Bede's Life of St Cuthbert

by Bede, Simon Webb (Editor)

'At this time, Cuthbert was keeping watch over flocks of sheep on some remote mountains. One night he was staying awake, praying through the night, with his companions sleeping beside him. Suddenly he saw a light streaming down from heaven, breaking through the darkness. In the light were choirs of angels coming down to earth, and after taking away a soul that was full of light, they returned to their heavenly country...' Written only a few years after the death of Cuthbert himself, Bede's Life is the definitive biography of the North's favourite saint. With introduction and notes.

Genres: History, Biography, Classics, Religion, Catholic, Christianity, Church History

116 pages, Paperback

First published July 17, 2011

About the author

born perhaps 673

Saxon theologian Bede, also Baeda or Beda, known as "the Venerable Bede," wrote Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation , a major work and an important ancient source, in 731 in Latin and introduced the method from the birth of Jesus of dating events.

People referred to Saint Bede, a monk at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth and at its companion of Saint Paul in modern Jarrow in the kingdom, for more than a millennium before canonization. Most fame of this well author and scholar gained him the title as "the father.”

In 1899, Leo XIII, pope, made Bede a doctor of the Church, a position of significance; only this native of Great Britain achieved this designation; from Italy, Saint Anselm of Canterbury originated.
Bede, a skilled linguist, moreover translated the Greek of the early Church Fathers, and his contributions made them significantly much more accessible to his fellow Christians. Monastery of Bede accessed a superb library, which included Eusebius and Orosius.

Reviews

[Alex McEwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Happy feast of St. Cuðberht to my Sassenachs and Athel-stans (which of course is the Stan club of the true king of England, Athelstan).

The Medieval Church got it right by making their books short enough to read with a single pot of tea. And this short little book was perfect! It was well paced, Gospel saturated, action packed, reverent, theologically astute, and topically relevant. The notes were at times helpful and added context to a work that I knew relatively little about.

The modern intro was incredibly weird. It was like they let r/Atheism combine all 10 of their collective brain cells to intro the text. The intro felt like it went out of its way to let you know that the editing team was not only not Christian, but actively militant against those who were. I was really off put by the intro of an otherwise wonderfully compiled and translated text.

Historically it is worth noting that this work is written by Bede the Venerable on the life of St. Cuthbert. These two people alone are some of the most important voices in English Christian history. It is also worth noting that Alfred the Great was directly inspired by this work as he was uniting the English under a single crown. That is to say some of the most important voices in English history are directly involved or inspired by this text. Its historical significance cannot be understated.

Shout out to the boys in blue, the House of Wessex, for successfully uniting the English under a single banner. However, Cuthbert points us to a future kingdom far greater than anything Alfred could ever imagine. One in which Christ will rule not with the sword but with the message of the Grace handed down from Christ on the Holy Rood.

[As an aside, my Kate Middleton theory is that she has been in a monastery faithfully studying the Life of Cuthbert and the way of Bede; it’s no coincidence she intends to return on Easter]

[Grim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent enough translation with several caveats.

The translator and his introduction made some very questionable choices. Perhaps don't imply that Saint Cuthbert was merely a deluded man experiencing sleep-deprivation induced hallucinations in the introduction to the Venerable Bede's work!

Furthermore, the translator seems to take personal offence at Saint Cuthbert's words on schismatics and heretics and fully admits in the introduction that he has changed words around in the translation accordingly.

Make sure you go into this translation armed with this knowledge before reading.

[Jack Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book would be a 5 if it wasn't for Simon Webb's introduction containing atheistic claims. 'Cuthberts sleeplessness, which Bede himself tried to imitate in his own life, was a contributory factor to his early death and was the reason why he saw visions and heard voices.'
I loved this book, but the translator clearly has a naturalistic view of St Cuthberts' life. Which feels inappropriate for a book written by a Saint about a Saint. Otherwise, the modern translation was excellent and easy to understand.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cuthbert is lots of fun. In many ways this is a pretty typical hagiography, filled with stories of medical healing, impressive asceticism, and personal piety and humility. But it gets elevated by the fact that it is written by The Venerable Bede, who is a really lovely writer and has a good sense for a good, concrete detail. From a more historical standpoint, it's a nice look at how Irish monasticism was operating in the 7th century.

Cuthbert is particularly fond of performing / receiving miracles through he assistance of animals and then splitting the benefits with them. My favorites: the time he had run out of food on a journey and his horse discovers a hidden sack of food in the ceiling, and the time he spent the whole night praying in the sea and then in the morning a pair of otters show up and dry him off. Cuthbert is kind of adorable.

