 minster is an honorific title given to particular churches in england, most famously york minster in york, westminster in london and southwell minster in southwell. the term minster is first found in royal foundation charters of the 7th century. although it corresponds to the latin monasterium or monastery, it then designated any settlement of clergy living a communal life and endowed by charter with the obligation of maintaining the daily office of prayer. widespread in 10th-century anglo-saxon england, minsters declined in importance with the systematic introduction of parishes and parish churches from the 11th century onwards. it continued as a title of dignity in later medieval england, for instances where a cathedral, monastery, collegiate church or parish church had originated with an anglo-saxon foundation. eventually a minster came to refer more generally to "any large or important church, especially a collegiate or cathedral church". in the 21st century, the church of england has designated additional minsters by bestowing the status on existing parish churches. == etymology == the word minster (old english mynster) was a rendering of the latin monasterium (monastery) which comes from the greek word Î¼Î¿Î½Î±ÏÏÎ®ÏÎ¹Î¿Î½ - monastÄrion. an early appearance was in the ecclesiastical history of the venerable bede (731). on occasion, minster is used to translate the german mÃ¼nster (e.g. basel, bonn, constance, essen, freiburg, ulm), which is a parallel translation of monasterium. it reflects a history of monasticism that is different from that of england. (see munster.) == history == === early and mid anglo-saxon periods === the first minsters in the english-speaking parts of britain were founded in the century after the mission to the saxons led by augustine of canterbury in 597. the first cases for which documentary evidence has been preserved are oswy's programme of 654/5, in which he endowed 12 small minsters, and a gift from alhfrith to wilfrid in around 660 to accompany the foundation of the minster at ripon. an expansion of monasteries began around 670, with many substantial royal gifts of land.{{cite book|author=john blair|title=the church in anglo-saxon society|yea
Churches_in_England History_of_cathedrals