Papers by Cindy Wood
The Antiquaries Journal, 2018
Studying Late Medieval History
Dying Prepared in Medieval and Early Modern Northern Europe
Dying Prepared in Medieval and Early Modern Northern Europe offers an analysis of the various way... more Dying Prepared in Medieval and Early Modern Northern Europe offers an analysis of the various ways in which people made preparations for death in medieval and early modern Northern Europe.
An introductory book for those new to the study of late medieval European history on a thematic, ... more An introductory book for those new to the study of late medieval European history on a thematic, rather than chronological, basis. Covering Western Europe from 1350 to 1550 and covering ten themes, including, the Church, monarchy, justice, warfare and women.
The Chapel of St George in Windsor Castle contains spaces for chantry chapels, and documentary so... more The Chapel of St George in Windsor Castle contains spaces for chantry chapels, and documentary sources for others with no physical remains. One such is the Passhe/Plummer chantry whose location has been the subject of speculation since the publication of the work of W. H St John Hope in the early part of the twentieth century. This work led to a deduction that the Passhe/Plummer chapel was supplanted in the early sixteenth century by Dean Christopher Urswick's own intercessionary foundation. This paper considers the documentary and physical evidence of the Chapel in Windsor Castle to understand the foundation of this Passhe/Plummer chantry and its possible location.
Chantries were the most common religious foundation in the later medieval period. These were foun... more Chantries were the most common religious foundation in the later medieval period. These were founded in many different forms, from sharing an altar within a church to individual physical spaces - chapels. THe specific chantry form known as 'cage chantries' can be demonstrated to have evolved in the south of England. this paper explored their locations, founders and will ascertain why this particularly English type of intercessionary foundation developed.
The evidence used is based mainly in the larger churches of the region, and especially cathedrals where most surviving examples are located.
Dr Cindy Wood, University of Winchester
This paper will look at the efforts of William Wykeham... more Dr Cindy Wood, University of Winchester
This paper will look at the efforts of William Wykeham, bishop of Winchester 1366-1404, to set up a variety of intercessionary options for the benefit of his soul after his death. These choices and actions will be analysed within different contexts, firstly, within the belief in the power of prayers, especially the mass, in relieving the trials of purgation in Purgatory, the space between death and the Day of Final Judgement. Secondly, within the role of education and the Church in the decades after the Black Death in England (1348-9), and finally the use Wykeham made of the resources available to him as one of the richest late medieval bishops in northern Europe.
Prayers for the dead were an important feature of late medieval life and were available to the population in a variety of ways. Chantries were the most common religious foundation of this period, with these endowed masses seen to benefit the soul of the founder and founders after death. Wykeham’s soul benefitted from three such establishments; one in Southwick Priory (Hampshire); one at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle (Berkshire) and the third in Winchester Cathedral, a monastic cathedral priory. There were many other requests for prayers in his will, and these were augmented by the scholars and staff in his double educational foundations of Winchester College (founded 1382) and New College, Oxford (founded 1379).
These two educational foundations, still functioning today, were in response to the loss of considerable numbers of priests in the Black Death of 1348-9 and subsequent re-visitation of the plague in 1361. While these foundations certainly improved the quality and quantity of priests, the value of the prayers of these scholars and staff was of considerable importance. However, the relative importance of prayers over training is made clear in their Statutes, where Wykeham decreed that the clerks and choristers were to be retained, not the scholars, should his endowments fail.
All of these provisions were made possible by the income from the bishopric of Winchester, which Wykeham used to obtain endowments for his intercessionary foundations. These transactions are found in the Patent Rolls, where he obtained licences to purchase land and properties to provide income. Wykeham also used his resources to complete the rebuilding of Winchester Cathedral’s nave, and in grateful thanks the cathedral chapter granted him three masses a day, in perpetuity, in return for this temporal work. This was set out in an agreement between the bishop and the chapter, written in April 1404 only months before his death. He built his magnificent cage chantry for these masses, still found in the nave, in the midst of this building work. This chapel and the buildings of Winchester College and New College, Oxford, are tangible reminders of his efforts to provide for his soul after death. The sheer number of these prayers and masses indicate how important intercession was for the soul in this period, and how Bishop Wykeham used the resources available to him to benefit the living and the dead, by the increase in divine service for all Christian souls, but specifically for his own soul after death.
A genealogical study of the English royal family up to the reign of Henry VII can reveal many int... more A genealogical study of the English royal family up to the reign of Henry VII can reveal many interesting traits. In the later middle ages the children and descendants of Edward II especially acted in an endogamous manner, with few lines if descent marrying outside the wider family, and few external partners adding to the gene pool.
This paper will be accompanied by a complete genealogical table of all descendants of Henry III to the reign of Henry VII.
Book Reviews by Cindy Wood
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Papers by Cindy Wood
The evidence used is based mainly in the larger churches of the region, and especially cathedrals where most surviving examples are located.
This paper will look at the efforts of William Wykeham, bishop of Winchester 1366-1404, to set up a variety of intercessionary options for the benefit of his soul after his death. These choices and actions will be analysed within different contexts, firstly, within the belief in the power of prayers, especially the mass, in relieving the trials of purgation in Purgatory, the space between death and the Day of Final Judgement. Secondly, within the role of education and the Church in the decades after the Black Death in England (1348-9), and finally the use Wykeham made of the resources available to him as one of the richest late medieval bishops in northern Europe.
Prayers for the dead were an important feature of late medieval life and were available to the population in a variety of ways. Chantries were the most common religious foundation of this period, with these endowed masses seen to benefit the soul of the founder and founders after death. Wykeham’s soul benefitted from three such establishments; one in Southwick Priory (Hampshire); one at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle (Berkshire) and the third in Winchester Cathedral, a monastic cathedral priory. There were many other requests for prayers in his will, and these were augmented by the scholars and staff in his double educational foundations of Winchester College (founded 1382) and New College, Oxford (founded 1379).
These two educational foundations, still functioning today, were in response to the loss of considerable numbers of priests in the Black Death of 1348-9 and subsequent re-visitation of the plague in 1361. While these foundations certainly improved the quality and quantity of priests, the value of the prayers of these scholars and staff was of considerable importance. However, the relative importance of prayers over training is made clear in their Statutes, where Wykeham decreed that the clerks and choristers were to be retained, not the scholars, should his endowments fail.
All of these provisions were made possible by the income from the bishopric of Winchester, which Wykeham used to obtain endowments for his intercessionary foundations. These transactions are found in the Patent Rolls, where he obtained licences to purchase land and properties to provide income. Wykeham also used his resources to complete the rebuilding of Winchester Cathedral’s nave, and in grateful thanks the cathedral chapter granted him three masses a day, in perpetuity, in return for this temporal work. This was set out in an agreement between the bishop and the chapter, written in April 1404 only months before his death. He built his magnificent cage chantry for these masses, still found in the nave, in the midst of this building work. This chapel and the buildings of Winchester College and New College, Oxford, are tangible reminders of his efforts to provide for his soul after death. The sheer number of these prayers and masses indicate how important intercession was for the soul in this period, and how Bishop Wykeham used the resources available to him to benefit the living and the dead, by the increase in divine service for all Christian souls, but specifically for his own soul after death.
This paper will be accompanied by a complete genealogical table of all descendants of Henry III to the reign of Henry VII.
Book Reviews by Cindy Wood
The evidence used is based mainly in the larger churches of the region, and especially cathedrals where most surviving examples are located.
This paper will look at the efforts of William Wykeham, bishop of Winchester 1366-1404, to set up a variety of intercessionary options for the benefit of his soul after his death. These choices and actions will be analysed within different contexts, firstly, within the belief in the power of prayers, especially the mass, in relieving the trials of purgation in Purgatory, the space between death and the Day of Final Judgement. Secondly, within the role of education and the Church in the decades after the Black Death in England (1348-9), and finally the use Wykeham made of the resources available to him as one of the richest late medieval bishops in northern Europe.
Prayers for the dead were an important feature of late medieval life and were available to the population in a variety of ways. Chantries were the most common religious foundation of this period, with these endowed masses seen to benefit the soul of the founder and founders after death. Wykeham’s soul benefitted from three such establishments; one in Southwick Priory (Hampshire); one at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle (Berkshire) and the third in Winchester Cathedral, a monastic cathedral priory. There were many other requests for prayers in his will, and these were augmented by the scholars and staff in his double educational foundations of Winchester College (founded 1382) and New College, Oxford (founded 1379).
These two educational foundations, still functioning today, were in response to the loss of considerable numbers of priests in the Black Death of 1348-9 and subsequent re-visitation of the plague in 1361. While these foundations certainly improved the quality and quantity of priests, the value of the prayers of these scholars and staff was of considerable importance. However, the relative importance of prayers over training is made clear in their Statutes, where Wykeham decreed that the clerks and choristers were to be retained, not the scholars, should his endowments fail.
All of these provisions were made possible by the income from the bishopric of Winchester, which Wykeham used to obtain endowments for his intercessionary foundations. These transactions are found in the Patent Rolls, where he obtained licences to purchase land and properties to provide income. Wykeham also used his resources to complete the rebuilding of Winchester Cathedral’s nave, and in grateful thanks the cathedral chapter granted him three masses a day, in perpetuity, in return for this temporal work. This was set out in an agreement between the bishop and the chapter, written in April 1404 only months before his death. He built his magnificent cage chantry for these masses, still found in the nave, in the midst of this building work. This chapel and the buildings of Winchester College and New College, Oxford, are tangible reminders of his efforts to provide for his soul after death. The sheer number of these prayers and masses indicate how important intercession was for the soul in this period, and how Bishop Wykeham used the resources available to him to benefit the living and the dead, by the increase in divine service for all Christian souls, but specifically for his own soul after death.
This paper will be accompanied by a complete genealogical table of all descendants of Henry III to the reign of Henry VII.