27 June 2022

The Medieval Church in the Isles, Part 16: Its Courts Christian


An often overlooked aspect of the medieval church in the Isles is its system of ecclesiastical courts, referred to at the time as Courts Christian.

In the Anglo-Saxon church, bishops and abbots often sat in on temporal courts of law, but William the Conqueror put an end to that.  Initially, he tried to separate temporal law and ecclesiastical law completely, but even under him, certainly legal areas lent themselves more to being dealt with by the Church.  By the Late Middle Ages, the jurisdictional scope of the Courts Christian grew quite large.

Areas dealt with by them included failings among the clergy (non-residence, negligence, moral faults), fabric of church buildings, state of graveyards, condition of church ornaments, withholding of lawful revenues from the Church, possession of church revenues, presentations to benifices, sacrilege, immorality, assaults of spouses, assaults on clerics, failure to attend Mass, matrimonial matters, legitimacy of children, slander and defamation, broken oaths, testamentary matters, adultery, deflowering of virgins, sodomy, arson, simony, notorious cases of murder, incest, perjury, poisoning, witchcraft, blasphemy, and heresy.

Basic structure

Like any other court system, the Courts Christian in the Western Church, aka the Patriarchate of Rome, had by the High Middle Ages a system of higher and lower courts, some only dealing with areas.

Ruridecanal courts were the most basic, at the level of a rural deanery, in some cases being rural chapters (meetings) of the clergy of the deanery, presided over by the dean, the archdeacon, or a commissary.  Of course, there were dioceses that had no deaneries, but in those that did, many cases of first instance were first heard at this level.

Archdeaconry courts were presided over by the archdeacon, and later in the Middle Ages, more often by his official.  If there were multiple archdeaconries in a diocese, each had its own archdeaconry court.  These courts, too, were often courts of first instance, as well as being in certain instances the first court of appeal from the deanery level.

Peculiar courts were ecclesiastical courts for peculiars, parishes under a bishop of one diocese which geographically lay within the bounds of another diocese, primarily because of the distance between the peculiar and the see of the diocese to which it belonged.

Courts of audience were diocesan courts that in the beginning were exactly what they sounded like; courts before the bishop.  In the High and Late Middle Ages, they were most often presided over by a vicar-general, dealing with matters of voluntary jurisdiction and administrative issues.

Consistory courts were the main diocesan Courts Christian, in some case courts of first instance but mainly courts of second instance in cases of contentious jurisdiction.  Although the diocese’s bishop always had the right to preside, this duty was almost always delegated to a deputy known as the official.  In dioceses with multiple consistory courts, generally one for each archdeaconry, the official in the see was designated the official principal and those in outlying archdeaconries were officials forane, though there was some variance in nomenclature.

Provincial courts were the most varied in structure between jurisdictions, including courts of appeal from the consistory courts and, usually, courts of ultimate appeal for testamentary matters.

Papal courts were the highest level of appeal, and while in theory appeals from provinces could be heard in Rome, the common practice was for a papal judge delegate to preside over a legatine court in the see of the archdiocese of the province.

Provincial courts in the Isles

In the Province of Canterbury, its provincial court was called the Court of the Arches, which sat in one of the peculiar parishes of the Archbishop of Canterbury in London named St. Mary-le-Bow.  This court was presided over by the Official Principal.  The archdiocese also had a single Court of Peculiars for its thirteen peculiar parishes in the Diocese of London which also sat in St. Mary-le-Bow, presided over by the Dean of Arches.

Meanwhile, the Archdiocese of Canterbury had its diocesan court which sat in the see of Canterbury called the Commissary Court, presided over by the Commissary General.  Its Court of Audience was presided over by the Vicar General, and there was also a court dealing only with testamentary matters of the province called the Prerogative Court, presided over by a judge called the Keeper or the Master.

In the Province of York, its provincial court was called the Chancery Court, presided over by a judge known as the Auditor, with testamentary cases dealt with by the Court of the Exchequer.  For the archdiocese, its Court of Audience was presided over by the Official Principal, who also presided over its diocesan-level Consistory Court.

In the Diocese of Lincoln, its Court of Audience was presided over by the Vicar General and its Consistory Court by the Official and a deputy known as the Commissary General.  Within the diocese, there were consistory courts for each archdeaconry called Commissary Courts, with the Commissary who presided usually also the same person as the Official of the local archdeacon.

In the Province of St. Andrews, its provincial court was called the Court of the Officialty and the Court of St. Andrews, presided over by the Official Principal, with a deputy called the Commissary General.  For the archdiocese, because of its spread out nature, there was a Court of Audience presided over by a Vicar General in each of its two archdeaconries (St. Andrews and Lothian, which met at St. Giles in Edinburgh), as well as a Consistory Court in each presided over by an Official.

In the Province of Glasgow, there was a provincial Court of the Officialty, presided over by the Official Principal, most likely with a deputy called Commissary General (less is known about this province).  In the archdiocese, there was a Consistory Court of the archdeaconry of Glasgow nominally presided over by Official Principal with the Commissary General usually sitting, and a Consistory Court in the archdeaconry of Teviodale.

In the four provinces of Ireland, the system of Courts Christian was much more rudimentary, with no provinces having prerogative courts and the same court in the sees of the archdioceses serving as the court for both the archdiocese and the province.

Judges and other administrators of Courts Christian

Archdeacon was the sole episcopal delegate for judicial authority of the diocese in the early centuries of the Church.  Beginning in the High Middle Ages, the archdeacon’s judicial authority was limited to original jurisdiction in church legal matters, presiding over the tribunal of first instance and over minor criminal matters in the aptly named Court of the Archdeaconry.  In some instances, the (post-Reformation) prerogative court of Armagh, for instance, the archdeacon served as commissary for the vicar general when the latter was away.

Vicar General had delegated episcopal authority over matters of voluntary jurisdiction (of non-judicial and administrative nature) brought before the diocese, usually presided over its Court of Audience, and served as the chief executive of the diocese in the absence of the bishop.

Official Principal had delegated episcopal authority over matters of contentious jurisdiction brought before the diocese, and presided over the tribunal of second instance in the Consistory Court.  In Scotland, this court was known as the Officialty or the Court of the Official.

Chancellor (of a diocese) in the Church of England after the break with Rome replaced both the official principal and the vicar general in addition to his other duties.

