Saint Cuthbert was an anglo saxon. His foster mother was called Kenswith.He often looked after sheep and lambs on the hill tops of Northumbria.

One night he had a good dream about Saint Aidan. He wanted to be a monk. He went to Melrose Place. Boisil told Cuthbert how to be a good monk.

Later Cuthbert was walking down the road when someone came over to him and said, "you are going to be important".

Cuthbert told stories about God and Jesus for many years and helped sick people too. Then he went away to live by himself on an island with lots of different animals.

The King wanted Cuthbert to be bishop of Lindisfarne. Also some monks who liked to be with the king all wanted Cuthbert to be their bishop because he would be a good bishop. They asked him many times. He said "yes" but was very sad indeed. He was soon Bishop of Lindisfarne and worked very hard indeed for two years.

Then he went back to his island with his animals. Cuthbert was not very well. He asked the monks to keep his body in a very safe place when he died. Saint Cuthbert died on March 20th 687. The monks took his body back to Lindisfarne.

Then the vikings came to Lindisfarne 11 years after Saint Cuthbert had died. At 995 the monks took saint Cuthbert's coffin to Durham when they opened it his body had not decayed. They built a very small white church on a hill. Durham Cathedral stands on that hill still. Saint Cuthbert is buried there . His coffin is buried in Durham Cathedral and some of his favourite things are there too. His coffin and tomb are still there in 1997.

Bede was born in a place called County Durham which was in the North East between Jarrow and Monkwearmouth. He was born in the year 673. At the age of seven his mother and father died and he was placed in the care of Benedict Biscop.In the monastery of St. Peter.

Bede was gobsmacked when he saw inside the monastery,there were stained glass windows and lots of books . These were what interested him they were all beautifully written by hand and many capital letters were decorated with glowing colours that seemed to make them stand out of the book. Bede decided that what he most wanted to do was learn to read and write so that he could understand the books. Not a long time after that he wrote books in languages which were Hebrew,Greek,and Latin.

By this time Biscop had founded another monastery at Jarrow he sent one of his monks to look after it.This monk took young Bede, he stayed there forever . Bedes most famous book was the history of the english from the roman days to Bedes own days.His last book was a translation of the gospel of St.John from latin to english.

In 735 ad on Ascension Day all the monks went into the church for their great festival service only Bede and his scribe were left . His scribe said "Dear master there is still one sentence more ". Bede replied, "then write", so he wrote . Soon the boy said," now it is finished". "Thou hast said the truth" ,answered Bede, and died .

Later his monastery was destroyed by the vikings but his body was taken to Durham Cathedral where it lies in the Galilee Chapel . Because Bede had led such a good life he is nearly always called the Venerable Bede and because he was such a clever student he is sometimes called Father of English Learning.