Herbert of Derwentwater
Saint Herbert of Derwentwater (died 20 March 687) was an Anglo-Saxon priest and hermit who lived on the small St Herbert's Island in Derwentwater, Cumbria, England. His friendship with St Cuthbert is explored in a poem by William Wordsworth.
Biography
Information on Herbert's life comes from Book IV Chapter 29 of Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People (c. 731) and the Life of St. Cuthbert (c. 720s).[1]
Herbert's date of birth is unknown. He was for long a close friend and disciple of Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, at whose request he became an anchorite, living for many years on the small Derwentwater island now named after him.[2] He ate fish from the lake and grew vegetables round his cell.[3]
Herbert visited Cuthbert in
Veneration
Herbert's feast day is 20 March. Cuthbert's feast is more popular and Herbert's has been largely forgotten. The remains of his hermitage survive at the north end of St Herbert's Island.[4] Each year the Catholic parish of Our Lady of the Lakes and St Charles arranges to celebrate Mass on St Herbert's Island in his memory.[4] Since 1983 pilgrimages have been made from Chadderton to Cumbria, parishioners joining others from Lake District churches in crossing Derwentwater and celebrating Mass on the island.
There are churches dedicated to St Herbert at Braithwaite and Carlisle in Cumbria, Darlington in County Durham and Chadderton in Greater Manchester.[5] Friars' Crag on Derwentwater is named after the monks who sailed to St Herbert's Island on pilgrimage to visit the saint.[3]
The Dominican priest, philosopher and theologian Herbert McCabe's novice master, Columba Ryan, gave him the religious name Herbert, in an ironic reference to McCabe's tendency to shock.[6]
In literature
William Wordsworth's poem For The Spot Where The Hermitage Stood on St Herbert's Island, Derwentwater, marks the spiritual friendship between Ss Cuthbert and Herbert.
St Herbert appears under the name "Erebert" as a character in
St Herbert's Island inspired "Owl Island" in Beatrix Potter's book The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin.[3]
References
- ^ Flight, Tim. "Who was Herbert of Derwent Water?", National Trust
- ^ a b Toke, Leslie (1910). "St. Herbert of Derwentwater". Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
- ^ a b c "Saint Herbert and his Island". Lake District National Park.
- ^ a b Welch, Annette. "St. Herbert and his Island". Our Lady of the Lakes, Keswick. Archived from the original on 9 May 2006.
- ^ "Life of St Herbert". St. Herbert's, Chadderton. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
- ^ Mills, John Orme (24 July 2001). "Fr Herbert McCabe". The Independent. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
External links
- grid reference NY265215 location of St Herbert's Island