Commissary General was the chief deputy of the Official Principal and supervised ordinary commissaries.

Apparitor General supervised all the apparitors in the diocese.

Official Forane was the delegate of episcopal judicial authority in an archdeaconry other than the one whose seat was in the see of the diocese, in dioceses that had more than one archdeaconry.  In some diocese, such as Lincoln, these judges were instead called Commissaries.

Commissary adjudicated matters of contentious jurisdiction in outlying districts of the diocese too far from the see for parties to travel to without dire inconvenience.  The seat of a commissary court was usually peripatetic, like the original circuit courts in USA.  Commissary was also the designation for the judicial counterpart of a vicar in normal church administration, and for deputies of an Official.

Papal judge delegate presided over a legatine court.

Apparitor was the officer who summoned parties in disputes or accused persons before the ecclesiastical courts.

Procurator fiscal was the counterpart to what is now usually called a prosecutor, with origins in the manorial office of fiscal.

Canon law required that in cases where the court determined both parties needed to be represented by counsel and one or both were indigent, not competent, or a child, that the court appoint counsel for them.  Should a lawyer refuse such an appointment, he could be disbarred.

Proctor, also called procurator, represented his clients in the Courts Christian in ways that make him akin to a modern solicitor.  If represented by a proctor, a person did not have to appear personally.

Originally, anyone of good character with a modicum of education who was not a woman, excommunicant, serf, slave, or judge could be a proctor, but a priest was prohibited unless he was arguing on behalf of his church.

Advocate was the representative of his clients before the courts Christian at any level, the counterpart of the defense attorney in USA or barrister in the British Isles, and also stood for the Church in temporal courts.  Its origin was in the manorial advocatus.  If represented by an advocate, a party had to be present in court, supported and counseled by the advocate. 

An advocate was required to study canon and civil law for five years.

Auditor of causes was the judge of the internal court of a cathedral chapter and in some cases matters from outside.

Temporal courts of prelates

For the temporal lands and other possession of bishops, abbots, and other prelates, the owners thereof acted through their chamberlains, in many cases with a chamberlain for each archdeaconry.  Below these were a seneschal for each district with baillies underneath them.

As feudal lords, prelates held courts of barony over their temporal estates across the Isles.  By the Late Middle Ages in Scotland, most baronies held by bishops, abbots, and most conventual priors (most notably the Prior of Coldingham, though there were many others) had been raised to lordships of regality, with courts of the same.  A regality lay outside the authority of a sheriff.

The only corresponding ecclesiastical jurisdiction in the English church that approached that of the ecclesiastical regalities in Scotland was the County Palatine of Durham and Sadberge, made up of County Durham and the wapentake Sadberge of County Northumberland, with the authority of the Sheriff of Northumberland confined to the rest of that county.

21 June 2022

The Medieval Church in the Isles, Part 15: Western Christian liturgical families


In the Late Ancient and Early Middle Ages, the West had several liturgical families.  There was the Roman Rite, of course, the African Rite, the Gallican Rite, the Visigothic or Mozarabic Rite (Spain), the Milanese or Ambrosian Rite (northwest Italy), the Aquilean Rite (northeast Italy), and the Celtic Rite (in the British Isles, Brittany, & Britonia).  Out of all these, only the Roman Rite remains, except for limited local use of the Mozarabic and Ambrosian Rites, the later Braga Rite, and the Lyonese Rite, a heavily Romanized survival of the Gallican Rite.

In 1085, St. Osmund, Bishop of Salisbury (Sarum), promulgated a system of practicing the Roman Rite-based on the Use of Rouen in Normandy that came to be known as the Use of Sarum.  Within a fairly short time, the Use of Sarum came to be adopted not only across the majority of England but across the British Isles, including nearly all of Scotland and Ireland, though regional variations did develop.  The Use of Sarum also reportedly influenced the Use of Nidaros in Norway (though many have reported it to have more in common with the Use of York) and the Use of Braga in Portugal, as well as its own parent, the Use of Rouen in Normandy.

As for England, several other variations of the Roman Rite developed, the Use of Lincoln in the diocese of Lincoln, the Use of York in the ecclesiastical province of York, the Use of Lichfield in the diocese of Lichfield, the Use of Bangor in North Wales*, and the Use of Hereford in Herefordshire and South Wales, but none approached the influence of the Use of Sarum.

(*North Wales was dominated by Gwenydd and South Wales by Dyfed.  In the early centuries of the Anglo-Saxon entrada, the term North Wales meant what we now call the country of Wales, plus territories to the east, while Dumnonia to the south (Cornwall, Devon, Somerset) was West Wales.)

There was also the Use of Durham or Durham Rite in the Diocese of Durham which developed into a unique form out of a fusion of the Gallican Rite and the Roman Rite.

The Diocese of Exeter in Devon and Cornwall if often said to have preferred the Use of Rome, but there is enough divergence to call it the Use of Exeter. 

All of these were suppressed by Henry VIII in favor of the Use of Sarum in the 1530s, which itself bit the dust later in the more Protestant phase of the English Reformation.

In the Diocese of Sodor (Isle of Mann and the Hebrides) and the Diocese of Orkney (Orkney and Shetland), the churches followed the Use of Nidaros (Norway), at least until they were separated from that archdiocese.

The Channel Islands in the Deaneries of Jersey and of Guernsey of the Archdeaconry of Bauptois in the Archdiocese of Rouen followed the Use of Rouen.

The point of this is to point out that with a few variations nearly all parts of the British Isles practiced a slight variation of the Use of Sarum, and that statements about liturgical practices at the time is not taking English practice and extrapolating it inaccurately to the rest of the Isles, unlike the Tractarians of the Oxford Movement (also known as the Catholic Revival of the Church of England), which produced heavily-Romanized versions of the Use of Sarum and the Use of York.

14 June 2022

The Medieval Church in the Isles, Part 14: Pre-Reformation Dioceses, Archdeaconries, & Rural Deaneries


Here you will find the dioceses in the various churches in the British Isles at the end of the Middle Ages and start of the Reformation broken down into archdeaconries (every diocese had at least one), which are further broken down into rural deaneries, if such existed, which in several dioceses, they did not.  The dioceses are organized by province; the churches of Wales and the Isle of Mann, both of which were in the Province of Canterbury, are separated though still listed within the province.

