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123-540: The monastery was established in 1153 by the first Portuguese king, Afonso Henriques , and would develop a close association with the Portuguese monarchy throughout its seven-century-long history. This association led to the monastery becoming the richest and most influential in Portugal by 1300, with a population of almost 1,000 monks and business interests including farming, fishing and trade. It closed in 1834, amid

246-502: A dwaitha philosopher. Jainism , founded by Mahavira c.  570 BC , had its own monasteries since 5th century BC. Islam discourages monasticism, which is referred to in the Quran as "an invention". However, the term "Sufi" is applied to Muslim mystics who, as a means of achieving union with Allah, adopted ascetic practices including wearing a garment made of coarse wool called "sf". The term " Sufism " comes from "sf" meaning

369-541: A concave traverse. The interior was equally revolutionary; the main space of the church was oval, beneath an oval dome. Painted ceilings, crowded with angels and saints and trompe-l'œil architectural effects, were an important feature of the Italian High Baroque. Major works included The Entry of Saint Ignatius into Paradise by Andrea Pozzo (1685–1695) in the Sant'Ignazio Church, Rome , and The Triumph of

492-502: A convent denoted a house of friars (reflecting the Latin), now more commonly called a friary . Various religions may apply these terms in more specific ways. The word monastery comes from the Greek word μοναστήριον , neut. of μοναστήριος – monasterios from μονάζειν – monazein "to live alone" from the root μόνος – monos "alone" (originally all Christian monks were hermits);

615-728: A deliberate confusion between the real architecture and the decoration. The architecture is transformed into a theatre of light, colour and movement. In Poland, the Italian-inspired Polish Baroque lasted from the early 17th to the mid-18th century and emphasised richness of detail and colour. The first Baroque building in present-day Poland and probably one of the most recognizable is the Saints Peter and Paul Church, Kraków , designed by Giovanni Battista Trevano . Sigismund's Column in Warsaw , erected in 1644,

738-520: A distinct, more flamboyant and asymmetric style which emerged from the Baroque, then replaced it in Central Europe in the first half of the 18th century, until it was replaced in turn by classicism. The princes of the multitude of states in that region also chose Baroque or Rococo for their palaces and residences, and often used Italian-trained architects to construct them. A notable example

861-672: A firm doctrinal basis to the Vishishtadvaita philosophy which had existed since time immemorial. He ensured the establishment of a number of mathas of his Sri Vaishnava creed at different important centres of pilgrimage. Later on, other famous Sri Vaishnava theologians and religious heads established various important mathas such as Nimbarka Sampradaya of Nimbarkacharya is popular in North, West and East India and has several important Mathas. Ashta matha (eight monasteries) of Udupi were founded by Madhvacharya (Madhwa acharya),

984-779: A further list of Buddhist monasteries see list of Buddhist temples . Buddhist monasteries include some of the largest in the world. Drepung Monastery in Tibet housed around 10,000 monks prior to the Chinese invasion in 1950–1951. As of 2020 the relocated monastery in India houses around 8,000. According to tradition, Christian monasticism began in Egypt with Anthony the Great . Originally, all Christian monks were hermits seldom encountering other people. A transitional form of monasticism

1107-671: A giant ellipse balance the oversize dome and give the Church and square a unity and the feeling of a giant theatre. Another major innovator of the Italian High Baroque was Francesco Borromini , whose major work was the Church of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane or Saint Charles of the Four Fountains (1634–1646). The sense of movement is given not by the decoration, but by the walls themselves, which undulate and by concave and convex elements, including an oval tower and balcony inserted into

1230-480: A long time, and with them, their respective monasteries, called mathas . Important among them are the chatur-amnaya mathas established by Adi Shankara which formed the nodal centres of under whose guidance the ancient Order of Advaitin monks were re-organised under ten names of the Dashanami Sampradaya . Ramanuja heralded a new era in the world of Hinduism by reviving the lost faith in it and gave

1353-487: A monastery is called a wat . In Burma , a monastery is called a kyaung . A Christian monastery may be an abbey (i.e., under the rule of an abbot ), or a priory (under the rule of a prior ), or conceivably a hermitage (the dwelling of a hermit ). It may be a community of men ( monks ) or of women ( nuns ). A charterhouse is any monastery belonging to the Carthusian order. In Eastern Christianity ,

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1476-470: A monk named Notker of St Gall , and was spread to musicians throughout Europe by way of the interconnected monasteries. Since monasteries offered respite for weary pilgrim travellers, monks were obligated also to care for their injuries or emotional needs. Over time, lay people started to make pilgrimages to monasteries instead of just using them as a stopover. By this time, they had sizeable libraries that attracted learned tourists. Families would donate

1599-450: A narrowing floor and a miniature statue in the garden beyond to create the illusion that a passageway was thirty meters long, when it was actually only seven meters long. A statue at the end of the passage appears to be life-size, though it is only sixty centimeters high. Borromini designed the illusion with the assistance of a mathematician. The first building in Rome to have a Baroque façade

1722-550: A period called Royal Absolutism, which allowed the Portuguese Baroque to flourish. Baroque architecture in Portugal enjoys a special situation and different timeline from the rest of Europe. It is conditioned by several political, artistic, and economic factors, that originate several phases, and different kinds of outside influences, resulting in a unique blend, often misunderstood by those looking for Italian art, find instead specific forms and character which give it

1845-474: A pilgrimage church located near the town of Bad Staffelstein near Bamberg, in Bavaria, southern Germany. The Basilica was designed by Balthasar Neumann and was constructed between 1743 and 1772, its plan a series of interlocking circles around a central oval with the altar placed in the exact centre of the church. The interior of this church illustrates the summit of Rococo decoration. Another notable example of

