Many of the medieval dioceses of the Church in the Isles and its outlying districts (Brittany, Britonia, Channel Islands) had their roots or even start in the church under the Roman Empire, but most not so.
Irish Pre-Reformation Dioceses
The twelfth century reform movement in the Irish Church conducted held four councils of jurisdictions temporal and spiritual across the island, the most important as far as ecclesiastical hierarchy and organization are concerned were the second and third of these synods.
At the start of the 12th century, there were or had been 94 dioceses in Ireland (with a very few extinct). That number puts an exclamation point on the need to reduce the number of dioceses.
Synod of Rath Breasail
The Synod of Rath Breasail in 1111 divided the island into two ecclesiastical provinces of twelve dioceses each plus the two provincial sees, with one see at Cashel and the other see at Armagh. Two others were added in the aftermath. The twenty-six dioceses approved, with the tribal territories they fell in, plus the two later, were:
Province of Armagh
Ulster
1. Armagh (in
Airghialla)
2. Ardstraw (in Cenel
nEoghain; see moved to Maghera/Rathlure 1150)
3. Clogher (in Ui
Chremthainn)
4. Connor (in Dal
nAraidi & Dal Riata)
5. Down (in Dal
Fiatach)
6. Raphoe/Derry (in
Tir Connaill and Inis Eogain)
Connacht
1. Ardagh (in
Conmaicne Rein, Conmaicne Angaile, & Conmaicne Sleib Formaile, as well as
Ui Briuin Breifne)
2. Cong (in Conmaicne
Cuile Tolad & Conmaicne Mara; merged into Tuam in at Rath Breasail in 1152)
3. Clonfert (in Ui
Maine)
4. Elphin (in Ui
Briuin Ai or Siol Murraidh and Ui Aillelo)
5. Killala (in Ui
Fiachrach Muiadhe)
6. Tuam (in Conmaicne
Dunmore, which the Ui Conchubhair,
rulers of the Kingdom of Connacht had taken as their base to be near the threat
of the Muintir Murchada or O’Flahertys)
Meath
1. Clonard (in Meath,
the late Co. Westmeath)
2. Duleek (in Brega,
the later Co. Meath; Synod of Uisneach the same year suppressed the diocese,
assigning Brega to Clonard and giving Meath to Clonmacnoise).
Province of Cashel
Munster
1. Cashel (in
Eoghnacht Caiseal)
2. Cork, (in Viking
settlement, Ui Eachach Mumha, & Eoghanachta Raithlind)
3. Emly (in
Eoghanachta Aidne)
4. Limerick (in
Viking settlement & Ui Fidgente)
5. Lismore (Deisi
Mumhan)
6. Killaloe (in Tuadh
Mumha)
7. Ratass (in
Ciarraighe, Corco Duibhne, & Eoghanachta Locha Lein)
Leinster
1. Ath Cliath (or
Dublin; added after the synod)
2. Ferns (in Ui
Ceinnsealigh and Wexford)
3. Glendalough (in Ui
Muiredaig)
4. Kildare (in Ui
Failge, Ui Cairpri Laigin, & Ui Faelain)
5. Kilkenny (in
Osraige)
6. Leighlin (in Ui
Drona)
7. Waterford (in
Viking settlement plus Deisi Mumhan)
The Diocese of Dublin had stopped acknowledging the Archdiocese of Canterbury as its superior in 1096 but was not part of this synod.
Synod of Kells
The Synod of Kells in 1152 reorganized the island into four provinces. With a changes noted below, this configuration remained until the Reformation.