At the Reformation, several the offices in rural deaneries were vacant, especially in Ireland, but the deaneries themselves existed.

Church in England, Wales, and Mann at the Reformation

I found most of this information in the 14th century Valuation of Norwich and in 1835 work of William Dansey, rector of Donhead, Wiltshire, and canon of Salisbury, written as part of a campaign to revive the deaneries which had all lain dormant since the Reformation.

Province of Canterbury:

Archdiocese of Canterbury
        Archdeaconry of Canterbury
                Deanery of Bridge
                Deanery of Canterbury
                Deanery of Charing
                Deanery of Dover
                Deanery of Elham
                Deanery of Lympne
                Deanery of Ospringe
                Deanery of Sandwich
                Deanery of Sittingbourne
                Deanery of Sutton-Valance
                Deanery of Westbere

Diocese of Bath and Wells
        Archdeaconry of Bath
                Deanery of Bath
                Deanery of Bedminster
                Deanery of Redcliffe
        Archdeaconry of Taunton
                Deanery of Bridgewater
                Deanery of Crewkerne
                Deanery of Dunster
                Deanery of Taunton
        Archdeaconry of Wells
                Deanery of Axbridge
                Deanery of Carey
                Deanery of Fromme
                Deanery of Glastonbury
                Deanery of Ilchester
                Deanery of Merston
                Deanery of Pawlett

Diocese of Chichester
        Archdeaconry of Chichester
                Deanery of Arundel
                Deanery of Borgrove
                Deanery of Chichester
                Deanery of Midhurst
                Deanery of Pagham
                Deanery of Storington
                Deanery of Terring
        Archdeaconry of Lewes
                Deanery of Dallington
                Deanery of Hastings
                Deanery of Lewes
                Deanery of Pevensey
                Deanery of South-Malling

Diocese of Coventry and Lichfield
        Archdeaconry of Chester
                Deanery of Blackburn
                Deanery of Chester
                Deanery of Frodsham
                Deanery of Macclesfield
                Deanery of Malpas
                Deanery of Manchester
                Deanery of Middlewich
                Deanery of Nantwich
                Deanery of Warrington
        Archdeaconry of Coventry
                Deanery of Arden
                Deanery of Coventry
                Deanery of Marten
                Deanery of Stoneley
        Archdeaconry of Derby
                Deanery of Alto-Pecco (High Peak)
                Deanery of Ashborne
                Deanery of Castillar
                Deanery of Chesterfield
                Deanery of Derby
                Deanery of Repington
        Archdeaconry of Salop
                Deanery of Newport
                Deanery of Salop
        Archdeaconry of Stafford
                Deanery of Lapley and Treizell
                Deanery of Leeke and Alton
                Deanery of Newcastle and Stone
                Deanery of Tamworth and Tutbury

Diocese of Ely
        Archdeaconry of Ely
                Deanery of Abington
                Deanery of Barton
                Deanery of Bourne (Knapwell)
                Deanery of Cambridge
                Deanery of Camps (Wilbraham)
                Deanery of Chesterton
                Deanery of Ely
                Deanery of Shengay
                Deanery of Wisbech

Diocese of Exeter
        Archdeaconry of Barnstable
                Deanery of Barum (Barnstable)
                Deanery of Chulmleigh
                Deanery of Hartland
                Deanery of Shirwell
                Deanery of Southmolton
                Deanery of Torrington
        Archdeaconry of Cornwall
                Deanery of Bodmin
                Deanery of East Wivelshire
                Deanery of Kerrier
                Deanery of Penryn (Penwith)
                Deanery of Powdershire
                Deanery of Pydarshire
                Deanery of St. German’s
                Deanery of Trigg Major
                Deanery of Trigg Minor
                Deanery of West Wivelshire
        Archdeaconry of Exeter
                Deanery of Aylesbeare
                Deanery of Cadbury
                Deanery of Exeter
                Deanery of Dunkeswell
                Deanery of Dunsford
                Deanery of Honiton
                Deanery of Kenne
                Deanery of Plymtree
                Deanery of Tiverton
        Archdeaconry of Totnes
                Deanery of Holsworthy
                Deanery of Ipplepen
                Deanery of Moreton
                Deanery of Okehampton
                Deanery of Plympton
                Deanery of Tamerton
                Deanery of Tavistock
                Deanery of Totnes
                Deanery of Woodleigh

Diocese of Hereford
        Archdeaconry of Hereford
                Deanery of Fromme
                Deanery of Ichingfield
                Deanery of Lempster (Leominster)
                Deanery of Ross
                Deanery of Weobly
                Deanery of Weston
        Archdeaconry of Shropshire (Salop)
                Deanery of Burford
                Deanery of Clun
                Deanery of Ludlow
                Deanery of Pontesbury
                Deanery of Stottesdon
                Deanery of Wenlock

Diocese of Lincoln
        Archdeaconry of Bedford
                Deanery of Bedford
                Deanery of Clapham
                Deanery of Dunstable
                Deanery of Eaton
                Deanery of Fleete
                Deanery of Shefford
        Archdeaconry of Buckingham
                Deanery of Buckingham
                Deanery of Burnham
                Deanery of Mursley
                Deanery of Newport-Pagnell
                Deanery of Waddeson
                Deanery of Wendover
                Deanery of Wycombe
        Archdeaconry of Huntingdon
                Deanery of Baldock
                Deanery of Berkhampstead
                Deanery of Hertford
                Deanery of Hitchin
                Deanery of Huntingdon
                Deanery of Leightonstone
                Deanery of St. Ives
                Deanery of St. Neots
                Deanery of Yaxley
        Archdeaconry of Leicester
                Deanery of Akeley
                Deanery of Framland
                Deanery of Gartree
                Deanery of Goscote
                Deanery of Goodlaxton
                Deanery of Sparkenhoe
        Archdeaconry of Lincoln
                Deanery of Aveland
                Deanery of Beltislaw
                Deanery of Bolingbroke
                Deanery of Calcewaith
                Deanery of Candleshoe
                Deanery of Gartree
                Deanery of Graffoe
                Deanery of Grantham
                Deanery of Grimsby
                Deanery of Holland
                Deanery of Horncastle and Hill
                Deanery of Lafford (Ashwardhurn)
                Deanery of Lincoln
                Deanery of Longobovey
                Deanery of Loutheske and Ludburgh
                Deanery of Loveden
                Deanery of Nesse
                Deanery of Stamford
                Deanery of Walshcroft
                Deanery of Wraghoe
                Deanery of Yarsborough
        Archdeaconry of Northampton
                Deanery of Brackley
                Deanery of Daventry
                Deanery of Haddon
                Deanery of Higham-Ferrers
                Deanery of Northampton
                Deanery of Oakham-Soke
                Deanery of Oundle
                Deanery of Peterborough
                Deanery of Preston
                Deanery of Rothwell
                Deanery of Rutland (Martinsley)
                Deanery of Welton (Welden)
                Deanery of Wrungdike
        Archdeaconry of Oxford
                Deanery of Aston
                Deanery of Bicester (Burcester)
                Deanery of Chipping-Norton
                Deanery of Cuddesdon
                Deanery of Deddington
                Deanery of Dorchester
                Deanery of Henley
                Deanery of Oxford
                Deanery of Whitney
                Deanery of Woodstock (Bladon)
        Archdeaconry of Stow
                Deanery of Aslackoe
                Deanery of Corringham
                Deanery of Lawress
                Deanery of Manlake 

