153:
of how Bede and
Stephen understood the issue rather than something like true quotations. Further, the motivations of the authors influenced how they presented the material. Bede placed his description of the event centrally in his narrative, and he has been recognised as overemphasising the historical significance of the synod because Easter calculation was of special interest to him, and also because he wished to stress the unity of the English Church. However, Bede's accuracy as a historian has been well regarded by Anglo-Saxon scholars, and historians have generally been comfortable following Bede's basic presentation of the synod. Stephen's text has found more criticism, and
281:(525) to produce a new reckoning, in order to resolve the differences between the Roman method and the more scientific method of the Alexandrian Church. The three reckonings often resulted in different dates for the celebration of Easter. Neither the Victorian or Dionysian reckonings were without problems. Dionysius had simply translated the Alexandrian system into Latin without understanding it. The Victorian system, confusingly, produced double dates, relying on the pope to choose which date to use. Nevertheless, the Victorian table was accepted widely outside the area of Irish influence. Around 602, the Irish missionary
488:. Wilfrid, chief advocate for the Roman position, later became Bishop of Northumbria, while Colmán and the Ionan supporters who did not change their practices withdrew to Iona. Colmán was allowed to take some relics of Aidan, who had been central in establishing Christianity of the Ionan tradition in Northumbria, with him back to Iona. To replace the departing ecclesiastics, Oswiu chose mostly Irishmen who were from the parts of Ireland that kept the Roman Easter (as most of Ireland had done for some time by the 660s).
88:
509:, the events of the synod have been symbolically interpreted as a "Celtic Church" opposing a "Roman Church", and the decision of Oswiu was thus interpreted as the "subjugation" of the "British Church" to Rome. There is a debate regarding the reality of a distinction between a pre-Whitby "Celtic" Church and a post-Whitby "Roman" Church. (Until fairly recently, the Scottish Divinity Faculty course on Church History ran from the
501:, and concerned only the part of the English Church that answered to the See of Lindisfarne: that is, it was a Northumbrian affair. Wilfrid's advocacy of the Roman Easter has been called "a triumphant push against an open door", since most of the Irish had already accepted the Roman Easter and for that reason Iona "was already in danger of being pushed to one side by its Irish rivals."
290:: "You should know that Victorius has not been accepted by our teachers and by the old Irish experts and by the mathematicians most skilled in the calculation of the computus, but was considered more worthy of ridicule and pity than of authority." But in Ireland also, debate raged over the best option for calculating the date of Easter.
341:, a Northumbrian churchman who had recently returned from Rome. Alchfrith's position in the royal house, together with his promotion of Wilfrid (who would be the spokesperson for the Roman position at the synod), has contributed to the view that he was instrumental in arranging his father's convocation of the synod.
533:
In placing the synod in its proper historical context, historians of Anglo-Saxon
England have also noted the position of the synod in the context of contemporary political tensions. Henry Mayr-Harting considered Alchfrith's interest in the convocation of the synod to be derived from his desire to see
152:
performed the same function as Oswiu). Nonetheless, it is important to observe that the authors, despite their relatively good access to sources concerning the synod, still wrote at a distance, and the accounts, especially the quotations attributed to the participants, are more likely to be summaries
180:
and its extensive network of daughter-houses, where the monks still observed an 84-year Easter cycle (as had earlier been the rule in Gaul and in Rome), whereas the newer tradition which was kept in Rome by this time was a 19-year cycle which had been adopted from the church of
Alexandria. In the
504:
Although the focus on Whitby is on the decisions on tonsure and dating of Easter, the synod was an important step in the eventual
Romanisation of the church in England; even though this Romanisation might have occurred anyway without the Synod of Whitby. Nonetheless, since the Protestant
525:, supplying the initial propaganda for the makers of the Scottish Kirk, until a startlingly recent date, there was warrant for an anti-Roman, anti-episcopal and, in the nineteenth century, anti-establishment stance in the Columban or "Celtic" Church. ... The idea that there
201:
gained the throne. He had learned
Christian practice from the monks of Iona during his stay there (while a political exile in his youth), and had encouraged Ionan missionaries to further the Christianization of Northumbria, especially the famous Bishop
383:, which was for him a foreign language, Wilfrid was selected as the prime advocate for the Roman party. King Oswiu presided over the synod and acted as the final judge, who would give his royal authority in support of one side or the other.
