Abstract

Little attention has been paid to the question of how rich the top of the secular clergy was at the end of the Middle Ages. The rich, lewd cleric was too exemplary; to settle the question we only have to read the writings of medieval and early modern reformers. It is however almost impossible to draw a concise picture of the income of more than a few individual clerics, especially since we lack data for a larger group which would cover a longer period of time. With the exception of some individuals whose personal accounts have been preserved or whose records have served in a lawsuit, their proceeds from offices, inherited property and investments remain largely obscure. After discussing some of the problems the sources raise, this article takes a different route: to construct, for a longer period of time, a series of income, derived from a benefice. Thus, the article traces the prebend of the canons of the important chapter of Oudmunster in Utrecht between 1350 and 1530. This income from landed property is contrasted with the wages earned by Utrecht construction labourers. Subsequently, the article makes an attempt to use a rich source, the series of papal annates, in order to get a proper idea of the relative value of benefices. The findings contribute to explaining different clerical career patterns.