Medieval Clergy, 800-1250: A Sourcebook

Paperback, 536 pages, Size:152 x 229 mm, Language: English. ISBN 9780888443137. Summary 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. TABLE OF CONTENTS 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