See also:

• PRIOR (from Lat. prior—former, and hence superior, through O. Fr. priour)
• PRIOR, MATTHEW (1664-1721)

PRIOR (from See also:

• LAT

Lat. prior—former, and hence See also:

• SUPERIOR

superior, through O. Fr. priour)  , a See also:

• TITLE (0. Fr. title, mod. titre, from Lat. titulus)

title applied generally to certain monastic superiors, but also in the See also:

• MIDDLE

middle ages to other persons in authority . Under the See also:

• ROMAN

Roman See also:

• EMPIRE

Empire the word See also:

• PRIOR (from Lat. prior—former, and hence superior, through O. Fr. priour)
• PRIOR, MATTHEW (1664-1721)

prior is found signifying " ancestor." In the See also:

• EARLY
• EARLY, JUBAL ANDERSON (1816-1894)

early middle ages it was commonly applied to See also:

• SECULAR (Lat. saecularis, of or belonging to an age or generation, saeculum)

secular officials and magistrates, and it remained all though the middle ages as the title of certain officials in the See also:

• ITALIAN

Italian See also:

• CITY (through Fr. cite, from Lat. civitas)

city states . Noteworthy among these were the famous priores artis at See also:

• FLORENCE
• FLORENCE (Ital. Firenze, Lat. Florentia)

Florence . These were appointed See also:

• GOVERNORS

governors )f the Florentine See also:

• REPUBLIC (Lat. respublica, a commonweal or common-wealth)

republic when the Companies of the Arts seized the See also:

• GOVERNMENT
• GOVERNMENT (0. Fr. governement, mod. gouvernement, O. Fr. governer, mod. gouverner, from Lat. gubernare, to steer a ship, guide, rule; cf. Gr. xv(3epvav)

government in 1282 . The See also:

• TERM

term prior was most commonly used to denote the Sh1)eriors in a monastery, at first with an indefinite significance, but later, as monastic institutions crystallized, describing certain definite officials . In the See also:

• RULE

Rule of St See also:

• BENEDICT (BENEDICTUS)
• BENEDICT, SIR JULIUS (1804-1885)

Benedict and other early rules the titles praepositus and praelatus (see See also:

• PRELATE (Lat. praelatus, set above, from praefero, prefer)

PRELATE) are generally used, but prior is also found signifying in a See also:

• GENERAL
• GENERAL (Lat. generalis, of or relating to a genus, kind or class)

general way the superiors and elders in a monastery . When used by St Benedict in the singular number it seems (according to the commentator Menard) to denote the See also:

• ABBOT (from the Hebrew ab, a father, through the Syriac abba, Lat. abbas, gen. abbatis, O.E. abbad, fr. late Lat. form abbad-em changed in 13th century under influence of the Lat. form to abbat, used alternatively till the end of the 17th century; Ger. Ab
• ABBOT, EZRA (1819-1884)
• ABBOT, GEORGE (1603-1648)
• ABBOT, ROBERT (1588?–1662?)
• ABBOT, WILLIAM (1798-1843)

abbot himself . At a later date in the See also:

• ORDER
• ORDER (through Fr. ordre, for earlier ordene, from Lat. ordo, ordinis, rank, service, arrangement; the ultimate source is generally taken to be the root seen in Lat. oriri, rise, arise, begin; cf. " origin ")
• ORDER, HOLY

order of St Benedict the title was applied to the See also:

• MONK (O.Eng. munuc; this with the Teutonic forms, e.g. Du. monnik, Ger. Witch, and the Romanic, e.g. Fr. moine, Ital. monacho and Span. monje, are from the Lat. monachus, adaptedfrom Gr. µovaXos, one living alone, a solitary; Own, alone)
• MONK (or MONCK), GEORGE
• MONK, JAMES HENRY (1784-1856)
• MONK, MARIA (c. 1817—1850)

monk next in authority to the abbot, though this usage was not adopted technically until the 13th See also:

• CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century . In some monasteries several priors were to be found and generally at least two . Thus we find the terms prior, sub-prior, tertius prior, quartus prior, quint us prior . The first prior was sometimes called prior See also:

• MAJOR
• MAJOR (Lat. for " greater ")
• MAJOR (or MAIR), JOHN (1470-1550)

major, sometimes prior claustralis . Occasionally both titles are found in one See also:

• HOUSE
• HOUSE (O. Eng. hiss, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dut. huis, Ger. Haus; in Gothic it is only found in gudhiss, a temple; it may be ultimately connected with the root of " hide," conceal)

house, the latter ranking below the former .

