This thesis seeks to provide a comprehensive study of the origins and early careers of the bishops consecrated to five dioceses – Greenland, the Faeroes, Orkney, and Skálholt and Hólar in Iceland – during the period 1230–1470. All five of these bishoprics belonged to the Norwegian ecclesiastical province, and all were situated in the skattlönd, the overseas territories of the Norwegian crown. The particular aim of this study is to apply methods of prosopographical analysis to establish what the 'profile' of a typical bishop was in these five dioceses, and what the standard career path was for an aspiring bishop. It does this by analysing various attributes of these prelates, such as their family backgrounds, social position, education, career path within the church, affiliations to monastic orders, and royal and papal service. Moreover it explores how the profile of a typical bishop evolved over time and how it varies both among these five bishoprics and between them as a group on the one hand and the five Norwegian mainland dioceses on the other. In addition the thesis also considers if and how these developments relate to the ways in which the system for the appointment of bishops changed during the Late Middle Ages, and also relate them to contemporary political developments in Scandinavia areas. Foremost among these phenomena were the staðamál conflict in Iceland, which permanently changed the balance of power between church and state in the country, the formation of the Kalmar Union and the irruption of English merchants and fishermen into Icelandic waters, all of which had drastic effects upon the Church in these far-flung territories of Latin Christendom.