The history of the Church of Englande. Compiled by Venerable Bede, Englishman. Translated out of Latin in to English by Thomas Stapleton student in diuinite

How Aedilwalde Cutberts successour lyuing a solitary and here∣mytes lyffe alayd by prayer for certaine of his Bretherne a greate tem∣pest in the sea.

The. 1. Chapter

THE famous and reuerende father Aedilwalde, which by vertuous and worthy behauiour of him selfe many yeres in the monastery called Inripe, brought the office of priesthoode ta∣ken vppon him in greate reuerence and esti∣mation, succeded Cutbert the man of God in practise of that solytary and lonefull lyffe, which he passed in Farne island before he was made bishoppe. Whose worthynesse and good lyfe, that all men may more euidently perceaue, I will declare one miracle wrought by him as one of the same company for and in whome it was wrought, declared to me: to wit Gutfride a faithfull seruante of Iesus Christe by vocation a priest,* 1.1 who afterwarde was Abbot of the same church of Lyndisfarne whe∣re he was brought vpp. I came (saide he) with ij. other off my bretherne to Farne Island desyring to speake with the reue∣rend father Aedilwald. And when we had talked with him a whyle to our greate comforte, and afterwarde receiuing his blessing haste nyd homewarde againe, beholde, sodainly as we were in the mydest off the sea, the caulme in which we sayled was taken awaye, and so greate a tempest and terrible storme came vppon vs, that neither with sayle nor ower we coulde pre¦uaile, nor presently looke for any thinge but deathe. And when we striuing longe with the wynde and the seas to no effecte,

looked backe at the lenght, if perchaunce by any possible mea∣nes we might returne backe to the Iland agayne from whence we came, we manifestly perceaued that on euery syde with lee∣ke tempest our iourney was staied, and retourne intercepted: and no hope of escape in our selfes: Afterwarde when we de∣scried the lande a farre of and looked stedely towardes the same, we sawe in Farne islande that vertuous and holy father Aedilwalde come out of his caue to loke howe we sayled awa∣ye. For as sone as he heard the blusteringe of the winde, and rage of the Ocean sea, he came foorthe to see what might hap∣pen and chaunce to vs. And when he sawe vs labouring harde against the surges of the sea, and in cleane desperation of reco∣uering the lande, he fell downe vppon his knees: and prayed to almighty God, father of our Lorde Iesus Christ to deliuer vs from that present daunger of death: And when he had ended his prayer, he appeased the rage of the sea in such sorte, that the violence of the storme all together ceasing, we had winde and wether at will without any surges of the sea or greate waues of water, vntill we came to lande. When we were on grounde, and had layde our shippe at ancre, streytwayes the same storme and tempest which for our sakes was a litle whyle alayed, be∣ganne againe, and ceased not his rage all that daye, to thende it might be geuen vs to vnderstand, that the litle caulme which happened, was geuen of God from heauen at the contempla∣tion of that godly mans prayer, to deliuer vs oute of daunger. This vertuous man, high in fauour with God continued in Farne island xij. yeares, and there died: but he is buried in Lin∣disfarne island: Nere to the place where the bodyes of the fore∣mentioned bishops lye: in saincte Peter the Apostle his church. These thinges were done in kinge Elfrides raigne, who was kinge of Northumberlande xviij. yeares after his brother E••g∣fride.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Holy Ilond.