Cloister — Middle Ages

The story behind the answer

This is the monastic complex’s roofed passage that fully encloses the central garden (the garth), allowing monks to move between the church, dormitory, refectory, and chapter house in quiet contemplation, study, and prayer—sheltered from weather. Its arcaded sides define the space; benches and a lavatorium were often included, and it hosted processions and sometimes burials.

In medieval symbolism, the enclosed garden evoked Paradise and spiritual retreat. Architecturally, it showcases Romanesque round arches or Gothic pointed arches and rib vaults. By contrast, an ambulatory is a walkway around a church’s apse, an arcade is simply a series of arches, and a quadrangle is the open courtyard itself. Many later university colleges borrowed this layout from monastic precedents.