It seems strange that the House of God the Peacemaker and the shrine of
St. Cuthbert the "incorruptible" should have been used as a prison-house
of corruptible beings and peace-breakers,--legitimised murderers,--for
here were interned the Scotch prisoners to the number of forty-five
hundred, after the battle of Dunbar, and ample scope of amusement was
given for their empty brains, as their ruthless exercise of the
privilege records.
The Chapel of the Nine Altars still contains the remains of St.
Cuthbert. When the tomb was opened in 1827 a number of curious and
interesting books and MSS., the portable altar, vestments, and other
relics were found. These are now placed in the Cathedral Library. The
Cathedral Library was formerly the dormitory and refectories of the
abbey, as it was originally styled.
In this connection one is led to speculate upon the possible early
evolution of religious thought of early Christianity, and to half
suspect that the "Nine Altars" in the Galilee Chapel and the "Woman's
Bar" were the remnants of symbols of pre-Christian era, retained for the
obvious purpose of satisfying converts to the faith still young.
There is a strong flavour of the worship of the Nine Muses of pagan
times, and of the Judaical laws with regard to women either within or
without the places of worship.
Tradition has it that St. Cuthbert was a misogynist, and so strong was
it that the precincts of St. Cuthbert were strictly guarded against the
encroachment of women. To enforce this "The Boundary Cross" or "Woman's
Bar" was constructed to limit their approach, in the south of the nave.
By this attitude towards women St. Cuthbert, as a priest, only
foreshadowed the present regime of the Church of Rome as regards
matrimonial obligations on the part of its servants. For so saintly a
man must not be taken as a hater of women, or his beatification as the
son of a woman would have no sense, and would call his incorruptibility
into question, and his saintliness of character in grave doubt.
The chief entrance to the Cathedral was originally in the west end, but
when Bishop Pudsey built the Galilee Chapel, a doorway was constructed
in the north end, framed in a rich and deeply recessed Norman arch,
doing away with the necessity of the great entrance. Fixed to the door
is the famous Norman knocker, suspended from the mouth of a grotesque
monster, by which offenders seeking sanctuary made their presence known.
[Illustration: DURHAM