St Aidan

Aidan, St (d. 651). First abbot of Lindisfarne, site of his see (634-51). Sent from Iona, replacing a severer colleague, to work closely with King Oswald in restoring Christianity in Northumbria, Aidan's legacy was profound: Lindisfarne, and his royal pupil Hilda, were stars in the later 7th-cent. firmament. Aidan's rejection of worldly behaviour and elevated associations partly explains the eclipse of his cult by Cuthbert's and his relative obscurity. Some of Aidan's relics were taken from Lindisfarne to Ireland by Colman, and his cult was revived at Glastonbury in the 10th cent.