175:
In seventh-century
Britain there were several differences between Roman and Celtic Christianity. One of these was the method of calculating the date of Easter. The Celtic practice was that of the Gaelic monks associated with the isle of
251:
in 325 decreed that
Christians should no longer use the Jewish calendar but should universally celebrate Easter on a Sunday, the day of the resurrection, as had come to be the custom in Rome and Alexandria. Calculating the proper date
285:
had already been condemned by a synod of French clerics for ignoring their authority and following his homeland's Easter calculations (the
Victorian table was declared official in Gaul in 541). About AD 600 Columbanus wrote to
496:
The Synod of Whitby was just one of many councils held concerning the proper calculation of Easter throughout Latin
Christendom in the Early Middle Ages. It addressed the issues of Easter calculation and of the proper
452:, not in Rome. Bede presented the synod as a victory for the Roman party even though he had doubts whether the method was used in Rome. He produced his own version based on the Alexandrian tables, as amended by
441:
Oswiu then asked both sides if they agreed that Peter had been given the keys to the kingdom of heaven by Christ and pronounced to be "the rock" on which the Church would be built (as stated in
434:
Columba had done the best he could considering his knowledge, and thus his irregular practice is excusable, but the Ionan monks at present did not have the excuse of ignorance.
1070:
309:
found himself challenged by a monk named Ronan, an
Irishman who had been trained in Rome and who wished to see the Roman Easter established. It was only in the time of
431:
The customs of the apostle John were particular to the needs of his community and his age and, since then, the Council of Nicaea had established a different practice.
1025:
337:
considered him the "chief cause of trouble which led to the Synod". In the early 660s, he expelled Ionan monks from the monastery of Ripon and gave it to
1045:
293:
The proper date of the celebration of the most significant Christian feast had already resulted in visible disunity in the Northumbrian court: Queen
140:
presides and rules but does not engage in the ecclesiastics' debate himself, parallels examples of other synods in other sources, such as one in the
117:
93:
445:
16:18–19), to which they agreed. Oswiu then declared his judgment in favour of the holder of the keys, i.e. the Roman (and Petrine) practice.
951:
1010:
352:, herself a powerful Northumbrian noble and adherent to the Ionan Easter. The identification of the location with the place later called
136:
Both accounts basically agree, though Bede gives a much lengthier discourse on the debate. The description of the proceedings, where King
157:
identified many of his inaccuracies, but Stephen's account of the synod did not suffer the same criticism as other passages in his work.
1060:
1050:
1035:
305:. Nonetheless, the disunity did not result in problems as long as the well-respected Aidan was alive. After his death, his successor
840:
802:
738:
662:
197:
and thus had established the 19-year Easter cycle in his realm. However, following his death and a year of political instability,
226:
1020:
240:
568:
942:
Stevens, Wesley M. (2014). "Easter Controversy". In Lapidge, Michael; Blair, John; Keynes, Simon; Scragg, Donald (eds.).
133:, and dedicated many of his theological works to him. Acca was a companion of Wilfrid's on some of his journeys to Rome.
1030:
529:
a "Celtic Church" in something of a post-Reformation sense is still maddeningly ineradicable from the minds of students.
395:, founder of their monastic network and a saint of unquestionable holiness, who himself had followed the tradition of
379:
bishop who also held office in England. Because of Agilbert's inability to express the complicated arguments in
313:, the third Ionan monk elected Bishop of Northumbria, that the conflict required royal attention and resolution.
262:), and different calculation tables developed which resulted in different dates for the celebration of Easter.
553:
476:
The Synod of Whitby established the supposed Roman practice as the norm in Northumbria, and thus "brought the
364:
310:
1040:
896:
538:
challenged and to see the replacement of Colmán with another bishop who would be more aligned with himself.
248:
274:
989:
642:
198:
1055:
650:
510:
480:
church into the mainstream of Roman culture." The episcopal seat of Northumbria was transferred from
306:
298:
203:
186:
129:
itself, but he also had access to people who knew participants in the synod. For example, Bede knew
166:
154:
632:
see Poole, Reginald L. 'St. Wilfrid and the See of Ripon', in English Historical Review 34 (1919).
437:
Whatever the case, no one has authority over Peter (and thus his successors, the bishops of Rome).
391:
Bishop Colmán defended the Ionan calculation of Easter on the grounds that it was the practice of
920:
465:
334:
322:
259:
214:
947:
836:
798:
734:
658:
573:
453:
442:
410:
Wilfrid defended the Roman position on the following grounds (according to Bede's narrative):
278:
266:
190:
978:
558:
404:
396:
294:
265:
In the 660s, Ionan adherents chose to continue using the 84-year Latercus cycle invented by
230:
218:
72:
87:
1065:
983:
960:
522:
514:
400:
349:
330:
301:. While one royal faction was celebrating Easter, the other would still be fasting during
185:, these two traditions coexisted, and each had been encouraged by different royal houses.
