ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -Monks and nuns performed many practical services in the Middle Ages, for they housed travelers, nursed the sick, and assisted the poor; abbots and abbesses dispensed advice to secular rulers.

Detailed explanation-2: -Monks and nuns performed may roles in the middle ages. They provided shelter, they taught others to read and write, prepared medicine, sewed clothes for others, and helped others in times of need. They spent most of their time praying and meditating.

Detailed explanation-3: -A nun was expected to wear simple clothing as a symbol of her shunning of worldly goods and distractions. The long tunic was typical attire, with a veil to cover all but the face as a symbol of her role as a ‘Bride of Christ’. The veil hid the nun’s hair which had to be kept cut short.

Detailed explanation-4: -A monastery was a building, or buildings, where people lived and worshiped, devoting their time and life to God. The people who lived in the monastery were called monks. The monastery was self contained, meaning everything the monks needed was provided by the monastery community.

Detailed explanation-5: -Not all Medieval music was sung in parts like this. In churches and monasteries, for example, monks or nuns sang psalms and hymns in chorus, all singing the same notes. This was called plain-song.