The Medieval Church in the Isles, Part 5: Secular Ecclesiastical Divisions

The following accounts for the divisions of the secular (secular as opposed to regular, not secular as in temporal and opposed to religious) church in the Middle Ages British Isles.

Ecclesiastical divisions

Township – Generally, particularly in northern England, a subdivision of a large parish.  As parishes began to be used for secular administrative purposes, non-subdivided parishes formed a single township.

Chapelry – In England and Lowland Scotland, a rural ecclesiastical subdivision of a parish (corresponding roughly to a township) with its own small local succursal or ‘chapel-of-ease’ subordinate to the parish church.

Pendicle – In Scotland, a chapel-of-ease subordinate to a plebania.

Parish – this was territory of the basic local church, the parish church being the main or only one within the well-defined boundaries, its minister being a priest.  It was traditional in the Middle Ages on Rogation Days to “beat the bounds” of the parish, which were well-marked.  The priest assigned to its benefice was called the rector.

In the Late Middle Ages, the parish also became the smallest basic unit for civil administration of national government and of local government (except for burghs and tuwns) in every country in the Isles.  Ecclesiastical and civil parishes remained the same and did not become separate identities until the 19th century.

Plebania – In Scotland, the mother church of a large parish with several subordinate chapels-of-ease.  The priest over such a parish was sometimes called a dean and sometimes an abthane (the latter not the same as the title in the Celtic Church of Scotland).  Its use is roughly parallel to that of minster in late medieval England.

Peculiar – In England, this was a church not subject to the diocese within which it was geographically located.  They could be subject to an archbishop, a monarch, dean and chapter, or else one of the military orders.  For example, thirteen parishes in the Diocese of London were peculiars of the Archbisop of Canterbury.

Collegiate church – An important parish church allowed a group of many priests who were together called a college, whose chief was called a provost or, less commonly, a warden, or, even more rarely, an archpriest.

Deanery – Also called a rural deanery (the rural tag meaning outside the see of the diocese), these were composed of a number of parishes of a diocese grouped together for better administration, often, but not always, part of an archdeaconry.

Archdeaconry – Larger dioceses in terms of geography or population were divided into from one to three divisions called archdeaconries, which were themselves usually, but not always, subdivided into deaneries.  Its priest was called an archdeacon.

Diocese – a group of parishes organized under a bishop, who was called the ordinary.  If a successor was chosen while an incumbent still held office, that bishop was a coadjutor.  In larger dioceses with a need for several bishops in addition to the ordinary, the subordinate bishops, who often had a titular office, were called suffragans.

Under the late Roman Empire, a diocese collected a group of contiguous provinces under one umbrella, such as the Diocese of Britannia, which included the provinces of Britannia Prima, Britannia Secunda, Maxima Caesariensis, Flavia Caesariensis, and Valencia.  Its chief official was called a vicarius, or vicar.

See – the seat of a bishop within his diocese, the name of which may or may not be the same as the diocese, though in the latter case, sometimes both titles were used interchangeably; for example, the Bishop of Moray was also called the Bishop of Elgin, the first after the diocese, the second after the see.

Archdiocese – the diocese presided over directly by the metropolitan or archbishop of a province.  All the other bishops in his diocese, ordinary or otherwise, were his suffragans.

Province – the group of dioceses organized into one body under a metropolitan or archbishop, composed of an archdiocese and a number of suffragan dioceses.  There were two of these in England:  Canterbury and York; two in Scotland:  St. Andrews and Glasgow; and four in Ireland:  Armagh, Tuam, Cashel, and Dublin.

Under the late Roman Empire, a province was the smallest unit of local imperial administration, governed by a rector.

Patriarchate – dating back to the early church, a patriarchate is composed of several provinces within a geographic region, of which there were only five originally:  Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem.

The patriarchate was the ecclesiastical counterpart to the praetorian prefecture of the late Roman Empire, though the two sets of jurisdiction were anything but coextensive.  For example, the Praetorian Prefecture of Galliarum took in the Dioceses of Galliae, Hispaniae, and Mauretania Tingitana in Africa (roughly, Mediterranean Morocco); and where there were five patriarchates, there were just four praetorian prefectures.

From 560 to 1741 there was a sixth, the Patriachate of Aquilea, but it became subordinate to Rome after the Synod of Pavia in 698; it was never recognized as a patriarchate by the other four, especially since it split from Rome over the Three Chapters that arose controversy after the Council of Chalcedon.  The schism involved the dioceses of Aquilea, Milan, and Istria (a peninsula off Illyria of a people called the Histrii).  The bishop of Aquilea was recognized as their Patriarch, and the dissident dioceses were able to stay independent as they came under Lombard rule in 568 and were therefore no longer subject to the Roman Exarch at Ravenna.

After its subordination to Rome in 698, the patriarchate was only titular; it was abolished in 1752.  Meanwhile, another titular patriachate had been created for Venice in 1451; that one still exists.

The Three Chapters Controversy was ended at the Second Council of Nicaea in 787, the last of the universally recognized Seven Ecumenical Councils (1st Nicaea, 325; 1st Constantinople, 381; Ephesus, 431; Chalcedon, 451; 2nd Constatinople, 553; 3rd Constantinople, 680-681; 2nd Nicaea, 787).

Several other jurisdictions under the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Uniate churches under Rome each have a chief bishop using the title Patriarch.

The Medieval Church in the Isles, Part 4: Regular Clergy

Simply and in brief, here is a description of regular clergy (a term which takes in both ordained and lay) living collectively according to a prescribe rule, as opposed to clergy in secular parishes and dioceses.  All the regular clergy prayed the canonical hours.

Regular clergy – Contemplative or Cloistered

The life of members of the contemplative or conventual orders, priests and lay brothers, or nuns, revolved around praying the canonical hours, work, and study with contemplation, with little contact with the surrounding community, except, in some cases, at times of worship.

Abbey was a monastery or nunnery presided over by an abbot or abbess, with at least ten other cenobites, anchorites, or even eremites.  His or her chief assistant, the Continental counterpart to the Irish ferlegind, was a prior.  In Ireland, the terms “abbot” and “abbey” were used rather loosely.

Priory was the designation used primarily for an autonomous house which answered to no abbot (conventual priory) or for a house subordinate to an abbey and its abbot (obedientary priory).

Abbot/Abbess – the superior of an abbey, an independent convent who only answered to the head of his or her order.

Prior/Prioress – A monastic rank with several different meanings.  A claustral prior (called dean in some monasteries) was second after the abbot in an abbey; in cases of large monasteries, the claustral prior was assisted by a sub-prior.  An obedientiary prior headed a satellite house of an abbey.  A conventual prior headed up a house that was not subordinate to an abbey.  A capitulary prior was the head of a monastic or canonical chapter of a cathedral.

Cenobites lived together communally in one house.

Anchorites lived in cells attached to the outer walls of a cathedral or a collegiate church.

Eremites lived alone, though sometimes grouped into spread-out communities, especially if centered around a notable saint.

A monk was a male cenobite.

A nun was a female cenobite of a contemplative order, or a member of an order for women attached to a canonical, mendicant, or military order for men, all orders of women being cloistered in the Middle Ages.

Choir brother/sister – so-called because they sang the Mass, canonical hours, and other services in choir, also spent their days in private prayer, meditation, and study.  These almost always came from the nobility, other gentry, and later bourgeois and were usually in holy orders or on their way to becoming ordained clergy.

Choir monastics began as postulants, where they took simple vows and were given a year or so to decide if they wanted to enter the monastic life.  If so, they became novices, with solemn annual vows over one to three years.  If they decided to take solemn life vows at the end of their novitiate, they became professed brothers or sisters.

