ABSTRACT
Late medieval Durham was a county palatine, the land of the prince-bishops. Today, one cannot escape the constant bombardment of “Prince Bishop” imagery in the city of Durham; there is a Prince Bishop shopping area, and even a Prince Bishop car park. The medieval bishops preferred the term “lord bishop” (dominus episcopus). They knew full well that they stood in loco regis, issuing their own writs and laws, coining their own money, and possessing their own Chancery and Exchequer. 1 The king controlled the appointment to this see more carefully than any other bishopric; for centuries after the beginning of Norman rule, Northern England was a troubled frontier, dangerous and unruly in both peace and war. 2 It was an area far removed from royal control and supervision, necessitating a strong regional figure with close royal ties. The bishops of Durham were suited to this role, and the kings of England permitted and even encouraged the bishops to develop the machinery and customs needed to enforce the king’s will. 3 Durham supposedly lies in stark relief compared to the rest of England, being the greatest of the medieval English liberties and peculiarities, and at the same time a major buttress to royal policies. The extent of Durham’s differences, on account of its liberties and the wide regal authority exercised by the bishops, is sometimes overstated. Most bishops were trusted royal advisors with long careers in the royal administration, and they chose men with experience at court and in the shires to help run the county. The common experience of the county personnel reduced the ways in which the bishop’s powers and Durham’s “constitution” differed from other English counties.
