After a few days when very strong winds have prevented any cycling I did manage to get out for a ride today. I had a great ride up through the Hambleton Hills to Byland Abbey. It was 22 miles but with a strong headwind it felt twice that distance. It was very cold today but nice and sunny. I felt a bit better than my last long ride but the legs are still feeling very heavy when I get to the hills.
Byland Abbey is a lovely place. It dates from 1147 and was one of the major Cistercian houses in Yorkshire along with Rievaulx, Fountains and Jervaulx abbeys. At its height it had over 200 monks but by the the time it was suppressed by Henry VIII in 1538 there were only 25 monks left. I 've always thought that the Cistercians knew how to do things properly. The choir monks employed lay brothers to do all the dirty jobs such as cleaning, cooking etc for them so that they could concentrate on being holy. That was there excuse anyway! I like the quirky rules in the Rule of St Benedict, the monk's rule book. Monks were only allowed a bath if they were sick and were not allowed underwear except when they had to go on a journey. Even then they had to return the underwear as soon as they got back to the monastery. On the bright side they were allowed half a pint of wine a day.
Byland Abbey is in a really nice spot nestling just below the hills. The abbey must really have been something in its day and I would have loved to have seen the great rose window when it was complete. There are still monks in this valley, just over the hill at Ampleforth Abbey.
2 comments:
I shall tell my wife when she mentions housework that from henceforth I am a cistercian.
That should go down well.
DP,
Sounds a good plan so long as you don't adopt Cistercian practises when it comes to bathing.
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