A Monk from Melrose? St Cuthbert and the Scots in the later middle ages, c. 1371-1560

Citation

Turpie T (2011) A Monk from Melrose? St Cuthbert and the Scots in the later middle ages, c. 1371-1560. The Innes Review, 62 (1), pp. 47-69. https://doi.org/10.3366/inr.2011.0004

Abstract
During the early and central middle ages St Cuthbert of Durham (d. 687) was arguably the most important local saint in northern England and southern Scotland. His cult encompassed a region approximately corresponding to the ancient kingdom of Northumbria. While Scottish devotion to the saint in that period has been well researched, the later medieval cult in Scotland has been surprisingly little studied. Following the outbreak of Anglo-Scottish warfare in 1296 a series of English monarchs, the Durham clergy and local political leaders identified Cuthbert with military victories over the Scots. Several historians have assumed that this association between Cuthbert and English arms led to the decline of his cult in Scotland. This article surveys the various manifestations of devotion to St Cuthbert in late medieval Scotland in order to reappraise the role of the saint and his cult north of the border in the later middle ages.

Keywords
St Cuthbert; saint imagery; cult management; Walter Bower; warfare; border society

Journal
The Innes Review: Volume 62, Issue 1

People

Dr Tom Turpie

Lecturer, History