The golden days of the early English church : from the arrival of Theodore to the death of Bede . to disturb his remains any more, butwere persuaded by one of their companions namedLeofwin (meaning in Anglian a dear friend, saysour reporter), that it was their duty to open thissecond coffin also. They accordingly moved thevenerable body from behind the altar into themiddle of the choir, where there was more amplespace for their investigation. They first took offthe linen cloth which enveloped the coffin, and thentried to peer into the interior through a chink witha candle, but without success.
The golden days of the early English church : from the arrival of Theodore to the death of Bede . to disturb his remains any more, butwere persuaded by one of their companions namedLeofwin (meaning in Anglian a dear friend, saysour reporter), that it was their duty to open thissecond coffin also. They accordingly moved thevenerable body from behind the altar into themiddle of the choir, where there was more amplespace for their investigation. They first took offthe linen cloth which enveloped the coffin, and thentried to peer into the interior through a chink witha candle, but without success. They accordinglylifted the lid, and then found a third cover restingon transverse bars, and occupying the whole lengthand breadth of the coffin, so as to conceal its con-tents entirely. On its upper part, near the head,lay a book of the Gospels. They raised this lid bymeans of two iron rings fixed in it to lift it by, oneat the head and the other at the feet. Reginaldldescribes this innermost coffin (theca) as a quad-rangular chest with a flat cover, like the lid of a box. 1 Op. cit. ch. ST. CUTHBERHTS COFFIN 69 It was made entirely of black oak. He doubts, hesays, whether it had acquired this colour by age,from some device, or from nature. The wholeof it, he adds, was externally carved with admirableengraving of minute and delicate work. Thedesign was divided into small compartments,occupied by divers beasts, flowers, and images,which seemed to be inserted, engraved, or furrowedout in the wood. This excellent description isfully borne out by the remains of the coffin stillextant. These designs, which are made withincised lines, seem, says Mr. Raine, to have beencut on the surface of the wood by a sharp pointedknife or chisel, and partly by some instrument suchas the scrieve of the woodman ; this is con-firmed by the fact that a slight single line made withthe point of a knife, but now scarcely discernible,runs between each Reginald also speaks of the coffins
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booki, bookpublisherlondonmurray
