The New Murrey and Blue blog

Seating in church? For the medieval period, it should perhaps be ‘placing in church’ as pews for the multitude only really came in at the very end of the fifteenth century, and became universal in England after the change in the liturgy in the 16th Century, when two-hour sermons became common and seating for all essential.

For most of the middle ages, most people stood in church. This was no big deal, as the main service, the Mass, was relatively short and the important thing was to be there. It meant that the nave (the main part of the church) was an open space that could also be used for social events and so on. No one thought this dual use to be irreverent.

However, families did not stand together. Men and women stood in separate groups. This was the ancient practice and in the Catholic Church, it was endorsed by canon law as late as 1917. By that time it was not rigorously enforced, however, although I am told the practice survived in some rural parts of Ireland until within living memory.

Now which side was which? Nicholas Orme believes that the north side of the church (the bride’s side at a modern wedding) was allocated to women. However, there are plenty of medieval illustrations which strongly suggest that the direct opposite was true and that the women had the south side. Only the other day I was looking at an illustration of a marriage – a French marriage I think. Anyway, the bride and groom were standing in the positions we would expect, but the male guests were grouped on her side and the female guests on his. This is strongly suggestive.

It may be that practice varied from church to church. It is certain that sometimes the women were grouped at the back, behind the men. It has been suggested that surviving rood screens, with women saints on one side and male saints on the other, preserve the female and male ‘sides’. This seems rational. Another clue may be the location of statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph, which survive in some places and have been restored in others. Again, are usually placed on opposite sides of the aisle. The location of the Lady Chapel, where one exists, almost certainly reveals the ‘women’s side’ of the church. (Except when it is centrally behind the High Altar of course!)

Orme reveals that in the later middle ages, at least, the top lay people were seated in the chancel. This was obviously a privilege of status, but again, one assumes the lord and lady sat across the aisle from each other, the man with his sons, the woman with her daughters. It is, after all, how they are depicted in many a memorial brass.

Before the Reformation, the taking of Communion was rare, perhaps something that was done only once a year. It appears all men received first, and then the women, although both groups would go forward by precedence. This implies that the lady of the manor had to wait until Bert the Pigman took his communion, which seems odd, but that is apparently how it was. (Unless, of course, all those seated in the Chancel were served first, which, when you think about it, seems probable.)

I am grateful that the time focus of this blog does not require me to consider the post-Reformation arrangements, which are best summarised as – it’s complicated! However, a summary might be that some people had private family pews (for which they paid) while in some cases churches allocated individual seating locations for each regular attender. The higher your status, the nearer you would be to the pulpit. But men and women still tended to be separated, the exact arrangements varying with the parish.

Sources:

Nicholas Orme, Going to Church in Medieval England.

“Let All Things Be Done Decently and in Order“: Gender
Segregation in the Seating of Early American Churches
Caroline Everard Athey Warner
College of William & Mary – Arts & Sciences