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{{Short description|Anglo-Saxon bishop and saint (c. 634–687)}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Redirect|St Cuthbert|other uses|St Cuthbert (disambiguation)}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}}
{{Infobox saint
|honorific_prefix = [[Saint]]
|name=Cuthbert
|birth_date={{circa|634}}
|death_date=20 March 687
|birth_place=[[Dunbar]], [[Northumbria]] (now in Scotland)
|death_place=[[Farne Islands|Inner Farne]], Kingdom of Northumbria (now in England)
|feast_day=20 March, Catholic Church, [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal Church]]; 4 September (Catholic Ordinariates)
|venerated_in=[[Catholic Church]];<br />[[Anglicanism]];<br />[[Eastern Orthodox Church]], [[Church of Scotland]]
|image=Cuthbert discovers piece of timber - Life of St. Cuthbert (late 12th C), f.45v - BL Yates Thompson MS 26.jpg
|imagesize=
|caption=''Cuthbert discovers a piece of timber'', from a 12th-century manuscript of [[Bede]]'s ''Life of St Cuthbert''
|titles=Bishop
|beatified_date=
|beatified_place=
|beatified_by=
|canonized_date=
|canonized_place=
|canonized_by=
|attributes=Bishop holding a second crowned head in his hands; sometimes accompanied by seabirds and animals
|patronage=Kingdom of Northumbria, [[Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle]]
|major_shrine=[[Durham Cathedral]], England
|suppressed_date=
|issues=
|prayer=
|prayer_attrib=
}}

'''Cuthbert of Lindisfarne'''{{efn|The ''[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]]'' entry is simply "Cuthbert",{{sfn|Rollason|Dobson}} as is the entry for the ''Oxford Dictionary of Saints''{{sfn|Farmer|2011|p=108}} and the entry in the ''Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England''.{{sfn|Thacker|2013}} He is called "Cuthbert of Lindisfarne" by Michael Walsh in ''A New Dictionary of Saints''.{{sfn|Walsh|2007|pp=136–137}} His name in [[Old English]] was ''Cūþbeorht'' and in Latin ''Cuthbertus''.{{sfn|Heylyn|1670|p=177}}{{sfn|Searle|1897|p=148}}}} ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|ʌ|θ|.|b|ɜːr|t|}}) ({{circa|634}} – 20 March 687) was a [[saint]] of the early Northumbrian church in the [[Hiberno-Scottish mission|Celtic tradition]]. He was a [[monk]], [[bishop]] and [[hermit]], associated with the [[monastery|monasteries]] of [[Melrose Abbey#History|Melrose]] and [[Lindisfarne]] in the [[Kingdom of Northumbria]],{{efn|Cuthbert came from the [[Bernicia]] part of the new Northumbrian kingdom, which was finally united in 634 around the time of his birth.}} today in [[North East England (traditional)|north-eastern England]] and south-eastern Scotland. Both during his life and after his death, he became a popular medieval saint of [[Northern England]], with a [[cult (religious practice)|cult]] centred on his tomb at [[Durham Cathedral]]. Cuthbert is regarded as the [[patron saint]] of Northumbria. His feast days are 20 March ([[Catholic Church]], [[Church of England]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal Church]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cuthbert |url=http://www.thyateira.org.uk/cuthbert/ |access-date=1 October 2018 |website=Archdiocese of Thyateira & Great Britain |archive-date=17 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217032412/http://www.thyateira.org.uk/cuthbert/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>) and 4 September ([[Church in Wales]], Catholic Church).

Cuthbert grew up in or around [[Lauderdale]], near [[Melrose Abbey|Old Melrose Abbey]], a daughter-house of Lindisfarne, today in Scotland. He decided to become a monk after seeing a vision on the night in 651 that [[Aidan of Lindisfarne|Aidan]], the founder of Lindisfarne, died, but he seems to have experienced some period of military service beforehand. He was made guest-master at the new monastery at [[Ripon]], soon after 655, but had to return with [[Eata of Hexham]] to Melrose when [[Wilfrid]] was given the monastery instead.{{sfn|Battiscombe|1956|pp=120–125}}{{sfn| Farmer|1995|p= 57}} About 662 he was made prior at Melrose, and around 665 went as prior to Lindisfarne. In 684 he was made bishop of Lindisfarne, but by late 686 he resigned and returned to his hermitage as he felt he was about to die. He was probably in his early 50s.{{sfn|Battiscombe|1956|pp=125–141}}{{sfn| Farmer|1995|p= 60}}

