Also a Book of the Art of Poetry, and to it I have added another little Book of Figures or Tropes; that is, of the figures and manners of speaking in which the Holy Scriptures are written.

And now I beseech Thee, good Jesus, that to whom Thou hast graciously granted sweetly to drink of the words of thy wisdom, Thou wilt also vouchsafe to him that he may in due time come to Thee, the Fountain of all wisdom, and always stand in thy presence, who livest and reignest world without end. Amen!

THE

LIFE AND MIRACLES OF SAINT CUDBERCT,

BISHOP OF LINDISFARNE.

PREFACE.

To the Holy and Most Blessed Father Eadfrid,' Bishop, and to all the Congregation of the Brethren, who serve Christ in the Island of Lindisfarne, Baeda, your faithful Fellow-servant, sendeth greeting :

§ 1. SINCE, beloved brethren, to the book which I composed at your request of the Life of our father Cudberct, of blessed memory, you bade me prefix, according to custom, some observations in the form of a preface, wherein the desire of your good pleasure, as well as the brotherly assent of my obedience thereto, should be publicly expressed to all readers, it seems good to me, before proceeding further, as well to remind you who know the events which I relate, as also to make known to others, who may read my work, and are perchance ignorant of what is here recorded, that I have neither presumed to write any circumstance relating to so great a man, without the most assured research, nor to give out for general transcription the things which I have reduced to writing, without the most scrupulous examination of indubitable witnesses. Yea, rather, it was not till I had diligently investigated the beginning, progress, and end of his most glorious life and conversation, from those who had known him, that I ventured to reduce aught to writing and I may further add that I have also judged it meet to mention occasionally the names of these my authorities in the course of my work, as an unquestionable proof of the acknowledged truth of my narrative.

:

Moreover, after I had digested my little work, I kept it back in manuscript, and showed it frequently to our most reverend brother Herefrid, the priest, when he came here, as well as to several other

1 Eadfrid was bishop of Holy Island from A.D. 698 to 721, and has left a memorial as well of his elegant penmanship as of his love for the Holy Scriptures in the celebrated copy of the Gospels which is generally known as the Durham Book. It is preserved in the Cottonian Library, Nero D. iv. See Wanley's Catalogue, appended to Hickes's Thesaurus, p. 250. Smith asserts, but upon what authority does not appear, that this volume was written for the especial use of St. Cuthbert himself. It is gratifying to be able to state that it is about to be published by the Surtees Society.

Beda could not easily have found a more competent critic than this Herefrid, for he was abbot of the monastery of Holy Island, § 13, and had attended Cuthbert during his last illness, § 59.

persons, who, from having long dwelt with the man of God, were thoroughly acquainted with his life, that they might read it, and deliberately correct or expunge what they should judge advisable. Some of these amendments I carefully adopted at their suggestion, as seemed good to me; and thus all scruples having been entirely removed, I have ventured to commit the result of this careful research, conveyed in simple language, to these few sheets of parchment. And when I transmitted to your presence, my brother, what I had written, that it might be either corrected if false, or approved if true, by the judgment of your authority; and whilst, by God's aid, I was so occupied, my little work was for the space of two days read before the ancients and teachers of your congregation; and after every part had been shrewdly weighed and had passed under your examination, it was found unnecessary to change any single word, and all that I had written was pronounced worthy by common consent to be read without any doubt, and fit to be handed over to the lovers of a religious life, to be by them transcribed. And, moreover, in the course of this investigation and discussion, it was shown, in my presence, that there were many other events relating to the life and miracles of the blessed servant of God, of no less moment than even those which we had recorded, which seemed worthy of being recorded, had it not appeared incongruous and unbecoming to insert them, or add new materials to a work already deliberated on and completed.

§ 2. Moreover, it occurred to me as fitting that I should remind your holy circle, that as I have not hesitated to pay the duty of obedience to the commands you have vouchsafed to give, you, in like manner, should not be slack in repaying to me the reward of your intercession: but that when you again read this little book, you may, by the pious remembrance of our most holy father, raise up your minds with greater ardour to the desire of the heavenly kingdom, and be mindful also to pray to the Divine Clemency for my poor estate, that I may now with pure mind desire, and for the time to come deserve, in perfect blessedness to "behold the good things of the Lord, in the land of the living ;" and that when I am dead, you may vouchsafe for the redemption of my soul to pray for me, your friend and servant,-to offer masses for me, and to inscribe my name among those of your holy community. And do you also, most holy prelate, remember that you have already promised that this should be done; in testimony whereof, you have commanded Gudfrid,' the sacrist,' to inscribe my name, even at the present time, in the register of your holy congregation. Let me also

One of the name of Gudfrid, probably the same individual, afterwards became abbot of Lindisfarne. See Eccl. Hist. § 359.

2 "Gudfrido mansionario." The Bollandists explain this term by "Ecclesiæ prefectus aut custos."

