This once noble edifice, of which even the remaining fragments are amongst our finest examples of mediæval architecture, stands in the fertile plain of Moray, in the centre of the region which borders the Moray Firth, and is remarkable for the pleasantness and salubrity of its climate. This province was long a subject of contest between the Scottish kings and the Mormaers of Moray. The latter were defeated by Alexander I., and more permanently subdued by David I., who both proceeded to carry out the ecclesiastical policy of their family by founding in this newly-acquired land various religious establishments. The priory of Urquhart, of which now not a stone remains, was established by David I., near the mouth of the Lossie, in 1125, for Benedictines from Dunfermline; and the abbey of Kinloss, near the Findhorn, was founded, in 1150, for Cistercians from Melrose. The churches of Birnie, Spynie, and Kineddar also come into notice about this period. The chartulary of the Bishopric of Moray goes no further back than the year 1200, but the see of Moray is believed to have been founded by Alexander I. about 1107, and the bishopric certainly existed in his time.[46] The seat of the bishop, however, was not fixed for a considerable period thereafter, being sometimes at Birnie and other times at Spynie and Kineddar. But in 1203 application was made by Bricius, the sixth bishop to Pope Innocent III., requesting that the site of the cathedral should be fixed, and the Pope decided that it should be settled at Spynie. This situation was, however, found to be too remote, and Pope Honorius was approached for the purpose of having the see changed to the banks of the Lossie, where an extensive and suitable site for the cathedral had been obtained from Alexander II., who was a great patron of Elgin. The introduction to the _Register of the Diocese_, p. xii., states that the application for the transference of the see to Elgin was made by Bishop Bricius, though the change did not take place till after his demise. This bishop established a chapter of eight secular canons, and gave the cathedral a constitution founded on the usage of Lincoln, which was ascertained by a special mission to England. Bishop Bricius died in 1222, and was succeeded by Andrew de Moravia, a member of a powerful family in the north. Under him the transference of the Episcopal See to Elgin was effected, and the cathedral of the Holy Trinity was founded in 1224, on the site of an older church with the same dedication. The works proceeded under Bishop Andrew’s supervision during the eighteen remaining years of his life. Munificent donations were bestowed on the see by the bishop’s family, and through his influence the number of the prebends was increased to twenty-three. It is recorded that Master Gregory, the mason, and Richard, the glazier, were two persons employed on the work.[47]