Where did the medieval monks live?

Answer 1

Monks ate in a large room called a refectory or frater, usually situated next to the kitchens on the south side of the cloister.

Outside the refectory door, in the cloister walk, were stone troughs with running cold water (lavatorium) for the brothers to wash their hands before and after meals. Inside, large oak tables were arranged around the sides of the large room and the brothers sat against the walls, facing inwards towards the centre of the room. Some of the monks were tasked to act as servitors, bringing the food from the kitchen to the tables.

Meals were eaten in total silence, while one monk read from The Bible or other religious text (often at a pulpit raised above the heads of the monks as they ate).

Because they were forbidden to speak, monks used monastic sign language to communicate during meals; the sign for bread was to make a circle by placing the tips of the two thumbs and index fingers together. The sign for pottage was making a stirring motion with the right fist, as if stirring a pot of vegetables while cooking. If they wanted fish, then the flat hand was moved to imitate the tail of a swimming fish. The sign for an apple was to bend the right thumb into the palm of the hand and grasp it with the other four fingers.

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Answer 2

Remains of pottery found at certain sites suggest they had jugs, storage, and cooking pots, although not much points to anything to eat upon/from. Also, it had been noted that eating with a fork would've been considered scandalous in Medieval times.

Answer 3

Most lived in monasteries; some lived for varying amounts of time at small "outstations" called cells.