The first volume in what will be a complete biographical record of all parish priests in Lincolnshire. The parish churches of Lincolnshire are justly celebrated. The spires of Grantham and Louth, and the famous Boston Stump, provide a focal point from the surrounding landscape of fen, wold and marsh. The charms of remote country churches along the byways of the county have been extolled in prose and verse by writers such as Henry Thorold and Sir John Betjeman. Their architecture, their stained glass and sculpture, furniture and fabric, have all been carefully recorded. Yet little is known of the people who served these churches, the rectors and vicars who, in word and sacrament, taught the Christian faith to successive generations of parishioners. This volume forms the first part of a much-needed survey of Lincolnshire parish clergy. The starting point is 1214, when Bishop Hugh of Wells introduced the earliest system of episcopal registration in Western Europe. The magnificent series of Lincoln bishop'sregisters provides a framework for the parish lists, setting out the succession of rectors or vicars for each church. Brief biographical sketches demonstrate the rich variety of the county's parsons - pastors, scholars, travellers and writers, soldiers and schoolmasters; while some, like John Wycliffe, achieved a wider fame. This biographical register gives to each of them their place in the history of Lincolnshire. Dr Nicholas Bennett is General Editor of the Lincoln Record Society. Prior to retirement, he was Vice-Chancellor and Librarian of Lincoln Cathedral, where he was responsible for the historic collections of books and manuscripts.
Reviews
This volume has helped open the window into the careers of the lower ranks of beneficed clergy - the infantrymen of the Church - and from these laconic entries we see how careers unfolded for hundreds and hundreds of men. . . . It is truly a prosopograpical gold mine. * MEDIEVAL PROSOPOGRAPHY *
A fine start to what promises to be a notable series of volumes. * RICARDIAN *
[A] highly useful reference tool, not only for historians of Lincolnshire but also for Church historians generally. * THE LOCAL HISTORIAN *



Book Information
ISBN 9780901503961
Author Nicholas Bennett
Format Hardback
Page Count 526
Imprint Lincoln Record Society
Publisher Boydell & Brewer Ltd
Weight(grams) 1g