Province of Armagh (Ulster)
1. Ardagh (minus
Kells)
2. Armagh
3. Clonard
(suppressed, territory to Diocese of Meath after 1202)
4. Connor
5. Down
6. Kells (in Ui
Briuin Breifne, also known as Breifne or Tir mBriuin then Kilmore after 1254)
7. Maghera/Rathlure
(see moved to Derry 1254)
8. Raphoe
Province of Cashel (Munster)
1. Ardfert
2. Cashel
3. Cloyne (from Cork
in Muscraige, Eoghanachta Glendamnacht, & Ui Liathain)
4. Cork
5. Emly
6. Kilnefora (from
Killaloe in Corco Mruad)
7. Killaloe
8. Limerick
9. Lismore
10. Roscrea (from
Killaloe; returned to Killaloe 1168)
11. Ross (from Cork;
in Corca Laoidhe)
12. Inis Cathaigh
(Scattery Island); suppressed 1188
13. Waterford
Province of Dublin (Leinster)
1. Dublin (City plus
Fingall, north County Dublin)
2. Ferns
3. Glendalough
(merged into Dublin 1216)
4. Kildare
5. Kilkenny
6. Leighlinn
Province of Tuam (Connacht)
1. Achonry (in Luigne
& Gailenga)
2. Clonfert
3. Clonmacnoise (Ui Maine)
4. Killala
5. Kilmacduagh (Ui
Fiachrach Aidne)
6. Mayo (merged into
Tuam 1209)
7. Elphin (absorbed
the unrecognized sees of Roscommon, Ardcarn, & Drumcliff)
8. Tuam
9. Annaghdown
(created 1179; included Muintir Murchada, Delbhna Tir Dha Locha, &
Conmaicne Mara; merged into Tuam 1485)
Suppressed Irish Dioceses
These are the 51 dioceses suppressed at the above synods which were extant (mostly) at the dawn of the 12th century in addition to the 43 listed above (a few of which were later suppressed themselves).
(For this information, I am deeply indebted to Benignus Millet, OFM, for his article “Dioceses in Ireland up to the 15th Century” in Seanchas Ardmhacha: Journal of the Armagh Diocesan Historical Society, Vol. 12, No. 1 (1986), pp. 1-42, accessed on jstor.com)
Aughankelly
(Kilconway, Co. Antrim)
Aghagower
(Burrishole, Co. Mayo)
Ardbraccan (Lower
Navan, Co. Meath)
Ardcarne (Boyle,
Co. Roscommon)
Ardmore (Decies,
Co. Waterford)
Aughrim
(Kilconnell, Co. Galway)
Bangor (Ards
Lower & Castlereagh Lower, Co. Down)
Birr (Ballybritt,
Co. Offaly)
Castledermot
(Kilkea & Moone, Co. Kildare)
Castlekeeran
(Upper Kells, Co. Meath)
Clondalkin
(Uppercross, Co. Dublin)
Clones
(Clonkelly, Co. Fermanagh, Monaghan & Dartry, Co. Monaghan)
Clonfad (Farbill,
Co. Westmeath)
Clonkeen (Ardee,
Co. Louth)
Coleraine
(Coleraine, Co. Londonderry)
Devenish Island
(Magheraboy, Co. Fermanagh)
Dromiskin (Louth,
Co. Louth)
Dulane (Upper
Kells, Co. Meath)
Dunleer (Ferrard,
Co. Louth)
Dunshaughlin
(Ratoath, Co. Meath)
Fennor (Lower
Duleek, Co. Meath)
Finglas
(Castleknock, Co. Dublin)
Fore (Fore, Co.
Westmeath)
Glendalough
(Ballinador, Co. Wicklow)
Inan (Upper
Moyfrenragh, Co. Meath)
Inishbofin
(Ballynahinch, Co. Galway)
Inishkeen (Upper
Dundalk, Co. Louth)
Killasprugbrone
(Carbury, Co. Sligo)
Kilcullen
(Kilcullen, Co. Kildare)
Killashee (South
Nass, Co. Kildare)
Killeigh
(Geashill, Co. Offaly)
Lorrha (Lower
Ormond, Co. Tipperary)
Louth (Louth, Co.
Louth)
Lusk (Balrothery
East, Co. Dublin)
Lynally
(Ballyowen, Co. Offaly)
Mahee Island
(Castlereach Lower, Co. Down)
Monasterboice
(Ferrard, Co. Louth)
Moville
(Inishowen East, Co. Donegal)
Mungret
(Pubblebrien, Co. Limerick)
Raholp (Lecale
Co. Down)
Rashee (Antrim
Upper, Co. Antrim)
Rathlin Island
(Cary, Co. Antrim)
Seirkieran
(Ballybritt, Co. Offaly)
Slane (Upper
Slane, Co. Meath)
Sleaty
(Slievemargy, Co. Laois)
Swords
(Nethercross, Co. Dublin)
Tallaght
(Uppercross, Co. Dublin)
Terryglass (Lower
Ormond, Co. Tipperary)
Trevet (Ratoath
& Skreen, Co. Meath)
Trim (Lower
Moyfenrath & Upper Navan, Co. Meath)
Tuamgraney (Tulla
Upper, Co. Clare)
Wardenship of Galway
In 1485, the Pope granted to its parish the status of collegiate church, with its advowson or patronage in the hands of its council of burgesses. In addition, he made the Collegiate Church of St. Nicholas extra-diocesan, answerable only to the Pope, something doen in only one other case in the British Isles.
