What type of courts were held in Elgin and Inverness?
The dignitaries and canons constituted the chapter and had the primary role of aiding the bishop in the governance of the diocese. Often the bishop was the titular head of the chapter only and was excluded from its decision-making processes, the chapter being led by the dean as its superior. As the diocese of Moray based its constitution on that of Lincoln Cathedral, the bishop was allowed to participate within the chapter but only as an ordinary canon. Moray was not unique in this: the bishops of Aberdeen, Brechin, Caithness, Orkney and Ross were also canons in their own chapters. Each morning, the canons held a meeting in the chapterhouse where a chapter from the canonical rulebook of St Benedict was read before the business of the day was discussed.
Bishop Brice's chapter of eight clerics consisted of the dean, precentor, treasurer, chancellor, archdeacon and three ordinary canons. His successor, Bishop Andrew de Moravia, greatly expanded the chapter to cater for the much-enlarged establishment by creating two additional hierarchical posts (succentor and subdean) and added 16 more prebendary canons. In total, 23 prebendaries had been created by the time of Andrew's death, and a further two were added just before the Scottish Reformation. Prebendary churches were at the bestowal of the bishop as the churches either were within the diocesan lands or had been granted to the bishop by a landowner as patronage. In the case of Elgin Cathedral, the de Moravia family, of which Bishop Andrew was a member, is noted as having the patronage of many churches given as prebends.Rural Deans, or deans of Christianity as they were known in the Scottish Church, supervised the priests in the deaneries and implemented the bishop's edicts. There were four deaneries in the Moray diocese—Elgin, Inverness, Strathspey and Strathbogie, and these provided the income not only for the cathedral and chapter but also for other religious houses within and outside the diocese. Many churches were allocated to support designated canons, and a small number were held in common. The bishop received mensal and prebendary income in his separate positions as prelate and canon.The government of the diocese affecting both clergy and laity was vested entirely in the bishop, who appointed officers to the ecclesiastical, criminal and civil courts. The bishop, assisted by his chapter, produced the church laws and regulations for the bishopric and these were enforced at occasional diocesan synods by the bishop or, in his absence, by the dean. Appointed officials adjudicated at consistory courts looking at matters affecting tithes, marriages, divorces, widows, orphans, wills and other related legal matters. In Moray, these courts were held in Elgin and Inverness. By 1452 the Bishop of Moray held all his lands in one regality and had Courts of Regality presided over by Bailiffs and Deputies to ensure the payment of revenues from his estates.
consistory courts