==Life==

===Origins and background===
Cuthbert was born (perhaps into a noble family) in [[Dunbar]], then in [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] Northumbria, and now in East Lothian, [[Scotland]], in the mid-630s, some ten years after the conversion of [[Edwin of Northumbria|King Edwin of Northumbria]] to Christianity in 627, which was slowly followed by that of the rest of his people. The politics of the kingdom were violent, and there were later episodes of pagan rule, while spreading understanding of Christianity through the kingdom was a task that lasted throughout Cuthbert's lifetime. Edwin had been baptised by [[Paulinus of York]], a Roman who had come with the [[Gregorian mission]] from Rome, but his successor [[Oswald of Northumbria|Oswald]] also invited Irish monks from [[Iona]] to found the monastery at Lindisfarne where Cuthbert was to spend much of his life. This was around 635, about the time Cuthbert was born.{{sfn|Battiscombe|1956|pp=115–116}}

The tension between the Roman and Celtic Christianity, often exacerbated by Cuthbert's near-contemporary [[Wilfrid]], an intransigent and quarrelsome supporter of Roman ways, was to be a major feature of Cuthbert's lifetime. Cuthbert himself, though educated in the Celtic tradition, followed his mentor [[Eata of Hexham|Eata]] in accepting the Roman forms, apparently without difficulty, after the [[Synod of Whitby]] in 664.{{sfn|Battiscombe|1956|pp=122–129}}{{sfn| Farmer|1995|pp= 53–54, 60–66}}{{sfn| Brown |2003|pp= 64–66}}{{efn|At least Bede records no reluctance, though Farmer and others suspect he may be being less than frank in this, as a partisan of Jarrow.}} The earliest biographies concentrate on the many miracles that accompanied even his early life, but he was evidently indefatigable as a travelling priest spreading the Christian message to remote villages, and also well able to impress royalty and nobility. Unlike Wilfrid, his style of life was austere, and when he could, he lived the life of a hermit, though still receiving many visitors.{{sfn|Battiscombe|1956|pp=115–141}}{{sfn| Farmer|1995|pp= 52–53, 57–60}}

In Cuthbert's time the Kingdom of Northumbria included, in modern terms, northern England as well as parts of south-eastern Scotland as far north as the [[Firth of Forth]]. Cuthbert may have been from the neighbourhood of Dunbar at the mouth of the Firth of Forth in modern-day Scotland, though ''The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and Other Principal Saints'' ("Butler's Lives"), by [[Alban Butler]] records that he was fostered as a child near Melrose. Fostering is possibly a sign of noble birth, as are references to his riding a horse when young. One night while still a boy, employed as a shepherd, he had a vision of the soul of Aidan being carried to heaven by [[angel]]s, and later found out that Aidan had died that night. Edwin Burton finds it a suggestion of lowly parentage that as a boy he used to tend sheep on the hills near that monastery.{{sfn|Burton|1908}} He appears to have undergone military service, but at some point he joined the very new monastery at Melrose, under the prior [[Boisil]]. Upon Boisil's death in 661, Cuthbert succeeded him as prior.{{sfn|Burton|1908}} Cuthbert was possibly a second cousin of King [[Aldfrith of Northumbria]] (according to Irish genealogies), which may explain his later proposal that Aldfrith should be crowned as monarch.{{sfn|Healy|1909|p=78}}{{sfn|Ireland|1991|p=64}}

===Career===
[[File:Durham St Cuthbert.jpg|thumb|12th-century wall-painting of St Cuthbert in [[Durham Cathedral]]]]
Cuthbert's fame for piety, diligence, and obedience grew. When [[Alchfrith of Deira|Alchfrith]], king of [[Deira (kingdom)|Deira]], founded a new monastery at [[Ripon]], Cuthbert became its ''praepositus hospitum'' or guest master under Eata. When Wilfrid was made abbot of the monastery, Eata and Cuthbert returned to Melrose. Illness struck the monastery in 664 and while Cuthbert recovered, the [[Prior (ecclesiastical)|prior]] died and Cuthbert was made prior in his place.<ref name="scl">{{Cite web|url=http://allsaintsbrookline.org/celtic/saints/cuthbert.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060823132016/http://www.allsaintsbrookline.org/celtic/saints/cuthbert.html|url-status=dead|title=St Cuthbert of Lindisfarne|archivedate=23 August 2006}}</ref><ref name="Melrose">[http://www.aboutscotland.com/mel.html Melrose Abbey, Medieval Abbey at] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060720153247/http://www.aboutscotland.com/mel.html |date=20 July 2006 }} [[Melrose, Scotland]]</ref> He spent much time among the people, ministering to their spiritual needs, carrying out missionary journeys, and preaching.

