March 20th marks St Cuthbert’s Day, the day when the life of Northumbria’s patron saint, St Cuthbert is remembered and celebrated. It was on that day in 687 that Cuthbert died; not that that was the end of his story as we shall see. With the days starting to get longer and the weather slowly getting warmer, March also seems like a good time to think about getting out and about again into our beautiful Northumbrian countryside. So, with all that in mind, here is part 4 of a series, examining where you might like to go in Northumbria to see some of the many outstanding places linked to St Cuthbert, or Cuddy as he is affectionately known in his native land.
In parts 1-3 we have seen how Northumbria became established as a Christian kingdom and how Cuthbert became its patron saint, before dying on 20th March 687. This part is not so much about following in Cuthbert’s footsteps, but rather the footsteps of those loyal monks who kept Cuthbert’s body safe, from the marauding Vikings, until it finally found rest in Durham, where it remains until today.
The Journey of St Cuthbert’s body
Bede reports that near his death, Cuthbert had said that he had commanded his companions to lift his bones and carry them to ‘rest wherever God may decree’ before the monks of Lindisfarne should be forced in any way to ‘consent to iniquity’.
In 793 the Danes invaded Lindisfarne and seven men bore off Lindisfarne’s most precious relics: the uncorrupted body of Cuthbert, the gospels transcribed in his honour and Oswald’s skull, to keep them safe from the rampaging Vikings.
For seven years all this was carried around the diocese and then further afield as that became unsafe. It was a long and terrifying journey and it was to be two centuries before the coffin, engraved with angels and archangels, the apostles and the Virgin and Child was to reach its final resting place.
Cuthbert’s body was taken from Lindisfarne to Norham (OS Landranger 75 9047) where the Norman church by River Tweed stands on the site of an older church probably known to monks of Lindisfarne. More Danes entered Northumbria and so the body was moved to Elsdon (Landranger 80 9393) by an old highway across the Cheviots. The body then went through what is now Kielder Forest to Bewcastle (OS Landranger Map 86) in what is now northern Cumbria, where Romans had built and manned a fort in AD 120 and which has an elaborate carved cross. There are scholars who think it was erected by Aldfrith around 699 in memory of Alchfirth of Devra and his wife Gyneburh. One side shows the figure of St John with holy lamb and above that a representation of Christ and at the foot a man with a hawk at his wrist. The other sides are covered with decorative figures of birds and animals, Anglian scrolls, knotwork, and a tangle of runes, some of which have been attributed to Caedmon, the cowherd poet of Hilda’s Whitby, but they may well not be.
Monks with Cuthbert’s body went as far west as Galloway, this journey commemorated in the name Kirkcudbright (OS Landranger 83 6850). They may have reached St Ninian’s Christian centre of Whithorn (OS Landranger 83 4440) and possibly intended to go to Ireland, but the severity of sea made them turn back to Chester-le-Street (OS Landranger 88 2751) which they reached in 833, 40 years after leaving Lindisfarne. Bishop Eardulph is said to have brought Cuthbert’s body to the place where as a youth Cuthbert had found food when his horse found it under the thatch of a shieling.
St Cuthbert’s Cave
Picture of St Cuthbert’s Cave. Picture provided by Peter Sagar.
It is also said that the monks of Lindisfarne took the body of St Cuthbert and laid it in a cave now known appropriately as St Cuthbert’s Cave (OS 75 0535) in 875. It is said that the cave, “nestled away in the remote countryside of Belford, oozes mystery due to its spiritual past”. It is a beautiful place to visit and the cave is easily accessible from a car park nearby.
In 883 Cuthbert’s body was moved south from Chester-le-Street to Cuthbert’s old home of Ripon, where it stayed until 995, when the monks were forced to flee before another wave of attacks by Danes.The Danes destroyed Wilfrid’s church and wiped out the monastery set up by Eata, which Cuthbert had known as a young man.
Monks carried the body north again for three weeks until they came to Ward-Lawe (OS Landranger Map 88) east of Durham (OS Landranger 88 2742), where they suddenly found they could not move the coffin. For three days they fasted and prayed before being given the answer to go to Dunholme or Durham. It is said that they had no idea where that was but the coffin allowed itself to be carried.