Famuli – hired servants of the monastery, to do the manual labor needed at the monastery to free up the choir brothers and/or sisters for duties in choir and study.  These were much more common in the Ealry Middle Ages, being replaced in the High Middle Ages with lay brothers and lay sisters, but in some English monasteries, the practice continued.

Lay brother/sister – these were members of the monastery performing the same manual labor originally performed by famuli, as their form of contribution to the life of the monastery.  They usually came from the working and peasant classes and had little education.  Ostensibly the class of lay brother/sister came into being to allow those with little or no education to take up the religious life, but their existence also meant the monastery did not have to pay for famuli.

Lay brothers/sisters began as commissisi (corresponding to postulant) then became conversi (corresponding to novice) before taking life vows.

Nutritus – child oblate raised in the monastery who had the option to take vows upon reaching adulthood.

Commendator – a person appointed to take charge of the administration of an abbey (abbot or abbess commendator) or a conventual priory (prior or prioress commendator) in case of a vacancy.  Originally supposed to be temporary, this was in the Early Middle Ages abused with the positions being given out to secular or temporal favorites of the king or lord, especially in the Frankish and Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.  Thanks to papal intervention, the practice was curbed in the High Middle Ages, but sprang up once again in the Late Middle Ages, with the income of the foundation split, with two-thirds going to the commendator and the abbey or conventual priory having to make do with the remaining one third.

Impropriator was the beneficiary of income from the former lands of dissolved monasteries in England which were held by the crown.  This lasted until the 19th century.  In Scotland, the lands of dissolved monasteries were given to commendators, but after two or three generations, all the lands were temporalized.

An oblate was a secular person, clergy or lay, who followed many of the tenets of the Rule of St. Benedict or other contemplative order and were affiliated with a specific convent.

A corridian was a lay person who obtained the right to room and board at a monastery.

Dowry was the term for a grant of land or entrance fee extracted from a prospective member of a monastery, generally in the case of females postulants, though male postulants were also expected to provide.

A monastery housed monks, nuns, or both, though the terms was and is used mostly for a house of monks.

A convent likewise housed monks, nuns, or both, though in the Middle Ages it usually referred to a house of nuns.

A monkery housed monks.

A nunnery housed nuns.

A conhospita once housed cenobites of both sexes living together; this was almost exclusively a feature of the Celtic Church, notable examples being Kildare and Streonshalh (Whitby), though they were hardly rare among churches that followed the Celtic Rites.

A double-convent housed both monks and nuns, but in separate living quarters.  The best examples are the Fontévrault Benedictines (always), the Gilbertines (in most cases), the Bridgettines (always), and in rare cases, the Augustinian Canons and Canonesses.

The mensa was the part of the monastic estate directly supporting the foundation and supplying its table, roughly corresponding to the glebe of a parish.

Contemplative or cloistered orders in the British Isles for men included Benedictine monks, Carthusian monks, Cistercian monks, Cluniac monks, Grandmontine monks, Savignac monks, Tironensian monks, Trinitarian monks, and Valliscaulian  monks (only in Scotland).

Contemplative or cloistered orders in the British Isles for women included Benedictine nuns, Cistercian nuns, and Cluniac nuns.

Contemplative or cloistered orders in the British Isles for both men and women living in double-houses included Bridgettine nuns & monks and Fontévrault Benedictine monks & nuns.  The Bridgettines were unique in that the female part of each house was always superior and the head of the entire house always the abbess.

Abbey officers

Each abbey had its own set of officers, with many serving the same functions under the same of similar titles in canonries, cathedral chapters, secular collegiate churches, etc.  Not every abbey had all of these offices, and in many some were combined.

Abbot - as noted above, this was the superior, or head, or an abbey

Prior - served as chief deputy to the abbot

Subprior - third in rank behind the prior

Obedientes - the collective name for all the officers other than the three executives, all of whom were appointed by the abbot

Cantor - also called the precentor, was in charge of ensuring all Masses, canonical hours, and other services were carried out properly

Armarius - librarian of the monastery and supervisor of the scriptorium

Subcantor - also called the succentor, was deputy to the cantor

Sacrist - was responsible for the care of the sacred vessels, sacred instruments, and other objects used in services

Subsacrist - also known as the secretary or master of work

Treasurer - was the book-keeper and funds distributor

Revestarian - was in charge of the vestment worn for services, the cloths used on the altar, and those adorning sacred vessels

Chief cellarer - also called bursar, was in charge or acquisition of food as well as being general steward

Subcellarer - deputy to the cellarer/bursar

Kitchen steward - maintained the kitchen

Assistant kitchen steward - assisted the kitchen steward

Granatorian - steward of the granary

Refectorian - had charge of the refectory, its furniture, bowls and plates, eating utensils; also called a hall-butler

Servitor - assisted the refectorian

Kitchener - was in charge of the cooking, the head chef or sorts

Novice master - took charge of the novices for their training and care

Zelator - deputy to the novice master

Infirmarian - had charge over the infirmary and its patients, as well as for bleeding each monk weekly

Guest-master - was responsible for caring for guests

Almoner - responsible for distribution of food, clothing, blankets, and money to the poor

Vestarius - responsible for non-ecclesiastical clothing, bedding, etc. at the monastery

Hebdomadarian - the priest appointed weekly for singing daily conventual Mass, singing the Deus in adjutorium at the beginning of each canonical hour, bless holy water, etc.

Antiphoner - the one appointed weekly to sing the Invitatory at Matins, give out the antiphon for the first Psalm, lead the versicles and responses, etc.

Regular clergy – Canonical

Canons regular, priests and lay brothers, followed a rule and prayed the Divine Offices but were focused on interacting with and assisting the lay people of the surrounding community.  They followed primarily the Rule of St. Augustine of Hippo.  In the canonical orders, the lay brothers are a definite minority.

Canoness, usually called a moniale in England, was a female member of a canonical order

Canonry was the proper name for a house of canons or canonesses regular, but they were also called a priory, because all heads of canonical houses were usually priors or prioresses, though sometimes the title used was prelate.

Canonical orders for men in the British Isles included Augustinian Canons Regular, Augustinian Canons Regular-Arrosian, Augustinian Canons Regular-Holy Sepulchre, Augustinian Canons Regular-Victorine, Gilbertine Canons, and Norbertine Canons (Premonstratensian Fathers)

Canonical orders for women in the British Isles included Augustinian Canonesses, Augustinian Canonesses-Arrosian, Gilbertine Canonesses, and Norbertine Canonesses (Premonstratensian Sisters).

The Gilbertine Order of Canons Regular was wholly English in origin and confined thereto except for an establishment in Scotland for a brief period of twenty years, and possibly another in Ireland.  Nearly all their houses were double-convents, with houses solely for men or for women very rare.

The Augustinian Seculars are a canonical clergy counterpart to Benedictine oblates or Franciscan tertiaries for ordained and lay men and women, which in the Middle Ages only had chapters in England.

Regular clergy - Mendicant

A friar was a wandering preacher and/or teacher, or at least one who interacted with temporal society more routinely.

Friary was the name for a house of friars, though these were often called a priory as well since its superior was always a prior, except in the case of the Franciscans, whose superiors were called guardian, warden, or minister.

First Order was the Franciscan order for men, formally called the Order of Friars Minor.

Second Order was the Franciscan order for women, commonly known as the Poor Clares and formally the Order of St. Clare.

