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Many monasteries were deliberately founded in the midst of wasteland so that the monks could create arable and raise livestock. Towns and cities often grew around such establishments if the terrain nearby was favorable.
The smallest monasteries might have a dozen or two dozen sworn brothers, while the largest could have several hundred to 500. In the northern church, the custom was to rely on lay brethren and hired labor to work the land. But the southern church under Pontiff Amadai supported several reformist orders in which the brothers and sisters worked the land directly, only hiring whatever additional help they needed.
After decades of bequests and gifts, some monasteries became quite large, wealthy operations, supporting large flocks of sheep numbering as high as 18,000 or 20,000, farming thousands of acres, or earning upwards of 2,000 to 2,500 crowns in gross annual rental income alone.
Normal monasteries typically would have relatively low levels of income, ranging from 20 to 500 crowns. Prosperous monasteries, perhaps 5 to 10 percent of the total number, would have income from the 800 to 1,200 crowns of income. Only a handful of monasteries, usually the ones near the seats of an archbishop, would have income at or above 2,000 crowns. Therefore, many monasteries also carried some debt.
Abbeys and priors often had both monks or nuns as well as servile villeins, free villeins, and lay brothers attached to their lands. They often employed free laborers to assist in agricultural work, especially at granges removed from the main compound’s holding.
Morning eating, at most, was a light snack of cheese, a hunk of bread, and a small cup of ale or beer. Often, monks fasted until dinner.
A servile villein’s dinner cost about 1p per day. Several eggs or salted herring, a loaf of bread, and two gallons or ale or beer was the typical day’s ration, as well as a bonus of a penny a week for additional food. But the serf could earn additional food for impressive labors. Monks might have twice as much food per day. On special holidays, servings of chicken and pork appeared as part of dinner.
A second late supper was common, both in monasteries and lay manor halls, and often centered around a soup course (cabbage, chickpea, spinach, lentil, onion, cheese, herb/bouillon soups, and so on).
Monasteries received many gifts and bequests, but unlike families, they never needed to divide their holdings as generations unfolded. So they generally became one of the largest landholders or asset owners in their immediate environment.
All monasteries would devote resources toward feeding the poor in several ways. Large, prosperous households and monasteries often supported a number of poor-in-residence, with standard allotments of food per day and per year.
A large, successful monastery would have thousands of acres of arable under plow at its main site and dispersed granges. Wheat and oats were typically the main crops, with a large amount of acres devoted to barley and legumes, and a smaller amount to rye.
From a large herd of sheep, say 14,000, the monks could earn quite a lot of income (e.g., from selling sacks of wool, milk, lambs and lambswool, and manure).
Despite having many advantages, many monasteries were poorly managed and deeply in debt. Abbots sometimes succumbed to approaches from fraudsters and moneylenders.
