Hilda of Whitby
Hilda of Whitby (also known as Saint Hilda of Whitby, l. 614-680 CE) was the founder and abbess of the monastery at Whitby, Kingdom of Northumbria, Britain. She was a Northumbrian princess who converted to Christianity with the rest of the court of her great-uncle, King Edwin of Deira (r. 616-633 CE), when she was 13. She was raised at Edwin's court in the tradition of Roman Catholicism, but at the age of 33 became an adherent of Celtic Christianity, tutored in the faith by Aidan of the monastery of Lindisfarne, and was abbess at Hartlepool Abbey before founding the monastery at Whitby.
She was highly educated and her wisdom was so legendary that her counsel was sought by nobility and commoners alike. Hilda was an able administrator, carefully overseeing the large estate of Whitby while also ministering to the needs of the community. She encouraged the shepherd Caedmon to share the famous hymn which came to him in a vision (Caedmon's Hymn, 7th century CE), the oldest extant poem in Old English, for which she is honored as patron saint of poetry in addition to her honor as patron saint of culture, literacy, and learning.
She hosted and presided over the Synod of Whitby in 664 CE which decided whether the traditions of Celtic or Roman Christianity would be adhered to in Britain and, even when the vote went against her side, stood beside the Church's decision and encouraged unity of vision in adhering to Roman tradition. Her story and Caedmon's Hymn is first recorded by Bede (l. 673-735 CE) in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People (published 731 CE). Hilda's virtuous life, wisdom, and unceasing care for others, no matter their social status, led to her veneration shortly after her death.
Northumbria & Early Life
The Kingdom of Northumbria (c. 604-954 CE) was originally divided between two separate, and hostile, political entities: Bernicia in the north and Deira in the south. These two were in continuous conflict until they were united in 604 CE under the reign of the king Aethelfrith (r. 593-616 CE) of Bernicia.
When Aethelfrith united the kingdoms, he disinherited the ruling house of Deira and drove the Deiran nobility, including Prince Edwin and his nephew Hereric, into exile. Hereric went to the Brittonic kingdom of Elmet (in present-day West Yorkshire) where he and his wife Breguswith had two daughters, Hereswith and Hilda. Hereric was poisoned while at the Elmet court and, after his death, the infant Hilda and her older sister were taken under the care of Edwin who was in exile in East Anglia.
When Aethelfrith died in 616 CE, Edwin returned and claimed the throne, ruling from Deira. Hereswith and Hilda were raised at Edwin's court. The peace established by Aethelfrith was threatened under Edwin by the Kingdom of Mercia at its border and the southern Kingdom of Wessex. In 626 CE, Cwichelm of Wessex (d. 636 CE) sent an assassin to kill Edwin but the plot was foiled and credit was given to the Christian god. Previously, the nobility of Northumbria was pagan but, in gratitude for his life, Edwin – and his entire court including Hilda – converted to Christianity in 627 CE.
Edwin had been victorious over the combined forces of Wessex and Mercia in late 626 CE at the Battle of Win-and-Lose Hill but King Penda of Mercia (r. c. 625-655 CE) turned on his allies, defeated them, and then struck at Northumbria. In 633 CE, Penda defeated the Northumbrians at the Battle of Hatfield Chase in which Edwin and his son Osfrith were both killed. Northumbria's power collapsed and Hilda fled with her mother and sister to Kent. Edwin was succeeded by Oswald (r. 634-642 CE), who devoted himself to turning his people from the religious errors of Roman Catholicism to what he viewed as the self-evident truth of Celtic Christianity.
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