Monasticism, Evangelization, and Eloquence: Rhetoric inBede’s Life of Cuthbert

John P. Bequette, Ph.D.Associate Professor of Theology

jbequette@sf.edu

Department of Philosophy and TheologyUniversity of Saint Francis

2701 Spring St.

Fort Wayne, IN 46808

Monasticism, Evangelization, and Eloquence: Rhetoric inBede’s Life of Cuthbert

The Venerable Bede (673-735) represents the height of

Anglo-Saxon Christian thought. While known primarily for

his Ecclesiastical History of the English People, Bede’s main concern

was the preservation of the Christian heritage within the

monastic culture of England. Compared to continental

Europe, England in the seventh century had a new and

fledgling Christian culture. Christianity was first

implanted in Britain during the Roman occupation, which

lasted until the fourth century. This period witnessed the

establishment of a Christian Britain. The pagan Anglo-Saxon

invasions of the sixth century, however, virtually destroyed

the Church in most of the country. In the aftermath, the

Church undertook a long and well-planned campaign of

converting the Anglo-Saxons. Thanks to efforts of Augustine

1

of Canterbury, Wilfrid of York, and several Irish monastic

communities, the various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms one-by-one

embraced the faith. Bede’s Ecclesiastical History tells the story

of this re-establishment of Christianity on the island. His

other works provide a more complete presentation of the

Christian intellectual and spiritual heritage he sought to

preserve. He wrote numerous biblical commentaries which

recover and transmit the best of the patristic theological

tradition. He also wrote several hagiographical works. Among

these is his Life of Cuthbert.

Bede wrote his Life of Cuthbert sometime between 710 and

720.1 It is a reworking of an earlier, anonymously-authored

Life of Cuthbert written around 700 at the abbey of Lindisfarne,

in response to a request by Bishop Eadfrith to compose a new

life of the saint (Stancliffe 24). Why Eadfrith felt the

need for a new life of Cuthbert is not immediately apparent.

1 Clare Stancliffe, “Cuthbert and the Polarity between Pastor and Solitary,” St. Cuthbert, His Cult and his

Community to A.D. 1200, Gerald Bonner, David Rollason, and Clare Stancliffe,eds. (Woodbridge, UK:

Boydell Press, 2002) 24.

2

The earlier Life is elegantly written, masterfully weaving

significant biblical allusions into the episodes of

Cuthbert’s life, and is comprehensive in scope, covering the

entirety of his life and ending with a detailed account of

posthumous miracles. Eadfrith probably had heard of other

miracles that were not included in the earlier Life, wanted

these added to the narrative, and decided to employ Bede’s

scholarly abilities in this revision. In addition, Eadfrith

would have wanted to promote the cult of the most eminent

saint of his diocese to the broader Anglo-Saxon world.

Bede’s reputation as a scholar would definitively have

helped in this respect.

In his Life Bede relates the life and works of a saint

who epitomizes early English monastic life in all its

apostolic fervor, central as it was to evangelizing the

Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. Cuthbert was born around 635, some ten

years after King Edwin of Northumbria had accepted

Christianity.2 In the decades following Edwin’s conversion2 Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People, Bertram Colgrave, trans.

(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969) II.12.

3

the people of Northumbria were gradually converted to the

faith. Their acceptance of Christianity, while generally

sincere, lacked a well-developed parochial and diocesan

structure necessary to solidify their commitment. Thus,

there was a need for ongoing evangelization, a need to root

out residual paganism among the people of Northumbria.

Cuthbert played an important role in this evangelization, a

fact Bede emphasizes in his Life. In addition, his monastic-

eremitic charism played a crucial role in Cuthbert’s

successive development from cenobite, to anchorite, and

finally, to bishop. While this motif of the monk-bishop is

a commonplace in hagiography, it is definitive for Cuthbert.

In her thoroughgoing study of the Cuthbertian hagiographical

tradition, Clare Stancliffe identifies “two patterns” in

Cuthbert’s life: “a progression toward solitary life which

begins in his teens with his night vigils and finds its

ultimate fulfillment on Farne,” and “a pastoral involvement

which runs throughout, whether as guestmaster, prior,

soulfriend, or bishop” (Stancliffe 36). This amalgam of

pastor and solitary is the “leitmotif of Cuthbert’s life”

4

(36). The more definitive dimension of this amalgam,

however, is the monastic discipline of Cuthbert. We will

see that this discipline is crucial to his work as an

evangelist. This essay will examine Bede’s Life of Cuthbert in

terms of Cuthbert’s role as an evangelist in Northumbria.

Specifically, it will focus on Bede’s use of rhetoric. By

examining his use of implicit and explicit rhetorical

figures and topica, we will see that Bede carefully uses

these to present Cuthbert’s monastic discipline as

definitive in the ongoing evangelization of Northumbria.

Bede and the Rhetorical Tradition

One of Bede’s distinct contributions in the narrative

of Cuthbert’s life is his use of rhetoric. Bede was

thoroughly conversant with the Ciceronian rhetorical

tradition transmitted to the Church via the works of the

Church Fathers, primarily Book IV of Autgustine’s De Doctrina

Christiana.3 There was at times, however, a dismissive tendency

among the Fathers towards pagan authors, rooted in the3 Augustine, De Doctrina Christiana, trans. R. P. H. Greene (Oxford: Oxford University Press,

1999) IV.59.

5

conviction that whatever wisdom their writings contained was

traceable to its true source in Sacred Scripture. Bede

expresses this conviction in his own contribution to

rhetorical theory, De Schematis et Tropis Sacrae Scripturae,

emphasizing the superiority of Scripture “not merely on

account of its authority because it is divine, or in

usefulness because it leads to eternal life, but also for

its age and artistic composition.” 4 For this reason,

“teachers of secular eloquence in any age have not been able

to furnish us with any of these figures and tropes which did

not appear first in Holy Writ” (Bede De Schematis 96). True

wisdom and eloquence for Bede were to be found within Divine

Revelation. By extension, we would expect the broader

Christian theological and spiritual tradition, including the

hagiographical tradition, to reflect this idea.

Although it is unlikely that Bede had direct access to

the Roman rhetorical tradition, it was still this tradition

which indirectly formed Bede’s rhetorical consciousness. It4 Introduction, Concerning Figures and Tropes, in Readings in Medieval Rhetoric, Joseph Miller, ed. (Bloomington,

IN: Indiana University Press, 1974) 96.

6

makes sense, therefore, to refer to this tradition in a

rhetorical analysis of Bede’s writing. The most eminent and

prolific representative of this tradition is Cicero (106—43

B.C.) His writings, along with the anonymously authored

Rhetorica ad Herennium, constitute the heart of the rhetorical

tradition inherited by the medieval West. Two works of

Cicero are of particular importance in this connection: De

Inventione and Topica. In De Inventione Cicero provides rules for

inventio, the discovery of persuasive arguments when composing

a discourse. 5 A speech delivered in a court of law would

consist of six parts: exordium, narratio, partitio, confirmatio,

refutatio, and conclusio.6 Given their forensic setting, many of

these parts are not specifically applicable to

hagiographical texts. Exordium and narratio, however, are

relevant to narrative discourse. The exordium is the opening

portion of a discourse in which the orator attempts to put

the audience in a receptive and favorable frame of mind

5 George A. Kennedy, A New History of Classical Rhetoric (Princeton: Princeton UniversityPress, 1994) 12.

6 Cicero, De Inventione, trans. H. M. Hubbell (Loeb Classical Library, 1993) I.xiv.19.

7

(Cicero De Inventione I.xv.20). The narratio contains a basic

recounting of the sequence of events (Cicero De Inventione

I.xix.27). Due to their adaptability to non-forensic, non-

adversarial discourse, the exordium and narratio lend

themselves to the distinctly moral and spiritual persuasion

characteristic of hagiography.

