The Cathedral Chapter Of Lugo In The Twelfth And Thirteenth Centuries: Reform And Retrenchment

Abstract

Richard Fletcher sketched the landscape of ecclesiastical change in his book, The Episcopate in the Kingdom of Leon in the Twelfth Century . Monographs have stressed the acquisition and administration of lands and income, with a decided emphasis on the later Middle Ages. Fletcher?s book centered on the episcopate, but his comments on the obscurity that shrouds the bishops are even more apt for the canons whose careers must be constructed from terse charters. The Galician cathedral of Lugo offers excellent opportunities for such work. The archive of Lugo cathedral retains a few charters, a lengthy report of a mid-thirteenth-century suit with the see of Leon over Triacastela, and a fine set of royal and papal privileges. Keywords: Galician cathedral; Leon; Lugo; Richard Fletcher; thirteenth century; twelfth century