1968-465: A portion of their yearly crop to the resident monks in the monastery, just as they would to a feudal landlord. In Sri Lanka and in Tibetan Buddhism , the ownership of a monastery often became vested in a single monk, who would often keep the property within the family by passing it on to a nephew ordained as a monk. In Japan , where civil authorities permitted Buddhist monks to marry,

2091-463: A proliferation of forms, and a richness of colours and dramatic effects. Among the most influential monuments of the Early Baroque were the façade of St. Peter's Basilica (1606–1619), and the new nave and loggia which connected the façade to Michelangelo's dome in the earlier church. The new design created a dramatic contrast between the soaring dome and the disproportionately wide façade, and

2214-915: A respected elder teacher. While the wandering lifestyle practised by the Buddha and by his disciples continues to be the ideal model for forest-tradition monks in Thailand , Myanmar , Sri Lanka and elsewhere, practical concerns - including shrinking wilderness areas, lack of access to lay supporters, dangerous wildlife, and dangerous border conflicts - dictate that increasing numbers of "meditation" monks live in monasteries, rather than wandering. Tibetan Buddhist monasteries or gompas are sometimes known as lamaseries , with their monks sometimes (mistakenly) known as lamas . Helena Blavatsky 's Theosophical Society named its initial New York City meeting-place "the Lamasery". Famous Buddhist monasteries include: For

2337-533: A round arched gallery. Other reliefs show the king, surrounded by their children, mourning the late queen, as well as Christ surrounded by a mandorla and the symbols of the four Evangelists . Other tombs are richly decorated with arabesques of Mudéjar -Romanesque style, as well as the Apostles. From the ambulatory the sacristy of the church can be reached. The sacristy had been built in Manueline style in

2460-536: A rounded surface, which carried images or text in gilded letters, and were placed as interior decoration or above the doorways of buildings, delivering messages to those below. They showed a wide variety of invention, and were found in all types of buildings, from cathedrals and palaces to small chapels. Baroque architects sometimes used forced perspective to create illusions. For the Palazzo Spada in Rome, Francesco Borromini used columns of diminishing size,

2583-546: A sense of awe. The style began at the start of the 17th century in Rome, then spread rapidly to the rest of Italy, France, Spain, and Portugal, then to Austria, southern Germany, and Poland. By the 1730s, it had evolved into an even more flamboyant style, called rocaille or Rococo , which appeared in France and Central Europe until the mid to late 18th century. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires including

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2706-522: A sense of mystery. The Santiago de Compostela Cathedral was modernized with a series of Baroque additions beginning at the end of the 17th century, starting with a highly ornate bell tower (1680), then flanked by two even taller and more ornate towers, called the Obradorio , added between 1738 and 1750 by Fernando de Casas Novoa . Another landmark of the Spanish Baroque is the chapel tower of

2829-553: A similar ascetic discipline, and even their religious habit is the same (though nuns wear an extra veil, called the apostolnik ). Unlike Roman Catholic monasticism, the Eastern Orthodox do not have distinct religious orders, but a single monastic form throughout the Eastern Orthodox Church. Monastics, male or female, live away from the world, in order to pray for the world. Monasteries vary from

2952-538: A son in return for blessings. During the plagues , monks helped to till the fields and provide food for the sick. A Warming House is a common part of a medieval monastery, where monks went to warm themselves. It was often the only room in the monastery where a fire was lit. A number of distinct monastic orders developed within Roman Catholicism: While in English most mendicant Orders use

3075-500: A statue of the Virgin Mary . The main façade of the monastery has two plain-style wings with the church in the middle. The façade of the church is a mix of styles: the portal and the rose window above were part of the original church, while the statues and the two flanking towers were added in the beginning of the 18th century. The side walls of the church have crenellations and the apse has eight flying buttresses to support

3198-731: A time, the Baroque ceiling paintings were carefully created so the viewer on the floor of the church would see the entire ceiling in correct perspective, as if the figures were real. The interiors of Baroque churches became more and more ornate in the High Baroque, and focused around the altar, usually placed under the dome. The most celebrated baroque decorative works of the High Baroque are the Chair of Saint Peter (1647–1653) and St. Peter's Baldachin (1623–1634), both by Gian Lorenzo Bernini , in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The Baldequin of St. Peter

3321-471: A uniquely Portuguese variety. Another key factor is the existence of the Jesuitical architecture, also called "plain style" (Estilo Chão or Estilo Plano) which like the name evokes, is plainer and appears somewhat austere. The buildings are single-room basilicas, deep main chapel, lateral chapels (with small doors for communication), without interior and exterior decoration, simple portal and windows. It

3444-588: A very small monastic community can be called a skete , and a very large or important monastery can be given the dignity of a lavra . The great communal life of a Christian monastery is called cenobitic , as opposed to the anchoretic (or anchoritic) life of an anchorite and the eremitic life of a hermit . There has also been, mostly under the Osmanli occupation of Greece and Cyprus, an "idiorrhythmic" lifestyle where monks come together but being able to own things individually and not being obliged to work for

3567-516: A young man. Soon the Egyptian desert blossomed with monasteries, especially around Nitria ( Wadi El Natrun ), which was called the "Holy City". Estimates are that upwards of 50,000 monks lived in this area at any one time. Eremetism never died out though, but was reserved only for those advanced monks who had worked out their problems within a cenobitic monastery. The idea caught on, and other places followed: The life of prayer and communal living

3690-750: Is a Western style of architecture , music , dance , painting , sculpture , poetry, and other arts that flourished from the early 17th century until the 1750s. It followed Renaissance art and Mannerism and preceded the Rococo (in the past often referred to as "late Baroque") and Neoclassical styles. It was encouraged by the Catholic Church as a means to counter the simplicity and austerity of Protestant architecture, art, and music, though Lutheran Baroque art developed in parts of Europe as well. The Baroque style used contrast, movement, exuberant detail, deep color, grandeur, and surprise to achieve