Third Order was the Franciscan order for men and women living in the secular world but abiding by the Rule of St. Francis and its provisions of poverty, chastity (though not celibacy), and obedience.  It was officially called the Brothers and Sisters of Penance.  In time, some members began to live communally and follow a stricter rule which included celibacy, leading to a separate Third Order Regular from the parent Third Order Secular.  The members of both were called Tertiaries.

Mendicant orders for men in the British Isles included Augustinian Friars (Friars Eremites, Augustinian Hermits, Austin Friars), Bethlehemite Friars, Carmelite Friars, Crutched Friars (Crosiers), Dominican Friars, Franciscan Friars Minor-Observant, Fransican Friars Minor-Capuchin, Franciscan Friars Minor-Conventual, Friars of the Sack (Brothers of Penitence, Bonshommes Brothers), and Pied Friars (Friars of St Mary de Areno).

Mendicant orders for women in the British Isles included Carmelite nuns, Dominican nuns, and Poor Clare nuns.

Regarding the Franciscan Third Order Regular, the only country in the british Isles with any houses was Ireland, and it has sixty-five such.

Regular clergy - Military

The military orders, at least in the British Isles, all originated in the Levant, specifically in Palestine.

Some, like the Knights Templar (Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon), originated to safeguard pilgrims to the Holy Land.

The Templars were organized into four classes:  Knights, serjeants, squires, and chaplains.  To be a Knight Templar, a man had to already be one, and the attached squires were not in training to becomes knights.

Others, like the Knights Hospitallers (Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem), came about to care for the sick and infirm.

The Hospitallers were divided into brothers military (both knights and men-at-arms), brothers infirmarian, and brothers chaplain.  Unlike the Templars, they accepted both novices and pages and squires in training.

The Lazarites (Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem) cared for lepers and included many lepers in their ranks, including their grand master.

The Lazarites organized into the classes of knights, brothers, clerics, and donors.

The Knights of St. Thomas (Hospitallers of St Thomas of Canterbury at Acre), unique to Englishmen, originated as a hospitaller order but like the Knights Hospitaller then became military, adopting the rule of the Order of Teutonic Knights.  After the fall of Acre, they abandoned their military role and adopted the Rule of St. Augustine.

The headquarters of a military order for a geographical region was generally called a priory.  The chief house of a country within that region generally had no special designation.  The priory for the Hospitallers in the British Isles was at Clerkenwell, London, while the headquarters for the British Isles of the Templars was at New Temple, London.  The Lazarites and Thomasines also headquarted in London for their regions.

The local chapter for the Knights Hospitaller was a commandery (its head called a commander).  The local chapter for the Knights Templar, Knights Lazarite, and Knights Thomasine was called a preceptory (its superior called a preceptor).

Hospitals

In the Middle Ages, only a very few institutions with the name hospital were what we would now call hospitals today.  All of them were staffed by regular clergy of various orders, including Benedictines, Augustinians, Knights Hospitaller, Lazarists (Hospitallers of St. Lazarus), Thomasines (Hospitallers of St. Thomas of Canterbury at Acre), and Knights Templar, as well as orders specially created for the institution which they served, such as the Royal Hospital of St. Katharine by the Tower, which survives today as the Royal Foundation of St. Katharine.

Foundations called hospitals in the Middle Ages included actual hospitals, infirmaries, hospices, almshouses, orphanages, food distribution centers, hostels for pilgrims, and leprosariums, the last of which were the focus of the Lazarists (Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem), whose Grand Master and many of its brothers were lepers themselves.  St. Giles’ Collegiate Church in Edinburgh originated as the Hospital of St. Giles operated by the Lazarists under David I, sister to the Lazarist facility in Harehope, Northumberland.

One of the best examples of an institution which fits the modern definition of hospital was the Hospital of the Holy Trinity at Soltray, or Soutra, seventeen miles south of Edinburgh, about halfway between the city and Melrose Abbey on the Via Regia or Girthgate, as it was known in Scotland.  This road, still in use throughout the medieval period, was a section of the old Roman road between Eboracum (York) and the former legionary fort at Inchtuthil in the northern Lowlands district of Gowrie.  The hospital was established by Augustinian Canons at the request of Malcolm IV.  Archaeologists have found traces of medicines from three different continents and other evidence of a bustling operation at the cutting edge of medieval science.

The largest medical hospital in England was also run by Augustinians, the Hospital of St. Leonard in York.  At its height, St. Leonard’s had a staff of eighteen Augustinians and thirty choristers and could host as many as two hundred forty patients.  It was built on the site of the former Hospital of St. Peter founded by King Aethelstan and reportedly staffed by Culdees, which had caught fire and burned to the ground in the Harrowing of the North.

The Knights Hospitaller (Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem) were, of course, dedicated to services at its many hospitals (it’s in the name), but what is not known is that the Knights Templar (Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon) also operated hospitals.  These, which served the dual purpose of infirmary and clinic for the poor and hostel for religious pilgrims, were usually dedicated to their patron saint, St. Mary Magdalene, such as the facility at Linlithgow and its sister house at Rutherford in Roxburghshire.

Regular clergy garb

One of the most distinguishing features of regular clergy was, and in some cases still is, their grab, generally called their habit.

For monks, friars, canons, and military brothers, normal daily wear was a long-sleeved ankle-length tunic, a cincture (also called a girdle), and a hooded scapular.  At canonical hours, brothers wore a cowl and novices wore a mantle over their respective habits.

Different orders had habits of different colors, and were sometimes known by those colors, such as the Brown Friars (Franciscans), Grey Friars (Conventual Franciscans), Black Monks (Benedictines), Black Friars (Dominicans), White Friars (Carmelites), Grey Monks (Tironensians), White Monks (Cistercians), and Black Canons (Augustinians).

For nuns, the basic garment was also a tunic tied at the waist with a cincture, with a hoodless scapular over it, and a coif covered with a veil.

The coif was the collective name for the set of garments covering the head common to all female religious.  More specifically, it was the close-fitting white cap covering the top, back, and sides of the head.  Around this was worn the bandeau, a thin white headband to support the whimple, a large piece of white linen covering the hair and part of the cheeks (this part was actually common to women in Europe from early medieval times).  Below this was the guimpe covering the neck and shoulders.  Over it all was worn the veil.

The Medieval Church in the Isles, Part 3: The Canonical Hours of the Day

Also known as the Liturgy of the Hours (in the Roman Church), the Daily Office (in the Anglican Communion), and the Divine Office (in other churches), in the Western churches the canonical hours for prayer followed the system first regularized by St. Benedict of Nursia for his monastic community around 500 CE.

The specific hours for the Divine Office of the system below come from the Regularis Concordia in England of 973.  The two Masses are not part of the Hours, and neither is Chapter, but that is when they fell in the day.

Matins, originally called Vigils and later Nocturns and began at midnight.

Lauds, originally called Matins, began at dawn, around 5 am

Prime began at around 6 am

Morrow Mass after Prime

Chapter after Morrow Mass

Terce began at around 8 am

Solemn High Mass after Terce

Sext began at around 12 am

None began at around 3 am

Vespers began at the lighting of the lamps, around 5 pm

Compline began at around 6 pm

The times varied throughout the year by necessity with the lengthening and shortening of daytime and and nighttime.

In the early centuries of the Church, the midnight hour of prayer was called Vigil, after the Roman military watch.  Benedict named it Nocturns, and later in the High Middle Ages it came to be called Matins.

Originally, in St. Benedict’s version, Lauds was called Matins, until that name replaced Nocturns.

In one reported system of the Divine Hours, there were nine offices, with one called Vigil immediately preceding one called Matins, then Lauds and the rest beginning at dawn.

The core of the Liturgy of the Hours was the Psalter, the entirety of which was said or sung every week, individual psalm or portions thereof scattered throughout the various hours.

