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A 'cloister' (from Latin ''claustrum'') is a part of cathedral, monastic and abbey architecture. A cloister consists usually of four corridors, with a courtyard or garth in the middle. It is intended to be both covered from the rain, but open to the air. The attachment of a cloister to a Cathedral church usually indicates that it is (or was once) a monastic foundation.
Cloistered (or "Claustral") life is also another name for the life of a monk or nun in the enclosed religious orders; the modern English term ''enclosure'' is used in contemporary Catholic church law^[1] to mean cloistered, and ''cloister'' is sometimes used as a synonym for ''monastery''.
In medieval times, cloisters served the primary function of quiet mediation or study gardens.
The worldwide biggest cloister (12000 m²) is in the Certosa di Padula in southern Italy.

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Notes

See also

★ The Code of Canon Law, cf canons 667 ff.

★ New Advent Encyclopaedia III ff. on "Nuns, properly so called''

★ "Cloister" in the New Advent encyclopaedia

★ New Advent Encyclopaedia on "Religious Life''

Notes

1. The Code of Canon Law, Canon 667 ff. English translation copyright 1983 The Canon Law Society Trust [1]