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The ''Vita Sancti Cuthberti'' (English: "Life of Saint Cuthbert") is a prose hagiography from early medieval Northumbria. It is probably the earliest extant saint's life from Anglo-Saxon England, and is an account of the life and miracles of Cuthbert (died 687), a Bernician hermit-monk who became bishop of Lindisfarne. Surviving in eight manuscripts from Continental Europe, it was not as well read in the Middle Ages as the prose version by Bede. It was however Bede's main source for his two dedicated works on Cuthbert, the "Metrical Life" and the "Prose Life". It was completed soon after the translation of Cuthbert's body in 698, at some point between 699 and 705. Compiled from oral sources available in Bernicia at the time of its composition, the ''Vita'' nonetheless utilized previous Christian writing from the Continent, particularly Gregory the Great's ''Dialogi'' and Sulpicius Severus' ''Vita Sancti Martini'', as powerful influences. The name of the author is not known, though he was a monk of the monastery of Lindisfarne. It is often called the Anonymous Life to distinguish it from the "Prose Life" and the "Metrical Life" of Bede. There are four modern editions of the Anonymous Life, the latest by historian Bertram Colgrave. ==Background and sources== Written just after or possibly contemporarily with Adomnán's ''Vita Sancti Columbae'' ("Life of Saint Columba"), the Anonymous Life is the first piece of Northumbrian Latin writing and the earliest piece of English Latin hagiography.〔Love, "Hagiography", p. 226〕 This is an honour sometimes given to the anonymous ''Vita'' of Gregory the Great written at Whitby, though the date of 710 attributed to the latter by historian R. C. Love (in contrast to a date between 680 and 704) makes it later than the Anonymous Life of Cuthbert.〔Love, "Hagiography", p. 226; c/f Lapidge, "Anglo-Latin Literature", p. 13〕 The work is an account of the life and miracles of Cuthbert (), sometime Melrose monk, hermit of Farne and bishop of Lindisfarne who died on 20 March 687.〔Stancliffe, "Cuthbert, Pastor and Solitary", pp. 29–36〕 In common with Irish saints of the period, the Anonymous Life depicts the Bernician saint in the mold of Martin, bishop of Tours (died 397), who like Cuthbert successfully combined the role of hermit and bishop.〔Stancliffe, "Cuthbert, Pastor and Solitary", pp. 36–42; Thacker, "Origins", pp. 103–15〕 The Anonymous Life appears to have been particularly influenced by the example of Martin in its portrayal of Cuthbert's pastoral and healing activities.〔Thacker, "Origins", p. 113〕 It was commissioned by Bishop Eadfrith (died 721), the bishop famous for the Lindisfarne Gospels who also commissioned Bede's Prose Life of the saint.〔Stancliffe, "Cuthbert, Pastor and Solitary", p. 24; Williams, Smyth and Kirby, ''Biographical Dictionary of Dark Age Britain'', s.v. "Eadfrith" p. 112〕 The Anonymous Life was organised into four books; though this was not common in the literature of the day, it followed the organization of the metrical ''Vita Sancti Martini'' of Venantius Fortunatus, Gregory of Tours' ''De Virtutibus Sancti Martini'' and the ''Dialogi'' of Gregory the Great (containing an account of the life of Benedict of Nursia).〔Berschin, Berschin, "''Opus Deliberatum''", p. 98〕 This may be an indication that the author regarded Cuthbert as a saint of stature comparable with Benedict and Martin.〔Marner, ''St Cuthbert'', p. 12〕 The Anonymous Life's biggest literary influence was the Christian Scriptures,〔Colgrave, ''Two Lives'', p. 12〕 though it also borrowed some of the stories contained in Gregory's ''Dialogi'', Sulpicius Severus' ''Vita Sancti Martini'' and the ''Vita Sancti Antonii'', Evagrius' Latin translation of Athanasius' biography of Anthony the Great.〔Stancliffe, "Cuthbert, Pastor and Solitary", pp. 25, 27〕 This influence extends to long verbatim extracts, such as those from the Sulpicius Severus at book i chapter 2 and book iv chapter 1.〔Thacker, "Origins", p. 111, n. 58〕 The author was also familiar with Victor of Aquitaine's ''Epistola ad Hilarium'' and the ''Actus Silvestri''.〔 The primary source used however was the oral tradition of the Lindisfarne monks.〔 Many of the men the author consulted were unnamed priests, deacons and other men respected in their communities, though some are named directly, namely Ælfflaed, Æthilwald, Plecgils, Tydi and Walhstod.〔Colgrave, ''Two Lives'', pp. 12–13〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Vita Sancti Cuthberti」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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