Spatiamentum
Spatiamentum is a social ritual that is part of the weekly regime of the Roman Catholic Carthusian Order of monks.
The monks live a very strict monastic life. Most of the daily routines are conducted alone and in silence. Once a week, the monks take part in a Spatiamentum, which is an extended walk lasting three or four hours. During the walk they talk freely.[1] They walk in pairs and change partners every half-hour. This means that during a Spatiamentum each monk will converse with eight others. This permits a fraternal sharing between the monks. It is an important complement to what is otherwise an extremely solitary life.[2] The spatiamentum also provides physical space and exercise. Conversation during the walk is light-hearted and simple.
The spatiamentum probably became a formal part of Carthusian life around the twelfth century, in order to balance solitude with human contact, and provide some relaxation and respite from a strict rule and the focus on spiritual matters.
Dom Le Masson, an eighteenth century General of the order wrote, " It is only with the greatest reluctance that I grant leave off the spatiamentum, and then only to the aged. So great, it appears to me, is the utility of this walk for good of both body and soul. More easily and more willingly would I exempt a Carthusian monk from the Night Office, for some days, or from fats of the Order, than from the spatiamentum.[3]
In inclement weather, the walk is postponed to the next day.