A 10th century document records that the first wooden church at Norham was built on the orders of BishopBishop Bishops exercised pastoral care over a diocese and authority to confirm and ordain Ecgred of LindisfarneLindisfarne Also known as Holy Island, a peninsula off the coast of north-east England (Northumbria), this area is cut off from the mainland by the tide twice a day. A monastic community was founded here by St Aidan, in emulation of Iona. From Lindisfarne, missionary activity was conducted in the kingdom of Northumbria. The Anglo-Saxon community produced saints, the most prominent being St Cuthbert in whose honour the magnificent Lindisfarne Gospels were written. between 830 and 845. He moved the bodies of St CuthbertCuthbert, St (d. 687) Celtic monk and hermit. Bishop of Lindisfarne 685. and St Ceolwulf there from the church on Lindisfarne following VikingViking Customarily refers to the Scandinavian explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, and settled in wide areas of Europe and the North Atlantic islands from the late eighth to the mid-eleventh century.There is some debate over the meaning of this word, which is attested but rarely used in the early medieval period. It was revived as a term in Scandinavian languages in the 17th century and in English in the early 19th. In contemporary sources it refers to a raider or pirate, often in association with ships and predatory activity. Some modern scholars try to keep to this restricted definition; others are happy with a wider range of meaning, applying the word to Scandinavians and their culture from approximately 790 to the mid or late 11th century, especially outside the Scandinavian homelands. raids. Some fragments of crosses and other carved stone from the late 9th century onwards show that the church continued to be a major ChristianChristian Name originally given to disciples of Jesus by outsiders and gradually adopted by the Early Church to designate all members of the church. site after St Cuthbert’s body was moved to Chester-le-Street. In the later Middle Ages Norham was considered a particularly holyHoly Set apart, sacred, especially implying coming from or consecrated to God. place thanks to its connection to St Cuthbert.