Cicero’s later treatise, the Topica, is an enumeration

of various rhetorical categories, called topica or loci, from

which the orator would draw specific arguments in order to

achieve the desired persuasive effect. Topica are practical

aids used by the orator for discovering—in the sense coming

upon or uncovering—effective means of persuasion in relation

to a given subject. The hidden topica can be unearthed from

within four ‘areas’ of the subject matter: from the

definition of the subject, from the enumeration of its

parts, from its meaning (etymology), or from things which

are in some way closely connected to the subject matter.7

The latter include “genus, species, similarity, difference,

7 Cicero, Topica, H. M. Hubbell, trans. (Loeb Classical Library, 1993) II.

8

contraries, adjuncts, antecedents, consequents,

contradictions, cause, effect, and comparison” (Cicero Topica

III). By exploring a subject in terms of these topica, an

orator would discover effective lines of argument with which

to persuade his audience.

In addition to argumentative topica, the orator had at

his disposal a vast array of rhetorical figures that endowed

the oration with “distinction” (dignitas). Dignitas, when

combined with argument, made the speech more appealing to

the audience and thus contributed to its overall persuasive

effect. We find a thorough enumeration of rhetorical figures

in Rhetorica ad Herennium.8 The author, for centuries

erroneously thought to be Cicero, divides rhetorical figures

into two categories: figures of diction and figures of

thought. A figure of diction gives ornamentation and dignitas

to the speech through “the fine polish of the language

itself” (Ad Herennium IV.xiii.19). An example of this is

epanaphora, in which the same word begins successive

8 Rhetorica ad Herennium by Harry Caplan, trans. (Loeb Classical Library, 1964).

9

sentences, clauses or phrases. For instance: “To you must go

the credit for this, to you are thanks due, to you will this

act of yours bring glory” (Ad Herennium IV.xiii.19). A figure

of thought derives this same dignitas from the subject matter

itself, “from the idea, not from the words” (Ad Herennium

IV.xii.18). An example of this is ocular demonstration, in

which the orator describes an event or occurrence in such a

way that it seems to happen before the very eyes of the

audience (Ad Herennium IV.lv.68). We could say that while

topica appealed to the logical disposition of the audience,

rhetorical figures appealed to the same audience’s aesthetic

sensibilities. We shall see that Bede artfully and

eloquently employs rhetorical figures and topica in his

presentation of Cuthbert. Bede organizes these rhetorical

devices around three aspects of Cuthbert’s life: his

monastic discipline, consisting of asceticism, prayer,

keeping vigil; his eremitic life; and his ministry as

bishop. In addition, we will look at the prologue and

conclusion of the narrative, for these too yield

10

considerable insight as to Bede’s use of rhetoric and the

image of Cuthbert he constructs for his readers.

Glossary of Rhetorical Terms

The following is a list of rhetorical terms occurring

throughout the exposition of the Life of Cuthbert with which

the reader may not be familiar.

Antithesis – the use of contrary ideas in order to prove or

illustrate a point.

Comparison – a rhetorical topic whereby two similar things

are placed side-by-side in order to emphasize their

similarity.

Contrast – a rhetorical topic whereby two dissimilar things

are placed side-by-side in order to emphasize their

difference.

Disjunction – the ending of successive phrases with a verb.

Epanaphora – the beginning of successive sentences with a

verb.

Ethos – an attempt to persuade an audience by appealing to

the moral character of the speaker or subject.

11

Exemplum – the illustration of an idea or moral in the

actions of a person.

Exordium – the opening portion of a discourse in which the

orator attempts to put the audience in a receptive and

favorable frame of mind

Ocular demonstration – the portrayal of an event in such a

way that it appears to happen before the audience’s eyes.

Homoeoptoton – the use of two or more words of like endings

within the same sentence.

Isocolon – the use of phrases with the same number, or

nearly the same number, of syllables.

Parallelism – a broadly rhetorical technique that

underscores the relationship between ideas by setting them

in close, parallel proximity.

Zeugma – the joining of two or more phrases or sentences by

a shared verb.

The Prologue: Bede’s use of Rhetorical Exordium

In the prologue Bede indicates the situation that

occasioned the writing of his narrative, which in turn

reveals the rhetorical context of the text. The prologue

12

serves the function of an exordium. Bede uses this in order

to establish a congenial relationship with the Lindisfarne

monastic community and to establish his credibility with

that community. Bede addresses the prologue to Bishop

Eadfrith of Lindisfarne and the monks of the abbey. While he

addresses Eadfrith as his “holy and most blessed father”

(Domino sancto ac beatissimo Patri), Bede presents himself both to

the bishop and the monks as “your faithful fellow-servant”

(fidelis vester conservus).9 He emphasizes that the task of writing

the life of Cuthbert was undertaken with “brotherly assent”

(assensio fraterna) to the wishes of Eadfrith (VC Prologue;

Colgrave 143). Eadfrith’s choice of a native Northumbrian

with a natural affection for the saint to write a second vita

of Cuthbert would have appealed both to the bishop and to

the monks who were now being asked to supplement their own

account of their patron saint with one written by someone

from outside their community. Moreover, Lindisfarne had

been a center of Irish monastic and liturgical custom before9 Life of Cuthbert, in Two Lives of Saint Cuthbert: A Live by an Anonymous Monk at Lindisfarne

and Bede’s Prose Life, Bertram Colgrave, ed. (New York: Greenwood Press,

1969) Prologue; 143. Hereafter referred to as VC.13

the Synod of Whitby (664) made Roman custom definitive for

Northumbria. 10 Bede was undoubtedly partial to the Roman

position, which may have been a source of disquiet for those

monks in the Lindisfarne community whose sympathies still

lay with the Irish tradition. Thus Bede establishes an

affable relationship with his audience by presenting himself

as their brother, writing under obedience to their bishop.

In addition to establishing a fraternal relationship with

the monks, Bede underscores his scholarly acumen in order to

further establish his credibility. He writes:

I have not presumed to write down anything

concerning so great a man without the most

rigorous investigation of the facts [certissima

exquisitione rerum gestarum] nor, at the end, to hand

on what I had written to be copied for general

use, without the scrupulous examination of

credible witnesses [subtilissima examinatione testium

indubiorum]. (VC Preface; Colgrave 143)

10 Peter Hunter Blair, An Introduction to Anglo-Saxon England (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,

1977) 316–317.14

Bede is the bishop’s servant and brother to the monks, but

he must reiterate his credentials as a historian to solidify

their trust and that of posterity. He does this by

underscoring two defining aspects of his hagiographical

method: an exacting investigation of facts (certissima

exquisitione rerum gestarum) and a thoroughgoing examination of

reliable witnesses (subtilissima examinatione testium indubiorum).

The two parallel phrases have identical grammatical

structures, which solidifies within the minds of his

audience Bede’s integrity as a scholar.

