<P> Columbanus, an abbot from a Leinster noble family, traveled to Gaul in the late 6th century with twelve companions . Columbanus and his followers spread the Irish model of monastic institutions to the continent . A whole series of new monastic foundations under Irish influence sprang up, starting with Columbanus's foundations of Luxeuil and Fontaine - lès - Luxeuil and, sponsored by the Frankish King Childebert II . After Childebert's death Columbanus traveled east to Metz, where Theudebert II allowed him to establish a new monastery among the semi-pagan Alemanni in what is now Switzerland . One of Columbanus's followers founded the monastery of St. Gall on the shores of Lake Constance, while Columbanus continued onward across the Alps to the kingdom of the Lombards in Italy . There King Agilulf and his wife Theodolinda granted Columbanus land in the mountains between Genoa and Milan, where he established the monastery of Bobbio . From about 698 until the reign of Charlemagne in the 770s, the Hiberno - Scottish efforts in the Frankish Empire were continued by the Anglo - Saxon mission . The rule of St. Columbanus, which was originally followed in most of these monasteries, was eventually superseded by that of St. Benedict . </P> <P> Benedict of Nursia is the most influential of Western monks and is called "the father of western monasticism". He was educated in Rome but soon sought the life of a hermit in a cave at Subiaco, outside the city . He then attracted followers with whom he founded the monastery of Monte Cassino around 520, between Rome and Naples . He established the Rule, adapting in part the earlier anonymous Rule of the Master (Regula magistri), which was written somewhere south of Rome around 500, and defined the activities of the monastery, its officers, and their responsibilities . By the ninth century, largely under the inspiration of the Emperor Charlemagne, Benedict's Rule became the basic guide for Western monasticism . </P> <P> While the Celtic monasteries had a stronger connection to the semi-eremitical tradition of Egypt via Lérins and Tours, Benedict and his followers were more influenced by the cenobitism of St Pachomius and Basil the Great . Early Benedictine monasteries were relatively small and consisted of an oratory, refectory, dormitory, scriptorium, guest accommodation and out - buildings, a group of often quite separate rooms more reminiscent of a decent sized Roman villa than a large medieval abbey . A monastery of about a dozen monks would have been normal during this period . </P> <P> Medieval monastic life consisted of prayer, reading, and manual labor . Prayer was a monk's first priority . Apart from prayer, monks performed a variety of tasks, such as preparing medicine, lettering, reading, and others . Also, these monks would work in the gardens and on the land . They might also spend time in the Cloister, a covered colonnade around a courtyard, where they would pray or read . Some monasteries held a scriptorium where monks would write or copy books . When the monks wrote, they used very neat handwriting and would draw illustrations in the books . As a part of their unique writing style, they decorated the first letter of each paragraph . </P>

Monasticism did nothing to further the advancement of christianity