Culdees

The Culdees (Irish: Céli Dé, lit. "Companions of God") were members of ascetic Christian monastic and eremitical communities of Ireland, Scotland, and England in the Middle Ages. The etymology of the term, the persons designated by it, their origin, their doctrines, the rule or rules under which they lived and the limits of their authority and privileges have all been matters of controversy. All admit, however, that (in the beginning at all events) the Culdees were separated from the mass of the faithful, that their lives were devoted to religion and that they lived in community. Appearing first in Ireland and subsequently in Scotland, attached to cathedral or collegiate churches, they lived in monastic fashion though not taking monastic vows. From the 12th century Scottish and Irish Christianity was regulated on the Roman pattern and in the process the Culdees also lost any distinctiveness they may formerly have had and were brought under canonical rule.

Name

According to Philip Schaff, the term Culdee or Ceile De, or Kaledei, first appears in the eighth century. While "giving rise to much controversy and untenable theories", it probably means servants or worshippers of God. It was applied to anchorites, who, in entire seclusion from society, sought the perfection of sanctity. They afterwards associated themselves into communities of hermits, and were finally brought under canonical rule along with the secular clergy, until at length the name of Culdee became almost synonymous with that of secular canon.

Culdee Fell Railway

The Culdee Fell Railway (CFR) is a fictional narrow gauge rack and pinion railway appearing in the book Mountain Engines written by the Rev. W. Awdry. The stories are based on incidents in the history of the Snowdon Mountain Railway.

Awdry visited the Snowdon Mountain Railway (SMR) with his friend, the Rev. Teddy Boston, in early 1963. That summer he wrote a 2-part article about it in his series "Remarkable Railways", for the Church of England Newspaper. The Director of the SMR at the time, A.O.E. Davis, suggested that Awdry might like to include a similar railway on Sodor. Fortunately, a suitable mountain was already marked on the first published maps of Sodor, the 2046 ft-high Culdee Fell.

In the book, the Culdee Fell Railway runs from Kirk Machan, where it meets the standard gauge line from Killdane to Peel Godred, to the summit of Culdee Fell. Devil's Back is a high exposed ridge which the railway runs along, corresponding to Clogwyn of the real Snowdon Mountain Railway.