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Armachanum / Armagh

 

Mehrere Provinzialkonzilien; 1334/1404

 

Several provincial synods were held during the pontificates of David Mág Oireachtaigh (1334-1346), Richard FitzRalph (1346-1360), Milo Sweteman (1361-1380) and John Colton (1380-1404), but only two of them can be dated, both to the time of Richard FitzRalph (7 February 1352; 4 February 1355). This is because the archbishop’s sermons, which he preached at those synods, have been preserved. Canons were also produced by each of these archbishops and many survive from the records of the synod of 1411. These canons are heavily influenced by English precedents, and also by Roman canon law. They were probably proclaimed at provincial councils, but we cannot say precisely when.

     No canons from the time of David Mág Oireachtaigh are now extant, though there are signs that he legislated against busking (see below). From the pontificate of Richard FitzRalph we have at least eight, most likely from 1352 or 1355. They deal with the excommunication of anyone who tries to interfere with the administration of last wills and testaments, or who seeks to defraud the church of what belongs to it. Further canons enjoin regular confession on both men and women before they receive the sacraments and forbid attempts to alienate revenues that are due to the church. So serious was this that a canon enjoins that priests are to remind their parishioners of their obligations at least five times a year, at All Saints (1 November), Candlemas (2 February), Corpus Christi (Thursday after Pentecost), Lammas (1 August) and the Assumption (15 August). A final canon attributed to FitzRalph excommunicates anyone who falsely accuses any bishop or cleric of a crime.

     Nine canons are attributed to Milo Sweteman. The first enjoins bishops to fulfil their episcopal duties, particularly ordaining clergy three times a year, confirming young people and preparing the chrism for baptisms. The second forbids clerical concubinage and specifies how it should be dealt with, with deposition from the ministry following after a third warning. The third canon excommunicates anyone who tries to levy taxes or other similar fees on gifts given to the church. The fourth canon renews legislation initially enacted by David Mág Oireachtaigh and by Richard FitzRalph against minstrels and entertainers who try to earn a living by busking. The fifth attacks clergy and laymen who try to conceal their concubines as domestic servants. The sixth canon obliges all the suffragan bishops to do their utmost to promote peace between Englishmen and Irishmen, and enjoins excommunication on anyone who fails to do so. The seventh canon legislates against the alienation of church property, and the eighth against businessmen and merchants who try to evade tithes. Finally, the ninth declares Good Friday to be an especially solemn holy day and orders all parishioners to attend church, to pray, to fast and to engage in other suitable activities to mark the occasion.

     Next there follow eleven canons, most (if not all) of which appear to come from the pontificate of John Colton. The first of these condemns quacks who try to persuade people to take leper’s blood on Good Friday as a cure for various diseases. The second forbids the playing of a game called ‘galbardy’ on Easter Monday and the following day. The third canon orders the solemn celebration of St Patrick’s Day (17 March). The next three canons make similar provisions for celebrating the feasts of St Bridget (1 February), St Columba (8 June), and Saints Ferghin (20 January) and Ronan (1 June). The seventh canon legislates against clandestine marriages and stipulates that people can marry on any day of the year, except between Palm Sunday and the Sunday after Easter inclusive. The eighth canon condemns attempts made to evade episcopal jurisdiction by dismissing cases in lower courts without a proper hearing. The ninth canon forbids appeals to the antipope ‘Clement VII’ who reigned at Avignon from 1378 to 1394, and effectively demands that the clergy follow England’s lead in recognizing only the Roman pope as legitimate. The tenth canon demands that excommunications proncounced by one bishop should be recognized by all the others, and that no one has the right to override a judgment pronounced by a colleague elsewhere. Finally, the last canon, which may date from 1411, orders every suffragan bishop to procure a copy of the canon collection within three months, subject to a fine of a hundred shillings.

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QQ/Lit.: Reg. Swayne of Armagh III, fol. 1r-5v; Bray, Records of Convocation, Vol. 16 (Ireland 1101-1690), Woodbridge 2006, 190-191.

 

Gerald L. Bray

Juni 2024

 

Empfohlene Zitierweise:

Bray, Gerald Lewis, “Armachanum / Armagh: Mehrere Provinzialkonzilien der Kirchenprovinz Armagh; 1334/1404" in: Lexikon der Konzilien [Online-Version], Juni 2024; URL: http://www.konziliengeschichte.org/site/de/publikationen/lexikon/database/4259.html