Scottish Pre-Reformation Dioceses
The Britons in the Roman province of Valentia between the Walls (Hadrian’s and Antonine) and later Hen Ogledd kingdoms of Manaw, Eidyn, Gododdin, Novant, and Strathclyde were at least partially Christian at least into the early Sub-Roman era. Early evangelists of those areas and into Caledon (southern Picts) include St. Mungo, St. Ninian, and St. Palladius. There is, however, no trace of their former existence, at least not a continuing one.
The original dioceses of the Scottish Church when it was created as an independent entity answering only to Rome by Pope Celestine III in 1192 were Aberdeen, Brechin, Caithness, Dunblane, Dunkeld, Glasgow, Moray, Ross, and St. Andrews.
The Diocese of Iona was founded on the island and in the abbey of that name by St. Colmcille (Columba) in 563, whose bishop carried episcopal authority but answered to the abbot. Until the mid-9th century, the see held the primacy of both Ireland and of Fortrenn, the dominant Pictish kingdom based at Inverness, along with that of the Muintir Colmcille.
Due to Viking raids, Kenneth mac Alpin, King of the Picts, moved the primacy of Fortrenn to Dunkeld c. 850 along with a few relics of St. Columba (as he was to the Picts and later Scots). The primacy of Ireland transferred to Kells in 878, along with division of his relics between the two, according to the Annals of Ulster, though the abbey and the coarb of St. Colmcille remained at Iona until 891, when the Abbot of Armagh became also the Abbot of Iona, and the primacy of Iona ended.
The abbey itself may have continued for some time, possibly until the King of Norway seized the island in 1114. Upon his recapture of it in 1164, Somerled mac Godfrey, King of the Isles and Lord of Kintyre, Argyll, and Lorn, invited renewed Irish involvment, which may have been when the Culdees arrived on the island. Continental-style monastic activity did not begin until 1203 when Ragnald mac Somerled, King of the Isles, invited Benedictines to take over the abbey as its chapter in 1203. The Culdees attached themselves to the Benedictine chapter.
The Diocese of Kingarth, based on the Isle of Bute, was established by St. Cathan in the 6th century and lasted until at least the late 7th century. It was never revived, though there are some claims that link it to the later Diocese of Dunblane.
The Diocese of Dunkeld was founded as the Abbey of Dun Chailean (Fort of the Caledons) in 729 with Columban monks, who were replaced in 815 by a group of Culdees. Kenneth I mac Alpin moved the episcopal primacy of the Scottish Church to Dunkeld c. 850, naming its abbot, Tuathal mac Argtusa, the “prime bishop of Fortrenn”. Upon Tuathal’s death in 865, the see, or at least the primacy, moved to the Abbey of Abernethy. The diocese was revived about 1114 by Alexander I, King of Albainn.
There are some indications of a continued and rival line of bishops at Dunkeld supporting and supported by Constantine I mac Kenneth and his descendants based at Dunnideer in Buchan against the bishops at Abernethy and Kilrymont supporting and supported by Aedh I mac Kenneth and his descendants based at Forteviot in Atholl.
When the diocese was reestablished in Continental form by Alexander I, it was granted authority over the abthaneries of Dunkeld, Dull, Kirkmichael, Madderty, and Glendochart, as well as the former territory of the Dal Riata by then called Argyll (Oirir Goidheal/Earra Ghaidheal, “Coast of the Gaels”).
The Diocese of Abernethy began as an abbey mission of Iona and became the prime see of the Picts when it moved there from Dunkeld in 865. The prime see stayed until early in the rule of Constantine II mac Aedh, the first to use the title Ri Albainn (King of Alba), who moved at least the primacy to Kilrymont. As for the abbey itself, that continued to 1196, when King William the Lyon granted it, its land, and its chapter to the Abbey of Arbroath established in 1178, after which it ceased to exist. In 1273, Gilbert de Umfravile, Earl of Angus, founded a collegiate church on the site.
