St Cuthbert's coffin facts for kids
The St Cuthbert's coffin is a very old wooden coffin found in Durham Cathedral. It's made of oak and was put back together in the 1900s from many small pieces. This coffin held the body of Saint Cuthbert from the year 698 until 1827. Saint Cuthbert was a famous saint who died in 687.
When Cuthbert's body was moved in 1827, thousands of pieces from up to four older coffins were found. These pieces were finally taken out in 1899. Experts believe this specific coffin was Cuthbert's first wooden one. It likely dates back to 698, when his body was moved from a stone tomb in Lindisfarne to the main altar.
This coffin is one of the few surviving examples of Anglo-Saxon wood carving. It has pictures carved into it with names of apostles and saints. These names are written in Latin letters and Anglo-Saxon runes, though many are hard to read now.
Journey of St Cuthbert's Coffin
Saint Cuthbert died on March 20, 687, on Inner Farne Island. This island is near Bamburgh, Northumberland. His body was then taken to the main monastery at Lindisfarne for burial.
Eleven years later, in 698, the coffin was opened. According to stories written by Bede around 720, Cuthbert's body was found to be "incorrupt" or undecayed. This was seen as a sign of sainthood and helped make him very famous. He was reburied in a new coffin, which was placed above the original one. This new coffin was called a levis theca (meaning "light chest" in Latin). It was placed above ground at the altar, showing that Cuthbert was already considered a saint.
In 875, the monks left the abbey with the coffin. They did this because the Great Heathen Army was coming into the area. For seven years, they carried the coffin to different places in Scotland and Northumbria. They finally settled in St Cuthbert's church in Chester-le-Street until 995.
Another Danish invasion in 995 caused the coffin to be moved again, this time to Ripon. While at Chester-le-Street, King Athelstan visited the coffin. He placed special textiles inside it.
The coffin was on the move again when its cart got stuck at Durham. This was seen as a sign that the saint wanted to stay there. A new stone church, called the 'White Church', was built. This church was the start of the grand cathedral we see today.
Cuthbert's body was moved several times within the cathedral. This happened in 1041, and in 1069 to escape the Harrying of the North by William the Conqueror. It was also moved in 1104 when the Norman cathedral was built. Finally, in 1541, the medieval shrine, which was a major pilgrimage site, was destroyed during the Reformation.
The coffin was opened at various times. A priest named Alfred Westou in the mid-1000s often combed the saint's hair. He is also believed to have put Bede's bones into the coffin.
In 1827, the coffin was removed again from a walled space at the shrine. By then, there were up to four layers of broken coffins. These were thought to be from 1541, 1041, 698, and 687. They held a complete skeleton and other human remains. Many items had been taken out earlier. The textiles were removed in 1827.
The human remains were reburied in a new coffin under a simple stone slab. The pieces of the old coffins were removed in 1899. There were about 6,000 pieces, and 169 of them had carvings or engravings. In 1939, art historian Ernst Kitzinger from the British Museum put together the carved oak pieces. The reconstructed coffin and most of its contents are now on display in the Durham Cathedral Museum. The St Cuthbert Gospel has often been shown in London since the 1970s.
The fragments of St Cuthbert's coffin have been on display at Durham Cathedral since 2017.
Carvings and Treasures Inside
From the thousands of fragments found in 1899, Ernst Kitzinger put together 169 pieces in 1939. These pieces form the carved parts of the 7th-century coffin. They are now shown in the museum at Durham Cathedral.
The lid shows carvings of Christ surrounded by the four Evangelists' symbols. On one end, there is the earliest known image of the Virgin and Child outside Rome from Western medieval art. On the other end are the archangels Michael and Gabriel. The sides of the coffin show the Twelve Apostles and five archangels.
The coffin also held several important items:
- The Stonyhurst or Saint Cuthbert Gospel, which is now at the British Library.
- The best surviving examples of Anglo-Saxon embroidery, called opus Anglicanum. These include a stole and a maniple, likely added in the 930s and given by King Athelstan.
- Other items believed to belong to Cuthbert, such as an ivory comb, a portable altar, and a pectoral cross. This cross has gold and garnet cloisonné, which is a rare and important early example of Christian Anglo-Saxon jewelry.
Ancient Inscriptions
The coffin has inscriptions in both Anglo-Saxon runes and Latin letters. The runic inscription reads:
- ihs xps mat(t)[h](eus)
The ma and possibly eu are bind runes, where two runes are joined. The t is upside down. Then it says:
- marcus
The ma is again a bind rune, then:
- LVCAS
In Latin letters, followed by runic:
- iohann(i)s
Followed by Latin:
- (RAPH)AEL (M)A(RIA)
So, the names of Matthew, Mark, and John are in runes, while Luke's name is in Latin letters. The Christogram (a symbol for Christ) is also in runic writing: ihs xps ᛁᚻᛋ ᛉᛈᛋ. The letter 'h' has two bars, which was a style used on the European continent. This is the first time this style is seen in England. The symbol for Christ uses a runic 'p' for the Greek letter rho and the 'eolc' rune (an old 'z' rune) for the Greek letter chi.
It's not clear why there's a mix of different writing styles. However, such mixtures were common in inscriptions from northern England during that time. Examples include the Franks Casket and stones found in Lindisfarne and Monkwearmouth.
