Monastery: Did you mean...?

A medieval monastery was an enclosed and sometimes remote community of monks led by an abbot who shunned worldly goods to live a simple life of prayer and devotion. Christian monasteries first developed in the 4th century in Egypt and Syria...

Selja monastery has been considered one of the most sacred sites in Norway for more than 1000 years. The monastery is connected to the legend of St. Sunniva (10th century CE), who is the only female Norwegian saint, and was for a long time...

Buddhist monasteries have been part of the Japanese cultural landscape ever since the 7th century CE, and they remained both powerful and socially important institutions right through the medieval period. Today, many of Japan's finest examples...

Monasteries and other religious institutions such as priories and nunneries were a quintessential part of the medieval landscape and an important component of a community's social fabric. Providing spiritual guidance, employment, education...

A view of the monastery at the complex at Jinnan Wali Dheri dating to 5th Cent CE. The name literally means "The Mound of Demons" and is a modern name given due to the number of human skeletons that would emerge before excavation from the...

The monastery ruins on Selja Island, Stad, Norway. The Benedictine abbey was constructed in the 11th century CE and was linked to the legend of Saint Sunniva (10th century CE). Behind is the trail up to the sacred cave in the mountain side.

The entrance to Saint-Gildas-de-Rhuys monastery, founded by the Romano-British monk Gildas in the 6th century CE. Morbihan, France.

Mount Athos, located on the Chalkidike peninsula near Thessalonica, Greece, is a holy site which first saw hermit monks living there in the 9th century CE. Regarded as one of the most important monastic sites in the Byzantine Empire, there...

Life for monks in a medieval monastery, just like in any profession or calling, had its pros and cons. While they were expected to live simply with few possessions, attend services at all hours of the day and night, and perhaps even take...

Geghard Monastery in Armenia was founded at an unknown date, but it is believed that the site was a place of worship among Armenia's pre-Christian and pagan population. It is likely that the monastery was first founded in the 4th century...