The Diocese of Kilrymont (Cennrighmonaid) began as the Abbey of Kilrymont in the 8th century, becoming the see of a diocese upon installation of its first bishop, Cellach, in 908. Until the death of Bishop Fothad II in 1093, its incumbents were referred to as “Bishop of Albainn” or as “Bishop of the Scots”. Reorganized on Continental lines by St. Margaret in 1107, it became the Diocese of St. Andrews. It rose to an archdiocese in 1472.
The Diocese of Mortlach was founded 1012 by Malcolm II, King of Albainn, in honor of a battle he had won. David I, King of the Brets and Scots, and Bishop Nechtan, the diocese’s incumbent, moved the see to Old Aberdeen in 1136 so that it became the Diocese of Aberdeen, over the Mormaerdoms of Mar and Buchan.
The Diocese of Kirkjuvagr was founded in 1035 by Thorfinn the Mighty Sigurdsson, Jarl of Orkney, for the people of Orkney and Shetland with its see at Birsay. The see moved to become the Diocese of Kirkwall in 1137. The diocese was subject to the Province of York until establishment of the Province of Nidaros (in Norway) in 1152. Orkney and Shetland were annexed into the Kingdom of Scots and into the Scottish Church as the Diocese of Orkney in 1472.
The Diocese of Moray was established by Alexander I, King of Albainn, at Birnay in 1107, covering much the same territory as the former kingdom had. Its see moved to Kinnedor then Spyvie before settling at Elgin, where it at last received a proper cathedral.
The Diocese of Glasgow, first established in the kingdom of Alt Clud by St. Mungo in the 6th century but long defunct, the diocese was reestablished c. 1116 by David, Prince of the Cumbrians (later David I), with John the Chaplain as its first incumbent. It became an archdiocese in 1492.
The Diocese of Ross was established by David I c. 1127 at Rosemarkie near the site of a former abbey founded by St. Moluag of Lismore out of the territory of the Diocese of Moray. The see transferred to Fortrose on the Black Isle in 1309.
The Diocese of Dunblane was established in Strathearn and Menteith about 1140 by David I by reviving the old see of Abernethy and moving it to the Culdee abbey founded by St. Blane of Kingarth as a Columban house.
The Diocese of Galloway, also known as Candida Casa and Whithorn, was first established by St. Ninian in the 5th century. In time it faded away, but was revived again by the Angles of Northumbria in the 8th century, only to once again wither. Not until Fergus, Lord of Galloway, revived it in 1143 did it have staying power. The diocese belonged to the Province of York until 1359 and only formally joined the Scottish Church in 1430.
The Diocese of Caithness was established by David I in 1146, with its see at the Culdee house of Dornoch.
The Diocese of Brechin was established in 1150 by David I at a Culdee abbey at the site of the new see, with its abbot as first bishop, covering much the same territory as the extinct Diocese of Abernethy.
The Diocese of Sodor was created for the Isle of Mann and the Hebrides (collectively called Sodor or South Isles by the Norse) in 1154 in the Province of Nidaros with its see at Pell (Isle of Mann). After antipope Clement VII split off the Hebrides, Pell continued as the see of the newly reconstituted Diocese of Sodor and Mann. In 1453, the diocese separated from Nidaros and was attached to the Province of York.
The Diocese of Argyll, with its see at Lismore, was created in 1186 by Pope Urban III in the western portion of the Diocese of Dunkeld, taking in for Argyll, Cowall, Kintyre, Lorn, and Lochaber as well as the islands of Lismore, Kerrera, Seil, and Luing.
The Diocese of the Isles was created in 1387 after its territories were split from the Diocese of Sodor by Avignon anti-pope Clement VII and attached to the Scottish Church, with its see initially at Snizort on the Isle of Skye before moving to the Benedictine abbey on Iona. The Isles themselves (including Mann) had been possessions of Scotland since 1266.
The Collegiate Church of St. Giles in Edinburgh, made collegiate only in 1466, was made extra-diocesan in 1470, with its chapter answerable only to the Pope in Rome, the first such case for a secular church in the Isles.
Pre-Reformation Dioceses of England
Records of the dioceses founded in Roman Britain (save for those in Wales founded then and still extant) have been lost for a millenium and a half, and though there is some indication the Church at some level survived until his era, I will begin with St. Augustine.
The dioceses after the advent of St. Augustine were created on a part tribal, quasi-territorial basis.
