Francais | English | Espanõl

Cloister

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
For Cloister the horse, see Cloister (horse).
Cloister of Saint Trophimus, in Arles, France

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 an enclosed monk or nun. Thus, cloister is sometimes used as a synonym for monastery. The modern English term enclosure is used in contemporary Catholic church law<ref name="Code of Canon Law"> The Code of Canon Law, Canon 667 ff. English translation copyright 1983 The Canon Law Society Trust [1]</ref> to mean cloistered.

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

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

<references />ca:Claustre cs:Křížová chodba de:Kreuzgang es:Claustro eo:Klostro fr:Cloître it:Chiostro ja:回廊 nl:Kloostergang pl:Krużganek pt:Claustro

Personal tools