 In the cathedrals of England, France, Spain, and Germany, a precentor sometimes ranked next to the dean, sometimes next to the archdeacon.In some instances a precentor's sphere of activity was much broader, including the duty of installing deans, canons, and other dignitaries; and in some monasteries, the duties of librarian and registrar.But from the fourteenth century the title and dignity were largely handed over to incumbents whose musical knowledge did not fit them for the duties to which the name of precentor owed its origin; the dignities remained, but the duties became obscured.