Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote--Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." Nathanael said to him, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!" Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." Nathanael answered Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel."

This is clearly a (there are others) biblical example of evangelism. There are a few points here, that I think are important. Firstly, most importantly, Philip had a clear concept of who Jesus was, and he announced him as such. Nevertheless, Nathanaels' reaction was cynical doubt: "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?".

So what did Philip do? Or rather, what didn't he do? He didn't engage in apologetics; he didn't passionately defend the Gospel. He didn't bible-bash, or manipulate Nathanael. He didn't trick him, he didn't mount a case, and he didn't resort to rhetoric to convince Nathanael that he is right. He doesn't try to argue Nathanael into the kingdom of God.

He invites Nathanael to come and see for himself.

But what does this mean to us? Does it mean we should bring our Nathanaels to church, let them experience our worship or liturgy, make our churches seeker-sensitive, preach the best sermons, fill our services with pithy pop-culture references? I don't think it does. I think, just like Philip, we should bring Nathanael to the body of God incarnate on Earth. And that is us: We are the body of Christ.

I read, most days, 'Telling the Stories that Matter', a blog full of the stories of saints, martyrs and other great Christians of history. This is an excerpt from the story of St Aidan of Lindisfarne:

He spent many days simply walking and talking with people and learning to love them as they learned to love him. His conversations were not engineered attempts to "witness" to the people but, rather, he understood his life to be his witness and the relationships he built as ways for others to partake of his life. Oswald gave Aidan a horse, once, because he had heard that Aidan was walking between villages as he went about his ministry. Aidan gave the horse to a nearby beggar and insisted that he'd rather walk. Aidan knew that a horse would disconnect him from the people he loved and was invested in. He knew that spiritual formation and invigoration of people was accomplished slowly and through prayer, worship, and healthy, sincere relationships. [my italics]

The problem is that we've been persuaded that evangelism means manipulation, persuasion, rhetoric to convince our Nathanaels into belief. But Evangelism should besimple: Come and see. And what they should be seeing is God through us, the body of Christ, as St Aidan recognised. In the words of Douglas Hall:

I owe such happiness as I have had to one Source -namely, the sheer grace of God as it is mediated through the lives of other people.

Have we not gone back and seen God's grace as it has been mediated by the lives of others: ordinary folk in our schools, churches and workplaces, even perfect strangers.  And that is our mission: To communicate God's grace, such that when we invite Nathanael to 'Come and see', he will see Christ and recognise him, not through his miracles, but through the mundane: "I saw you Lord, under the fig tree." As Johann Metz asked:

"Are we living as disciples, or do we just believe in discipleship and, under the cloak of this belief in discipleship, continue in our old ways, the same unchanging ways? Do we show real love, or do we just believe in love and, under the cloak of this belief in love, remain the same egoists and conformists we always have been? Do we share the sufferings of others, or do we just believe in this sharing, remaining under the cloak of a belief in "sympathy" as apathetic as ever?"

Each and every one of us communicates God's grace, wittingly or unwittingly, to everyone we meet. We should realise this about ourselves, that we are inspired to pay more attention to the way we are with one another, the things we say, and the things we do and leave undone. This is the essense of Christian witness. Thus, when we state what we've seen and what we believe, and then invite others to come and see, there is no need for rhetoric, or for manipulation.

People will see Christ in the mundane.

You know when you write about a year in these terms - all the number ones - you wonder whether it gives a realistic representation of the music everyone listened to.

In terms of sheer public popularity I guess it does, but in my own personal world I feel there were many different songs - which didn't reach Number 1 - that I would play over and over again from my weekly tape recordings of the Top 30 show.

So along with the likes of "School's Out", "Claire", T.Rex, Slade, "Son of my Father",  Lieutenant Pigeon, plus all the Prog rock and pop already mentioned in my 1972 diary entries, would the following songs also stand up and take bow for providing a suitable distraction to the arguments going on at our house...