103:
68:
422:
287:
244:
194:
130:
52:
1004:
932:
726:
646:
149:
1015:
889:
Abels, Richard. "The Council of Whitby: A Study in Early Anglo-Saxon Politics", in
76:
56:
32:
925:
721:
Barnwell, P.S.; Butler, L.A.S.; Dunn, C.J. (2003), "The Confusion of Conversion:
356:
is generally accepted, but not absolutely certain. Another possible candidate is
17:
506:
481:
477:
448:
However, Wilfrid's method of calculating the date of Easter was the one used in
418:
380:
270:
182:
108:
36:
965:
The Times of Bede: Studies in Early English Christian Society and its Historian
879:, ed. and trans. Bertram Colgrave (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985)
449:
282:
548:
464:(716–25). The Bedan tables came to be accepted in the British Isles and the
357:
145:
946:(Second ed.). Chichester, UK: Blackwell Publishing. pp. 160–161.
297:
of Bernicia and her court observed Easter on a different day than did King
535:
372:
254:
222:
170:
498:
392:
368:
338:
48:
982:
215:
controversy about the correct method of calculating the date of Easter
563:
376:
353:
221:
had probably originally celebrated Easter concurrent with the Jewish
112:
101:
There are two principal sources for the synod. The first source, the
44:
428:
It was the universal practice of the Church, even as far as Egypt.
415:
371:
had sent her chaplain Romanus, and the position was also taken by
326:
235:
210:
137:
64:
40:
831:
Wormald, Patrick (2006). "Bede and the 'Church of the English'".
793:
Wormald, Patrick (2006). "Bede and the 'Church of the English'".
647:"Letter on the Keeping of Easter to those not present at Nicaea"
485:
302:
177:
122:
60:
367:, Bishop of Northumbria. In support of the Roman position,
657:, vol. III, Signature Books (published 1996), §18–20,
619:
Patrick Wormald, 'Bede and the 'Church of the English', in
967:, ed. Stephen Baxter (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2006)
725:, Strensall and Whitby and the Northumbrian Church", in
321:
An important figure in the convocation of the synod was
944:
The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England
901:
The Rise of Western Christendom: Triumph and Diversity
111:
work written by Stephen of Ripon, often identified as
189:
had converted to Christianity under the influence of
774:
See C. W. Jones introductory text to his edition of
233:
of the first lunar month of the Jewish year, called
115:, probably soon after 710. The second source is the
926:The Coming of Christianity to Anglo-Saxon England
788:
786:
784:
709:The Coming of Christianity to Anglo-Saxon England
691:The Coming of Christianity to Anglo-Saxon England
513:to 664 before resuming in 1560.) In the words of
929:, 3rd edition (London: B. T. Batsford Ltd, 1991)
703:
701:
699:
414:It was the practice in Rome, where the apostles
125:, written in 731. One of Bede's sources was the
468:in the ninth century and in Rome in the tenth.
903:, 2nd ed. (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2003)
595:The Life of Bishop Wilfrid by Eddius Stephanus
425:had "lived, taught, suffered, and are buried".
938:, 3rd edition (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1971)
75:of Streonshalh (Streanæshalch), later called
8:
910:(London: Leicester University Press, 1995)
1071:Catholic Church councils held in England
86:
586:
43:ruled that his kingdom would calculate
998:Anglo-Saxon church council held in 664
915:The Kingdom of Northumbria AD 350–1100
908:Anglo-Saxon Church Councils c. 650–850
866:Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum
118:Historia Ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum
94:Historia Ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum
344:The synod was held at a place called
258:) was a complex process (involving a
55:rather than the customs practised by
7:
993:. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
778:(Cambridge, Mass., 1946) pp. 55–104.
363:The Ionan position was advocated by
63:and its satellite institutions. The
1026:Christianity in Anglo-Saxon England
213:of Whitby was convened to settle a
870:Venerabilis Baedae Opera Historica
763:Earliest Life of Gregory the Great
492:Legacy and historical significance
456:, for his own calculations in his
25:
1046:History of Catholicism in England
35:administrative gathering held in
987:. In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).
835:. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 207.
797:. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 210.