Bede further strengthens his credibility when he

describes the style in which the vita has been written. He

has attempted to present the results of his “rigorous

investigation of the truth, expressed in simple language

quite free from all obscurities and subtleties” (VC Preface;

Colgrave 145). It is a commonplace among ancient and

medieval hagiographers to employ language of self-

deprecation at the beginning of their narratives, pleading

with their readers to consider the holiness of their

subjects in spite of their supposed lack of rhetorical skill

15

as writers. Bede likewise draws the readers’ attention away

from his literary style and onto the subject matter of his

vita. He believes he will be more trustworthy and

rhetorically effective if he simply explains his reason for

writing and his methodology. Furthermore, Bede tells us that

the vita was thoroughly investigated by the monks at

Lindisfarne, “read for two days before the elders and

teachers of your congregation” (VC Preface; Colgrave 145).

Only then was it declared “worthy of being read, and of

being delivered to those whose pious zeal moved them to copy

it” (VC Preface; Colgrave 145). Thus we see the extent of

Bede’s deference to the Lindisfarne community. There is a

real sense in which he acknowledges the community for whom

he is writing as the ultimate authority in regard to

Cuthbert.11 Finally, in light of the fact that he has

accomplished what he was commanded, he asks for their

prayers: “Moreover when I am dead, deign to pray for the11 The idea that the community of faith is primary author (in the sense of authority) of a saint’s life is very

ably set forth in Thomas Heffernan’s Sacred Biography: Saints and Their Biographers in the Middle Ages

(New York: Oxford University Press, 1988) 19-20.16

redemption of my soul, and to celebrate masses as though I

belonged to your family and household, and to inscribe my

name among your own” (VC Preface; Colgrave 147).

Cuthbert’s Monastic Discipline: Asceticism, Prayer, and

Keeping Vigil

It is evident from the outset that asceticism is the

essential characteristic of Cuthbert’s personality, the very

key to unlocking the mystery of his life, at least as Bede

understands it. He “consecrates” his account of the saint’s

life with a biblical allusion which elicits an unmistakable

connection to monastic discipline, particularly asceticism:

The prophet Jeremiah consecrates for us the

beginning of our account of the life and miracles

of the blessed father Cuthbert when, praising the

hermit’s state of perfection, he says: “It is good

for a man to have borne the yoke in his youth; he

shall sit in solitude and be silent because he

will raise himself above himself [quia levabit se super

se].” For being stirred up by the sweetness of

this blessing, Cuthbert the man of God submitted

17

his neck from early youth to the yoke of monastic

discipline; and at a favourable opportunity, he

also took to the hermit’s way of life, rejoicing

to sit in solitude for no short time, and, for the

sake of the sweetness of divine contemplation

[divinae contemplationis], to be silent and to hear no

human speech [humanis alloquiis]. (VC 1; Colgrave

155)

The original context of this Scripture passage (Lamentations

3) is one of sorrow. Jeremiah is weeping over what has

befallen Israel on account of its sin. In Bede’s hands, the

passage takes on an entirely different meaning. The “yoke in

his youth” refers to coenobitic monasticism; sitting “in

solitude” and being silent relates to the more perfect life

of eremitic monasticism. In this Bede follows the Rule of St.

Benedict, which prescribes the life of a hermit only after

one has mastered communal monastic life.12 In addition, he

employs a textual variant of the same biblical passage.

12 The Rule of St. Benedict, Anthony Meisel, trans. (New York: Doubleday, 1975)

I.18

Bede’s text reads quia levabit se super se, “he will raise

himself above himself.” Jerome’s Vulgate reads quia levavit

super se, “because he [the Lord] has imposed it upon him.”

The reading used by Bede is found in John Cassian’s

Conferences, where Cassian specifically uses it to

distinguish the life of the hermit, whose perfection is “to

have his mind freed from all earthly things, and to unite

it, as far as human frailty allows, with Christ.”13 Bede

employs the passage in order to express an important moral

quality of Cuthbert: ascetical silence in anticipation of

the contemplative life. He reinforces this by means of a

contrasting parallelism between humanis alloquiis and divinae

contemplationis, between human speech and divine contemplation.

The human element is the audible element, contrasted with

the inaudible element of contemplation. Here we have a

curious irony: Bede employs rhetoric to underscore the

paucity of human speech when compared to divine silence. In

13 Conferences, C. S. Gibson, trans. In Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers . Vol. 11.Philip Schaff and Henry

Wace, eds. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1894) XIX,8.

19

this passage Bede artfully combines Scripture with

unmistakable allusions to two very formative monastic texts

in order to underscore the ascetic disposition his subject.

We first encounter an explicit reference to Cuthbert’s

asceticism when Bede relates Cuthbert’s boyhood. Here Bede

presents Cuthbert as one who practices monastic discipline

even before entering monastic community.14 Bede presents

Cuthbert as a young man spending his time in the ordinary

pursuits of youth, giving himself “to nothing but the games

and wantonness of children” (VC 1; Colgrave 155). This

however, is soon checked by the reprimand of a three-year-

old boy. One day Cuthbert and his friends are playing a very

physically intense game, “twisting their limbs into various

unnatural contortions (contra congruum naturae statum)” (VC 1;

Colgrave 157). The three-year-old chastises him, urging

Cuthbert “steadfastly to control both mind and limbs” (VC 1;

14 The most eminent example of this in the earlier tradition is St.

Martin of Tours. See Sulpicius Severus, The Life of St. Martin of Tours, F. R.

Hoare, trans., in Soldiers of Christ: Saints and Saints Lives in Late Antiquity and the Early

Middle Ages, Thomas F. X. Noble and Thomas Head, eds. (London: Sheed &

Ward, 1995) II.20

Colgrave 157). Bede contrasts the “contortions” of game-

playing with the control of mind and body which asceticism

bestows. When Cuthbert ridicules the advice, the boy breaks

down in tears, then foretells Cuthbert’s calling to

ecclesiastical office:

When Cuthbert begins to console him he exclaims at

length: “Why, O Cuthbert, most holy bishop and

priest, do you do these things so contrary to your

nature and your rank [et naturae et gradui tuo contraria]?

It is not fitting for you to play among children

when the Lord has consecrated you to be a teacher

of virtue even to your elders” (VC 1; Colgrave

157-9).

The young child predicts that Cuthbert will be a bishop and

a teacher of virtue. Cuthbert is so moved that he abandons

games and from that day forward becomes “more mature in

mind” (VC 1; Colgrave 159). We see the germination of

Cuthbert’s monastic discipline in his self-denial,

specifically his rejection of the harmless pastimes of

youth. Games and other types of revelry are harmless,

21

natural goods. But asceticism involves the renunciation of

legitimate creaturely goods for the sake of spiritual

growth. For Cuthbert, such self-denial is a necessary step

in the acquisition of those virtues he will need in order to

fulfill God’s purpose for him.

We first encounter the prayer dimension of Cuthbert’s

monastic discipline in an event that occurs while Cuthbert

still a youth. Bede relates a story of a group of monks at

a monastery at the mouth of the river Tyne, who are on rafts

in the river bringing in wood for use in the monastery.

