1) Member of an order in a "monastery or in the precincts of a *cathe-dral living according to a rule and so renouncing private property, accepting chastity, i.e. a canon regular; secular canons did not live according to a rule. -
Cf. Minor canon
2) Orig. a list of books of the Bible considered genuine by the Church; later, a set of books considered to exemplify excellence. A set of rules to follow or decrees. Thus Canon law.
Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases. Christopher Coredon with Ann Williams.