medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
I think that at the Norman Conquest, the Normans found a situation in
England where was a mixture of Anglo-Saxon Minsters - stone-built, but
still comparatively small, often with towers (what the purpose of those
was is something of a mystery, but they become associated with burial
rights), and often cruciform - and manorial chapels or village churches,
usually built of wood.
The Minsters had multiple clergy, and served a largish area, with or
without dependant chapels. The manorial or village churches might or
might not be dependant on Minsters. Over the next 150 years, the wooden
churches were rebuilt in stone. The two-cell (occasional three-cell)
churches would generally have an apse. The altar would be either on the
chord of the apse, or further west under the chancel arch - perhaps in
the east end of the nave (apparently the Anglo-Saxon position.) There
would be a clergy seat around the apse, but we should assume a single
priest (and a deacon and an acolyte?)
Some village churches (and some Minsters?) were rebuilt in a cruciform
shape. We should assume that these accommodated multiple priests, but
probably had a smaller "parish" than the area covered by Anglo-Saxon
Minsters.
By the end of the 12th century, the Anglo-Saxon Minsters, the "Norman
Minsters" and the manorial chapels had been re-sorted into "parish
churches", each served by a single priest, and having its own parish.
Some churches (e.g. Greenham in Berkshire) remained as "chapels of ease"
to the former minster or mother-chuch (Thatcham). In northern England,
large parishes remained the norm, with the local "chapels" lacking
burial rights.
In the 13th century chancels were lengthened and rebuilt with square
ends, the altars being moved to the east wall (as far away from the
laity as possible), as a consequence of Lateran IV and the rise of the
doctrine of transubstantiation.
By this stage, the parochial sytem had solidified - some would say
ossified - and newly expanded towns (e.g. King's Lynn and Boston) found
themselves unable to sub-divide their parishes, and could only respond
by building a huge "chapel of ease" (Lynn) or a gigantic parish church
(Boston).
John Briggs
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