Suddenly, a wind arises from the west, carrying the monks

toward the mouth of the river and out to sea. Their fellow

monks from the monastery attempt to rescue them, “but they

were overcome by the force of the river and the violence of

the winds and could do nothing” (VC 3; Colgrave 163). And

so, “despairing of human help, they fled to the divine” (VC

3; Colgrave 163). However, their prayers are not

immediately answered, Bede tells us, “that it might be made

plain how much virtue there was in Cuthbert’s prayers” (VC

3; 163). Bede continues:

22

For on the other bank of the river stood no small

crowd of the common people [vulgaris turba], and

[Cuthbert] was standing among them. These were

watching the rafts on which the monks were sadly

gazing, being carried so far out to sea that they

looked like five tiny birds riding on the waves,

for there were five rafts. Thereupon they began

to jeer at the monks’ manner of life, as if they

were deservedly suffering, seeing that they

despised the common laws of mortals and put forth

new and unknown rules of life. (VC 3; Colgrage

163)

Here Bede presents what appears to be residual paganism

among the Northumbrians at the time of Cuthbert. However,

Bede’s use of the term vulgaris does not necessarily imply

that the people are pagan. The term simply means “common,”

and while they take crude delight in the peril of the monks

and specifically deride their distinct religious life, this

too does not by itself indicate that they are holdout

23

pagans. Further details in the narrative, however, clarify

their status:

Cuthbert stopped the insults of the blasphemers,

saying: “Brethren [fratres], what are you doing,

cursing those whom you see being carried away even

now to destruction? Would it not be better and

more kindly to pray to the Lord for their safety

rather than to rejoice over their dangers?” But

they fumed against him with boorish minds and

boorish words [rustico et animo et ore] and said: “Let

no man pray for them, and my God have no mercy on

any one of them, for they have robbed men of their

old ways of worship [veteras culturas], and how the

new worship is to be conducted, nobody knows

[novas qualiter observare debeant nemo novit].” (VC 3;

Colgrave 165)

Cuthbert refers to the crowd as fratres, “brothers,”

indicating that they are baptized Christians, as is

Cuthbert. However, the phrase rustico et animo et ore, literally,

“with rustic mind and speech,” indicates the backward,

24

earthy nature of the crowd, and suggests a residual

paganism. The reason they give for their animosity toward

the monks reinforces this interpretation. They despise the

monks for having deprived the people of “old ways of

worship” (veteras culturas) and replaced them with “new [ways

of] worship” (novas) which “nobody knows” (nemo novit) how to

conduct. They are a people adrift (like the monks presently

in peril); they resent having been deprived of their

familiar paganism without being given clear religious

direction or leadership. They are ‘baptized pagans.’

Cuthbert, unabated by their obstinacy, prays alone:

When Cuthbert heard this reply, he knelt down to

pray to God [oraturus Dominum genua flexit], bending

his head to the ground [caput in terram declinavit], and

immediately [statim] the violent wind turned about

and bore the rafts to safe and sound land, amid

the rejoicings of those who were guiding them, and

left them in a convenient place near the monastery

itself. When the countryfolk [rustici] saw this,

they were ashamed of their own unbelief [sua

25

infidelitate], but forthwith they duly praised [laude

digna predicabant] the faith of the venerable

Cuthbert [fidem venerabilis Cuthberti], and thereafter

never ceased to praise it. (VC 3; Colgrave 165)

Cuthbert’s prayers are “immediately” (statim) answered, the

monks are saved, and the countryfolk (rustici) are ashamed of

“their own unbelief” (sua infidelitate) and praise the “faith of

the venerable Cuthbert” (fidem venerabilis Cuthberti). Here Bede

employs a rhetorical figure known as ocular demonstration:

the portrayal of an event in such a way that it appears to

happen before the audience’s eyes. His use of statim,

combined with the explicit description of Cuthbert’s

physical actions of kneeling down to pray (genua flexit,

literally, “he bended the knee”) and “bending his head to

the ground” (caput in terram declinavit) serve to solidify the

power and efficacy of Cuthbert’s prayers in the minds of

Bede’s audience. Bede further underscores Cuthbert’s prayers

through antithesis, contrasting the unbelief (infidelitate) of

the poorly-formed rustici with “the faith of the venerable

Cuthbert” (fidem venerabilis Cuthberti), which they fittingly

26

praise (laude digna predicabant). This is the first time in the

narrative where Cuthbert engages in what could be called

evangelization. The fact that this occurs at a monastery is

particularly significant, in that it confirms not only the

critical role monasticism played in the culture of newly

Christian Northumbria, but also the central place it

occupies in Cuthbert’s own evangelical activity. Thus, Bede

intimates Cuthbert’s later role as an evangelist for his

native Northumbria.

We further see Cuthbert’s monastic discipline in his

early practice of keeping vigil. In one story we encounter

a young Cuthbert tending a flock of sheep. He spends the

night hours watching and praying. Bede writes:

It happened that he was keeping the flocks

committed to his care on some distant mountains.

On a certain night while his companions were

sleeping, he himself was keeping watch and praying

according to his custom [juxta morem pervigil in oratio],

when suddenly he saw a stream of light from the

sky breaking in upon the darkness of the long

27

night. In the midst of this, the choir of the

heavenly host descended to the earth, and taking

with them, without delay, a soul of exceeding

brightness, returned to their heavenly home

[coelestem rediisse ad patriam]. The youth beloved of

God was strongly moved by this vision to subject

himself to the grace of spiritual discipline

[gratiam exercitii spiritalis] and of earning everlasting

life and happiness amid God’s mighty men [inter

magnificos viros vitae felicitatisque perennis], and

immediately he gave praise and thanks to God and

also called upon his companions with brotherly

exhortation to praise the Lord [socios ad laudandum

Dominum fraterna exhortation]. (VC 4; Colgrave 167)

In this passage, we see Cuthbert keeping watch over a flock

of sheep entrusted to him, which of course evokes the story

of the shepherds in the nativity narrative in the Gospel of

Luke. Unlike the shepherds in the Gospel, however, Cuthbert

is engaged in prayer. Specifically, Cuthbert is keeping the

night vigil, pervigil in oration, which he keeps iuxta morem,

28

“according to his custom.” Bede thus presents Cuthbert as

one who regularly practices monastic discipline while still

in the world. His steadfastness enables Cuthbert to witness

a miracle: the assumption of the soul of Bishop Aiden of

Lindisfarne (VC IV). Bede then uses language that

implicitly suggests the coenobitic life to which Cuthbert

will soon be called. He tells us that the company of angels

took the soul of Aiden and coelestem rediisse ad patriam. Patria can

be translated simply as “home,” but it also carries an

essentially social connotation, conveying the idea of a

nation or commonwealth. The social character of Aiden’s

destination evokes in Cuthbert a desire to be joined to this

same company of beings. He desires to live inter magnificos viros

vitae felicitatisque perennis, literally, “among the mighty men

enjoying the life of unending happiness.” Finally, Cuthbert

exhorts his fellow shepherds to desire this same state by

praising God in this life: socios ad laudandum Dominum fraterna

exhortatione. Bede underscores the “brotherly exhortation”

Cuthbert uses towards his companions (socios). This further

reinforces the social and communal dimension of the episode,

29

and expresses an implicit orientation toward communal

monastic life. Cuthbert has witnessed a holy man being

taken up into the heavenly commonwealth; he desires this for

himself and exhorts his earthly companions toward the same

goal. When we consider these textual features together,

Bede’s goal becomes clear. He uses this scene in Cuthbert’s

life as a sort of miniature prelude to Cuthbert’s calling as

a monastic and evangelist. After this vision, Cuthbert

returns the sheep to their owners and resolves to enter the

monastic life.

