The calefactory (also warming house) was an important room or building in a medievalmonastery in Western Europe.[1] It was here that a communal fire was kept so that the monks could warm themselves after long hours of study in the (unheated) cloister or other work. In the early Middle Ages this was one of the few heated rooms in the monastery – the others being the infirmary, the guest house and the kitchen – but this policy was generally relaxed, save for a few very strict orders, by the latter part of the medieval period when fireplaces became common throughout the claustral buildings.
Plan of Grey Abbey in County Down, Northern Ireland. Note the calefactory in the southeast corner (upper right on the map).
The warming house was always one of the buildings surrounding the cloister and was entered from it. Often it was located close to the refectory so that the warmth could be shared by the monks when they were eating. In many monasteries an upper floor was built over the warming house that served as the muniment room, where the house's charters, deeds and other legal documents were kept safe from damp.
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calefactory, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, june, 2009, le. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Calefactory news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2009 Learn how and when to remove this template message The calefactory also warming house was an important room or building in a medieval monastery in Western Europe 1 It was here that a communal fire was kept so that the monks could warm themselves after long hours of study in the unheated cloister or other work In the early Middle Ages this was one of the few heated rooms in the monastery the others being the infirmary the guest house and the kitchen but this policy was generally relaxed save for a few very strict orders by the latter part of the medieval period when fireplaces became common throughout the claustral buildings Plan of Grey Abbey in County Down Northern Ireland Note the calefactory in the southeast corner upper right on the map The warming house was always one of the buildings surrounding the cloister and was entered from it Often it was located close to the refectory so that the warmth could be shared by the monks when they were eating In many monasteries an upper floor was built over the warming house that served as the muniment room where the house s charters deeds and other legal documents were kept safe from damp References Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to calefactories Citations Edit Birt 1907 pp 12 13 Hodges 2005 p 96 Works cited Edit Birt Henry Norbert 1907 Abbey In Herbermann Charles G ed Catholic Encyclopedia Vol 1 New York Robert Appleton Company pp 10 15 Hodges George 2005 Fountains Abbey The Story of a Mediaeval Monastery Kessinger Publishing ISBN 978 1 4179 5104 8 Portals Architecture Christianity This Christianity related article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte This article related to a type of room in a building is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Calefactory amp oldid 1145928904, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
