Carthusians << kahr THOO zhuhnz >> are members of a Roman Catholic order of monks and nuns. Saint Bruno of Cologne founded the order in 1084 in the valley of Chartreuse in the French Alps. The order takes its name from the Latin form of the French word Chartreuse.
The Carthusian order is contemplative—that is, its members devote themselves to prayer, study, meditation, and work. Members of the order live humbly and modestly in a hermitage (a place secluded from the outside world). Monks and nuns live in separate hermitages, called charterhouses, around the world. They spend many hours in silence and solitude, balanced with some community prayer and recreation. Some members are cloistered. They spend most of their time at individual dwellings called cells, praying, studying, and doing such work as craftwork and gardening. Others spend more time outside their cells doing work for the community, such as carpentry, cooking, and laundry. Carthusian monks make a famous herbal liqueur called Chartreuse.
