Life in a Monastery
Food and Drink
During the summer months the monks collected strawberries, raspberries and blackberries all of which grew in the wild.
Clothing
Irish monks generally wore a long white tunic covered by a coarse woolen outer garment called a casula or cuculla.
Soldiers of Christ
Fasting was, to begin with, only practiced among the monastery leaders but soon the whole community followed their example.
Mealtimes
A freshly slain pig might have been served up for guests - pork was the best of meats according to the sagas.
Daily Life
Most of the manual labour on the monastery was agricultural. A good deal of this work involved cultivating the land for farming.
Parchment
Animal skin, usually calf skin or vellum was used to make the pages of manuscripts. Young deer, goat or lamb skin was also used.
Books and Manuscripts
Durrow, Kells, Iona, Lindisfarne; all the main monastic centres produced manuscripts. These were used mainly as aids by travelling missionaries.
St Brigid's Cross
Hewn together from rushes, the St Brigid's Cross is one of the simplest and most distinctive examples of Celtic craftsmanship.
Recruitment and Learning
Learning had always been highly valued in the Irish scheme of civilisation but the monks bred an entirely new culture of learning.
Culture and Society
The strict lifestyle followed, for example, by Enda and his followers on Aran did not apply to most monasteries.
Monastic Sites
The Irish monastery of the sixth or seventh century was simple in appearance. It consisted of a circular enclosure surrounded by a ditch.
Celtic Metalwork: Pupil ( PDF 2.7 KB)
Key Stage 2 resource that will allow pupils to create their own digital images and animations that will bring to life the Celtic artwork.
Celtic Metalwork: Prezi
View the interactive Prezi and explore the life and learning of the Columban monasteries.
Life in a Monastery: Pupil ( PDF 1.6 MB)
Key Stage 2 resource containing the 'Big Quiz'.
Life in a Monastery: Prezi
View the interactive Prezi and explore what life was like in a Columbian monastery
