True or False: Cloisters were common features of monasteries.

The story behind the answer

In medieval monasteries, the cloister—the arcaded walk surrounding a square garden (garth)—was the architectural and spiritual center. It linked the church, dormitory, refectory, and chapter house, letting monks move between prayer, study, and work in silence. Rooted in the Rule of St. Benedict’s ideal of enclosure (Latin claustrum), it symbolized withdrawal from the world and the image of an earthly paradise garden for meditation.

From the Romanesque to the Gothic era, Benedictine, Cistercian, and Augustinian houses almost always included a cloister, whose carvings often served as visual teaching aids. Notable examples survive at Fontenay (austere Cistercian design) and at Monreale and Santo Domingo de Silos (famous for their richly sculpted capitals).