Cuthbert of Lindisfarne

Life events

1. Born — 634

   Cuthbert was born around 634 in Dunbar, then in Anglo-Saxon Northumbria (now East Lothian, Scotland). References to riding a horse and the practice of fostering — recorded by Alban Butler — suggest possible noble birth.

2. Tonsured — 651

   Cuthbert joined the monastery at Melrose after a night vision in 651 in which he saw the soul of Aidan, founder of Lindisfarne, carried to heaven by angels; he subsequently confirmed that Aidan had died that same night.

3. Other — 655

   Shortly after 655, Cuthbert was appointed praepositus hospitum (guest-master) at the new monastery at Ripon under Eata. When Wilfrid was installed as abbot in Eata's place, Cuthbert returned with Eata to Melrose.

4. Ordained — 662

   Around 662, after Prior Boisil died of plague, Cuthbert was made prior at Melrose. About 665 Eata transferred him as prior to Lindisfarne, where he introduced the Roman customs accepted at the Synod of Whitby (664).

5. Pilgrimage — 676

   In 676 Cuthbert withdrew to a hermitage — first near Lindisfarne, then on Inner Farne island two miles from Bamburgh — where he gave himself to strict austerity, eventually limiting contact with visitors to a blessing through a small window.

6. Consecrated — 685

   On 26 March 685 Cuthbert was consecrated bishop at York by Archbishop Theodore and six other bishops. Elected originally to the see of Hexham, he exchanged sees with Eata and became Bishop of Lindisfarne instead.

7. Died — 687

   After Christmas 686 Cuthbert returned to his hermitage on Inner Farne Island. He died there on 20 March 687 following a painful illness and was buried at Lindisfarne the same day.

8. Translated — 995

   In 995, after a seven-year flight from Danish raiders beginning in 875 and a long stay at Chester-le-Street from 882, the community of Cuthbert settled at Durham when the wagon carrying his coffin became immovable on the road. A new stone church — predecessor to Durham Cathedral — was built there.

Relationships

Documented claims

• When his sarcophagus was opened in 698, eleven years after his death, Cuthbert's body was found perfectly preserved. Bede records this as the event that drove the steady growth of his posthumous cult across northern England. (plausible)
• When his tomb was opened in 1104, a pocket Gospel of John (138 x 92 mm) — now British Library Add. MS 89000 — was found in the casket. It is the oldest Western book to have retained its original bookbinding. (certain)
• During his years as prior and bishop, Cuthbert conducted missionary journeys from Berwick to Galloway, earning the epithet 'Wonder Worker of Britain' for reported gifts of healing and prophetic insight. (likely)
• In 875 Danish raiders seized Lindisfarne and the monks fled carrying Cuthbert's body for seven years through northern England — passing through Melrose — before settling at Chester-le-Street. (likely)
• Bede wrote both a verse and a prose Life of Cuthbert around 720, and Cuthbert has been described as 'perhaps the most popular saint in England prior to the death of Thomas Becket in 1170.' (certain)