Saints
C

Saint · Early medieval

Cuthbert of Lindisfarne

Monk of Melrose, prior and bishop of Lindisfarne, hermit of Farne; the saint of Durham

Period
c. 634/635 – 687
Feast day
20 March
Associated region
Melrose; Lindisfarne and the Inner Farne (Northumberland); Durham (shrine)

Seventh-century Northumbrian monk, hermit and bishop whose Life was written by Bede. His body, carried by his community from Lindisfarne during the Viking raids, came to rest at Durham, where his shrine is still visited.

Key timeline

3 events
View full timeline (9)
  1. Easter 685

    Consecrated bishop at York

  2. 20 March 687

    Death on the Inner Farne

  3. 995

    Body brought to Durham

Cuthbert was probably born about 634 or 635 in Northumbria, perhaps near Melrose, where as a boy he kept sheep. Bede relates that in 651 he saw in a vision the soul of Bishop Aidan carried to heaven, and soon after entered the monastery of Melrose, where Boisil was prior.

He became prior of Melrose and then of Lindisfarne, travelling and preaching in the countryside. In 676 he withdrew to live as a hermit on the Inner Farne, opposite Bamburgh.

A synod under Archbishop Theodore elected him bishop, against his wishes; he was consecrated at York at Easter 685 and served as bishop of Lindisfarne for about two years. At Christmas 686 he returned to Farne, where he died on 20 March 687 after a last exhortation to the monks to keep peace and unity.

He was buried at Lindisfarne. Bede reports that when the tomb was opened years later the body was found undecayed. In the Viking age the community left Lindisfarne carrying his coffin; it rested at Chester-le-Street from the 880s and was brought to Durham in 995, where the present cathedral was built from 1093 and his body was moved to its shrine in 1104.

Principal written sources

  • Bede, verse Life and prose Life of St Cuthbert (prose Life c. 721); Ecclesiastical History of the English People, book IV.

Full timeline

  1. c. 634–635Approximate

    Birth in Northumbria

  2. 651Traditional

    Vision of Aidan’s death; enters Melrose

  3. 676

    Hermit on the Inner Farne

  4. Easter 685

    Consecrated bishop at York

  5. 20 March 687

    Death on the Inner Farne

  6. 698Traditional

    Tomb opened; body reported undecayed

  7. 995

    Body brought to Durham

  8. 1104

    Translated to the shrine in the new cathedral

  9. 1539–1542

    Shrine dismantled

    Late 1539 (Durham Cathedral) or 1542 (Catholic Encyclopedia).

His shrine made Durham one of the great pilgrimage churches of the north. Henry VIII’s commissioners dismantled it in late 1539, according to the cathedral; the 1908 Catholic Encyclopedia dates the plundering to 1542. The cathedral says the commissioners found the body intact and reburied it, and the grave was opened again in 1827.

Durham’s tradition says that the cart carrying his coffin stuck fast and that Cuthbert, in a dream, asked to be taken to “Dun Holm”. The cathedral itself presents this as legend.

Recognition

  • Church of England. In the Common Worship calendar as “Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindisfarne, Missionary, 687”; he may be kept on 4 September instead. Feast: 20 March.
  • Orthodox Church in America. Commemorated as “Saint Cuthbert, Wonderworker of Britain”. Feast: 20 March.
  • Catholic Church. The 1908 Catholic Encyclopedia gives his feast as kept in Great Britain and Ireland on 20 March and names him patron of the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle; it is a regional, not a general, observance. Feast: 20 March.
Feast day
  • 20 March — Church of England (or 4 September), Orthodox Church in America; kept in Britain and Ireland according to the 1908 Catholic Encyclopedia
Venerated in (starting dataset)
Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican. Venerated from his death; recognition is by the cult that grew at his tomb, not by a modern canonisation process.
Patronage and roles (starting dataset)
Northern England, Sailors, Otters
Places
Melrose · Lindisfarne · Inner Farne · Chester-le-Street · Durham

Accounts in the starting dataset

The source workbook lists these under “Confirmed Miracle / Key Event”. The Atlas does not treat them as confirmed: each is labelled by the kind of evidence behind it.

  • LegendOtters (“eider ducks and otters” in the workbook) warming his feet after a night of prayer in the sea

    “Eider ducks & otters warming his feet with fur after night ocean prayers”

    In Bede’s Life (ch. 10) two otters dry his feet after he prays in the sea at Coldingham; Bede has no ducks. A miracle story told by his hagiographer, not established event.

  • TraditionalBody found incorrupt eleven years after death

    “Body remaining completely incorrupt 11 years after death”

    Bede (ch. 42) says the body was found entire when the tomb was opened, in 698 according to the 1908 Catholic Encyclopedia (eleven years after his death; the translation read heads the chapter “after nine years”). It is the monks’ report, as recorded by Bede.

About the image · Editorial design

Decorative initial C, drawn for the Atlas. It is not a likeness of Cuthbert.

Editorial status

Reference entry, drafted with particular care. Key dates and facts were spot-checked during a build session against the sources marked “consulted” below. Only the points named in that note were checked; the rest of the entry has not been.

References

Original workbook record

Imported unchanged from “Top 100 Saints”, row 53. Values here are the starting dataset, not verified facts; where the Atlas differs, the reason is noted below.

#
45
Saint / Title
Saint Cuthbert of Lindisfarne
Primary Traditions Veneration
Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican
Feast Day(s)
March 20
Era / Lived
634 – 687 AD
Origin / Region
Northumbria, England
Patronage & Major Roles
Northern England, Sailors, Otters
Confirmed Miracle / Key Event 1
Eider ducks & otters warming his feet with fur after night ocean prayers
Confirmed Miracle / Key Event 2
Body remaining completely incorrupt 11 years after death
Key Contribution / Historical Significance
Monk, bishop and hermit of Lindisfarne; key saint of Anglo-Saxon England.
Reference Link
https://www.durhamcathedral.co.uk

Editorial notes on this record

  • Confirmed Miracle / Key Event 1: Bede has otters, not ducks; the story is hagiography.
  • Primary Traditions Veneration: The workbook lists the Eastern Orthodox; the OCA commemorates him, but no general Catholic feast was found beyond the regional one.
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