Up to the middle of the 14th century, the chief target for the rich to donate their wealth was monasteries. A series of events and changes in doctrine beginning in mid-13th century led to a switch in practice. Rome began to place more emphasis on the saving power of the Mass, on the doctrine (not a dogma until 1547) of purgatory, and on the doctrine (not a dogma until 1551) of transubtantiation. This coupled with these were a series of political and natural upheavals and disasters punctuated by the arrival of the Black Plague in the mid-1300s to bring about the change.
Additional contributing factors were the growth of independent towns and burghs with their merchant and craft guilds and the rise of confraternities and sodalities.
Doctrine of Purgatory
Basically, this doctrine (dogma after 1547) taught that between the Church Militant “here in earth” and the Church Triumphant in heaven, the Church Expectant waited in a waystation called Purgatory to be cleansed of their sins and made pure before joining the Church Triumphant. Prayers of both the Church Militant and the Church Triumphant could help those in Purgatory on the way, and the best way for people in the Church Militant to do that was to endow a benefice for daily Mass.
On a less cynical note, there was sincere tremendous belief amongst those who established chantries, and this was for them an opportunity to do their part to add to the earthly glory of God.
Enter the chantry or altarage
This type of endowment was called a chantry in England and Ireland, from cantare, the Latin for ‘to sing’. In Scotland, it was called an altarage. It paid for, usually, daily Mass to be sung or said (or both, in some cases) on behalf of the benefactor and his, her, or their (some endowments were set up by groups) living relatives and those in purgatory.
These types of endowments had existed long before they were so named as donations to monasteries and at proprietary and bridge chapels, but they were not called chantries. In addition, their locus switched to cathedrals, collegiate churches, and large parishes, though sometimes they were set up at small parishes to induce a priest’s residence.
Though occasionally establishing a chantry at an already existing altar, a chantry often endowed a new altar, and sometimes a new chapel or aisle for the new altar to stand in, leading to a growth in church architecture.
In the Late Middle Ages, chantry foundations often stipulated funds for grammar schools attached to the corporate religious institution in question, to set up chaplains for hospitals or jails, for a chaplain to serve a cure at a rural or field church or chapel, or for the establishment of an almshouse.
Several historians note that the chantry system in England supported more and better grammar schools than what came after the Reformation. In addition, while the schools at monasteries primarily served the nobility and other gentry, the chantry schools served mostly the middle and working class students.
There were more than 300 chantry schools at the time of the Reformation when chantries were abolished along with their schools, which also led to the destruction of the guilds which played so much a part of the civil as well as religious life of the Late Middle Ages.
In the early decades, chantries or altarages were established by lords and barons or secular clergy, but as the Late Middle Ages progressed, non-noble gentry and even impoverished laity came together in guilds, confraternities, and sodalities to accomplish the task collectively. An excellent example is the Merchant Guild of Edinburgh, which endowed the Holy Blood Aisle with its altar dedicated to the Holy Blood cared for by the Confraternity of the Holy Blood.
Most chantry foundations stipulated being for a single priest, but those for up to four were not unheard of, in some cases even demanding forty on the anniversary of a death.
Difference between chantry and obit
A chantry included daily mass at the very least, and these became more and more intricate until the Reformation, as noted above. An obit was an endowment for prayer and Mass on the anniversary of death, usually including specification for the singing of Dirige and Placebo (Matins and Vespers from the Office of the Dead).
Types of chantry endowment
The endowment for a chantry or altarage was set up in one of three ways.
This most common way, at least in the beginning, was an endowment of an independent benefice for a chaplain or chaplains in much the same way a parish or prebend was endowed to its parson.
The other way in the early decades was to endow a corporate body (i.e., a cathedral, a collegiate church, or occasionally a parish), which would then pay a stipend to a priest.
In the 15th and 16th centuries, it become more common to endow of a committee of trustees separate from the corporate institution to supervise the dispatch of its instructions.
One might wonder what would lead the corporate body to welcome the cantarist, but all chaplains and altar-thanes were usually required to take part in singing the canonical hours at the church in which their chantry or altarage was established. Besides, the prebendaries were in some cases themselves the chaplain for a chantry.
Advowson for chantries or altarages
Mercenary: In this type chantry, the endowment remained separate from the corporate institution and under the control of the founder or his trustees along with the advowson regarding the cantarist, who only received a small stipend for his work. Often these were set up to last only a limited number of years.
Collative: In this type chantry, the endowment was made to an institution, with the bishop having the advowson for appointment of its chaplain.
In private patronage: In this type chantry, the endowment was also to an institution, but with the patron having the advowson for the cantarist.
In cases where the income from a chantry foundation was insufficient for its incumbent, two or even three chantries were united under a single priest.
Lincoln Cathedral
Lincoln Cathedral was the see of the Diocese of Lincoln, the largest in England during the High and Late Middle Ages. The diocese originated from the union of the (second) Diocese of Dorchester and the Diocese of Lindsey, the two largest divisions of the former Diocese of Mercia.
