[138] Except those monasteries and orders whose members were especially exempted by the pope from the jurisdiction of the bishops.
[139] Those clergymen who enjoyed the revenue from the endowed offices connected with a cathedral church were called canons. The office of canon was an honorable one and much sought after, partly because the duties were light and could often be avoided altogether. A scholar like Petrarch might look to such an office as a means of support without dreaming of performing any of the religious services which the position implied. For an account of the relations between the chapter and the bishop, see Emerton, Mediæval Europe, pp. 549–550.
[140] It should be remembered that only a part of the priests were intrusted with the care of souls in a parish. There were many priests among the wandering monks, of whom something will be said presently. See below, § 91. There were also many chantry priests whose main function was saying masses for the dead in chapels and churches endowed with revenue or lands by those who in this way provided for the repose of their souls or those of their descendants. See below, p. [213].
[141] For several centuries the Sentences were used as the text-book in all the divinity schools. Theologians established their reputations by writing commentaries upon them. One of Luther's first acts of revolt was to protest against giving the study of the Sentences preference over that of the Bible in the universities.
[142] All the sacraments,—e.g. orders and matrimony,—are not necessary to every one. Moreover, the sincere wish suffices if one is so situated that he cannot possibly actually receive the sacraments.
[143] Confession was a very early practice in the Church. Innocent III and the fourth Lateran Council made it obligatory by requiring the faithful to confess at least once a year, at Easter time. For sacraments, see [Readings], Chapter XVI.
[144] See above, p. 183, and Translations and Reprints, Vol. IV, No. 4, for examples of the interdict and excommunication.
[145] The privilege of being tried by churchmen, which all connected with the Church claimed, was called benefit of clergy. See [Readings], Chapter XVI.
[146] The bishops still constitute an important element in the upper houses of parliament in several European countries.
[147] For a satire of the thirteenth century on the papal court, see Emerton, Mediæval Europe, p. 475.