• America - "A Horse with No Name"
• Argent - "Hold Your Head Up"
• Blackfoot Sue - "Standing in the Road"
• David Bowie -  "John I'm Only Dancing"
• David Bowie -  "Jean Genie" 
• David Bowie -  "Starman"
• Alice Cooper - "Elected"
• Dr Hook - "Sylvia's Mother"
• Electric Light Orchestra - "10538 Overture"
• Family - "Burlesque"
• Roberta Flack - "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"
• Gary Glitter - "Rock & Roll Part II"
• Hawkwind - "Silver Machine"
• The Hollies "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress"
• Hot Butter - "Popcorn"
• Elton John - "Rocket Man"
• John Lennon & Yoko - "Happy Xmas (War is Over)"
• Lindisfarne - "Lady Eleanor"
• Melanie - "Brand New Key"
• Mott the Hoople - "All the Young Dudes"
• Johnny Nash - "I Can See Clearly Now"
• Redbone - "Witch Queen of New Orleans"
• Lou Reed - "Walk on the Wild Side"
• Rolling Stones - "Tumbing Dice"
• Roxy Music - "Virginia Plain"
• Paul Simon - "Me & Julio Down By the Schoolyard"
• Ringo Starr - "Back Off Boogaloo"
• Status Quo - "Paper Plane"
• Stealers Wheel - "Stuck in the Middle"
• Cat Stevens - "Can't Keep it In"
• Temptations - "Papa Was a Rolling Stone"
• 10cc - "Donna"
• The Who - "Join Together"
• Stevie Wonder - "Superstition"

1972 was therefore a year that had me listening to all kinds of music, creating a varied love for it that would not only supply me with an eventual career (of sorts) but a lifetime of many happy memories.

Meanwhile, (I love a good "meanwhile") 4000 miles away, my future wife who had started her own musical education early was finding that Neil Young's "Heart of Gold" was proving to be an awkward choice for her classroom's show and tell session.

Both of us can now only hope that the 8 and 14-year-old kids of today carry forward the same kind of interest, love and enthusiasm for music into their middle and old age as we have.

One of the places we really wanted to visit was Holy Island, also called Lindisfarne. And in fact, we went there twice. Once with Peggy, but that time, we had somehow disregarded the hours of tides and the island is only reachable at low tide. That time, we just got in view of Holy Island and gave up, but not until I had filmed a snail's progress ;) .
The second time, the weather was not as good, but Holy Island is a magic place and although it was misty at best, and raining at worst, we really enjoyed our visit.

More photos of Holy Island here

I have to confess that until getting this CD the only thing I knew about Lindisfarne was "Fog On The Tyne" but after playing this CD I may look into them a little more closely.

I found myself comparing the album to the likes of Badfinger, superbly listenable and easy going. and I began picking out tracks that would definitely go on a playlist for a nice long drive. (Tonight and You Put The Laff On Me became instant favourites from the first play.)

Then you get to the bonus tracks. These demos are very pure and basic (obviously, as the are demos so just voice and guitar). They have that late 60s hippy/folk sound to them, which I found reminiscent of James Taylor's album on the Apple label among others. Favourites among these are Dingly Dell and Smile, the latter only a short ditty, but a good one!

The CD features extensive sleevenotes including notes on the main album tracks and lyrics.

Happy Daze is released on September 15th.

Get it from Amazon.co.uk

aidan was a monk in iona, scotland (established by fellow irish monk st. columba) and there would meet exiled northumbrian prince oswald.  there oswald, an anglo-saxon, converted to the christian faith and returned to northumbria.  he wanted to convert the people, and sent for monks from iona.  the first to come was corman, who left saying the northumbrians were "too stubborn to convert".  in his place was sent aidan.  he was inspired to live like christ, and to reach the people the same way jesus did.  aidan would walk from one village to another, politely conversing with the people he saw and slowly interesting them in the christian faith. according to legend, the king gave aidan a horse so that he wouldn't have to walk, but aidan gave the horse to a beggar.  by relating to his neighbors and patiently talking to the people on their own level and through charity and love he and his monks slowly restored the christian faith in the region. 

aidan's name means "fire", and along with being the patron saint of northumbria, he is also the patron of firefighters.  

O holy Bishop Aidan, Apostle of the North and light of the Celtic Church, glorious in humility, noble in poverty, zealous monk and loving missionary, intercede for us sinners that Christ our God may have mercy on our souls. 

i believe that the reason the true faith survives is because of people like aidan, who lived based on christ's teachings.  because of this, the faith has been able to survive the ravages brought upon it by "the church" and those who have tried to corrupt it to achieve their own ends and propagate their own agendas, to justify countless atrocities.  the faith lives on because of the saints.  i've always said, for every mother teresa, there's another million just like her that live in complete anonymity.  thank God for every one of them.

Well, I have not really been slow or lazy, but busy! So much so, that I didn't have time to post a Wednesday Window, as I was on the road on Wednesday, on the road on Thursday, getting some rest yesterday, and getting around to posting a couple of things on flickr today, FINALLY!
Sorry for missing several weeks of Weekly Flicks, but things should get back to normal, now. ;)

So here it is. More soon! Promise!!!

