St Cuthbert's Corpse: A Life After Death

by David Willem

This book brings together accounts of the various openings of St Cuthbert's coffin and provides a unique history of the saint from his death to the present day.

Genres: History

110 pages, Paperback

First published June 24, 2013

Reviews

[Jay Maxfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

After my recent visit to Durham Cathedral & Lindisfarne Priory - I realised how little I knew about St. Cuthbert who was an iconic saint of northern England - I only knew that he was an important early monk at a time that mainland Britain was still converting to Christianity. I purchased the book at Durham Cathedral as part of my donation to the cathedral as they don't charge an admission fee like York Minister. The book takes an unusual approach - rather than look at the history of St. Cuthbert's life and subsequent veneration - the author looks at the evidence written up after his burial and subsequent openings up of his tomb. I will list below the chapter heading plus dates. Although this is a short book of only 96 pages - for the average lay history reader I wouldn't recommend reading more than a few chapters at a time as the information contained in each chapter is almost too much to assimilate in one go - as over time St. Cuthbert gets more and more added to his coffin as well as coffins containing the original coffin(s) e.g. like a Russian doll. I learned many interesting facts - that Durham Cathedral was built as St. Cuthberts mausoleum. The book is written in relatively clear and easy to understand english - great chunks of the text are taken from contemporary and later accounts which seem to have been converted to modern day english which I appreciated. I did feel that the book could have done with some artist impressions of the coffins and jewellery etc which would have helped the reader gain a more imaginary idea of what these items may have looked like and broken up the textual chapters to give a more appealing feel to the book. The writing could also of benefited by being written as an exciting investigation of what we can defiantly know about St. Cuthbert's burial and it's subsequent travels and final resting place - and what was placed with it and why - and drawing all of these ideas and facts up into a conclusion with the author's suggestions about whether St. Cuthbert was really mummified in such a way (using artificial eyes, nose - flexible fabric etc to sustain the belief in his incorruptible body) as well as what the author thinks about the reason why since 1899 that there hasn't been another investigation as in this day and age his bones could be tested and analysed to see if the bones actual date from the seventh century. I would give this book 7 out of 10 it is well worth the read if you don't know anything or little about St. Cuthbert.
The Death of Cuthbert - 20 March 687
The Body that would not rot - 20 Mar 698
The First Anglo-Saxon Kings of All England c. 934
The coming of the Normans - 29 Aug 1104
The Dissolution of the Monasteries - Dec 1539
The Second Protestant Desecration - 17 May 1827
The Victorian Investigation - 1 Mar 1899
Epilogue

[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Following my first visit to Durham I wanted to find out a bit more about St Cuthbert. Well worth a read and a good summary of what happened to the corpse.

[Samantha Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short but interesting read

[Devyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book from Goodreads.

St Cuthbert's Corpse is a interesting little book. It's very short. and gets right to the point of interest, which I like because I don't think I could read a 300 page book full of those confusing passages of ancient scripture.
My take on the book is that the church used poor, old, humble Cuthbert for material and spiritual gain. They got rich off that old mummy, and probably still continue to do so from the skeleton even today.
I would like to read a report on an examination of the skeleton from a modern anthropologist that isn't affiliated to the church someday.
I probably will.
If history has any indication, St. Cuthbert will be exhumed again in a few years or so.

[Jude · Rating 4 out of 5]

The remains of St Cuthbert are said to reside inside Durham Cathedral. As with many saints, St Cuthbert became somewhat more famous after his death, which occurred in the year 687. The tale of St Cuthbert’s journey to its final resting place has much local fame, with several tales having emerged as to why Cuthbert may have ended up in Durham including the well-known ‘Dun Cow’ story. Perhaps most significant, however, are the stories surrounding St Cuthbert’s imperishable corpse. Thirteen hundred years after his death and the miracle of St Cuthbert’s seemingly incorrupt corpse still causes much fascination amongst historians, and theologians alike, it is even said to have inspired the construction of Durham Cathedral. Since St Cuthbert’s death his remains has been excavated on no less than six separate occasions. In St Cuthbert’s Corpse: A life after death David Willem, for the first time, amalgamates the historical accounts of each opening into one concise edition – providing the reader with a captivating glimpse into the life after death of St Cuthbert, from 687 to the present day.

