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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture********************************************************************** 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-religionAnyone who wants to follow up the specific role that universities played in clerical education might consult F. Donald Logan's University Education of the Parochaial Clergy in Medieval England. The Lincoln Diocese, c.1300-c1350. Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies, 2014.
Gordon Plumb
-----Original Message-----
From: Thomas Izbicki <[log in to unmask]>
To: MEDIEVAL-RELIGION <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Fri, Aug 16, 2019 3:11 pm
Subject: Re: [M-R] becoming a priestmedieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and cultureAnyone who wants to follow up on Cum ex eo can start with:
The Constitution "Cum ex eo" of Boniface VIII: Education of Parochial Clergy
Mediaeval Studies 24 (1):263-302 (1962)
TT
From: medieval-religion - Scholarly discussions of medieval religious culture <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of John Shinners <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, August 15, 2019 7:34:46 PM
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: [M-R] becoming a priestmedieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and cultureWaaay too long an answer to Anne's question, but since the topic is in my "wheelhouse," as modern lingo puts it, I thought I'd offer it.
In England, and throughout Europe for that matter, there was no uniform program for educating men bound for the priesthood. That doesn’t mean there weren’t various efforts put in place by English (and continental) bishops. There were, of course, those cathedral schools called for by the Third Lateran Council in 1179. The Fourth Council (several of whose canons envisioned a more “professionalized” clergy) expanded the scope of these schools by calling for every church with sufficient revenue to establish one. Fourth Lat mandated that bishops were “carefully to prepare those who are to be promoted to the priesthood and to instruct them, either by themselves or through other suitable persons, in the divine services and the sacraments of the church, so that they may be able to celebrate them correctly.” Regional grammar schools were an outgrowth of these cathedral schools (an oversimplification) and, like the cathedral schools, were looked upon as training ground for the priests-to-be. Bishop John Gervais of Winchester repeated the old synodal canon that parents were bound to see that their children knew the basic prayers of the laity, but he also urged them to have them learn chant for those anticipating a clerical career. Several other bishops stressed the need to educate future priests. In the mid-14th C., Bishop John Grandisson laid out a basic curriculum for schools in his diocese of Exeter and said that he would not ordain young men who had not been educated by it. (I'm skipping the whole topic of papally-approved "Cum Ex Eo" licenses that permitted rectors to suspend residency requirements in their parishes in order to study at a "studium generale," i.e., Oxford and Cambridge since, at least in my estimation, their overall impact in training "on-the-ground" priests was limited.)
One innovative strategy was the traditional parish job of the “aquabajulus” or holy water carrier, given to a minor cleric (Chaucer’s Absolon in the “Miler’s Tale” seems to hold that office). In Exeter and elsewhere bishops ordered that it only be held by students, and the small stipend that came with it be applied to their education, a stepping-stone to priesthood. Clerks such as this were sometimes groomed for the priesthood by their parish priests, like the Somerset chantry priest who recalled that he had been taught to “learn, read, and sing,” by another older chaplain. I’ve always assumed that the local parish incumbent or one of his associate chaplains (especially those who bundled the role of chantry priest and school teacher) kept their eye out for bright boys who showed an interest in a clerical career and cultivated that vocation.
On-the-job training is one of the most obvious ways that parish clergy were trained. All the myriad pastoral manuals that spread in the wake of 4th Lateran were meant to polish the skills of local priests. There’s a lot of recent work about how these circulated parish to parish. Diocesan or archdiaconal convocations were, in effect, classrooms where clergy could assemble and learn from others. The papal legate Otto in 1237 ordered archdeacons to be sure local priests knew the words of the canon of the mass and of baptism. Bp. Walter Cantilupe ordered his synodal statutes to be read aloud by the gathered priests; a copy of them was to be passed from priest to priest, who was obliged to pick up where his colleague left off. Robert Grosseteste urged priests who encountered a pastoral dilemma to consult with neighboring priests.
I’m pulling all this from “Pastors and the Care of Souls in Medieval England," an anthology that Bill Dohar published in 1998. I’m happy to provide more detailed source references.
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture********************************************************************** 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-religionThis is idle curiosity, but I wondered how priests were trained and ordained before the Reformation? Where were they trained? Was there any ‘discernment process’?
(I am reasonably well acquainted with post-reformation routes to ordination as a Priest via a University, or Theological Colleges)
Anne
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********************************************************************** 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-religionJohn Shinners
Professor, Schlesinger Chair in Humanistic Studies, Emeritus
Saint Mary's College
Notre Dame, Indiana 46556
Phone: 574-284-4534
Fax: 284-4855
www.saintmarys.edu/~hust
"Learn everything. Later you will see that nothing is superfluous." -- Hugh of St. Victor (d. 1141)
********************************************************************** 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