Leaving Bamburgh Castle we follow The Wynding (the road
above the beach) towards Lindisfarne. This section of the walk is 29km and we
pass The Spindlestone Heughs, an iron-age defended settlement on the Whin Sill
cliff and the perch of a dragon called the Laidly Worm (loathsome dragon). According
to local legend, the daughter of King
Ida of Bamburgh was transformed into a dragon by her wicked stepmother and was
rescued by one of her brothers.
We cross Beal Sands (Beal comes from Bee Hill, which provided
honey to the monks for their famous mead) to reach the Holy Island. It takes 1
to 2 hrs to walk across on the Pilgrim’s route and must be done at the midpoint
of low tide, wading across sections of the sands.
The island has a village, an 11th-century Priory
and a 16th-century castle, as well as St. Mary’s Church which has 7th-century roots. At the heart of St. Aidan’s monastery were two wooden churches, St.
Peter’s for the monks and later there was also St. Mary’s for the villagers. Cuthbert became Bishop
of Lindisfarne in St. Mary’s, it stood here while the Lindisfarne Gospels were
being created in the monastery in the early 700s, the Gospels being the oldest
translation of the 4 gospels into English. The artwork was a unique mesh of
Mediterranean and Celtic art styles.
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| Image: https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/lindisfarne-gospels |
The church was mostly destroyed during the Viking raid in
793 but there is evidence that the Christian villagers remained on the island
after the monks abandoned their monastery due to repeated Viking raids. With
the rebuilding of the church, they would have continued to use St. Mary’s, even
during the building of the Priory from 1120-1200s until the current 13th-century building of St. Mary’s church (below) was completed.
[https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/lindisfarne/stmarys/ , Walking St. Oswald's Way and St. Cuthbert's Way (Rudolf Abraham)]
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| Image: Richard Webb, https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1001220 , no changes
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David Adam writes in his book, Flames in my Heart:
The island was larger than Aidan had expected, though he was
not quite sure where it began. Some of it was great sand dunes. The main part
of the island seemed to be at its southern end. It felt about the size of Iona,
though there was no hill like Dun-I. Two rocky outcrops, exposed to the sea,
made the only hills on the island, on the north-eastern shore there were some caves.
It was near these caves he heard the seals singing and it
reminded him of Iona. God had blessed him and his companions with a good land.
There was much hazel wood and a quantity of stunted trees, more trees than on
Iona. But the trees had to survive the winds and the salt spray. In the sea
there were ducks and many gulls, there were musses, oysters and winkles. The
seals suggested there were fish in abundance.
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| Image: Andrew Locking, https://www.andrewswalks.co.uk/farne-islands.html , no changes |
There was a good deal of machair (grassy plains) that
would be ideal for pasture for their cattle. Cattle were essential to the
community, not only for meat and milk but for providing skins for parchments
for the making of books. The soil was light and sandy, no doubt it would be
good for growing grain. There was a small freshwater lough that reminded Aidan
again of Iona. His heart was nearly bursting for joy. God had truly brought him
into a good and pleasant land.
From the southern end of the island Aidan could see
the smoke rising at Bamburgh, [ 5 km away as the crow flies.]
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| Image: Andrew Locking, https://www.andrewswalks.co.uk/holy-island.html , no changes |
He could see the great rock on which the fortress stood. The
king was near at hand. Here on the island Aidan could follow the Rule of
Columba which said, ‘Be alone in a separate place near a chief city, if your
conscience is not prepared to be in common with the crowd.’ Here they were far
enough away from the palace to be free from its own activity and demands, yet
near enough to be of use to the king and the leaders of the people. Here you
could feel the silence. Here would be a place of solitude, stillness and
sanctity, essentials for growth in the Spirit. There is need for us all to get
away from the business of life and stand at the edge of things. Yes, this
island would be their home.
There was a great deal to do. Land had to be cleared, and a
vallum built (earth ramparts). There was need for a church,
though a standing cross of wood could serve for awhile, until they could put up
a building and a stone cross. Each of the brothers needed a cell as a place of
retreat and for shelter. The farm needed to be in action as soon as possible.
Then the primary reasons for which they came: they would have to start a
school, and they would need to reach out in mission to the people of the land,
both the English and the British.