The nocturnal hour of Matins was quite lengthy, weekdays consisting of two sets (nocturns) of six psalms, with three readings from the Old Testament, New Testament, and/or Church Fathers after the first set and a short passage from one of St. Paul’s writings after the second set.  On the vigil preceding Sundays, each nocturn was followed by four readings, after this a nocturn of three Old Testament canticles, then four readings from the New Testament, the singing of the Te Deum, a Gospel reading, and a hymn.

Of the hours, the time for saying Matins varied the most widely.  Some places always recited it at midnight, others varied with the season between 2 am and 3 am, or between midnight in summer and just before Lauds in winter.   In the Use of Lichfield, for example, Matins was sung at midnight from the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (8 September) until Easter Sunday; from Easter Sunday through Trinity Sunday, Matins was sung at daybreak (sunrise); and from the day after Trinity Sunday until the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Matins was sung immediately after Compline.

During Holy Week, or at least the last three days thereof, Matins and Lauds were sung in the evening immediately after Compline in anticipation of the following day (Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday); in places this occurred more frequently.  At the start of Christmas in the Use of Sarum, Matins was sung just before Midnight Mass.

The major diurnal hours were Lauds and Vespers, each roughly twice the length of the minor hours.  The diurnal minor hour of Compline was slightly longer than the other minor hours of Terce, Sext, and None. 

By the 15th century, the schedule of the Hours and other daily offices were as follows:  Matins and Lauds of the Day; Matins and Lauds of the Blessed Virgin Mary; Lauds of the Dead; Prime of the Day; Commendation of Souls; Chapter Mass; Terce; the 15 Psalms of Degrees (or ‘of Ascents’, 120-134); the Litany of the Saints; Sext; None; Mass of the Day; Vespers of the Dead; Vespers of the Day; Vespers of the Blessed Virgin Mary (and/or Vespers of All Saints); and finally, Compline.

(This was the schedule at Lincoln Cathedral, and while maybe not universal at cathedrals, convents, and collegiate churches in every respect, it is nevertheless fairly representative.  It also does not include the enormous number of chantry masses said in each place by that time.)

Other rearrangements in diverse places by the Late Middle Ages included Compline immediately after Vespers; Vespers, then the Office of the Dead, then Compline; and Matins immediately after Compline in anticipation of the next day.  At Cluny Abbey in the County of Auvergne in France and at its daughter houses, the Office of All Saints was also celebrated.

In the revised Roman Breviary introduced and made obligatory throughout the Church in 1568, Matins and Lauds (of the Day) were officially fused together, with the structure of Matins radically altered.

As the liturgies for these hours developed, convents began to need several different books for their services:  a Psaltery, a book of prayers, an antiphonary, and a lectionary.  When the Divine Office spread to secular parishes and the mendicant orders arose, the need for a concise and abridged volume with appropriate psalms, readings, prayers, and antiphons gathered by service.

Thus came the Breviary, at least for the diurnal offices (Lauds through Compline), first for the Franciscans.  In the Middle Ages, extremely abridged versions of the Daily Offices became popular among the laity, especially after the invention of the printing press, each called Book of the Hours.

The full Hours of the Divine Office were said by cathedral chapters, convents, and collegiate churches in choir; parish priests in non-collegiate churches were at first strongly urged, then later required, to say them daily also, but with more leeway as to the time.

Anglo-Saxon Hours

The old Anglo-Saxon Church had its own system of seven daily offices, promulgated by Ecbert, first Archbishop of York 735-766.  They were as follows, with their Continental counterparts:

Uhtsang (Matins)

*Daegredsang (Lauds)

Primsang (Prime)

Undersang (Terce)

Middaegsang (Sext)

Nonsang (None)

Efensang (Vespers)

Nihtsang (Compline)

*There was no actual counterpart to Lauds that I know of, but had there been one, it would have been called Daegredsang, daegred being the Anglo-Saxon for “dawn”.

Uht, the base of Uhtsang, meant the dark just before dawn, indicates the time it probably was sung.  To this day in the Church of England and member churches of the Anglican Communion, Evening Prayer (normally said at the time of Vespers) is often called Evensong.

Aethelwold, Bishop of Winchester 963-984, issued with the consent of his council in 973 the Regularis Concordia, a major reform and update of the Rules of St. Benedict specific to England which expanded the English Divine Office to eight hours or offices.

Irish Hours

In the Early Middle Ages, the Irish developed their own counterparts of the Continental version, which certainly also saw use among the Picts, the Scots of Dal Riata, and the Angles of Northumbria, and even on the Continent, taken to those places by Ireland’s “White Martyrs”.

Midnocht (Matins)

Iarmerge (Lauds)

Anteirt (Prime)

Tert (Terce)

Medon Lai (Sext)

Noin (None)

Fescor (Vespers)

Deired Lai (Compline)

 

The Medieval Church in the Isles, Part 2: What is a day?

To better understand the Divine Office (Liturgy of the Hours), we need to first exam the definition of a day, specifically, the diving line between yesterday and today or between today and tomorrow.

For most of us in our daily lives, day (or daytime) begins at sunrise, or dawn (whether or not we are then awake), while night (or nighttime) begins at sunset, or dusk.  And thus it was to our long ago ancestors, such as those early Homo sapiens who first traversed by generational stages the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, and Anatolia to invade the territory of their cousins the Homo neanderthanensis, with their first beachead in the Balkans.  These were the pre-Indo-European H. sapiens once upon a time called the Cro Magnons; the Indo-Europeans arrived in the Continent thirty centuries later via the Russian steppe.

The ancients, understanding that daytime plus nighttime comprised one rotation of the Earth (or rather in the belief of many cultures one revolution of the Sun around the Earth), rather confusingly called this block of time by the same name as that of one of its two major divisions.  These days the block of time is specified as a “civil day”, but without necessarily implying that people are at all civil about it.

To make matters even worse for us, their descendants, they all disagreed about at what point during that block of time a day began and ended.

For ancient Egyptians (Kemites, the ancestors of modern Copts) and Babylonians (whether Akkadian, Kassite, Amorite, or Chaldean), a day began at sunrise and gave way to the following day at sunrise.

The Babylonians, incidentally, used ancient Sumerian for their religion, as did the Assyrians, much the same as the Indo-Aryans used Sanskrit and the Aramaic-speaking Jews and Samaritans used a form of ancient Canaanite called Hebrew.

For Aryans, the ancient Medes and Persians (Iran literally means “the Aryans”), following Mazdayana, the teachings of Zartosht (Zarathustra, Zoroaster), the day was counted from dawn to dawn.

Both of these were versions of what is known as the solar day.

The Greeks, Jews, Samaritans, Arabs, Celts, & Germans all counted the day from sunset to sunset, which in the European Middles Ages became known as the Florentine system and which is also known as the lunar day.  In the case of the Hellenistic Jews and Samaritans of their respective Diasporas, there is evidence they adopted the solar day of their neighbors, especially in Alexandria and the rest of Egypt.

Ancient and medieval astronomers along with related scholars used the astronomical day, which runs from noon to noon, the opposite of the one Romans brought to the table.

Speaking of, last but not least, the Romans counted their days from midnight to midnight, but few if any of the empire’s dependencies and clients used that frame even after adopting the Roman calendar.

It was not until the International Meridian Conference in Washington City, District of Columbia, U.S.A. in October 1884 (the same that determined the Prime Meridian and established Greenwich Mean Time) that midnight was established as the border between days on an international basis for purposes of commerce and transportation.

However, Jews, Samaritans, and Muslims still count their days from sunset to sunset in their religious calendars, as do traditional Christian liturgical-based churches (Eastern Orthodox, Roman, Anglican, etc.), in all of which a day begins at sundown.