After the [[Synod of Whitby]], Cuthbert seems to have accepted the Roman customs, and his old abbot Eata called on him to introduce them at Lindisfarne as prior there. His [[ascetic]]ism was complemented by his charm and generosity to the poor, and his reputation for gifts of healing and insight led many people to consult him, gaining him the name of "Wonder Worker of Britain".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Beyond Life: Cuthbert's Body – Durham World Heritage Site |url=https://www.durhamworldheritagesite.com/learn/history/st-cuthbert/body |access-date=2025-05-23 |website=www.durhamworldheritagesite.com}}</ref> He continued his missionary work, travelling the breadth of the country from [[County of Berwick|Berwick]] to [[Galloway]] to carry out pastoral work and founding an oratory at [[Dull, Perth & Kinross|Dull, Scotland]], complete with a large stone cross, and a little cell for himself. He is also said to have founded [[The Parish Church of St Cuthbert|St Cuthbert's Church]] in [[Edinburgh]].<ref>[http://www.st-cuthberts.net St Cuthbert's Website] – [[Church of Scotland]], Lothian Road, [[Edinburgh]] church.</ref>

===Hermit's life===
[[File:Cuthbert and Ælfflaed at Coquet Island.jpg|left|thumb|Cuthbert meets [[Ælfflæd of Whitby]] on Coquet Island, [[Bede]]'s Life of Cuthbert, 12th century]]
Cuthbert retired in 676, moved by the desire for a more contemplative life. With his abbot's leave, he moved to a spot which Archbishop Eyre identifies with [[Lindisfarne#St Cuthbert's Isle (Hobthrush)|St Cuthbert's Island]] near Lindisfarne, but which Raine{{sfn|Raine|1828|p=ii}} thinks was near [[Holburn]], at a place now known as [[St Cuthbert's Cave]]. Shortly afterwards, Cuthbert moved to [[Inner Farne]] island, two miles from [[Bamburgh]], where he gave himself up to a life of great austerity.{{sfn|Burton|1908}} At first he received visitors, but later he confined himself to his cell and opened his window only to give his blessing. He could not refuse an interview with the holy abbess and royal virgin [[Ælfflæd of Whitby|Elfleda]], the daughter of [[Oswiu of Northumbria]], who succeeded [[Hilda of Whitby|St Hilda]] as abbess of Whitby in 680. The meeting was held on [[Coquet Island, England|Coquet Island]], further south.{{sfn|Butler|1833|p=371}}

===Election as Bishop, Lindisfarne and death===
In 684, Cuthbert was elected [[Bishop of Hexham]] at a synod at Twyford (believed to be present-day [[Alnmouth]]),{{sfn|Urban|1852|p=504}} but was reluctant to leave his retirement and take up his charge; it was only after a visit from a large group, including King [[Ecgfrith of Northumbria|Ecgfrith]], that he agreed to return and take up the duties of bishop, but instead as [[Bishop of Lindisfarne]], swapping with Eata, who went to Hexham in Cuthbert's place. Cuthbert was consecrated at [[York]] by [[Theodore of Tarsus|Archbishop Theodore]] and six bishops, on 26 March 685. But after Christmas 686, he returned to his cell on Inner Farne Island, where he died on 20 March 687, after a painful illness.{{sfn|Farmer|2011|p=108}} He was buried at Lindisfarne the same day, and after long journeys escaping the Danes his remains chose, as was thought, to settle at [[Durham, England|Durham]], causing the foundation of the city and Durham Cathedral. The [[St Cuthbert Gospel]] is among the objects later recovered from [[St Cuthbert's coffin]], which is also an important artefact.

==Legacy==
[[File:The St Cuthbert Gospel of St John. (formerly known as the Stonyhurst Gospel) is the oldest intact European book. - Upper cover (Add Ms 89000) (cropped).jpg|thumb|The front cover of the [[St Cuthbert Gospel]] of St John, recovered from his coffin; the original tooled red goatskin binding is the earliest surviving Western binding.]]
After Cuthbert's death, numerous [[miracle]]s were attributed to his intercession and to intercessory [[prayer]] near his remains.  In particular, [[Alfred the Great]], [[King of Wessex]], was inspired and encouraged in his struggle against the Danes by a vision or dream he had of Cuthbert. Thereafter, the royal [[house of Wessex]], who became the kings of England, made a point of devotion to Cuthbert, which also gave a useful political message, as they came from opposite ends of the English nation. Cuthbert was "a figure of reconciliation and a rallying point for the reformed identity of Northumbria and England" after the absorption of the [[Danelaw|Danish populations]] into Anglo-Saxon society, as [[Michelle P. Brown|Michelle Brown]] puts it.{{sfn|Battiscombe|1956|pp= 31–34}}{{sfn| Brown |2003|p= 64 (quoted)}} The 8th-century historian Bede wrote both a verse and a prose life of St Cuthbert around 720. He has been described as "perhaps the most popular saint in England prior to the death of [[Thomas Becket]] in 1170."{{sfn|Marner|2000|p=9}} In 698, Cuthbert was reburied at Lindisfarne in the decorated oak coffin now usually meant by St Cuthbert's coffin, though he was to have many more coffins.{{efn|Cronyn and Horie, 5–7, are the easiest guide to this very complicated history, or see {{harvnb|Battiscombe|1956|pp= 2–22}} and [[Ernst Kitzinger]]'s chapter on the coffin. Bede, chapter 42 is the primary source.}} In 995, the "community of Cuthbert" founded and settled at Durham, guided by what they thought was the will of the saint, as the wagon carrying his coffin back to Chester-le-Street after a temporary flight from a Danish invasion became stuck hard on the road.

