The Medieval Clergy, 800–1250: A Sourcebook

The Medieval Clergy gives voice to the so-called secular clergy in the Central Middle Ages – a group that included priests, bishops, deacons, and canons, whose primary responsibilities included ministering to laypeople. These clerics administered the sacraments, and their churches sheltered the poor, housed the relics of the saints, and offered places of protection and community. The documents collected here, most appearing for the first time in English, allow readers to explore the richness of the lives of these clergy: the ideals they strove to emulate, the complexity of their lived experiences, and the multifaceted roles they played – pastoral, sacramental, familial, social, educational, liturgical, memorial, military, economic, legal, and civic.

Illustrations

Abbreviations

Acknowledgments

Note on Translations, Names, and Placenames

Guide for Students

Introduction

Part I. Norms and Expectations of Clerical Conduct

Guiding Precepts

Laws and Rules

Models and Exhortations

Part II. The Rhythms of Clerical Life

Sex, Marriage, and Inheritance

Education, Learning, and Friendship

Old Age, Death Rituals, and Episcopal Succession

Part III. Priestly Duties: Ordination, the Liturgy, and the Sacraments

The Priest and His Flock

On Choosing a Suitable Bishop

Ordering the Church: Blessing, Consecration, Protection

The Cult of Relics

Part IV. The Secular Clergy in the Wider World

Recovery, Settlement, and Administration of Church Lands

The Clerical Precinct

Correction, Judgment, and Arbitration

Waging War and Making Peace

Secular Clergy and the Foundation of Religious Communities

Clergy in the Urban Landscape

Glossary

Select Bibliography

Index