[flickr video=http://flickr.com/photos/bip/2789552202/]

You can hear my friend Catherine's voice, in French, complaining about my spending time filming a snail, and my friend Peggy's voice in English.
The snail was going his own sweet way on a map of Holy Island...

For me, Sue's Field is a romantic and almost magical place.  Being a keen amateur photographer I can wax lyrical about the light everytime I go.  Sue's Field is an island in the North Sea with not too many people around (despite the tourists), so the light always seems clear and bright, and the vast skies always seem so heavy and dramatic with clouds.  History hangs over every blade of wind-swept grass and pebble on its beach.  I cannot walk along the shore of its quiet bay without remembering the slaughter that took place there nearly one and a half thousand years ago - imagining the terror that the inhabitants must have felt, and wondering if the blood coloured the sea water. And two of its major buildings stand as icons on the island, photographed millions of times.  Because of its isolation, with access possible only when the tide is out, I have never stayed long enough to be there in early morning light to get the landscape photographer's original shots.

"Are we going to Sue's Field today?" my daughter asked nearly twenty years ago when she was six.  We had been the previous year.  We had been talking about going all week.  My wife and I looked at each other and knew exactly where my daughter meant.  There was an internal logic to it.  "Lindisfarne" was too strange a word for a six year old.  She had captured it as "Linda's Farm" and then forgotten it.  There was a woman involved.  And there was land.  It came out as "Sue's Field".

And in our family, it has stayed as "Sue's Field" ever since.

They burnt the homes of the shaven men, that had been quaint and kind,
Till there was no bed in a monk's house, nor food that man could find...
~ G K Chesterton, The Secret People

I have no idea why I am disappointed that there are no wireless networks here, but I am.

Where is here, you ask? Snuggled into a scoop in the side of a rocky outcrop behind Lindisfarne Priory, looking back over the straits towards the mainland. There are swallows flitting around my head, bees buzzing in the grass, and I just saw a grebe diving for its dinner. But there is no wireless. Boo.

It has been a rather lovely day, all told. Not so much the carrying of stuff; we have both been Encumbered:Slowed most of the day due to exceeding our weight limits. Note to self: pack lighter. Two rucksacks each is two too many...
Otherwise, it's been lovely - alas, I missed most of the scenery from the train (searching for a wireless point, ironically enough - it'd died everywhere north of first class, so I hovered in the buffet car trying to look inconspicuous), but have more than made up for it since. We saw little enough of Berwick itself, alas, going as we did straight from train to bus, but what we saw was nice enough - a pretty railway station, a soaring viaduct, and some great sea views. And Lindisfarne itself is glorious - the town is a trifle twee, true, but the lonely castle, its sentinel face turned ever seaward, and the forlornly defiant arches of the ruined priory have a grandeur to them - even if curtains now hang where once archers stood ready, and pigeons nest where once the feet of those called holy trod. It's a reasonable walk to the castle, but entirely worth it for the views of the place.

After so long in Durham, the same place day after day, the same sights and smells, it's like my senses have come alive here. The smells of sea and clover, one heady, the other refreshing; the hissing of the grasses and the endless song of the waves; the shimmer of sunlight on the water and the lively colours of the wild flowers, pink sea-thyme and yellow prickly-stuff. (My mother'd know its proper name.) Unbidden, the rock pools on the shore remind me of Durham, and of leaving it - as though the tide's come in and broken through, to sweep me away from my little haven into the wider ocean.

The lady at the priory museum laughed at us, seeing us so weighed down - had we packed the kitchen sink?, she wanted to know. I played her off - middle-aged women like me, oddly enough; at least it's useful sometimes! - and we went to wander round the exhibition, which reminded
me even more of Durham, what with St Cuthbert and all. (Do you know the story of his otters? According to the Venomous Bede, he spent a whole night up to his waist in the sea, praying. Understandably a little chilly by the time dawn broke, he prayed to God for aid on reaching the beach - and God sent two sea otters to wipe his feet dry with their fur, and breathe on them to warm them. I tell you, Bede was on some good shit when he wrote his Histories.) The priory is an impressive pile, red sandstone weathered and sculpted into beautiful shapes never anticipated by its long-dead architects - some small irony in the hand of nature outdoing the hands which worked for God, perhaps. The church next door gives some idea of what its arches and walls might once have looked like.

I also discovered I've lost none of my childhood fascination with beaches. You'd think after fourteen years of Scottish islands and their beaches I'd have got over it, but no. I wandered, I poked in rockpools, I built sandcastles, I graffiti'd (that one was just too tempting), I marvelled at the clarity of the water. There's something immensely soothing about just picking up a handful of sand and letting it run between your fingers, and something very clean about a scramble over rocks - focused on nothing but where to find the next handhold, where to put the next foot.