During the medieval period, Cuthbert became important in defining the identity of the people living in Northumbria north of Tees. Symeon noted that it was the 'people of St Cuthbert', that is, 'the whole people between the river Tees and the river Tweed', who waged an unsuccessful campaign against the Scots at the [[Battle of Carham]] in 1018.{{sfn|Liddy|2008|p=187}} By the later 11th century the Bishops of Durham had established a semi-autonomous region known as the [[Liberty of Durham]], later the [[Palatinate of Durham]], between the Tyne and Tees. Within this area the [[Bishop of Durham]] had almost as much power as the [[Monarch|king]] of England himself, and the saint became a powerful symbol of the autonomy the region enjoyed. The inhabitants of the Palatinate became known as the ''haliwerfolc'', which roughly translates as "people of the saint", and Cuthbert gained a reputation as fiercely protective of his domain.{{sfn|Lapsley|1900|p=}} For example, there is a story that at the [[Battle of Neville's Cross]] in 1346, the Prior of the Abbey at Durham received a vision of Cuthbert, ordering him to take the [[Corporal (liturgy)|corporal]] cloth of the saint and raise it on a spear point near the battlefield as a banner. Doing this, the Prior and his monks found themselves protected "by the mediation of holy St Cuthbert and the presence of the said holy Relic".{{sfn|Fowler|1903|p=107}} Whether the story of the vision is true or not, the banner of St Cuthbert was regularly carried in battle against the Scots until the [[English Reformation|Reformation]], and it serves as a good example of how St Cuthbert was regarded as a protector of his people. A modern interpretation of the Banner, designed by Northumbria University academic Fiona Raeside-Elliott and embroidered by local textile artist Ruth O'Leary, is on display at the saint's shrine in Durham Cathedral.

Cuthbert's cult also appealed to the converted Danes, who made up much of the population of [[Kingdom of York]], and was also adopted by the Normans when they took over England. Cuthbert's shrine at Durham Cathedral was a major pilgrimage site throughout the Middle Ages, until stripped by Henry VIII's commissioners in the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]].

===Relics===
[[File:St-Cuthbert-Incorrupt.png|thumb|left|The [[Incorruptibility|incorrupt body]] of Cuthbert from [[Bede]]'s Life of Cuthbert, 12th century]]
[[File:St Cuthberts Tomb.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Location of St Cuthbert's tomb and reburial in Durham Cathedral; behind is a damaged statue of St Cuthbert, holding the head of the [[Oswald of Northumbria|St Oswald]] (whose head was reburied with Cuthbert)]]
According to [[Bede]]'s life of the saint, when Cuthbert's sarcophagus was opened eleven years after his death, his body was found to have been perfectly preserved or [[Incorruptibility|incorrupt]].{{sfn|Bede|721}} This apparent miracle led to the steady growth of Cuthbert's posthumous [[Cult (religious practice)|cultus]], to the point where he became the most popular saint of Northern England. Numerous miracles were attributed to his intercession and to intercessory prayer near his remains.

In 875 the [[Denmark|Danes]] took the monastery of Lindisfarne and the monks fled, carrying St Cuthbert's body with them around various places including [[Melrose Abbey|Melrose]].<ref name=Melrose/> After seven years' wandering it found a resting place at the still existing [[St Mary and St Cuthbert, Chester-le-Street|St Cuthbert's church]] in [[Chester-le-Street]] until 995, when another Danish invasion led to its removal to Ripon. Then the saint intimated, as it was believed, that he wished to remain in Durham. A new stone church—the so-called "White Church"—was built, the predecessor of the present grand Cathedral. In 999, his relics were enshrined in the new church on 4 September, which is kept as the feast of his translation at Durham Cathedral<ref>{{Cite web |title=Service schedule 23 August 20221 to 5 September 2021 |url=https://www.durhamcathedral.co.uk/_assets/media/editor/Service_Schedules/2021/service-schedule-2021-08-23-2021-0905.pdf |publisher=Durham Cathedral |accessdate=4 September 2021 |archive-date=4 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210904080746/https://www.durhamcathedral.co.uk/_assets/media/editor/Service_Schedules/2021/service-schedule-2021-08-23-2021-0905.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> and as an optional memorial in the Catholic Church in England.<ref>{{Cite web |title=National Calendar for England |url=http://www.liturgyoffice.org.uk/Calendar/National/England1.shtml |publisher=The Catholic Church in England and Wales |accessdate=4 September 2021}}</ref>
In 1069 [[Æthelwine (bishop of Durham)|Bishop Æthelwine]] attempted to transport Cuthbert's body to Lindisfarne to escape from [[William the Conqueror|King William]] at the start of the [[Harrying of the North]].{{sfn|Fletcher |2003|p= 180}}

