Ethelwold

ON SAINT ETHELWOLD, BISHOP OF LINDISFARNE IN ENGLAND.

Year of Christ 740.

Ethelwold, Bishop of Lindisfarne in England (Saint)

Author: I. B.

[1] Lindisfarne is an island lying off the coast of Northumbria, small indeed -- for, as Simeon of Durham writes, it extends only eight miles in circumference -- yet of great renown in sacred annals, because it was the see of many holy Bishops and monks. Saint Ethelwold, Its chief glory comes from Saint Cuthbert, A minister of Saint Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindisfarne, whose Life we shall give on March 20. The fourth from him was Saint Ethelwold, who is called Aethelwald by Florence of Worcester and Matthew of Westminster, and by others Edilwald. He was first a minister of Saint Cuthbert the Bishop, then Provost of the monastery of Melrose in Scotland, whose location we described on January 23 in the Life of Saint Boisil; afterwards he was Abbot of the same.

[2] At the time when the anonymous Lindisfarne monk wrote the Life of Saint Cuthbert, which was dedicated to Bishop Eadfrith, Ethelwold was Provost. For book 4, chapter 4 reads thus: "The Presbyter Aedelwald, Then Provost of Melrose, who is now Provost of the monastery called Melrose, told me that he had witnessed another cure of illness in his presence. For, he said, 'One day we came with the holy Bishop to a village called Bedesfeld. There a certain girl, a relative and kinswoman of mine, was ill. For she had been suffering pain in her head and in the whole of one side for nearly a whole year, which no physician had been able to heal with bodily treatment. When our Bishop heard of the illness that oppressed the girl, at our request he had compassion on her, anointing her with chrism consecrated by his blessing; and from that hour she quickly improved, the pain leaving her day by day, and she was restored to her former health.'"

[3] But when the Venerable Bede wrote the Life of the same Saint Cuthbert and dedicated it likewise to Eadfrith, Ethelwold was already Abbot, Afterwards Abbot of the same, for he writes thus: "Nor was this miracle of healing, worked by the venerable Bishop Cuthbert, unlike the former; many who were present attested it, among whom is the devout Presbyter Edilwald, at that time the minister of the man of God, but now Abbot of the monastery of Melrose. For while he was, as was his custom, traveling throughout the region teaching, he came to a certain village in which there were a few consecrated women, who, having fled from their monastery in fear of the barbarian army, had been given by the man of the Lord a place to dwell there shortly before. One of them, who was a kinswoman of the aforesaid priest Edilwald, was held fast by a most grievous pain," etc.

[4] He was then made Bishop of Lindisfarne. So Simeon of Durham in book 1 of his History of Durham, chapter 12: At last Bishop of Lindisfarne. "Upon the death of Bishop Eadfrith, the Abbot and Presbyter of the monastery of Melrose, Ethelwold, a man of devout and modest life, succeeded to the episcopate, himself maintaining for sixteen years the See of his predecessors with acts worthy of honor. Before he governed the aforesaid monastery by right of Abbot, he had been a worthy minister of the blessed Father Cuthbert, as is read in his Life."

[5] He had caused a Cross of stone to be polished with skillful workmanship and his name to be inscribed upon it as a memorial of himself. He erects a notable Cross, Its summit, long afterwards, the pagans broke off when they were devastating the church of Lindisfarne itself; but afterwards, by the craftsman's ingenuity, the broken piece was joined to the rest by pouring in lead. Afterwards translated to Durham: And thenceforward that Cross was customarily carried about together with the body of Saint Cuthbert, and was held in honor by the people of Northumbria on account of both Saints; and even to this day, standing high in the cemetery of this -- that is, the church of Durham -- it displays to beholders the monument of both Bishops.

[6] The same Simeon records another monument of Saint Ethelwold in book 2 of the History of Durham, chapter 12: namely, a Gospel Book adorned with gold and gems. A Gospel Book Of which he reports the following truly remarkable event. In the year 875, from fear of the Danes who were cruelly ravaging Northumbria, Bishop Eardulf, Abbot Eadred, and some others left Lindisfarne, taking with them the body of Saint Cuthbert and the relics of Saint Ethelwold himself and of other Saints, enclosed in the same casket, as we shall say below. After wandering through nearly the whole province, not without the greatest afflictions and labors, they at last resolved to seek Ireland, hoping to find a peaceful dwelling there. But they were driven back from that journey by a terrible storm. "During which storm," says the same Simeon in book 2, chapter 11, (Which fell into the sea, "while the ship was being tossed on its sides, the text of the Gospels, adorned throughout with gold and gems, fell from it and was carried into the depths of the sea." But in chapter 12, after other events, he writes thus: "To a certain one of them, namely Hunred, Saint Cuthbert appearing in a vision, commanded them to seek the book which had fallen from the ship into the midst of the waves, when the tide of the sea had receded; for perhaps, contrary to what they themselves could hope, they would by God's mercy find it. For the greatest sorrow had also troubled their minds over the loss of that book ... Going therefore to the sea, they found it had receded much farther than was customary; and walking three miles or more, they found the holy Gospel book itself, (Afterwards found unharmed.) which displayed externally the beauty of its gems and gold, and internally the original beauty of its letters and pages, just as if it had never been touched by water. This discovery filled their anxious hearts with no small joy ..."

