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The Venerable Bede (a 7th c. English monk-author) relates an account of St. Cuthbert leaving the monastery at Lindisfarne in the middle of the night and walking into the sea. He prayed until morning in water up to his neck. When he emerged from the sea he was followed by two otters who dried his feet by breathing on them and brushing them with their fur.
There are many miraculous stories associated with St. Cuthbert. The most impressive is the description of the opening of his coffin ten years after his death. His body was found perfectly intact, undecayed, gripping his pocket-sized Gospel book. Gospel books, such as the Lindisfarne and Book of Kells, often contain canonical tables. These were intended to help the reader find corresponding parts of scripture. For instance, if you wanted to read the story of the loaves and the fishes, the canonical tables would direct you to where those passages appear in each of the four Gospels. Canonical tables are an early example of something we take for granted: the index.
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