Invented by Monks
By Seth Galemore
How the Cloister Shaped the Modern World
Monasteries have always also been centers of innovation, where monks not only preserved knowledge but also created it—crafting tools, systems, and ideas that helped shape the modern world. Read on to learn how your daily life has been shaped by monks.
This article was originally published in our May 2025 Kansas Monks newsletter. Read the whole newsletter at www.kansasmonks.org/newsletter/may2025
In popular imagination, monasteries are often pictured as quiet places of prayer, tucked away from the clamor of daily life. While that image holds true in many ways, it tells only part of the story. In addition to a robust spiritual life and the grace of God, monastic communities have had three good things going for them for centuries: unusually high levels of education, a strong work ethic, and—it must be admitted—cheap labor. (Donations are accepted, naturally.)
Here are just few things we owe to the industrious, prayerful life of monks.
Time Itself
In the rhythm of monastic life, prayer is central—and timing those prayers required innovation. To keep the daily Liturgy of the Hours on track, monks devised increasingly precise ways to mark time. The first mechanical clocks in Europe were often found in monasteries, and Pope Sylvester II, a Benedictine monk and scholar, is credited with developing an early version of the mechanical clock around the year 1000. These devices not only regulated monastic schedules but laid the foundation for the modern concept of timekeeping.
A Vote of Confidence (or Not)
In an age when power was typically inherited or seized, monastic communities practiced a different model: electing their leaders by secret ballot. In Benedictine monasteries, monks would cast their votes using marbles—white for yes, black for no. This is the origin of the term “blackballed,” and an early example of the democratic process within a structured community.
Brewing, Distilling, and the Art of Nourishment
Monastic communities became renowned for their skill in brewing and distilling—not just for enjoyment, but out of necessity and charity. Clean water was not always available, and beer and wine were safer alternatives. Liturgical wine had to be of high quality, and monks took that responsibility seriously. Over time, their experimentation led to the development of refined brewing techniques and the creation of iconic beverages like champagne (celebrated for its bubbles), chartreuse (a potent herbal liqueur famed for its green hue), and even uisce beatha—the “water of life”—now best known as whiskey.
And to go with these drinks? Monks also became masters of other ferments such as cheese-making, which preserves milk and enriches the average diet with products rich in protein and low in lactose that are still loved today. Just imagine a world without parmesan!
Reading & Writing - Better & Smarter
Monks have long been associated with the patient work of copying manuscripts, and their contributions to literacy go far beyond beautiful calligraphy. To aid their reading, monks invented punctuation, introduced spaces between words, and helped develop the original eyeglasses—transforming the written word into something more accessible and comprehensible. These innovations may seem small, but they dramatically improved communication, scholarship, and learning across generations.
Singing Melodies Harmoniusly
In the same spirit of systematization, monks also invented musical notation—a way to write down melodies so they could be sung consistently during communal prayer. The simple lines and squares that evolved into our modern music staff began as a tool to ensure unity in worship, so the monks could literally be “on the same page” of music. From Gregorian chant (named after a Benedictine Pope, St. Gregory the Great) to the Hallow app (where you can hear our own Br. Florian Rumpza singing for Source & Summit), monks have embraced innovations of music for centuries.
Balancing the Books
In the 15th century, a Franciscan friar named Luca Pacioli became the first to document the system of double-entry accounting—a method still used in finance today. At the time, it was a secret closely guarded by merchant guilds, but Pacioli’s writings opened the system to wider use, making commerce more accessible and more, well, accountable. He may not have been a Benedictine, but we’ll give him the credit he’s owed. (And the debits, too.)
Institutions of Higher Learning
All that reading, ’riting, and ’rithmetic weren’t just things that monks kept to themselves. The first modern universities emerged from monastic and cathedral schools, as monks took on the task of educating not just future monks, but also clergy, nobles, and, eventually, common laypeople. The structure of degrees, disciplines, and academic gowns all trace back to these early religious institutions.
The First Geneticist
In the 19th century, an Augustinian monk named Gregor Mendel conducted meticulous experiments in the monastery garden. By crossbreeding pea plants, Mendel discovered patterns of heredity that laid the groundwork for the modern science of genetics. His work went largely unnoticed in his lifetime, but today he is rightly remembered as the “Father of Genetics.”
Caring for the Body as Well as the Soul
Monasteries were often the only places where the sick and poor could receive care, regardless of their ability to pay. These houses of hospitality were the precursors to modern hospitals, offering shelter, food, and medical treatment to those in need. The Benedictine commitment to hospitality lives on in the very word “hotel,” which shares the same root.
And for Dessert? A Pretzel.
Even humble snacks have monastic roots. The pretzel is believed to have been created by monks in the early Middle Ages as a reward for children who learned their prayers. Its distinctive shape—arms folded in prayer—symbolized devotion, and its three holes were seen as a reminder of the Holy Trinity.
Who Even Knows What Else?
The list could go on. I could probably write more, but I’d have to ask someone who knows more than I do. (Probably a monk.)
And I should note that “monk” in this article is a gender-neutral term. Women monastics—such as St. Hildegard, a Benedictine abbess and a Doctor of the Church—have pioneered the arts and sciences in much the same way as men have.
From the time on our clocks to the music we sing, from the medicines we take to the universities we attend, monastic communities have quietly shaped much of what we consider essential to modern life. It’s a legacy built not through conquest or wealth, but through prayerful discipline, thoughtful stewardship, and a commitment to the common good.
As we look at these contributions, we are reminded that the search for God and the love of neighbor—hallmarks of the monastic tradition—are not separate from human flourishing, but deeply intertwined with it.
Want to share how monks have been responsible for some of our favorite, most useful, and tastiest technological advances? View our Abbot’s Table XII video “Stuff Invented by Monks” and share it with friends.