Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Contributors
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- Dedication
- An Early Fourteenth-Century Affinity: the Earl of Norfolk and his Followers
- John of Gaunt's Household: Attendance Rolls in the Glynde Archive, MS 3469
- ‘With my life, his joyes began and ended’: Piers Gaveston and King Edward II of England Revisited
- Clerical Recruitment in England, 1282–1348
- Secular Patronage and Religious Devotion: the Despensers and St Mary's Abbey, Tewkesbury
- The ‘Calculus of Faction’ and Richard II's Duchy of Ireland, c. 1382–9
- Richard II in the Continuatio Eulogii: Yet Another Alleged Historical Incident?
- Was Richard II a Tyrant? Richard's Use of the Books of Rules for Princes
- Court Venues and the Politics of Justice
- Morality and Office in Late Medieval England and France
Clerical Recruitment in England, 1282–1348
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 September 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Contributors
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- Dedication
- An Early Fourteenth-Century Affinity: the Earl of Norfolk and his Followers
- John of Gaunt's Household: Attendance Rolls in the Glynde Archive, MS 3469
- ‘With my life, his joyes began and ended’: Piers Gaveston and King Edward II of England Revisited
- Clerical Recruitment in England, 1282–1348
- Secular Patronage and Religious Devotion: the Despensers and St Mary's Abbey, Tewkesbury
- The ‘Calculus of Faction’ and Richard II's Duchy of Ireland, c. 1382–9
- Richard II in the Continuatio Eulogii: Yet Another Alleged Historical Incident?
- Was Richard II a Tyrant? Richard's Use of the Books of Rules for Princes
- Court Venues and the Politics of Justice
- Morality and Office in Late Medieval England and France
Summary
Ordination set a mediaeval clerk apart from his contemporaries. As a ‘literate’ youth he was tonsured by the bishop and might thereafter in time proceed to the order of acolyte. He might after that move swiftly to the first of the higher, or ‘holy’, orders, the subdiaconate, or delay for a few years before taking this step. Alternatively, he might not progress to holy orders but prefer to remain free to marry and pursue a non-ecclesiastical career. Once ordained subdeacon, he would probably progress within a year or two to diaconate and priesthood. Although a few subdeacons' and deacons' posts existed in cathedral, collegiate and some other churches, there was usually little benefit in suffering the restrictions imposed by a clerical lifestyle without enjoying the spiritual and pecuniary benefits of being able to celebrate Mass. No doubt a few subdeacons and deacons died or suffered serious disability or for some other reason failed to proceed to the priesthood.
Ordinands who gathered at the embertides to be examined and, unless rejected, to be ordained subdeacon, deacon or priest fall into three categories: members of religious orders; secular clerks who had already obtained a rectory or other bene-fice before committing themselves to the higher orders; and unbeneficed secular clerks. In some ordination lists they appear under separate headings, ‘religiosi’, ‘beneficiati’, and ‘non beneficiati’, and in many other lists ordinands are in practice grouped in this way.
- Type
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- Information
- Fourteenth Century England V , pp. 52 - 77Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2008