Cuthbert of Lindisfarne (d. 687), prior (later bishop) of Lindisfarne, was a key figure in the ecclesiastical establishment of Northumbria. He became a hermit in 676 and moved to Farne Island, but he was recalled in 685 to become bishop. He was declared a saint after his death when his body was exhumed and found incorrupt; his body was translated several times due to Viking raids, but it eventually found a permanent home in Durham Cathedral, where it remains to this day. Most of our information about Cuthbert comes from an anonymous vita by a monk of Lindisfarne, as well as an opus geminatum (paired prose and verse versions of the same work) by the Venerable Bede, who also gave Cuthbert a prominent place in his Ecclesiastical History. James Raine (1791-1858), deacon and librarian to the dean and chapter of Durham Cathedral, was a skilled archivist whose work cotributed to many authors' histories of Northumbria. His proximity to many primary sources enabled him to write this book about the state of St. Cuthbert's tomb when it was examined in 1827. Purchased through the generosity of the Bundy Family.