3 An allusion to the custom which prevailed in monastic establishments, by which the names of benefactors were recorded in a book, which was called the "Liber Vitæ." The register of the benefactors of Lindisfarne (afterwards removed to Durham) is yet extant, (MS. Cott. Domit. vii.)" and was printed by the Surtees Society, 8vo. Lond. 1841. These benefactors were prayed for in the canon of the mass. See Martene, De Antiq. Eccl. Ritibus, i. 145, ed. 1788.

inform you, my holy brother, that in the same order which I now present to you, I have lately, at the request of some of our brethren, composed (though somewhat more briefly) in verses of heroic measure the life of our same God-beloved father. If it please you, you can procure a copy of this work from me, where you will perceive in the preface that I promised to write a more full account of his life and miracles; a promise which I now hasten to fulfil, in the present little work, as far as the Lord vouchsafes to grant to me ability thereto.

Praying, therefore, for you, my most beloved brethren and masters, may the Almighty Lord vouchsafe to keep you safe, in your present blessed state. Amen.

LIFE, MIRACLES, &c.

CHAP. I. HOW CUDBERCT THE SERVANT OF GOD WAS WARNED BY A CHILD THAT HE SHOULD HEREAFTER BECOME A BISHOP.

§ 3. In beginning the account of the life of the blessed Cudberct, we would hallow its commencement by quoting the words of the prophet Jeremiah, who in lauding the state of the anchorite's perfection, says: It is good for a man when he hath borne the yoke from his youth; he shall sit alone, and keep silent, because he shall raise himself above himself." [Lam. iii. 27.] In like manner, Cudberct the man of God, who bowed his neck from early youth to the monastic yoke, was so inflamed with the sweetness of this goodly state, that when occasion offered, he eagerly grasped at the life and conversation of an anchorite, and rejoiced for no small time "to sit alone and to keep silence from all human intercourse, in the sweetness of divine contemplation. Thus heavenly grace, that it might increase the more as he advanced in years, urged him on by little and little in the way of truth, even from the first years of his boyhood; albeit until his eighth year, which is the first of boyhood after infancy, he was wont to give his mind entirely to the sports and wantonness of children, so that he might be said to be a living testimony of what is recorded of the blessed Samuel: "Now Cudberct did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed to him." [1 Sam. iii. 7.] Increase of praise, then, be to him who in his more advanced age was perfectly to "know the Lord," and to hear with the opened ear of the heart, the Word of the Lord. But at this time, as we have said, Cudberct took great pleasure in jests and childish sports, and, as was in keeping with his age, he loved to be in the company of other boys, and greatly desired to associate himself with them in all their games; and as he was

1 Compare Vit. Metr. i.; Vit. Anon. § 4.

active by nature and possessed a ready wit, he was wont to be the champion in all such sports; so that sometimes when the rest were tired out, he yet unwearied would demand, as a joyous victor, if there were any that would yet contend with him. For whether they practised leaping or running or wrestling, or any other sport which required agility of limb, he boasted that he could surpass all his equals in age, and sometimes even his elders. For when he was a child he knew as a child, he thought as a child; but when he became a man, he put away childish things. [1 Cor. xiii. 11.]

§ 4. Divine providence, howbeit, by a meet instructor, early vouchsafed to restrain the buoyancy of this childish spirit. Bishop Trumuine of blessed memory affirmed that Cudberct had himself told him how this happened. One day," he said, "a considerable number of boys, of whom he was one, were engaged as usual in wrestling in a meadow; and as many of them, with the usual thoughtlessness of boyhood, were twisting their limbs into various unnatural postures, suddenly one of these little ones, of about the age of three years, as it would appear, ran up to Cudberct, and, as if with the gravity of old age, began to exhort him not to indulge in these idle sports, but rather to subject his mind as well as his limbs to a grave deportment. Cudberct having paid no attention to this admonition, the little fellow threw himself on the ground, and with tears running down his cheeks, exhibited signs of great grief. Some ran to console him, but he still continued to weep. Whereupon they asked him what unexpected event had happened to cause such lamentations. And as Cudberct also was comforting him, he at length exclaimed: "Why will you behave thus, so contrary both to nature and to your own rank, O Cudberct, most holy prelate and priest? It becomes not you to sport among children; you whom the Lord has consecrated to be a teacher of virtue to your elders!" When Cudberct, who possessed a good disposition, heard these words, he received them with fixed attention, and soothing the sorrowing child with affectionate kindness, he resolved forthwith to forsake these vain sports; and returning home, he began to be more grave in his deportment from that time forth and more manly in disposition: the Holy Ghost Himself assuredly teaching him in his inmost heart, that which had already sounded outwardly to his ears by the mouth of a babe. And let no one marvel, that the wantonness of a boy should by the Lord's doing be restrained through the agency of a child, since it pleased Him once to check the madness of the prophet by putting words into the mouth of a dumb beast. [2 Pet. ii. 16.] For in His praise it has been truly said: "Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise." [Psal. viii. 2.]

1 Trumwine was bishop of the Picts, (Eccl. Hist. iv. 12, § 288,) was one of those persons who induced Cuthbert to accept the bishopric of Lindisfarne, (iv. 28, § 347,) and upon the death of Ecgfrith, king of Northumbria, in A.D. 684, was driven from his diocese and compelled to take refuge in the monastery of Whitby (iv. 26, § 341). An outline of his life may be seen in the Acta SS. mens. Feb. ii. 414.