The Rule St Benedict was devised by Benedict of Nursia (AD 480-550) as a kind of handbook or instruction book governing the way an autonomous community of monks may live together. Written in around AD516, it lays down the fundamental precepts for the proper conduct of the monastic life. Its 73 chapters cover such matters as obedience, humility, the daily prayer routine, the appointment of deans and priors, diet, manual labour, hospitality and the induction of novices.

The Rule of St Benedict