3813-427: Is a practical building, allowing it to be built throughout the empire with minor adjustments, and prepared to be decorated later or when economic resources are available. In fact, the first Portuguese Baroque does not lack in building because "plain style" is easy to be transformed, by means of decoration (painting, tiling, etc.), turning empty areas into pompous, elaborate baroque scenarios. The same could be applied to

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3936-455: Is a somewhat more specific definition of the term and many related terms. Buddhist monasteries are generally called vihara ( Pali language el). Viharas may be occupied by men or women, and in keeping with common English usage, a vihara populated by females may often be called a nunnery or a convent. However, vihara can also refer to a temple . In Tibetan Buddhism, monasteries are often called gompa . In Cambodia , Laos and Thailand ,

4059-423: Is an example of the balance of opposites in Baroque art; the gigantic proportions of the piece, with the apparent lightness of the canopy; and the contrast between the solid twisted columns, bronze, gold and marble of the piece with the flowing draperies of the angels on the canopy. The Dresden Frauenkirche serves as a prominent example of Lutheran Baroque art, which was completed in 1743 after being commissioned by

4182-565: Is covered by early gothic rib vaulting. The cloister of the monastery was built during the reign of, and sponsored by, King Dinis I . It is one of the largest medieval Cistercian cloisters in Europe. Its columns are decorated by capitals with animal and vegetal motifs. The builder was the Portuguese architect Domingo Domingues. The Gothic Fountain Hall has an elegant early Renaissance water basin inside, decorated with Renaissance motifs including

4305-583: Is crowded, dense, overlapping, loaded, in order to provoke shock effects. New motifs introduced by Baroque are: the cartouche , trophies and weapons, baskets of fruit or flowers, and others, made in marquetry , stucco , or carved. The English word baroque comes directly from the French . Some scholars state that the French word originated from the Portuguese term barroco 'a flawed pearl', pointing to

4428-586: Is one of the first buildings associated with the Cistercian Order in Portugal. It was founded in 1153 as a gift from the first Portuguese king, Afonso I or Afonso Henriques (1112–1185), to Bernard of Clairvaux , following the king's conquest of the city of Santarém from the Moors in March 1147. The foundation of the monastery was part of a larger strategy by King Afonso I to assert his authority and promote

4551-486: Is socially separate from the surrounding populace can also vary widely; some religious traditions mandate isolation for purposes of contemplation removed from the everyday world, in which case members of the monastic community may spend most of their time isolated even from each other. Others focus on interacting with the local communities to provide services, such as teaching, medical care, or evangelism . Some monastic communities are only occupied seasonally, depending both on

4674-671: Is that in which the harmony is confused, and loaded with modulations and dissonances. The singing is harsh and unnatural, the intonation difficult, and the movement limited. It appears that term comes from the word 'baroco' used by logicians." In 1788 Quatremère de Quincy defined the term in the Encyclopédie Méthodique as "an architectural style that is highly adorned and tormented". The French terms style baroque and musique baroque appeared in Le Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française in 1835. By

4797-565: Is the St. Nicholas Church (Malá Strana) in Prague (1704–1755), built by Christoph Dientzenhofer and his son Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer . Decoration covers all of walls of interior of the church. The altar is placed in the nave beneath the central dome, and surrounded by chapels, light comes down from the dome above and from the surrounding chapels. The altar is entirely surrounded by arches, columns, curved balustrades and pilasters of coloured stone, which are richly decorated with statuary, creating

4920-474: Is the city of Baroque in Portugal. Its historical centre is part of UNESCO World Heritage List . Many of the Baroque works in the historical area of the city and beyond, belong to Nicolau Nasoni an Italian architect living in Portugal, drawing original buildings with scenographic emplacement such as the church and tower of Clérigos , the logia of the Porto Cathedral , the church of Misericórdia,

5043-548: The quadratura ; trompe-l'œil paintings on the ceiling in stucco frames, either real or painted, crowded with paintings of saints and angels and connected by architectural details with the balustrades and consoles. Quadratura paintings of Atlantes below the cornices appear to be supporting the ceiling of the church. Unlike the painted ceilings of Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel , which combined different scenes, each with its own perspective, to be looked at one at

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5166-585: The Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal , Portugal's national library in Lisbon . During the Middle Ages, the monastery quickly became a powerful and influential presence within the kingdom of Portugal. The monastery owned and developed extensive agriculture areas, and the abbot exerted influence over a large area. A public school was opened in 1269. The importance of the monastery can be measured by

5289-826: The Chapel of the Holy Shroud (1668–1694) by Guarino Guarini . The style also began to be used in palaces; Guarini designed the Palazzo Carignano in Turin, while Longhena designed the Ca' Rezzonico on the Grand Canal , (1657), finished by Giorgio Massari with decorated with paintings by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo . A series of massive earthquakes in Sicily required the rebuilding of most of them and several were built in

5412-628: The Latin verruca 'wart', or to a word with the Romance suffix -ǒccu (common in pre-Roman Iberia ). Other sources suggest a Medieval Latin term used in logic, baroco , as the most likely source. In the 16th century the Medieval Latin word baroco moved beyond scholastic logic and came into use to characterise anything that seemed absurdly complex. The French philosopher Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592) helped to give

5535-565: The Palace of San Telmo in Seville by Leonardo de Figueroa . Granada had only been conquered from the Moors in the 15th century, and had its own distinct variety of Baroque. The painter, sculptor and architect Alonso Cano designed the Baroque interior of Granada Cathedral between 1652 and his death in 1657. It features dramatic contrasts of the massive white columns and gold decor. The most ornamental and lavishly decorated architecture of