[[File:The Journey Cuthbert of Lindisfarne.JPG|thumb|right|''The Journey'', a modern sculpture showing the travels of the Lindisfarne community, by [[Fenwick Lawson]]. Shown here in the Millennium Square, [[Durham, England|Durham]].]]

In 1104 Cuthbert's tomb was opened again and his [[relics]] translated to a new [[shrine]] behind the [[altar]] of the recently completed Cathedral. When the casket was opened, a small book of the [[Gospel of John]], measuring 138 by 92 millimetres (5.4 × 3.6 inches), now known as the [[Saint Cuthbert Gospel]] ([[British Library]] Additional MS 89000, formerly known as the Stonyhurst Gospel), was found. This is the oldest Western book to have retained its original [[bookbinding]], in finely decorated leather.<ref>[http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/digitisedmanuscripts/2012/04/st-cuthbert-gospel-saved-for-the-nation.html "St Cuthbert Gospel Saved for the Nation"], British Library Medieval and Earlier Manuscripts Blog, accessed 17 April 2012</ref> Also recovered much later were a set of [[vestments]] of 909–916, made of [[Byzantine silk]] with a "Nature Goddess" pattern, with a [[stole (vestment)|stole]] and decoration in extremely rare Anglo-Saxon [[embroidery]] or ''[[opus anglicanum]]'', which had been deposited in his tomb by King [[Æthelstan]] (r. 927–939) on a pilgrimage while Cuthbert's shrine was at Chester-le-Street.{{sfn|Webster|2012|p=172}}{{sfn|Jones|n.d.}}

Cuthbert's shrine was destroyed in the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]], but, unusually, his relics survived and are still interred at the site, although they were also disinterred in the 19th century, when his wooden coffin and various relics were removed. St Cuthbert's coffin (actually one of a series of several coffins), as reconstructed by [[Ernst Kitzinger]] and others, remains at the cathedral and is an important rare survival of Anglo-Saxon carving on wood. When the coffin was last inspected on 17 May 1827, a 'Saxon' square cross of gold, embellished with garnets, in the characteristic splayed shape, used later as the heraldic emblem of St Cuthbert in the arms of [[Durham University|Durham]] and [[Newcastle University|Newcastle universities]], was found.{{Citation needed|date=July 2023}}

===Namesakes===
<!-- Commented out: [[File:Cuthbert covercropped.jpg|thumb|280px|left|The front cover of the [[St Cuthbert Gospel]]; the original tooled red goatskin binding is the earliest surviving Western binding]] -->
[[File:Pectoral Cross of St Cuthbert.svg|thumb|left|Cross of Cuthbert]]
The [[flag of County Durham]] since 2013 features the Cross of St Cuthbert, [[counterchanged]] in the county colours of blue and gold. The [[flag of Kirkcudbrightshire]] in Scotland since 2016 likewise features the Cross of St Cuthbert, whose name is the origin of the county's name. The Cross of St Cuthbert features as the principal charge on the coat of arms of the [[University of Durham]], granted in 1843, blazoned ''Argent, a Cross of St Cuthbert Gules, on a canton Azure, a chevron Or, between three lions rampant of the first'' ('A red Cross of St Cuthbert on a silver shield, with three silver fighting lions around a gold chevron on a blue square in the top left-hand corner'). The Cross also features in the arms of many of its constituent colleges. The [[University of Newcastle upon Tyne]], formerly King's College in the University of Durham, also features St Cuthbert's Cross on its arms, granted in 1937. The Newcastle University arms are blazoned ''Azure, a Cross of St Cuthbert Argent, and on a chief of the last a lion passant guardant Gules.'' ('A silver Cross of St Cuthbert on a blue shield, with a red lion walking and looking towards you on the silver top third portion of the shield.') The cross of St Cuthbert also features on the badges of the two Anglican secondary schools in [[Tyne and Wear]], namely [[Dame Allan's Schools]] and Sunderland High School.

