09 — Veneration and Legacy
The afterlife of Cuthbert and the final reckoning: the shrine at Durham, where his body has lain since 995 and the great cathedral rose over it; the medieval cult that made him the patron of the north and the prince-bishops his earthly stewards; the openings of his tomb in 1827 and 1899 and the contested question of what was found and how it bears on the ancient claim of incorruption; and a sober assessment of Cuthbert as the greatest saint of the English north and the bridge between the Celtic and the Roman.
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (pre-Schism; Celtic-Roman; wonderworker of Northumbria)
Cuthbert’s hold on the north outlasted the Viking age, the Norman Conquest, and even the Reformation; his shrine at Durham was one of the chief goals of English pilgrimage, and his name and banner were a power in the land for centuries. This final section follows the cult to Durham, examines the modern tomb-openings and the dispute over their interpretation with a structured [Disputed: ...] note, and then steps back to weigh the man and the saint: what he was, what the Lives made of him, and why the English north has remembered him, above even Aidan, as its own.
Files in This Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| Durham and the Shrine | The shrine at Durham from 995; the Norman cathedral built over the body; the medieval cult, the prince-bishops, and the pilgrimage; the dissolution of the shrine at the Reformation; the openings of the tomb in 1827 and 1899 and the contested question of what was found. |
| Legacy and Assessment | A sober assessment: Cuthbert as the great saint of the English north; the bridge between Celtic and Roman; the historical man and the constructed saint; what can be securely said; his meaning for the Orthodox tradition and for the Church. |
See Also
- The Wanderings of the Coffin — the journey that brought the body to Durham
- The Translation of 698 — the incorruption whose modern testing this section examines
- The Cuthbert Cult and the Gospels — the relics recovered at the tomb-openings
- The Orthodox Reception — Cuthbert as a saint of the one Church
- St. Aidan of Lindisfarne — the apostle of Northumbria whom Cuthbert’s fame came to surpass
References
- Bonner, Gerald, David Rollason, and Clare Stancliffe, eds. St Cuthbert, His Cult and His Community to AD 1200. Woodbridge: Boydell, 1989.
- Battiscombe, C. F., ed. The Relics of Saint Cuthbert. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1956.
- Aird, William M. St Cuthbert and the Normans: The Church of Durham, 1071–1153. Woodbridge: Boydell, 1998.