Land of the Prince Bishops

John Speed's map 1610

As you drive into Durham you will most likely see a road sign proclaiming that you are entering The Land of The Prince Bishops. The Bishop of Durham has always been Bishop by Divine Providence while other Bishops are  by Divine Permission.

So far from Westminster, Durham's Bishop enjoyed extraordinary powers and could hold his own parliament, raise his own army and appoint his own sheriffs and Justices. Laws, levies, taxes and custom dues were his. He also created markets and fairs, issued charters, claimed salvage from shipwrecks, revenues from mines, administered forests and minted his own coins.

It was said that there were two kings in England, and one of them was the Bishop of Durham. The administrative centre of all this activity was the castle and the buildings on Palace Green, some of which still remain. Henry VIII curbed some of the Prince Bishops powers and in 1538 ordered the destruction of the shrine of St Cuthbert.

Until the murder of Thomas Becket in Canterbury, St Cuthbert's was the most important shrine in England. It was famous for two reasons - the healing properties he had in life continued after his death, and his body was, as they say, incorruptible. That was back in 668. When Henry ordered the destruction of the shrine, his officers came to Durham intent on taking the gold and jewels, and tried to throw down the saint's bones. Check the link to find out what happened!  ~ http://www.durhamworldheritagesite.com/architecture/cathedral/intro/cuthbert-shrine

Durham's location has always meant the city kept a wary eye on the Scots. The castle is one of the few Norman keeps to withstand a Scots attack. The Battle of Neville's Cross on 17th October 1346 is well documented, and there are several accounts to follow. here are links to just two of them:
http://durhamcow.com/durham-events/battle-of-nevilles-cross/ or
http://www.battlefieldstrust.com/resource-centre/medieval/battleview.asp?BattleFieldId=28

Plague outbreaks reached Durham in 1544, 1589 and 1598.

Durham, my home city

This advert caught my eye and I liked it so I'm keeping it here. 
What would life be like in Durham in 1414, the year the school was founded? There is so much history in and around Durham. They say settlement began in the area around 2000 BC but it was St Cuthbert who put Durham firmly on the map.

Symeon of Durham, medieval chronicler, tells how St Cuthbert's bier came to a mysterious halt at the hill of Warden Law, south west of what is now Sunderland, and refused to budge. The monks of Lindisfarne, having departed their original home because of Viking raids, had shuffled Cuthbert's coffin all over the north, and thought this refusal to move rather strange.  The Bishop of Chester-le-Street declared a three-day fast with prayers during which St Cuthbert is reputed to have appeared to a monk called Eadmer and told him to take the coffin to Dun Holme.

The coffin then allowed itself to be moved, but a milkmaid had to be consulted before the location of Dun Holme became known. Settling on the promontory above the river Wear, the monks built the cathedral to house St Cuthbert's remains. Symeon says it was the first building in the town, but there is nothing left of the modest building today. The Norman built a much grander structure on top of it. Cuthbert is still there, with pride of place behind the altar, and the Venerable Bede lies in the Galilee Chapel. 

Over the years the old name changed. The old words meant hill (dun OE) and island (holme, Norse), then became Normanised as 
Duresme and Latinised as Dunelm and finally at some time unknown, Durham.

Here are some links to the wonderful old city of Durham:
http://www.durhamworldheritagesite.com/heritage

http://www.durhamworldheritagesite.com/architecture/palace-green/cosins-almshouses