I had never heard of St Cuthbert before I agreed to do this walk. So I did a bit of digging to find out the 'who, what and when' since we would discover the 'where' en route.
Who
As a boy, Cuthbert was trained to be a soldier. At 17 he decided enter the monastery when one night, whilst star-gazing, he saw a light fall to the earth and return to the sky with a human soul (the evening coincides with the death of St Aidan who founded the monastary at Lindisfarne). "Kindly shepherd, fierce warrior, man-of-the-people, monk, bishop, miracles - probably the most charismatic of all the Saints."
What
Cuthbert went to Melrose and spent 13 years at the monastery there. He moved to Lindisfarne at the age of 30 and spent the next 10 years there as a spiritual guide and healer. At 40 he felt called to live the life of a hermit and pursue faith and God's kingdom in solitude. At 50 he was asked to become a Bishop by the church, where he served for two years, travelling around the country.
When
635 AD - 687 AD
What then?
After his death, he was buried as Lindisfarne, where pilgrims flocked and miracles happened at his grave. In 875, Vikings invaded the island and the monks took his relics and remains and carried them around for 7 years so they could not be found. The bones have been moved several times in the last 1000 years and it is believed that they are in Durham Cathedral.
It all happened a long time ago and a lot of the stories I found were contradictory or unsure of the 'facts' but he inspired many and continues to do so. Quite the legacy to leave!
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