Diocese of London
        Archdeaconry of Colchester
                Deanery of Colchester
                Deanery of Lexden
                Deanery of Newport
                Deanery of Sampford
                Deanery of Tendring
                Deanery of Witham
        Archdeaconry of Essex
                Deanery of Barking
                Deanery of Barstable
                Deanery of Chafford
                Deanery of Chelmsford
                Deanery of Dengie
                Deanery of Ongar
                Deanery of Rochford
        Archdeaconry of London
                No deaneries
        Archdeaconry of Middlesex
                Deanery of Braughing
                Deanery of Dunmow
                Deanery of Harlow
                Deanery of Hedingham
                Deanery of Middlesex
        Archdeaconry of St. Alban’s
                No deaneries

Diocese of Norwich
        Archdeaconry of Norfolk
                Deanery of Brooke
                Deanery of Burnham
                Deanery of Cranwich
                Deanery of Depwade
                Deanery of Fincham
                Deanery of Hingham
                Deanery of Hitcham
                Deanery of Humbleyard
                Deanery of Redenhall
                Deanery of Repps
                Deanery of Rockland
                Deanery of Waxham
        Archdeaconry of Norwich
                Deanery of Blofield
                Deanery of Breckles
                Deanery of Brisley
                Deanery of Flegg
                Deanery of Holt
                Deanery of Ingworth
                Deanery of Lynne
                Deanery of Norwich
                Deanery of Sparham
                Deanery of Taverham
                Deanery of Tostres
                Deanery of Walsingham
        Archdeaconry of Sudbury
                Deanery of Blackbourne
                Deanery of Clare
                Deanery of Fordham
                Deanery of Hartismere
                Deanery of Stow
                Deanery of Sudbury
                Deanery of Thedwastre
                Deanery of Thingoe
        Archdeaconry of Suffolk
                Deanery of Bosmere
                Deanery of Carlesford
                Deanery of Claydon
                Deanery of Colneys
                Deanery of Dunwich
                Deanery of Hoxon (Hoxne)
                Deanery of Ipswich
                Deanery of Loose (Loes)
                Deanery of Lothingland
                Deanery of Orford
                Deanery of Sampford
                Deanery of Wangford (Waynford)
                Deanery of Wilford

Diocese of Rochester
        Archdeaconry of Rochester
                Deanery of Dartford
                Deanery of Fordham
                Deanery of Milling
                Deanery of Rochester
                Deanery of Shoreham

Diocese of Salisbury
        Archdeaconry of Berkshire
                Deanery of Abingdon
                Deanery of Newbury
                Deanery of Reading
                Deanery of Wallingford
        Archdeaconry of Dorset
                Deanery of Bridport
                Deanery of Dorchester
                Deanery of Pimperne
                Deanery of Shaftesbury
                Deanery of Whitchurch
        Archdeaconry of Salisbury
                Deanery of Amesbury
                Deanery of Chalke
                Deanery of Potterne
                Deanery of Wilton
                Deanry of Wylyle
        Archdeaconry of Wiltshire
                Deanery of Avebury
                Deanery of Cricklade
                Deanery of Malmesbury
                Deanery of Marlborough

Diocese of Winchester
        Archdeaconry of Surrey
                Deanery of Ewell
                Deanery of Southwark
                Deanery of Stoke
        Archdeaconry of Winchester
                Deanery of Arlesford
                Deanery of Alton
                Deanery of Andover
                Deanery of Basingstroke
                Deanery of Drokinsford
                Deanery of Fordingbridge
                Deanery of Somborne
                Deanery of Southampton
                Deanery of Isle of Wight
                Deanery of Winchester

Diocese of Worcester
        Archdeaconry of Gloucester
                Deanery of Campden
                Deanery of Cirencester
                Deanery of Dursley
                Deanery of Fairford
                Deanery of Forest
                Deanery of Gloucester
                Deanery of Hawesbury
                Deanery of Stonehouse
                Deanery of Stow
                Deanery of Winchcombe
        Archdeaconry of Worcester
                Deanery of Blockley
                Deanery of Droitwich
                Deanery of Evesham
                Deanery of Kidderminster
                Deanery of Kinneton
                Deanery of Pershore
                Deanery of Powick
                Deanery of Warwick
                Deanery of Worcester

Wales (Province of Canterbury):

Diocese of St. Asaph’s
        Archdeaconry of St. Asaph’s
                Deanery of Bromfield
                Deanery of Carenion
                Deanery of Idernion
                Deanery of Keviliock
                Deanery of Kydewen
                Deanery of Marchia
                Deanery of Mothwy
                Deanery of Mould
                Deanery of Oswestry
                Deanery of Penlly
                Deanery of Poole
                Deanery of Rhos
                Deanery of Rufoniog
                Deanery of St. Asaph’s
                Deanery of Tegengle
                Deanery of Yale