Back in Berwick, we wandered the town a little, then bought pie and chips from a little family-run place (I wound up with steak and kidney rather than pure steak; the waitress was busy flirting with a customer) and took it up onto the city walls, which had the most fantastic view out over the town and sea and viaduct. Neither of us captured it too well, alas - just too much distance - but we did get this snap of the seagull which persistently tried to convince us that property was theft and that common ownership of our dinner was the best way forward. Then back to our bed and breakfast - unexpectedly opulent, all varnished pine and lush white bedspreads, thick curtains and Ferrero Rocher on the nightstands - to pack and sleep before morning took us north to Edinburgh.

More photos:
the glorious blue sky that day (we were both a fetching shade of salmon pink by day's end)
a bench up by the lighthouse - the inscription reads 'Mo Jowett, 1951-1999; one who left the city's crowds to find a place.'
a cache of cockleshells, left by a seabird
if only this car were x-registered!
unfortunate instructions on a toilet door - I was horribly tempted to write underneath 'if this is sex it sounds extremely boring'
and the rest

Comments:
1] There's something both funny and courageous about Shirley Bassey's name appearing amongst those other female singers!
2] OK, so I had to google the name "Jacqui McShee". Singer in Pentangle apparently. That'll be why I didn't know the name - some old 70's folk rubbish.
3] Hold on, Hold ON.... wooooaaaaah!...... Number 6 Best TV Show - Tom & bloody Jerry???
4] The fact that Lindisfarne's mournful "Lady Eleanor" was voted Best Single proves there were a LOT of drugs around in the seventies.
5] Those DJ and Radio show names have rekindled a LOT of fond personal memories.
6] Isn't funny that in 1972 David Bowie was considered a "Bright Hope"
7] I had to look up Jonathan Kelly too - again, folk nonsense
8] Aaaaaaaaah, Vinegar Joe.... featuring Elkie "Pearl's a Singer" Brooks and a certain Robert "Addicted to Love" Palmer...

I have a deep love for all things Celt. My personal library is full to bursting with books in the magic realism/historical fantasy/speculative fiction field. I think my love of these things is probably steeped in childhood memories of the church and our Irish priests and nuns brought a lot of the artwork with them here, illustrated gospels etc therefore seeds were sewn for my love of these forms of art in the future.

When we married in 1983 we went to Northumberland for our honeymoon and spent quite a few days exploring Lindisfarne, Holy Island. This is where the monks originally from Eireland first educated and then sent out missionaries into the then pagan Northumberland and where they translated the gospels into wonderful illustrated documents...the most well known being....The Lindisfarne Gospels which are currently housed in the British Library in London. Lindisfarne also suffered in AD793 the first Viking attack on British soil, an attack that many historians view as being the equivalent or worse than 9/11/2001.

Since discovering a form of fantasy that I could actually read and enjoy about ten years ago I have been a prodigious reader of all things to do or based in the times of the celts so I was really pleased to be able to buy these books recently. Some of the authors and books I have enjoyed immensely are Daughter of the Forest by Juliette Marillier...three part series...preferred the first as a one off and Black Trillium by Marion Bradley Julian May and Andre Norton then Blood Trillium and finally Sky Trillium by Julian May. These I read in old smelly softcovers from whatever source I could find ...and I cannot abide smelly books!!! Then over the last few years I was fortunate when the three hardcovers, all in immaculate condition, came into our local charity shop. The books were less than $4 each and are my previous spectacular buy for this week!

My husband found me a few of these and I found the rest. I love the artworks and have a great love of celtish inspired jewellery. Which might be why I love this crucifix so much...it is not so much celtish as medieval I feel and is from Australian designer of fashion and now jewellery...Peter Lang. I am not a crucifix wearing person as such and especially do not like the way it has been glamorised as a fashion statement but this speaks to me of my time on Holy island ...indeed I think one could imagine a nun or monk of the day wearing that as they went about their day of gruelling labour or penitence. The crucifix was $8 and I have seen his necklaces are $150 to $200 new. Heavenly....as Lindisfarne would be to visit for a retreat....check them out before you visit Europe. It would be an unforgettable experience.

