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An aerial view of a German Benedictine Monastery compound. A small town is nestled at the foot of a hill in the background. The monastery includes a ditch surrounding the outer wall, stables, gardens, graveyard, workshops, church, cloister, living quarters, and various other buildings. It is pictured as it would have looked at the end of the Middle Ages.

A German Benedictine Monastery with a Small Town in the Background - Aerial View

An aerial view of a German Benedictine Monastery compound. A small town is nestled at the foot of a…

This illustration shows one fragment of a French cloister built in the Middle Ages. The architecture is Gothic, with pointed arches and vaulted ceilings, Two monks huddle in the passageway. This cloister looks very similar to the cloister at Mont Saint Michel Abbey, though it is not labeled as such.

A Cloister at a French Monastery from the Middle Ages

This illustration shows one fragment of a French cloister built in the Middle Ages. The architecture…

A concert in the monastery.

A Concert in the Monastery

A concert in the monastery.

An Eastern Orthodox monastery of Mount Athos in Greece.

Simonopetra Monastery

An Eastern Orthodox monastery of Mount Athos in Greece.

"The monks also became copyists, and with great painstaking and industry gathered and multiplied ancient manuscripts, and thus preserved and transmitted to the modern world much classical learning and literature that would otherwise have been lost."—Myers, 1905

Monk Copyist

"The monks also became copyists, and with great painstaking and industry gathered and multiplied ancient…

A group of monks sit on backless benches around a table in a vaulted room.

Monks at a Table

A group of monks sit on backless benches around a table in a vaulted room.

"Monks at work in the monastery kitchen."—Gordy, 1912

Monks at Work

"Monks at work in the monastery kitchen."—Gordy, 1912