English

Noun

cloisters

1. Plural of cloister

Verb

cloisters

1. third-person singular of cloister

A cloister (from Latin claustrum) is a part of cathedral, monastic and abbey architecture. A cloister consists usually of four corridors, with a courtyard or garth in the middle. It is intended to be both covered from the rain, but open to the air. The attachment of a cloister to a Cathedral church usually indicates that it is (or was once) a monastic foundation.

Cloistered (or "Claustral") life is also another name for the life of a monk or nun in the enclosed religious orders; the modern English term enclosure is used in contemporary Catholic church law to mean cloistered, and cloister is sometimes used as a synonym for monastery.

In medieval times, cloisters served the primary function of quiet meditation or study gardens.

The worldwide biggest cloister (12000 m²) is in the Certosa di Padula in southern Italy.

See also

• Peristyle

Notes

External links

• Photos of Cloisters in Spain and England
• The Code of Canon Law, cf canons 667 ff.
• New Advent Encyclopaedia III ff. on "Nuns, properly so called
• "Cloister" in the New Advent encyclopaedia
• New Advent Encyclopaedia on "Religious Life