Monasticism

I'm finding some interesting information about the layout of religious communities and how these typical layouts evolved over time.

In the first few centuries A.D. there were many hermits living in the wilderness trying to imitate Jesus's 40 days in the wilderness as well as other Old Testament prophets who spent many days in the wilderness in prayer. Even back then most people were unable to "rough it" by themselves, so communities of these hermits started to develop, often as a group of huts around a common center. This common center often had the hut of some famous hermit who led the others in the group. The most famous of these hermits was Saint Anthony, who is considered the father of monasticism.

Eventually these groups of huts got so crowded that they had to begin to organize themselves into something more orderly. What resulted was the huts arranged in a grid pattern like a planned town or military camp. As these communities' success grew and they accumulated wealth, they had to start thinking about security. The detached houses gave way to the walled groups of large buildings clustered around one or more courtyards (cloisters). This seems to be the arrangement at most abbeys you see today.