\paperw5085 \margr0\margl0\ATXph16380 \plain \fs20 \pard\tx3255\tx6525\tx9780\ATXts240\ATXbrdr0 \f1 \fs22 During the 12th and 13th centuries, the structure of the \ATXnt901 clerg
y\ATXnt0 was just as complex and hierarchical as that of lay society. First of all, it comprised two main divisions: on the one hand, those who lived by a monastic or similar ôruleö, or the monks and friars; and on the other hand, the secular clergy wh
o did not live by such a rule, or the parish and chantry priests, chaplains, clerks in administrative jobs and university teachers. Among the secular clergy there were huge inequalities of wealth: Thomas Arundel, who was Bishop of Ely from 1374 to 1388,
spent more than ú1000 a year on his \ATXnt902 household\ATXnt0 of about eighty persons, whereas many parish priests and stipendiary chaplains in his diocese would have had to make do on ú5 a year or less. Many of the higher clergy, that is the abbots,
bishops and archbishops, were in a position to be liberal with fees and livery. The Black Friars of the Dominican order reached England in 1221, devoting themselves to scholarly study and a rational defence of the Christian faith. They were thus attra
cted to the universities, becoming a powerful force in their \ATXnt903 organisation\ATXnt0 . The Franciscan order, known as Friars Minor or Grey Friars, arrived in England two years later and spread rapidly during the following decades, establishing fri
aries in towns and gaining patronage from the wealthy urban classes. However, as their own wealth and office increased, their original vows of poverty and humility wore thin and attracted criticism. Moreover, there was growing anti-papal feeling which
culminated in the CrownÆs decision to tax the clergy without papal permission. This was followed by the formation of a \ATXnt904 heretical movement\ATXnt0 that focused on the authority of the Scriptures, denied the papacyÆs temporal claims and even pro
duced a vernacular Bible. By the late 15th century, the English Church had thus already acquired considerable independence.