Diocese of Bangor
        Archdeaconry of Bangor
                Deanery of Arvon (Uchor and Ister)
                Deanery of Arllechwedd (Uchaph)
                Deanery of Isaph Nanconway and Cruthyn
                Deanery of Lleyn
        Archdeaconry of Merioneth
                Deanery of Ardudwy and Estimanner
                Deanery of Arnsey
                Deanery of Diffrynclwyd and Merch
                Deanery of Evionydd
        Archdeaconry of Anglesey
                Deanery of Dynydd and Turkely
                Deanery of Llivon and Talybolion
                Deanery of Meney and Maltraith
                Deanery of Twrelyn

Diocese of Llandaff
        Archdeaconry of Llandaff
                Deanery of Abergavenny
                Deanery of Gronneath (Cowbridge)
                Deanery of Llandaff
                Deanery of Nether Went
                Deanery of Newport
                Deanery of Usk

Diocese of St. David’s
        Archdeaconry of Brecon
                Deanery of Brecon
                Deanery of Buelte
                Deanery of Elwell
                Deanery of Melineth
        Archdeaconry of Cardigan
                Deanery of Emlyn
                Deanery of Kemmes
                Deanery of Sub-Ayron
                Deanery of Ultra-Aylon
        Archdeaconry of Carmarthen
                Deanery of Carmarthen
                Deanery of Kidwelly
                Deanery of Landilo and Llan-Gadog
                Deanery of Gower
        Archdeaconry of St. David’s
                Deanery of Dongledie
                Deanery of Pebidiawke
                Deanery of Pembroke
                Deanery of Rouse

Isle of Mann (Province of Canterbury):

Diocese of Sodor and Mann
        Archdeaconry of Mann
                No deaneries

Channel Islands (Province of Rouen):

The Channel Islands were (and still are) the last remaining possession of the English crown in Normandy.  Though officially in the Diocese of Salisbury since a Papal Bull of 1496, their churches remained functionally part of the Diocese of Coutances in the Province of Rouen, making up a large part of the Archdeaconry of the Isles (later ‘of the Bauptois’), the seat of which was at Baupte, until they were transferred to the Diocese of Winchester by Elizabeth I in 1569.  The island of Alderney in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, remained a possession of the Bishop of Coutances until 1586.  The islands were not made part of an archdeaconry of the diocese but came directly under the bishop.

Diocese of Coutances
        Archdeaconry of the Isles
                Deanery of Jersey
                Deanery of Guernsey

Province of York:

Archdiocese of York
Cathedral:  St. Peter’s, York, Yorkshire
        Archdeaconry of Cleveland
                Deanery of Bulmer
                Deanery of Cleveland
                Deanery of Ryedale
        Archdeaconry of East Riding
                Deanery of Buckrose
                Deanery of Dickering
                Deanery of Harthill
                Deanery of Holderness
        Archdeaconry of Nottingham
                Deanery of Bingham
                Deanery of Newark
                Deanery of Nottingham
                Deanery of Retford
                Deanery of Southwell
        Archdeaconry of Richmond
                Deanery of Amounderness
                Deanery of Boroughbridge
                Deanery of Catterick
                Deanery of Coupland
                Deanery of Furness
                Deanery of Kendal
                Deanery of Kirkby-Lonsdale
                Deanery of Richmond
        Archdeaconry of York
                Deanery of Ainsty
                Deanery of Craven
                Deanery of Doncaster
                Deanery of Pontefact
                Deanery of York

Diocese of Carlisle
        Archdeaconry of Carlisle
                Deanery of Allerdale
                Deanery of Carlisle
                Deanery of Penrith
                Deanery of Westmoreland

Diocese of Durham
        Archdeaconry of Durham
                Deanery of Chester-le-Street
                Deanery of Darlington
                Deanery of Easington
                Deanery of Stockton
        Archdeaconry of Northumberland
                Deanery of Alnwick
                Deanery of Bamburgh
                Deanery of Corbridge
                Deanery of Morpeth
                Deanery of Newcastle-upon-Tyne


* * * * * * *

Church in Ireland at the Reformation

Finding the deaneries of Ireland was the most difficult.  The article “The meddieval rural dean and rural deanery in Ireland” by Paul MacCottar was quite helpful, especially listing the dioceses which did actually have no deaneries at all, but it still only listed a few of these.

The church in Ireland after the Cambro-Norman (1169) and Anglo-Norman (1172) invasions became split between the Ecclesia inter Anglicos and the Ecclesia inter Hibernicos.  The former predominated especially with The Pale, the “four obedient shires” of Cos. Dublin, Meath, Louth, and Kildare, but also in northeast Ulster (Cos. Antrim and Down), the rest of Leinster, and most of Munster.  The second predominated in Connact, including its old southern territories in Co. Clare, and the remainder of Ulster.

Put simplistically, Ecclesia inter Hibernicos included the dioceses of Armagh, Derry, Raphoe, Clogher, Kilmore, Ardagh, Elphin, Achonry, Killala, Tuam, Annaghdown, Kilmacduagh, Kilnefora, Killaloe, Clonfert, Clonmacnoise, Elphin, Ardagh, and Ross.  Likewise simplistically, Ecclesia inter Anglicos included the dioceses of Down and Connor, Dromore, Meath, Dublin, Kildare, Leighlin, Ferns, Ossory, Waterford and Lismore, Cloyne, Cork, Cashel, Emly, Limerick, and Ardfert.

This division was not, however, cut and dried, and it waxed and waned according to the degree of control from England.  Because it has the best records from the medieval period (those of the others having largely been destroyed), the best illustration of this internal division is the Archdiocese of Armagh, whose bishop was always English or Hiberno-English (with one Italian) but whose sole archdeadon was always native Irish.  Its cathedral also hosted the last surviving chapter of Culdees.

