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‘Why Am I Still Lying Here?’

Cuthbert, struck down by plague, was vexed to find that his brethren had been praying for him all the previous night.

AD 664

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© David Dixon, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.

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‘Why Am I Still Lying Here?’

© David Dixon, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0. Source
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The largely twelfth-century cathedral in Ripon, built on the site of an earlier church founded by St Wilfrid in 671. Wilfrid’s ‘Saxon crypt’ is all that remains of the original. In 664, Cuthbert had to make way for a new team at the monastery in Ripon out of loyalty to his abbot, Eata, but later on Cuthbert (now recovered from his dangerous illness) came round to Wilfrid’s position on the date of Easter, and helped patiently to bring the monastery at Lindisfarne into line too. See also Bede and the Paschal Controversy.

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Episode 6 of 29 in the Series Miracles of St Cuthbert

Introduction

When the monastery at Ripon was founded in 661, Cuthbert served there under Abbot Eata. Eata clung loyally to a peculiar and not very accurate way of dating Easter borrowed from Ireland, and three years later King Oswy, who preferred the calendar used in Canterbury, Rome and the East, appointed Wilfrid in Eata’s stead. Cuthbert returned to the Abbey at Melrose in the Scottish borders.

ABOUT this time, according to his friend Herefrid the priest, who was formerly abbot of the monastery of Lindisfarne, he [Cuthbert] was seized with a pestilential disease, of which many inhabitants of Britain were at that time sick.*

The brethren of the monastery passed the whole night in prayer for his life and health; for they thought it essential to them that so pious a man should be present with them in the flesh. They did this without his knowing it; and when they told him of it in the morning, he exclaimed, “Then why am I lying here? I did not think it possible that God should have neglected your prayers: give me my stick and shoes.”

Accordingly, he got out of bed, and tried to walk, leaning on his stick; and finding his strength gradually return, he was speedily restored to health: but because the swelling on his thigh, though it died away to all outward appearances, struck into his inwards, he felt a little pain in his inside all his life afterwards; so that, as we find it expressed in the Apostles, “his strength was perfected in weakness.”*

Next Cuthbert and the Weary Hawk
From ‘Life of Cuthbert’ by St Bede (?672-735), as translated by J. A. Giles.

* The ‘yellow plague’ broke out in 664 and spread rapidly over the British Isles, sparing only some parts of what is now Scotland. In 541 a pandemic of plague struck Constantinople and the Mediterranean during the reign of Justinian I (r. 527–565), and spread from there to break out sporadically across Europe over the next two hundred years (541-767).

* See 2 Corinthians 12:9. One is also put in mind of Jacob, who wrestled with God and was undefeated in the match, only to be left halt in one thigh ever after. See Genesis 32:24-32.

Précis

After returning from Ripon to Melrose Abbey in 664, St Cuthbert contracted the plague. When he learnt that his fellow monks had prayed through the night for him, he at once got up, scolding them for not mentioning it sooner. Thereafter he exhibited no more symptoms, apart from a little internal niggle that recurred to the end of his days. (60 / 60 words)

After returning from Ripon to Melrose Abbey in 664, St Cuthbert contracted the plague. When he learnt that his fellow monks had prayed through the night for him, he at once got up, scolding them for not mentioning it sooner. Thereafter he exhibited no more symptoms, apart from a little internal niggle that recurred to the end of his days.

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Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: about, although, besides, despite, must, unless, until, whether.

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Word Games

Jigsaws Based on this passage

Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.

Cuthbert got the plague. His brethren prayed all night for him. They did not tell him.

Variation: Try rewriting your sentence so that it uses one or more of these words: 1. Know 2. Spend 3. Without

Spinners Find in Think and Speak

For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.

This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.

1 Afterward. Monastery. We.

2 Inside. Know. Weakness.

3 Feel. He. Pain.

Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)

Adjectives Find in Think and Speak

For each word below, compose sentences to show that it may be used as an adjective. Adjectives provide extra information about a noun, e.g. a black cat, a round table, the early bird etc..

This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.

1 Painful. 2 Known. 3 Neglectful. 4 Weak. 5 Possible. 6 Brotherly. 7 Swollen. 8 Diseased. 9 Friendly.

Variations: 1.show whether your adjective can also be used as e.g. a noun, verb or adverb. 2.show whether your adjective can be used in comparisons (e.g. good/better/best). 3.show whether your adjective can be used in attributive position (e.g. a dangerous corner) and also in predicate position (this corner is dangerous).

High Tiles Find in Think and Speak

Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?

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