Editing Lindisfarne (section)

==== Cuthbert as bishop ====

[[File:Statue of St Cuthbert by Fenwick Lawson, Lindisfarne Priory - geograph.org.uk - 1239259.jpg|thumb|Statue of St Cuthbert at prayer]] Northumbria's [[patron saint]], [[Cuthbert of Lindisfarne|Cuthbert]], was a monk and later [[abbot]] of the monastery.  St Cuthbert has been described as “possibly the most venerated saint in England”.<ref>[https://celticsaints.org/2014/0320a.html St. Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindisfarne and Wonderworker of Britain] By Kathleen Hanrahan. 04 March 2017. Accessed 2023-05-20.</ref> Cuthbert's miracles and life are recorded by Bede. Cuthbert was Bishop of Lindisfarne from 684 through 686, shortly before his death. An anonymous "Life of Cuthbert" written at Lindisfarne is the oldest extant piece of English historical writing.

From the "Life of Cuthbert"'s reference to "Aldfrith, who now reigns peacefully", the work is considered to date from between 685 and 704.<ref>{{harvnb|Colgrave|1940|p=104}} cited by {{harvnb|Stenton|1987|p=88}}</ref> While bishop and abbot, Cuthbert took it upon himself to align his bishopric with the see of Canterbury, and therefore with Rome, while leaving its Celtic leanings and traditions behind.  After his death in 687 Cuthbert was initially buried in Lindisfarne.  Due to the claim that Cuthbert's body was untouched by 'corruption', and also due to there being several miracles associated with those who had come to visit Cuthbert's shrine, the island became a major destination for pilgrimages for the next few hundred years.

During one of the many evacuations of Lindisfarne by the monks due to the increasing frequency of Viking raids upon the island at the time, in 793 Cuthbert's body was carried away by the monks, first to where they temporarily re-settled in the nearby village of [[Chester-le-Street]], then to [[Durham Cathedral]] {{c.|995}}.  [[Eadberht of Lindisfarne]], the next bishop (and later saint), was buried in the place from which Cuthbert's body had been [[Burial#Exhumation|exhumed]] earlier in the same year (793).<ref>[https://www.lindisfarne.org.uk/canon-tristram/kate12.htm Tristram, Kate. "Eadberht", ''Little-Known Saints of the North'', The Holy Isle of Lindisfarne]</ref>