The most basic local unit for both civil and religious government was the parish, the boundaries of which were territorial and permanent, or at least not prone to frequent shifts, only changing when split or merged. This system lasted until the 19th century in all countries of the British Isles, when civil parishes became separate from religious parishes.
Under the feudal system which spread across Europe in the High Middle Ages, the parish was the foundation for the Church’s income.
Parish in the Early Middle Ages
In Ireland and the lands which adopted its form of Christianity, parishes were largely organized along tribal, clan, and sept lines, until the reforms that took place in the 12th century.
In England, by contrast, parishes were nearly all manorial, coextensive with the lands of the lord’s. The parish church and its parsonage usually stood within the lord’s demense, the lands used for the personal benefit of the lord of the manor. The lands within the manor set aside for the support of the parish church and its parson, contiguous or not, were called the glebe. In return, the manor lords charged rent for the parish church building and for its glebe, as well as a fee for appointment of its clergy. In England, this was already the case with Anglo-Saxon thanes, and was reinforced by Norman lords and barons.
The Gregorian Reforms of the 11th century (named for their proponent, Gregory VII, Pope 1073-1085) ended this system, which was even stronger on the Continent than in the Isles, ordering that each parish own its own land, and that its income be the sole property of its incumbent. The only power left to the thane, lord, or baron was to nominate the priest. This did not, however, preclude him from establishing a small proprietary chapel near the manor house served by a stipendiary chaplain (from which the public could not be precluded).
Parish lands and income
Advowson, also known as patronage, was the right of nomination of a candidate to an ecclesiastical benefice, presenting the one so preferred to the bishop for confirmation and appointment or rejection. The advowson soon came to be treated as a sellable property.
Manse was the clergy house (parsonage, rectory, vicarage, curatage) and the grounds in its immediate vicinity.
Grange originally referred only to outlying farmland, generally with grain silos and other building, held by monasteries, but as the Middle Ages progressed, other religious corporations such as parishes began to acquire them too, more so when collegiate churches sprang up.
Glebe referred to any land belonging to a church for the purpose of providing its incumbent with a direct means of support. Usually when a land was called “glebe”, it was detached, separated from the immediate grounds of the church, for example, Kingstown Glebe in Omey parish, originally intended to provide a benefice for the incumbent of the Church of Kill nearby, perhaps, or else that of the church on Omey Island. The benefice-holder could either exploit it directly to provide sustenance for his own use or rent it out.
Termon had a dual meaning, at least in Ireland. The termon lands are the glebe lands in the immediate vicinity of the church, usually surrounded with a wall or hedge to mark the boundary clearly. In Ireland, termon lands provided sanctuary for those running from the law or from vengeful persons. Violation of the termon lands at Kells was the true reason for the Battle of Cul Dhreimhne in 561 rather than an unauthorized psalter.
Benefice is an ecclesiastical office to which guaranteed revenue is attached, most basically those of a parish, in terms of land and the greater and lesser tithes. The benefice was held for life. Often the holder would apportion part of the benefice for the upkeep of a vicar, who may himself turn around and pay a cash stipend for a perpetual curate. In many cases, benefices were held by prebendaries or canons at cathedrals or collegiate churches, or held by a convent. Starting in the High Middle Ages, kings began passing them out to favorites.
Chancel was that part of the church with the altar, sanctuary, and quire (seating for the clergy). It and everything used in it (furnishings, altar cloths and frontals, candlesticks, sacred vessels, sacred instruments, vestments) were the responsibility of the rector or parson of the parish for provision and upkeep, at least in terms of financing.
Nave, in broad terms, represented the laity, and was the responsibility of the laity of the parish for upkeep. In smaller churches, this area was separated from the chancel by a chancel rail, but in larger churches such as collegiate churches and cathedrals, a pulpitum or rood screen. and often both, blocked the chancel from the laity more completely.
Tithe was ten percent of those things “which yield a yearly increase by the act of God”. In terms of kind, tithes were divided into praedial tithes which came from things that grew from the earth, as in grain, hay, other crops, and wood; mixed tithes, which came from animals and animals products, meat, wool, milk, eggs, etc.; and personal tithes, which meant physical labor directly or those things derived from physical labor such as milling or fishing (flour, meal, fish).
The praedial tithes made up roughly two-thirds of the income, and came to be referred to as the greater tithe, while the mixed and personal tithes which made up the remaining third came to be referred to together as the lesser tithe. In Scotland, these two portions were referred to as the parsonage and the vicarage, the latter of which was also called the altarage; the Scots word for tithe is teind.
