Cuthbert and the Sorrowful Ravens
The Northumbrian monk was touched by two thieving birds who repented of their misdeeds.
676
Anglo-Saxon Britain 410-1066
The Northumbrian monk was touched by two thieving birds who repented of their misdeeds.
676
Anglo-Saxon Britain 410-1066
This post is number 14 in the series Miracles of St Cuthbert
Cuthbert had a particular attachment to the many wonderful birds of the Farne Islands, which remained a key feature of devotion to the saint at his shrine in Durham. He was not, however, a bird-pleaser any more than he was a people-pleaser, and if his birds needed a little moral correction he would steel himself to provide it.
AFTER St Cuthbert retired from Lindisfarne to the island of Inner Farne, further out to sea, he built a small hut for his occasional visitors. However, two ravens who had nested for many years on the island started stealing its thatch. Cuthbert took them to task, saying that they were doing a great deal of harm to people who had not hurt them at all. The ravens fled at once.
Three days later, he was digging in his little garden when he looked up to see one of the ravens spread out on the ground in an attitude of complete self-abasement. Having thus gained the saint’s attention, the bird flew away, only to return shortly afterwards with his companion, carrying in their beaks a large piece of lard, which they dropped at the bishop’s feet. Cuthbert used to show it off to visitors, reflecting on how much humility can be learned from animals as he rubbed a little fat into his guests’ cracked leather boots.
Next in series: Cuthbert and Hildemer’s Wife