1973:

Lindisfarne Live (LP)

Photography: Roy Carr

1978:

Back & Fourth (LP)

Art Direction & Concept: Alan Schmidt

Design & Artwork: Hothouse

Photography: Richard Haughton

Illustration: Chris Moore

1984:

Dance Your Life Away (CD)

Art Direction: Unknown

Holy Island

Originally uploaded by Mr_Chips

A perfect walk around Lindisfarne
This surely has to be one of the best walks in the country. A round of Holy Island. Check the tide tables before you go because you have to navigate a causeway that gets flooded at high tide. Otherwise its a beautiful drive across the sands to the island.
This walk is only about three miles distance but takes much longer than normal to walk because there are so many distractions on the way. You can extend the walk easily be taking diversions among the dunes.
Arriving on the Island across a causeway is an exciting start and you park in one of the large car parks and make your way through the town to the harbour. We did this walk in the afternoon and so we picked up some crab sandwiches from one of the cottages and some local prawns from a fish monger. Make sure you go for the local ones - they are smaller than the more attractive tiger prawns but who wants to eat something flown in from miles away when the smaller ones are the tastiest and haven’t travelled as far.
The harbour is the best place to sit down in the grass and contemplate the view. There are boats on the mudflats, the view of Lindisfarne on its rock in the distance and the overturned boats turned into huts, once used for the herring industry. They make stunning photos.
When you are have feasted, make your way to the left of Lindisfarne and follow the track which was once used to market limestone to the kilns.
Opposite Lindisfarne there are the walled gardens. Then a few hundred yards you reach the shoreline where it is worth scanning the horizon for birds and maybe some beach combing. Turn left and follow the coastline along and you reach the lough which is a fresh water pool supposedly dug by the monks to supply fish to the abbey. There is a hide and it is worth spending some time looking out over the reeds. We saw Little Grebes amongst the reeds.
From here the path heads behind the dunes and you can extend your walk by crossing the dunes to the shoreline. Be careful here, there are peri-peri burs from New Zealand growing. You should check your clothes so that you don’t spread the burs outside the region.
From the dunes, the path goes inland back to the carpark.
This is perhaps one of the finest and most interesting short walks in the country. The afternoon would have perfect if there had been somewhere open for tea but typically, come 5.00pm, all the tea shops shut even though it was a lovely afternoon. Bring a thermos!

"The monks of Iona accepted the catholic way of life under the teaching of Egbert, while Dunchad was abbot [707-717], about eighty years after they had sent Bishop Aidan to preach to the English. The man of God, Egbert, remained for thirteen years on the island which he had consecrated to Christ, lighting once more, as it were with the gracious light of ecclesiastical fellowship and peace. In the year of our Lord 729, when Easter fell on 24 April, after he had celebrated a solemn mass in memory of the Lord's resurrection, he departed to be with the Lord on the same day. ... It was a wonderful dispensation of the divine providence that the venerable man not only passed from this world to the Father on Easter Day, but also when Easter was being celebrated on a date on which it had never been kept in those places." (Bede, HE V. 22, McClure and Collins, p. 287)

It is interesting that Bede notes that Egbert had been on Iona 13 years, placing his arrival in 716 the very year that the monks had been driven out of Pictland and the same year that King Cenred, brother of Bede's King Ceolwulf became King of Northumbria. Given that Bede credits Columba as the missionary (apostle?) to the Picts in his chronological summary (HE V.24), their expulsion from Pictland 52 years after their similiar expulsion from Northumbria is significant. Here Bede couldn't help himself but to note that Egbert consecrated the island for Christ - meaning that St. Columba's consecration of Iona had to be repeated.

I believe I have noted elsewhere that Bede is a bit loose on this date, manipulating it to suit his purposes. Here he wants to show Egbert's coming to Iona with the explusion from Pictland. In HE III.4 he claims that the Columban calculations of Easter lasted until 715, 150 years after the coming of Columba to Iona. If he allows these dates to slide a little, then the 52 years since Whitby should be considered about 50 as well.

So Bede's chronology in the summary of HE V.24 goes like this:

• 449: English arrive in Britain
• 565: St Columba founds Iona.
• 597: Augustine arrives in Britain, noting its roughly 150 years after the English arrive. [In III.4 he notes Columba dies about 32 years after arriving on Iona, ie. 597! - expressly not noted in the summary even though the summary notes he was the missionary to the Picts]
• 716: Egbert converts Iona to Roman Easter calculations (and reconsecrates the island!) about 80 years after Aidan arrives in Northumbria. [Therefore, Egbert converts Iona 150 years after Columba comes to Iona; Augustine converts the English 150 years after their arrival in Britain. Aidan's arrival about 80 years earlier nearly splits that time in half...]