676:G.S.M. Walker (ed. and trans.),
460:(703) and in more detail in his
872:. ed. C. Plummer (Oxford, 1896)
569:Religion in the United Kingdom
1:
51:according to the customs of
1011:7th-century church councils
819:Rise of Western Christendom
608:Anglo-Saxon Church Councils
227:Passover, Christian holiday
191:missionaries sent from Rome
1087:
1061:Time in the United Kingdom
1051:History of North Yorkshire
891:Journal of British Studies
164:
1036:Christianity in Yorkshire
776:Bedae Opera de Temproibus
534:his father's position in
229:), which was held on the
47:and observe the monastic
984:"Synod of Whitby"
733:, York Medieval Press,
655:The Life of Constantine
329:'s son and sub-king in
269:c. 410. Meanwhile, the
249:First Council of Nicaea
91:A manuscript of Bede's
1021:7th century in England
877:Life of Bishop Wilfrid
678:Sancti Columbani opera
531:
275:Victorius of Aquitaine
195:Pope Gregory the Great
98:
990:Catholic Encyclopedia
680:(Dublin, 1957), p. 7.
554:Colmán of Lindisfarne
519:
247:19:14. However, the
199:Oswald of Northumbria
90:
39:in 664, wherein King
752:Stevens, pp. 160–161
731:The Cross Goes North
651:Eusebius of Caesaria
511:Acts of the Apostles
348:, at a monastery of
187:Edwin of Northumbria
142:Vita Sancti Bonifati
1031:Celtic Christianity
936:Anglo-Saxon England
921:Mayr-Harting, Henry
917:(Alan Sutton, 1993)
906:Cubitt, Catherine,
462:De Temporum Ratione
277:(AD 457) and later
167:Celtic Christianity
875:Stephen of Ripon,
606:Catherine Cubitt,
466:Carolingian Empire
335:Henry Mayr-Harting
283:St Columbanus
260:lunisolar calendar
99:
953:978-0-470-65632-7
884:Secondary sources
833:The Times of Bede
795:The Times of Bede
621:The Times of Bede
574:Paschal Full Moon
521:From the days of
279:Dionysius Exiguus
273:had commissioned
267:Sulpicius Severus
239:, the day of the
18:Council of Whitby
16:(Redirected from
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994:
986:
979:Herbert Thurston
961:Wormald, Patrick
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499:monastic tonsure
219:Early Christians
113:Eddius Stephanus
73:double monastery
67:was summoned at
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127:Life of Wilfrid
104:Life of Wilfrid
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29:Synod of Whitby
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610:p. 6–7.
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148:(where King
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109:hagiographic
102:
100:
92:
77:Whitby Abbey
28:
26:
1056:Northumbria
893:, 23 (1984)
643:Constantine
597:, pp. i–ix.
507:Reformation
482:Lindisfarne
381:Old English
360:near York.
317:Convocation
271:Papal Curia
241:crucifixion
183:Northumbria
181:kingdom of
37:Northumbria
1005:Categories
761:Colgrave,
593:Colgrave,
450:Alexandria
405:evangelist
165:See also:
161:Background
821:, p. 361.
711:, p. 108.
693:, p. 107.
623:, p. 211.
549:Bretwalda
454:Dionysius
358:Strensall
323:Alchfrith
146:Willibald
59:monks at
33:Christian
981:(1913).
542:See also
536:Bernicia
397:St. John
387:Decision
377:Frankish
373:Agilbert
255:computus
223:Passover
171:Computus
817:Brown,
765:, p. 9.
729:(ed.),
653:(ed.),
645:(325),
472:Outcome
443:Matthew
401:apostle
393:Columba
369:Eanfled
339:Wilfrid
295:Eanfled
121:by the
107:, is a
83:Sources
49:tonsure
1066:Whitby
950:
864:Bede,
839:
801:
737:
661:
564:Easter
416:Saints
365:Colmán
354:Whitby
311:Colmán
45:Easter
31:was a
868:, in
649:, in
581:Notes
419:Peter
350:Hilda
331:Deira
327:Oswiu
307:Finan
299:Oswiu
236:Nisan
225:(see
211:Synod
204:Aidan
138:Oswiu
69:Hilda
65:synod
57:Irish
41:Oswiu
948:ISBN
837:ISBN
799:ISBN
735:ISBN
659:ISBN
486:York
423:Paul
421:and
403:and
399:the
375:, a
303:Lent
245:John
209:The
178:Iona
169:and
61:Iona
53:Rome
27:The
1016:664
527:was
484:to
193:by
144:by
71:'s
1007::
963:,
923:.
899:.
783:^
698:^
517::
407:.
333:.
325:,
217:.
206:.
79:.
956:.
845:.
807:.
252:(
97:.
20:)
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