Province of Armagh:

Archdiocese of Armagh
       Archdeaconry of Armagh
        (Armagh inter Anglicos)
                Deanery of Ardee
                Deanery of Drogheda
                Deanery of Dundalk
        (Armagh inter Hibernicos)
                Deanery of Tullyhogue
                Deanery of Orior

Diocese of Ardagh
        Archdeaconry of Ardagh
                No deaneries

Diocese of Clogher
        Archdeaconry of Clogher
                Deanery of Clones (Clanaeda)
                Deanery of Donaghmoyne
                Deanery of Lough Erne

Diocese of Derry
        Archdeaconry of Derry
                Deanery of Binnagh (Rathlowry)
                Deanery of Inishowen (Derry)
                Deanery of Mahey (Magurtha)

Diocese of Down and Connor (united 1439)
        Archdeaconry of Connor
                Deanery of Moyliny (Maulyne)
                Deanery of Mourne
                Deanery of Tutere (Turtrye)
                Deanery of Twescard (Tuscardy, Tuischeart)
        Archdeaconry of Down
                Deanery of Ards
                Deanery of Blaethwyc
                Deanery of Clondermod
                Deanery of Dalboyn (Delvin)
                Deanery of Lechayll

Diocese of Dromore
        Archdeaconry of Dromore
                Deanery of Aghaderg
                Deanery of Dromore
                Deanery of Kilbroney
                Deanery of Kilmegan

Diocese of Kilmore (Tirbriuin)
        Archdeaconry of Kilmore
                No deaneries

Diocese of Meath
        Archdeaconry of Meath
                Deanery of Athboy
                Deanery of Clara
                Deanery of Clonard
                Deanery of Duleek
                Deanery of Dunshaughlin
                Deanery of Fore
                Deanery of Loughsuedy
                Deanery of Mullingar
                Deanery of Ratoath
                Deanery of Skreen
                Deanery of Slane
                Deanery of Trim
        Archdeaconry of Kells (Nobber)

Diocese of Raphoe
        Archdeaconry of Raphoe
                No deaneries

Province of Cashel:

Archdiocese of Cashel
        Archdeaconry of Cashel
                Deanery of Ely
                Deanery of Fethard
                Deanery of Owthny (Killenaule)
                Deanery of Muskery
                Deanery of Slewardagh

Diocese of Ardfert
        Archdeaconry of Ardfert
                Deanery of O’Dorney (O’Thorna and O’Flannan)
                Deanery of Rathygg
                Deanery of Trughenacmy (Hacnye)
        Archdeaconry of Aghadoe
                Deanery of Aghadoe (Hacudeo)
                Deanery of Offeria (Corcaguiney)

Diocese of Cloyne
        Archdeaconry of Cloyne
                Deanery of Fermoy
                Deanery of Muskerry-Donegan
                Deanery of Muskerry
                Deanery of Olethan
                Deanery of Omakill

Diocese of Cork
        Archdeaconry of Cork
                Deanery of Corkolwyn
                Deanery of Kerry
                Deanery of Kilmoan Fernlowe
                Deanery of Kinalea Citra
                Deanery of Kinalea Ultra
                Deanery of Ocurblethan

Diocese of Emly
        Archdeaconry of Emly
                Deanery of Aherlow (Natherlach)
                Deanery of Grean
                Deanery of Owney (Wetheny)
                Deanery of Tipperary

Diocese of Kilnefora
        Archdeaconry of Kilnefora
                No deaneries

Diocese of Killaloe
        Archdeaconry of Killaloe
                Deanery of Corkavaskin
                Deanery of Drumcliffe
                Deanery of Ely and Igerim
                Deanery of O’Gassin
                Deanery of Omulled
                Deanery of Ormond
                Deanery of Tradry

Diocese of Limerick
        Archdeaconry of Limerick
                Deanery of Adare
                Deanery of Ardagh
                Deanery of Kilmallock
                Deanery of Limerick (Garthe)
                Deanery of Rathkeale

Diocese of Ross
        Archdeaconry of Ross
                Deanery of Berry (Beare)
                Deanery of Corkyterragh
                Deanery of Obahumpna

Diocese of Waterford and Lismore
        Archdeaconry of Waterford
                Deanery of Waterford
        Archdeaconry of Lismore
                Deanery of Ardfinan
                Deanery of Ardmore
                Deanery of Kilbarrymeaden
                Deanery of Kilsheelan
                Deanery of Lismore

Province of Dublin:

Archdiocese of Dublin
        Archdeaconry of Dublin
                Deanery of Bray
                Deanery of Clondalkin
                Deanery of Swords
                Deanery of Tallaght
                Deanery of Taney
        Archdeaconry of Glendalough
                Deanery of Arklow
                Deanery of Athy
                Deanery of Drogheda
                Deanery of Leixlip
                Deanery of Newcastle
                Deanery of Wicklow

Diocese of Ferns
        Archdeaconry of Ferns
                Deanery of Ballaghkeen
                Deanery of Bargy
                Deanery of Duffrey
                Deanery of Forth
                Deanery of Gorey
                Deanery of Shelbourne
                Deanery of Shillelagh
                Deanery of Shilmaleer

Diocese of Kildare
        Archdeaconry of Kildare
                Deanery of Carbery
                Deanery of Clane
                Deanery of Clonkerry
                Deanery of Kildare
                Deanery of Killeigh
                Deanery of Naas
                Deanery of Offaly
                Deanery of Tolemoy

Diocese of Leighlin
        Archdeaconry of Leighlin
                Deanery of Bargy
                Deanery of Forth (Faughart, Focherd)
                Deanery of Leix
                Deanery of Odrona
                Deanery of Omboy
                Deanery of Tulloghfelim (Ofelmeth)

Diocese of Ossory
        Archdeaconry of Ossory
                Deanery of Aghaboe
                Deanery of Aghtur
                Deanery of Claragh
                Deanery of Kenlys (Kells)
                Deanery of Kilkenny
                Deanery of Obargoun
                Deanery of Odagh (Three Castles)
                Deanery of Iverk
                Deanery of Shillelogher

Province of Tuam:

Archdiocese of Tuam
        Archdeaconry of Tuam
                Deanery of Athenry
                Deanery of Mayo
                Deanery of Shrule
                Deanery of Struthir
                Deanery of Tuam
        Archdeaconry of Owles (Umhall)

Diocese of Achonry
        Archdeaconry of Achonry
                No deaneries

Diocese of Annaghdown (until 1485)
        Archdeaconry of Annaghdown
                Deanery of Meary (Moydrig, Medraige)

Diocese of Clonfert
        Archdeaconry of Clonfert
                Deanery of Clonfert
                Deanery of Duniry (Drondery)
                Deanery of Loughrea
                Deanery of Urrachree

Diocese of Clonmacnoise
        Archdeaconry of Clonmacnoise
                Deanery of Ballyloughloe
                Deanery of Clonmacnoise

Diocese of Elphin
        Archdeaconry of Elphin
                Deanery of Ardcarn
                Deanery of Drumcliffe
                Deanery of Elphin
                Deanery of Roscommon

Diocese of Killala
        Archdeaconry of Killala
                No deaneries

Diocese of Kilmacduagh
        Archdeaconry of Kilmacduagh
                No deaneries

* * * * * * *

Of the three major divisions, Scotland was easiest of all as all of the relevant information is contained in James Rankins’ 1888 work A Handbook of the Church of Scotland.  Since the Scottish Church changed so completely and so radically from its pre-Reformation form to that afterward, there is less confusion about which deaneries were medieval and such.

