Monk: Did you mean...?

Depiction of a monk at work copying a text by hand in a writing room known as a scriptorium. From the 5th to the 13th century CE monasteries were the sole producers of books. The scriptorium was a large room with wooden chairs and writing...

A 13th century CE illuminated manuscript showing a monk tasting wine as he draws off a jug from a barrel. ('Li Livres dou Santé', British Library, London)

This marble bust depicts either a philosopher or a monk. Late 4th to early 5th century CE. From Gedikpaşa, Fatih, Istanbul, in modern-day Turkey. (Museum of Archaeology, Istanbul, Turley).

Will Bai Su Zhen, the white snake demon, and her love, Xu Xian, ever be free of the meddling monk? (Part Two of the myth of the white snake). — Xu Xian had just received an invitation to the opening ceremony of a new temple. His wife...

Young English Heritage Members Emily and Sam visit Rievaulx Abbey in North Yorkshire to meet St Aelred, its most famous abbot, to discover what life was like in this Cistercian monastery. Find out what the monks used to eat, how they...

Buddhism was introduced from China to ancient Korea in the 4th century BCE and adopted as the official state religion by the Kingdoms of Baekje, Goguryeo, and Silla. The faith split into separate divisions across Asia, one of the most important...

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...

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...

The Book of Kells (c. 800) is an illuminated manuscript of the four gospels of the Christian New Testament, currently housed at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. The work is the most famous of the medieval illuminated manuscripts for the...

The Samguk yusa ('Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms') is a 13th-century CE text which covers the history and legends of Korea's founding right up to the 10th century CE. It is a sequel of sorts to the earlier Samguk sagi ('Records of the...