A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the choir stalls, known as prebendal stalls.
At the time of the Domesday Book in 1086, the canons and dignitaries of the cathedrals of England were supported by the produce and other profits from the cathedral estates. [2] In the early 12th century, the endowed prebend was developed as an institution, in possession of which a cathedral official had a fixed and independent income. This made the cathedral canons independent of the bishop, and created posts that attracted the younger sons of the nobility. [3] Part of the endowment was retained in a common fund, known in Latin as communia, [4] which was used to provide bread and money to a canon in residence in addition to the income from his prebend. [2]
Most prebends disappeared in 1547, when nearly all collegiate churches in England and Wales were dissolved by the Act for the Dissolution of Collegiate Churches and Chantries of that year, as part of the Reformation. The church of St Endellion, Cornwall, is one of the few still extant. [5] [6]
The office of prebendary is retained by certain Church of England dioceses (those of Lichfield, Lincoln, and London being significant examples) as an honorary title for senior parish priests, usually awarded in recognition of long and dedicated service to the diocese. These priests are entitled to be called "Prebendary" (usually shortened to Preb.) and have a role in the administration of the relevant cathedral. [7] Prebendaries have a prebendal stall in certain cathedrals and collegiate churches. [8]
The greater chapter of a cathedral includes both the residentiary canons (full-time senior cathedral clergy) and the prebendaries (and, in London, the Minor Canons). In the Church of England, when a diocesan bishop retires, moves to another diocese or dies, the monarch will summon the greater chapter to elect a successor. This election is ceremonial, as the monarch (following the advice of the prime minister) tells the members of the greater chapter whom they are to elect.[ citation needed ]
Wells Cathedral and Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin still call their canons "prebendaries". They form the chapter of the cathedral and sit in their prebendal stalls when in residence in the cathedral.
The prebend is the form of benefice held by a prebendary: historically, the stipend attached to it was usually drawn from specific sources in the income of a cathedral's estates. In the 21st century, many remaining prebendaries hold an honorary position which does not carry an income with it.
The Rector of St Endellion is also a Prebendary. This church is run by a college of priests like St George's Chapel, Windsor.
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Hamo was a 12th- and 13th-century English cleric. He was the Diocese of York's dean, treasurer, and precentor, as well as the archdeacon of the East Riding. His background is unknown, but he was probably a canon of the cathedral chapter at York Minster by 1171. He claimed to have been treasurer of the chapter by 1189, but did not actually hold the office until 1199. Hamo clashed with his archbishop, Geoffrey several times, and when Geoffrey died, Hamo's fellow canons were forbidden by King John of England from electing Hamo to succeed Geoffrey. Hamo died sometime after 1219, when he was last attested as holding his final office, dean.
The prebendaries of Aylesbury can be traced back to Ralph in 1092. The prebend of Aylesbury was attached to the See of Lincoln as early as 1092. An early account states "It is said that a Bishop of Lincoln, desired by the Pope, give the Personage of Aylesbury to a stranger, a kinsman of his, found means to make it a Prebend, and to incorporate it to Lincoln Church." So in the reign of Edward III the church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aylesbury was part of the Deanery of Lincoln, and a separate stall in that Cathedral was set aside for the Dean.
Hugh Murdac was an English clergyman and canon of York Minster in the 12th and 13th centuries.
Thomas Butiller was an English priest in the late 14th and early 15th centuries.
William Fleshmonger(? -1541/42), the son of a Winchester College tenant, was born in Hambledon, Hampshire. He was a Doctor of Canon Law and Dean of Chichester during the turmoil of the English Reformation.
Nicholas Huggate was a King's Clerk and medieval Provost of Beverley Minster.