Winchester Cathedral Priory

Last updated

Winchester Cathedral Priory
WinchesterOldMinster.jpg
Monastery information
Order Benedictine
Established964
Disestablished1539
Mother house Abingdon Abbey
Dedicated to Holy Trinity, Saint Peter and Saint Paul; Saint Swithun
Diocese Diocese of Winchester
People
Founder(s) Bishop Æthelwold and King Edgar
Important associated figures Swithun
Site
Location Winchester, Hampshire, England

Winchester Cathedral Priory was a cathedral monastery attached to Winchester Cathedral, providing the clergy for the church. Cenwealh son of Cynegils is credited with constructing the Old Minster of Winchester in the 640s, and a new bishopric was created in the 660s with Wine as the first bishop. [1] Although attacked by the Vikings in 860 and 879, the monastery survived and recovered. [2]

Cathedral Christian church that is the seat of a bishop

A cathedral is a church that contains the cathedra of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations with an episcopal hierarchy, such as the Catholic, Anglican, Orthodox, and some Lutheran and Methodist churches. Church buildings embodying the functions of a cathedral first appeared in Spain, Italy, Gaul and North Africa in the 4th century, but cathedrals did not become universal within the Western Catholic Church until the 12th century, by which time they had developed architectural forms, institutional structures and legal identities distinct from parish churches, monastic churches and episcopal residences.

Monastery complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplace(s) of monks or nuns

A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which may be a chapel, church, or temple, and may also serve as an oratory, or in the case of communities anything from a single building housing only one senior and two or three junior monks or nuns, to vast complexes and estates housing tens or hundreds. A monastery complex typically comprises a number of buildings which include a church, dormitory, cloister, refectory, library, balneary and infirmary. Depending on the location, the monastic order and the occupation of its inhabitants, the complex may also include a wide range of buildings that facilitate self-sufficiency and service to the community. These may include a hospice, a school, and a range of agricultural and manufacturing buildings such as a barn, a forge, or a brewery.

Winchester Cathedral Church in Hampshire, United Kingdom

Winchester Cathedral is a cathedral of the Church of England in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It is one of the largest cathedrals in Europe, with the greatest overall length of any Gothic cathedral.

In 964, during the episcopate of Bishop Æthelwold, the Minster's secular priests were replaced by Benedictine monks from Abingdon Abbey, establishing the cathedral priory. [2] Originally intended for 70 monks, the community declined to 62 monks in 1262 and to 29 in 1495, recovering slightly in the following century, with either 33 or 45 monks when the monastery was dissolved on 15 November 1539. [2]

Æthelwold of Winchester was Bishop of Winchester from 963 to 984 and one of the leaders of the tenth-century monastic reform movement in Anglo-Saxon England.

Abingdon Abbey Grade I listed abbey in Abingdon, United Kingdom

Abingdon Abbey was a Benedictine monastery also known as St Mary's Abbey located in Abingdon, historically in the county of Berkshire but now in Oxfordshire, England.

The priory controlled the Sister Hospital at Winchester, and maintained a school. [2]

The house was originally dedicated to the Holy Trinity, and Saint Peter and Saint Paul. [2] A dedication to Saint Swithun, a 9th-century bishop, was added later. [2]

Swithun 9th-century Bishop of Winchester

Swithun was an Anglo-Saxon bishop of Winchester and subsequently patron saint of Winchester Cathedral. His historical importance as bishop is overshadowed by his reputation for posthumous miracle-working. According to tradition, if it rains on Saint Swithun's bridge (Winchester) on his feast day it will continue for forty days. The name was originally spelt Swithhun.

Notes

  1. ↑ Knowles, Medieval Religious Houses, pp. 81–82
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Knowles, Medieval Religious Houses, p. 82

Related Research Articles

Dissolution of the Monasteries legal event which disbanded religious residences in England, Wales and Ireland

The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland, appropriated their income, disposed of their assets, and provided for their former personnel and functions. Although the policy was originally envisaged as increasing the regular income of the Crown, much former monastic property was sold off to fund Henry's military campaigns in the 1540s. He was given the authority to do this in England and Wales by the Act of Supremacy, passed by Parliament in 1534, which made him Supreme Head of the Church in England, thus separating England from Papal authority, and by the First Suppression Act (1535) and the Second Suppression Act (1539).

