chantry

chantry, chapel, generally within a church, endowed for the singing of masses for the founder after his death. The practice of founding chantries, or chantry chapels, in western Europe began during the 13th century. A chantry was added to the cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris in 1258. During the 14th century, the chantry movement so established itself as a manifestation of religious life that these chapels became a part of the original plan of cathedrals, as at Tours and Bordeaux. The earliest recorded chantry in England is that of Bishop Hugh of Wells in Lincoln cathedral, c. 1235. When the number of foundations rapidly increased after the plague known as the Black Death in 1349, chantries were established not only in churches but in monasteries, hospitals, and grammar schools in memory of the founders. During the English Reformation the chantries were largely abolished.

Such chapels are almost invariably screened; sometimes they are merely enclosures surrounded by oak screens, but more often they are handsome stone-traceried structures, with heraldry and carving; and in many instances there is an effigy of the founder on a stone tomb chest. Among well-known chantries are the Chapel of Henry VII in Westminster Abbey, Bishop Alcock’s Chapel in Ely cathedral, and the Beauchamp Chapel in St. Mary’s, Warwick.