Seventeen chapels were established by chantry foundations, in alphabetical order by dedication.
1. Chapel of the Holy
Trinity
2. Chapel of Our Lady
3. Chapel of St.
Andrew
4. Chapel of St. Anne
5. Chapel of St.
Blaise
6. Chapel of St.
Denys
7. Chapel of St.
Giles
8. Chapel of St. Hugh
9. Chapel of St.
James
10. Chapel of St.
Mary Magdalene
11. Chapel of St.
Michael
12. Chapel of St.
Katherine
13. Chapel of St.
Peter
14. Chapel of St.
Stephen
15. Chapel of St.
John the Evangelist
16. Chapel of St.
Thomas the Martyr
17. Longland’s Chapel
The following are the altars of Lincoln Cathedral, beginning with the high altar and its dedication, followed by the auxiliary altars in alphabetical order.
1. St. Peter and St.
Paul
2. Holy Rood
3. Holy Trinity
4. The Irons
5. Jesus
6. Our Lady
7. Peal
8. St. Andrew
9. St. Anne
10. St. Blaise
11. St. Christopher
12. St. Denys
13. St. George
14. St. Giles
15. St. Guthlac
16. St. Hugh
17. St. James
18. St. John the Baptist
19. St. Katharine
20. St. Lucy
21. St. Mary
Magdalene
22. St. Michael the
Archangel
23. St. Nicholas
24. St. Peter
25. St. Sebastian
26. St. Stephen
27. St. John the
Evangelist
28. St. Thomas the
Martyr
St. Giles’ Collegiate Church, Edinburgh
The history of St. Giles’ follows in the next part/chapter; here it is sufficient to point out that although physically it may not have been the largest, it had by far the most chapels (21) and auxiliary altars (45) of any church in the Isles, as well as (probably) the most chantries (at least 54) and obits.
At St. Giles, the titles chapel and aisle were apparently apparently used interchangeably, which in the case of the aisles would be okay since they are aisle chapels, but several of those designated aisle were actually chapels closed off or at least definitively separated from the nave and the quire.
1. Albany Aisle
2. Chapel of All
Saints, St. Thomas of Canterbury, and St. Apollonia (aka Lawson’s Aisle)
3. Chapel of the
Blessed Virgin Mary (Lady Aisle)
4. Chapel of the Holy
Cross (Holy Rood Aisle)
5. Chapel of St.
James the Apostle
6. Chapel of St. John
the Evangelist and St. John the Baptist
7. Chapel of Our Lady
and St. Gabriel the Archangel
8. Chapel of St.
Crispin and St. Crispinian
9. Chapel of St.
Duthac
10. Chapel of St.
Eloi
11. Chapel of St.
Ninian
12. Chepman Aisle
(aka Montrose Aisle; dedicated to St. John the Evangelist)
13. Holy Blood Aisle
(aka Caithness Aisle)
14. Moray Aisle
(South Transept)
15. Preston Aisle
(dedicated to St. Thomas the Martyr)
16. St. Anthony’s
Aisle
17. St. Catherine’s
Aisle
18. St. Salvator’s
Aisle
19. St. Gabriel’s
Aisle
20. St. Nicholas
Aisle
21. St. Stephen’s
Aisle
The altars of St. Giles’ stood in almost every section, nook, and cranny of the church.
1. St. Giles
2. All Saints, St.
Thomas the Apostle, and St. Apollonia the Virgin
3. The Ascension of
Our Lord and St. Erasmus
4. Blessed Virgin
Mary and St. Barnabas
5. Blessed Virgin
Mary and St. Gabriel the Archangel
6. Holy Blood of Our
Lord
7. Holy Cross
8. Holy Name of Jesus
9. Holy Rood
10. Holy Trinity
11. Our Lady of Pity
and St. Paul
12. St. Andrew and St.
Peter
13. St. Anne
14. St. Anthony
15. St. Bartholomew
16. St. Blaise, St.
Augustine, and the Holy Name of Jesus
17. St. Catherine
18. St. Christopher
19. St. Crispin and
St. Crispinian
20. St. Columba, St.
Martin, and St. Thomas of Canterbury
21. St. Cuthbert
22. St. Denis
23. St. Duthac
24. St. Eloi
25. St. Fabian and
St. Sebastian
26. St. Francis and
St. Patrick
27. St. Gabriel the
Archangel and St. Jerome
28. St. Hubert
29. St. James the
Apostle and St. Gregory the Great
30. St. John the
Baptist
31. St. John the
Evangelist
32. St. John the
Baptist and St. John the Evangelist
33. St. Lawrence the
Martyr and St. Francis
34. St. Mark, St.
Philip, and St. James
35. St. Mary
Magdalene
36. St. Michael the
Archangel
37. St. Mungo/Kentigern
38. St. Nicholas
39. St. Ninian
40. St. Paul
41. St. Salvator*,
Holy Cross of Lucano, Holy Blood, St. Vincent of Lerins, and Our Lady of
Loretto
42. St. Sebastian
43. St. Severin
44. St. Stephen
45. St. Thomas the
Martyr
46. The Visitation of
the BVM, St. Roche the Confessor, and St. Triduana
*St. Salvator was the name in Scotland for the Holy Savior, an icon of Christ in Beirut which allegedly survived an attempt by a mob to immolate it, leading its attackers to convert.