[7] "Moreover, the aforesaid book is preserved to this day in this church, which has been worthy to possess the body of the holy Father himself, in which, as we have said, no sign whatsoever of damage from water is shown. Written by Saint Eadfrith, This is believed to have been accomplished both by the merits of Saint Cuthbert himself and by those who had been the creators of the book: namely, the venerable Bishop Eadfrith, who had written it with his own hand in honor of the Blessed Cuthbert; He had it adorned with gold and gems by Saint Bilfrid: and also of his venerable successor Ethelwold, who had ordered it to be adorned with gold and gems; and also of Saint Bilfrid the anchorite, who carried out the wishes of the one who commanded with a skilled hand, and composed an excellent work; for he was outstanding in the art of goldsmithing. These men, equally ardent in their love of the beloved Confessor and Bishop of God, left by this work their devotion toward him to be known to all posterity."

[8] William of Malmesbury writes that Saint Ethelwold died in the year of Christ 738; Florence of Worcester, 739; Simeon of Durham, 740. He dies in the year 740. Florence of Worcester acknowledges that in the same year both Aethelwald of Lindisfarne and Acca of Hexham died, and that Kynculf succeeded Aethelwald and Frithbert succeeded Acca. Malmesbury says that in the year of Aethelwold's death, when Renulf (so printed for Kenulf, or as he later writes, Kinewulf) succeeded him, Frethbert was ordained Bishop of Hexham -- namely, after the death of Saint Acca. But Simeon, narrating another event, gives a chronological marker that points to the year 740; for he says that in the very year Saint Acca the Bishop departed to the heavens, a certain person was killed on the tenth day before the Kalends of January, on Friday. However, Friday is printed, which would be the marker for the following year, when the Dominical letter was A, and the twenty-third of December -- that is, the tenth before the Kalends of January -- fell on a Saturday. But the error soon becomes apparent, since the following year, 741, he writes thus: "The monastery in the city of York was burned on the ninth day before the Kalends of May, on Sunday" -- that is, April 23, which in that year was a Sunday, marked with the letter A. This is confirmed from Roger of Hoveden, who in the first part of his Annals writes: "In the year 740, Ethelwald, Bishop of the Church of Lindisfarne, departed to the Lord, and Kinewulf was substituted in the episcopate. And in the same year Acca, Bishop of revered memory, was raised up to the region of the living ... And in the same year ... Arwine, son of Eadwulf, was killed on the ninth day before the Kalends of January, on Friday" -- or rather Saturday, as is noted in the margin.

[9] Saint Ethelwold was buried in the church of Lindisfarne. But after one hundred and thirty-five years, his remains were carried away thence, together with those of Saint Cuthbert and other Saints, lest they be exposed to the fury of the pagan Danes, He is buried at Lindisfarne: as we have previously indicated. So Simeon in book 2, chapter 6, of the History of Durham, speaking of Bishop Eardulf and his companions: "Taking up, therefore, that sacred and incorrupt body of the Father, and together with it, placed in the cavity of the same casket (as they had found in the ancient books), the relics of Saints -- namely the head of the God-beloved King and Martyr Oswald, previously buried in the cemetery of the same church; also a portion of the bones of Saint Aidan (for, as was said above, His relics and those of other Saints carried away in 875, Colman, returning to Scotland, had taken the other portion with him); and also the venerable bones of the successors of the same Father Cuthbert, venerable priests, namely Eadbert, Eadfrith, and Ethelwold, of whom we made mention above -- taking up these things, therefore, that noble church, the first among the nation of the Bernicians, in which there had been the dwelling of very many Saints,

that church, I say, they left behind, fleeing the barbarians, in the year of the Incarnation of the Lord 875 ... When therefore the Bishop, fleeing with the venerable relics, had abandoned the aforesaid island and church, soon there followed a savage devastation both of that place and of the whole province of the Northumbrians; the Danish army, under the leadership of King Halfdan, raging cruelly everywhere, For fear of the enemy: and also committing monasteries and churches everywhere to the flames, tormenting and killing the servants and handmaids of God with insults, and (to say it briefly) continuing slaughter and conflagration from the eastern sea to the western. Whence the Bishop and those who accompanied the body of the holy Father could nowhere find a place of rest, but going from place to place and returning, they ran hither and thither before the face of the cruel barbarians."

