The Purpose

   The cloister was used for practical and religious purposes. Many had a garden in the courtyard, opening the center to light, which you don’t see in the PMA. In the PMA, the cloister is dimly lit, while it would usually be surrounded by a garden with light coming from the open center. The viewers of the cloister when visiting the PMA, do not receive the authencity that comes with being in the cloister, which is obviously evident. In Rebecca Leuchak’s article “Imagining and Imaging the Medieval: The Cloisters, Virtual Reality and Paradigm Shifts”, she argues that the reconstruction alters “the relationship between the visitor and the material object by manipulating feelings rooted in the twentieth century.”^[1] This applies to the cloister in the PMA, due to its changed appearance. This cloister had a different purpose when it was actually being used, but since its reconstruction it has changed like Leuchak pointed out. It is now an exhibit with the purpose of being admired and a form of entertainment for the visitors. Unlike its actual use in France. The reconstruction of the cloister is influenced by the present in the way it is presented, while it does try to immerse the visitor into the history of the cloister. The cloister was a sanctuary for monks to meditate and pray, but also a means of walking from and to different places in the monastery. The reconstruction has changed the image of what a cloister is, but has also modernized it with the current time using the cloister in its different pieces to create a similar atmosphere from its original time.