Died c. 758. A monk hermit at Lindisfarne off the coast of
Northumberland in northern England, Bilfred was an expert goldsmith. He
bound with gold, silver, and gems the famous Saint Cuthbert's copy of
the Gospels of Lindisfarne, written and illuminated by bishop Eaddfrid.
In life and in death he was the centre of great popular veneration
(
Benedictines,
Delaney).
* * *
St. Billfrid and the Lindisfarne Gospels c.756
Billfrid, before he became a hermit, was a distinguished goldsmith and
was venerated as a saint during his life and after his death.
St. Ethelwold commissioned him to make a cover for the precious Gospels
of the Abbey at Lindisfarne. The history of this manuscript is known
from a note written at the end of the book when the monks who guarded it
and the body of St. Cuthbert were at Chester-le-Street.
Eadfrith, Bishop of the church at Lindisfarne,
he first wrote this book for God and St. Cuthbert
and for all the saints in common that are in the island,
and Ethilwald, Bishop of those of Lindisfarne Island,
bound and covered it outwardly as well as he could.
And Billfrith the anchorite he wrought as a smith the
ornaments on the outside and adorned it with gold and
with gems, and also with silver over-gilded,
a treasure without deceit
.
The Gospels were at Lindisfarne for almost two hundred years, but they
were very nearly lost when the island was abandoned in 875 because of
the Danish raids. Symeon of Durham describes the anguish of the monks
when the ship carrying the Gospels was hit by a storm and the book sank
into the depths of the sea. The Gospels were miraculously recovered
through the intervention of St. Cuthbert and St. Billfrid, the former
appearing in a vision to one of the monks telling them to search the
shore at low tide. This they did and, after searching for more than
three miles, they came across the book, its gold and jewels gleaming and
the pages unharmed by its immersion in salt water.
At Chester-le-Street the monk Aldred translated the Latin into the
Northumbrian dialect, writing the words beneath the Latin script and so
making the first English version of the Gospels. It was treasured at
Durham until the Dissolution, when the cover was melted down, but the
book itself is now in the British Museum. St. Billfrid's relics were
discovered after a vision by a priest, Alfred Westow, and translated to
Durham where he is commemorated with St. Baldred on March 6th also
(
Graham).
Painted Labyrinth - the World of the Lindisfarne Gospels
You can 'turn the pages' of the Lindisfarne Gospels now!
We have selected 40 of the most beautiful pages from
the manuscript.
http://www.bl.uk/whatson/exhibitions/forthcoming_1.html