latin refectorium, which means a place one goes to be restored.
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Refectories and monastic culture
Communal meals provided one of the times in which all the monks of an establishment were together. Diet and eating habits differed somewhat by order, and more widely by time period. Monasticism (from Greek μοναχός, monachos, derived from Greek monos, alone is the religious practice in which one The Benedictine rule may be described as illustrative. Benedictine refers to the Spirituality and Consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in
The Rule of St Benedict orders two meals. Dinner was provided for year-round; supper was also served from late spring to early fall, except for Wednesdays and Fridays. Dinner is the main Meal of the day The meal normally consists of a combination of cooked or sometimes uncooked proteins (meat fish or legumes with vegetables and/or Supper is the name for the evening meal in some Dialects of English - ordinarily the last meal of the day The diet originally consisted of simple fare: two dishes, with fruit as a third course if available. The food was simple, with the meat of mammals forbidden to all but the sick. Moderation in all aspects of diet was the spirit of Benedict's law. Meals were eaten in silence, facilitated sometimes by hand signals. A single monk might read from the Scriptures or writings of the saints aloud during the meals. A saint (from the Latin sanctus) is a human being to whom has been attributed (and who has generally demonstrated a high level of Holiness and Sanctity
By the middle of the twelfth century, this early austerity had been softened. The softening occurred primarily because of the expansion of the Calendar of saints, which allowed for more elaborate meals in conjunction with longer services, candle light, and the wearing of copes. The Calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organizing a Liturgical year on the level of days by associating each day with one or more Saints The cope (Known in Latin as pluviale 'rain coat' or cappa 'cape' is a liturgical Vestment, which may conveniently be described as a very long mantle Diet was also expanded by various equivocations or discriminations: most significantly, food consumed in the refectory was differentiated from extra food consumed elsewhere (often in a small room built for this purpose. ) The Rule was considered to be followed if a certain percentage of monks, generally more than half, ate the regular meal in the refectory.
Size, structure, and placement
Refectories varied in size and dimension, based primarily on the wealth and size of the monastery, as well as the period in which the room was built. They shared certain design features. Monks ate at long benches; important officials sat at raised benches at one end of the hall. Outside the refectory usually stood a lavabo, or large basin for hand-washing. A lavabo is a device used to provide water for the washing of hands Other factors were also largely fixed by tradition. In England, the refectory was generally built on an undercroft (perhaps in an allusion to the upper room in which the Last Supper reportedly took place) on the side of the cloister opposite the church. An undercroft is traditionally a cellar or storage room often brick-lined and vaulted, and used for storage in buildings since Medieval times In the Christian Gospels the Last Supper (also called the Lord's Supper or Mystical Supper) was the last meal Jesus shared with his A cloister (from Latin claustrum) is a part of Cathedral, Monastic and Abbey architecture Benedictine models were generally laid out on an east-west axis, while Cistercian models lay north-south.
Norman refectories could be as large as 160 feet long by 35 feet wide (as is that in the abbey at Norwich). For other buildings in Normandy see Architecture of Normandy. History Roman The Romans had their regional capital at Venta Icenorum on the river to the south which is near modern-day Caistor St Edmund Even relatively early refectories might have windows, but these became larger and more elaborate in the high medieval period: the refectory at Cluny Abbey was lit through thirty-six large glazed windows. The Abbey of Cluny (or Cluni, or Clugny, pronunciation klyˈni is an abbey in France. That in the twelfth-century abbey at Mont Saint-Michel had six windows, five feet wide by twenty feet high. Mont Saint-Michel ( English: St Michael's Mount) is a rocky Tidal island in Normandy, France.
Eastern Orthodox
In Eastern Orthodox monasteries, the Refectory (Greek: Trapeza) is considered to be a sacred place, and even in some cases is constructed as a full church with Altar and Iconostasis. The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly An altar is any structure upon which Sacrifices or other offerings are made for religious purposes or some other sacred place where ceremonies take place In Eastern Christianity an iconostasis (the plural is iconostases) also called the Templon, is a wall of Icons and religious paintings Some services are intended to be performed specifically in the Trapeza. There is always at least one Icon with a lampada (oil lamp) kept burning in front of it. An icon (from Greek εἰκών eikōn, "image" is a religious work of art most commonly a painting from Eastern Christianity. An oil lamp is a simple vessel used to produce light continuously for a period of time from a fuel source The service of the Lifting of the Panagia is performed at the end of meals. A prosphoron ( Greek: πρόσφορον offering) is a small loaf of Bread used in Orthodox Christian liturgies. During Bright Week, this service is replaced with the Lifting of the Artos. Bright Week Lambri --> or Renewal Week is the name used by the Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches of the Byzantine The term Artos ( Greek: Áρτος "leavened loaf" refers to a loaf of leavened bread that is blessed during services in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern In some monasteries, the Ceremony of Forgiveness at the beginning of Great Lent is performed in the Trapeza. Clean Monday ( Greek: Καθαρά Δευτέρα also known as Pure Monday, Ash Monday, Monday of Lent or (in Cyprus only Great Lent, or the Great Fast, is the most important Fasting season in the Church year in Eastern Christianity, which prepares Christians All food served in the Trapeza should be blessed, and for that purpose, holy water is often kept in the kitchen. Holy water can also refer to water that has been blessed, such as by a Priest, and is considered Holy.
References
- Adams, Henry, Mont Saint-Michel and Chartres. New York: Penguin, 1986.
- Fernie, E. C. The Architecture of Norman England. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
- Harvey, Barbara. Living and Dying in England, 1100-1450. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1995.
- Singman, Henry. Daily Life in Medieval Europe. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1999.
- Webb, Geoffrey. Architecture in Britain: the Middle Ages. Baltimore: Penguin, 1956.
See also
External links
- Refectory in Russian Orthodox Convent Jerusalem
Dictionary
refectory
-noun
- A dining-hall especially in an institution such as a college or monastery.
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