# Medieval Monastery — WHE Definition Discussion

**URL:** <https://community.worldhistory.org/t/medieval-monastery-whe-definition-discussion/2235>\
**Category:** WHE Articles\
**Created:** [December 14, 2018, 9:57am UTC](https://community.worldhistory.org/t/medieval-monastery-whe-definition-discussion/2235 "2018-12-14T09:57:39Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![markzcartwright](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/community.worldhistory.org/markzcartwright/32/35_2.png) [@markzcartwright](https://community.worldhistory.org/u/markzcartwright)\
**Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 9:57am UTC](https://community.worldhistory.org/t/medieval-monastery-whe-definition-discussion/2235/1 "2018-12-14T09:57:39Z")

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A medieval monastery was an enclosed and sometimes remote community of monks led by an abbot who shunned worldly goods to live a simple life of prayer and devotion. Christian monasteries first developed in the 4th century in Egypt and Syria and by the 5th century the idea had spread to Western Europe.

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_This is a companion discussion topic for the original content at [https://www.worldhistory.org/Medieval\_Monastery/](https://www.worldhistory.org/Medieval_Monastery/)._

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**Author:** ![markzcartwright](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/community.worldhistory.org/markzcartwright/32/35_2.png) [@markzcartwright](https://community.worldhistory.org/u/markzcartwright)\
**Post date:** [July 28, 2026, 8:36pm UTC](https://community.worldhistory.org/t/medieval-monastery-whe-definition-discussion/2235/2 "2026-07-28T20:36:40Z")

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