Monks having fun

In the film "Name of the Rose" much was made of the attempt to deny monks  the gift of laughter. The Venerable Jorge goes to huge lengths to conceal Aristotle's Second Book of Poetics because it showed how humour could be used in teaching. Do we imagine monks laughing? Did they have fun? What did they do for recreation? The likely time for this was during Nones and Vespers in the afternoon.

St Benedict was most concerned about idleness. Therefore he laid down that monks should be kept occupied at certain times with manual labour and at fixed times with sacred reading. He disapproved of boisterous laughing and too much talking but there was no condemnation of an occasional chuckle...

Abbot Paul Delatte of the Solesmes Abbey in France explains this very well in his Commentary on the Rule in 1921.

“There is wisdom in avoiding the prudery which is shocked and scandalized by everything; when we are good, the peace and innocence of childhood, its moral naïveté, return to us. Still it remains true that there are certain subjects, a certain coarseness, a certain worldly tone, which should never enter our conversation. These things are not such as to stir wholesome laughter; there are matters which one should not touch, which it is wholesome to avoid. Our own delicacy of feeling and the thought of Our Lord will save us from all imprudence.”

 I guess St.Benedict appreciated moderation in behaviour and language and wanted monks to avoid coarseness. Monastic life was not  meant to be too severe. He knew that morale needed to be maintained. It was important for monks to keep strong and healthy in body as well as in mind. The best ways to do this could involve a country walk, a seat in a vineyard and a change of air in a country manor. Games were not forbidden in principle. Rather certain ones were prescribed.

At the great Benedictine abbey of Cluny, in the Middle Ages, there were two set times daily (except for Sundays and certain other days) when the brethren were allowed to talk in the cloister. The morning conversation did not go much beyond a half hour, and in the afternoon this period of recreational conversation lasted sometimes less than a quarter of an hour. Even the very austere Saint Bernard permitted his conferences given to the brethren in the chapter room to take on a recreational character, stopping from time to time to exchange lighthearted words with some of his monks, as a close study of the history of his life reveals.

Games certainly went on in some monasteries. At Durham novices had a bowling alley and the Novice Master acted as umpire. A kind of tennis occurred in some places. Restrained ball games were allowed at Festivals and particularly at the Feast of Fools on 1st  January. At the latter the least became the greatest and choir boys or deacons, for example took the service and games may have been played. It was chaotic but probably more in cathedrals than abbeys. I have not come across it at St Albans.  

There is some evidence of board games. Thanks to Janet Gough for the two photos below which I tracked down on X.

   Three Men's Morris game on stone bench at Gloucester
Cathedral

Game carved in a pew of St Mary's
Cistercian Abbey

At St Albans we have a similar game to Gloucester  Three Men's Morris. It is situated on a bench on the wall of  the North Presbytery Passage, very near the entrance to the shrine of St Alban. It is reckoned to be medieval. It was a popular game in the 13th century but was played in Roman times and thoughout the world in prehistoric times. It could have been used by pilgrims or by monks or both?

St Albans : the game is on the bench below the
double brass figures

 

There was a heavy shadow when I took this but I hope you
can make out the 9 circular slots which would
 have been used by the two players,

        

Dice and cards were used at Chester in the early 14th century for example. At St Augustine's Canterbury we find that chess, dice, use of bows and arrows, running with poles, throwing stones, being at cock fighting or taking part in outdoor hunts are prohibited. Involvement in hunting was apparently common in France with some abbeys having enclosures fir the trapping of deer.

 Music could be used to help the sick. It might be provided by hired entertainers. At Durham this was dine to celebrate St Cuthbert's day. e.g. in 1375.

 The regular blood letting was meant to be preserve better health , cooling unnatural instincts. it was likely regarded as recreational. It might mean overnight stay in the Infirmary or a spell of a few days at a nearby manor acting as a convalescent home. Discipline was relaxed there.St Albans monks went to the nearby Redbourne. siple. Rather certain ones were prescribed.

The warming room naturally acted as the regular place where conversation could occur usually at the end of the day. A fire was kept there from All Saints or 1 November to Good Friday.This developed in many places as the place for informal meetings, recreational conversation and minor celebrations. At Durham a cask of wine there must have brightened things considerably.

 Games certainly went on in some monasteries. At Durham novices had a bowling alley and he Novice Master acted as umpire. A kind of tennis occurred in some places. Restrained ball games were allowed at Festivals and at the Feast of Fools at Christmas. there is some evidence of board games.  Dice and cards were used at Chester in the early 14th century for example. The cloister at Gloucester has the template for Fox and Geese on a stone bench.  At St Augustine's Canterbury we find that chess, dice, use of bows and arrows, running with poles, throwing stones, being at cock fighting or taking part in outdoor hunts are prohibited. Involvement in hunting was apparently common in France with some abbeys having enclosures fir the trapping of deer.

 Music could be used to help the sick. It might be provided by hired entertainers. At Durham this was done to celebrate St Cuthbert's day. e.g. in 1375.

Carthusians broke their solitude with weekly socializing walks. Limited family visits Family were allowed : today this is twice a year.

Carthusians walking

 The regular blood letting commonly practiced in monastic houses was meant to  preserve better health , and cool unnatural instincts but  was likely regarded as recreational. It might mean an overnight stay in the Infirmary or a few days spell at a nearby manor acting as a convalescent home. Discipline would have been relaxed there. Likely late night drinking went on. St Albans monks went to the nearby Redbourn. Durham monks took turns for some time at nearby Finchale Priory. Cistercian monks might have as many as 9 sessions a year. Perhaps some monks feigned illness in order to have an extra blood letting sesssion. St Augustin’s Canterbury limited sessions to every 7 weeks.

Then of course monks might break the rules and get into mischief in their leisure time! I have not chosen to go into this at the moment. I shall reserve this for a later post called Monks misbehaving....

Selective sources

Bottomley, F. Abbey explorer’s guide (Otley, 1995)

Kerr, J. Life in the Medieval cloister (London, 2009)

Knowles, D. Religiou Orders in England vol 1-3 (Cambridge, 2008)

Parry, A. ed. Rule of St Benedict (Leominster, 1990)

Rosewell, R The Medieval monastery (Oxford, 2011)

Williams, D.H. The Cistercians in the early Middle Ages (1998)