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Saint Cuthbert and the Venerable Bede are the most famous saints at Durham Cathedral. However, there are many more saints who have been linked with the Cathedral over the years, and continue to be celebrated and honoured today.
Oswald of Northumbria
Oswald was King of Northumbria from 634 until his death in about 642. He was regarded as a saint because he encouraged the spread of Christianity in the region, bringing Saint Aidan from Iona and giving him the island of Lindisfarne.
After Oswald was killed at the Battle of Maserfield his enemies cut his body into pieces. His head was sent to Lindisfarne, where it was kept as a holy relic. When Viking raids forced the monks to flee in 875, they put Oswald’s head in Saint Cuthbert’s coffin and carried it with them until they settled in Durham in 995. Today, Oswald still shares a tomb with Cuthbert in the Cathedral.
Aidan of Lindisfarne
Aidan is known as ‘the Apostle of Northumbria’. Born in around 590, he was an Irish monk from the community of Iona, and was invited to Northumbria by King Oswald to help restore Christianity to the region. Aidan founded a monastery on the island of Lindisfarne, becoming its Bishop. He spent most of his time travelling around the region, visiting villages and preaching to the people. He became known for his kindness and work with the poor. He died in 651 and was buried on Lindisfarne.
Hild of Whitby
Hild (or Hilda) is one of the region’s best known saints. She was born in around 614, the great-niece of King Edwin of Northumbria. When she was 33 years old she became a nun, and Saint Aidan gave her land in Northumbria, probably at South Shields, to found a monastery. Hild went on to found further monasteries at Heruteu (Hartlepool) and, most famously, Streoneshalh (Whitby).
It was a measure of how highly Hild was regarded when, in 664, Whitby Abbey was chosen to host a great meeting, later called the Synod of Whitby. This meeting aimed to settle disagreements between the Celtic and Roman churches, especially about when to celebrate Easter. Hild remained at Whitby as Abbess until her death in 680.
Margaret of Scotland
Margaret was born in around 1045, a Wessex princess. In 1070 she married King Malcolm III of Scotland. Known for her piety and charity, she founded a Benedictine monastery at Dunfermline. When she died in 1093 she was already thought of as a saint. Prior Turgot of Durham wrote the story of her life, and her shrine at Dunfermline became known for miracles.
Margaret brought to Scotland ‘the Black Rood’: believed to be part of the Cross which Jesus Christ died on. In 1346 King David II invaded England and carried it into battle. He was defeated by Sir Ralph de Neville, who presented the Rood to St Cuthbert’s shrine. It remained at Durham until the Reformation, when it was lost.
Nine Altars for the Saints
When the Chapel of the Nine Altars was built in around 1280, each of the altars in it were dedicated to different saints. ‘The Rites of Durham’, a book written in the mid-1500s, tells us who they were:
1: Saint Oswald and Saint Lawrence 2: Saint Thomas Becket and Saint Catherine 3: Saint John the Baptist and Saint Margaret 4: Saint Andrew and Saint Mary Magdalene 5: Saint Cuthbert and Saint Bede 6: Saint Martin 7: Saint Peter and Saint Paul 8: Saint Aidan and Saint Helen 9: The Archangel Saint Michael
Today, there are three altars in this space, dedicated to Hild, Aidan and Margaret. The ‘Rites’ also tells us that there were altars dedicated to Saint Giles, Saint Gregory and Saint Benedict in the North Transept of the Cathedral. The North Transept now houses the Gregory Chapel, and an altar dedicated to Benedict.
Godric of Finchale
Finchale Priory lies three miles north of Durham, on the site of the hermitage of Saint Godric, a sailor and merchant who became a hermit (someone who lives alone to be closer to God). He moved there after seeing a vision of Saint Cuthbert. When Godric died in 1170, Durham Priory built a small monastery to look after the pilgrims who visited.
At that time, female pilgrims were not allowed to enter Durham Cathedral, and many were sent instead to nearby Finchale where they could enter the chapel and view Godric’s tomb. Godric became known as a saint sympathetic to women, with many miracles of healing linked to him.
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