The altar and chapel of All Saints, St. Thomas the Apostle, and St. Apollonia the Virgin were originally dually dedicated to the latter two, with a chantry dedication to All Saints prefixed later.
The altar of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Barnabas was originally dedicated only to St. Mary.
The altar of Our Lady of Pity and St. Paul was originally dedicated only to Our Lady of Pity.
The altar of St. Blaise, St. Augustine, and the Holy Name of Jesus came from three separate dedications.
The altar of St. Columba, St. Martin, and St. Thomas of Canterbury was originally dedicated only to the latter two.
The altar of St. Gabriel the Archangel and St. Jerome was originally only dedicated to the archangel.
The altar of St. James the Apostle and St. Gregory the Great was originally dedicated only to St. James.
The altar of St. Lawrence the Martyr and St. Francis was originally dedicated only to St. Lawrence.
The altar of St. Mark, St. Philip, and St. James was originally dedicated just to the latter two.
The altar of St. Salvator, Holy Cross of Lucano, Holy Blood, St. Vincent of Lerins, and Our Lady of Loretto resulted from five separate dedications.
The altar of the Visitation of the BVM, St. Roche the Confessor, and St. Triduana was originally dedicated to just the former two.
Popular religious cults
Cults in medieval Catholicism meant special devotion to a particular saint or certain aspect of the life of Christ. In the High Middles Ages in Scotland, these centered exclusively on saints such as St. Columba, St. Andrew, St. Fillan, St. Colman, St. Finbar of Cork, St. Finan of Lindisfarne, St. Cuthbert, St. Mungo, St. Magnus, St. Regulus, St. Bride, and St. Margaret.
By the Late Middle Ages, the cults popular in Scotland were more likely to be those shared in other places across western Christendom, like St. Joseph, St. Anne, the Three Kings, the Apostles, the Five Wounds, Our Lady of the Snows, and the Holy Blood, the latter of which probably saw the most devotion in Scotland in this period.
Lay piety and chantries
While many chantries resulted from the foundations of nobility, gentry, or even royalty as well as from church prelates, others came into being as a result of the collective action of the laity, mostly burgesses, merchants, craftspersons, or artisans organized in guilds. In the Middle Ages, these guilds always had religious and social service components in addition to their mutual benefit purposes.
The social services provided by these guilds included schools, almshouses, orphanages, hospitals, and centers for distributing food and monetary charity. Religious activities were often carried out through attached confraternities, usually also called guilds in England, either dedicated to a saint, an event in the life of Christ, or some other religious totem. Some of these included the Guild of the Lord’s Prayer, the Kalendar Guild, the Corpus Christi Guild, the Guild of the Holy Trinity, the Guild of St. Christopher, the Guild of St. George, the Guild of the Holy Cross, etc. There were also Confraternities of St. Katharine, Confraternities of All Saints, Confraternities of St. John the Baptist, etc.
In Scotland, the term guild was reserved for merchants, such as the Merchants’ Guild of Edinburgh. Its associations for craftspeople and artisans were designated trade incorporations. The religious component of both these sets of associations were generally called confraternities, and, like their English counterparts, were open to both men and women, and not just members of their guild or incorporation.
The Merchants’ Guild of Edinburgh came to have a large voice in the city government in the 15th century, which led to craftspeople and artisans organizing into the city’s trade incorporations.
The most influential of the religious associations that rose up in Edinburgh during this time was the Confraternity of the Holy Blood, sponsored by the Merchants’ Guild, partly due to the guild’s power and influence but really more so due to the popularity of the cult itself.
The trade incorporations and their objections of devotion included
Hammermen: St. Eloi
Candlemakers: Our
Lady of Pity
Tailors: St. Anne
(mother of St. Mary)
Taveners and Vinters:
St. Anthony
Baxters (Bakers): St. Hubert
Tanners, Cordwainers, and Shoemakers: St. Crispin and St. Crispinian
Waulkers, Shearers, and Bonnet-makers: St. Mark
Goldsmiths: Our Lady
of Loretto
Websters (Weavers): St.
Severin
Masons and Wrights: St.
John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist
Carpenters and Wood-turners:
St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist
Barbers and Surgeons:
St. Mungo
Skinners and Furriers:
St. Christopher
Fleshers: St.
Cuthbert
Coopers: St. John the
Baptist
In addition, mariners and seamen, who were not organized into a guild or trade incorporation, patronized St. Nicholas.
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