5658-607: The Palace of São João Novo , the Palace of Freixo , the Episcopal Palace ( Portuguese : Paço Episcopal do Porto ) along with many others. The debut of Russian Baroque, or Petrine Baroque , followed a long visit of Peter the Great to western Europe in 1697–1698, where he visited the Châteaux of Fontainebleau and Versailles as well as other architectural monuments. He decided, on his return to Russia, to construct similar monuments in St. Petersburg , which became

5781-615: The Wessobrunner School . It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site . Baroque in France developed quite differently from the ornate and dramatic local versions of Baroque from Italy, Spain and the rest of Europe. It appears severe, more detached and restrained by comparison, preempting Neoclassicism and the architecture of the Enlightenment . Unlike Italian buildings, French Baroque buildings have no broken pediments or curvilinear façades. Even religious buildings avoided

5904-535: The dissolution of the monasteries in Portugal . The church and monastery were the first Gothic buildings in Portugal, and, together with the roughly older Augustinian Monastery of Santa Cruz in Coimbra , it was one of the most important mediaeval monasteries in Portugal. Due to its artistic, cultural and historical relevance, it was included in UNESCO 's World Heritage Site list in 1989. The Alcobaça Monastery

6027-533: The sangha . Over the years, the custom of staying on property held in common by the sangha as a whole during the vassa retreat evolved into cenobitic monasticism , in which monks and nuns resided year-round in monasteries. In India , Buddhist monasteries gradually developed into centres of learning where philosophical principles were developed and debated; this tradition continues in the monastic universities of Vajrayana Buddhists , as well as in religious schools and universities founded by religious orders across

6150-473: The 13th-century tombs of two queens of Portugal, Urraca of Castile and Beatrix of Castile, married respectively to Kings Afonso II and Afonso III. There are smaller tombs of unidentified princes. The most remarkable tomb is that of Queen Urraca (died in 1220), buried in a richly decorated late Romanesque tomb. A relief showing the queen is seen over the tomb, and the sides are decorated with the Apostles under

6273-555: The 18th century the term began to be used to describe music, and not in a flattering way. In an anonymous satirical review of the première of Jean-Philippe Rameau 's Hippolyte et Aricie in October 1733, which was printed in the Mercure de France in May 1734, the critic wrote that the novelty in this opera was " du barocque ", complaining that the music lacked coherent melody,

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6396-528: The 19th century during the Peninsular War , itself a part of the Napoleonic Wars . In addition to looting the library, they robbed the tombs and stole and burnt part of the inner decoration of the church. In 1834, with the dissolution of the monasteries in Portugal , the last monks left the monastery. Alcobaça Monastery was classified as a National Monument on January 1, 1907, and included in

6519-618: The Buddhist world. In modern times, living a settled life in a monastery setting has become the most common lifestyle for Buddhist monks and nuns across the globe. Whereas early monasteries are considered to have been held in common by the entire sangha, in later years this tradition diverged in a number of countries. Despite vinaya prohibitions on possessing wealth, many monasteries became large landowners, much like monasteries in medieval Christian Europe. In Chinese Buddhism , peasant families worked monastic-owned land in exchange for paying

6642-655: The Christian Church the beginnings of growth of monasticism among Protestant denominations. The center of this movement was in the United States and Canada beginning with the Shaker Church, which was founded in England and then moved to the United States. In the 19th century many of these monastic societies were founded as Utopian communities based on the monastic model in many cases. Aside from

6765-675: The Holy Cross at St Augustine's House in Michigan is a Lutheran order of monks and there are Lutheran religious communities in Sweden and Germany. In the 1960s, experimental monastic groups were formed in which both men and women were members of the same house and also were permitted to be married and have children – these were operated on a communal form. There is a growing Christian neo-monasticism , particularly among evangelical Christians. In Hinduism, monks have existed for

6888-411: The Iberian Peninsula it continued, together with new styles, until the first decade of the 19th century. In the decorative arts , the style employs plentiful and intricate ornamentation. The departure from Renaissance classicism has its own ways in each country. But a general feature is that everywhere the starting point is the ornamental elements introduced by the Renaissance . The classical repertoire

7011-440: The Lutheran city council of Dresden and was "compared by eighteenth-century observers to St Peter's in Rome". The twisted column in the interior of churches is one of the signature features of the Baroque. It gives both a sense of motion and also a dramatic new way of reflecting light. The cartouche was another characteristic feature of Baroque decoration. These were large plaques carved of marble or stone, usually oval and with

7134-486: The Name of Jesus by Giovanni Battista Gaulli in the Church of the Gesù in Rome (1669–1683), which featured figures spilling out of the picture frame and dramatic oblique lighting and light-dark contrasts. The style spread quickly from Rome to other regions of Italy: It appeared in Venice in the church of Santa Maria della Salute (1631–1687) by Baldassare Longhena , a highly original octagonal form crowned with an enormous cupola . It appeared also in Turin , notably in

7257-407: The Resurrection ), Nashdom Abbey ( Benedictine ), Cleeve Priory ( Community of the Glorious Ascension ) and Ewell Monastery ( Cistercian ), Benedictine orders, Franciscan orders and the Orders of the Holy Cross, Order of St. Helena. Other Protestant Christian denominations also engage in monasticism, particularly Lutherans in Europe and North America. For example, the Benedictine order of

7380-409: The Shakers, there were the Amanna , the Anabaptists , and others. Many did allow marriage but most had a policy of celibacy and communal life in which members shared all things communally and disavowed personal ownership. In the 19th-century monasticism was revived in the Church of England , leading to the foundation of such institutions as the House of the Resurrection , Mirfield ( Community of

7503-400: The Spanish Baroque is called Churrigueresque style, named after the brothers Churriguera , who worked primarily in Salamanca and Madrid. Their works include the buildings on Salamanca's main square, the Plaza Mayor (1729). This highly ornamental Baroque style was influential in many churches and cathedrals built by the Spanish in the Americas. Other notable Spanish baroque architects of

