A Life of Contrasts
County Mayo, Ireland
2019
The ruins of abbeys and priories that we visited are largely roofless, giving the false impression that such places were well lit back in the day. But a visit to one with some roofs still intact or restored quickly dispels that notion. With the exception of a few smaller rooms with a single window and the large common areas such as sanctuaries that often have a number of large windows, it was dark in those rooms! As the interior lighting in that day would only have consisted of candles and fires in fireplaces, life must have been a stark contrast between the bright days outside the buildings and the darkness of time spent indoors.
A good observation! I was thinking along similar lines while viewing the photo of the Moyne Friary Cloisters. It seemed like the walkways surrounded an open-air courtyard. Was that the case originally or just the result of the old roof being gone?
Cloisters were always around open-air courtyards I believe.