The bishop held authority over the cathedral, parish churches, and hospitals. While the monasteries were largely independent of the episcopacy they still required the bishop if any of the brothers needed to be ordained to the priesthood. The monastic houses may occasionally receive patronage from the bishop and chapter.
The cathedral Bishops • Nectan, fl. 1131/2 • Edward, fl 1147/51-1171 • Matthew, 1172–1199 • John, 1199–1207 • Adam de Kalder, 1207–1228 • Matthew Scot, postulated 1228 • Gilbert de Stirling, 1228–39 • Radulf de Lambley, 1239–47 • Peter de Ramsey, 1247–56 • Richard de Potton, 1256–70 or 1272 • Hugh de Benin, 1272–82 • Henry le Chen, 1282–1328 • Walter Herok, elect and provided but not consecrated, 1329 • Alexander de Kyninmund (I), 1329–1344 • William de Deyn, 1344–1350 • John Rait, 1350-1354/5 • Alexander de Kyninmund (II), 1355–80 • Simon de Ketenis, elected 1380 but not provided • Adam de Tynyngham, 1380-9 • Gilbert de Greenlaw, 1390–1421 • Henry de Lychton, 1422–1440 translated from Moray • Ingram Lindsay, 1441–58 • Thomas Spens, 1457–80 translated from Galloway • Robert Blackadder, 1480–83 • William Elphinstone, 1483–1514 translated from Ross • Alexander Gordon, 1514/15-18 • Robert Forman, before 1515–16 • Gavin Dunbar, 1518–32 • George Learmond, 1529–31 • William Stewart, 1532–45 • William Gordon, 1545–77
Cathedral chapter The development of Aberdeen's chapter was lengthy, even though the papal bull of 1157 authorised Bishop Edward to institute a chapter of secular or monastic clerics. The first signs of chapter enlargement became apparent when a cleric designated as a 'canon' witnessed an act by Bishop John (1199–1207). His successor, Bishop Kalder (1207–1228), had many canons serving on synodal sittings who confirmed his episcopal edicts, with an archdeacon as the senior cleric. Bishop Stirling (1228–1239) continued this system, but the assembly was now called a 'chapter' and possessed its own seal. A canon was now designated 'treasurer' with the dean still subordinate to the archdeacon. By 1239, Bishop Lamley had been elected at a meeting chaired by the dean, although apparently, the archdeacon was still his senior. In c. 1239, a canon had been elevated to the dignity of precentor, and then in 1240, a chancellor was visible. In 1243, a meeting of the chapter demonstrated a change in its structure; the dean was now the senior canon. By 1445, the chapter consisted of twenty-nine canons; the dean, presenter, chancellor, and treasurer were the dignitaries (the archdeacon was no longer a dignitary), and 24 simple canonries made up the remainder. The last canonry to be created was that of the sub-chanter (1527x1534), bringing the total number of canons to 30. Between them, the chapter held 46 appropriated churches in the diocese of Aberdeen and a further 2 in the
diocese of Moray. Under Aberdeen Cathedral's constitution, the bishop chose the entire chapter with one exception, the dean (
decanus). The dean was elected to his position by the chapter after taking the solemn oath of fidelity and to uphold the rights, customs and liberties of the cathedral. He was then installed in the choir and provided with his place in the chapter by the bishop. Canons took an oath of fidelity and obedience to the bishop and the chapter. The chapter's leader was the dean who held total control over all who resided in the cathedral's environs; this extended not only to the canons but also to the lesser ecclesiastics and servants. Next in importance was the precentor, usually referred to as the chanter (
cantor). His responsibilities were to oversee the provision of music used in the church services, choose the choirboys, see to their education, and employ a suitable song-school tutor. Next in seniority was the chancellor (
cancellarius), whose responsibilities included drafting the chapter's correspondence and charters, communicating to the chapter the contents of incoming letters and instructions, and looking after the chapter's library. He also presided over the town's grammar school and selected its teacher. The fourth and last dignity was the treasurer (
thesaurarius), who oversaw the church's treasury. This included items such as gold and silver, drinking cups and expensive apparel. He needed to ensure that the church was adequately supplied with everyday items such as candles, tapers, incense, charcoal, bread and wine for the services, and also mundane things such as mats and bullrushes for floor coverings.
Deaneries A
Deanery, sometimes known as an archdeaconry, is a geographical administrative subdivision within a diocese containing the parish churches. The archdeacon was responsible for the deanery administration, its parishes, parish churches, chapels and clergy. He was assisted in this by the appointed
dean of Christianity (later called
rural dean), who was also one of the parochial clergy. His role was to visit each of his churches annually to inspect the internal and external fabric of the building and the propriety of its clerics. In the Aberdeen diocese, there were five deaneries—Aberdeen, Boyne, Buchan, Garioch and Mar.
