What is "conclaves"

Usage examples of "conclaves".

Since 1179, conclaves have survived earthquakes, famines, and even the plague.

Men said he spent much time in the hills, in curious conclaves with surviving remnants of an old race: dark, silent folk who claimed descent from an ancient kingdom.

The reason for these conclaves none knew, unless it was Orastes, who frequently accompanied the Pythonian, and on whose countenance a haggard shadow was growing.