Temporalities are the secular properties and possessions of the Christian Church. It is most often used to describe those properties that were used to support a bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

 or other religious person or establishment. Its opposite description would be the spiritualities

Spiritualities

Spiritualities is a term, often used in the Middle Ages, that refers to the income sources of a diocese or other ecclesiastical establishment that came from tithes...

.

In the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

, the temporalities were usually those lands that were held by a bishop, that were used to support him. After the Investiture Crisis was resolved, the temporalities of a diocese were usually granted to the bishop by the secular ruler after the bishop was consecrated. Sometimes this granting of the temporalities could take some time. The temporalities were often confiscated by secular rulers to punish bishops.

See also

• Post-medieval parish temporalities in England