The premier diocese of England, the Diocese of Canterbury, was founded in 597 by missionary archbishop Augustine among the Cantwara. Always an archdiocese, after 604 its diocesan as opposed to provincial authority only covered East Kent, or Kent east of the River Medway.
The Diocese of Rochester was established among the West Cantwara, the part of Kent west of River Medway, in 604. Although a separate diocese, it still required approval of Canterbury for appointment of its bishops until 1148, only after which did it become truly independent.
The Augustinian-era Diocese of London was established in 604, its original incarnation under Roman Britain having long been extinct; its authority included the Middle Seax and the East Seax.
The Diocese of Dunwich was established in 630 to serve the East Angles. It was divided into the continuing Diocese of Dunwich (Suffolk) and the new Diocese of Elmham (Norfolk) in 672; the two dioceses reunited in 955 with the see of the reformed diocese at Elham. The see moved to Theford in 1075, and finally to Norwich in 1094, since which it has been known as the Diocese of Norwich.
The Diocese of Lindisfarne was first founded in 635 by St. Aidan out of the Columban abbey of Iona to serve the whole of Northumbria. After the Synod of Streonshalh (Whitby) in 664, the see of the kingdom transferred back to York.
The first (Gewisse) Diocese of Dorcester was established among the Gewisse in 634; the see was moved to Winchester in 660, where it has been since as the center of the Diocese of Winchester. The Gewisse did not become the West Seax until the ascent of Caedwalla in 685.
The Diocese of Repton was created for the Kingdom of Mercia, for which it was also known as the Diocese of Mercia, in 656; the see was moved to Lichfield in 669. The Diocese of Lichfield was raised to an archbishopric in 787, making three archdioceses in England, with its suffragan dioceses of Worcester, Leicester, Lindsey, Hereford, Elmham, and Dunwich. The elevation proved to be short-lived, ending in 796 with the suffragan dioceses returned to Canterbury. Due to Viking attacks, the see moved to Chester (Diocese of Chester) in 1075, then to Coventry in 1089, at which its name became the Diocese of Coventry and Lichfield. In 1539, the see was returned to Lichfield and the diocese became the Diocese of Lichfield and Coventry.
The Diocese of York was one of three known sees of the ancient British church (the others were at London and Caerleon-upon-Usk) that dissolved in the wake of the 5th century disruptions. A diocese was created for Roman missionary Paulinus in 625, but it collapsed with Paulinus’ flight into exile in 633 after the death of his royal sponsor. The diocese was recreated in 664 after the Synod of Streoneshalh (Whitby) in 664 and was raised to an archdiocese in 735.
The Diocese of Hereford was created among the Magonsaetas on the border of Wales in 676.
The Diocese of Lindisfarne was recreated in 678 to serve the people of Bernicia, the northern part of the kingdom of Northumbria whose southern half, the former Deira, surrounded the town of York. Upon the appointment of St. Cuthbert in 684, this diocese gained special controls over the region between the River Tyne and the River Wear which became known as the Liberty of St. Cuthbert.
Monks fleeing Lindisfarne in 883 stopped at a former Roman fort known as Concangis, where they build a monastery and church, calling the place Conceastre (now Chester-le-Street). It became the see of the diocese, though the incumbent’s title remained the same. In 995, the see and St. Cuthbert’s relics were transferred to Dunholme, the site of a former Roman fort called Caer Weir by the Britons, and the jurisdiction became the Diocese of Durham. Its prelates became Prince-Bishops in 1017; beginning in 1293, the diocese was also known as the County Palatine of Durham.
The Diocese of Hexham was created in 678 between the River Aln and the River Tees. It became defunct after 821, largely because of Viking raids, and its territory merged back into the Diocese of Lindisfarne.
The Diocese of Sidnacester was created among the Lindiswara in 678, and was better known as the Diocese of Lindsey. It united with the second (Mercian) Diocese of Dorchester under one incumbent in 971, merging completely into the latter in 1011.
The Diocese of Leicester was founded in 679 among the Middle Angles; its see transferred to Dorchester in 875, so that it became the second Diocese of Dorchester. This diocese united with the Diocese of Lindsey in 971 as two dioceses under a single incumbent, with the two fully merged in 1011 under the continued name Diocese of Dorchester. The see of the diocese moved in 1072 so that it became the Diocese of Lincoln, by far the largest diocese with the largest cathedral chapter in all England and third largest in Western Christendom.
