1. MONKS A BRIEF HISTORY BY Cherry Blossom

2. INTRODUCTION  Monks lived in monasteries.  They lived a very simple life.  They work hard on the farm.  They prayed and worshiped God.  They helped the poor and sick.  They wrote prayers and stories about saints and Jesus.  They were excellent craftsmen.

3. MONKS CLOTHING  The clothes monks wore were very simple.  Monks clothes were made from coarse, undyed wool.  Monks wore a tunic which was tied around the waist with a belt.  Over this they wore a scapula. Which is a long wide woollen cloth with an opening for the head.  A hood was attached to the scapula this was called a cowl.  On their feet they wore leather sandals.

4. WHERE MONKS LIVED  Monks lived in monasteries.  The buildings in the monastery were surrounded by a thick circular wall.  The main buildings in the monastery were the church, the round tower and the cells.  Monks cells were simple stone buildings with a curtain for a door.  Monks had very few belongings.  Some monks lived as hermits in beehive huts on Islands.  Hermits liked to live alone and pray most of the day.  These Beehive huts are on Skellig Michael.

5. THE ROUND TOWER  A round tower is a stone building that monks used as a safe place in times of attack.  The door of the round tower was very high up.  Monks used a rope ladder to get inside then hauled the ladder up when everyone was safely in the tower.  When the attack was over they let the ladder down and climbed out.  There are 52 round towers in Ireland.  This is a round tower in Co.Fermanagh.

6. ART WORK  Monks were excellent craftsmen and scholars.  Monks used metal and stone to make wonderful objects such as chalices, jewellery and crosses.  Monks spent a lot of time making manuscripts with amazing art work.  These manuscripts had so much detail it was difficult to see it all.  The most famous of these manuscripts is the Book of Kells which is now in Trinity College Dublin.

7. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING BYE !