Cuthbert soon enters the monastery at Melrose. It is

here that Cuthbert’s monastic discipline becomes fully

manifested and begins to impact his outreach to others. We

shall see that his evangelistic effectiveness is rooted in

his discipline. Once he is received into the community

Cuthbert devotes himself to the observance of the monastic

rule. Bede writes: “He sought at once to observe the rules

of the regular life equally with the other brethren, or even

to excel them in zeal for a stricter discipline, being more

diligent in reading and working, in watching and praying

30

(legendi videlicet, operandi, vigilandi, atque orandi solertior)” (VC 6;

Colgrave 175). Bede employs a terse but artful parallelism,

underscoring the combined activities of reading (legendi),

works (operandi), keeping vigil (vigilandi) and prayer (orandi)

through the rhetorical figure of homoeoptoton (the use of

two or more words of like endings within the same sentence).

This has the effect of reinforcing in the minds of his

audience an image of Cuthbert as an exemplar of all the

activities central to monastic life. Cuthbert is later made

prior of Melrose and must now assume responsibility for the

spiritual well-being of his brothers. Along with his

solicitude for the monastery, Cuthbert assumes a similar

responsibility for the life of the surrounding community,

striving to convert its inhabitants “to a love of heavenly

joys” (VC 9; Colgrave 185). Thus Cuthbert the monk becomes

active in evangelizing the people living in the environs of

Melrose. The people here are baptized Christians who have

not been sufficiently reared in the faith, and consequently

have relapsed into paganism. Bede writes:

31

Many of them had profaned the faith they had by

wicked deeds, and some of the them also at the

time of the plague, forgetting the sacred mystery

of the faith into which they had been initiated,

took to the delusive cures of idolatry, as though

by incantations or amulets or any other mysteries

of devilish art, they could ward off a blow sent

by God the creator. So he frequently went forth

from the monastery to correct the errors of both

kinds of sinners, sometimes riding on a horse but

more often going on foot, and came to the

neighbouring villages and preached the way of

truth to these wanderers [viam veritatis praedicabat

errantibus]. (VC 9; Colgrave 185-7)

Here we see Cuthbert combating residual paganism in the

English countryside. Cuthbert’s preaching is very

effective, and not only on account of his oratorical

ability. His personal holiness gives his teaching a power it

would not otherwise possess. Bede writes:

32

So great was Cuthbert’s skill in teaching [tanta

erat docendi peritia], so great his love of driving

home what he had begun to teach [tantus amor

persuadendi quae coeperat], so bright the light of his

angelic countenance [tale vultus angelici lumen], that

none of those present would presume to hide from

him the secrets of his heart, but they all made

open confession of what they had done, because

they thought that these things could certainly

never be hidden, from him; and they cleansed

themselves from the sins they had confessed by

“fruits worthy of repentance.” (VC 9; Colgrave

187)

Through a threefold parallelism Bede underscores three

things about Cuthbert’s evangelistic activity: his “skill in

teaching” (docendi peritia) his “power in driving his lessons

home” (amor persuadendi, literally, “love in persuading”), and

his “angelic countenance” (vultus angelici lumen, literally,

“light of [his] angelic expression”). The combination of

Cuthbert’s skill, love, and countenance brings about

33

genuine, inward repentance and renewal among the people. In

this way, Bede clearly relates the ethos of Cuthbert, his

persuasive power rooted in his moral character formed by

monastic discipline.15 Moreover, Cuthbert’s asceticism has

instilled in him a certain ruggedness which emboldens him to

go to even the remotest places to win souls: “He made a

point of searching out those steep rugged places in the

hills which other preachers dreaded to visit because of

their poverty and squalor” (VC 9; Colgrave 187).

During his time as a monastic prior Cuthbert’s renown

grows. His life is bearing fruit, which provokes “the

ancient enemy” who comes “to hinder the work of salvation”

(VC 13; Colgrave 199). In this section Bede relates a

series of miracles which indicate the connection between

Cuthbert’s monastic discipline and evangelistic

effectiveness. Each of the miracles involves the combating

15 This is a common rhetorical technique, first articulated by Aristotle’s Art of Rhetoric and implicit in both

the Greek and Roman rhetorical traditions. See Aristotle, Art of Rhetoric, J. H. Freese, trans. (Loeb

Classical Library, 1926) II.

34

of destructive fire, and in each case Bede underscores some

aspect of Cuthbert’s monastic discipline as the true cause

of his power. One day while preaching the gospel to a small

village, Cuthbert is able to sense a satanic plot in the

making. He interrupts his sermon with a warning to be on

guard against the distractions of the devil, “’who has a

thousand wiles for injuring you’” (VC 13; Colgrave 199).

After he continues with his sermon, an illusory fire breaks

out in a nearby house. The villagers leave off listening to

Cuthbert and attempt to put out the apparently spreading

fire. “But with all their real water (unda vera) they could

not extinguish the false flames (falsas flammas), until at the

prayers of Cuthbert the man of God, the author of lies

(auctor fallaciarum ficta) was put to flight, carrying with him

his phantom fires into empty air” (VC 13; Colgrave 199).

Bede continues:

Seeing this, the crowd, filled with wholesome

shame, approaching the man of God again, prayed on

bended knees to be forgiven for their fickleness

of mind, confessing that they realised that the

35

devil never ceased, even for an hour from

hindering the work of man’s salvation. And he,

confirming the weak and inconstant [confirmans

inconstantiam fragilium], continued his interrupted

discourse on the way of life. (VC 13; Colgrave

199)

This story reveals the apprehension Bede’s contemporaries

concerning the cultural-spiritual situation of their time.

England in the early Middle Ages, so heavily pervaded by the

paganism of the Saxons, was immersed in demonic activity.

Christian people, therefore, had to be constantly on their

guard. This is perhaps why Bede places such an emphasis on

Cuthbert’s keeping vigil. Vigilance in the Christian life

is the virtue that Cuthbert embodies and which Bede hopes to

instill in his audience.

Immediately after discussing the phantom fire Bede

relates the story of a real fire which Cuthbert fights with

spiritual weapons. Again the setting is one in which

Cuthbert is preaching in the countryside. A fire breaks out

in a village and, on account of the straw roofs of the

36

houses, spreads faster than the people are able to fight it.

As the fire approaches the house in which he is staying,

Cuthbert lays full length on the ground in front of the

door. Before he even finishes his prayers the wind changes

direction, saving the house of his hostess. Bede comments

upon this and the previous phantom fire:

Thus in two miracles he imitated the miracles of

two of the fathers: in foreseeing and getting rid

of the phantom fires [fantasticis incendiis] he imitated

the miracle of the most reverend and holy father

Benedict who, by his prayers, drove away from the

sight of his disciples a fire kindled by the

ancient foe to simulate a kitchen burning; and

equally in overcoming and changing the direction

of volumes of real flame [veris ignium], he imitated

a miracle of the venerable Bishop Marcellinus of

Ancona who, when that city was burning, took up

his position over against the fire and prayed,

thus subduing the flames which a very great crowd

37

of citizens could not subdue by throwing water on

them. (VC 14; Colgrave 201-3)

In this passage Bede combines exemplification (the citing of

something said or done in the past, along with its author)

with the topic of comparison. Bede cites the fire miracles

of Benedict and Marcellinus, and thus explicitly compares

Cuthbert with two very exemplary saints. Cuthbert, however

has outdone these two exemplars. Benedict put out a phantom

flame, and Marcellinus vanquished a real fire. Cuthbert has

done both. Thus he makes Cuthbert himself into a supreme

exemplum of spiritual power. Bede then reflects upon the

spiritual significance of such victories over fire:

Nor is to be wondered at that such perfect men who

served God faithfully, received great power

against the strength of flames, when by daily

practice of virtue, they learned both to overcome

the lusts of the flesh and “to quench all the

fiery darts of the wicked one.” Then indeed the

prophecy most aptly fits: “When thou walkest

through the fire thou shalt not be burned neither

38

shall the flame kindle upon thee.” (VC 14;

Colgrave 203)

The weapon of choice for the saints in fighting fire, be it

real or phantasmal, is discipline. Through the practices of

self-denial (keeping all-night vigil, fasting, etc.), the

saints are able to bring the lusts of their own flesh under

control, deflecting “the fiery darks of the wicked one” (VC

14; Colgrave 203). The successful vanquishing of outward

fire is thus a manifestation of inward spiritual victory.

