William was a 12th century prelate

Prelate

A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...

 based in the Kingdom of Scotland

Kingdom of Scotland

The Kingdom of Scotland was a Sovereign state in North-West Europe that existed from 843 until 1707. It occupied the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shared a land border to the south with the Kingdom of England...

. He occurs in the records for the first time, 1152 x 1153, late in the reign of King David I of Scotland

David I of Scotland

David I or Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians and later King of the Scots...

 (1124-53) witnessing a grant from that monarch of the church of Clackmannan

Clackmannan

Clackmannan District 1975-96From 1975, Clackmannan was the name of a small town and local government district in the Central region of Scotland, corresponding to the traditional county of Clackmannanshire, which was Scotland's smallest...

 to the Abbot of Cambuskenneth

Abbot of Cambuskenneth

The Abbot of Cambuskenneth or Abbot of Stirling was the head of the Arrouaisian monastic community of Cambuskenneth Abbey, near Stirling...

. By this point in time he is already Bishop of Moray

Bishop of Moray

The Bishop of Moray or Bishop of Elgin was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Moray in northern Scotland, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics...

. The date of his accession is not known; all that can be said is that he must have become bishop some time, perhaps some considerable time, after 1128, the last certain point in the floruit

Floruit

Floruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...

of his predecessor Gregoir

Gregoir of Moray

Gregoir of Moray [Giric, Gregory] is the first attested Bishop of Moray. His name occur in witness lists in two charters. The first is the witness list appended to a charter of King Alexander I of Scotland defining the legal powers held by Priory of Scone...

.

William witnesses a charter of King Máel Coluim IV

Malcolm IV of Scotland

Malcolm IV , nicknamed Virgo, "the Maiden" , King of Scots, was the eldest son of Earl Henry and Ada de Warenne...

 at some date after 19 December 1154, when Christian

Christian of Whithorn

Christian of Whithorn was Bishop of Whithorn , the second incumbent of that Episcopal See since it had been resurrected by King Fergus of Galloway earlier in the 12th century....

 was consecrated as Bishop of Galloway

Bishop of Galloway

The Bishop of Galloway, also called the Bishop of Whithorn, was the eccesiastical head of the Diocese of Galloway, said to have been founded by Saint Ninian in the mid-5th century. The subsequent Anglo-Saxon bishopric was founded in the late 7th century or early 8th century, and the first known...

. He witnessed several other charters of King Máel Coluim, as well a charter of Herbert

Herbert of Selkirk

Herbert of Selkirk was a 12th century Tironensian monk, who rose to become 3rd Abbot of Selkirk-Kelso and bishop of Glasgow. While abbot of Selkirk, King David I of Scotland moved Selkirk Abbey to nearby Kelso. He was elected to the see of Glasgow soon after the death of his Bishop John, and...

, Bishop of Glasgow, and one of Ernald

Ernald

Ernald was the second Abbot of Kelso before becoming Bishop of Cell Rígmonaid , the highest ranking Scottish see in the period. He was elected to the see on Sunday, St. Brice's Day 1160, and was consecrated at Dunfermline in the presence of King Máel Coluim IV the following Sunday by William,...

, Bishop of St Andrews. The last styles William "Bishop of Moray and Legate of the Apostolic See". Bishop William had gone to Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 in 1159 on behalf of King Máel Coluim in order to complain about the activities of the Archbishop of York

Archbishop of York

The Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...

. He had returned as a Papal legate

Papal legate

A papal legate – from the Latin, authentic Roman title Legatus – is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic Church. He is empowered on matters of Catholic Faith and for the settlement of ecclesiastical matters....

. Bishop William had performed the consecration of Ernald of St Andrews on 20 November 1160, in his capacity as Papal legate. William died on 24 January 1162.