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The Medieval Village Priest
09 Feb 2008
The Priests income (or Living) was made up of
His house - the Parsonage Some land- Glebe land Tithes - every member of the community had to pay one tenth of all he grew to the church Church fees - from baptisms, marriages, funerals etc. But he did have responsiblities The Pope expected priests to Recite the offices regularly with proper reverence Administer the sacraments, including confessions, properly Maintain hospitality at the parsonage/vicarage Keep the curch in good repair Direct surplus revenue to the poor and needy Avoid injurious contacts and to make sure that his flock knew the Pater Nosta, the 10 Commandments and the Six points of faith The Bishop or his archdeacon would visit churches to make sure that things were up to standard. he would check the priest was Providing the necessary services Providing the necessary books, missils chalices, ornaments and bells Making sure that linen and cloths were clean and up to scratch Not charging unreasonable fees Not allowing rough games in the churchyard Not allowing animals to graze on the graves 1215 Pope Innocent 111 directed that all laity should take communion at least once a year and confess before doing so. This contributed to the separation of the priest from the local peasants 1281 The Bishop of Worcester ordered his parish priests to make sure they instructed their flock properly. And it did not always go according to plan The priest did not often get all the tithes. In Lindridge the €vicar€ was sent from St Mary€s Priory Worcester. The Priory would have kept the €Great Tithes€ leaving the vicar with just the small tithes. |