Monks and culture

Lindberg summarizes the important, if sometimes inadvertent, cultural contributions of monasticism: “Monastic culture was not limited to copying texts from the past, but also engaged in a variety of intellectual pursuits related to monastic life. These included maintaining a liturgical calendar; mathematics for managing estates; calculations for determining times of prayer, readings, and manual labor; legal work related to monastic estates; histories and biographies of founding monks and their monasteries; rhetoric for preaching; theological and philosophical reflection concerning the Bible and tradition; art for adorning manuscripts with exquisite miniatures, places of worship, vestments, liturgical materials and vessels; music for worship; and architecture. Inspired by the biblical description of the construction of Solomon’s temple (1 Kings 5-7), magnificent churches were built to honor the saints and worship God.”