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664664 · Whitby, North Yorkshire

Synod of Whitby

The roofless Gothic ruins of Whitby Abbey on the clifftop, reflected in a pond
Photo: Juliet220. CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

King Oswiu of Northumbria called churchmen to the double monastery at Whitby, ruled by the abbess Hild, to settle how to date Easter. He backed Rome's practice over that of clergy trained on Iona, tying the English church to Rome. Bede records that Caedmon, a cowherd at the same abbey, composed the earliest named poem in English.

Sites

  1. Site 1: Whitby AbbeyClifftop ruins of the later Benedictine abbey on the site of Hild's monastery.Map ↗
  2. Site 2: Caedmon's Cross, St Mary's churchyardCarved memorial cross to Caedmon at the top of the 199 steps.Map ↗

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