[[St Cuthbert's Society]], a college of Durham University established in 1888, is named after him and is located only a short walk from the coffin of the saint at Durham Cathedral. The Society celebrates St Cuthbert's Day on or around each 20 March with a feast. "Cuth's Day", the annual college day, is celebrated in the Easter term with music, entertainment, festivities and drinking. Cuddy's Corse is a [[waymarking|waymarked]] walking route between [[Chester-le-Street]] and Durham Cathedral; it marks the journey between two of the last resting places of the coffin.

[[Worksop College]], founded as St Cuthbert's in 1895, was the last of the [[List of Woodard Schools|Woodard Schools]] to be opened.

St Cuthbert is also the namesake of [[St Cuthbert's College, Auckland|St Cuthbert's College]] in [[Epsom, New Zealand]]; St Cuthbert's Day on 21 March is a day of school celebration. The school's houses are named after important locations in the life of the saint: [[Dunblane Cathedral|Dunblane]] (yellow), [[Elgin, Moray|Elgin]] (green), Iona (purple), [[Kelso Abbey|Kelso]] (blue), [[Lindisfarne]] (white), [[Melrose Abbey|Melrose]] (red), York (orange) and Durham (pink).

[[St Cuthbert's High School]], a Roman Catholic school in [[Newcastle upon Tyne]], is named after the saint. St Cuthbert's Day is celebrated with Mass, and the [[school prayer]]s include reference to their patron saint (always ending with the invocation "St Cuthbert, pray for us"). The school badge features a bishop's crook in reference to St Cuthbert's time as a bishop, as well as ducks, reflecting his love of the animals.

Another Roman Catholic secondary school to bear the name of St Cuthbert is [[St Cuthbert's RC High School]] in [[Rochdale]]. Founded in 1968 as Bishop Henshaw School it was renamed to its current name in the late 1980s. The school's badge includes the St Cuthbert Cross and the motto "In Christ We Serve".

[[St. Cuthbert's Co-operative Society|St Cuthbert's Co-operative Society]] (now [[Scotmid]]) opened its first shop in Edinburgh in 1859, and expanded to become one of the largest co-ops in Scotland. Its dairy used horse-drawn delivery floats until 1985, and between 1944 and 1959 employed as a milkman [[Sean Connery]], who later played [[James Bond]].

The [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle]] holds St Cuthbert as its patron saint, with the consecration of bishops in the diocese always taking place on 20 March, Cuthbert's feast day in the Catholic Church.

Many churches are named after Cuthbert. An Orthodox Community in [[Chesterfield, Derbyshire|Chesterfield]], England, has taken St Cuthbert as their patron.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.stcuthbertsorthodoxcommunity.co.uk/|title=Loading...|website=stcuthbertsorthodoxcommunity.co.uk|access-date=26 October 2022|archive-date=26 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221026190807/http://www.stcuthbertsorthodoxcommunity.co.uk/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Fossilised [[crinoid]] columnals extracted from limestone quarried on Lindisfarne, or found washed up along the foreshore, which were threaded into necklaces or rosaries, became known as [[St Cuthbert's beads]].

In Northumberland, the [[common eider]] is known as Cuddy's duck, "Cuddy" being the familiar form of "Cuthbert". While on the Farne Islands, Cuthbert instituted special laws to protect the ducks and other seabirds nesting on the islands.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://eiderdown.org/famous-eider-colony.html|title=Eiderdown: Famous Eider Colony|website=eiderdown.org}}</ref><ref name=cduck/> They still breed in their thousands off the Northumberland coast.<ref name="cduck">{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/livingworld_20020303.shtml|title=BBC – Radio 4 – The Living World: The Eider Duck|website=bbc.co.uk}}</ref>

In Cumbria, the civil parish and hamlet of [[Holme St Cuthbert]] are named after him, as is the parish church. It is a rural area, with one larger village and numerous smaller hamlets.

[[St Cuthbert's Way]] is a long-distance walking route, one of [[Scotland's Great Trails]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.stcuthbertsway.info/|title=St Cuthbert's Way &#124; Long Distance Walk from Melrose in the Borders Scotland to Holy Island in Northumberland England|website=St Cuthbert's Way}}</ref>

Cuthbert is [[Calendar of saints (Church of England)|remembered]] in the [[Church of England]] with a [[Lesser Festival (Anglicanism)|Lesser Festival]] on [[March 20|20 March]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Calendar |url=https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/common-worship/churchs-year/calendar |access-date=2021-03-27 |website=The Church of England |language=en}}</ref> or alternatively 4 September, including in the [[Roman Catholic Church]] in England.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.liturgyoffice.org.uk/Calendar/2023/Sep.shtml | title=Liturgical Calendar &#124; September 2023 }}</ref>

==See also==
*''[[Vita Sancti Cuthberti]]''
*''[[Historia de Sancto Cuthberto]]''
* [[St Cuthbert's Well]] in [[Bellingham, Northumberland]]
* [[Ushaw College]] (St Cuthbert's College, Ushaw) in [[County Durham]]
* [[Dun Cow#Durham|Legend about his burial]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==Citations==
{{Reflist|40em}}