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7626-413: The case of communities anything from a single building housing only one senior and two or three junior monks or nuns, to vast complexes and estates housing tens or hundreds. A monastery complex typically comprises a number of buildings which include a church, dormitory , cloister , refectory , library , balneary and infirmary , and outlying granges . Depending on the location, the monastic order and

7749-402: The case of Ines, and both carry the recumbent figures of the deceased assisted by a group of angels. The sides of Pedro's tomb are magnificently decorated with reliefs showing scenes from Saint Bartholomew 's life, as well as scenes from Pedro and Ines' life. Her tomb is decorated with scenes from the life of Christ , including the Crucifixion and the Last Judgement . This chapel, located in

7872-449: The central one, which together with the relative slenderness of the church (17 metres) and large length (106 metres) conveys an impression of monumentality. Alcobaça remains, after 800 years, the largest Portuguese church. The vertical emphasis observed in the building is a typical Gothic feature. Columns and walls are devoid of decoration, as required in Cistercian churches, and the interior is very brightly illuminated by rows of windows on

7995-411: The church itself was the largest in Portugal at the time of its completion. The final touch in this large medieval ensemble was given in the late 13th century, when King Denis I (1261–1325) ordered the construction of the Gothic cloister, also known as the Cloister of Silence . The monks dedicated their lives to religious meditation, creating illuminated manuscripts in a scriptorium . The monks from

8118-423: The churches built in the Spanish colonies in Latin America and the Philippines. The church built by the Jesuits for the College of San Francisco Javier in Tepotzotlán , with its ornate Baroque façade and tower, is a good example. From 1680 to 1750, many highly ornate cathedrals, abbeys, and pilgrimage churches were built in Central Europe, Austria, Bohemia and southwestern Poland. Some were in Rococo style,

8241-424: The coat-of-arms of the monastery. The second floor of the cloister, in Manueline style as revealed by its typical twisted columns, was built in the early 16th century. This room, where the monks gathered to discuss the daily matters concerning the monastery, was the most important room after the church. Their daily gathering began by listening to the reading of a chapter from the Rule of St Benedict . The entrance to

8364-458: The colonisation of lands recently conquered from the Moors during the Reconquista . Construction began in 1178, some 25 years after the first Cistercian monks settled in the Alcobaça region . Initially, the monks lived in wooden houses and would only move to the newly built monastery in 1223. The church proper wasn't completed until 1252. The church and the adjacent monastery are the earliest examples of truly Gothic architecture in Portugal and

8487-408: The common good. In Hinduism monasteries are called matha , mandir , koil , or most commonly an ashram . Jains use the Buddhist term vihara . In most religions, life inside monasteries is governed by community rules that stipulate the gender of the inhabitants and require them to remain celibate and own little or no personal property. The degree to which life inside a particular monastery

8610-422: The contemporary abolition of monasticism in France in the wake of the French Revolution . Convents for female monastics, or nunneries, were often portrayed as punishments for women unable or unwilling to marry. In the 1880 novel The Brothers Karamazov , Fyodor Dostoyevsky was heavily inspired by real-life accounts of Orthodox monasticism. Parts of the novel focus in particular on the controversy surrounding

8733-436: The contrast on the façade itself between the Doric columns and the great mass of the portico. In the mid to late 17th century the style reached its peak, later termed the High Baroque. Many monumental works were commissioned by Popes Urban VIII and Alexander VII . The sculptor and architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini designed a new quadruple colonnade around St. Peter's Square (1656 to 1667). The three galleries of columns in

8856-428: The day took place around noon, often taken at a refectory table , and consisted of the most simple and bland foods e.g., poached fish, boiled oats. While they ate, scripture would be read from a pulpit above them. Since no other words were allowed to be spoken, monks developed communicative gestures. Abbots and notable guests were honoured with a seat at the high table, while everyone else sat perpendicular to that in

8979-430: The early 16th century, but had to be rebuilt after the 1755 earthquake. The corridor leading to the sacristy, covered by a splendid Manueline rib vaulting , and the portal to the sacristy have survived the earthquake. The portal is a framed by intertwined vegetal branches that carry the coat-of-arms of Portugal. This room, located close to the entrance of the church, has a series of 17th–18th century statues representing

9102-404: The exterior. Subsequently, it is easy to adapt the building to the taste of the time and place, and add on new features and details. Practical and economical. With more inhabitants and better economic resources, the north, particularly the areas of Porto and Braga , witnessed an architectural renewal, visible in the large list of churches, convents and palaces built by the aristocracy. Porto

9225-664: The exuberant late Baroque or Rococo style. The Catholic Church in Spain, and particularly the Jesuits , were the driving force of Spanish Baroque architecture. The first major work in this style was the San Isidro Chapel in Madrid , begun in 1643 by Pedro de la Torre . It contrasted an extreme richness of ornament on the exterior with simplicity in the interior, divided into multiple spaces and using effects of light to create

9348-480: The fact that many monarchs were buried here in the 13th and 14th centuries. Kings Afonso II and Afonso III and their queens, Urraca of Castile and Beatrice of Castile , respectively, are buried here, as well as King Pedro I and his mistress, Inês de Castro , who was murdered on the orders of Pedro's father, King Afonso IV . After being crowned king, Pedro commissioned two magnificent Gothic tombs for himself and his mistress, both of which can still be seen inside

9471-560: The following churches), Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church , Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church , Indian Orthodox Church , and Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch. The monasteries of St. Macarius ( Deir Abu Makaria ) and St. Anthony ( Deir Mar Antonios ) are the oldest monasteries in the world and under the patronage of the Patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church. The last years of the 18th century marked in