Makes me wonder what kind of symbolism Bede saw in those 150 year intervals. It seems that it took both Iona and 'the English' 150 years to fully mature for Iona to come into the Roman fold and for the English church to produce missionaries, correcting the primary source of their own missionaries. The only symbolism I can think of that is 150 is the 150 psalms, but I may just have psalms on the brain. Given that the Irish divided their pslater into thirds of 50 pslams each; 50 years from Whibty to explusion from Pictland would also fit the symbolism.

Egbert is one of the few fellow Englishmen that Bede specifically called a saint in his History. The entry in the chronological summary actually calls him "St. Egbert"; he is the only one so designated in the summary. To me, the entry in the Greater Chronicle is the most remarkable considering how few Anglo-Saxons Bede records there. Bede is a little odd in which Englishmen (and women) who he includes in the Greater Chronicle: Kings Aethelfrith and Aelle, Aethelberht and Edwin, and saints Aethelthryth (with K. Ecgfrith), Egbert, Willibrord, Cuthbert, and his abbot Coelfrith. Many of these references are pretty slight, but Bishop Egbert's entry is every bit as elaborate as Cuthbert or Willibrord. A further study of Egbert and his importance to Bede seems merited.

On the last track we edited I decided to add a one note organ to the end of the song. After doing that I realised I was on a track with the amazing Rod Clements from Lindisfarne. Now I can add Rod to the superstar artists I have played with :-)

Its obscurity could justify bypassing the manuscript, but a recent article with all the necessary textual material makes it hard to ignore its sole, but particularly fascinating miniature.  ‘"Know who and what he is’: the context and inscriptions of the Durham Gospels Crucifixion image," by Jennifer O’Reilly in Making and Meaning in Insular Art fully translates the tituli and also identifies the Gospel chapter and verses on the preceding page.

The image of the Crucifixion on folio 38v compares nicely with same scene in the center panel on the interior of the painted lid of the reliquary of the Sancta Santorum, and finding the sponge and the tip of the spear will train the eye to find these objects in any Crucifixion scene. 

But the text around the frame and its direct address of the beholder make for a most interesting discussion of the devotional power of Crucifixion imagery, as well as the function of images more generally.

Wikimedia has a relatively clear image of Folio 38v.

Bede wrote multiple accounts of his life, but I chose passages from the briefest, which Bede embedded within his Ecclesiastic History of the English People (Book 4, Chapter 30).  Although Cuthbert died in 687, not unil eleven years later in 698 did the monks of Lindisfarne place his body in the wood coffin that survives today in pieces at Durham Cathedral. 

Of its 6,000 fragments, about 169 show engraved lines.  The reconstructed program of the coffin includes Christ and the Evangelist Symbols on the lid, apostles and archangels on the sides and one end, and the Virgin and Child on another end.  Runic inscriptions identify the figures and link the coffin to the Ruthwell Cross and the Franks Casket. 

Various objects have come from the tomb of Cuthbert, including the Stonyhurst Gospels and his pectoral cross.  I could not find good photos of these objects on the internet, but the catalogue, The Making of England, has nice color photos.

Images of the Coffin of Saint Cuthbert prove even more elusive.  I found some great color slides in the visual collection at FSU, and Ernst Kitzinger's small booklet on the Coffin offers line drawings of each side.  Here you may find a photographic reconstruction.  Sacred Destinations has some photos taken through the vitrine.  Otherwise, I would welcome any hints on where to find more images. 

Through the texts and objects of the re-burial of Cuthbert, we gain great insight into the development of the cult of one saint.  In my next post, I will look at yet one more object associated with the early cult of Saint Cuthbert, the Lindisfarne Gospels.

Here be the peace
of those who do Thy will.
Here be the peace
of brother serving man.
Here be the peace
of holy monks obeying.
Here be the peace
of praise by dark and day.
Be this Island Thy Holy Island.
I, Lord, Thy servant, Aidan,
make this prayer.
Be it Thy care.
Amen.

via

This meditation about a place, Lindisfarne,  can also be directed at a life, our life, if we surrender it to God. If we become as children, simply living our day to day in a way pleasing to our maker, we can be a holy island in a dark world. If we chose to allow the grace of God to flow to those around us, being the hands of Christ out stretched, we can be a holy island. If we have solid foundations, firm in the midst of storms, we can be a holy island to those shipwrecked on the shoals.

