The appearances presented on the examination of the remains of St.
Cuthbert in Durham Cathedral are in consistency with the opinion that
the mitre was not in vogue in Saxon times. Before the body of the saint
was put in the shrine in 1104, it was inspected. Reginald, who gives us
an account of this circumstance, says, “Upon the forehead of the holy
bishop there is a fillet of gold, not woven work, and of gold only
externally, which sparkles with most precious stones of different kinds,
scattered all over its surface.”[119] In 1827, when the remains were
again examined, Mr. Raine tells us. “The scull of the saint was easily
moved from its place; and when this was done, we observed on the
forehead, and apparently constituting a part of the bone itself, a
distinct tinge of gold of the breadth of an ordinary fillet.” It would
thus seem that a gilded fillet was the only mitre, if such it can be
called, which St. Cuthbert wore.