convent

thumb|Convent of the Conceptionists in [[Ágreda, Spain (Roman Catholic)]] thumb|Neuenwalde Convent in Germany belongs to the Evangelical Lutheran tradition of Christianity A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Those residing in a convent are conventuals. A convent is also the building used by the community, especially in Catholic, Lutheran, and Anglican traditions.

==Etymology and usage== The term convent derives via Old French from Latin conventus, perfect participle of the verb convenio, meaning "to convene, to come together". It was first used in this sense when the eremitical life began to be combined with the cenobitical. The original reference was to the gathering of mendicants who spent much of their time travelling. Technically, a monastery is a secluded community of monastics, whereas a friary or convent is a community of mendicants (which, by contrast, might be located in a city), and a canonry is a community of canons regular. The terms abbey and priory can be applied to both monasteries and canonries; an abbey is headed by an abbot, and a priory is a lesser dependent house headed by a prior. In the Middle Ages, convents often provided to women a way to excel, as they were considered inferior to men. In convents, women were educated and were able to write books and publish works on gardening or musicology or on religion and philosophy. The abbess of a convent was often also involved in decisions of secular life and interacted with politicians and businessmen. Unlike an abbey, a convent is not placed under the responsibility of an abbot or an abbess, but of a superior or prior.