Every trustworthy man in Kent and Sussex,
whether thegn or commoner, is cognizant of these terms.
There are three of these documents; one is at Christchurch,
another at St. Augustine's, and Brihtric himself has the third."
Nuns and monks lived in segregated nunneries and monasteries on
church land and grew their own food. The local bishop usually was
also an abbot of a monastery. The priests and nuns wore long robes
with loose belts and did not carry weapons. Their life was ordered
by the ringing of the bell to start certain activities, such as
prayer; meals; meetings; work in the fields, gardens, or
workshops; and copying and illuminating books. They chanted to pay
homage and to communicate with God or his saints. They taught
justice, piety, chastity, peace, and charity; and cared for the
sick. Caring for the sick entailed mostly praying to God as it was
thought that only God could cure. They bathed a few times a year.
They got their drinking water from upstream of where they had
located their latrines over running water. The large monasteries
had libraries, dormitories, guesthouses, kitchens, butteries to
store wine, bakehouses, breweries, dairies, granaries, barns,
fishponds, orchards, vineyards, gardens, workshops, laundries,
lavatories with long stone or marble washing troughs, and towels.
Slavery was diminished by the church by excommunication for the
sale of a child over seven.
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