About the year 525, Daniel ap Dunawd, Abbot of Bangor Is Coed, in Flintshire, built a College in Caernarvonshire, for the instruction of youth and support of the Clergy of this part of North Wales; and probably designed it as a Cell, or member of the other Bangor, and continued so till Prince Maelgwn, or Maelgwyn Gwynedd, a wicked Prince in his youth, but reformed in his advanced age, among other works of Piety, created this College into a Bishoprick, and Archbishop Dubricius, or Dyfrig, consecrated the said Daniel Bishop thereof, about the year 550; and about four years after, he died, December 10, and was buried at Bardsey, or Enlli. There is but a very slender account of Daniel’s successors till after the Conquest; from which time there seems to be a regular succession of Prelates in this See, though by reason of the wars, they had not all of them a quiet enjoyment. The Revenues of this Bishoprick were valued 25th Henry VIII. at £151 3s. 8d.; the clear value £134 16s. 4d. The next account is, that according to Bede, there was a Bishop here, St. Awstin the Monk, who is called Ellodu, Anno Dom. 601. However, Elbodius was certainly Bishop of North Wales, and died, as some say, A.D. 806, others 811. There is no account who succeeded him. Gildas Cambrensis dedicated his Book to a Bishop of Venetia; he flourished A.D. 860. Mordaf is mentioned by Wynne to have gone to Rome about the year 940; about the confirmation of Howel Dda’s Laws.
Hervey, surnamed Cruste, was consecrated Bishop of Bangor, between the years 1089 and 1093, by Thomas, Archbishop of York; and so continued for 15 or 16 years; but using too great severity, he was very ill liked by the Welsh, who at last murdered his Brother, and threatened to do the same with him, whereupon he retired into England, to Henry I. for protection, who assigned him the Abbey of Ely, which he got converted into a Bishoprick, and quitted Bangor A.D. 1109, and died at Ely 1131, where he was buried.
Urban, bishop of Landaff, governed this see, and took the care thereof upon him, probably till 1119, when he began to be fully occupied in looking after his charge in Landaff, and rebuilding his church.
David, a Scot, was consecrated April 4, 1120, in which year he consented to the translation of the reliques of St. Dubricius to Landaff, out of his own Diocese, at the request of Bishop Urban; he is mentioned 1127, and his successor was
Meuruc, or Maurice, consecrated A.D. 1139: he was presented to the Archdeaconry by Bishop David, and at first refused taking the oath to the King of England, though afterwards he was with some difficulty persuaded to it; he died A.D. 1161, and was succeeded by
William Priors, of St. Austin’s, Bristol, A.D. 1162, a very religious and pious man; who was succeeded by
Guy Rufus, Monk of Walham, in the County of Essex, who was consecrated at Ambrosebury, in July 1177; in the year 1188, he accompanied Baldwyn, Archbishop of Canterbury, in his progress through Wales, and died about two years after, 1190: he was succeeded by
Giraldus Cambrensis, who was elected to the See in 1190, but he refused to accept of it then; so it continued vacant till the election of
Alban, or Albanus, Prior of St. John’s, Jerusalem, consecrated April 16, 1195: he died the year following, and was succeeded by
Robert, of Shrewsbury, who was consecrated the 18th of March. He died in 1213, and was buried by his own appointment in the Market-place at Shrewsbury; after his death the See became vacant for two years, when