The Medieval Church in the Isles, Part 1: The Dioceses

Many of the medieval dioceses of the Church in the Isles and its outlying districts (Brittany, Britonia, Channel Islands) had their roots or even start in the church under the Roman Empire, but most not so.

Irish Pre-Reformation Dioceses

The twelfth century reform movement in the Irish Church conducted held four councils of jurisdictions temporal and spiritual across the island, the most important as far as ecclesiastical hierarchy and organization are concerned were the second and third of these synods.

At the start of the 12th century, there were or had been 94 dioceses in Ireland (with a very few extinct).  That number puts an exclamation point on the need to reduce the number of dioceses.

Synod of Rath Breasail

The Synod of Rath Breasail in 1111 divided the island into two ecclesiastical provinces of twelve dioceses each plus the two provincial sees, with one see at Cashel and the other see at Armagh.  Two others were added in the aftermath.  The twenty-six dioceses approved, with the tribal territories they fell in, plus the two later, were:

Province of Armagh

Ulster

1.  Armagh (in Airghialla)
2.  Ardstraw (in Cenel nEoghain; see moved to Maghera/Rathlure 1150)
3.  Clogher (in Ui Chremthainn)
4.  Connor (in Dal nAraidi & Dal Riata)
5.  Down (in Dal Fiatach)
6.  Raphoe/Derry (in Tir Connaill and Inis Eogain)

Connacht

1.  Ardagh (in Conmaicne Rein, Conmaicne Angaile, & Conmaicne Sleib Formaile, as well as Ui Briuin Breifne)
2.  Cong (in Conmaicne Cuile Tolad & Conmaicne Mara; merged into Tuam in at Rath Breasail in 1152)
3.  Clonfert (in Ui Maine)
4.  Elphin (in Ui Briuin Ai or Siol Murraidh and Ui Aillelo)
5.  Killala (in Ui Fiachrach Muiadhe)
6.  Tuam (in Conmaicne Dunmore, which the Ui Conchubhair, rulers of the Kingdom of Connacht had taken as their base to be near the threat of the Muintir Murchada or O’Flahertys)

Meath

1.  Clonard (in Meath, the late Co. Westmeath)
2.  Duleek (in Brega, the later Co. Meath; Synod of Uisneach the same year suppressed the diocese, assigning Brega to Clonard and giving Meath to Clonmacnoise).

Province of Cashel

Munster

1.  Cashel (in Eoghnacht Caiseal)
2.  Cork, (in Viking settlement, Ui Eachach Mumha, & Eoghanachta Raithlind)
3.  Emly (in Eoghanachta Aidne)
4.  Limerick (in Viking settlement & Ui Fidgente)
5.  Lismore (Deisi Mumhan)
6.  Killaloe (in Tuadh Mumha)
7.  Ratass (in Ciarraighe, Corco Duibhne, & Eoghanachta Locha Lein)

Leinster

1.  Ath Cliath (or Dublin; added after the synod)
2.  Ferns (in Ui Ceinnsealigh and Wexford)
3.  Glendalough (in Ui Muiredaig)
4.  Kildare (in Ui Failge, Ui Cairpri Laigin, & Ui Faelain)
5.  Kilkenny (in Osraige)
6.  Leighlin (in Ui Drona)
7.  Waterford (in Viking settlement plus Deisi Mumhan)

The Diocese of Dublin had stopped acknowledging the Archdiocese of Canterbury as its superior in 1096 but was not part of this synod.

Synod of Kells

The Synod of Kells in 1152 reorganized the island into four provinces.  With a changes noted below, this configuration remained until the Reformation.

Province of Armagh (Ulster)

1.  Ardagh (minus Kells)
2.  Armagh
3.  Clonard (suppressed, territory to Diocese of Meath after 1202)
4.  Connor
5.  Down
6.  Kells (in Ui Briuin Breifne, also known as Breifne or Tir mBriuin then Kilmore after 1254)
7.  Maghera/Rathlure (see moved to Derry 1254)
8.  Raphoe

Province of Cashel (Munster)

1.  Ardfert
2.  Cashel
3.  Cloyne (from Cork in Muscraige, Eoghanachta Glendamnacht, & Ui Liathain)
4.  Cork
5.  Emly
6.  Kilnefora (from Killaloe in Corco Mruad)
7.  Killaloe
8.  Limerick
9.  Lismore
10.  Roscrea (from Killaloe; returned to Killaloe 1168)
11.  Ross (from Cork; in Corca Laoidhe)
12.  Inis Cathaigh (Scattery Island); suppressed 1188
13.  Waterford

Province of Dublin (Leinster)

1.  Dublin (City plus Fingall, north County Dublin)
2.  Ferns
3.  Glendalough (merged into Dublin 1216)
4.  Kildare
5.  Kilkenny
6.  Leighlinn

Province of Tuam (Connacht)

1.  Achonry (in Luigne & Gailenga)
2.  Clonfert
3.  Clonmacnoise (Ui Maine)
4.  Killala
5.  Kilmacduagh (Ui Fiachrach Aidne)
6.  Mayo (merged into Tuam 1209)
7.  Elphin (absorbed the unrecognized sees of Roscommon, Ardcarn, & Drumcliff)
8.  Tuam
9.  Annaghdown (created 1179; included Muintir Murchada, Delbhna Tir Dha Locha, & Conmaicne Mara; merged into Tuam 1485)

Suppressed Irish Dioceses

These are the 51 dioceses suppressed at the above synods which were extant (mostly) at the dawn of the 12th century in addition to the 43 listed above (a few of which were later suppressed themselves).

(For this information, I am deeply indebted to Benignus Millet, OFM, for his article “Dioceses in Ireland up to the 15th Century” in Seanchas Ardmhacha: Journal of the Armagh Diocesan Historical Society, Vol. 12, No. 1 (1986), pp. 1-42, accessed on jstor.com)

Aughankelly (Kilconway, Co. Antrim)
Aghagower (Burrishole, Co. Mayo)
Ardbraccan (Lower Navan, Co. Meath)
Ardcarne (Boyle, Co. Roscommon)
Ardmore (Decies, Co. Waterford)
Aughrim (Kilconnell, Co. Galway)
Bangor (Ards Lower & Castlereagh Lower, Co. Down)
Birr (Ballybritt, Co. Offaly)
Castledermot (Kilkea & Moone, Co. Kildare)
Castlekeeran (Upper Kells, Co. Meath)
Clondalkin (Uppercross, Co. Dublin)
Clones (Clonkelly, Co. Fermanagh, Monaghan & Dartry, Co. Monaghan)
Clonfad (Farbill, Co. Westmeath)
Clonkeen (Ardee, Co. Louth)
Coleraine (Coleraine, Co. Londonderry)
Devenish Island (Magheraboy, Co. Fermanagh)
Dromiskin (Louth, Co. Louth)
Dulane (Upper Kells, Co. Meath)
Dunleer (Ferrard, Co. Louth)
Dunshaughlin (Ratoath, Co. Meath)
Fennor (Lower Duleek, Co. Meath)
Finglas (Castleknock, Co. Dublin)
Fore (Fore, Co. Westmeath)
Glendalough (Ballinador, Co. Wicklow)
Inan (Upper Moyfrenragh, Co. Meath)
Inishbofin (Ballynahinch, Co. Galway)
Inishkeen (Upper Dundalk, Co. Louth)
Killasprugbrone (Carbury, Co. Sligo)
Kilcullen (Kilcullen, Co. Kildare)
Killashee (South Nass, Co. Kildare)
Killeigh (Geashill, Co. Offaly)
Lorrha (Lower Ormond, Co. Tipperary)
Louth (Louth, Co. Louth)
Lusk (Balrothery East, Co. Dublin)
Lynally (Ballyowen, Co. Offaly)
Mahee Island (Castlereach Lower, Co. Down)
Monasterboice (Ferrard, Co. Louth)
Moville (Inishowen East, Co. Donegal)
Mungret (Pubblebrien, Co. Limerick)
Raholp (Lecale Co. Down)
Rashee (Antrim Upper, Co. Antrim)
Rathlin Island (Cary, Co. Antrim)
Seirkieran (Ballybritt, Co. Offaly)
Slane (Upper Slane, Co. Meath)
Sleaty (Slievemargy, Co. Laois)
Swords (Nethercross, Co. Dublin)
Tallaght (Uppercross, Co. Dublin)
Terryglass (Lower Ormond, Co. Tipperary)
Trevet (Ratoath & Skreen, Co. Meath)
Trim (Lower Moyfenrath & Upper Navan, Co. Meath)
Tuamgraney (Tulla Upper, Co. Clare)

