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Roman and Irish Missionaries in England
being cut from his body when he was slain in battle,
remained entire and uncorrupted, being kept in a silver
case as revered relics in St. Peter's Church in the royal
city of Bamborough. Instructed by the teaching of
Aidan, Oswald not only learned to hope for a heavenly
kingdom unknown to his progenitors, but also extended
his earthly kingdom, and through the king's management
the provinces of Deira and Bernicia were peacefully
united and their inhabitants molded into one people. 1
Here we have a picture of Aidan in the character of
statesman and prime minister. A man of varied culture
and balanced judgment, his influence appears to have been
strongly in the direction of union of effort and broader
organization in national life. Considering that he was a
stranger among a barbarous people, the reverence in
which he was held and his undisputed authority speak
eloquently for his character and gifts.
Oswald thus, with Aidan's aid, succeeded in uniting
Deira and Bernicia and became, after the Irish fashion,
a sort of ard righ or high king over most of England.
Throughout this area Irish teachers became numerous.
Preaching the gospel was their main business, but it was
by no means their sole business. As the years went on
they trained the natives in agriculture and the breeding
of cattle, in carpentry, in building, and the use of the
forge, in metal and enamel work, in stonecutting, and
in the preparation, transcription and ornamentation of
books. In several of these lines their work and that of
their English understudies remain in examples that have
attracted the attention of archeologists for centuries.
iHist. Eccl. Ill, VL
213