[10] In 883, carried to Chester, "So for seven years they ran from place to place with that sacred treasure," says Richard of Hexham, book 2, chapter 1. "Then, coming to a village named Crec, they remained there for four months. At last, returning, they arrived at the village of Kunkaceaster, now called Chester, and there rested with the relics." Chester lies not far from the left bank of the Wear, approximately midway between the city of Durham and the mouth of the same river, as may be seen in Camden, who conjectures it was called Condercum in Roman times (where the Notitia Provinciarum records that the Prefect of the First Wing of the Asturians was stationed), and says it is now called Chester-upon-the-Street, that is, the fortress or small town on the public road. In 995, to Durham: From the year 883 the relics were kept there until 995. Then, by divine warning, they were translated to the monastery of Ripon, and after three or four months to the place where the city of Durham now stands. So narrates Richard, book 2, chapter 2, and Simeon in the History of Durham, book 3, chapter 1.

[11] Finally, in the year 1104, many Abbots and monks, wishing to ascertain whether the body of Saint Cuthbert was still whole and incorrupt, opened the casket and found it (as it is said in the history of his Invention) [In 1104, found together with the incorrupt body of Saint Cuthbert in the same casket,] "lying on its right side, in full integrity and with flexible limbs, representing one sleeping rather than dead ... and they beheld there so many relics of Saints that the narrowness of the coffin could not have contained them, had not the holy body of the Father, reclining on its side as described, afforded them more ample space for resting alongside on either side. These relics are certainly established to be the head of the glorious King and Martyr Oswald; also the bones of the venerable Confessors of Christ and Priests, And those of other Saints, namely Aidan, and the successors of the reverend Father Cuthbert -- Eadbert, Eadfrith, and Ethelwold ... Very many relics of other Saints were also found there."

[12] "They wished, therefore, to turn the holy body of the Father on its back, which had been turned on its side; but since they could not conveniently do this on account of the multitude of relics placed around it, it was decided that, having moved the holy body a little from there, they would gather the relics of the Saints together; Placed outside that casket, decorously elsewhere. and having stored them separately, the incorrupt body would thenceforth keep its place of rest by itself ... Meanwhile, having removed the relics of the Saints, they replaced the body of the Father in its casket ... Moreover, of all the relics that had been found there, only the head of the blessed King Oswald was placed beside the body of the glorious Bishop, just as it had been before. For the other relics, as has already been said, were taken from there, solemnly arranged in a different manner, and are preserved in a distinguished place of the church." But we shall give the complete history of this Invention and Translation of Saint Cuthbert on March 20, written, unless we are mistaken, by the same Simeon of Durham, who for that reason, in his History of the Kings of England at the year 1104, briefly mentions that Translation, while he narrates at length elsewhere what pertains to Saint Cuthbert. In the same Simeon, after the History of the Church of Durham, In the church of Durham: before his letter on the Archbishops of York, there is a certain Anglo-Saxon inscription, perhaps carved on some tablet and hung in that church, with this title: "A poem composed on the site of Durham and on the relics of the Saints contained therein." Among the various names of Saints, the following is read: "and Thelwold Biscop" -- that is, "and Ethelwold, Bishop."

[13] From what has been narrated thus far, it is clear that Saint Ethelwold was reckoned among the Saints from ancient times, Why is he venerated on this day? and that his relics were honorably held. What day was especially dedicated to his honor is not recorded. John Wilson in his English Martyrology, and Ferrarius in the general Catalogue of Saints, marked his feast on February 12 -- whom we follow until something else is established.

[14] Thomas Dempster, in his Ecclesiastical History of the Scottish Nation, number 469, calls him Edilwald and says he wrote On the Acts of Saint Cuthbert, in one book. Did he write? On the Succession of Abbots at Melrose, in one book. Where he saw those writings, or by whom they are cited, he does not indicate. With equal reliability he calls those ignorant and malicious who write that the monastery of Melrose, which is now in Scotland, was at that time under English dominion. Trithemius also mentions Saint Edilwald in book 4 of On the Illustrious Men of the Order of Saint Benedict, chapter 169, Otherwise learned and zealous. and says he was a man learned in the divine Scriptures and an outstanding preacher, who is said to have brought no small fruit in the Church of God. Why does he not indicate where this is said? Yet we by no means doubt that it is true; for he was the disciple and successor of Bishops who were most learned and most devoted to the divine honor, and was not unequal to their merits, as we have said.