==References==
{{refbegin|2|indent=yes}}
*{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sYI7AQAAIAAJ |title=The relics of Saint Cuthbert: studies by various authors |publisher=Printed for the Dean and Chapter of Durham Cathedral at the University Press |year=1956 |editor-last=Battiscombe |editor-first=C. F. |location=Durham}}
*{{Cite web |last=Bede |author-link=Bede |date=721 |title=The Life and Miracles of St. Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindesfarne |url=https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/basis/bede-cuthbert.asp |access-date=20 March 2019 |publisher=[[Fordham University]]}}
*{{Cite web |last=Belvue |date=2020 |title=Who Was Saint Cuthbert of Lindisfarne? |url=https://holy-island.uk/who-was-saint-cuthbert-of-lindisfarne/ |access-date=14 May 2020}}
*{{Cite book |last=Brown |first=Michelle P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sdOzz5HzxngC |title=The Lindisfarne Gospels: Society, Spirituality and the Scribe |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-8020-8597-9 |author-link=Michelle P. Brown}}
*{{Catholic Encyclopedia|wstitle=St. Cuthbert|url=|first=Edwin Hubert|last=Burton|volume=4|page=|prescript=}}
*{{Cite book |last=Butler |first=Alban |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1GRLAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA371 |title=The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Other Principal Saints: In Two Volumes |publisher=Coyne |year=1833}}
*{{Cite book |last=Farmer |first=David Hugh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nll5HKRU6KkC&pg=PA58 |title=Benedict's Disciples |date=1995 |publisher=Gracewing |isbn=0-85244-274-2 |page=58}}
*{{Cite book |last=Farmer |first=David Hugh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_zJJtvK2_KsC&pg=PA108 |title=The Oxford Dictionary of Saints |publisher=University Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-19-959660-7 |edition=5th |location=[[Oxford]] |page=108}}
*{{Cite book |last=Fletcher |first=R. A. |title=Bloodfeud: Murder and Revenge in Anglo-Saxon England |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2003 |isbn=0-19-516136-X |location=Oxford |author-link=Richard A. Fletcher}}
*{{Cite book |last=Fowler |first=Joseph Thomas |url=https://archive.org/details/ritesofdurhambei00cathrich/page/106 |title=Rites of Durham |publisher=Surtees Society |year=1903}}
*{{Cite book |last=Healy |first=John |title=Papers and Addresses: Theological, Philosophical, Biographical, Archaeological |publisher=Catholic Truth Society of Ireland |year=1909 |location=Dublin |chapter=Was St Cuthbert an Irishman? |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/a587092000healuoft/page/n91}}
*{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2GWppdTNhaEC&dq=Cuthbertus+687&pg=PA177|title=A Help to English History: Containing a Succession of All the Kings of England...|first=G.|last=Heylyn|date=1670|publisher=E. Basset}}
*{{Cite journal |last=Ireland |first=C. A. |date=1991 |title=Aldfrith of Northumbria and the Irish genealogies |url=http://www.celt.dias.ie/publications/celtica/c22/c22-64.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=Celtica |publisher=Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies |volume=22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090424045836/http://www.celt.dias.ie/publications/celtica/c22/c22-64.pdf |archive-date=24 April 2009 |access-date=5 June 2010}}
*{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=G.R. |date=n.d. |title=Anglo-Saxon England and the Wider World |url=http://www.le.ac.uk/elh/grj1/asw.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070113040813/http://www.le.ac.uk/elh/grj1/asw.html |archive-date=2007-01-13 |publisher=University of Leicester}}
*{{Cite book |last=Lapsley |first=Gaillard Thomas |url=https://archive.org/details/countypalatined00goog |title=The County Palatine of Durham: A Study in Constitutional History |publisher=Longmans, Green and Company |year=1900}}
*{{Cite book |first=Christian Drummond |last=Liddy |title=The Bishopric of Durham in the Late Middle Ages |date=2008 |publisher=Boydell Press |isbn=9781843833772 |page=187}}
*{{Cite book |last=Marner |first=Dominic |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HvUlek1GrdgC |title=St. Cuthbert: His Life and Cult in Medieval Durham |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-8020-3518-9}}
*{{Cite book |last=Raine |first=James |url=https://archive.org/details/saintcuthbertwi00raingoog |title=Saint Cuthbert: With an Account of the State in which His Remains Were Found Upon the Opening of his tomb in Durham in the year 1827 |publisher=G. Andrews |year=1828}}
*{{cite ODNB|last1= Rollason|first1= David |last2= Dobson|first2= R. B. |title=Cuthbert [St Cuthbert] (c.635–687) |id=6976 }}
