By Thomas Bainbridge
Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne is a seminal figure in Northumbrian history. Born most likely in rural Ireland, Aidan became a monk on the Hebridean island of Iona — then a bastion of the Celtic Christian tradition isolated from the strife and turmoil of the outer world.
Aidan’s early life was this spent in spiritual devotion according to the extremities of the ascetic ideal: He spurned material luxury, instead existing in a near constant state of fasting and prostration before the mysteries of God. His zeal was well known — indeed his name roughly translates to “little fiery one”.
Still, Aidan would have been destined to lead this simple existence had he not been plucked from obscurity by a monumental turn of events.
In 634, after Oswald had been victorious at the Battle of Heavenfield, having united the two kingdoms of Bernicia and Deira into Northumbria, he brought Bishop Corman to propagate the gospel in the region. However, despite his efforts, the Irish bishop’s abilities were found to be lacking, as he was unable to bring many converts.
When considering the problem in council, a lone monk came forward to articulate what he himself believed to be the cause. He suggested that Corman’s measures were far too stringent, and that many pagans were put off by his forceful rhetoric. On the contrary, compassion and serenity would be far stronger weapons in waging war against paganism. Therefore, on the spot the lowly monk was granted the Bishopric and was himself assigned the task. This of course was Aidan.
Oswald granted the newly-made Bishop an island off the coast of his Kingdom in order to set up a monastery akin to Iona. In time, Lindisfarne would become the chief ornament of the Northumbrian Church, heralded across Europe for the quality of its devotion and scholarship. From here, Aidan preached across the kingdom. He wandered about the various villages that dotted the wild landscape, talking freely amongst the people and taking an interest in their daily woes. By this style of proselytising, his mission became a great success.
Aidan preached to the nobility as well as common folk. In this he was aided by Oswald. The King, having been raised in exile in Ireland, acted as a translator between Aidan and the Northumbrian nobles so that the latter could understand the content of the Christian faith more clearly. How wondrous to reflect that this great warrior acted as a mere servant might, interpreting the words of an Irish peasant before a heathen court? In fact, Aidan would often aggressively chastise the nobility for their outward opulence, demanding donations that could then be dispersed amongst the poor.
After the death of King Oswald at the hands of the pagan King Penda in 642, Aidan’s mission in Northumbria continued unabated. Oswald’s successor Oswin, himself a deeply pious man, forged a close friendship with Aidan, evidenced by this tale related by Bede:
At another time when Bishop Aidan was on his way to the king’s court, King Oswine gave him a very fine horse, that he might ride upon it whenever there was need to cross rivers or travel more quickly.
Not long after, meeting a poor man, the bishop immediately dismounted and ordered the horse to be given to him.
When this was reported to the king, he said to the bishop, “What have you done, my lord bishop? Why did you give away the royal horse, which I had chosen especially for your use? Had we not many inferior horses which would have been good enough to give to the poor?”
The bishop answered, “What are you saying, O king? Is that foal of a mare more dear to you than this son of God?”
The king was deeply moved. He dismounted, threw himself at the bishop’s feet, and asked forgiveness, declaring that he would never again speak of such matters, but would leave to the bishop’s discretion how much of the royal bounty should be given to the poor.
Ecclesiastical History of the English People, Book III, Chapter 14
Taking this repentance as proof of Oswin’s piety and sincerity, Aidan began to weep, claiming that he “had never seen a humbler King”, and that such good fortune would not last so long.
Correct in his prediction, a short time later in 651, with Aidan on his death bed and Oswin now dangerously exposed to his usurper cousin, Oswy, Oswin was treacherously murdered. Twelve days after this betrayal, Aidan died.
One of Aidan’s reputed miracles was his preservation of Bamburgh from decimation as it lay under siege by the army of Penda, King of Mercia, in 655. Unable to penetrate the high walls of the maritime stronghold, Penda resolved to set it alight. Aidan then at Lindisfarne and separated by the ebbing tides of the island, prayed to God to spare the settlement from torment. As he pleaded, the winds rose up and the fire spread backwards to the enemy army’s camp, halting their attack. For this, he had been dubbed the patron saint of firefighters!
Finally, as with many Saints, Aidan’s miracles continued even after his death — once more fire-related. The location of Aidan’s demise was in a tent which had been erected against the church wall at Bamburgh. Penda was again ravaging the Northumbrian countryside. His army razed Bamburgh and the surrounding villages. However, the church wall against which Aidan had reposed remained standing, even where the entire building lay smouldering around it. This same fate repeated itself once more, and yet the wall remained standing.
Subsequently, Saint Aidan’s Church was built on the site, though now with this holy wall at the centre of the altar, and soon it became noted for its healing powers. The church remains the centrepiece of the village today, sat peacefully below the imposing heights of the castle, and it is well worth taking the time to wander in a place so steeped in the Saint’s, and indeed Northumbria’s, legacy.
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