Durham

Overview
The City of Durham is one of the great religious centres of the North. The spectacular Norman cathedral, perched high above the River Wear, boasts the shrines of not one but two great English saints - the Venerable Bede, and Saint Cuthbert - and pilgrims come from miles around in the hopes of procuring a miracle from one or the other of these holy men... and contribute generously to the Cathedral's clergy in return.

When a man crosses the border into the County Palatine of Durham, he may as well be entering a foreign country. In order to better defend the border with Scotland, William the Conqueror granted the Bishops of Durham the secular rank of a Prince, with responsibility for governing and protecting the northernmost parts of his realm.

The Prince-Bishop of Durham, then, rules his See almost as an independent Kingdom - and to date there have been few Prince-Bishops more formidable than the present incumbent, Hugh de Puiset. He has the right to mint his own coinage, pass his own laws, and try people in his own courts. He may raise his own army, and rule the County with complete autonomy - provided he remembers to whom he owes it all... the King of England.