The first prior acted as See also:

• VICAR (Lat. vicarius, substitute)

vicar in all matters in the See also:

• ABSENCE (Lat. absentia)

absence of the abbot, and was generally charged with the details of the discipline of the monastery . With the See also:

• FOUNDATION (Lat. fundatio, from fundare, to found)

foundation of the order of See also:

• CLUNY, or CLUGNY

Cluny in the loth century there appeared the conventual prior who ruled as See also:

• HEAD (in 0. Eng. heafad; the word is common to Teutonic languages; cf. Dutch hoofd, Ger. Haupt, generally taken to be in origin connected with Lat. caput, Gr. KerbOvi7)
• HEAD, SIR EDMUND WALKER, BART
• HEAD, SIR FRANCIS BOND, BART

head of a monastery, but was subject in some degree to the archiabbas of the See also:

• MOTHER

mother-house of Cluny . The See also:

• REGULAR

Regular Canons later gave this title of prior to the heads of their houses, as did also the See also:

• CARTHUSIANS

Carthusians and the See also:

• DOMINICANS

Dominicans . It was in houses of these orders that the sub-prior became a regular See also:

• OFFICIAL (Late Lat. QJicialis, for class. Lat. apparitor, from officium, office, duty)

official . Among the Dominicans the head of a See also:

• PROVINCE
• PROVINCE (Lat. provincia; perhaps a contraction of providentia)

province is known as the " prior provincial." In the order of St See also:

• JOHN
• JOHN (1167–1216)
• JOHN (1290-c. 1320)
• JOHN (1296-1346)
• JOHN (1371–1419)
• JOHN (1468-1532)
• JOHN (1801-1873)
• JOHN (Heb. llni')
• JOHN (ZAPOLYA) (1487-1540)
• JOHN, 4TH MARQUESS OF TWEEDDALE (c. 1695-1762)
• JOHN, DON (1545-1578)
• JOHN, DON (1629–1679)
• JOHN, GOSPEL OF ST
• JOHN, or HAYS (1513–1571)
• JOHN, THE APOSTLE
• JOHN, THE EPISTLES OF

John of See also:

• JERUSALEM (Heb. ^S0-r, Yerushalaim, pronounced as a dual)
• JERUSALEM, SYNOD OF (1672)

Jerusalem (q.v.) a priory was a See also:

• GROUP

group of commanderies ruled by a " See also:

• GRAND

grand prior." The term prior was applied also in the middle ages in a very general manner . Thus there was the prior scholae or See also:

• LEADER, BENJAMIN WILLIAMS (1831– )

leader of the See also:

• CHOIR (0. Fr. cuer from Lat. chorus; pronounced quire, and until the end of the 17th century so spelt, the spelling being altered to agree with the Fr. chceur)

choir, prior scriniariorum, &c . See Du Cange, Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, new edition by L . See also:

• FAVRE, JEAN ALPHONSE (1815-1890)
• FAVRE, JULES CLAUDE GABRIEL (1809-1880)

Favre (See also:

• NIORT

Niort, 1883, &c.) ; See also:

• SIR

Sir See also:

• WILLIAM
• WILLIAM (1143-1214)
• WILLIAM (1227-1256)
• WILLIAM (1J33-1584)
• WILLIAM (A.S. Wilhelm, O. Norse Vilhidlmr; O. H. Ger. Willahelm, Willahalm, M. H. Ger. Willehelm, Willehalm, Mod.Ger. Wilhelm; Du. Willem; O. Fr. Villalme, Mod. Fr. Guillaume; from " will," Goth. vilja, and " helm," Goth. hilms, Old Norse hidlmr, meaning
• WILLIAM (c. 1130-C. 1190)
• WILLIAM, 13TH

William See also:

• SMITH
• SMITH, ADAM (1723–1790)
• SMITH, ALEXANDER (183o-1867)
• SMITH, ANDREW JACKSON (1815-1897)
• SMITH, CHARLES EMORY (1842–1908)
• SMITH, CHARLES FERGUSON (1807–1862)
• SMITH, CHARLOTTE (1749-1806)
• SMITH, COLVIN (1795—1875)
• SMITH, EDMUND KIRBY (1824-1893)
• SMITH, G
• SMITH, GEORGE (1789-1846)
• SMITH, GEORGE (184o-1876)
• SMITH, GEORGE ADAM (1856- )
• SMITH, GERRIT (1797–1874)
• SMITH, GOLDWIN (1823-191o)
• SMITH, HENRY BOYNTON (1815-1877)
• SMITH, HENRY JOHN STEPHEN (1826-1883)
• SMITH, HENRY PRESERVED (1847– )
• SMITH, JAMES (1775–1839)
• SMITH, JOHN (1579-1631)
• SMITH, JOHN RAPHAEL (1752–1812)
• SMITH, JOSEPH, JR
• SMITH, MORGAN LEWIS (1822–1874)
• SMITH, RICHARD BAIRD (1818-1861)
• SMITH, ROBERT (1689-1768)
• SMITH, SIR HENRY GEORGE WAKELYN
• SMITH, SIR THOMAS (1513-1577)
• SMITH, SIR WILLIAM (1813-1893)
• SMITH, SIR WILLIAM SIDNEY (1764-1840)
• SMITH, SYDNEY (1771-1845)
• SMITH, THOMAS SOUTHWOOD (1788-1861)
• SMITH, WILLIAM (1769-1839)
• SMITH, WILLIAM (c. 1730-1819)
• SMITH, WILLIAM (fl. 1596)
• SMITH, WILLIAM FARRAR (1824—1903)
• SMITH, WILLIAM HENRY (1808—1872)
• SMITH, WILLIAM HENRY (1825—1891)
• SMITH, WILLIAM ROBERTSON (1846-'894)

Smith and S . Cheetham, edd . See also:

• DICTIONARY

Dictionary of See also:

• CHRISTIAN
• CHRISTIAN, WILLIAM (1608-1663)

Christian Antiquities (1875-1880) . (E .