The story of the church's creation was as unusual as the splendor of its appointments. It was said to have been designed by saints and paid for by kings. Although the benefactors ranged from the poorest in the parish to the richest in all of Christendom, the largest donations came from Kings Alfonso VI of Castile and Henry I of England. And according to one chronicle. Saints Peter, Paul, and Stephen had revealed the design in a dream to a retired abbot called Gunzo who lived at Cluny.
The monks spent much more time in the church than anywhere else. After matins, the regular hours continued with prime, terce, sext around noon, nones, vipers at sunset, and compline about an hour later. Between these there were additional offices, particularly on feast days; and there were two morning masses, for which the monks remained standing throughout. The first was between prime and the chapter, and the second, the solemn mass, was usually after terce.
I he refectory was another of the many buildings that Saint Hugh rebuilt to accommodate the growing number of monks. The monks usually met there twice a day, for dinner after sext at midday and for supper after sunset, between vespers and compline; during Lent, they ate only supper. After washing their hands, they took their places at one of the six tables in the body of the hall and remained standing until the abbot had taken his place at the high table.
World History
