the senior canon in the chapter. By 1445, the chapter consisted of 29 canonries—the dean, presenter, chancellor, and treasurer were the dignitaries, the archdeacon—no longer a dignatory—and 24 simple canonries made up the remainder. The last canonry to be created was that of the sub-chanter (1527x1534) bringing the total number of canons to 30. Between them, the chapter held 46 appropriated churches in the diocese of Aberdeen and a further 2 in the diocese of Moray. Under Aberdeen Cathedral's written constitution, the bishop chose the entire chapter with the exception of the dean(decanus). The dean was elected to his position by the chapter after taking the solemn oath of fidelity and to uphold the rights, customs and liberties of the cathedral. He was then installed in the choir and provided with his place in the chapter by the bishop. Canons took an oath of fidelity and of obedience to the bishop and to the chapter. The authoritative leader of the chapter was the dean and held total control over all who resided in the cathedral environs—this extended not only to the canons but also to the lesser ecclesiastics and servants. Next in importance was the precentor, usually referred to as the chanter (cantor). His responsibilities were to oversee the provision of the music used in the church services, to choose the choirboys, see to their education, and to employ a suitable song-school tutor. Next in importance was the chancellor (cancellarius) whose responsibilities included the composition of the chapter's correspondence and charters, communicating to the chapter the content of incoming letters and instructions that needed attention, and for being the custodian of the chapter's library. He also presided over the town's grammar school and selected its teacher. The fourth and last dignity was the treasurer (thesaurarius) whose duties included being the overseer of the church's trearures—items such as gold and silver drinking cups and expensive apparel. He needed to ensure that the church was adequately supplied with everyday needs such as candles, tapers, incense, charcoal, bread and wine for the services, and also mundane things such as mats and bullrushes for floor coverings. Deaneries A Deanery, sometimes known as an archdeaconry, is a geographical administrative subdivision within a diocese containing its designated parish churches. The archdeacon had responsibility for the deanery administration, its parishes, parish churches, chapels and clergy. He was assisted in this by the appointed dean of Christianity (later