In towns and burghs, artisans and craftsmen had to pay one-tenth of their cash income, while labourers in either rural or urban setting paid nothing because of their poverty.
When first established, the purpose of tithes was to provide for an income for the incumbent priest, upkeep of the church and its property, and alms for the poor. However, as all other things in the feudal system, they came to be assigned to favorites, traded, or sold.
Altarage in the strict sense meant the income of a parish derived from offerings at the altar, sometimes the entire income of a curate, though even in this case the priest usually received the personal tithes of the parish. In Scotland, the term also referred to the charge of a chaplain, or altar thane, over a chantry.
Prebend was a form or endowment arising in the High Middle Ages in which the benefice of a parish was appropriated to a cathedral or collegiate church and became the property of its incumbent who held it as the canon of the chapter or college and rector or parson of the parish.
Church buildings
Church: The basic local building housing the congregation of a parish of any size from tiny to gargantuan, its primary purpose being for celebration of Mass, singing the Divine Offices, and performing pastoral rites such as baptisms, weddings, and funerals.
Cathedral: The home church of the bishop of a diocese, as well as the administrative offices for the diocese.
Cell: Living quarters for one to three monastics, either part of a larger building or set apart.
Shrine: In the Middle Ages, these usually contained a saint’s relics, a tiny altar, and an attached oratory.
Oratory: A tiny space or building for private prayer of one to a few persons; these were especially common in the Early Irish Church.
Chapel: This had several meanings in the Middle Ages.
A chapel-of-ease was an overflow chapel for serving the congregation of a large parish or one erected in an outlying populous area of the parish. This kind was also called a succursal.
A proprietary chapel was on the land and under the control of the lord or landowner who built it, but was open to the public for Mass and prayer at the canonical hours.
A bridge chapel was built on or immediately adjacent to a bridge; these nearly always sprang from a chantry.
Chantry: In this context, a special type of proprietary chapel, almost always smaller than the usual, built and endowed to maintain daily prayers for the living relatives and/or requiem masses for the deceased family members of the sponsor.
In the Late Middle Ages, chantries were transferred from private estates and bridges to cathedrals, collegiate churches, and monasteries, often with detailed instructions and excessive demands.
Parish priests
Parson was a fully-beneficed priest, meaning the rector. The term was sometimes used for a vicar, but never for a perpetual curate.
In the High and Late Middle Ages in Ireland, the parson largely performed the same functions as the earlier erenagh and was not necessarily in orders.
Incumbent in England and Scotland was the same as a parson in its precise definition, meaning the rector.
Rector was the official head of a parish church receiving the full amount of the tithe and of the benefice from the glebe land or endowment. A rector belonged to the rectory alone, with no superior other than the diocese or convent. There was no more than one rectory per parish, but a parish did not necessarily have a rectory. Once appointed to a rectory, its incumbent held it for life and could only be removed by the bishop for serious cause.
The title derives from that of the chief imperial official of a province in the late Roman Empire.
Pluralism, called multiplism in Scotland, was the situation arising in the Late Middle Ages in which a single priest held the benefice of several different parishes. More about that in the section on cathedrals and collegiate churches.
Vicar (sometimes called vicar-parochial to distinguish this office from several other uses of the term vicar) referred to a priest receiving the lesser tithe, amounting to about one-third of the tithe revenue, to perform the actual day-to-day services to the people for the rector. The one appointing a vicar could be a secular rector, a monastery which had appropriated the parish, or a cathedral chapter or collegiate church which held the parish as a prebend for one of its canons. Like the rectory, appointment to a vicarage such as this was for life.
The title derives from that of the chief imperial official over a diocese (a group of provinces) in the late Roman Empire.
In Scotland, the corresponding position was called a vicar portionary (paid with the vicarage or lesser teind) or a vicar perpetual (because he could only be fired for serious cause, by the bishop).
Curate was a priest who received just the altarage and perhaps a straight cash stipend, usually at a rate far below that of a vicar, not to mention a rector, for his services at the parish which was his cure. Curates were appointed by vicars or really cheap rectors. Their tenure was less secure because it had to be renewed annually (for which reason it the position was also called annual chaplain) and it was much easier to dismiss them.
In Scotland, the position was called a vicar pensioner (paid with a fixed stipend) or a chaplain.
At the time of the Reformation, 85% of parishes were in the hands of monasteries, cathedrals, collegiate churches, and universities, with the actually churches served mostly by vicars pensioner with some served by vicars portionary.
In medieval Ireland, the majority of serving parish priests were vicars, while many other parishes served by poorly paid curates.