Parish churches The expression
parochia changed over time from its original 12th-century meaning as the territory over which a bishop had authority to its later definition of a locality subject to the ecclesiastic charge of a baptismal church. This shift was complete by the 13th century when
parochia and
parochia ecclesia became entirely associated with the parish church. The development of the parochial system in Scotland has been attributed to the reforming zeal of King David I and his introduction of Anglo-Norman lords, yet it is also true that the process had begun under David's predecessors and the native Scottish aristocracy. Some parochial-type entities that had formed before David's reign remained unaltered under David's reshaping of the ecclesiastical landscape. Importantly, David played a significant role in institutionalising the sustainability of the parish unit. The canonical statutes specified the conditions for parish churches. A church built from new had to be made of stone, glazed and erected and funded by the parishioners, while the chancel's construction had to be at the rector's expense. The church had to be consecrated, although it appears that this was frequently overlooked. Again, at his own expense, the rector had to equip the church with furniture, a silver chalice, necessary books, altar coverings and candles. These objects were now the property of the church and had to be left in good condition for the succeeding clergy. Failure to supply these items resulted in the suspension of benefices until compliance. Parish churches were a fundamental resource for large ecclesial establishments such as abbeys and cathedrals. This was achieved by the appropriation of church revenues to the detriment of the resident rectors, also called parsons. The negative impact of these appropriations led to the parsonage largely being confined to the few independent parishes. The bishop always had to sanction appropriations within his diocese, and the recipient of the appropriated parish assumed the obligations and revenues of the parsonage. To ensure that the needs of the parishioners were properly met, the beneficiary needed to establish a vicarage-perpetual. This type of vicar held the rights to some of the fruits of the parish. Despite this, it became normal for these vicarage settlements to be formally part of the appropriation process, with the cure of souls provided either by a stipendiary pensioner vicar or a parochial chaplain. These lowly clergymen were usually poorly paid and often uneducated.
Hospitals Although many hospitals were dependent on monasteries, those within the Aberdeen diocese operated as secular establishments under the bishop's jurisdiction. The benevolent founders of these hospitals imposed specific conditions on their altruism; recipients of care were obligated to offer prayers for the souls of their patron(s) who believed that as a result, they would receive a diminution of their time spent in
purgatory. These hospitals adhered to stringent codes of behaviour and, despite being secular in nature, followed the principles of a monastic rule, often that of St. Augustine. Within the diocese of Aberdeen, a total of eleven hospitals were established. Among these, five were situated in Aberdeen—three in the ecclesiastical burgh of
Old Aberdeen, and two in the royal burgh of New Aberdeen in the harbour area. These hospitals served various purposes, specifically, care of: • lepers – 3, • the sick (non-leper) – 1 • the sick (non-leper) and the poor – 1 • the elderly – 1 • purpose unknown – 1 The Fourth Lateran Council of 1215 prohibited clerics and infirmarers from practising surgery if it included blood-letting, but herbal therapies would have likely been available for the use of inmates. There is very little evidence that doctors attended to the needs of inmates; the emphasis was more on the welfare of the soul than the body. Most hospitals in Scotland were small in terms of inmates, and only in a minority of cases did they house more than 20 residents. The last hospital to be built in the diocese of Aberdeen was the almshouse dedicated to St Mary, and founded by
Bishop Gavin Dunbar in 1532 and had room for only 12 old men.
Monasteries During the late Middle Ages, the bishop was given powers of visitation and correction over the religious houses within his jurisdiction. Despite this, some monastic orders sought and were granted exemption from diocesan audits while others submitted themselves to the bishop's scrutiny. In the Aberdeen diocese, since the Cistercians, Templars, Hospitallers and all of the Friar orders were exempt, the bishop's visitation would have only applied to the houses at Monymusk and Fyvie. The bishop also interacted with monasteries in other limited ways. Generally, monks were not clerics but laymen so for a monastic community to function, it needed the bishop to ordain enough of its numbers into holy orders to provide for its liturgical and sacramental needs. Only the bishop could consecrate monastery churches and chapels and bless the altars with the necessary ecclesiastical utensils. Also since many parish churches in the diocese were annexed to monasteries these appropriations had to be confirmed by the bishop who then needed to ensure that the monasteries continued to provide adequate vicarage provision for the cure of souls. ==Notes==