It was important at this stage to get their priorities
right; there was so much to do that they had to decide carefully and lay a firm
foundation. So a course of action was decided on, one that amazed the king when
he heard of it. No land would be cleared, nothing done, until they had hallowed
the land and cast out any evil. The area for the monastic community within the
vallum was marked out and then the next forty days were a time of prayer and
fasting. The brothers had to be sure of their priority and let others see it.
Their priority was to give themselves in adoration to God; everything else
could wait. It was only by doing this that they could enrich the lives of those
who came to them. It was no use talking about God if they did not talk to Him.
God was not a theory to be handed on to others, He is a person to be met and
His presence enjoyed. Here the love of God was to burn within them. They did
not try to make this happen, for it was a fact: they tried to become more aware
of the reality that ‘we dwell in Him and He in us’.
The period set aside for this preparation was forty days. As our Lord spent forty days in the wilderness, Aidan and his brothers spent forty days in prayer and fasting. As Jesus spent the time sorting out His priorities and putting His faith in the Father, so these men from Iona wrestled with their future. It was a time of depth, dedication and discipline, not of impoverishment but of enrichment, extension and vision. Without this awareness their world would be destroyed: we need to know the great mysteries that are about us, and within us.
More than this, here was land to win back for God. Here on
this island was a desire for Paradise regained. From the land within the
enclosure all violence would be excluded, along with all demons and darkness.
All hostile elements had to be banished, this has to be a place to reveal the
presence, the power and the peace of God.
After the forty days, it was time to build. The earth bank was made, to show clearly the holy place. It enclosed not just the church but the whole site. Not only would prayer be offered to God. They would offer their labour, their sweat and their tears. They would offer prayer, but in much the same way they would offer the tilling of the ground, the milking of cows. the catching of fish and the teaching of young men. All work was sacred, for all was done in God's presence and to His glory. The sawing of wood and the fixing of timbers were as much acts of worship as kneeling before the altar. There was no false division into sacred and secular. Jands that were already toughened became calloused with so much hard labour, but it gave them so much joy. The work-worn hands were the same hands that raised the chalice in the Eucharist .....
[admin: this is something to keep in mind with our elevator addition that is currently in progress. ]
. . . The church building was a simple affair made from oak planks and beams brought in from the mainland. The roof was thatched with bents, wiry grasses from the sand dunes. Following the tradition of Columba, they built their church of oak rather than stone. Perhaps it was to express that we have no abiding city, that building on earth is not eternal. . .
[Below: a monastery in Ireland of the type Aidan built]
Huts were soon built as cells. Upright poles of birch were driven into the ground less than two feet apart, and a second line was built in parallel about foot away from the first, to form the outline of the walling. Pliable Hazel and willow branches were woven into hurdles, and tied to the inner and outer poles. Once this was done, panniers of earth were poured into the gap to make a solid infilling. The inner and outer walls were smeared with clay, or daub. During the waving of the saplings the brethren would pray quietly. Often not a word would be heard for hours, each meditating and weaving into his life the power and the presence of God. How often, again and again, this weaving pattern appeared in Celtic art. It was the basis of their house building, of their clothes, and of their prayers. Heaven and earth, God and each person are interwoven. God made it so, that we are woven together with Him and with each other. God and each individual are interdependent, remove one piece and all are affected. If one piece is missing the whole structure suffers.
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| Image: close up of the above image of the Lindisfarne Gospels |
Often, whilst weaving hurdles, the brethren chanted, a music not so much concerned with words but vibrant with memories of hymns and psalms. The sound of their chanting was very like the rising and falling sound of the sea. They all knew what depths were in this sound, though to a stranger it might have sounded just like the hum of bees. . .
Once the cells were built, the brothers were ready to take on the first pupils. As there were twelve brothers, there would be twelve pupils to start with. Each pupil would have a teacher, an anamchara, that is one who shared his cell. Not all teaching would be done one-to-one but each needed a personal guide and soul mate. The foundations had been laid, now the work Oswald had called them to do could begin......