Wardenship of Galway

In 1485, the Pope granted to its parish the status of collegiate church, with its advowson or patronage in the hands of its council of burgesses.  In addition, he made the Collegiate Church of St. Nicholas extra-diocesan, answerable only to the Pope, something doen in only one other case in the British Isles.

Scottish Pre-Reformation Dioceses

The Britons in the Roman province of Valentia between the Walls (Hadrian’s and Antonine) and later Hen Ogledd kingdoms of Manaw, Eidyn, Gododdin, Novant, and Strathclyde were at least partially Christian at least into the early Sub-Roman era.  Early evangelists of those areas and into Caledon (southern Picts) include St. Mungo, St. Ninian, and St. Palladius.  There is, however, no trace of their former existence, at least not a continuing one.

The original dioceses of the Scottish Church when it was created as an independent entity answering only to Rome by Pope Celestine III in 1192 were Aberdeen, Brechin, Caithness, Dunblane, Dunkeld, Glasgow, Moray, Ross, and St. Andrews.

The Diocese of Iona was founded on the island and in the abbey of that name by St. Colmcille (Columba) in 563, whose bishop carried episcopal authority but answered to the abbot.  Until the mid-9th century, the see held the primacy of both Ireland and of Fortrenn, the dominant Pictish kingdom based at Inverness, along with that of the Muintir Colmcille.

Due to Viking raids, Kenneth mac Alpin, King of the Picts, moved the primacy of Fortrenn to Dunkeld c. 850 along with a few relics of St. Columba (as he was to the Picts and later Scots).  The primacy of Ireland transferred to Kells in 878, along with division of his relics between the two, according to the Annals of Ulster, though the abbey and the coarb of St. Colmcille remained at Iona until 891, when the Abbot of Armagh became also the Abbot of Iona, and the primacy of Iona ended.

The abbey itself may have continued for some time, possibly until the King of Norway seized the island in 1114.  Upon his recapture of it in 1164, Somerled mac Godfrey, King of the Isles and Lord of Kintyre, Argyll, and Lorn, invited renewed Irish involvment, which may have been when the Culdees arrived on the island.  Continental-style monastic activity did not begin until 1203 when Ragnald mac Somerled, King of the Isles, invited Benedictines to take over the abbey as its chapter in 1203.  The Culdees attached themselves to the Benedictine chapter.

The Diocese of Kingarth, based on the Isle of Bute, was established by St. Cathan in the 6th century and lasted until at least the late 7th century.  It was never revived, though there are some claims that link it to the later Diocese of Dunblane.

The Diocese of Dunkeld was founded as the Abbey of Dun Chailean (Fort of the Caledons) in 729 with Columban monks, who were replaced in 815 by a group of Culdees.  Kenneth I mac Alpin moved the episcopal primacy of the Scottish Church to Dunkeld c. 850, naming its abbot, Tuathal mac Argtusa, the “prime bishop of Fortrenn”.  Upon Tuathal’s death in 865, the see, or at least the primacy, moved to the Abbey of Abernethy.  The diocese was revived about 1114 by Alexander I, King of Albainn.

There are some indications of a continued and rival line of bishops at Dunkeld supporting and supported by Constantine I mac Kenneth and his descendants based at Dunnideer in Buchan against the bishops at Abernethy and Kilrymont supporting and supported by Aedh I mac Kenneth and his descendants based at Forteviot in Atholl.

When the diocese was reestablished in Continental form by Alexander I, it was granted authority over the abthaneries of Dunkeld, Dull, Kirkmichael, Madderty, and Glendochart, as well as the former territory of the Dal Riata by then called Argyll (Oirir Goidheal/Earra Ghaidheal, “Coast of the Gaels”).

The Diocese of Abernethy began as an abbey mission of Iona and became the prime see of the Picts when it moved there from Dunkeld in 865.  The prime see stayed until early in the rule of Constantine II mac Aedh, the first to use the title Ri Albainn (King of Alba), who moved at least the primacy to Kilrymont.  As for the abbey itself, that continued to 1196, when King William the Lyon granted it, its land, and its chapter to the Abbey of Arbroath established in 1178, after which it ceased to exist.  In 1273, Gilbert de Umfravile, Earl of Angus, founded a collegiate church on the site.

The Diocese of Kilrymont (Cennrighmonaid) began as the Abbey of Kilrymont in the 8th century, becoming the see of a diocese upon installation of its first bishop, Cellach, in 908.  Until the death of Bishop Fothad II in 1093, its incumbents were referred to as “Bishop of Albainn” or as “Bishop of the Scots”.  Reorganized on Continental lines by St. Margaret in 1107, it became the Diocese of St. Andrews.  It rose to an archdiocese in 1472.

The Diocese of Mortlach was founded 1012 by Malcolm II, King of Albainn, in honor of a battle he had won.  David I, King of the Brets and Scots, and Bishop Nechtan, the diocese’s incumbent, moved the see to Old Aberdeen in 1136 so that it became the Diocese of Aberdeen, over the Mormaerdoms of Mar and Buchan.

The Diocese of Kirkjuvagr was founded in 1035 by Thorfinn the Mighty Sigurdsson, Jarl of Orkney, for the people of Orkney and Shetland with its see at Birsay.  The see moved to become the Diocese of Kirkwall in 1137.  The diocese was subject to the Province of York until establishment of the Province of Nidaros (in Norway) in 1152.  Orkney and Shetland were annexed into the Kingdom of Scots and into the Scottish Church as the Diocese of Orkney in 1472.

The Diocese of Moray was established by Alexander I, King of Albainn, at Birnay in 1107, covering much the same territory as the former kingdom had.  Its see moved to Kinnedor then Spyvie before settling at Elgin, where it at last received a proper cathedral.

The Diocese of Glasgow, first established in the kingdom of Alt Clud by St. Mungo in the 6th century but long defunct, the diocese was reestablished c. 1116 by David, Prince of the Cumbrians (later David I), with John the Chaplain as its first incumbent.  It became an archdiocese in 1492.

The Diocese of Ross was established by David I c. 1127 at Rosemarkie near the site of a former abbey founded by St. Moluag of Lismore out of the territory of the Diocese of Moray.  The see transferred to Fortrose on the Black Isle in 1309.

The Diocese of Dunblane was established in Strathearn and Menteith about 1140 by David I by reviving the old see of Abernethy and moving it to the Culdee abbey founded by St. Blane of Kingarth as a Columban house.