9594-537: The fourth century BCE from the practice of vassa , a retreat undertaken by Buddhist monastics during the South Asian wet season . To prevent wandering monks and nuns from disturbing new plant-growth or becoming stranded in inclement weather, they were instructed to remain in a fixed location for the roughly three-month period typically beginning in mid-July. These early fixed vassa retreats took place in pavilions and parks that wealthy supporters had donated to

9717-401: The house is through a Romanesque-style portal with two similar windows on each side. The room is now filled with Baroque statues created by the monks for the main chapel of the church. The kitchen of the monastery was built and covered with tiles in the mid-18th century. The central chimney is enormous, supported by eight iron columns. Water and fresh fish were diverted from the river Alcoa to

9840-582: The institution of "elderhood" in Orthodox Monasticism. Dostoyevsky's understanding of the tradition of elderhood is taken largely from Life of Elder Leonid of Optina by Father Kliment Zeder-gol'm, from which he quotes directly in chapter 5, book 1 of the Brother's Karamazov. Baroque The Baroque ( UK : / b ə ˈ r ɒ k / bə- ROK , US : /- ˈ r oʊ k / -⁠ ROHK ; French: [baʁɔk] )

9963-552: The intense spatial drama one finds in the work of Borromini . The style is closely associated with the works built for Louis XIV (reign 1643–1715), and because of this, it is also known as the Louis XIV style . Louis XIV invited the master of Baroque, Bernini, to submit a design for the new east wing of the Louvre , but rejected it in favor of a more classical design by Claude Perrault and Louis Le Vau . The main architects of

10086-480: The kings of Portugal. The walls are decorated with blue-white 18th century tiles that tell the history of the Monastery of Alcobaça, since its foundation by Afonso Henriques . The dormitory is a large Gothic room where the monks slept together; only the abbot was allowed to have his own room. In the 16th century the space was divided into individual cells. In the 1930s the cell walls were demolished. The refectory

10209-410: The kitchen basin through a specially built canal. Monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics , monks or nuns , whether living in communities or alone ( hermits ). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which may be a chapel , church , or temple , and may also serve as an oratory , or in

10332-528: The late Baroque include Pedro de Ribera , a pupil of Churriguera, who designed the Real Hospicio de San Fernando in Madrid, and Narciso Tomé , who designed the celebrated El Transparente altarpiece at Toledo Cathedral (1729–1732) which gives the illusion, in certain light, of floating upwards. The architects of the Spanish Baroque had an effect far beyond Spain; their work was highly influential in

10455-472: The mass of churchgoers. The Council of Trent decided instead to appeal to a more popular audience, and declared that the arts should communicate religious themes with direct and emotional involvement. Similarly, Lutheran Baroque art developed as a confessional marker of identity, in response to the Great Iconoclasm of Calvinists . Baroque churches were designed with a large central space, where

10578-417: The mid-19th century, art critics and historians had adopted the term baroque as a way to ridicule post-Renaissance art. This was the sense of the word as used in 1855 by the leading art historian Jacob Burckhardt , who wrote that baroque artists "despised and abused detail" because they lacked "respect for tradition". In 1888 the art historian Heinrich Wölfflin published the first serious academic work on

10701-671: The model for his summer residence, Sanssouci , in Potsdam , designed for him by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff (1745–1747). Another work of Baroque palace architecture is the Zwinger (Dresden) , the former orangerie of the palace of the electors of Saxony in the 18th century. One of the best examples of a rococo church is the Basilika Vierzehnheiligen, or Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers ,

10824-461: The monastery church. During the reign of Manuel I , a second floor was added to the cloister and a new sacristy was built, following the characteristic Portuguese late Gothic style known as " Manueline ". The monastery was further enlarged in the 18th century, with the addition of a new cloister and towers to the church, although the medieval structure was mostly preserved. In the Baroque period,

10947-432: The monastery produced an early authoritative history on Portugal in a series of books. The library at Alcobaça was one of the largest Portuguese medieval libraries, but was pillaged by the invading French in 1810, and many items were stolen in an anti-clerical riot in 1834, when the religious orders in Portugal were dissolved. The remnants of the monastery library, including hundreds of medieval manuscripts, are kept today in

11070-528: The monastic terms of monastery or priory , in the Latin languages , the term used by the friars for their houses is convent , from the Latin conventus , e.g., ( Italian : convento ) or ( French : couvent ), meaning "gathering place". The Franciscans rarely use the term "monastery" at present, preferring to call their house a "friary". In the Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Church , both monks and nuns follow

11193-408: The monks were famous for their clay sculptures, many of them are still inside the monastery. Elaborate tiles and altarpieces completed the decoration of the church. The great 1755 Lisbon earthquake did not cause significant damage to the monastery, although part of the sacristy and some smaller buildings were destroyed. Far greater damage was caused by invading French troops in the first years of

11316-640: The most celebrated work of Polish Baroque is the Poznań Fara Church, with details by Pompeo Ferrari . After Thirty Years' War under the agreements of the Peace of Westphalia two unique baroque wattle and daub structures was built: Church of Peace in Jawor , Holy Trinity Church of Peace in Świdnica the largest wooden Baroque temple in Europe. The many states within the Holy Roman Empire on

11439-587: The new capital of Russia in 1712. Early major monuments in the Petrine Baroque include the Peter and Paul Cathedral and Menshikov Palace . During the reign of Anna and Elisabeth , Russian architecture was dominated by the luxurious Baroque style of Italian-born Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli , which developed into Elizabethan Baroque . Rastrelli's signature buildings include the Winter Palace ,

11562-585: The occupation of its inhabitants, the complex may also include a wide range of buildings that facilitate self-sufficiency and service to the community. These may include a hospice , a school , and a range of agricultural and manufacturing buildings such as a barn , a forge , or a brewery . In English usage, the term monastery is generally used to denote the buildings of a community of monks. In modern usage, convent tends to be applied only to institutions of female monastics (nuns), particularly communities of teaching or nursing religious sisters . Historically,