Before reading St Cuthbert’s Corpse I was completely unfamiliar with this part of history, and will confess to having never even heard of St Cuthbert. While I am a massive fan of historical fiction, I don’t tend to read many historical texts, but was taken in by the striking front cover of the book, and its intriguing synopsis on the Sacristy website. I was not to be disappointed when I received the book, which is short enough to be read in a single sitting and offers a meticulously researched and crisp overview of the entire history of St Cuthbert’s corpse.

Willem has divided the book in several chapters, each tracing particular stage in the history of the corpse, with a short title and subtext explaining the era and time elapsed since St Cuthbert’s passing. Each chapter gives the reader not only the story of each excavation, but also a glimpse of each moment in history and an insight into the significance that the remains held to those alive at the time. Through this Willem has created an incredibly accessible piece, which is easily navigable by even the most budding historian.

The most enjoyable and perhaps frustrating part of the book is that there is no ending, and as a reader, you know that there will never be an ending. The question always remains as to the validity of the reports on the incorruptibility of St Cuthbert’s corpse. The accounts that exist of the times when the corpse was excavated follow on perfectly on from one another, but it is impossible to truly know the answer. I wonder perhaps if he will be excavated again one day, or if he has really been laid to rest this time?

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading St Cuthbert’s Corpse, and took away knowledge of, what was to me, an entirely new piece of history, as well as a desire to know more. I would recommend the book to anyone interested in theological history, and to those unfamiliar with St Cuthbert’s story.

Originally posted on Jade the Obscure

[David Lowther · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Willem's St Cuthbert's Corpse is short, meticulously researched, very well written and referenced and with a very useful bibliography. It's no dusty religious tract but a fascinating story without an ending.

The tale of St Cuthbert's coffin's journey from Lindisfarne to its final resting place in Durham is well known. Not so, however, the legend of his life after death. Six times over the past thirteen hundred years has been opened and examined. More than two hundred years after his death in 687, his body when inspected astonishingly showed no signs of decay. In 1104 the coffin was again opened as the Normans began to stamp their brand of Christian authority on the country that they had recently conquered. While some signs of decomposition were found on the coffin, there were none on the corpse.

The author then follows the story through the second millennium pausing to take in the Dissolution of the Monasteries in Henry VIII's reign and the early 19th. century to the final opening of the coffin in 1899. This last part was particularly exciting as forensic science was used whether or not the coffin exhumed did contain St Cuthbert's remains.

St Cuthbert's corpse can be read in a single satisfying sitting and will leave the reader anxious to learn more as, tantalisingly, some questions remain unanswered. Terrific.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good summary of the journey through place and time which the body of St Cuthbert has taken. It is particularly interesting if you know Durham Cathedral, but is not restricted to place. It prompts consideration of the changing attitudes to sainthood and to death, without being a heavy read.

[Curtis Runstedler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating albeit brief introduction to the miracles and physiology of St Cuthbert after death, and its aftermath in the later centuries. While the author does a fine job describing Cuthberts shrine and corporeal incorruptibility, I would have liked to have heard more about the social history and effects at the time.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a special link with St Cuthbert. I don't know why, but his shrine in Durham Cathedel is the one place that gives me a sense of peace. I could sit in there all day & be quite content. Reading this book, made me quite cross. How can anyone treat a dead person like that, whether he is a Saint or not!! I hope now he can rest in peace forever.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

A most enjoyable look at the story of St Cuthbert. An era of history I find absolutely fascinating, this book takes a very different angle from your average history or biography and is all the more interesting for it.