Series

A. M. Ciardi
On the Formation of Cathedral Chapters and Cathedral Culture. Lund, Denmark, and Scandinavia, c. 1060–1225
Bibliotheca historico-ecclesiastica Lundensis 60
2016 | 176 p. | English

ISSN: 0346-5438
ISBN: 978-91-983171-1-4

The cathedral chapter (Sw. domkapitel) was one of the most influential institutions in the medieval church and in medieval society at large. Chapter members were clergy whose functions could vary according to time and location, but whose basic duty was always to uphold the liturgy of the cathedral church.
This doctoral thesis consists of five articles that challenge previous scholarship on cathedral chapters in Scandinavia in the period c. 1060–1225, by taking a closer look at the question of how they were formed and functioned, and indeed by reconsidering the very meaning of ‘formation’ and ‘functions’. It presents, develops, and confirms hypotheses about the formation of these capitular institutions as reciprocally related to their overarching function as agents of ecclesiastical tradition. It also posits the continuous formation of a specific cathedral culture that hitherto has not been recognized as a medieval culture in its own right, on a par with monastic and scholastic culture. The aspects of cathedral culture particularly treated in the articles include canonical life under a rule, the transmission of learning, the promotion of saints’ cults and the election of bishops.