medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
From: John Dillon <[log in to unmask]>
> On 02/12/13, Christopher Crockett wrote:
> "i've never come across this term/office "dean of the province" in France. i
assume that it was a peculiarly Western Fringe phenomenon? was this "dean"
--who apparently also happened to be a bishop himself-- some
kind of "vice-archbishop" for the province? what were his duties? when was
this odd practice established? and, why for? all information about these or
any other of the Bizarre Idiosyncrasies of the Western Fringe is always
welcome to the Unenlightened."
> Not entirely a "peculiarly Western Fringe phenomenon", unless by "Western
Fringe" brother Crockett refers not only -- as is his wont -- to the British
Isles but also to western portions of the German-ruled Imperium Romanum.
well, technically speaking, the western portions of the I.R. would have to be
parts of the Eastern Fringe which is the same as the Western Fringe only, you
know, different.
i mean, those poor folks out there were so confused that they didn't even know
which end of their major churches was the most important one, so they made
both ends round just to be sure not to make any mistakes...
they were evidently Belt *and* Suspenders guys.
just like those U.S. corporate moguls who give campaign money to both the
Dimmoecan & Repuglickum parties, covering their bets on both Tweedledee &
Tweedledumb.
>Traditionally, the bishop of Toul was dean of the ecclesiastical province of
Trier. See (e.g.) this in the _Journal de la Société d'archéologie et du
comité du Musée lorrain_, 11 (1862), at pp. 237-38 (a Google Books
digitization):
> http://tinyurl.com/bfxpcm6
> Here the dignity of dean of the ecclesiastical province seems to have been
largely honorary, giving the incumbent the duties of consecrating archbishops
of Trier and of consecrating other bishops of the province when the archbishop
was unable to do so.
"largely honorary"?
seems to me that "le droit d'exercer certaines fonctions du métropolitain en
cas d'empechement ou absence de cet archeveque" was a bit more than "honorary"
--he either had the right to exercise these certain functions or he didn't.
and, if he did, then, well, he did, exercise those functions.
consecrating one's Archbishop was perhaps an "honor," but it was certainly
more than merely "honorary."
i suppose that such an arrangement --having a kind of "vice-archbishop" makes
a degree of sense (after all, *some*body had to consecrate the new
archbishop), and i have seen some references to suffragan bishops exercising
some functions (like the dedication of a church), filling in for the
Archbishop.
but i've never seen a suffragan bishop specifically referred to as being the
"dean" of a province.
which bishop was the "dean" of the Province of Sens?
i have no idea.
maybe it's mentioned somewhere in the Gallia Christiana vols. for that
province, but i certainly have no memory of having seen a reference to such a
title.
i wonder if there is any entry in DuCange for "vice-[achi]episcopus" or
somesuchlike term.
or, for that matter, a section in his "diaconus" entry which covers this
Fringe usage, West or East.
c
**********************************************************************
To join the list, send the message: subscribe medieval-religion YOUR NAME
to: [log in to unmask]
To send a message to the list, address it to:
[log in to unmask]
To leave the list, send the message: unsubscribe medieval-religion
to: [log in to unmask]
In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
[log in to unmask]
For further information, visit our web site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/medieval-religion
|