In addition to the following secular foundations, regular houses in Scotland, all of which were independent of the secular structures, numbered 239, including 57 monkeries, 24 canonries, 51 friaries, 21 preceptories, 24 nunneries, and 83 hospitals.

Church in Scotland at the Reformation

Province of St. Andrews:

Archdiocese of St. Andrews
See:  St. Andrews; 253 churches (33 collegiate) & 81 chapels
        Archdeaconry of St. Andrews
                Deanery of Angus,
                Deanery of Fife
                Deanery of Fothriff
                Deanery of Gowrie
                Deanery of Mearns
        Archdeaconry of Lothian
                Deanery of East Lothian (Haddington)
                Deanery of Linlithgow (Lindidcu)
                Deanery of Merse (Berwick)

Diocese of Aberdeen (Buchan & Marr)
See:  Old Aberdeen; 96 churches (3 collegiate) & 53 chapels
        Archdeaconry of Aberdeen
                Deanery of Aberdeen
                Deanery of Buchan
                Deanery of Boyne (Buyn)
                Deanery of Garioch
                Deanery of Marr

Diocese of Brechin (Mearns)
See:  Brechin; 30 churches (1 collegiate) & 11 chapels
        Archdeaconry of Brechin
                No deaneries

Diocese of Caithness
See:  Dornoch; 25 churches & 67 chapels
        Archdeaconry of Caithness
                No deaneries

Diocese of Moray
See:  Elgin; 77 churches (1 collegiate) & 30 chapels
        Archdeaconry of Moray
                Deanery of Elgin
                Deanery of Inverness
                Deanery of Strathbogie
                Deanery of Strathspey

Diocese of Orkney (Kirkwall)
See:  Kirkwall; 52 churches & 40 chapels
        Archdeaconry of Orkney
                No deaneries
        Archdeaconry of Tingwall (Shetland)
                No deanieries

Diocese of Ross
See:  Fortrose; 38 churches (1 collegiate) & 30 chapels
        Archdeaconry of Ross
                No deaneries

Province of Glasgow:

Archdiocese of Glasgow
See:  Glasgow; 239 churches (11 collegiate) & 110 chapels
        Archdeaconry of Glasgow
                Deanery of Carrick
                Deanery of Clydesdale (Lanark)
                Deanery of Kyle and Cunningham (Ayr)
                Deanery of Lennox (Luss)
                Deanery of Peebles (Stobo)
                Deanery of Rutherglen (Renfew, Kilbride)
        Archdeaconry of Teviotdale
                Deanery of Annandale
                Deanery of Eskdale
                Deanery of Nithdale (Dumfries)
                Deanery of Teviotdale

Diocese of Argyll
See:  Lismore; 47 churches (2 collegiate) & 47 chapels
        Archdeaconry of Argyll
                Deanery of Glassary
                Deanery of Kintyre
                Deanery of Lorn
                Deanery of Morvern

Diocese of Dunblane (Strathearn)
See:  Dunblane; 43 churches (3 collegiate) & 9 chapels
        Archdeaconry of Dunblane
                No deaneries

Diocese of Dunkeld (Gowrie)
See:  Dunkeld; 67 churches & 16 chapels
        Archdeaconry of Dunkeld
                Deanery of Atholl and Breadalbane
                Deanery of Angus
                Deanery of Fife and Forthriff
                Deanery of South of Forth

Diocese of Galloway
See:  Whithorn; 57 churches (1 collegiate) & 20 chapels
        Archdeaconry of Galloway
                Deanery of Desnes
                Deanery of Farines
                Deanery of Rhinns

Diocese of the Isles
See:  Iona; 44 churches & 32 chapels
        Archdeaconry of the Isles
                No deaneries

11 June 2022

The Medieval Church in the Isles, Part 13: Its Apostles and Patron Saints


These are the Apostles and Patron Saints of the British Isles and adjacent lands.

An Apostle here refers to the one who introduced Christianity to the realm in question.

Patron Saint here does not necessarily mean an “official” patron saint designated by a governmental entity so much as a person widely regarded as such on a popular level.

Apostles

St. Sixtus of Reims, Apostle of the Gauls

St. Eucharius, Apostle of the Treveri

St. Aristobolus of Britannia, Apostle to the (Roman) Britons

St. Palladius, Apostle of the Irish and of Circinn (in Pictland)

St. Ailbe of Emly, Apostle of Munster

St. Ciarin Siaghir, Apostle of Ossory

St. Patrick of Armagh, Apostle of Ulster

St. Ninian, Apostle of the Caledones (southern Picts, or Caledon)

St. Mungo (Kentigern) of Glasgow, Apostle of Strathclyde

St. Rule (Regulus), Apostle of Fife

St. Colmcille (Columba) of Iona, Apostle of the Verturiones (northern Picts, or Fortenn)

St. Conran, Apostle of Orkney

St. Fergus Cruithneach, Apostle of Caithness

St. Drostan mac Cosgreg of Deer, Apostle of Buchan and Marr

St. Augustine of Canterbury, Apostle to the English (of Kent)

St. Berin (Birinus) of Dorchester, Apostle of Wessex

St. Felix of Burgundy, Apostle of East Anglia

St. Aidan of Lindisfarne, Apostle of Northumbria, Abbot and Bishop

St. Baldred of Tyninghame, Apostle of Lothian

St. Remigius of Reims, Apostle of the Franks

St. Boniface of Devon, Apostle to the Germans

St. Willibrod of Utrecht, Apostle to Friesland, Abbot and Bishop

St. Colman, St. Killian, and St. Totnan, Martyrs, Apostles of Franconia

Twelve Apostles of Ireland:  St. Ciarin of Saighir, St. Ciarin of Clonmacnoise, St. Brendan of Birr, St. Bendan the Navigator of Clonfert, St. Columba of Iona, St. Columba of Terryglass, St. Mobhi of Glasmevin, St. Ruadhan of Lorrha, St. Ninnidh the Pious of Inishmacsaint, St. Laisren of Devenish, St. Canice of Aghaboe

Seven Founder Saints of Brittany:  St. Coretin of Quimper, St. Tugdual of Tréguier, St. Paterne of Vannes, St. Samson of Dol, St. Pol de Léon, St. Malo and St. Brieuc

Patron Saints

England:

St. George of Lydda, Patron Saint of England.  St. George has been a patron saint of England since the early Anglo-Saxon church, but the “one and only” patron saint of England just since the time of the Tudors.

