William the Old ( la, Gulielmus Senex; died 1168) was a 12th-century

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

who became one of the most famous

bishops of Orkney The Bishop of Orkney was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Orkney, one of thirteen medieval bishoprics of Scotland. It included both Orkney and Shetland. It was based for almost all of its history at St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall. The ...

. Although his origins are obscure in detail, William was said to have been a "clerk of Paris".Crawford, "William (died 1168)".

Saga is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square (video game company), Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, ...

tradition had it that William had been bishop for 66 years when he died in 1168, meaning that his accession to the bishopric would have been around 1102. There is no contemporary evidence of his episcopate until a letter of

Pope Honorius II Pope Honorius II (9 February 1060 – 13 February 1130), born Lamberto Scannabecchi,Levillain, pg. 731 was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 21 December 1124 to his death in 1130. Although from a humble background, ...

in 1128, which even then does not name William specifically, but rather only mentions a bishop holding office at the same time as Radulf Novell. He was however definitively in charge by December 1135 during the earldom of Earl

Paul Haakonsson Paul Haakonsson was joint Earl of Orkney from 1122 until 1137. Haakonsson served jointly as Earl of Orkney together with Harald Haakonsson. Paul Haakonsson had not been well loved by his female kin. In 1137, Paul was reportedly abdicated and ki ...

.Watt, ''Fasti Ecclesiae'', p. 249. Bishop William was a promoter of the cult of St Magnus, and was allegedly witness to some posthumous miraculous activity of the former earl. William had St Magnus' relics transferred to

Kirkwall Kirkwall ( sco, Kirkwaa, gd, Bàgh na h-Eaglaise, nrn, Kirkavå) is the largest town in Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland. The name Kirkwall comes from the Norse name (''Church Bay''), which later changed to ''Kirkv ...

, fixing the episcopal seat at this location and, with the assistance of Earl

Rognvald Kali Kolsson Ragnvald, Rögnvald or Rognvald or Rægnald is an Old Norse name (Old Norse ''Rǫgnvaldr'', modern Icelandic ''Rögnvaldur''; in Old English ''Regenweald'' and in Old Irish, Middle Irish ''Ragnall''). Notable people with the name include: * Ragnval ...

, constructing a new cathedral there. It was probably for these reasons that William was remembered in later Orcadian tradition, saga and ecclesiastical, as the founding bishop of Orkney. Along with Earl Rognvald, between 1151 and 1153 William went on pilgrimage to the

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. In 1153/4 the bishopric of Orkney came firmly into the Scandinavian fold, as opposed to the

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St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...

fold, when the

Papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title ''legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...

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arrived in

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to create a new Archbishopric of Trondheim (''Niðaros'') embracing the Orcadian see.

Notes

References

* Cooke, Alice M., "Ralph (d. in or after 1151)", rev. Barbara E. Crawford, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 200
Retrieved 4 May 2007
* Crawford, Barbara E., "William (d. 1168)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 200
Retrieved 4 May 2007
* Watt, D.E.R., (ed.) ''Fasti Ecclesia Scoticanae Medii Aevii ad annum 1638'', (Scottish Records Society, 1969), pp. 248–9 {{DEFAULTSORT:Old, William The 1168 deaths Bishops of Orkney Clergy from Paris 12th-century Scottish Roman Catholic bishops Burials at St Magnus Cathedral Year of birth unknown