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Reginald of Durham (died c. 1190) was a
Coldingham, Reginald of (d. c.1190)
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 6 February 2012
The details of his life are uncertain, but he was "apparently of English descent" and had joined the monks at Durham by around 1153. He was active in the 1160s and 1170s, spending time in Finchale with the hermit and saint Godric, and writing the works for which he is now known. It is thought that the time spent in Coldingham came later, after 1188, though again this is not certain – an alternative explanation for the association with Coldingham is that it was his birthplace, though this is considered less likely.
Two lengthy works on saints are attributed to Reginald. The first is an account of the life of Godric—including his taming influence on the snakes of Finchale that eventually nestled by his fireside—and the miracles that followed the saint's death. The second is a collection of 129 posthumous miracles attributed to the 7th-century saint Truax, Jean. ''Aelred the Peacemaker: The Public Life of a Cistercian Abbot'', Liturgical Press, 2017, p. 82
A fourth work may have been the basis of a sermon about St Ebba (615–683), however the sermon itself is not in the style associated with Reginald. According to Tudor, that style could "degenerate into almost incomprehensible turgidity", but his desire for detail and capacity for close observation made him capable of "extremely vivid evocation of contemporary conditions".
Life of Saint Godric
' – excerpts 1190s deaths English Benedictines Christian hagiographers English Christian monks 12th-century English people Year of birth unknown
Benedictine
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
monk and hagiologist, a member of the Durham Priory and associated with Coldingham Priory in Scotland.Victoria TudorColdingham, Reginald of (d. c.1190)
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 6 February 2012
The details of his life are uncertain, but he was "apparently of English descent" and had joined the monks at Durham by around 1153. He was active in the 1160s and 1170s, spending time in Finchale with the hermit and saint Godric, and writing the works for which he is now known. It is thought that the time spent in Coldingham came later, after 1188, though again this is not certain – an alternative explanation for the association with Coldingham is that it was his birthplace, though this is considered less likely.
Two lengthy works on saints are attributed to Reginald. The first is an account of the life of Godric—including his taming influence on the snakes of Finchale that eventually nestled by his fireside—and the miracles that followed the saint's death. The second is a collection of 129 posthumous miracles attributed to the 7th-century saint Cuthbert
Cuthbert of Lindisfarne () ( – 20 March 687) was a saint of the early Northumbrian church in the Hiberno-Scottish mission, Celtic tradition. He was a monk, bishop and hermit, associated with the monastery, monasteries of Melrose Abbey#Histo ...
, such as those associated with St Cuthbert's Well. The stated purpose of his ''libellus'' or "little book", kept near Cuthbert's shrine in Durham Cathedral
Durham Cathedral, formally the , is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Durham, England. The cathedral is the seat of the bishop of Durham and is the Mother Church#Cathedral, mother church of the diocese of Durham. It also contains the ...
, was to honour Cuthbert; it was also in the interests of the monastic community in Durham to maintain the cult of Cuthbert when that of the 12th-century saint Thomas
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
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* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the A ...
was growing in Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
. A much shorter work concerned another 7th-century saint, Oswald, a martyred King of Northumbria. All three of these works included contributions by Aelred of Rievaulx, who encouraged and aided Reginald's work.A fourth work may have been the basis of a sermon about St Ebba (615–683), however the sermon itself is not in the style associated with Reginald. According to Tudor, that style could "degenerate into almost incomprehensible turgidity", but his desire for detail and capacity for close observation made him capable of "extremely vivid evocation of contemporary conditions".
Notes
References
* *, "A Norwegian in Durham: Anatomy of a Miracle in Reginald of Durham's ''Libellus de admirandis beati Cuthberti''" by H. Antonsson, S. Crumplin and A. Conti (for a summary of the three miracles) * * (for a discussion of the role of Reginald of Durham's ''Libellus'' in the cult of St Cuthbert) *External links
{{wikisource, Reginald of Coldingham (DNB00), Reginald of Coldingham *Life of Saint Godric
' – excerpts 1190s deaths English Benedictines Christian hagiographers English Christian monks 12th-century English people Year of birth unknown