St. Edward the Confessor, Patron Saint of England

St. Gregory the Great, Patron Saint of England

St. Thomas Becket, Patron Saint of England

St. Edmund the Martyr, Patron Saint of East Anglia, Patron Saint of England

St. Cuthbert, Patron Saint of Northumbria

St. Chad of Mercia, Patron Saint of Mercia

St. Cedd of Essex, Patron Saint of Essex

St. Aldhelm of Malmesbury, Patron Saint of Wessex

St. Richard of Chichester, Patron Saint of Sussex

St. Augustine of Canterbury, Patron Saint of Kent

Old Britain:

St. David of Mynyw, Patron Saint of Wales

St. Piran of Padstowe, Patron Saint of Cornwall

St. Michael the Archangel, Patron Saint of Cornwall

St. Petroc, Patron Saint of Dumnonia and of Devon, Patron Saint of Cornwall

St. Boniface of Devon, Martyr, (modern) Patron Saint of Devon

St. Constantine of Dumnonia, Patron Saint of Dumnonia

St. Sidwella, Virgin not Martyr, Patron Saint of Exeter

Scotland:

The patron saint of Fortrenn was originally St. Columba of Iona.  Upon King Nechtan mac Der-Ilei accepting the Roman Easter in 710, he declared St. Peter the Apostle as the kingdom’s patron saint.  After King Oengus II mac Fergusa won the Battle of Aethelstaneford in 832, he changed the patron saint of the kingdom to St. Andrew the Apostle.

St. Columba of Iona, Priest and Abbot, Patron Saint of Cenel nGabhrain, Patron Saint of Dal Riata, Patron Saint of Fortrenn, Patron Saint of Argyll and the Isles, Patron Saint of Scotland

St. Peter the Apostle, Patron Saint of Scotland

St. Andrew the Apostle, Patron Saint of Fife, Patron Saint of Scotland

St. Margaret of Scotland, Patron Saint of Scotland

St. David of Scotland, Patron Saint of Scotland

St. Kessog of Lennox, Patron Saint of Lennox, Patron Saint of Scotland

St. Conran, Patron Saint of Orkney

St. Serf of Culross, Patron Saint of Orkney

St. Magnus Erlendsson, Patron Saint of Orkney

St. Fergus Cruithneach, Patron Saint of Caithness

St. Constantine of Strathclyde and Govan, Patron Saint of Strathclyde

St. Mungo (Kentigern) of Glasgow, Patron Saint of Strathclyde

St. Ninian, Patron Saint of Galloway

St. Maelrubha of Applecross, Patron Saint of North Argyll

St. Moluag (Lughaidh) of Lismore, Patron Saint of Cenel Loairn, Patron Saint of Dal Riata, Patron Saint of Argyll and the Isles

St. Cathan of Bute, Patron Saint of Cenel Comghaill, Patron Saint of Dal Riata, Patron Saint of Argyll and the Isles

St. Comman of Islay, Patron Saint of Cenel nOenghusa

St. Baldred of Tyninghame, Patron Saint of Lothian

Isle of Mann:

St. Maughold, Patron Saint of the Isle of Mann

Ireland:

St. Patrick of Armagh has only been chief patron saint of Ireland since the very late 9th century.  Before that, it was unquestionably St. Columba of Iona.  Others for the whole island are or were St. Brigid of Kildare (St. Bride in Scotland), St. Ita of Killeedy, and St. Ailbe of Emly.

St. Colmcille of Iona, Patron Saint of Ulster, Patron Saint of Ireland

St. Ailbe of Emly, Patron Saint of Munster, Patron Saint of Ireland

St. Brigid of Kildare, Patron Saint of Leinster, Patron Saint of Ireland

St. Patrick of Armagh, Patron Saint of Ireland

St. Ita of Killeedy, Patron Saint of Ireland

St. Finnian of Moville, Patron Saint of Ulster

St. Enda of Arran, Patron Saint of the Airghialla (Oriel)

St. Ciaran of Clonmacnoise, Patron Saint of Connacht

St. Finnian of Clonard, Patron Saint of Meath

St. Kevin of Glendalough, Patron Saint of Leinster

St. Ciaran of Saigir, Patron Saint of Ossory

St. Canice (Kenneth) of Aghaboe, Patron Saint of Ossory

St. Declan of Ardmore, Patron Saint of Deisi Mumha

St. Fechin of Cong (Fore), Patron Saint of Conmaicne Mara (Connemara)

St. Cummin Fada, Patron Saint of Gno (Delbhna Tir Dha Locha)

St. Anhin the Virgin, Patron Saint of Gno (Delbhna Tir Dha Locha)

St. Fursey of Killursa, Patron Saint of Muintir Murchada

Channel Islands:

St. Helier, Patron Saint of Jersey

St. Sampson of Dol, Patron Saint of Guernsey

St. Magliore, Patron Saint of Sark

St. Vignalis (Winwaloc), Patron Saint of Alderney

St. Tugual (Tudwal), Patron Saint of Herm

British sub-Roman Diaspora:

St. Ivo of Kermatin, Priest, Patron Saint of Brittany

St. Anne, Mother of St. Mary, Patron Saint of Brittany

St. Mariana of Britonia, Patron Saint of Britonia (northern Galicia, Spain)

Others from the Sarum Kalendar:

St. Maurice, Patron Saint of the Holy Roman Empire

St. Canute the Holy of Denmark, Patron Saint of Denmark

St. Olaf Haraldsson, Patron Saint of Norway