have been numerous[178], and would easily have been
contained in a single receptacle. This, I conceive, was that recess in the
wall which is so frequently found between the Chapter-House and the door
into the church at the end of the east pane of the cloister. In many
monastic ruins this recess is still open, and, by a slight effort of
imagination, can be restored to its pristine use. Elsewhere it is filled
in, having been abandoned by the monks themselves in favour of a fresh
contrivance. The recess I am speaking of was called the common press
(_armarium commune_), or common cloister-press (_commune armarium
claustri_); and it contained the books appointed for the general use of
the community (_communes libri_).

A press of this description (fig. 19) is still to be seen in excellent
preservation at the Cistercian monastery of Fossa Nuova in Central Italy,
near Terracina, which I visited in the spring of 1900. This house may be
dated 1187-1208[179]. The press is in the west wall of the south transept
(fig. 21), close to the door leading to the church. It measures 4 ft. 3
in. wide, by 3 ft. 6 in. high; and is raised 2 ft. 3 in. above the floor
of the cloister. It is lined with slabs of stone; but the hinges are not
strong enough to have carried doors of any material heavier than wood; and
I conjecture that the shelf also was of the same material. Stone is
plentiful in that part of Italy, but wood, especially in large pieces,
would have to be brought from a distance. Hence its removal, as soon as
the cupboard was not required for the purpose for which it was
constructed.

[Illustration: Fig. 19. Press in the cloister at the Cistercian Abbey of
Fossa Nuova.]

Two recesses, evidently intended for the same purpose, are to be seen in
the east walk of the cloister of Worcester Cathedral, formerly a
Benedictine monastery. They are between the Chapter-House and the passage
leading to the treasury and other rooms. Each recess is square-headed, 6
ft. 9 in. high, 2 ft. 6 in. deep, and 11 ft. broad (fig. 20). In front of
the recesses is a bench-table, 13 in. broad and 16 in. high. This
book-press was in use so late as 1518, when a book bought by the Prior was
"delyvered to y^e cloyster awmery[180]."

[Illustration: Fig. 20. Groundplan and elevation of the book-recesses in
the cloister of Worcester Cathedral.]

As books multiplied ampler accommodation for them became necessary; and,
as they were to be read in cloister, it was ob