11685-511: The order of seniority. This practice remained when some monasteries became universities after the first millennium, and can still be seen at Oxford University and Cambridge University . Monasteries were important contributors to the surrounding community. They were centres of intellectual progression and education. They welcomed aspiring priests to come and study and learn, allowing them even to challenge doctrine in dialogue with superiors. The earliest forms of musical notation are attributed to

11808-528: The period was the expansion of Palace of Versailles , begun in 1661 by Le Vau with decoration by the painter Charles Le Brun . The gardens were designed by André Le Nôtre specifically to complement and amplify the architecture. The Galerie des Glaces ( Hall of Mirrors ), the centerpiece of the château, with paintings by Le Brun, was constructed between 1678 and 1686. Mansart completed the Grand Trianon in 1687. The chapel, designed by Robert de Cotte ,

11931-579: The person, who wears "sf". But in the course of time, Sufi has come to designate all Muslim believers in mystic union. Matthew Lewis ' 1796 Gothic Novel The Monk has as parts of its setting both a fictional monastery and nunnery in Spain at the time of the Inquisition . Many have interpreted Lewis' novel as a critique of Catholicism . Jane Austen sets the latter half of her 1818 novel Northanger Abbey in an out of use monastery, reflecting on Henry VIII 's abolition of monasticism in England and

12054-612: The population of the Holy Mountain is around 2,200 men only and can only be visited by men with special permission granted by both the Greek government and the government of the Holy Mountain itself. The Oriental Orthodox churches, distinguished by their Miaphysite beliefs, consist of the Armenian Apostolic Church , Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria (whose Patriarch is considered first among equals for

12177-589: The position of head of a temple or monastery sometimes became hereditary, passed from father to son over many generations. Forest monasteries – most commonly found in the Theravada traditions of Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka – are monasteries dedicated primarily to the study and cultivation of Buddhist meditation , rather than to scholarship or ceremonial duties. Forest monasteries often function like early Christian monasteries, with small groups of monks living an essentially hermit-like life gathered loosely around

12300-786: The religion, which in the past formed the traditional support of monasteries. There has been a long tradition of Christian monasteries providing hospitable, charitable and hospital services. Monasteries have often been associated with the provision of education and the encouragement of scholarship and research, which has led to the establishment of schools and colleges and the association with universities. Monastic life has adapted to modern society by offering computer services, accounting services and management as well as modern hospital and educational administration. Buddhist monasteries, known as vihāra in Pali and in Sanskrit , emerged sometime around

12423-483: The remains of his beloved to be transferred to her tomb in Alcobaça and, according to a popular legend, had her crowned as queen of Portugal and ordered court members to pay her homage by kissing her decomposing hand. This pair of royal tombs in Alcobaça, of unknown authorship, are among the best works of Gothic sculpture in Portugal. The tombs are supported by lions, in the case of the king, and half-men half-beasts, in

12546-516: The south side of the transept, has a sculptural group depicting the "Death of Saint Bernard ", one of the best works authored by 17th-century Alcobaça monks. In both sides of the chapel are buried Kings Afonso II and Afonso III . From the right arm of the transept, one reaches the Royal Pantheon, a room built in the end of the 18th century in neo-Gothic style, being the earliest Neo-Gothic architecture in Portugal. The Royal Pantheon has

12669-557: The special protection zone on August 16, 1957. The Alcobaça Monastery was built following an early Gothic style and represents the arrival of this style in Portugal. The church and other main buildings were constructed from 1178 until the end of the 13th century. The church was consecrated in 1252. Following the precepts of the Cistercian Order, the original monastic buildings were built along lean architectonic lines, without any decoration apart from some capital sculpture and

12792-479: The style included François Mansart (1598–1666), Pierre Le Muet (Church of Val-de-Grâce , 1645–1665) and Louis Le Vau ( Vaux-le-Vicomte , 1657–1661). Mansart was the first architect to introduce Baroque styling, principally the frequent use of an applied order and heavy rustication , into the French architectural vocabulary. The mansard roof was not invented by Mansart, but it has become associated with him, as he used it frequently. The major royal project of

12915-594: The style is the Pilgrimage Church of Wies ( German : Wieskirche ). It was designed by the brothers J. B. and Dominikus Zimmermann . It is located in the foothills of the Alps , in the municipality of Steingaden in the Weilheim-Schongau district, Bavaria, Germany. Construction took place between 1745 and 1754, and the interior was decorated with frescoes and with stuccowork in the tradition of

13038-746: The style, Renaissance und Barock , which described the differences between the painting, sculpture, and architecture of the Renaissance and the Baroque. The Baroque style of architecture was a result of doctrines adopted by the Catholic Church at the Council of Trent in 1545–1563, in response to the Protestant Reformation . The first phase of the Counter-Reformation had imposed a severe, academic style on religious architecture, which had appealed to intellectuals but not

13161-637: The suffix "-terion" denotes a "place for doing something". The earliest extant use of the term monastērion is by the 1st century AD Jewish philosopher Philo in On The Contemplative Life, ch. III. In England, the word monastery was also applied to the habitation of a bishop and the cathedral clergy who lived apart from the lay community. Most cathedrals were not monasteries, and were served by canons secular , which were communal but not monastic. However, some were run by monasteries orders, such as York Minster . Westminster Abbey

13284-485: The term baroco (spelled Barroco by him) the meaning 'bizarre, uselessly complicated'. Other early sources associate baroco with magic, complexity, confusion, and excess. The word baroque was also associated with irregular pearls before the 18th century. The French baroque and Portuguese barroco were terms often associated with jewelry. An example from 1531 uses the term to describe pearls in an inventory of Charles V of France 's treasures. Later,

