A spatiamentum is weekly routine performed by Carthusian monks where they take an extended walk together lasting three or four hours.
The spatiamentum probably became a formal part of Carthusian life around the 12th century, in order to balance solitude with human contact, and provide some relaxation and respite from a strict rule and the focus on spiritual matters.
Dom Le Masson, the 18th-century prior general of the order, wrote, "It is only with the greatest reluctance that I grant leave from the spatiamentum, and then only to the aged.
So great, it appears to me, is the utility of this walk for good of both body and soul.
More easily and more willingly would I exempt a Carthusian monk from the Night Office, for some days, or from fasts of the Order, than from the spatiamentum.