John was an 11th-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...

. According to the Saxon

Duchy of Saxony

The medieval Duchy of Saxony was a late Early Middle Ages "Carolingian stem duchy" covering the greater part of Northern Germany. It covered the area of the modern German states of Bremen, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Saxony-Anhalt and most of Schleswig-Holstein...

 writer Adam of Bremen

Adam of Bremen

Adam of Bremen was a German medieval chronicler. He lived and worked in the second half of the eleventh century. He is most famous for his chronicle Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum .-Background:Little is known of his life other than hints from his own chronicles...

, historian of the archbishops of Hamburg, John was sent to Orkney by Adalbert

Adalbert of Hamburg

This article is about Adalbert of Hamburg-Bremen. For other uses, see Adalbert .Adalbert of Hamburg-Bremen was a German prelate, who was Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen from 1043 until his death...

, Archbishop of Hamburg

Archbishop of Hamburg

The Archdiocese of Hamburg is a diocese in the north of Germany and contains the Federal States of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein as well as the part Mecklenburg of the Federal State Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. In terms of surface area it is the largest in Germany...

, to succeed Thorulf

Thorulf of Orkney

Thorulf or Torulf was medieval prelate, a Bishop of Orkney. Although probably a native Scandinavian, he is known only from the account of the German writer Adam of Bremen. Adam reported that he was appointed bishop by Adalbert, Archbishop of Hamburg, the first Orcadian appointee under Hamburg...

 as Bishop of Orkney

Bishop of Orkney

The Bishop of Orkney was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Orkney, one of thirteen medieval bishoprics within the territory of modern Scotland. It included both Orkney and Shetland. It was based for almost all of its history at St...

. According to Adam, he had previously been consecrated as a bishop in "Scotland" (either Britain north of the Firth of Forth

Firth of Forth

The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south...

 or Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

).

Three other figures may or may not represent the same person as John. He is possibly the same bishop as the Jon Irski who had been bishop in Iceland for four years, around 1050. Another figure with a similar name, John Scotus (died 1066), was Bishop of the Obotrites and has thus likewise been connected with the Orkney bishop. Another John was mentioned by Hugh the Chanter's 12th-century History of the Church of York

History of the Church of York

The History of the Church of York is a 12th-century historical Latin text composed by Hugh the Chantor . It describes the history of the archdiocese of York between 1066 and 1127, and is written almost in the form of a series of biographies of the archbishops during that period, particularly...

as a Bishop of Glasgow during the time of Cynesige

Cynesige

Cynesige was a medieval Archbishop of York for nine years between 1051 and 1060.- Life :Cynesige perhaps came from Rutland, as he owned the manor of Tinwell there later in life...

, 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...

 (1051–1060).