The deputy precentor;
a monastic official who helped the precentor to encourage singing
and maintain attentiveness during the services and ensured
that nobody fell asleep. He also made sure that the books were in
place. According to the twelfth- century customary of the Order
the subcantor stood in the left side of the choir, the
precentor in the right, with the abbot. It is unclear whether it
was assumed that the reader was facing the High
Altar or the nave, but if the abbot and precentor stood where
the dean now stands in a modern cathedral, i.e. to the right when
facing the High Altar, it can be assumed that the subcantor stood
on the opposite side, namely to the left, when facing the High Altar.