Bede then contrasts the abilities of the saints with his own

impotence. Bede tells us that he and those like him “dare

take no such measures against material fire; we are also

uncertain whether we can escape unharmed from that

inextinguishable fire of future punishment” (VC 14; Colgrave

203). He continues:

But the loving-kindness of our Saviour is mighty

and abundant; and he will use the grace of His

protection even now to extinguish the flames of

vices [viciorum incendia] within us, unworthy though

we be, and enable us to escape the flames of

39

punishment [in futuro poenarum flammas] in the time to

come. (VC 14; Colgrave 203)

Having established the exemplary power of Cuthbert by

connecting him with Marcellinus and Benedict, Bede now

contrasts their power, and the sanctity upon which their

power depends, with his own and his audience’s unworthiness.

Moreover, it is a shared unworthiness: “unworthy though we

be.” In the stories of the fires, Bede manages not only to

impress upon his audience the power that resides in

Cuthbert, but also succeeds in establishing a rhetorical

empathy with audience; he stands with them as sinners in

need of God’s grace to “extinguish the flames of vices” and

enable them “to escape the flames of punishment in the time

to come.”

Moreover, if we examine this sequentially, we see what

might be called an ascending pattern from the less real to

the most real, from the illusory to the everlasting: phantom

flame (fantasticis incendiis), “real” physical flame (veris ignium),

flames of vice (viciorum incendia), and flames of eternal

punishment (in futuro poenarum flammas). In the medieval

40

Christian worldview, the physical, temporal world serves the

spiritual, eternal world. Thus temporal flame, while more

real than the phantom flame, is still less real than the

fires of eternal damnation. And if one is to avoid this

everlasting fire, one must extinguish the flames of vice

within one’s immortal soul. Cuthbert is able to put out the

phantom and physical fires because he has already

extinguished the fires of his own vices, and because these

inward, moral flames have been extinguished he will escape

the flames of eternal punishment.

Cuthbert’s Eremitic Life

After many years living the coenobitic life, Cuthbert

is at last able to embark upon the type of life to which he

feels he has been called: the life of a hermit. His eremitic

life proves preparatory for his ongoing evangelistic

activity when he later becomes a bishop. He relocates to the

island of Farne a few miles away from Lindisfarne. Bede

tells us that it is an island haunted “by phantoms of

41

demons,” and Cuthbert is the first one willing to live there

alone (VC 17; Colgrave 215). Bede continues:

When the soldier of Christ entered, armed with the

“helmet of salvation, the shield of faith, and the

sword of the spirit which is the word of God, all

the fiery darts of the wicked one” were quenched,

and the wicked foe himself was driven far away

together with the whole crowd of his satellites.

This soldier of Christ [miles Christi], as soon as he

had become monarch of the land [monarcha terrae] he

had entered and overcome the army of the usurpers

[tyrannorum acie], built a city [civitatem] fitted for

his rule, and in it houses equally suited to the

city [civitati]. (VC 17; Colgrave 215-7)

Here Bede implements what is possibly the most important of

all hagiographical commonplaces: the saint as miles Christi,

“soldier of Christ.” We would expect a confrontation between

this soldier of Christ and Satan’s minions, but Cuthbert has

become so perfect a soldier on account of his discipline

that the enemy flees at his mere approach. After this swift

42

victory Cuthbert immediately begins to construct his

dwelling. Bede describes his dwelling as a civitas, or city.

In this city the saint is monarcha, which translates as

“absolute ruler.” Bede contrasts this with tyrannus, which

most properly means “tyrant” or “despot,” an illegitimate

ruler. In this use of contrast Bede skillfully uses

evocative words in order to contrast the legitimate

authority of the saint with the illegitimate power of the

Enemy. By his use of concepts such as civitas and monarcha,

Bede presents Cuthbert as the sole ruler of a spiritual

“city,” which implicitly prepares him for his later

responsibilities as a bishop. Cuthbert’s reputation for

sanctity grows, and people come to visit him from far and

wide seeking his instruction and counsel. Bede writes:

Such people declared to him either the sins

[errata] they had committed or the temptations of

devils to which they were exposed [vel demonum quae

paterentur temptamenta profitentes], or else revealed the

common troubles of mankind by which they were

afflicted [vel certe communia mortalium quibus affligerentur

43

adversa patefacientes], hoping that they would get

consolation from a man of such sanctity. Nor did

their hope deceive them. For no one went away from

him without enjoying his consolation, and no one

returned accompanied by that sorrow of mind which

he had brought hither. (VC 22; Colgrave 229)

Despite his desire to live the life of a hermit, Cuthbert

must fill a pastoral role for his neighbors. Here Bede

intimates again the public, pastoral role which Cuthbert

will eventually assume as a bishop. Cuthbert listens to

people confess their sins (errata), hears of the demonic

temptations by which they are afflicted (vel demonum quae

paterentur temptamenta profitentes), or hears of the ordinary human

troubles which they endure (vel certe communia mortalium quibus

affligerentur adversa patefacientes). Rhetorically, Bede employs

several rhetorical devices to underscore the connection

between demonic temptations and common adversities. The two

ideas are set in a clear parallel relationship within the

text. Bede reinforces this parallelism in two ways. First,

he employs epanaphora (vel certe communia mortalium quibus

44

affligerentur adversa patefacientes), beginning each sentence with

vel. Second, he utilizes isocolon (the use of phrases with

the same number, or nearly the same number, of syllables).

Moreover, the phrases have nearly identical grammatical

structures, thus reinforcing the parallelism still further.

Bede’s emphasis of these reflects the fears of eighth-

century Anglo-Saxon Christian society, only recently

delivered from the demonic influences of paganism and still

struggling with the sufferings of the human condition. When

he becomes bishop, Cuthbert will find himself even more

situated in a pastoral situation where he must address these

fears and anxieties of his people.

Cuthbert’s Episcopacy

Cuthbert’s preaching and teaching responsibilities

continue after he assumes diocesan responsibilities. His

monastic discipline and his eremitic life have been

preparatory for this third and final aspect of Cuthbert’s

life. Bede emphasizes the fact that his success as a bishop

is largely due the life he lived as a monk and a hermit.

Here, however, his monastic formation bears fruit in a life

45

of total service to the people of Northumbria, which Bede

underscores in his narrating of Cuthbert’s miracles. The

first thing Bede emphasizes is Cuthbert’s personal

integrity. Bede writes:

Now the venerable man of God, Cuthbert, adorned

the rank of bishop which he had received, by his

virtuous works, in accordance with the apostolic

precepts and examples [iuxta precepta et exempla

apostolica]. For he guarded the people who had been

committed to his charge with his constant prayers,

and called them to heavenly things by his most

wholesome admonitions [admonitionibus salubarrimis ad

coelestia vocabat], and—a thing which is a great help

to teachers—he taught what ought to be done [ea

quae agenda docebat], after first showing them by

his own example [ipse prius agendo praemonstrabat]. (VC

26; Colgrave 241-3)

In this passage Bede is preparing his audience for what will

follow in his narrative account of Cuthbert’s ministry as

bishop. He uses several rhetorical devices to this effect.

