Saint Cuthman of Steyning (d. 8th century) was an Anglo-Saxon hermit, church-builder and saint.
| Saint Cuthman of Steyning | |
|---|---|
| Hermit and shepherd | |
| Born | ? 681, Chidham, near Bosham, East Sussex |
| Died | ?8th century, Steyning, West Sussex |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church; Anglican Communion |
| Major shrine | St Andrew's, Steyning |
| Feast | 8th February |
| Attributes | wheelbarrow |
| Patronage | shepherds; Steyning; those displaced from office |
Life
Birth
In the Acta Sanctorum or 'lives of the saints' which were preserved at the Abbey of Fécamp in Normandy[1]it is said that he was born about 681 A.D., probably at Chidham, near Bosham, about 25 miles from Steyning, in the right area and time to be preached to by St Wilfrid, the Apostle of Sussex (680-685). It was probably he who converted and baptised them.[2]
Travels to Steyning
His legend states he was a shepherd who had to care for his paralysed mother after his father's death. When they fell on hard times and were forced to beg from door to door, he built a one-wheeled cart or wheelbarrow (with a rope from the handles over his shoulders taking part of the weight) in which he moved her around with him. They set out east from his home and, even though the rope broke, he improvised a new one from withies, deciding that when that rope broke he would accept it as a sign from God to stop at that place and build a church. [3]
The withy rope broke at the place now called Steyning. His biographer gives us his prayer:
- "Father Almighty, you have brought my wanderings to an end; now enable me to begin this work. For who am I, Lord, that I should build a house to name? If I rely on myself, it will be of no avail, but it is you who will assist me. You have given me the desire to be a builder; make up for my lack of skill, and bring the work of building this holy house to its completion."
After building a hut to accommodate his mother and himself, he began work on the church (now St Andrew's, Steyning, which has a Cuthman chapel in his honour), with help from the locals (for those who did not help received divine punishment). As the church was nearing completion and Cuthman was having difficulty with a roof-beam, a stranger showed him how to fix it. When Cuthman asked his name, he replied:
- "I am he in whose name you are building this church.[4]"
Whatever date we ascribe to Cuthman, this church was in existence by 857, for we know that King Ethelwulf was buried there in that year.
Veneration
Cuthman was venerated as a saint before the Norman Conquest. In charters of William the Conqueror Steyning is sometimes called "St. Cuthman's Port" or "St. Cuthman's Parish". There is a German engraving of him with his "cart" dated about 1450 and a choir seat carving at Ripon Cathedral dating from a few decades later. And at his birthplace of Chidham there was a Guild of St Cuthman, which was subject to a tax in 1522 under Henry VIII. Finally in 1658 the Bollandists transcribed and printed his Life, from an anonymous source, giving his feast day as February 8th. Though the church he founded is now dedicated to Andrew not Cuthman, it has a Cuthman chapel and a statue of him outside. A picture of him with his wheelbarrow also continues to be Steyning's logo on its town sign, and Christopher Fry wrote a play on him in 1938 called "The Boy with a Cart".
References
- ↑ After the Norman Conquest this abbey had acquired Cuthman's church at Steyning - by then dedicated to him - , turning it into a minster church, administered by a college of secular canons, and taking his relics to Fécamp. This college was dissolved in 1260 and the church was rebuilt, rededicated to St Andrew and became a standard parish church, with vicars appointed by the Abbey.
- ↑ Some authorities give him a date later than this.
- ↑ Some haymakers who were watching laughed at him, but a heavy rainstorm ruined their hay and taught them a lesson.
- ↑ ie Christ, who had been a carpenter before his ministry