Strange bits of research

For whatever reason, my characters ended up visiting a monastery in the scene I was working on tonight. I dragged out some of my research books to make sure I described the monks appropriately, and came across some bizarre little bits of information on Irish monks.

I knew about shaved tonsures, but apparently they let the rest of their hair grow long and down their backs. They wore coarse woolen garments with white linen undergarments. And most bizarre, they would paint their eyelids black! Funny, the little things you come across.

My monastery will be an island monastery, similar to Skellig Michael, shown here.

What’s really fascinating are the monks’ cells, made of stone. Take a look at these!
It amazes me to think that people lived in dwellings like this. Eventually in the 12th century, they abandoned the island monastery and moved to the mainland. I’m thinking that those cold sea winds might have had something to do with it.

One of my favorite abbeys in the U.S. is the Abbey of Gethsemane in Kentucky. I’ve been there twice during my college years, and there was something almost surreal about attending Mass for the different Hours (compline, vespers, none, etc.). All of it was in Gregorian chant. In a way, it made you feel as though you were back in medieval times, and I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.