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Lendert Cathedral

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Saint Peter's Cathedral
The Cathedral Priory of Saint Peter and Saint Blaise at Lendert
Wells Cathedral 2.jpg
LocationLendert-with-Cadell
CountryGreat Nortend
DenominationChurch of Nortend
History
DedicationSt Peter, St Blaise
ConsecratedAugust 1st, 1284
Architecture
Functional statusActive
StyleGothic
Years built1111–1322
Administration
DioceseLendert and Cadell
ProvinceLimmes
Clergy
Lord Bishop of LendertCardinal Alan Gough
Bishop of CadellWalter Fitzcolling
Prior of LendertHenry Finchen
PrecentorMatthew Reedman

St. Peter's Cathedral is a cathedral of the Church of Nortend in the capital city of Lendert-with-Cadell. It is the see of the Lord Bishop of Lendert, in the Diocese of Lendert and Cadell, as well as the church of the Benedictine Priory of Lendert. The Cathedral is formally titled the Cathedral Priory of St. Peter and St. Blaise at Lendert, dedicated to St Peter the Apostle and St Blaise. As a monastic cathedral, the conventual chapter serves as the cathedral chapter, whilst the Bishop of Lendert is also lawfully the Abbot of Lendert. As such, he appoints the Prior, who serves as a Dean of the cathedral chapter.

History

Abbey

The Cathedral was originally a Benedictine abbey, founded in 800 by Æthelfrey after the death of his father, Hartmold the Great, who was the first Christian king of Nortend. Originally a small house, by 977, records shew that there were fifty monks at the abbey, which had its own daughter priory at Galwick. This necessitated expansion and rebuilding, which had already begun in 922 under the abbot Geselwin, although building only started in 930 after funds were secured from the increasing number of pilgrims to the shrine of St. Blaise, whose relics had passed into the abbey's possession.

With the new buildings yet unfinished, in 1094, Lendert was besieged by invading forces from Lorecia which severely damaged the abbey buildings and destroyed the nearly completed nave, though the monk's quire and chancel remained mostly intact. The rebuilding of Lendert and Cadell brought skilled stonemasons to the city, who practised in the new Gothic style. Subsequently, when the entire abbey church was rebuilt beginning in 1111, it was mostly in this new Gothic style.

Cathedral Priory

With the increasing wealth and population of Lendert, the Royal Court settled down permanently in Lendert in the early 13th century. Desiring a cathedral in his capital, Eltbold appointed the abbot, Edward de Groive, as bishop in 1284, elevating the abbey into a bishopric by his charter. It is often said that the Bishop of Lendert is also the Abbot of the Lendert. Indeed, Edward de Groive and the several bishops after him considered themselves the head of the community and sometimes used the title of abbot in that capacity. It was also customary to speak of the Cathedral Abbey of Lendert.

However, by the time of the Bishop Thomas de Darton in 1402, it had become usual for the prior to take the place as head of the monastic community, rather than merely the bishop-abbot's deputy.

Chapter