Synods of Westminster

[1] The first really notable council at St Paul's was that of 1075 under the presidency of Lanfranc; it renewed ancient regulations, forbade simony and permitted three bishops to remove from country places to Salisbury, Chichester and Chester respectively.

[1] In 1102 a national synod at Westminster under Anselm of Canterbury adopted canons against simony, clerical marriages and slavery.

[1] At St Paul's the legatine constitutions of Otto of Tonengo were published at a synod of 1237, those of Ottoboni in 1268: these were the most important national councils held after the independence of York had been established.

A synod at Lambeth in 1281 put forth canons none too welcome to Edward I; they included a detailed scheme for the religious instruction of the faithful.

During the next two centuries the councils devoted much attention to heresy:[1] The 14th-century synods at St Paul's concerned themselves largely with the financial and moral status of the clergy, and made many regulations regarding their dress and behaviour (1328, 1342, 1343; cf.