Into this place of quiet poured visitors: kings and royal family, visiting cleric, courtiers, local leaders, seekers. The island was just off the main road, that is the sea road, so it was not far from the daily traffic. Countless people crossed the sands on foot or on horseback. This in itself worried the monks. Too often people did not understand the tide and were in danger of getting caught or even drowned. More than one had lost their life to the incoming tide. To the south of the usual crossing there were quicksands. So it was decided to place small cairns as markers, to allow people to come in a reasonably straight line but respecting the dangers. This is how we often have to go through life; we all need markers and guides. [Below: today there are poles to guide the way]
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| Image: Andrew Locking, https://www.andrewswalks.co.uk/holy-island.html , no changes |
On leaving the island, the river near the mainland was
always the danger point. The monks tried to make sure that leaving visitors
knew how long it would take them and were aware of the danger. In this world we
are all set amid dangers and we need to heed those who have learned the way. If
we ignore the experience of the past, we run great risks with our lives.
As people came in their hundreds, the desert was in danger of
becoming a city. Aidan was being sought out by more and more people. The busier
he became, the more time he needed to spend with God. The more he poured out,
the more he needed to get away from it all and be renewed and restored. The
need became more serious as the numbers increased and the guesthouse filled,
and more people learned to stay over the tide. There were times when it seemed
there was no escaping people, no hiding place. They seemed to interrupt
everything. Aidan accepted that such invasions were the very thing he was here
for. But he needed his quiet. The north shore of the island provided a good
escape, but even here he was sought out. So he started going to the little
Hobthrush island that was also tidal. It was only a few hundred yards from the
monastery on the south-west corner of the island, but it was cut off by the
tide twice in twenty-four hours.
Here he built a beehive cell in the tradition of the Celtic hermits. He would share this place with the heron and eider duck, then in the autumn, with the godwits, oystercatchers, and other waders. The seals would come close to see what was occupying this little island which Aidan prepared by prayer and fasting. In the latter part of the year thousands of geese would also come around this small island.
Then the visitors started to come also. The little island was not far enough away to remain Aidan’s desert. People hailed him from the shore. Monks shouted to say an important guest had arrived and needed to see him urgently. Some even came out on horseback or by coracle. Aidan knew he had to find somewhere further off as his special desert. On mentioning this to Oswald, they both saw that the answer was simple. Another island.
The islands off Bamburgh were plentiful in number. Some were only small jagged rocks that disappeared at high tide. Some were full of sea birds and seals. None were thought to be habitable.
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| Image: Andrew Locking, https://www.andrewswalks.co.uk/farne-islands.html , no changes
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It would seem that the nearest of the islands [Inner Farne, below] was the
largest and most likely to sustain a tough way of living, but Oswald had his
doubts. It was said that the island was inhabited by demons, small dark beings
who put fear into any who had ventured there. Other members of the court swore
that there were evil creatures there. They said that strange creatures lured
ships to be stranded and the sailors drowned.
Aidan saw this as a challenge, and at the same time a
witness to the power of God. He would go there and be alone. Through prayer he
would ward off the demons and banish them from his desert in the ocean. This,
he announced, was not a simple battle. It could not be done in a moment, it
would take about six weeks. In one of the Lenten times, the Lent of Jesus, the
Lent of Moses or the Lent of Elijah, Aidan would go and fight off all that
would harm. Oswald was a soldier and used to battles but he feared for Aidan.
He had heard too many stories of marsh hags and sea monsters. He knew that
there were so many things that could destroy a man. He knew also that Aidan was
determined to live out the words, ‘Be strong in the Lord and in the power of
his might.’
Aidan asked that he might have supplies. He
would not need much, and he hoped that in time he would manage to grow all he
needed there. It could only be his desert if he could remain without too much
help. He needed a place where he could truly have no one to speak to but God, a
place where he could be still and know that he was enfolded in love. . .
This island helped Aidan to keep a balanced life. Whenever
time allowed, he escaped there to be alone with God. Each season he planned to
have some time there. Only in this way could he give God the priority He is
due. It was also a good witness to the importance of prayer. These were
turbulent times. Aidan prayed often for peace and the spread of the gospel.
These extracts are taken from 'Flame
of the Heart' by David Adam and were reproduced by kind
permission of SPCK in some of our old blog posts, including this one: https://saintaidanorthodoxchurch.blogspot.com/2014/08/august-24th-reading.html
You can read the book or order
the book from our library here:
https://www.librarycat.org/lib/saintaidan/item/198357119