The Diocese of Ripon was created in 679, mostly for Eadhaed, the first Bishop of Sidnacester (Lindsey), appointed in 678 by Ecgfrith, King of Northumbria, but expelled in 679 by Aethelred I of Mercia after his forces defeated Ecgfrith and the Northumbrians at the Battle of the River Trent and retook Lindsey. The diocese ceased in 686 upon the retirement of its one and only incumbent.
The Diocese of Worcester was created among the Hwicce in 680.
The Diocese of Selsey was created for the South Seax in 681. Its see was transferred in 1075 so that it became the Diocese of Chichester.
The Diocese of Abercorn was established in 681 on the northern frontier of Northumbria in its subprovince of Dunbar or Lothian. The sole incumbent of its see at Abercorn, Trumwine, a Pict from Aberdeen, was referred to as the Bishop of the Picts. The diocese collapsed with Northumbria’s disastrous loss to the Picts at the Battle of Nechtansmere in 685.
The Diocese of Sherborne formed out of the Diocese of Winchester in 705 for the Dorsaetas, the Somersaetas, and the Defnaestas. The diocese split into three in 909: Crediton (Devon and Cornwall) and Wells (Somerset), leaving the continuing Sherborne with Dorset. The diocese merged with that of Ramsbury in 1075 as the Diocese of Salisbury (Sarum).
The Diocese of Wells formed out of that of Sherborne in 909. Its see moved to Bath (Diocese of Bath) in 1090; then to Glastonbury in 1197, known as the Diocese of Glastonbury then as the Diocese of Bath and Glastonbury until 1219, when it became the Diocese of Bath. Since 1245, it has been the Diocese of Bath and Wells.
The Diocese of Crediton in Devon and Cornwall formed out of Sherborne in 909. Cornwall split off c. 924 as the Diocese of St. Germans. The two dioceses reunited under a single bishop in 1027, with the see of that bishop moving to Exeter in 1046. The separate dioceses merged as the Diocese of Exeter in 1050. (Cornwall finally separated again in 1876 to become the Diocese of Truro).
The Diocese of Ramsbury formed in Wiltshire and Berkshire out of the Diocese of Winchester in 909. The diocese merged with that of Sherborne in 1075 as the Diocese of Salisbury (Sarum).
The Diocese of Salisbury (Sarum), as mentioned above, came about in 1075 from the merger of the dioceses of Sherborne and of Ramsbury.
The Diocese of Ely only gained an episcopal see in 1109, but it grew from what had been an important Anglo-Saxon convent founded in 673 that was destroyed by Vikings, replaced with a Benedictine monastery in 970, and finally made a diocese. Covering approximately the lands of the former sub-kingdoms of North Gwyras and South Gwyras, this diocese when founded took in the Isle of Ely and Cambridgeshire.
The Diocese of Carlisle was created in 1133 out of the Diocese of Durham.
Though technically outside this timeframe, it is worth noting that in 1539-1540, Henry VIII, King of England, formed six dioceses from the jurisdictions of abolished monasteries, those of Westminster, Bristol, Chester, Gloucester, Oxford, and Peterborough. Of these, the Diocese of Westminster lasted just ten years, 1540-1550, with the rest surviving until today.
The Diocese of Sodor and Man was created in the Province of Nidaros in 1387 after the split off of the Hebrides islands from the Diocese of Sodor and attachment to the Scottish Church as the Diocese of the Isles. Pretty much confined to the Isle of Mann, this diocese was attached to the Church of England’s Province of Canterbury from 1453 until 1542, when it transferred to the Province of York.
Welsh Pre-Reformation Dioceses
What became the Diocese of Llandaff was founded by St. Dyfrig, Bishop of Sub-Roman kingdom of Ergyng and grandson of the founder of the kingdom, with his see at Caerleon. The see later moved to the Abbey of Llandaff founded by St. Teilo (Eliud in Cornwall) in the first half of the 6th century due to the expansion of the kingdom of the Magonsaetas in what is now Herefordshire. The diocese grew to cover all of Glywys (Morganwg) and Gwent as well.
In the Roman era, Bishop Adelphius of Isca Augusta Silurum (Caerleon-upon-Usk), attended the Council of Arles in 314. His diocese covered the entire province of Britannia Segunda. St. Teilo founded his abbey on the site of a church reportedly founded by St. Dyfan and St. Fagan in 146 CE.
