Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

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Monastery
(3,769 words)

1. Definition

The term monastery (German Kloster, from Latin claustrum, “enclosed place”) denotes both the institution and the architecture of monks (Monasticism) or nuns living in community (Convent) – such as religious individuals who have made a vow (profession) to a religious order and live in an enclosure (a complex of monastery spaces that outsiders may not enter). The group of the religious belonging to a monastery is also called a convent (German Konvent); in…

Cite this page
Schrott, Georg and Fürst, Ulrich, “Monastery”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 02 October 2023 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_022326>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20200128



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