Lindisfarne's Century refers to their short period of dominance or high influence from about 635 to 750. Lindisfarne continued, of course, into at least the ninth century but after the 750s their influence significantly fell. In 750, King Aldfrith's son Offa was forcefully removed from Lindisfarne and executed. Interestingly, abdicated king Ceolwulf was in Lindisfarne when Offa was dragged out of the monastery and killed. It is possible that Offa went to Lindisfarne hoping to get protection from Ceolwulf (who was the hand picked successor of his reputed brother Osric). The recording of King Ceolwulf's death in the Irish annals under the name Eochaid also suggests that Ceolwulf and by extension Lindisfarne did keep contacts with the Irish. After Offa's death and the later obit of Ceolwulf little is heard from Lindisfarne until the Norse raid it in 793. Eventually they abandoned the island and began their exodus to Durham. They wandered in their wilderness for much longer than 40 years but the community of St Cuthbert stayed together. The wandering community of St Cuthbert and the Prince Bishops of Durham are fascinating but beyond my scope. By then they have moved from innovation to preservation.

So anyway, there is now a page to collect posts on Lindisfarne and sphere of influence (Whibty, Lastingham, Melrose, etc).

For a long time ago, in the era of your young manhood, when your talented Sagacity was equipped with the septiform munificence of spiritual gifts by the hand of a venerable bishop, I recall that I acquired the name of 'father' and that you received the appellations of your adoptive station together with the privilege of heavenly grace. (Episola ad Acircium, Aldhelm: The Prose Works, Lapidge and Herren, trans, 1979).

How does an abbot of Malmesbury in Wessex become the godfather of a half-Irish Northumbrian prince in his "young manhood"? There is no reason to think that Aldhelm had ever been to Northumbria. It is possible that Aldhelm became his godfather while Aldhelm was studying in Canterbury, but that would put a young half-Irish Northumbrian prince in Canterbury. Alternatively, Malmesbury was founded by an Irish monk so that the half-Irish Aldfrith could have visited Malmesbury as part of youthful travels.

The first big problem is why was he baptized as a young man. Infant baptism was practiced at this time, and the Irish and King Oswiu were both Christians. Could it be that there were re-baptisms of those who had been baptized by followers of Iona? In his discussion of the causes of the Synod of Whitby in 664 is because they feared that their baptisms were invalid. The actual re-baptism of all or some of the Lindisfarne-baptized clergy and at least nobles is something that the Lindisfarne-friendly Bede might not want to advertise.

If this is the case, then Aldfrith was a young man soon after 664. He must have been born no earlier than 640, so late in King Oswald's reign. This would rule out that he was born before Oswald and Oswiu returned to Northumbria. It also means that he was of similar age to his brother Alchfrith, who was apparently not considered a bastard like Aldfrith.

It is possible that Aldfrith had consented at the encouragement of Aldhelm to be re-baptized before 664. We know his brother Alchfrith was certainly favorable to the Roman church before 664. Yet, I think this is unlikely. We know that he was also a very good friend of Adomnan of Iona, and Bede claims that Aldfrith was actually present on Iona when his brother King Ecgfrith was killed in Scotland. Adomnan traveled to visit Aldfrith in Northumbria at least twice, and probably three times during Aldfrith's reign.

Another possibility is that Aldhelm is actually referring to sponsorship of confirmation. I don't know much about confirmation in this period though. Perhaps Aldhelm's stress on the bishop's hand rather than waters of baptism does suggest that this is confirmation. This would be easier to reconcile with his "young manhood".

Aldfrith's relationship with Wessex is a very interesting topic that really hasn't been fully explored. In addition to his relationship with Aldhelm, he also married the sister of King Ine of Wessex, who was a kinsman of Aldhelm. Aldfrith separated from her during their lifetimes and she entered a convent. In fact, she is one of the nuns that Aldhelm's On Virginity is addressed to. This makes them a very special couple to Anglo-Saxonists -- to him was dedicated the beloved riddles of Aldhelm and to her, On Virginity was sent. What does this tell us about Aldhelm's relationship to this couple?

The first shot is of Lindisfarne (AKA Holy Island), where we spent last weekend, and I was a bit chuffed to see that it had been named Photo of the Day on Gadling yesterday.

The second is from Yorkshire Sculpture Park, which was the previous Saturday's entertainment.  I'd struggle to think of a more engaging walk (and decent Cafe too).

Lindisfarne set here. YSP here.

After a lot of thought, I don't think that Œthelwald was anyone's puppet. I don't think he was 'placed' there by anyone. I do think that he was a compromise candidate whom both the Deiran nobles and Oswiu of Bernicia could live with. This suggests that the Deiran nobles had likewise accepted Oswald as King of Deira, as the nephew of Edwin. Oswald and his son Œthelwald were the grandson and great grandson of King Aelle, Edwin's father. Oswiu on the other hand, had no Deiran blood that we know of; I have argued against his being the son of Acha sister of Edwin elsewhere. Oswiu shows every indication of taking direct control when he could, as he did in Mercia after Penda's death and probably in Lothian early in his reign. The fact that he faced 'rebellion' by three successive kings of Deira-- Oswine, Œthelwald and his own son Alchfrith-- really suggests to me that the nobles/ealdormen of Deira really never accepted Oswiu has their king. After his son's rebellion, Oswiu appears to have taken direct control over Deira for about only the last five years of his 28 year reign.

