Durham Cathedral

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DURHAM CATHEDRAL The Venerable C. J. Stranks, m.a., m.líu. DURHAM Cathedral is unique. It is the finest example of Early Norman architecture in England and its massive grandeur is enhanced by the magnifieence of the site. As the Cathedral of the Prince Bishop of Durham who, until 1836, exercised almost regal jurisdiction, it is rich in historical associations. It was alsó the church of a great Benedictine monastery and, above all, the shrine of St. Cuthbert, the most famous saint in the north country. As a shepherd boy on the hills of Lammermoor, Cuthbert had seen in a vision the soul of St. Aidán being carried to heaven by the hands of angels, and, thus inspired, had become a monk. Though he himself would have preferred the life of a hermit, his reputation for sanctity and learning became so great that the people insisted he should be made a bishop, and he was consecrated bishop of Lindisfarne in 685. Two years later he died on Farne Island and was buried in the church at Lindisfarne. Ten years after his death his body was found to be without signs of decay and was placed in a shrine above ground level. There it rested for 200 years until Danish raids made it wise for the monks to seek safety elsewhere. St. Cuthbert had ordered that if ever they left Lindisfarne, the monks should take his bones with them; so his shrine was opened and to their astonishment and awe his body still appeared as free from decay as on the day when it was buried. They enclosed it in a wooden coffin, and, taking it with them, began the wanderings which lasted until 995 a.d., when they finally discovered a place of safety on a rocky facing page: The Cosin Font. above: The Sanctuary Knocker. Clinging to this knocker criminals might claim sanctuary in the cathedral until their offences had been pardoned by the king. piece of land almost entirely surrounded by the River Wear. Here they sheltered the Saint's body for a time in a little church made of the boughs of trees while they began to build something better. On 4th September 998, this new building, called 'the White Church', was dedicated, and twenty years later when their leader, Bishop Aldhun, died, it was finished except for the western towers. The Saxon monastic community to which this church belonged appear to have kept the Benedictine rule, but with no great strictness. From the fact that the bones of women and children have been found in their graveyard, it is argued that somé at least of them were married. The first Norman bishop, Walcher of Lorraine, who was appointed in 1071, determined to replace them with men who kept a stricter rule, but he was murdered at Gateshead by an angry mob before he could make much progress with his plans for a new community, though he had begun the foundations of somé part of the monastic buildings. His successor, William de St. Carileph (1081-96) is the real founder of the present cathedral. It already possessed many famous relics in addition to the body of St. Cuthbert, particularly the bones of the Venerable Bede. That most attractive Saint died and was buried at Jarrow in 735, but about the year 1022 a monk called Aelfred stole the remains and brought them to Durham, where he was sacrist, and added them to the collection of relics of Northern Saints which he had already accumulated. The ancient monasteries of St. Peter, Monkwearmouth, and St. Paul, Jarrow, where the Venerable Bede had lived and worked, had already begun a renewed life with monks from the south who kept the Benedictine rule strictly. Bishop William brought these men to Durham to be the nucleus of a community there, and so Durham became the heir to the two houses which in the days of Benedict Biscop and Bede had been the cradle of English learning. The new foundation differed from most monasteries in being under the care of a bishop rather than an abbot. The prior, who lived within the walls, had a good deal of authority, but the bishop was the head. There are traces of this arrangement still, for the bishop today occupies the chief stall in the cathedral, the first on the righthand side at the entrance to the choir, as well as having an Episcopal Throne. In 1088 William de St. Carileph was accused of having plotted against his master, William Rufus, and was exiled to Normandy. There he remained until 1091. While he was in that country he must have had many opportunities of seeing the splendid new churches which were springing up Continued on page 6 Vissza