Collator
The collator is the "beneficiary" of an altar . He receives his benefices from the owner of the altar as a reward for his services (e.g. as a clergyman ) and thus becomes the collator of this altar.
In the early Middle Ages , at the time of the own church , churches were not only built by the Catholic Church as the bearer, but also often by believers as their own church. For this own church, the owner had to hire a clergyman or borrow him for a certain period of time, as the diocese or the bishop did not automatically provide clergy to all the churches in its area. This clergyman was financed by the owner of the church through the income generated by this church (the altar there ). This included donations, holding masses, funeral ceremonies, etc. The wages (benefices) went to the collator (the clergyman) as income for the time of his service. For example, if a clergyman was entrusted by a monastery to look after its own church, the abbot was given the appropriate benefice. The secured income of an altar could also be sold. As a result, non-clergymen came to the benefices of a church and thus became collators.