Cloister

King Matthias reserved the abbey for himself in accordance with the era’s customs, and exercised supervision over the operation of the monastery. Thus with the income from the abbey’s land he rebuilt the previously Roman style cloister using its materials, in Gothic style. The construction was completed in 1486, as indicated by the number which can be seen on the side of the corbel on the north-eastern corner of the cloister. The Cloister forms one of the centres of the monastery’s life. In the Middle Ages this was the point from where the most important community areas opened, where the monks gathered for liturgies, and marched through the Porta Speciosa to the Basilica for chants of the mass. It also served as the location for processions. The inner garden encompassed by the cloister’s corridor was called Paradise Garden (Paradisum) and was planted with herbs. The water collecting tank in the middle can still be seen. The herbs symbolised remedies for the problems of the souls to the monks, and the reason why we can see plant images placed on the corbels supporting the dome of the Cloister. The human faces on the subsistent stones symbolise the deadly sins. The figures of wrath, sloth, lust and gluttony are easy to recognise.