Canons and Vicars - the problem

Canononical non-residence and the Vicars of Howden

This page will be developed in due course, but in brief there are two problems:-

Were all the canons permanently non-resident?

Were the vicars absolute substitutes for the canons, able to perform the duties of the chapter, with their own vicars choral, or were they just vicars choral, as they would be in a cathedral with some resident canons?

Definitions:-

Minster - originally derived from the Greek monasticon or monastery. It meant a church where a group of priests - who were not monks - lived and worked together. Their needs were provided for by a common fund from the income of the church. Gradually, a set of standard rules for churches of this type evolved, and priests who obeyed these rules

Canon

Prebend

Vicar

Vicar-choral

Residence