Forma monasterii. Essai sur l'organisation de l'espace monastique comme mise en forme de l'identité ecclésiologique

In a monastery, the organization of buildings is fitted on monks’ life. Edifices are gathered around the cloister, centre of monastic space and of all circulations inside the monastery. Apart from this simple and practical plan, there are other forms of organization, where cult edifices are spread without apparent order, as in Lerins or La Novalaise. Why there are two so different types of organization of monastic space? Where do they find their origins? Through this paper, we take interest in architectural continuities that archeology shows between Roman pagan civilization and monachism of late Antiquity and Middle Ages. Classical buildings, especially the villa, which medieval monks inherited, influenced architectural compositions of monasteries which followed them.