The Medieval Church in the Dioceses of Aberdeen and Moray

Abstract

Aberdeen and Moray dioceses emerged in the second quarter of the 12th century as part of the wider development of Scottish ecclesiastical government. Growth of diocesan structures was coeval with formation of a parochial system; many parishes were quickly appropriated to the cathedrals to provide prebends for diocesan officials and canons. Consequently, whilst the cathedrals were richly-endowed and architecturally sophisticated few parish churches saw resources devoted to their enlargement. A limited pool of magnate patrons and their limited economic resources resulted in the founding and endowment of few significant monasteries but royal patronage resulted in some being conceived and built on a grand scale before crown support switched from the monastic orders to the orders of friars. Lesser nobles directed their patronage to the founding of hospitals and, later, to collegiate churches, whilst burgess communities invested heavily in endowing their burghs’ parish churches. A late medieval flourishing of patronage coincided with internal reform at diocesan and individual monastic level, resulting in a higher standard of clerical education and spiritual commitment at the time of the Reformation than in some other Scottish dioceses. Reform, when it came, was often imposed through external political direction rather than local action