[Tyler Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to an audio version of Bede's "Life of St. Cuthbert" in preparation for the pilgrimage we are going on later this year with our church to Scotland & England. I was moved by Cuthbert's life of prayer and inspired by how his faith in God led to God working incredible miracles through him. I am looking forward to following his footsteps to the places where he ministered in his own lifetime and after!

[Illiterate · Rating 1 out of 5]

Medieval hagiography.

[Mara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Cuthbert wearing his shoes for a whole year without taking them of and what this says about the state of his toenails will haunt me till I die.

[Dagpauwoogvlinder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Couldn't they have invented the novel a little earlier?

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Remarkable.

[Graham Cammock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome!

I have read three books about County Durham and Saint Cuthbert was mentioned in two of them, so it seemed a natural step to read about the great man of God himself. I am from County Durham and it gives me great pride to know that we have such a great holy man interred in our local cathedral and that our City of Durham has such sacred and holy foundations. This work of St Bede is almost contemporary with Saint Cuthbert and is therefore a great authority. You learn all you need to know about Saint Cuthbert in this small book. I highly recommend this book especially if you are from northern England.

[Karin Jenkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

The modern translation is easy to read. The book is less a biography and more Bede’s declaration of why Cuthbert is a great saint, showing examples of miracles and self discipline which were similar to or greater than those of other well known saints. It filled in some gaps of stories of St Cuthbert which I was aware of but which weren’t in the Ecclesiastical History.

[Janice Baldwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

St. Cuthbert

Before reading this book, I was already familiar with the story of Cuthbert, but found this one very easy to read and very interesting. This modern English version of the story really brought the characters in it to life.

[jana · Rating 4 out of 5]

lowkey not bad !!! i actually enjoyed reading this even if it was for class and not for fun, it was interesting to read something that was written SO long ago and get an insight into a life of a saint!

[Elliot Lake · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually think this is a more entertaining book than The Life Of St Anthony, If the book is less useful.

It's certainly something worth reading for everybody, especially since it's quite short.

[Brittany Petruzzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cuthbert is the greatest. He hardly gets any love since Beckett out-drama-ed him in the 12th century, but he deserves all the love he can get.

[Derek Bridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

He wasn't the most interesting, St Cuthbert, was he? And Bede doesn't sex it up much.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

One my favorite Anglo-Saxon saints

[Steven Hepburn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A medieval saint's biography (hagiography) written by another medieval saint. A casual modern reader would be bemused by this unless they had a good grasp of the era in question. The mental and cultural framework within which Bede lived and moved and had his being was radically different from the ones 21st century people inhabit. He would, for instance, instantly have recognised that I've just used a Bible quote and the atmosphere of miracles and wonders he inhabited stemmed from an uncritical acceptance that the miraculous was not just possible but common to the truly saintly. So, unless you are a student of the Middle Ages you should approach this book as if you were a tourist in an exotic and distant country; soak up the atmosphere, enjoy it for what it is and if you want to really understand it engage in serious study after, not during, the time you've read it.

[Vel Veeter]

I have never read Bede, and I think absent becoming a religious scholar in the history of Christianity in England, I am probably good, at least as far as his hagiographies is concerned. He also wrote the early, definitive, and possibly true account about the mixing of races and cultures in middle-ages Britain, so perhaps that’s something I read later on.

So what happens in a Bede hagiography? Well, a lot of small moments in the life of a saint are described. None of them is a surprise, because the lengthy titles of each section details its content. For his part, Cuthbert was a pretty busy guy. Every other page he’s saving something or almost dying or making a miracle happen. So good for him. There is no criticism here, because that’s just not the point of these.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't rate this as I would rate other books as I read it as a study object rather than for personal enjoyment, I did enjoy reading it but in a very different way than other books. I found it very interesting to read about the religious ideas of the time and actually found this quite entertaining at times. I like the way the venerable Bede writes, it's all very clear and concise. I'm going to reread this in the future after I've read the Bible, which I really need to get round to, so I can make connections I now couldn't. A very interesting read but I would only recommend if you're interested in English Literature or religion as a subject of study.

[Brittany Petruzzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun fact: when I decided to choose an English Premier League team, I chose the one closest to Lindesfarne, entirely because of St. Cuthbert. Turns out that’s a terrible way to choose a football fandom, as Sunderland were quickly relegated. No matter. Cuthbert is still the best English saint and Bede’s relating of his life is well worth the read. Come for his talking to birds on a lonely island in the middle of the ocean and stay for all the miracles attributed to his remains.

[Matthew J. Winbow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bede is a great writer and this is a great book. It is a window into the life of Anglo-Saxon England. Some great stories.

[Daniel Kent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting book. So old!!

I have read Bead before. He gives a good account of what was happening in the early days of the church in the UK

[Daniel Callister · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty interesting.

[Jason Harper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful collection of the miracles performed by St. Cuthbert, though "the life" portion was lacking.