46

First, he employs homoeoptoton to underscore the character

of Cuthbert’s episcopacy and to indicate to his audience the

ethos of Bishop Cuthbert which Bede will now narrate.

Cuthbert will teach iuxta precepta et exempla apostolica, embodying

the teaching and example of the apostles. Second, Bede

employs disjunction (the ending of successive phrases with a

verb) in order to highlight three different dimensions of

Cuthbert’s teaching. Cuthbert “called them to heavenly

things” (ad coelestia vocabat) and he “taught what ought to be

done” (agenda docebat) after “showing them by his own

example” (agendo praemonstrabat). Cuthbert sets before his

people the ultimate goal of his teaching—eternal life—and

demonstrates how to attain this through word and example.

Through this rhetorical figure the emphasis falls upon the

actions of calling (vocabat), teaching (docebat), and

demonstrating (praemonstrabat). In addition, Bede tells us

that Cuthbert carried his monastic discipline with him into

his new position, infusing his episcopal duties with the

discipline and austerity he had acquired as a monk. Bede

writes:

47

Gladly and diligently he practised his wonted

frugality and, amid the thronging crowds, rejoiced

to preserve the rigours of monastic life [inter

frequentiam turbarum monachiae vitae rigorem sollicitus

obseruare gaudebat]. He gave food to the hungry,

clothing the suffering, and he was duly adorned

with all else that should mark the life of a

bishop [caeterisque vitae pontificalis insignibus rite decoratus

incedebat]. And signs and miracles [miraculorum signa]

whereby he shone outwardly [effulgebat] gave witness

[dabant testimonium] to the inward virtues of his

mind [internis animi virtutibus]. (VC 26; Colgrave 243)

In this passage we encounter a key rhetorical dimension of

the text. Bede emphasizes the relationship of signs to the

things they signify, revealing the influence of De Doctrina

Christiana, where Augustine draws a distinction between the

signifier and the thing signified. 16 The words as signs

16 Augustine, De Doctrina Christiana, R. P. H. Greene, trans. (Oxford: Oxford

University Press, 1999)

I.2; II, 1-3.

48

signify concrete realities, which in turn can signify still

larger spiritual realities (De Doctrina Christiana I.2; II.1-3).

This is the essence of the allegorical interpretation of

Scripture. In Bede’s hands, this distinction is applied to

Cuthbert’s works of mercy and his miracles. Cuthbert is

“adorned” (decoratus) with outward works of mercy, by which

the vitae pontificalis, literally “pontifical life,” is

“signified” (insignibus). These works signify the reality of

Cuthbert’s episcopal office. Moreover, outward miraculous

signs (miraculorum signa) signify the reality of Cuthbert’s

inward virtue (internis animi virtutibus).

Bede pays particular attention to Cuthbert’s miracles

in this connection. In the context of his ministry as

bishop, they signify a life of total service to the people

in his diocese. In many cases there is a direct connection

with the sacraments, which are the means whereby Bishop

Cuthbert re-evangelizes the people of Northumbria. Two

miracles are particularly interesting in this respect. The

first occurs while Cuthbert is traveling the countryside

administering the sacrament of confirmation. Bede relates

49

Cuthbert “going round his diocese dispensing words of

salvation in all the houses and villages of the countryside,

and was also laying his hand on those who had been lately

baptized, so that they might receive the grace of the Holy

Spirit” (VC 29; Colgrave 253). He enters the house of a man

whose wife is near death on account of illness. The man is a

member of the king’s bodyguard and a noble. He begs the

bishop to heal her, upon which Cuthbert orders water brought

to him, blesses it, and gives it to a priest to sprinkle

over her. “As soon as the blessed water touched the sick

woman,” Bede tells us, “she yet received full healing of

mind and body” (VC 29; Colgrave 253). The woman then rises

and ministers to Cuthbert and his companions:

She immediately recovered her senses and blessed

the Lord, giving thanks to Him who had deigned to

bring such honourable guests to visit and cure

her. Without delay she rose up whole and

ministered to those who had themselves ministered

to her health [ipsis suae sanitatis ministris ministerium sana

praebuit]; and it was a fair sight to see how she

50

who had escaped the cup of death [poculum mortis] by

the bishop’s blessing, was the first of all the

household of so great a man to offer him the cup

of refreshment [potum refectionis]. Thus she followed

the example of the mother-in-law of the Apostle

Peter, who, when she was cured of a fever by the

Lord, forthwith rose and ministered to Him and to

His disciples. (VC 29; Colgrave 253-5)

Here Bede underscores several things. First, there is the

explicit allusion to Jesus healing Peter’s mother-in-law as

related in the synoptic gospels.17 Second, Bede employs

irony, which we see in the woman ministering to those who

had healed her, ipsis suae sanitatis ministris ministerium sana praebuit,

literally, “the healthy woman provided service to the

servants of her own health.” This role-reversal is

reminiscent of what we read in Sulpicius’s Life of Saint Martin,

where the saint as soldier in the Roman army waits upon his

own servant.18 This act of humility is reinforced by the17 Mark 1:29-34, Matthew 8:14-15, Luke 4:38-39.

18 “They took their meals together and it was generally the master who

waited.” Sulpicius Severus, The Life of Saint Martin of Tours II.5.51

fact that it is the lady of a nobleman’s household who waits

upon the guests, a task that would ordinarily be delegated

to a servant. What is perhaps the most interesting is the

correlation between her action of offering “the cup of

refreshment” (potum refectionis) to Cuthbert, by whose blessing

she “had escaped the cup of death (poculum mortis).” While

both words can simply mean “drink,” potum connotes the idea

of heavy drinking, of draining a cup to the dregs. The woman

who escapes the “cup (poculum) of death” offers the more

liberal “cup (potum) of refreshment” to the bishop. In this

way Bede underscores the stark contrast between the woman’s

former state of being near death and her current state of

health, the fullness of which is symbolized in the

liberality of the drink she offers to her guests. Thanks to

the healing she has received at the hands of the saint, she

his now restored to her position as mistress of the

household and is able to fulfill her duties. Thus, the

pastoral ministry of Bishop Cuthbert reaches to the inner

sanctum of domestic affairs. The people in his charge are

restored in this most basic aspect of their daily lives.

52

The second miracle concerns Hildmer, husband of the

woman Bede had earlier healed, now himself afflicted “with a

most serious illness” (VC 31; Colgrave 257). Bede writes:

Many of his friends came to console the afflicted

man. And as they sat by the bed in which he lay,

suddenly one of them recalled that he had some

bread [panem] with him, which Cuthbert, the man

of the Lord [vir Domini Cuthbertus], had recently

blessed and given to him [benedictionis gratia dedisset].

“And I believe [credo]”, he said, “that Hildmer by

tasting this can receive healing, if only the

slowness of our faith does not hinder [sit amen fidei

nostrae tarditas non obsistit].” Now they were all laymen,

but devout. So turning to each other they

confessed one by one that they believed [crederent]

without any doubt that he could be healed by

partaking of this blessed bread [benedicti panis

communionem]. (VC 31; Colgrave 257)

Close attention to this passage arguably reveals this to be

the climax of Cuthbert’s work as an evangelist in that we

53

see the fruits of his ministry to the people of Northumbria.

