abbaye

l'abbaye (FR N-F) monastery, directed by an abbot, (or convent of nuns, directed by an abbess), having at least twelve monks or nuns; the buildings of such a monastery. The earliest monasteries were formed of temporary tent-like structures and hermit huts; disciples tended to gather around the huts of renowned ascetic solitary men, who then became the abbots; later, the abbot and his twelve followers would search for the best permanent site. The one-and-twelve relationship is a symbolic…