Fountain Abbey Epilogue

In c. 1200, in Northern England was Fountains Abbey. Founded in 1132 by 13 Benedictine monks, a group of men who desired the balance between work and prayer. During this time at the Fountain Abbey, a choice of being a choir monk, whose job consisted of praying numerous amounts and living in silence, or being a lay brother who kept up with the day-to-day running of the Abbey was able to be made. A relatively new choir monk, Brother Matthew, headed to the monk’s refectory. On his walk, he wondered why there were two refectories and not just one. “Why did everything have to be split up?” he thought. He walked into the refectory slightly happier than usual for one reason: it was summer. The sun was shining through the immense windows of the refectory and that glorious season meant two meals a day instead of the meek one usually given. Matthew sat on one of the sturdy, long benches across from his closest friend, Brother Henry. Henry nodded in Matthew’s
He preferred the silence of nature over the silence of his fellow monks. He loved the way the sun felt on his habit. He stood there for a while, watching everything around him. Ahead of Matthew was the beautiful flowing River Skell. Although it was where they did most of their washing, the River Skell had the clearest water..The sun shone across the water. Matthew counted this natural beauty in his daily blessings. On his walk, he steered clear of the guesthouses and other court. He knew this would be a small sin if the guests knew he was avoiding him because he did not want to be social and say a simple hello. But prayer was more important to Matthew.. As Matthew walked by the outer court, he felt a pang of guilt for the women staying there. They couldn’t stay with the men in the Guesthouses. The Fountain Abbey seemed to be segregated here for men and women who were just visitors. He then headed to the Chapter House for it was time for the daily