Select all that apply. Which statements about monks living under a written rule, such as the Rule of St Benedict, are correct?
They gave up personal property and held goods in common✓Correct answer
They owed obedience to the head of their house✓Correct answer
Their day was divided between set times of prayer and hours of work✓Correct answer
They kept their private wealth and were free to trade with it
They lived without any written rule, each monk deciding his own routine
Explanation
A written rule regulated ownership, obedience to the superior and a timetable that alternated worship with manual or scholarly labour, which is why houses following the same rule looked broadly similar from region to region. The picture of monks holding private wealth fails because renouncing personal property was one of the commitments that made a common life possible at all.