The Diocese of Galloway, also known as Candida Casa and Whithorn, was first established by St. Ninian in the 5th century.  In time it faded away, but was revived again by the Angles of Northumbria in the 8th century, only to once again wither.  Not until Fergus, Lord of Galloway, revived it in 1143 did it have staying power.  The diocese belonged to the Province of York until 1359 and only formally joined the Scottish Church in 1430.

The Diocese of Caithness was established by David I in 1146, with its see at the Culdee house of Dornoch.

The Diocese of Brechin was established in 1150 by David I at a Culdee abbey at the site of the new see, with its abbot as first bishop, covering much the same territory as the extinct Diocese of Abernethy.

The Diocese of Sodor was created for the Isle of Mann and the Hebrides (collectively called Sodor or South Isles by the Norse) in 1154 in the Province of Nidaros with its see at Pell (Isle of Mann).  After antipope Clement VII split off the Hebrides, Pell continued as the see of the newly reconstituted Diocese of Sodor and Mann.  In 1453, the diocese separated from Nidaros and was attached to the Province of York.

The Diocese of Argyll, with its see at Lismore, was created in 1186 by Pope Urban III in the western portion of the Diocese of Dunkeld, taking in for Argyll, Cowall, Kintyre, Lorn, and Lochaber as well as the islands of Lismore, Kerrera, Seil, and Luing.

The Diocese of the Isles was created in 1387 after its territories were split from the Diocese of Sodor by Avignon anti-pope Clement VII and attached to the Scottish Church, with its see initially at Snizort on the Isle of Skye before moving to the Benedictine abbey on Iona.  The Isles themselves (including Mann) had been possessions of Scotland since 1266.

The Collegiate Church of St. Giles in Edinburgh, made collegiate only in 1466, was made extra-diocesan in 1470, with its chapter answerable only to the Pope in Rome, the first such case for a secular church in the Isles.

Pre-Reformation Dioceses of England

Records of the dioceses founded in Roman Britain (save for those in Wales founded then and still extant) have been lost for a millenium and a half, and though there is some indication the Church at some level survived until his era, I will begin with St. Augustine.

The dioceses after the advent of St. Augustine were created on a part tribal, quasi-territorial basis.

The premier diocese of England, the Diocese of Canterbury, was founded in 597 by missionary archbishop Augustine among the Cantwara.  Always an archdiocese, after 604 its diocesan as opposed to provincial authority only covered East Kent, or Kent east of the River Medway.

The Diocese of Rochester was established among the West Cantwara, the part of Kent west of River Medway, in 604.  Although a separate diocese, it still required approval of Canterbury for appointment of its bishops until 1148, only after which did it become truly independent.

The Augustinian-era Diocese of London was established in 604, its original incarnation under Roman Britain having long been extinct; its authority included the Middle Seax and the East Seax.

The Diocese of Dunwich was established in 630 to serve the East Angles.  It was divided into the continuing Diocese of Dunwich (Suffolk) and the new Diocese of Elmham (Norfolk) in 672; the two dioceses reunited in 955 with the see of the reformed diocese at Elham.  The see moved to Theford in 1075, and finally to Norwich in 1094, since which it has been known as the Diocese of Norwich.

The Diocese of Lindisfarne was first founded in 635 by St. Aidan out of the Columban abbey of Iona to serve the whole of Northumbria.  After the Synod of Streonshalh (Whitby) in 664, the see of the kingdom transferred back to York.

The first (Gewisse) Diocese of Dorcester was established among the Gewisse in 634; the see was moved to Winchester in 660, where it has been since as the center of the Diocese of Winchester.  The Gewisse did not become the West Seax until the ascent of Caedwalla in 685.

The Diocese of Repton was created for the Kingdom of Mercia, for which it was also known as the Diocese of Mercia, in 656; the see was moved to Lichfield in 669.  The Diocese of Lichfield was raised to an archbishopric in 787, making three archdioceses in England, with its suffragan dioceses of Worcester, Leicester, Lindsey, Hereford, Elmham, and Dunwich.  The elevation proved to be short-lived, ending in 796 with the suffragan dioceses returned to Canterbury.  Due to Viking attacks, the see moved to Chester (Diocese of Chester) in 1075, then to Coventry in 1089, at which its name became the Diocese of Coventry and Lichfield.  In 1539, the see was returned to Lichfield and the diocese became the Diocese of Lichfield and Coventry.

The Diocese of York was one of three known sees of the ancient British church (the others were at London and Caerleon-upon-Usk) that dissolved in the wake of the 5th century disruptions.  A diocese was created for Roman missionary Paulinus in 625, but it collapsed with Paulinus’ flight into exile in 633 after the death of his royal sponsor.  The diocese was recreated in 664 after the Synod of Streoneshalh (Whitby) in 664 and was raised to an archdiocese in 735.

The Diocese of Hereford was created among the Magonsaetas on the border of Wales in 676.

The Diocese of Lindisfarne was recreated in 678 to serve the people of Bernicia, the northern part of the kingdom of Northumbria whose southern half, the former Deira, surrounded the town of York.  Upon the appointment of St. Cuthbert in 684, this diocese gained special controls over the region between the River Tyne and the River Wear which became known as the Liberty of St. Cuthbert.

Monks fleeing Lindisfarne in 883 stopped at a former Roman fort known as Concangis, where they build a monastery and church, calling the place Conceastre (now Chester-le-Street).  It became the see of the diocese, though the incumbent’s title remained the same.  In 995, the see and St. Cuthbert’s relics were transferred to Dunholme, the site of a former Roman fort called Caer Weir by the Britons, and the jurisdiction became the Diocese of Durham. Its prelates became Prince-Bishops in 1017; beginning in 1293, the diocese was also known as the County Palatine of Durham.

The Diocese of Hexham  was created in 678 between the River Aln and the River Tees.  It became defunct after 821, largely because of Viking raids, and its territory merged back into the Diocese of Lindisfarne.

The Diocese of Sidnacester was created among the Lindiswara in 678, and was better known as the Diocese of Lindsey.  It united with the second (Mercian) Diocese of Dorchester under one incumbent in 971, merging completely into the latter in 1011.

The Diocese of Leicester was founded in 679 among the Middle Angles; its see transferred to Dorchester in 875, so that it became the second Diocese of Dorchester.  This diocese united with the Diocese of Lindsey in 971 as two dioceses under a single incumbent, with the two fully merged in 1011 under the continued name Diocese of Dorchester.  The see of the diocese moved in 1072 so that it became the Diocese of Lincoln, by far the largest diocese with the largest cathedral chapter in all England and third largest in Western Christendom.

The Diocese of Ripon was created in 679, mostly for Eadhaed, the first Bishop of Sidnacester (Lindsey), appointed in 678 by Ecgfrith, King of Northumbria, but expelled in 679 by Aethelred I of Mercia after his forces defeated Ecgfrith and the Northumbrians at the Battle of the River Trent and retook Lindsey.  The diocese ceased in 686 upon the retirement of its one and only incumbent.

The Diocese of Worcester was created among the Hwicce in 680.

The Diocese of Selsey was created for the South Seax in 681.  Its see was transferred in 1075 so that it became the Diocese of Chichester.

The Diocese of Abercorn was established in 681 on the northern frontier of Northumbria in its subprovince of Dunbar or Lothian.  The sole incumbent of its see at Abercorn, Trumwine, a Pict from Aberdeen, was referred to as the Bishop of the Picts.  The diocese collapsed with Northumbria’s disastrous loss to the Picts at the Battle of Nechtansmere in 685.

