ABSTRACT
English and Welsh cathedrals of the early modern period have rarely been investigated as centres of intellectual activity. Contemporaries of the Elizabethan church settlement viewed them at best with deep suspicion, while many saw them as part of the trappings of Rome. This chapter explores a variety of questions associated with how this cathedral 'establishment' of well-qualified clergy and lawyers might have acted as a hub for general intellectual activity in the region. The Chichester Cathedral Chapter consisted of 35 post-holders, a relatively large establishment by contemporary cathedral standards. The chapter describes the analogy with Oxbridge colleges, showing how in both quantity and quality, the number of scholars resident, their educational qualifications, their publications, combined projects networked with scholars elsewhere, and the library resources upon which they could call - all equal what was to be found in an Oxbridge college at that time.