There have been some speculations about Œthelwald's age and mother. If he was the son of Cynegils' daughter then he would have only been about 17 when he became king in about 651, but I have argued elsewhere that it is quite possible that he was born during Oswald's exile. Oswald was about 30 years old when he came home to Bernicia and could have easily had several children, as his brother Eanfrith already did and as Edwin had during his exile.

The one thing we do know for sure about Œthelwald is that he had close ties to the church of Lindisfarne, as we would expect for Oswald's son. We know that the four brothers, Cedd, Cælin, Cynebill, and Chad were all closely tied to the church in Deira. Cælin was the personal priest of Œthelwald and his family and he mediated the donation of Lastingham to his brother Bishop Cedd. It is interesting that Bede claims that Œthelwald mainly came to know Cedd through his brother Caelin, since as a pupil of Aidan's you would think that Œthelwald would have known him. Yet, Cedd had long been a missionary away from Bernicia and Deira, so it is possible that Oethelwald and Cedd had not known each other well before 651. I do think that is likely that the church of Lindisfarne helped Œthelwald come to the throne of Deira. They certainly could have helped the Deiran nobles contact Œthelwald if he was not in Deira before Oswine's death (and I think it is unlikely he would have been an ally of Oswine, unless he had a major falling out with his uncle before 651). After Oswine's murder and Aidan's death heartbroken over Oswine, Lindisfarne would not have been very high on Oswiu or his sons, and supporting a son of Oswald would have seemed like the best option.

Anyway, Œthelwald is remembered diplomatically as the patron of Lastingham where he intended for himself and his family to be buried. The brothers of Lastingham must have stressed this to Bede for it to be included in the History. Bede doesn't tell us where Œthelwald was buried but it is possible that some of his family was indeed buried at Lastingham. The stress on Œthelwald's family does suggest that he was old enough to have a family. Alternatively it could just be Lastingham's way of stressing that they would have been a major monastery for this king, as York was for Edwin, Whitby was Oswiu & Edwin, Wearmouth-Jarrow was for Ecgfrith, and probably Lindisfarne for Oswald (and Aldfrith?).

The last we hear of Œthelwald is during Penda's last campaign into Bernicia in the fall of 655. Bede tells us that Œthelwald had acted a guide for Penda's army into Bernicia and later refused to take part in the battle of Winwæd on November 15th, 655. For this Bede branded him a traitor, a claim surely influenced by Bede's desire to project a united Northumbria. Accompanying Penda's army into Bernicia would likely have been enough for a Bernician patriot to consider him a traitor, though it is perhaps hard to see how he could have refused Penda. It would have been suicide for a single king to have stood in the way of Penda's army. We already knew from Oswine's encounter with Oswiu that Deira did not have an imposing enough army to stand up to Oswiu's forces, so it is unlikely that they could have faired better against Penda's massive Southumbrian-British coalition. His decision to pull his army out of the fray at Winwæd may speak as much to the the shock of Oswiu's attack as anything else. Was it a moment of indecision or had Penda's alliance begun to fray enough that he would not side with him? Penda's army must have still been very formidable for Œthelwald not to try to switch sides and fight for his uncle. It also tells us that Œthelwald may have been unwilling to fight against his own kinsmen (as Æthelhere of East Anglia probably did against his brother Anna). Bede tells us that the river in flood was a major factor in Oswiu's victory as Mercians and their allies drowned trying to escape and we might also guess that an early death of Penda may have contributed to the loss. If the dominant king of a grand army was killed early, then military discipline probably would have fell as each unit would only then be concerned about its escape.

Œthelwald's fate is left unknown. We don't hear that he was executed, as Lastingham might have remembered. I doubt they would have been ashamed of another Deiran king who died for not fighting like Oswine. Indeed, it would have further vilified Oswiu in line with Deiran sympathies. It seems likely to me that Iona would have recorded Œthelwald's death if it had occurred at Winwæd, as they recorded Penda's death (Annals of Ulster). I tend to think that not hearing anything about his fate may mean that he was exiled. The mysterious fates of King Oswiu's nephew Oethelwald and his son Alchfrith, who also disappears after a rebellion, are certainly two on my list of 'things I would like to know'!