Bede focuses our attention on the bread (panem) that

Cuthbert has blessed (benedictionis). Not only did Cuthbert

bless the bread, but he “had given it to him” (dedisset). We

see an unmistakable allusion to the Eucharist here. Cuthbert

blessed the bread and gave it to another in the same manner

that Jesus blessed the Eucharistic bread and gave it to his

disciples. Bede makes the Eucharistic allusion even clearer

with the phrase benedicti panis communionem, literally,

“fellowship of blessed bread.” Partaking of this blessed

bread will give health and wholeness to the body of Hildmer

in the same manner that the Eucharist gives health and

wholeness to the souls of the faithful. Bede underscores the

Eucharistic connection still further with the stress he

places upon the necessity of faith for Hildmer to be healed

as we see in the words of the man who brought the bread:

“‘I believe (credo)…that Hildmer by tasting this can receive

healing, if only the slowness of our faith does not hinder

(sit amen fidei nostrae tarditas non obsistit).’” The faith of the

others there gathered is also emphasized: “they believed

54

(crederent) without any doubt…” Moreover, although Bede’s

use credo refers to the subjective faith of the

participants, it carries an unmistakable creedal overtone.

In essence, Bede uses this passage to draw his audience’s

attention to the success of Cuthbert’s evangelizing

activity. These men, who “were all laymen, but devout,”

have fully imbibed the faith originally proclaimed to them

and solidified by Cuthbert. As a result, Hildmer is healed

upon partaking of water mixed with the bread. Bede writes:

His health returned without delay, and brought

strength back to the man who had thus been set

free from affliction, deservedly stirring him and

all who saw or heard of the swiftness of so

unexpected a cure, to praise the holiness of the

servant of God [ad laudandam famuli Christi sanctitatem]

and to wonder at the power of the true faith

[admirandam fidei non fictae virtutem]. (VC 31; Colgrave

257)

Bede concludes this miracle narrative by employing

parallelism supported by isocolon to drive home in the minds

55

of his audience the connection between the holiness of

Cuthbert and the true faith of the participants: ad laudandam

famuli Christi sanctitatem… admirandam fidei non fictae virtutem.

Cuthbert’s Death: A Rhetorical Conclusion

As a fitting conclusion to Cuthbert’s life, Bede

narrates the saint’s death. Bede presents Cuthbert’s death

verbatim as given to him by one Herefrith, “a devoutly

religious priest who also at that time presided over the

monastery at Lindisfarne as abbot” (VC 37; Colgrave 273). In

doing this, Bede is showing himself a historian as well as a

hagiographer. He makes careful and critical use of source

material and credits his source within his own writing. He

uses Herefrith’s account because he is convinced of the

reliability of the account. It is so reliable and

comprehensive that Bede feels no need to amend it or add

anything to it. We could say that at this point we are

encountering Herefrith’s rhetoric instead of Bede’s.

Nevertheless, it is Bede who has implemented Herefrith’s

account, undoubtedly due to the fact that serves Bede’s

overall rhetorical goal. Herefrith’s account of Cuthbert’s

56

death underscores two ideas that were central to Bede:

charity within the monastic community, and concord within

the English church. On account of having lived a life of

extreme asceticism, Cuthbert’s health begins to deteriorate

rapidly. The monks of Lindisfarne minister to Cuthbert’s

needs as he lay dying in his hermitage, where he gives them

a final testament or exhortation urging them to persevere in

their vocation:

“Always keep peace and divine charity amongst

yourselves [pacem, inquit, inter vos semper et charitatem

custodite divinam]; and when necessity compels you to

take counsel about your affairs, see to it most

earnestly that you are unanimous in your counsels.

But also have mutual agreement with other servants

of Christ [Christi famulis mutuam habetote concordiam] and

do not despise those of the household of faith who

come to you for the sake of hospitality, but see

that you receive such, keep them, and send them

away with friendly kindness [benigne tales suscipere,

tenere ac dimittere curate], by no means thinking

57

yourselves better than others who are your fellows

in the same faith and manner of life. But have no

communion [nulla communion] with those who depart

from the unity of the catholic peace [ab unitate

catholicae pacis], either in not celebrating Easter at

the proper time or in evil living [vel Pascha non suo

tempore celebrando, vel perverse vivendo aberrant].” (VC 39;

Colgrave 283)

In this reconstruction of Cuthbert’s last words, Herefrith

employs a parallelism between keeping divine charity

(charitatem custodite divinam) and having mutual agreement

(mutuam habetote concordiam). The first is among themselves

(inter vos), the second “with other servants of Christ” (famulis

Christi). Cuthbert’s monastic and evangelistic life comes to

a close with words call for internal charity (charitatem)

within the monastic community and outward agreement

(concordiam) with the rest of the church in Northumbria. In

order stress further the manner in which the monks are to

receive fellow Christians, Herefrith employs homoeoptoton,

emphasizing the actions of receiving (suscipere), keeping

58

(tenere) and sending away (dimittere). In keeping with this

emphasis upon inward and outward concord, Herefrith then

emphasizes the “unity of the catholic peace” (unitate catholicae

pacis) and sternly warns them to have “no communion” (nulla

communio) with those who undermine this unity: those who do

not celebrate Easter at the proper time (vel Pascha non suo

tempore celebrando) or whose manner of living is evil (vel

perverse vivendo). Herefrith underscores the connection between

the two types by employing zeugma (the joining of two or

more phrases or sentences by a shared verb). Vel Pascha non

suo tempore celebrando and vel perverse vivendo share the verb

aberrant. Both types of monks “depart” from the unitate catholicae

pacis. In so powerfully linking together the two types of

schismatic monks, Herefrith underscores their moral

equivalence. The improper celebration of Easter (after the

Synod of Whitby has settled the matter) and evil living are

equally grave departures from catholic unity. Herefrith’s

rhetoric coincides perfectly with Bede’s own concerns for

the Anglo-Saxon church, and thus dovetails with Bede’s

larger rhetorical strategy. When he is at the point of death

59

Cuthbert receives the viaticum. He then raises his eyes and

arms, and “he sent forth his spirit in the very act of

praising God to the joys of the heavenly Kingdom” (VC 39;

Colgrave 285).

Conclusion

A rhetorical exposition of Bede’s Life of Cuthbert reveals

Bede’s understanding of the importance of Cuthbert’s memory

for Northumbria and indeed for all of Anglo-Saxon England.

Cuthbert is a pivotal figure in the transformation of Anglo-

Saxon culture from paganism to Christianity as well as the

reinforcement of the catholicity instituted by the Synod of

Whitby. Bede presents Cuthbert as the exemplar of a monastic

discipline that is engaged in the surrounding culture and

active in the ongoing evangelization of Northumbria. The

residual paganism of the countryside, accompanied by the

need for ongoing catechesis and administration of the

sacraments, illustrate the challenges faced by the church in

early medieval Northumbria. Bede presents Cuthbert as one

who is more than equal to this challenge. While a monastic

Cuthbert successfully combats the last vestiges of paganism,

60

and as bishop he is able to solidify the Catholic faith of

the people in his diocese as signified by the miracles

accompanying his administration of the sacraments. When we

reflect upon these in the light of his other works, we see

just how definitive this was for Bede. His rhetoric effects

a powerful admonition upon his audience. In this way,

Cuthbert’s mission is continues in Bede’s own day.

61