The Rule and The Plan of St Gall

“I have sent you, Gozbert, my dearest son, this modest example of the disposition of a monastery, that you may dwell upon it in spirit…and know my love toward you; think not that I labored at this design because we believed that you had need of instruction, but rather we drew it through the love of God out of fraternal affection, for you to study only. ”~Written in a letter from Abbot Hatio to his Brother Abbot concerning the Plan of St. Gall.

The Plan of St. Gall (1)

The Plan of The Monastery of St Gall, though never intended to be built, presents a commentary on the interpretations of what Abbot Haito believed encompassed and ideal and city, community, and simple life. The plan, which greatly reflects key principals of the Benedictine Rule, the rule that the monks followed, was intended to promote meditation on the meaning and worth of the monistic life.

The plan is split into 4 different areas surrounding the church, the first being the claustrum. This was the area located directly south of the church and the only way to access it was through the church. It severed as the private living and work area for the monks, containing a dormitory, refectory, and a cellar. This area was said to be the monastery within the monastery, a place where the monks lived in community with one another, sleeping, eating, reading, and worshiping.

Claustrum (2)

The second area is directly to the north of the church. Unlike the closed off world of the claustrum, this area was meant to be open to the world. This area housed the Abbots residence, a school for people who worked in the monastery and strangers, and a place for distinguished guests. It stated in the Rule, that the Abbot, who was seen as the father figure to the monks, was meant to eat with the guests rather than the monks.

School and Housing (3)

The third area was for the sick and novice monks, located behind the church. This area housed those at the end of their term with god, but also those had not yet officially begun their term. Both of these groups did not have to follow the strict regimen of the rule. Each group, the sick, and the novices, have their own mini-monastery, with a chapel, a cloister, bathhouse and kitchen.

Domestic Buildings (4)

The final area was that which house the domestic buildings. These included housing for all the animals, and their caretakers, the servants, and various other craftsmen who would have lived or worked within the monastery. These people would have had very little to do with the church itself, but did the work that sustained the monastery. These buildings were located directly south of the monks quarters. This allowed them to function without any interference with the monastery's daily life.

Uncategorized Buildings (5)

The remaining buildings, which fit in to none of the above categories, were strategically placed according to their function and where they would fit best. This included a large building whose function is unknown, housing for visiting pilgrims and distinguished guests. Also attached directly to the church on either side of the high alter, were the library, scriptorium, sacristy and vestry.

Although the Benedictine Rule specifically influenced the placement and organization of the individual buildings within the church, it is the sense of community, and the entire monastery functioning as one solid, stable, and permanent unit, that truly embodies the deeper meaning that St. Benedict was trying to convey as he made a set of guidelines for monks everywhere to live by.

-Sam Eby

Image Sources:

1. "St. Gall Monastary Plan - Home." St. Gall Monastary Plan : St. Galler Klosterplan.http://www.stgallplan.org/en/index.html (accessed January 11, 2010).

2. Ibid

3. Ibid

4. Ibid

5. Ibid

Information Sources:

Braunfels, Wolfgang. Monasteries of Western Europe: The Architecture of the Orders. New York:

Thames & Hudson, 1993.

"CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Rule of St. Benedict." NEW ADVENT: Home

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02436a.ht (accessed January 19, 2010).

Price, Lorna. The Plan of St. Gall In Brief: an overview of the three volume work by Walter Horn

and Ernest Born. Ex-Library ed. Los Angeles: Univ Of California Press, 1982.

"St. Benedict - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online." Catholic Online - Breaking News, World, U.S.,

Catholic, Diocese & Video News. http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=26 (accessed

January 19, 2010).

"St. Gall Monastary Plan - Home." St. Gall Monastary Plan : St. Galler Klosterplan

http://www.stgallplan.org/en/index.htm (accessed January 19, 2010).