Paul's, and it
becomes necessary to say something about the latter.
The word Dean belongs to the ancient Roman law, _Decanus_, lit. one
who has authority over ten, as a centurion was one who had authority
over a hundred. The Deans seem originally to have been especially
concerned with the management of funerals. Presently the name became
adopted to Christian use, and was applied in monasteries to those who
had charge of the discipline of every ten monks. When the Abbot was
absent the senior Dean undertook the government; and thus it was that
in cathedral churches which were monastic it gradually became the
custom to have one who acted as Dean, and this system was gradually
adopted in secular cathedrals, like St. Paul's. In monasteries,
however, the Dean was so far subordinate to the Prior that he had
charge of the music and ritual, while the Prior had a general
superintendence.
The clergy of St. Paul's then were seculars. There were thirty of
them, called Canons, as being entered on the list ([Greek: kanon]) of
ecclesiastics serving the church.
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