History in the making - St Cuthbert
Last updated at 10:50, Friday, 20 March 2009
WHEN most of us catch a glimpse of a meteorite burning up in the atmosphere, we’ll say, “Oooh look a shooting star!”
And when you’re a teenager – with far more interesting things on your mind than star-gazing – it’s possible you wouldn’t have seen it in the first place.
But this was not the case more than 1,300 years ago when a lad in his late teens called Cuthbert witnessed such an astronomical event.
One summer the young Cuthbert was looking after some sheep for his neighbours when he saw a light descend to earth, and then, according to the storytellers, return escorting a human soul to heaven.
The pious scribes who wrote this account pointed out that this was the soul of Aidan, the founder of Lindisfarne monastery.
No wonder Cuthbert became a saint and one of the most celebrated holy men in the North-East.
And there’s no better day than today to raise a glass to the patron saint of Northumbria, because March 20 is St Cuthbert’s Day.
To honour the event, people are being encouraged to visit Cuthbert’s home at Lindisfarne Priory to find out more about the saint and his role in early Christianity. And . . . if you can prove you have the first or surname of Cuthbert, you can get into the priory for free this weekend.
Lindisfarne’s roots as a holy place go back to 634AD when King Oswald gave it to Aidan, a missionary bishop from Iona.
Aidan established a Celtic Christian monastery there in 635 – the year Cuthbert was born.
Cuthbert himself was lucky enough to be born into a noble Northumbrian family and was placed with a foster mother at the age of eight before being entered into military service.
After his vision, he decided to join the monastery at Melrose in 651, founded by one of Aidan’s pupils, Eata.
Lindisfarne Priory’s inspector of ancient monuments, Kate Wilson, explained: “Cuthbert began his religious life in the Celtic Christian tradition, but following the Synod of Whitby in 664 and his appointment as prior of Lindisfarne he introduced the Roman Church to the monastery.
“Even though he spent much of his later life in seclusion on Inner Farne, leading a life of isolation and hardship, his reputation was immense and he was visited regularly by people seeking his counsel, including the King and Queen.
“He was elected Bishop of Hexham in 685, a post he held for less than two years before his death in 687. His body was finally laid to rest in Durham and became a focus of pilgrimage after 698 and remains so to this day.
“We know about the life of Cuthbert because it was written down by an unknown monk from the monastic community on Lindisfarne and by Bede.”
It was when Cuthbert was around 30 years old, that he moved to Lindisfarne, and he lived there for the next 10 years.
As well as running the monastery, he was an active missionary and was much in demand as a spiritual guide, developing the gift of spiritual healing.
At 40, Cuthbert believed that he had another calling, this time to be a hermit and to do the hermit’s job of fighting the spiritual forces of evil in a life of solitude.
After a short trial period on the tiny islet adjoining Lindisfarne, he moved to the more remote and larger island known as Inner Farne and built a hermitage, where he lived for 10 years.
Of course, people did not leave him alone – they went out in their boats to consult him or ask for healing. However, on many days of the year the seas around the islands were simply too rough to make the crossing and Cuthbert was left in peace.
At the age of about 50 he was asked by both Church and King to leave his hermitage and become a bishop. He reluctantly agreed and for two years he was an active, travelling bishop as Aidan had been.
However, feeling the approach of death, he retired back to the hermitage on the Inner Farne where, in the company of Lindisfarne monks, he died on March 20, 687.
His body was brought back and buried on Lindisfarne in the priory grounds.
Legend has it that when Cuthbert’s burial casket was opened 11 years after his death, his body was found to have been perfectly preserved.
This apparent miracle led to the steady growth of Cuthbert’s posthumous status, to the point where he became the most popular saint of Northern England.
Numerous miracles were attributed to his intercession and to intercessory prayer near his remains. The noted 8th century author and saint, Bede, wrote both a verse and a prose life of St Cuthbert around 720.
For any visitors going to Lindisfarne Priory, they will discover that it is still a place of pilgrimage today, with the dramatic approach across the causeway adding to its mystery and fascination.
Visitors can wander around the atmospheric ruins and visit the refurbished museum. There you will discover the fascinating story of the monks who lived on Holy Island until the monastery was suppressed in 1537.
English Heritage is letting visitors, who can show identification that their first name or surname is Cuthbert, visit Lindisfarne Priory for free between today and Sunday.
And if you are called Cuthbert, then it will come as no surprise to learn that your name is of Anglo-Saxon origin.
It derives from the Old English pre-7th century name ‘Cuthbeorht’, composed of the elements ‘cuth’ – famous, well known – with ‘beorht’ or bright.
The surname Cuthbert was first recorded in the latter half of the 13th century and can also be found as Cudbird and Cutbirth.
Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. Throughout the centuries surnames in every country have continued to develop, often leading to variants of the original spelling. A common derivative or nickname of Cuthbert is Cuddy.
There are more than 70 church dedications to the name Cuthbert, mainly in the North of England, and the surname is most widespread in the North of England and Scotland.
According to many baby name websites, the boy’s name Cuthbert means bright, brilliant and famous. Cuthbert is a rare male first name and a very popular surname.
Because of St Cuthbert, this name remained in use in England even after the Norman Conquest. It became rare after the Protestant Reformation but it was revived in the 19th century.
Lindisfarne Priory is open daily from 10am-4pm. Visitors are advised to check Lindisfarne tide tables (link available on the Lindisfarne Priory website) before setting out on their journey.
For further information, log on to www.english-heritage.org.uk/lindisfarne
Visitors interested in the saint can also visit his shrine at Durham Cathedral.
First published at 09:48, Friday, 20 March 2009
Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk
