Miracles of St Cuthbert
Posts in The Copybook tagged ‘Miracles of St Cuthbert’
A hungry monk thought he had got away with the tastiest of crimes, but St Cuthbert kept his promise to his beloved birds.
St Cuthbert the Wonderworker of Lindisfarne (?634-687) is one the the most famous of all English saints. He lived in solitude on Inner Farne off the coast of Northumberland, surrounded by the birds he loved, and promised to take care of them even after he was gone.
A bird of prey shattered the peace of St Cuthbert’s island, and was taught an unforgettable lesson.
St Cuthbert (?634-687) loved the many birds of his island retreat, and before he died the saint promised them ‘St Cuthbert’s Peace’: that if they lived in harmony with one another, no man or beast would disturb them and go unpunished. Five centuries later, monk Bartholomew (?-1193) saw for himself the saint’s determination to keep a promise.
An everyday act of charity triggered off a series of extraordinary events.
Alfred the Great ruled Wessex (roughly, southern and western England) from 871 to 899, but he had to reclaim it from Danish invaders first. The King had only a handful of loyal men to rely on, and was hiding out on a hill amid the Somerset levels, at that time a marshy lake.
The young monk taught some hard-hearted pagans a lesson they’d never forget.
The historian Bede (c.672-735) was a monk at Jarrow, a short distance up the River Tyne from Tynemouth in North East England. It was at Jarrow that Bede heard this story, as told by one of those who had seen it a few years earlier.