- published: 18 May 2011
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A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools, and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminaries. It is derived from the Latin reficere: to remake or restore, via Late Latin refectorium, which means a place one goes to be restored.
Communal meals provided one of the times in which all the monks of an establishment were together. Diet and eating habits differed somewhat by order, and more widely by time period. The Benedictine rule may be described as illustrative.
The Rule of St Benedict orders two meals. Dinner was provided for year-round; supper was also served from late spring to early fall, except for Wednesdays and Fridays. The diet originally consisted of simple fare: two dishes, with fruit as a third course if available. The food was simple, with the meat of mammals forbidden to all but the sick. Moderation in all aspects of diet was the spirit of Benedict's law. Meals were eaten in silence, facilitated sometimes by hand signals. A single monk might read from the Scriptures or writings of the saints aloud during the meals.