‘Cuthbert made a point of searching out those steep rugged places in the hills which other preachers dreaded to visit because of their poverty. This, to him, was a labour of love.’
BedeBede, the Venerable (c.673-735) Anglo-Saxon historian and biblical scholar. Sent to study at the monastery of Wearmouth at seven; later transferred to Jarrow. Renowned in his lifetime for his learning, Bede wrote treatises on poetry, time and cosmography. Historical works include History of the Abbots, prose and verse versions of the Life of St Cuthbert and Ecclesiastical History of the English People., ‘Life of Cuthbert’ Ch 9 (Image: Cuthbert preaching to people from a village. Courtesy British Library. MS Yates Thompson 26 f.22v).
Stories of a saintSaint In the New Testament applied to all Christians. Later used of those who were martyred or showed exceptional holiness and whose status was confirmed by the church. The practice of venerating the saints and their relics and asking for their intercessions (prayers) can be observed from the second and third centuries onward and played a central role in popular medieval religion.
St CuthbertCuthbert, St (d. 687) Celtic monk and hermit. Bishop of Lindisfarne 685. is a key figure in the history of the North, and his name and influence can be found in many places. Many intriguing stories about Cuthbert were gathered by the historian Bede and others. As a young man, he is said to have been guarding sheep on a dark hillside when he saw angels, in a stream of light, carry a shining soul to heavenHeaven The dwelling-place of God and the angels and eventually all those who will live with God for eternity.. He learned next day that St AidanAidan, St (d. 651) Monk of Iona, missionary to Northumbria and Bishop of Lindisfarne., the great missionaryMissionary Someone sent out to share religious faith. to the North had died during the night. Inspired by this vision, Cuthbert decided to become a monkMonk Member of male religious community.
Unlocking the treasures of Anglo-Saxon spiritualitySpirituality Term used to describe the experiential dimensions of religion, encompassing aspects such as prayer, meditation, contemplation, and mysticism.
Cuthbert loved to spend time praying in quiet places, such as the little tidal island off 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. now known as St Cuthbert’s Isle, and the more remote FarneFarne Small island near Lindisfarne to which St Cuthbert retreated to live as a hermit Islands. He sometimes prayed standing up to his waist in the cold North Sea and we are told that otters emerged from the water to warm his feet with their breath and dry them with their fur.
Cuthbert’s Life
Cuthbert was born around 635 into a noble Northumbrian family and entered the monasteryMonastery The house of a religious community of Melrose in 651. In the late 650s, he and his abbotAbbot Head of an abbey of monks, Eata, moved to the monastery at RiponRipon A cathedral city and market town in North Yorkshire. In the mid-7th century, St Wilfrid (who later became Bishop of York) founded a religious community at Ripon with land granted from the king of Northumbria. Due to Viking incursions, the body of St Cuthbert temporarily resided at Ripon in the 10th century. but soon returned to Melrose. Cuthbert became prior of Melrose in 664, the year the Synod of WhitbySynod of Whitby (664) Pivotal meeting at which it was agreed that the Roman church structures and hierarchy would supersede the Celtic tradition in England. St Wilfrid spoke for Rome and debated with Bishop Colman who spoke for the Celtic tradition chose the Roman over the Celtic method of calculating Easter, a change he accepted.
In the 670s Cuthbert moved to Lindisfarne where Eata was now abbot. At this time, he began to withdraw for periods first to St Cuthbert’s Isle, and then to Farne, to focus on God and pray for the world. Yet the outside world was not inclined to leave Cuthbert alone. People came to share their needs, and he increasingly found himself consulted on royal and monastic affairs beyond his own community. In 685 the king insisted that Cuthbert become a bishopBishop Bishops exercised pastoral care over a diocese and authority to confirm and ordain, and he reluctantly agreed.
‘Cuthbert had great numbers of people coming to him…They confessed their sins, confided in him about their temptations, and laid open to him the common troubles of humanity … in the hope of gaining comfort… No one left unconsoled.’
Bede, ‘Life of Cuthbert’ Ch. 22
After death
Two years later, sensing death drawing near, he withdrew contentedly to Farne where he died. He wished to be buried there, but the monks took his body back to Lindisfarne, laying him beside the altar. A few years later they moved his body to a wooden tomb-chest above the original burial site. When, after repeated 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. attacks, the monks finally abandoned the monastery in 875, this was one of the treasures they carried with them in their wanderings around the North of England.
Final resting place
Eventually, in 995, Cuthbert was laid to rest at Durham, where the monks established a new home. Behind the high altar of the present Durham Cathedral, you can see where the great shrineShrine In origin a Germanic word meaning a chest or reliquary, this term describes something which contains a sacred object. It can thus be applied to an elaborate tomb around the body of a saint, a cabinet containing a relic or to the whole architectural complex where such a body or relic rest of St Cuthbert stood as a major place of pilgrimage until the Reformation. Today, many people still come here to pray and remember the way Cuthbert’s life pointed to God. You can also see Cuthbert’s beautiful pectoral cross and other possessions in the Cathedral Treasury. His life is celebrated each year on March 20th.
St Bede
St Hild
St Paulinus
