Order of monks (O. Cart.) founded in 1085 by St Bruno of Cologne. Although without a written rule - they followed that of St Benedict in their own way - its members lived austere, solitary lives of silence and fasting within the monastery. Their lives were spent in cells, for the order abjured both dormitories and common refectories. The monks would gather together for prayer at certain times of the week and also on Sunday for dinner. Their monasteries were called Charterhouses; the first was established in England in 1178 at Witham in Somerset; their tenth and last was established by Henry V in 1414 at Sheen. Their name is formed after the Latin Cartusia, i.e. from Chartreux, near Grenoble, which was known as La Grande Chartreuse.
Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases. Christopher Coredon with Ann Williams.