Beknakd — The Charters of the Abhei/ of Duiske. 171 



column which generally carried a rich vaulted roof, and did so in this case, and 

 the apartment was more highly ornamented than any other portion of the huildings. 

 The door in the east wall, opening into a larger apartment called the Scriptoruim 

 on plan, is a peculiar feature, and seems to call for some explanation, as it occupies 

 the position in which we would expect to meet the seat of the Abhot, who was 

 seated at the east end, witli the members of the Chapter ranged in order at the 

 north and south sides. 



The structure at Graiguenamanagh, styled Scriptorium on plan, was a large 

 apartment 66 ft. long, by 33 ft. 6 in. in width. It was of good proportions, with, 

 no doubt, an east window, and was lighted by four windows in the south side. 

 There was a doorway in the north side with two side lights. It will at once appear 

 that this would be a rather unusual size for the library of a Cistercian abbey, and 

 it is probable that it was added later for another purpose, and did not form any 

 part of the original design. 



It may have been that the receptacle originally intended for the custody of the 

 Mss. of the abbey was one of the usual small apartments, often a room not larger 

 than that shown to the left of the Chapter-house on plan. There is documentary 

 evidence to show that the records preserved in the abbey became numerous and 

 valuable, and such as would require not only space, but also light, in which they 

 could be examined. The position of the Scriptorium shows that it was an after- 

 thought, and this would account for finding a doorway in the east wall of the 

 Chapter-room to give access to it, where the abbot's stone seat, under the east 

 ■window, should be. It will also be observed that the Scriptorium has it axis run- 

 ning due east and west, and has a large outer doorway, and though this door opens 

 to the north instead of to the west, it has all the requirements suitable for a 

 Chapter-room as well as a Scriptorium ; and an examination of the plans of such 

 houses as Fountains, Furness, and Tintern would show that the Scriptorium at 

 Graiguenamanagh occupies the place usually assigned to the Chapter-house. 



If we regard the larger of the two apartments as the Chapter-house proper, 

 though built later, the original room designated Chapter-house on plan would 

 serve admirably as a vestibule to the larger building, and instances are not wanting 

 in some of the English foundations where Chapter-houses of large size were added 

 in this way.' The Chapter-house at Monasternenagh, which was very large, appears 

 to have been 62 ft. long, by 22 ft. 3 in. wide, and it is possible the arrangement at 

 Graiguenamanagh was intended to combine a Chapter-house and Scriptorium in one. 

 The usual position of the Scriptorium is over the Chapter-room, and the departure 

 from the recognized plan would show the importance of the place, whether the 

 apartment is considered as intended for the meetings of the members of the 

 Chapter, or as a Scriptorium, in which the intellectual activity of the monlis could 

 fitly display itself, as in compiling the " Annals of Duiske," for instance. Portions 

 of the south and west walls, much defaced, are standing. The east wall is gone, 

 and a portion of the north wall remains, with the broken mouldings of the doorway 

 and side lights. The mouldings of the jamb of the door appear to have been 

 almost identical with the moulding of the arches of the nave, and this would tend to 

 show these portions to be coeval. 



E.g. Margam Abbey, Glamorganshire. 



