Their monastery was divided in two parts. The choir
monks, hermits, lived in the upper house. They were
also called silent monks, because they spent most
of their time praying and working in solitude and
silence. They wrote and transcribed manuscripts,
and cultivated a little garden in front of their cell.
The lay brothers, unordained monks, lived
in the lower house. They managed the supplies
and animals, practised different crafts and
grew food. They did all the hard graft so
the monks weren't hungry.