Saint Cuthbert
Shepherd of Northumbria, hermit of Farne, whose shrine stands at Durham
- Rank
- Saint
- Kind
- Bishop, Religious
- Life
- 634 – 687
- Era
- 7th century
- Feast
- 20 March
- Countries
- United Kingdom
Life story
Cuthbert was born around 634 in Northumbria. According to Bede, he tended sheep on the border hills before entering the monastery of Melrose, where he learned under the abbot Boisil. After Boisil's death he served as prior of Melrose in the early 660s. He became known for travelling on foot through the countryside to preach, often to remote communities.
Around 665 he moved to Lindisfarne as prior and worked to reconcile Irish and Roman customs in the community. In 676 he withdrew to the island of Inner Farne to live as a hermit. In 684 he was chosen as bishop of Lindisfarne and was consecrated at York on 26 March 685. He carried out his duties for about two years before returning to Farne after Christmas 686.
He died on Inner Farne on 20 March 687 and was buried at Lindisfarne. In 698 his coffin was opened and, according to Bede, the body was found undecayed. After the Danish raids of 875, the monks carried his remains from place to place before they finally came to rest at Durham, and were enshrined in the new church there in 999. In 1104 they were moved to a new shrine in Durham Cathedral. He is honoured as the saint of Northumbria. The Church keeps his feast on 20 March. Bede wrote a prose life of him, and an earlier anonymous life was composed at Lindisfarne, so he is one of the best documented saints of early England. His pectoral cross and fragments of his coffin survive at Durham.
Works and witness
- Shepherd, then monk of Melrose and its prior in the early 660s
- Prior of Lindisfarne from around 665
- Lived as a hermit on Inner Farne from 676
- Bishop of Lindisfarne, consecrated in 685
- Died in 687; his relics have lain at Durham since the 990s
Patron of
Northumbria
Saints from the same country
References
- Bede, Vita sancti Cuthberti
- Bede, Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum
- Martyrologium Romanum
Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.