Over thirty years ago, a textbook called The Guide to Old English was a constant companion as I tried to read the entire canon of Anglo-Saxon poetry in Old English in as short a space of time as possible. Nowadays, I cannot remember a single line of Old English, but I remain fascinated by Anglo-Saxon history and the context under which the poetry was written.
Therefore, I was thrilled to discover over half term a novel called A Swarming of Bees by Theresa Tomlinson. This is set during the Synod of Whitby in 664, an event fundamental to the history of Christianity in England. The Synod of Whitby settled which of the Christian traditions the ancient kingdom of Northumbria would follow, either the Ionian tradition from Ireland or the Roman traditions. Amongst other matters, the date of Easter was finally settled and it even decided upon the style of tonsure that monks should wear- who knew that there were different fashions for tonsures? The host for this monumental event was a remarkable woman now known as St Hild or St Hilda. Given that there are not many women amongst the panoply of English saints, she should be far better known in popular British culture; the only famous Hilda I knew of as a child was Hilda Baker, and not in a good way. According to the Jarrow-born Anglo-Saxon chronicler, the Venerable Bede, Hild was born around 614 AD in Northumbria, during a time of great turbulence and immense political change in the fallout after the arrival of the AngloSaxons. Hild was the great niece of Edwin, King of Northumbria, and grew up in his court. She became a Christian aged 13 and a nun in her 30s, soon afterwards becoming the abbess of Hartlepool Abbey. In around 657, she founded the monastery at Whitby, then known as Streanaeshalch. Whitby Abbey was a double monastery, where both monks and nuns lived and it became renowned for the way in which Hild ruled the institution on grounds of ‘justice, piety, chastity’ and how all goods were held in common. It was also famous for its patronage of scholarship: Bede records that, under Hild’s careful guidance, five of her monks became renowned bishops and one of her lay brothers, who she said had a ‘divine gift’ became known as the first named poet in the English language- Caedmon. Bede also says that her monastic rule became so respected that her advice was sought from royalty. Bede records that when Hild died aged 66, a nun at Hackness monastery – another institution she founded – saw Hild’s soul ascending to heaven. Therefore, when messages arrived from Whitby to announce Hild’s death, the nuns were prepared and already praying for her soul. It appears that the cult of Hild soon spread, with Bede being one of her most fervent proselytisers. She is still venerated in both Catholic and Anglican traditions today and is, amongst other things, a patron saint of poetry, owing to her patronage of Cædmon. Her name was later given to St Hilda’s College, Oxford, founded in 1893 as a place of learning for women. Of course, in Durham, she also has a college named for her. Originally an Anglican teacher training college for women, it became known as St Hild’s in 1896. In 1975, St Hild’s became inextricably bound with the saint who was her biggest supporter, thus becoming part of St Hild’s and St Bede’s in 1975. This college became a full member of the university in 1979 and is now the largest of the Durham colleges.