medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
From: John Briggs <[log in to unmask]>
> Parish formation is, of course, quite late (12th century?) The parishes
replace both proprietary chapels and multi-clergy churches ("minsters")
- none of which were monastic.
> The situation in France can't have been totally different - it was the
bishop who had jurisdiction over the parish clergy, which would have
been difficult if the churches were of monastic origin.
maybe i'm reading my sources wrong and am in desperate need of Correction,
John.
the best way that i know of to get an overview of what the situation in France
was is to take a look at the _pouillés_ --a kind of census of ecclesiastical
property in each diocese, arranged geographically by archdeaconry/deaconry,
giving (at a minimum) the income of the place, the "beneficia" (in early ones)
or "patroni" (essentially, the "owners," often the "founders").
these have been published by the Academie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres,
in quite a few volumes.
volume 4 gives us those from Chartres viewable/downloadable here:
http://www.archive.org/details/recueildeshist04acad
i've chosen two pages at random (200-201), from the "Pouillé de la fin du XVe
siecle."
let's take (totally at random) the Deanery of Brou (DECANATUS BRAIOTENSIS),
starting on p. 200:
http://www.archive.org/stream/recueildeshist04acad#page/200/mode/2up
the entry for Brou starts off with a list of priories (leaving aside the
leprosaria and chapels), most of which also served as "parish churches" --esp.
in smaller villages.
there are 13 of them, all, by definition, monastic foundations.
next are listed the "ecclesie parrochiales" proper, which, in the smaller
villages, probably shared the same "church" (i.e., fabric) as the "priory"
itself.
i count 37 of these --many being duplications of the priories, as noted.
all of these list as their "patroni" abbots of monasteries in the diocese,
except
for:
3 --under the patronage of the Archdeacon of Chartres (i.e., the "grand"
archdeaconry around Chartres which includes Brou);
3 --under the patronage of the "decanus S. Dionisii de Nogent Rotr.", i.e., of
the Cluniac priory of St. Denis of Nogent-le-Routrou (which was, apparently,
headed by a dean??);
2 --under the patronage of the abbot of "Majoris Monasterii" --i.e.,
Marmoutier, a Benedictine house essentially re-founded in the first half of
the 11th c., formerly across the Loire from the civitas of Tours;
1 --under the patronage of the abbot of Sancti Johannis --i.e., the collegial
church of St. John (Saint-Jean-en-Vallée), formerly below the walls of
Chartres, near the train station;
1 --under the patronage of the abbess of St. Avit (one of the few Benedictine
convents in the diocese), formerly in the valley of the Loir, below the walls
of Chateaudun).
that is to say, all but *3* --out of 37-- are monastic property, strongly
suggesting either monastic foundation or, in some cases, churches in (or
below) _castra_ which may have been founded by secular lords, who subsequently
gave them to monasteries.
[n.b., many "parish churches" in the diocese were built/held by the great
Carolingian monastic houses (esp. St. Benoit-s-Loire, St. Denis and St.
Germain-des-Pres of Paris) --who were *huge* land owners-- until the ravages
of the later 9th and 10th cc., when they fell into lay hands (some destroyed),
and were given back to the church (usually monasteries) in the course of the
later 11th and 12th cc.]
now, it could be, of course, that this is not a fair random sample.
but, i think that it is (and have spent too much time on it to look further).
as to what might have been the case out there in the Western Fringe, as i say,
i know not.
perhaps pouilles or their equivalent were kept on knotted cords or some
similar medium?
c
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