Cloud of Witnesses: The rich man in his castle...

By about 600, Anglo-Saxon Britain had become a patchwork quilt of different kingdoms, each with its own monarchy and social institutions. The principal kingdoms at this time, known as the Anglo-Saxon heptarchy, were Bernicia, Deira, Lindsey, Mercia, Wessex, Kent and East Anglia. In 633, however, King Oswald of Bernicia annexed Deira and Lindsey to form a new kingdom of Northumbria. At its height, Northumbria encompassed much of northern Britain from the Firth of Forth in the north to a line drawn between the Humber and the Mersey in the south, making Oswald one of the most powerful monarchs in the land. Later revered as a saint as well as a king, Oswald appears in windows in the nave, the south transept and the cloister of Chester Cathedral. 

Having been crowned king of Northumbria and established his castle stronghold at Bamburgh, high on the Northumbrian coast, Oswald set about rescuing Celtic Christianity from the Anglo-Saxon paganism that had pervaded much of his new kingdom. To this end, he invited missionaries from Iona, a Scottish centre of Gaelic monasticism, to join the endeavour. Among those who responded was an Irish monk, Aidan, whom Oswald appointed bishop of Northumbria in 635 and to whom he gave the island of Lindisfarne, just to the north of Bamburgh, as his episcopal base. St Aidan, as he later became by popular acclaim, is depicted in windows in the nave and the cloister.

Supported by King Oswald, Aidan now embarked upon an ambitious mission to the people of Northumbria, walking from village to village and talking to those he met from all strata of society. He was as comfortable conversing with noblemen at King Oswald’s table in Bamburgh castle as he was with peasants and slaves in their huts and hovels. In time, Aidan and his fellow-monks gradually succeeded in restoring Celtic Christianity to the Northumbrian countryside. Churches and schools were built, monasteries were founded, and orphans were educated. 

It was under Aidan’s guidance that Lindisfarne became a centre of learning and a seminary for the training of young men seeking ordination in the Celtic church. Among them was Chad, the scion of a noble Northumbrian family who, together with his brother Cedd, was tutored by Aidan at Lindisfarne before continuing his education in Ireland. Both brothers were later acclaimed as saints, but only Chad has a window at Chester where he is depicted in the cloister carrying a staff and water bottle.

King Oswald died in a battle against Mercian pagans in 642. Just thirty-eight, he was soon recognised as a saint, and miracles were believed to have occurred at the site of his death near Oswestry. Oswald was particularly remembered for his generosity to strangers. Once, when he was dining with Aidan at Bamburgh, a crowd of poor people gathered outside the castle begging for alms. When Oswald ordered the remains of the royal meal to be taken out and given to the beggars, Aidan seized the king’s right hand and said: ‘May this hand never perish’. The hand and arm remained uncorrupted after Oswald’s death - or so it was said.

St Aidan died in 651 and was buried in the abbey church on Lindisfarne. Like Oswald before him, he was also acknowledged as a saint. His cult was revived in the 11^th century when the monks of Glastonbury acquired what were claimed to be some of his remains. 

St Chad eventually became a bishop in the kingdom of Mercia following the conversion of King Wulfhere (the father of St Werburgh) to Christianity. Widely revered for his holiness and humility, Chad established his episcopal base at Lichfield, from where he converted much of Mercia to Roman Christianity. He died, possibly from the plague, in 672 and was buried at what is now the site of Lichfield cathedral. In the 19^th century his supposed remains were taken from Lichfield and reinterred in the Roman Catholic cathedral of St Chad in Birmingham.

These three Northumbrian saints – Oswald, Aidan and Chad - are rightly remembered not only for their virtues in office but also for their humility and service. They were as comfortable conversing with peasants as they were dining in the splendour of Bamburgh castle. In that sense, they can perhaps still speak to us today. There may not be beggars outside our doors to whom we can give the remains of a right royal banquet, as there were at Bamburgh, but we can ‘buy a hot drink for the homeless’ in the Cathedral refectory.