A monastery was usually a large, strong and simple building, surrounded by gardens, fruit orchards, fields and ponds. Insidethe abbey was a small church, living quarters for the monks and nuns, a kitchen and storerooms. Attached to most monsteries were hospitals, schools and libraries. Monasteries played a very important role in medieval Europe. The nuns educated children and treated the sick and wounded. The greatest contribution of the monasteries was in the field of education. Some of these monasteries later developed into famous secular universities, such as the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Besides the religious texts, secular subjects such as history, philosophy, medicine, law and astrology were also taught in these universities. The printing press and paper had not yet been invented, so the monks wrote books by hand on parchment. Most of the books were copies of the Bible and prayer books, and copies of Latin and Greek books on secular subjects. These books were a very useful source of knowledge of the ancient and medieval civilization in Europe.
