Elizabeth Speakman O'Neill

“ With the foundation of the order of Cluny in the 10th century there appeared the conventual prior who ruled as head of a monastery, but was subject in some degree to the archiabbas of the mother-house of Cluny. The Regular Canons later gave this title of prior to the heads of their houses, as did also the Carthusians and the Dominicans. It was in houses of these orders that the sub-prior became a regular official. Among the Dominicans the head of a province is known as the “prior provincial.” ”

“ The word praebenda originally signified the daily rations given to soldiers, whence it passed to indicate daily distributions of food and drink to monks, canons, &c. It became a frequent custom to grant such a prebend from the resources of a monastery to certain poor people or to the founder. ”

“ In the Anglican Church the bishop is of common right patron of all prebends, and if a prebend is in the gift of a lay patron he must present his candidate to the bishop who institutes as to other benefices. N0 person may hold more than one prebend in the same church; therefore, if a prebendary accepts a deanery in his church his prebend becomes void by cession. A prebend is practically a sinecure, and the holder has no cure of souls as such. ”

“ The distinguishing colour of a prelate's clothing is violet; the form, like the greater or less use of violet, depends on the rank of the prelate. Four classes may be distinguished: (1) Great prelates, e.g. cardinals, archbishops and bishops. (2) Exempt prelates (praelati nullius dioeceseos, praelati nullius) , i.e. abbots and religious superiors, who are withdrawn from the ordinary diocesan jurisdiction and themselves possess episcopal jurisdiction (jurisdictio quasi episcopalis) . (3) Roman prelates, (a) active and (b) honorary. ”

“ In the middle ages there were many less regular kinds of prebends: e.g. praebenda doctoralis, with which teaching duties were connected, praebenda lectoralis, praebenda missae, to which the duty of saying a certain number of masses was attached, praebenda mortuaria, founded for the saying of masses for the dead. ”

“ Only protonotaries and domestic prelates are for life; the others lose their dignity at the death of the pope who appointed them. A special class of Roman prelatures exist at Rome, endowed as a kind of ecclesiastical majority to which those members of certain families who are destined for the clerical life naturally succeed. ”

“ Later the name was applied especially to certain imperial officials in the provinces of the Roman Empire. With the establishment of the imperial power under Augustus, the emperor took under his direct government those of which the condition or situation rendered a large military force necessary. ”