ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the wider context of royal prayer and giving by kings in aid of their spiritual wellbeing and the future prospects of their souls, activity with potentially private motives often undertaken in public. Public demonstrations of royal orthodoxy and commitment to the Church can be seen in attitudes towards other faiths. The public dimension is also seen in performance of religious ritual celebrating kingship, notably the Laudes Regiae, which linked the hierarchies of heaven and earth, with anointed kings supported by angels and archangels. Kings also commissioned masses for royal souls, often performed in a public setting. The kings of England also demonstrated power and sought the wellbeing and salvation of their souls by going on pilgrimage and giving to the churches they visited. Historians have written extensively on royal attitudes to the Jewish community which arrived in England following the Norman invasion.
