Minor Canons of St Paul's

Prospective minor canons were to be "worthy, sufficient and meet men, not only in reading and singing, but also and especially in honesty of life and godliness of conversation".

Hospitality was limited, for any legitimate guests at dinner were to pay a sum set by the warden "as the dearth or plenty of victuals then requires".

Sanitation was a constant concern, with a ha’penny fine for any minor canon who did "cast filth ... [or] make water within the gates except it be in the place appointed for that purpose".

This usage of Cardinal dates back to before when the term assumed its present meaning as a high official of the Catholic Church.

A papal grant of Urban VI (1378) referred to duo deputati ab antiquo, qui cardinales vocantur, the two who took a leading role in the affairs of the college.

[10] They were consulted on liturgical matters, as on the suitability of the office hymn Verbum supernum at the time of the introduction of the Sarum Rite at St Paul's in the mid-fifteenth century.

Moreover, the junior Cardinal had special responsibility for visiting the sick and ministering the sacrament to them: a dangerous duty when the city was infected by plague and disease.