The College and Canons of St Stephen's, Westminster, 1348
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The College and Canons of St Stephen’s, Westminster, 1348 - 1548 Volume I of II Elizabeth Biggs PhD University of York History October 2016 Abstract This thesis is concerned with the college founded by Edward III in his principal palace of Westminster in 1348 and dissolved by Edward VI in 1548 in order to examine issues of royal patronage, the relationships of the Church to the Crown, and institutional networks across the later Middle Ages. As no internal archive survives from St Stephen’s College, this thesis depends on comparison with and reconstruction from royal records and the archives of other institutions, including those of its sister college, St George’s, Windsor. In so doing, it has two main aims: to place St Stephen’s College back into its place at the heart of Westminster’s political, religious and administrative life; and to develop a method for institutional history that is concerned more with connections than solely with the internal workings of a single institution. As there has been no full scholarly study of St Stephen’s College, this thesis provides a complete institutional history of the college from foundation to dissolution before turning to thematic consideration of its place in royal administration, music and worship, and the manor of Westminster. The circumstances and processes surrounding its foundation are compared with other such colleges to understand the multiple agencies that formed St Stephen’s, including that of the canons themselves. Kings and their relatives used St Stephen’s for their private worship and as a site of visible royal piety. It was the principal chapel of the palace that no king could ignore because of the presence of royal administration and consequently the presence of the public. The college was turned to new uses in the Reformation, when its canons were called upon to shape the theology of the new Church of England. Like all such institutions, St Stephen’s adapted to the needs of each generation, but it did so extraordinarily successfully. 2 Table of Contents Volume I- Text Abstract .......................................................................................................................................................... 2 Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................................ 3 Acknowledgments ....................................................................................................................................... 5 Author Declaration ..................................................................................................................................... 6 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 7 Sources and Comparisons .......................................................................................................... 15 Section One: The Institutional History of St Stephen’s College, Westminster, 1348-1548 Chapter One: The Foundation of St Stephen’s College, 1348-1377 .............................................. 23 Collegiate Contexts ...................................................................................................................... 24 Royal Palace Chapels and Royal Piety ................................................................................... 26 William Edington’s Role at St Stephen’s ............................................................................... 30 The Process of Foundation ........................................................................................................ 33 The Statutes .................................................................................................................................... 39 Conclusions .................................................................................................................................... 47 Chapter Two: The Endowment of St Stephen’s College, 1348-1548 ............................................ 49 Edward III’s Endowment .......................................................................................................... 51 Conflict with Richard II .............................................................................................................. 54 Alien Priory Lands ........................................................................................................................ 56 Support from Smaller Donors ................................................................................................... 58 Land Management ....................................................................................................................... 60 Conclusions .................................................................................................................................... 69 Chapter Three: Continuing Royal Patronage at St Stephen’s College, 1377-1527 ................... 70 Building Campaigns .................................................................................................................... 72 Royal Grants, Gifts and Presence in the Chapel ................................................................. 84 Royal Women ................................................................................................................................. 90 Conclusions .................................................................................................................................... 96 Chapter Four: From Reformation to Dissolution, 1527-1548 ......................................................... 98 St Stephen’s College in the Reformation ............................................................................... 100 The Edwardian State and the Dissolution of St Stephen’s ............................................... 115 Conclusions .................................................................................................................................... 124 Section Two: The Royal and Ecclesiastical Service of St Stephen’s College, Westminster Chapter Five: Royal Service and the Canons of St Stephen’s, 1348-1548 .................................... 126 Prebends of St Stephen’s within Royally-Sponsored Ecclesiastical Careers .............. 128 Collegiality ...................................................................................................................................... 136 Royal Administration ................................................................................................................... 140 Canons in the King’s Household ............................................................................................. 149 Conclusions .................................................................................................................................... 155 3 Chapter Six: Music and Worship at St Stephen’s College ............................................................... 157 Individuals and the Ecclesiastical Life of the Chapel ....................................................... 158 Liturgy and the Divine Office ................................................................................................... 165 The Chapel Royal ......................................................................................................................... 174 Conclusions: Church and State at St Stephen’s ................................................................... 181 Section Three: Beyond the Walls of St Stephen’s, Westminster Chapter Seven: The Dispute with Westminster Abbey ................................................................... 182 Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction and Dispute ................................................................................. 184 Conclusions .................................................................................................................................... 193 Chapter Eight: St Stephen’s College and the Wider World ............................................................ 195 St Stephen’s and the Parish of St Margaret’s, Westminster ............................................. 196 St Stephen’s and the Court ......................................................................................................... 208 St Stephen’s and the Wider Church ......................................................................................... 217 Conclusions .................................................................................................................................... 224 Conclusions ................................................................................................................................................... 226 Volume II- Appendices and Bibliography Volume Contents ......................................................................................................................................... 232 Appendix I: Map and Access Diagrams ............................................................................................... 233 1. Map of Westminster ................................................................................................................. 233 2. Access Diagram of the Palace of Westminster, c. 1363 ................................................. 234 3. Access Diagram of the Palace of Westminster, c. 1396 ................................................. 235 4. Access Diagram of the Palace of Westminster,