Trumwine () was the only ever

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of the

Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...

n see of the

Picts The Picts were a group of peoples in what is now Scotland north of the Firth of Forth, in the Scotland in the early Middle Ages, Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and details of their culture can be gleaned from early medieval texts and Pic ...

, based at

Abercorn Abercorn ( Gaelic: ''Obar Chùirnidh'', Old English: ''Æbbercurnig'') is a village and civil parish in West Lothian, Scotland. Close to the south coast of the Firth of Forth, the village is around west of South Queensferry. The parish had a ...

. Trumwine was a contemporary and friend of St. Cuthbert."Northern Saints", 'This is Durham', Durham County Council
/ref> In 681, during the reign of King

Ecgfrith of Northumbria Ecgfrith (; ; 64520 May 685) was the King of Northumbria from 670 until his death on 20 May 685. He ruled over Northumbria when it was at the height of its power, but his reign ended with a disastrous defeat at the Battle of Nechtansmere agai ...

, Trumwine was appointed "Bishop of the Picts" by

Theodore of Tarsus Theodore of Tarsus (; 60219 September 690) was Archbishop of Canterbury from 668 to 690. Theodore grew up in Tarsus, but fled to Constantinople after the Persian Empire conquered Tarsus and other cities. After studying there, he relocated to ...

, then

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

("Bishop of those Picts who were then subject to English rule", i.e. those living north of the River Forth paying tribute to Northumbria). This was part of a more general division of the Northumbrian church by the Archbishop, who also divided the Bishopric of Hexham from the

Bishopric of Lindisfarne The bishop of Durham is head of the diocese of Durham in the province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler (bishop), Paul Butler was the most recent bishop of Durham u ...

. After the defeat and death of Ecgfrith at the

Battle of Nechtansmere The Battle of Dun Nechtain or Battle of Nechtansmere (; ) was fought between the Picts, led by King Bridei Mac Bili, and the Northumbrians, led by King Ecgfrith, on 20 May 685. The Northumbrian hegemony over northern Britain, won by Ecgfrith ...

in 685, Trumwine and his monks fled and dispersed. He retired to the monastery at

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is on the Yorkshire Coast at the mouth of the River Esk, North Yorkshire, River Esk and has a maritime, mineral and tourist economy. From the Middle Ages, Whitby ...

, then ruled by Ælflæd, Ecgfrith's sister and St. Hild's successor."Northern Saints", 'This is Durham', Durham County Council
/ref> It is possible that Trumwine was present at the aforementioned battle, and certainly he would have been a valuable source of advice for Ecgfrith. Whatever the case here, the Anglo-Saxons were defeated, expelled from

Southern Pictland Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

, and the episcopal establishment at Abercorn was hence abandoned and the diocese ceased to exist. The territory of modern

West Lothian West Lothian (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, bordering (in a clockwise direction) the City of Edinburgh council area, Scottish Borders, South Lanarkshire, North Lanarkshire and Falkirk (council area), Falkirk. The modern counci ...

hence probably passed into the hands of the

Verturian Fortriu (; ; ; ) was a Pictish kingdom recorded between the 4th and 10th centuries. It was traditionally believed to be located in and around Strathearn in central Scotland, but is more likely to have been based in the north, in the Moray and Eas ...

kings, although it is also possible that the British of

Strathclyde Strathclyde ( in Welsh language, Welsh; in Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic, meaning 'strath

alley An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane, footpath, path, or passageway, often reserved for pedestrians, which usually runs between, behind, or within buildings in towns and cities. It is also a rear access or service road (back lane), or a path, w ...

of the River Clyde') was one of nine former Local government in Scotland, local government Regions and districts of Scotland, regions of Scotland cre ...

took it over. In his days after 685, it is known that Trumwine interacted with

Bede Bede (; ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, Bede of Jarrow, the Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable (), was an English monk, author and scholar. He was one of the most known writers during the Early Middle Ages, and his most f ...

, and Bede's ''Life of Saint Cuthbert'' tells us that Trumwine was used as one of its sources. Trumwine is said to have related a story about

Saint Cuthbert Cuthbert of Lindisfarne () ( – 20 March 687) was a saint of the early Northumbrian church in the Celtic tradition. He was a monk, bishop and hermit, associated with the monasteries of Melrose and Lindisfarne in the Kingdom of Northumbria ...

's childhood, which in turn had supposedly been told to Trumwine by Cuthbert himself. He was buried in Saint Peter's church in Whitby.

Notes

References

* Colgrave (tr.), Bertam, ''Bede: The Ecclesiastical History of the English People'', (Oxford, 1969), Edited with an Introduction and Notes by Judith McClure & Roger Collins, (Oxford, 1994/1999) * Fraser, James E., ''The Battle of Dunnichen'', 685, (Gloucestershire, 2002) * Kirby, D.P., ''The Earliest English Kings'', (London, 1992), Revised Ed. (London, 2000) * Webb, J.F., & Farmer, D.H., (trs.), ''The Age of Bede'', (London, 1965)

External links

* {{authority control Christianity in Anglo-Saxon England Bishops of the Picts 7th-century English bishops