s of compassion for their distress and a holy zeal
for religion, to put themselves at their head. Several battles were
prosperousiy fought; but at length the pious prince was murdered by the
contrivance of king Eardulf, the usurper, as Matthew of Westminster,
Simeon of Durham, and Florence of Worcester, say. Dr. Brown Willis, in
his Notitia of parliamentary boroughs, writes, with some ancients, that
he was slain by the Danes, about the year 819. His body was interred at
Lilleshult, in Shropshire; but afterwards translated to Derby, where he
was honored with great devotion as patron of the town, on the 19th of
March. An old manuscript sermon preached in his church at Derby, about
the year 1140, extant in a manuscript collection of sermons of that age
in my hands, folio 138, gives a particular history of this translation
of his relies to Derby, where his church became famous for miracles, and
for the resort of pilgrims. See on this saint the history of John of
Glastonbury, Matthew of Westminster, the manuscript sermon above
mentioned, and Henschenius t. 3, Mart. p. 47.

{625}

MARCH XX.

ST. CUTHBERT, CONFESSOR.

BISHOP OF LINDISFARNE.

From his life written by Bede, and from that author's Church-History, b.
4 c. 27 to c. 32. Simeon Dunelm, or rather Turgot, Hist. Dunelm,
published by Bedford: the old Latin hymn On St. Cuthbert, MS. in Bibl.
Cotton. n. 41, spud Wanley, p. 184, and four Latin prayers, in honor of
St. Cuthbert, MS. n. 190 in the library of Durham church. Warmley,
Catal. t. 2, p. 297. Harpsiald, saec. 7, c. 34. Hearne on Langtoft, t. 2,
p. 687. N.B. The history of Durham, which is here quoted, was compiled
by Turgot, prior of Durham, down to the year 1104, and continued to the
year 1161 by Simeon.

A.D. 687.

WHEN the Northumbrians, under the pious king Oswald, had, with great
fervor, embraced the Christian faith, the holy bishop St. Aidan founded
two monasteries, that of Mailros, on the bank of the Tweed, and another
in the isle of Lindisfarne, afterwards called Holy Island, four miles
distant from Berwick. In both he established the rule of St. Columba;
and usually resided himself in the latter. St. Cuthbert[1] was born not
very far from Mailros, and in his youth was much edified by the devout
deportment of the holy inhabitants of that house, whose fervor in the
service of God, and the discharge of the duties of a monastic life, he
piously endeavored to imitate on the mountains where he kept his