The final destination
Then one day they overheard a woman saying she had lost a cow and the other saying that it had been seen in Dunholme, so the monks followed the woman and were able to discover the place they were looking for. Another animal had come to Cuthbert’s aid and the monks built a white house perhaps in recognition of St Ninian’s Candida casa in Whithorn in Galloway.
The White House in Durham was completed in 1017 and on 13 August 1093 under Bishop St Carileph, work started on the massive cathedral we know today. In 1104 Cuthbert’s coffin was moved to its present position behind the high altar.
The body was found to be still untouched by decay and while it can be said that this mystery was widely spoken of to bring pilgrims to it and draw money to the religious foundation, Cuthbert was already well known for miracles. Cuthbert was very much the people’s saint and indeed the Boldon Book of 1183 mentions the Haliwerfolk who held land by virtue of protection of the saint’s body.
Reflections on St Cuthbert and his life
In his book Embracing Change: Spirituality and the Lindisfarne Gospels Ewan Clayton, reflects on Cuthbert and the beautiful Gospels created in his honour.
Clayton argues that spirituality is not a system of beliefs, but rather a matter of everyday practice and how we behave in relation to the great questions when faced with problems such as disappointment, illness and death. How do we find ways of engaging with God who is with us and how do we deal with change?
Clayton goes on to say that as we reflect on change, the Lindisfarne Gospels gives us a remarkable insight into the community of St Cuthbert, as we are witness to the struggle of Cuthbert and his community to walk in the freedom and love that was its calling; a calling which at that time could only be embraced through change.
Clayton notes that Cuthbert was probably a man of relatively high birth and was popular as a child; strong and fit and engaging with natural gifts of communication directed into work of sharing the Christian gospel. According to Bede, the ‘love of heavenly joys’ moved him to become an outstanding and enthusiastic preacher who worked to ‘rouse up the ordinary folk far and near’. Cuthbert is remembered as a courageous and accepting person, who ‘used to visit and preach mainly in the villages that lay far distant among high and inaccessible mountains which others feared to visit’.
Cuthbert is said to have had a gift for empathy and really had time for people, being someone they could be totally honest with as they felt it impossible to hide their guilt from him. Consequently, people no longer had to pretend and instead could be themselves.
Clayton also points out that, as we have seen, Cuthbert came to Lindisfarne soon after Synod of Whitby and the place was sown with division. It is noted that “each day Cuthbert went to the community meeting, where with good humour, he patiently presented his suggested way forward, to begin with, no one listened and when the meetings degenerated into argument, he would smile and leave, unruffled, returning the next day to continue his course of gentle persuasion. Cuthbert’s ability to bring about reconciliation should perhaps be seen as part of the healing gift for which he was most famed.”
On the last page of the Lindisfarne Gospels there is an inscription written by Aldred, a priest in the community at Chester-le-Street, the community from Lindisfarne which settled there for a while after their flight from the island. Clayton also states that throughout Lindisfarne Gospels passages of text are highlighted in various ways and “when taken together however and recalled in the context of what we have already learned of Cuthbert’s life, these passages could be read as an evocation of Cuthbert’s particular gifts and insights.”
The texts include Beatitudes Matthew 5, 3-11, Parable of the Prodigal Son, Luke 15, 11. Temptation of Jesus in the wilderness, Luke 4. 1, the story of the Widow of Nain, Luke 7. 11 and Luke 5, 1 and 27 and the story of the calling of the disciples to follow Jesus. It is argued that by reading and reflecting on these passages we might get further insights into Cuthbert. Clayton sums up his ideas by stating: “I would like to suggest that Cuthbert’s influence on the way the community handled change must have begun to have been absorbed during the long period when he so moderately and skilfully helped the monks to come to terms with the decisions of the Synod of Whitby and to incorporate a more regular for of monastic life. Perhaps it was as he waited patiently until everyone was ready to move forward together that his community came to believe that far from being a threat, change actually offered the promise of new life.”
I hope you enjoy visiting sites associated with St Cuthbert, in our beautiful Northumbrian countryside. If you want to remember St Cuthbert’s concern for the environment and mitigate any use of fossil fuels in doing so, you can do so by clicking here.
The numbers in parentheses refer to the coordinates of locations according to Ordnance Survey Landranger maps.
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