*{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q788AAAAIAAJ&dq=Cuthbeorht+687&pg=PA148|title=onomasticon|first=William George|last=Searle|publisher=University Press|location=Cambridge|date=1897}}
*{{Cite book |last=Thacker |first=Alan |url={{google books|id=tZkzAQAAQBAJ|plain-url=yes|keywords="Cuthbert, St (d. 687)"}} |title=The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-118-31610-8 |editor-last=Lapidge |editor-first=Michael |chapter=Cuthbert, St |editor-last2=Blair |editor-first2=John |editor-last3=Keynes |editor-first3=Simon |editor-last4=Scragg |editor-first4=Donald}}
*{{Cite book |last=Urban |first=Sylvanus |url=https://archive.org/details/gentlemansmagaz193unkngoog |title=The Gentleman's Magazine |publisher=John Bower Nichols and Son |year=1852 |location=London |page=[https://archive.org/details/gentlemansmagaz193unkngoog/page/n516 504] |author-link=Sylvanus Urban}}
*{{Cite book |last=Walsh |first=Michael J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8mUJ58SMMhEC |title=A New Dictionary of Saints: East and West |publisher=Liturgical Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-8146-3186-7}}
*{{Cite book |last=Webster |first=Leslie |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PGKUZwEACAAJ |title=Anglo-Saxon Art: A New History |publisher=Cornell University Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-8014-7766-9 |location=Ithaca, New York |author-link=Leslie Webster (art historian)}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin|indent=yes}}
* {{Cite book |last1=An Anonymous Monk of Lindisfarne |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UjyUxYeatPEC |title=Two Lives of St. Cuthbert |last2=Bede |last3=Colgrave |first3=Bertram |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1940 |isbn=978-0-521-31385-8 |author-link2=Bede}}
* {{Cite book |last=Farmer |first=David Hugh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IKWmDCFNAXgC |title=The Age of Bede |publisher=Penguin Classics |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-140-44727-9}}
* {{Cite book |last=Gretsch |first=Mechthild |title=Aelfric and the Cult of Saints in Late Anglo-Saxon England |publisher=University Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-139-44865-9 |editor-last=Gretsch |editor-first=Mechthild |series=Cambridge Studies in Anglo-Saxon England |volume=34 |location=Cambridge |chapter=Cuthbert: from Northumbrian Saint to Saint of All England |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KfdTOYlR0N0C&pg=PA65}}
* {{Cite book |last=Crumplin |first=Sally |title='Saints' Cults in the Celtic World |date=2009 |publisher=Boydell Press |isbn=9781843838456 |editor-last=Boardman |editor-first=Steve |series=Studies in Celtic History |location=Woodbridge |chapter=Cuthbert the cross-border saint in the twelfth century |editor-last2=Davies |editor-first2=John Reuben |editor-last3=Williamson |editor-first3=Eila |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_qPKVEtBkM0C&pg=PA119}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Cuthbert of Lindisfarne}}
{{Wikisource|Ecclesiastical History of the English People/Book 4}}
* {{PASE|2452|Cuthbert 1}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150226193106/http://www.melrose.bordernet.co.uk/mha/5/cuthbert.html A Brief Life and History of St. Cuthbert] by John Butcher, [[Melrose, Scotland|Melrose]] Historical Society
* {{Cite book |last=Bede |chapter=iv.27 – iv.32 |author-link=Bede| translator=[[Leo Sherley-Price]]|title=The Ecclesiastical History of the English People | publisher=Penguin Classics |year=2008 |pages=256–65}})
* [http://www.ucatholic.com/saints/st-cuthbert/ St. Cuthbert Hagiography]

{{s-start}}
{{s-rel| [[Christianity|Christian titles]] }}
{{s-bef|before=[[Eata of Hexham]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Bishop of Lindisfarne]]|years=685–687}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Eadberht of Lindisfarne|Eadberht]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Bishops of Hexham}}
{{Bishops of Lindisfarne}}
{{Anglo-Saxon saints}}
{{Subject bar |portal1= Saints |portal2= Biography |portal3= Christianity |portal4= England}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuthbert}}
[[Category:634 births]]
[[Category:687 deaths]]
[[Category:7th-century English bishops]]
[[Category:7th-century Christian saints]]
[[Category:Bishops of Hexham]]
[[Category:Bishops of Lindisfarne]]
[[Category:History of Northumberland]]
[[Category:Incorrupt saints]]
[[Category:Colombanian saints]]
[[Category:Northumbrian saints]]
[[Category:People from Dunbar]]
[[Category:Christian miracle workers]]
[[Category:Anglican saints]]
[[Category:English Roman Catholic saints]]
[[Category:History of Catholicism in England]]