The Diocese of Sherborne formed out of the Diocese of Winchester in 705 for the Dorsaetas, the Somersaetas, and the Defnaestas.  The diocese split into three in 909:  Crediton (Devon and Cornwall) and Wells (Somerset), leaving the continuing Sherborne with Dorset.  The diocese merged with that of Ramsbury in 1075 as the Diocese of Salisbury (Sarum).

The Diocese of Wells formed out of that of Sherborne in 909.  Its see moved to Bath (Diocese of Bath) in 1090; then to Glastonbury in 1197, known as the Diocese of Glastonbury then as the Diocese of Bath and Glastonbury until 1219, when it became the Diocese of Bath.  Since 1245, it has been the Diocese of Bath and Wells.

The Diocese of Crediton in Devon and Cornwall formed out of Sherborne in 909.  Cornwall split off c. 924 as the Diocese of St. Germans.  The two dioceses reunited under a single bishop in 1027, with the see of that bishop moving to Exeter in 1046.  The separate dioceses merged as the Diocese of Exeter in 1050.  (Cornwall finally separated again in 1876 to become the Diocese of Truro).

The Diocese of Ramsbury formed in Wiltshire and Berkshire out of the Diocese of Winchester in 909.  The diocese merged with that of Sherborne in 1075 as the Diocese of Salisbury (Sarum).

The Diocese of Salisbury (Sarum), as mentioned above, came about in 1075 from the merger of the dioceses of Sherborne and of Ramsbury.

The Diocese of Ely only gained an episcopal see in 1109, but it grew from what had been an important Anglo-Saxon convent founded in 673 that was destroyed by Vikings, replaced with a Benedictine monastery in 970, and finally made a diocese.  Covering approximately the lands of the former sub-kingdoms of North Gwyras and South Gwyras, this diocese when founded took in the Isle of Ely and Cambridgeshire.

The Diocese of Carlisle was created in 1133 out of the Diocese of Durham.

Though technically outside this timeframe, it is worth noting that in 1539-1540, Henry VIII, King of England, formed six dioceses from the jurisdictions of abolished monasteries, those of Westminster, Bristol, Chester, Gloucester, Oxford, and Peterborough.  Of these, the Diocese of Westminster lasted just ten years, 1540-1550, with the rest surviving until today.

The Diocese of Sodor and Man was created in the Province of Nidaros in 1387 after the split off of the Hebrides islands from the Diocese of Sodor and attachment to the Scottish Church as the Diocese of the Isles.  Pretty much confined to the Isle of Mann, this diocese was attached to the Church of England’s Province of Canterbury from 1453 until 1542, when it transferred to the Province of York.

Welsh Pre-Reformation Dioceses

What became the Diocese of Llandaff was founded by St. Dyfrig, Bishop of Sub-Roman kingdom of Ergyng and grandson of the founder of the kingdom, with his see at Caerleon.  The see later moved to the Abbey of Llandaff founded by St. Teilo (Eliud in Cornwall) in the first half of the 6th century due to the expansion of the kingdom of the Magonsaetas in what is now Herefordshire.  The diocese grew to cover all of Glywys (Morganwg) and Gwent as well.

In the Roman era, Bishop Adelphius of Isca Augusta Silurum (Caerleon-upon-Usk), attended the Council of Arles in 314.  His diocese covered the entire province of Britannia Segunda.  St. Teilo founded his abbey on the site of a church reportedly founded by St. Dyfan and St. Fagan in 146 CE.

The Diocese of Bangor was established in the Kingdom of Gwynedd in 546 by St. Deiniol, when Maelgwn Hir was king.

The Diocese of St. David’s was founded by St. David in the Kingdom of Dyfed (which at the time included Brychneiog) as the Diocese of Mynyw (Menevia) in the mid-6th century.  If not officially an archbishop, the see’s incumbent was still looked at as a metropolitan by the other Welsh bishops until the Welsh Church’s subjugation by Canterbury.

The Diocese of Llanbadarn was founded by St. Padarn, who served as its first bishop, in the early 6th century in the Kingdom of Ceredigion.  By the late 8th century, it had been forced to merge into the Diocese of St. David’s, reportedly by the murder of its clergy.

St. Kentigern (Mungo), temporarily exiled from Govan, founded the Diocese of of Llanelwy in the Kingdom of Powys c. 550.  Upon his return north, St. Asaph succeeded to the see.  After serious territory losses to the Mercians and the building of Offa’s Dyke in 798, the diocese collapsed.  It was revived in 1143 by Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury, and renamed the Diocese of St. Asaph.

Medieval Brittany

The ecclesiastical Province of Tours, to which all these dioceses belonged (and still belong in one form or another) is coterminous with the former Roman imperial administrative province of Lugdunensis Tertia.

The Diocese of Vannes (Vannetais) was established in the 5th century for the civitas of the Veneti.

The Diocese of Rennes (Rennais) was established in the 5th century for the civitas of the Redones.

The Diocese of Quimper (Cornouaille) was established in the 5th century for the colony of the Cornovii colonists from southwest Britanniae.

The Diocese of Aleth (Domnonea) was established in the early 6th century among the Dumnonii colonists from southwest Britanniae.  Its bishops used the title Bishop of Poutrocoet.  The see was later moved and the diocese renamed the Diocese of Saint-Malo.

The Diocese of Leon was, according to legend, founded by St. Paul Aurelian in the mid 6th century.  Its was later renamed the Diocese of Saint-Pol-de-Leon.

The Diocese of Nantes (Nanntais) was established in the late 6th century by St. Martin of Vertou.

The Archdiocese of Dol was established by missus imperatoris (imperial emissary, of Louis the Pious) Nominoe in 848 at the abbey of Dol founded by St. Samson.  In 1199, Pope Innocent III subordinated all of Brittany to the Archbishop of Tours, but did not stop the incumbent of Dol from using the title archbishop and its insignia until the French Revolution.

The Diocese of Treguier was founded by imperial emissary Nominoe at the abbey of St. Tudwal in the mid-9th century

The Diocese of Saint-Brieuc was founded by imperial emissary Nominoe in the mid-800s at the abbey of St. Brioc.

Medieval Britonia

Britonia was the name of both the British colony on the northern shores of Galicia in and of its chief town.

The Diocese of Britonia was established the Suebi Kingdom of Galicia in 569 CE; to its were assigned the churches of Britonia, of Asturias, and the monastery of Maximus.  Being exiles from southwest Great Britain and influenced by the Irish Church, the church practiced the Celtic Rites.  Originally in the ecclesiastical Province of Lugo, Liuvigild of Hispania and Septimania attached it to the Province of Braga after his Visigothic kingdom absorbed Galicia in 585.

At the Council of Toledo in 633, the Celtic Rite and major seasonal calendar of Britonia were suppressed, and Britonia adopted the Visigothic Rite. 

The town of Britonia was temporarily abandoned when it was destroyed by the Moors in 716, including by its bishop and clergy, but they returned after the establishment of the Kingdom of Asturias in 718.  After Britonia was attacked by Vikings in 830, the independence of the diocese collapsed.

The district was revived as a diocese in 866 with its see at Mondumetum (Mondoñedo), the incumbent of which was referred to as the bishop of Britonia as late as 899.  It survived in this guise throughout the remaining Middle Ages until today.

Channel Isles

Known to the Romans as the Lenur Isles.

Until 1569 when they were finally transferred to the English Diocese of Winchester as its Deanery of Jersey (Jersey) and its Deanery of Guernsey (Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, Harm), the churches in the Channel Isles belonged to the French Diocese of Coutances, erected in the 4th century for the civitas of the Gaulish Unelli, despite the fact that the islands themselves were possessions of the Crown of England since 1214 (and before that of the same dynasty as territories of the Duchy of Normandy).