Collegiate church church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons

In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons: a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a dean or provost. In its governance and religious observance a collegiate church is similar to a cathedral, although a collegiate church is not the seat of a bishop and has no diocesan responsibilities. Collegiate churches were often supported by extensive lands held by the church, or by tithe income from appropriated benefices. They commonly provide distinct spaces for congregational worship and for the choir offices of their clerical community.

Æthelgar was Archbishop of Canterbury, and previously Bishop of Selsey.

Oswald of Worcester 10th-century Archbishop of York and saint

Oswald of Worcester was Archbishop of York from 972 to his death in 992. He was of Danish ancestry, but brought up by his uncle, Oda, who sent him to France to the abbey of Fleury to become a monk. After a number of years at Fleury, Oswald returned to England at the request of his uncle, who died before Oswald returned. With his uncle's death, Oswald needed a patron and turned to another kinsman, Oskytel, who had recently become Archbishop of York. His activity for Oskytel attracted the notice of Archbishop Dunstan who had Oswald consecrated as Bishop of Worcester in 961. In 972, Oswald was promoted to the see of York, although he continued to hold Worcester also.

Ealdwulf was a medieval Abbot of Peterborough, Bishop of Worcester, and Archbishop of York.

Old Minster, Winchester

The Old Minster was the Anglo-Saxon cathedral for the diocese of Wessex and then Winchester from 660 to 1093. It stood on a site immediately north of and partially beneath its successor, Winchester Cathedral.

M. David Knowles was an English Benedictine monk, Catholic priest, and historian, who became Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Cambridge from 1954 to 1963. His works on monasticism in England from the times of Dunstan (909–988) to the dissolution of the monasteries are considered authoritative.

Eynsham Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in Eynsham, Oxfordshire, in England between 1005 and 1538. King Æthelred allowed Æthelmær the Stout to found the abbey in 1005. There is some evidence that the abbey was built on the site of an earlier minster, probably founded in the 7th or 8th centuries.

St. Mary's Abbey, also known as the Nunnaminster, was a Benedictine nunnery in Winchester, Hampshire. It was founded between 899 and 902 by Alfred the Great's widow Ealhswith, who was described as the 'builder' of the Nunnaminster in the New Minster Liber Vitae. The first buildings were completed by their son, Edward the Elder. Among the house's early members was Edward's daughter Edburga.

William Kingsmill alias William Basyng was Prior of the Benedictine St. Swithun's, Winchester until the Dissolution of the Monastery in 1539. He was appointed as the first Dean of Winchester Cathedral at the foundation of the new chapter in 1541.

Bedford Abbey was a short-lived Benedictine monastery, recorded in 10th century England. Bedford Priory, perhaps representing the same institution two centuries later, was an Augustinian priory that within two decades of its foundation moved to nearby Newnham.

Exeter monastery

Exeter monastery is a collection of diverse and in many cases unrelated monastic establishments that existed at various times during the Middle Ages in the city of Exeter, Devon, England. The monastic buildings included:

Burwell Priory

Burwell Priory was a priory in the village of Burwell, Lincolnshire, England.

Sele Priory was a medieval monastic house in West Sussex, England.

English Benedictine Reform Re-emphasis of monastic rule at the expense of secular clergy in English religious communities in the late 10th century

The English Benedictine Reform or Monastic Reform of the English church in the late tenth century was a religious and intellectual movement in the later Anglo-Saxon period. In the mid-tenth century almost all monasteries were staffed by secular clergy, who were often married. The reformers sought to replace them with celibate contemplative monks following the Rule of Saint Benedict. The movement was inspired by Continental monastic reforms, and the leading figures were Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury, Æthelwold, Bishop of Winchester, and Oswald, Archbishop of York.

References

International Standard Book Number Unique numeric book identifier

The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier which is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency.

Coordinates: 51°03′41″N1°18′48″W / 51.0613°N 1.3134°W / 51.0613; -1.3134

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.