Order of Majere

Article written by Uziel

The Monks of Majere are the monastic followers of the god Majere, who are predominantly based in their monastery located north of Lemish Forest, near the town of Elmwood. All those seeking to enter the order, first are accepted as a novice. Adults who enter as novices may come from a variety of backgrounds (former mercenary, priest, sorcerer, etc), however they must relinquish all personal wealth before entering the order. Children who are inducted into the monastery are known as oblates, until they are old enough to take their first vows and then become novices.

Following several years service, novices are reviewed the abbot/abbess (who is the head of the monastery) and if deemed ready, take their final vows to become a fully-fledged monk of the Order of Majere. All monks within the order are simply referred to as "brother" or "sister" irrespective of their standing in the monastery.

Monks are always garbed in basic red robes, have simple leather sandals, and also wear a copper medallion with the mantis symbol of Majere. Some monks shave their heads, but otherwise keep their hair short and neatly cropped. All monks were the same robes in the Order of Majere, from the newest novice through to the abbot/abbess of the monastery.

Daily Life of the Monks

The abbot/abbess of the monastery creates a list of activities for all of the monks in the monastery to follow. Normally the schedule for any monk is to spend time in meditation, to train in martial arts, to work in the gardens of the monastery and to help folk in the town of Elmwood. Those unable to do any of these tasks spend their time in the scriptorium, where they compose and illustrate books and manuscripts. Some monks are known as illuminators, and have the role of decorating the works of the scriptorium with painted colors and gold leaves.

Refusing to follow the work schedules can result in a monk being ejected from the order by the abbot/abbess. The monks only normally gather together at mealtime, which is held in the dining room of the monastery. Whilst most monks rarely eat meat, they have stews occasionally prepared, but otherwise live on a diet of fruit and vegetables. Their meals are prepared twice a day during winter, and three times a day during summer.

Absolution

Within the chapter house of the monastery, monks can ask for pardons for any wrongdoings they feel they have caused. In the chapter house, they can also accuse one another of bad behaviour, if they feel it is serious enough to be reported. Before any discussion is entered into in the chapter house, the monks read a chapter from the monastery rules, which is how the chapter house first earned its name. The abbot/abbess always presides over chapter house meetings and makes the ultimate decision on punishments for bad behaviour by the monks.

References

Legends of the Lance, Issue 6

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This article has been viewed 933 times. It was added on December 7, 2006, and was last modified on December 7, 2006.

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