24 A MEDIAEVAL CITY

chapel, and other buildings in an enclosed part
called the Bedern not far from the Minster.

As a counterpart to the Minster, in appearance
as in use, was the great, rich Benedictine Abbey
of St. Mary, of ro}^al foundation. With a mitred
abbot who sat among the lords spiritual in Parlia-
ment, St. Mary's was perhaps the most important
of the northern monasteries. The buildings were
proportional!}- large and fine. The church, dating
mostly from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries,
was particularly long and had a tall spire. It was
only a little inferior to the Minster in magnificence.
On the south side were the Cloisters, the open-air
work-place and recreation place of the monks, while
beyond were the conventual buildings—such as the
calefactory or warming-house, the dormitories, and
the refectory or room where meals were taken. The
cloisters were square in plan and consisted of a
central grass plot, along the sides of which there
was a continuous covered walk with unglazed
windows facing the central open space. Benedictine
abbeys usually conformed to a common scheme as
regards the planning of the church and the con-
ventual buildings. The cloisters were only one of
the courts or open squares, which separated groups
of conventual buildings. Further, there were gardens
and orchards. Nearer the river there was the
Hospitium, or guest-house, where visitors were
lodged. The abbey was within its own walls, and on
one side its grounds extended to the river. The
gateway, comprising gate, lodge, and chapel, was
on the north side.

Near the Castle there was an extensive Franciscan
Friary. On the other side of the river there was
the priory of the Holy Trinity, the home of an alien
Benedictine order. A Carmelite Friary in Hungate,