Cette thèse de doctorat porte sur le chapitre cathédral de Barcelone et ses membres à la fin du XVe siècle. L'étude d'un tel établissement permet d'observer un acteur urbain majeur : le haut clergé séculier d’une cité tardo-médiévale. Au-delà de leurs attributions religieuses, évêques et chanoines se révèlent étroitement impliqués dans la destinée de la cité. Leurs fonctions leur octroient des terres, ce qui fait d'eux d'importants seigneurs fonciers dans la ville et ses abords. Le canonicat leur donne accès au « bras ecclésiastique » des institutions politiques de la Couronne d’Aragon telles que la Diputació del General et les Corts. Enfin, leurs origines sociales les insèrent dans les réseaux de relations personnelles qui structurent l'oligarchie urbaine : ils font pleinement partie de l'élite dirigeante barcelonaise tout en y occupant une place bien spécifique, du fait de leur appartenance à l’Église. Cette situation particulière les place à la jonction de réseaux de pouvoir, quelquefois antagonistes et quelquefois alliés : ceux de l’Église, ceux de l’élite politique municipale, ceux des groupes familiaux constituant l’oligarchie. Au sortir de la guerre civile catalane de 1462-1472, Barcelone, principale ville de Catalogne, connaît de profondes transformations socio-politiques, avec la formalisation du patriciat par l’établissement d’une « matricule », l’accès de la noblesse au gouvernement municipal et les opérations de redressement économique de la cité après les difficultés de la guerre. L’étude montre que le chapitre cathédral, pleinement intégré à l’élite dirigeante de la ville, est amené à jouer un rôle réel dans la vie publique de la cité en pleine mutation. / This PhD thesis analyses the cathedral chapter of Barcelona and its members at the end of the 15th century. This institution proves to be a major urban actor. Beyond their religious powers, bishops and canons proved to be closely involved in the history of Barcelona. Their functions grant them lands, which turn them into important landlords in the city and its surroundings. The canonicate gives them access to the "ecclesiastical arm" of the Crown of Aragon’s political institutions such as the Diputació del General de Catalunya and the Corts. Their social origins integrate them into the networks of personal relations that structure the urban oligarchy: they are fully part of the ruling elite of Barcelona and they occupy a very specific place there, because of their belonging to the Church. This situation places them at the junction of power networks, sometimes antagonistic and sometimes allied: those of the Church, those of the municipal political elite, and those of the family groups constituting the oligarchy. At the end of the Catalan Civil War of 1462-1472, Barcelona, main city of Catalonia, undergoes profound socio-political transformations: an official list of the patricians is established, the municipal government opens to the nobility and undertakes several economic recovery measures after the disturbances caused by the war. The study shows that the cathedral chapter, fully integrated with the ruling elite of the city, has to play a real role in the public life of the city during this period.

A cathedral of the Church of England is the seat of the bishop and a centre of worship and mission. The history of this institution is followed from the English Reformation, which it survived, through to the Commonwealth, which it did not. Restored on the return of the monarchy, it then survived with little further trouble until the nineteenth century, when a lot of its income was diverted to the provision of churches and ministers for the populous urban and industrialised areas, which the Church could not fund in any other way. It was the subject of investigation by two Royal Commissions in the nineteenth century and three church-inspired commissions in the twentieth. These commissions stressed the links that should exist between cathedral, bishop and diocese, which the nineteenth century diocesan revival also encouraged, and suggested changes in instruments of governance to achieve this. Some proposals came to nothing, but others were brought into law. Unlike the Roman Catholic cathedral, the Anglican one never lost its autonomy. The religious situation in Britain today is considered in the light of some contemporary sociology and psychology, and it is recognised that the continued decline in the fortunes of the Church is tied up with the massive subjective turn which characterises contemporary culture. The cathedral has not shared the mistrust which faces the Church, and its various roles are discussed in the light of its continued hold on public affection. The conclusions reached are that, although the cathedral now has strong links with bishop and diocese, it should retain its independence within relationships of interdependence with them, to enable it to harness the popularity which it enjoys to remain a centre of worship, but primarily to concentrate on being a centre of mission. Appropriate ways of achieving that are discussed.

This thesis analyses four different aspects of devotional life at one of England's largest and wealthiest medieval cathedrals between the years 1092 and 1235. Each of these is associated with the remembrance of the dead. It is an area of religious practice that was subject to momentous change over the course of the period. These changes would have a profound effect on the organization of Christian worship for centuries to come. The thesis assesses how contrasting approaches to the practice of remembrance were able to enhance and shape the composition of the church, and explores what they reveal about the distinctive fellowship of a secular cathedral.