13407-593: The territory of today's Germany all looked to represent themselves with impressive Baroque buildings. Notable architects included Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach , Lukas von Hildebrandt and Dominikus Zimmermann in Bavaria , Balthasar Neumann in Bruhl , and Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann in Dresden. In Prussia , Frederick II of Prussia was inspired by the Grand Trianon of the Palace of Versailles , and used it as

13530-412: The traditions involved and the local climate, and people may be part of a monastic community for periods ranging from a few days at a time to almost an entire lifetime. Life within the walls of a monastery may be supported in several ways: by manufacturing and selling goods, often agricultural products; by donations or alms ; by rental or investment incomes; and by funds from other organizations within

13653-551: The very large to the very small. There are three types of monastic houses in the Eastern Orthodox Church: One of the great centres of Eastern Orthodox monasticism is Mount Athos in Greece , which, like Vatican City , is self-governing. It is located on an isolated peninsula approximately 20 miles (32 km) long and 5 miles (8.0 km) wide, and is administered by the heads of the 20 monasteries. Today

13776-456: The walls and rose windows on the main façade and transept arms. The main chapel, like that of Clairvaux, is surrounded by a gallery ( ambulatory ) and has a series of radiating chapels. The aisles are covered by simple Gothic vaulting . In the transept of the church are located the tombs of King Pedro I and his mistress, Inês de Castro , who was assassinated in 1355 by order of Pedro's father, King Afonso IV . After becoming king, Pedro ordered

13899-481: The weight of the vault of the apse, a typical feature of Gothic architecture. The first architect(s) of the church, most probably of French origin, followed the design of the Abbey of Clairvaux (now mostly demolished), which had been founded by Bernard of Clairvaux in 1115. The church is a Latin-cross building with pronounced transept arms and three aisles . The lateral aisles of the nave are as high (20 metres) as

14022-458: The word appears in a 1694 edition of Le Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française , which describes baroque as "only used for pearls that are imperfectly round." A 1728 Portuguese dictionary similarly describes barroco as relating to a "coarse and uneven pearl". An alternative derivation of the word baroque points to the name of the Italian painter Federico Barocci (1528–1612). In

14145-486: The worshippers could be close to the altar, with a dome or cupola high overhead, allowing light to illuminate the church below. The dome was one of the central symbolic features of Baroque architecture illustrating the union between the heavens and the earth. The inside of the cupola was lavishly decorated with paintings of angels and saints, and with stucco statuettes of angels, giving the impression to those below of looking up at heaven. Another feature of Baroque churches are

14268-701: Was finished in 1710. Following the death of Louis XIV, Louis XV added the more intimate Petit Trianon and the highly ornate theatre. The fountains in the gardens were designed to be seen from the interior, and to add to the dramatic effect. The palace was admired and copied by other monarchs of Europe, particularly Peter the Great of Russia, who visited Versailles early in the reign of Louis XV, and built his own version at Peterhof Palace near Saint Petersburg, between 1705 and 1725. Baroque architecture in Portugal lasted about two centuries (the late seventeenth century and eighteenth century). The reigns of John V and Joseph I had increased imports of gold and diamonds, in

14391-664: Was for a short time a cathedral, and was a Benedictine monastery until the Reformation , and its Chapter preserves elements of the Benedictine tradition. See the entry cathedral . They are also to be distinguished from collegiate churches, such as St George's Chapel, Windsor . The term monastery is used generically to refer to any of a number of types of religious community. In the Roman Catholic religion and to some extent in certain branches of Buddhism , there

14514-502: Was later created by Ammonas in which "solitary" monks lived close enough to one another to offer mutual support as well as gathering together on Sundays for common services. It was Pachomius the Great who developed the idea of cenobitic monasticism : having renunciates live together and worship together under the same roof. Some attribute his mode of communal living to the barracks of the Roman Army in which Pachomios served as

14637-583: Was one of rigorous schedules and self-sacrifice. Prayer was their work, and the Office prayers took up much of a monk's waking hours – Matins , Lauds , Prime , Terce , daily Mass, Sext , None , Vespers , and Compline . In between prayers, monks were allowed to sit in the cloister and work on their projects of writing, copying, or decorating books. These would have been assigned based on a monk's abilities and interests. The non-scholastic types were assigned to physical labour of varying degrees. The main meal of

14760-470: Was the Church of the Gesù in 1584; it was plain by later Baroque standards, but marked a break with the traditional Renaissance façades that preceded it. The interior of this church remained very austere until the high Baroque, when it was lavishly ornamented. In Rome in 1605, Paul V became the first of series of popes who commissioned basilicas and church buildings designed to inspire emotion and awe through

14883-471: Was the room in which the monks had their meals every day. While they ate, one of the monks read aloud passages of the Bible from a pulpit , which in Alcobaça is embedded into one of the walls. Access to the pulpit is through an arched gallery with a staircase. The pulpit is one of the most harmonious architectural structures of the monastery. Like the dormitory, the refectory has many pillars separating aisles and

15006-548: Was the world's first secular Baroque monument built in the form of a column. The palatial residence style was exemplified by the Wilanów Palace , constructed between 1677 and 1696. The most renowned Baroque architect active in Poland was Dutchman Tylman van Gameren and his notable works include Warsaw's St. Kazimierz Church and Krasiński Palace , Church of St. Anne, Kraków and Branicki Palace, Białystok . However,

15129-468: Was unsparing with dissonances, constantly changed key and meter, and speedily ran through every compositional device. In 1762 Le Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française recorded that the term could figuratively describe something "irregular, bizarre or unequal". Jean-Jacques Rousseau , who was a musician and composer as well as a philosopher, wrote in the Encyclopédie in 1768: "Baroque music

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