Monasteries were the engine rooms of the Middle Ages. At the height of their activities and influence, monasteries provided intellectual leadership for the institutions of Church and civil governments, innovation in religious thought and practice, medical provision, education, visual culture and agricultural development. They did all this while apparently observing self-imposed isolation from the wider community. For monasteries were intended to function as places set apart from the world, in which monks devoted their lives to a permanent rhythm of religious observance, prayer and study. Religious prayer and praise lay at the heart of monasticism. Both those following this life and those outside believed that monastic lives were led for the benefit of wider society, and that the sacrifices made by monks in separating themselves from ‘normal’ human contact functioned as penances on behalf of the community as well as for their own deliverance. Monks were regarded as leading parallel lives that had the power to save themselves and others.
* monastery: 수도원 ** monk: 수도사 *** penance: 참회