Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Saint Paul: An Account of the Old and New Buildings with a Short Historical SketchDimock, Arthur
History
Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Saint Paul: An Account of the Old and New Buildings with a Short Historical Sketch
Dimock, Arthur
St. Paul's Cathedral (London, England)
=The Clergy and Services.=--We may now conveniently glance at these
important subjects. The Bishop, who appointed all the dignitaries
except the dean, was Visitor. At the great festivals he was usually
present, and the bells were rung in his honour. How the DEAN always,
or nearly so, held another stall has been already stated; how he came
to be presented by the Crown instead of elected by his brethren is
uncertain; but the Chapter somehow practically lost their right of
electing both bishop and dean, for either pope or king in effect
appointed their diocesan. The dean was visitor of the homes of the
clergy and of the chapter estates. To the four ARCHDEACONRIES of
London, Essex, Middlesex, and Colchester was afterwards added the
small one of St. Alban's on the dissolution of that important abbey,
but without a stall in the choir.[16] The office of PRECENTOR is
explained by the name. The TREASURER was responsible for the very
valuable treasures--jewels, vestments, relics, and the like--as
distinct from the moneys. Lower in rank, but in reality of greater
importance, came the CHANCELLOR. He had jurisdiction over the old
school of St. Paul's, and any others in the City with the exception of
those of St. Mary-le-Bow and St. Martin's-le-Grand, and was secretary
and keeper of the seals, receiving a pound of pepper for each deed
sealed. The thirty PREBENDARIES (or rather twenty-nine when the dean
was one) could only hold one stall each at St. Paul's, but any number
of benefices elsewhere like the higher dignitaries; and it is by no
means certain that in the thirteenth century John Mansell did not hold
three stalls at St. Paul's simultaneously among his innumerable
benefices which together, according to Matthew Paris, amounted to
4,000 merks per annum.[17] Of the prebendaries a varying minority in
residence, stagiaries (_stagiarii_, perhaps a corruption of the more
classical _stationarii_),[18] not only divided amongst themselves the
balance of the common fund, but were not above partaking of a share of
the capitular bakehouse and brewhouse. The dean, the three higher
dignitaries, and the prebendaries constituted the Chapter, in certain
matters the non-residentiaries having no jurisdiction, and, as
recorded in their Visitations, exercised a very great authority over
their various manors. Below the Chapter came the twelve PETTY CANONS,
officers peculiar to St. Paul's and Hereford;[19] and there were over
fifty CHANTRY PRIESTS when suppressed. Besides their appointed daily
masses they would divide amongst them the annual masses called
_obits_, which amounted to about a hundred, and were expected to
assist the Petty Canons. They spent their extensive leisure after the
proverbial manner of idle and ignorant men. The VICARS CHORAL had
dwindled down to six by Colet's time, were no longer in priests'
orders, and eventually became laymen pure and simple. Space would fail
us to enumerate the remaining official and semi-official officers.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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