William the Dean was a 13th century bishop of Dunkeld

Bishop of Dunkeld

The Bishop of Dunkeld is the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Dunkeld, one of the largest and more important of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics, whose first recorded bishop is an early 12th century cleric named Cormac...

. He had been a dean

Dean (religion)

A dean, in a church context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church.-Anglican Communion:...

 of the diocese of Dunkeld

Diocese of Dunkeld

The Diocese of Dunkeld was one of the 13 historical dioceses of Scotland preceding the abolition of Episcopacy in 1689.-History:It is thought that the diocese was constituted as far back as the middle of the ninth century. The first occupant was styled Bishop of Fortriu, the name by which the...

, and was elected to the bishopric when news of the death of bishop-elect Hugo de Strivelin

Hugo de Strivelin

Hugh de Stirling was a 13th century bishop-elect of Dunkeld. He appears to have been a canon of the diocese. His locational epithet, de Strivelin, "of Stirling", indicates some association with the burgh or sheriffdom of Stirling, either as a place of origin or as a place at which he practised as...

 arrived from 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...

. William soon travelled to Continental Europe

Continental Europe

Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands....

 for his consecration

Consecration

Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...

, and on the orders of the pope

Pope

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...

, was consecrated by Cardinal Ordonius, bishop of Tusculum. All of this happened by 13 December 1283, when it is related in a letter of Pope Martin IV

Pope Martin IV

Pope Martin IV, born Simon de Brion held the papacy from February 21, 1281 until his death....

. Unusually for bishops of Dunkeld, very little is known of his episcopate. The only thing we know he did after consecration was visit the shrine of Saint Cuthbert at Durham

Durham

Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...

 in 1285. As his successor Matthew de Crambeth

Matthew de Crambeth

Matthew de Crambeth was a late 13th and early 14th century bishop of Dunkeld. He had been a dean of the bishopric of Aberdeen and was a canon of the diocese of Dunkeld when, following the death of Bishop William, he was elected to the bishopric. He was consecrated at the hands of Pope Nicholas IV...

is confirmed as bishop of Dunkeld in April 1188, it can be presumed that Bishop William died in either late 1287 or early 1288.