Chaplain served a proprietary chapel, a chapel-of-ease attached to a large parish, or a chantry in a cathedral or collegiate church.
Altar-thane was, in medieval Scotland, the usual designation for a chantry priest, though the term was also used colloquially for any form of chaplain, including the vicar pensioner.
Cantarist was the proper Latin name for a chantry chaplain or altar-thane, but though widely used on the Continent was scarcely used anywhere in the Isles.
Clerics regular were priests in secular churches who nonetheless lived under a rule, though one less strict than those in contemplative, canonical, or mendicant orders, devoting their life to the duties of their priesthood, preaching, teaching, administering sacraments, etc., but lived in community and were part of an order. However, these did not arise until the 16th century and were never really part of the churches in the Isles.
The following two orders were not priests but were in holy orders. Their presence was recommended but not required at parishes, and they were seldom seen at rural churches, though it was not impossible.
Deacon assisted the priest at Mass, when present took charge of the alms and distribution to the poor, and performed defined tasks at Mass.
Subdeacon assisted the deacon and performed defined tasks at Mass.
Parish lay officials
Churchwardens date back to the 12th century and were formerly called church reeves, guardians, or proctors. These laymen were the lay members of parish government, and though it was not common, they could be female. Since the 16th century, the senior warden has been appointed by the rector, vicar, or curate, while the junior warden has been selected by the laity of the parish, but before that the laity elected both. In pre-Reformation Ireland, the laymen who performed the same function for parishes were called procurators.
Parish clerk was a layman who assisted in the administration of a parish, and was usually appointed by the incumbent, although selection by the lay members of the parish was not uncommon. The parish clerk assisted the priest at services, prepared the altar, carried in procession the aspersorium (holy water bucket), on some occasions performed the asperges, rang the church bells, preceded the priest with taper and bell when visiting the sick, and read the Epistle as Mass. He also usually headed up the parish grammar school. The technical term for a parish clerk was aquabajulus (water-bearer).
Page was the name for a boy picked to be the live-in housekeeper at the parsonage. Often the parsonage housed not just the rector, vicar, or curate, but all the priests, clergy, and other ministers of the parish, if there were more than one. This position was often the first stepping stone on the path to the priesthood.
Sexton looked after the church building and its graveyard, sometimes even digging the graves himself or at least supervising it being done, and usually served as the bell-ringer.
Beadle was the door-keeper, usher, order-keeper among the laity during church services, and performed other duties during Mass. His symbol of office was the mace.
In England, the beadle worked with the petty constable of the manor (which later became the parish constable) as well as supervise the night watch of the parish. In the Early Modern era, the English beadle came to be in charge of distributing charity (orphanages and poorhouses).
In Scotland, the beadle at the parish level performed the same functions as the sexton in England, including as the bell-ringer and with the addition of being the parish crier to notify about deaths, as well as supervising the graveyard. The office survives in the modern Kirk as an attendant of the minister during service.
Sub-beadle was in the Scottish Church the assistant to the beadle who was the actual gravedigger.
Watchmen patrolled and guarded the parish during night hours under supervision of the parish beadle, rotating the duty between householders with a small stipend.
Catechist taught basic Church doctrine and dogma to converts and/or to children approaching the age for confirmation. In small parishes, this function was often performed by the parish clerk.
The Catechumenate
In the ancient Church, catechism led to baptism. Though the entire period of a proselyte’s time from inquiry to baptism is often called catechumenate, that is in truth just the first stage. This system existed at a time when all baptisms were presided over by the bishop.
A convert began as an audiente, or ‘hearer’, standing on the steps or in the narthex of the building their church met in.
Once an audiente decided to join the Church, they became a catechumen and were allowed to attend service inside the nave, but only the first part of the Mass ending with the close of the sermon, the Missa catechumenorum (Mass of the Catechumens), sitting in the rear of the church with the penitentes undergoing their period of penance before restoration.
At the beginning of Lent, those catechumens deemed or who deemed themselves ready became candidates for baptism, called variously comptentes, electi, illuminati, or candidati. Part of this period included daily exorcisms.
Under this system, baptism occurred once during the year, at Easter, unless there were emergency circumstances. Penitentes were reconciled and accepted back on Maundy Thursday.
Upon baptism, the neophyti became part of the ‘faithful’ and were finally admitted to the Missa fidelium (Mass of the Faithful), their first witnessing of the second part of the Mass at which they received their first Communion.
During the fifty days from Easter through Whitsunday, the neophyti
received additional instruction.
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