A cellarium (from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''cella'', "pantry"), also known as an ''

undercroft An undercroft is traditionally a cellar or storage room, often brick-lined and Vault (architecture), vaulted, and used for storage in buildings since medieval times. In modern usage, an undercroft is generally a ground (street-level) area whi ...

'', was a storehouse or storeroom, usually in a medieval

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

or castle. In English monasteries, it was usually located in or under the buildings on the west range of the

cloister A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...

. The monastery's supplies of food, ale and wines were stored there, under the supervision of the ''cellarer'', one of the monastery's obedientiaries. The cellarer acted as chief purveyor of all foodstuffs to the monastery and as general steward. He was often assisted by a ''sub-cellarer''.

References

{{reflist Christian monastic architecture