The Diocese of Bangor was established in the Kingdom of Gwynedd in 546 by St. Deiniol, when Maelgwn Hir was king.
The Diocese of St. David’s was founded by St. David in the Kingdom of Dyfed (which at the time included Brychneiog) as the Diocese of Mynyw (Menevia) in the mid-6th century. If not officially an archbishop, the see’s incumbent was still looked at as a metropolitan by the other Welsh bishops until the Welsh Church’s subjugation by Canterbury.
The Diocese of Llanbadarn was founded by St. Padarn, who served as its first bishop, in the early 6th century in the Kingdom of Ceredigion. By the late 8th century, it had been forced to merge into the Diocese of St. David’s, reportedly by the murder of its clergy.
St. Kentigern (Mungo), temporarily exiled from Govan, founded the Diocese of of Llanelwy in the Kingdom of Powys c. 550. Upon his return north, St. Asaph succeeded to the see. After serious territory losses to the Mercians and the building of Offa’s Dyke in 798, the diocese collapsed. It was revived in 1143 by Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury, and renamed the Diocese of St. Asaph.
Medieval Brittany
The ecclesiastical Province of Tours, to which all these dioceses belonged (and still belong in one form or another) is coterminous with the former Roman imperial administrative province of Lugdunensis Tertia.
The Diocese of Vannes (Vannetais) was established in the 5th century for the civitas of the Veneti.
The Diocese of Rennes (Rennais) was established in the 5th century for the civitas of the Redones.
The Diocese of Quimper (Cornouaille) was established in the 5th century for the colony of the Cornovii colonists from southwest Britanniae.
The Diocese of Aleth (Domnonea) was established in the early 6th century among the Dumnonii colonists from southwest Britanniae. Its bishops used the title Bishop of Poutrocoet. The see was later moved and the diocese renamed the Diocese of Saint-Malo.
The Diocese of Leon was, according to legend, founded by St. Paul Aurelian in the mid 6th century. Its was later renamed the Diocese of Saint-Pol-de-Leon.
The Diocese of Nantes (Nanntais) was established in the late 6th century by St. Martin of Vertou.
The Archdiocese of Dol was established by missus imperatoris (imperial emissary, of Louis the Pious) Nominoe in 848 at the abbey of Dol founded by St. Samson. In 1199, Pope Innocent III subordinated all of Brittany to the Archbishop of Tours, but did not stop the incumbent of Dol from using the title archbishop and its insignia until the French Revolution.
The Diocese of Treguier was founded by imperial emissary Nominoe at the abbey of St. Tudwal in the mid-9th century
The Diocese of Saint-Brieuc was founded by imperial emissary Nominoe in the mid-800s at the abbey of St. Brioc.
Medieval Britonia
Britonia was the name of both the British colony on the northern shores of Galicia in and of its chief town.
The Diocese of Britonia was established the Suebi Kingdom of Galicia in 569 CE; to its were assigned the churches of Britonia, of Asturias, and the monastery of Maximus. Being exiles from southwest Great Britain and influenced by the Irish Church, the church practiced the Celtic Rites. Originally in the ecclesiastical Province of Lugo, Liuvigild of Hispania and Septimania attached it to the Province of Braga after his Visigothic kingdom absorbed Galicia in 585.
At the Council of Toledo in 633, the Celtic Rite and major seasonal calendar of Britonia were suppressed, and Britonia adopted the Visigothic Rite.
The town of Britonia was temporarily abandoned when it was destroyed by the Moors in 716, including by its bishop and clergy, but they returned after the establishment of the Kingdom of Asturias in 718. After Britonia was attacked by Vikings in 830, the independence of the diocese collapsed.
The district was revived as a diocese in 866 with its see at Mondumetum (Mondoñedo), the incumbent of which was referred to as the bishop of Britonia as late as 899. It survived in this guise throughout the remaining Middle Ages until today.
Channel Isles
Known to the Romans as the Lenur Isles.
Until 1569 when they were finally transferred to the English
Diocese of Winchester as its Deanery
of Jersey (Jersey) and its Deanery of Guernsey (Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, Harm),
the churches in the Channel Isles belonged to the French Diocese of Coutances, erected in the 4th century for the civitas of
the Gaulish Unelli, despite the fact that the islands themselves were possessions
of the Crown of England since 1214 (and before that of the same dynasty as
territories of the Duchy of Normandy).
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