Icône
de sainte Hilda de Whitby, XXe siècle.
Икона святой Хильды Уитбийской, XX век.
Sainte Hilda
Abbesse en
Angleterre (+ 680)
Baptisée vers l'âge de quatorze ans, elle quitta le Nord de l'Angleterre pour prendre le voile dans le monastère de Chelles en France où sa sœur était déjà religieuse. A la mort de cette dernière, elle retourna dans son pays où elle fonda un monastère à Hartlepool puis à Whitby. Elle a laissé le souvenir d'une abbesse rigoureuse et bonne.
À Whitby en Angleterre, l’an 680, sainte Hilda, abbesse, qui reçut de saint Paulin d’York la foi et les sacrements du Christ et, préposée au soin d’un monastère, s’attacha avec beaucoup d’ardeur à établir la vie régulière des moines et des moniales, à maintenir la paix et la charité, à veiller au travail et à la lecture des saintes Écritures, au point qu’elle paraissait avoir accompli sur terre les œuvres du ciel.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/159/Sainte-Hilda.html
Saint
Hilda Church of St Saviour and St Peter
Sainte Hilda (Hild),
Abbesse de Whitby
Née en Northumbrie en
614; morte à Whitby en 680.
Hilda était la
petite-nièce du roi Edwin de Northumbrie et la fille d'Hereric. Hild est la
forme correcte de son nom et signifie "bataille". Elle fut baptisée
avec son oncle par saint Paulin à York en 627, elle avait alors 13 ans. Elle
vécut la vie d'une noble dame jusqu'à ses 20 ans, puis elle décida de rejoindre
sa soeur sainte Hereswithe au monastère de Chelles, et de devenir moniale en
France. En 649, saint Aidan lui demanda de revenir en Northumbrie et de devenir
abbesse d'un monastère double, c'est à dire avec des femmes et des hommes dans
des quartiers séparés, bâtit à Hartlepool, sur la rivière Wear.
Après quelques années,
sainte Hilda partit pour devenir abbesse du monastère double de Whitby à
Streaneshalch, qu'elle gouvernera pour le restant de ses jours. Elle aura à
diriger parmi les moines des gens comme le futur évêque saint Jean de Beverley,
le gardien de troupeau Caedmon (qui deviendra le premier poète religieux
Anglais), le futur évêque saint Wilfrid d'York et 3 autres futurs évêques.
Lors du Synode qu'elle
fit convoquer à Whitby en 664, pour se décider entre les coutumes
ecclésiastiques Celtiques et Romaines, sainte Hilda soutînt le parti Celtique.
Cependant, elle et ses communautés se soumirent à la décision du Concile de
Whitby pour observer la règle et les coutumes Romaines. Son influence fut
certainement un des facteurs décisifs pour préserver l'unité de l'Eglise
Anglaise.
Hilda était connue pour
sa sagesse spirituelle, et son monastère pour le haut niveau d'érudition et
pour ses moniales. Saint Bède se répand en louanges enthousiastes concernant
l'abbesse Hilda, une des plus grandes Anglaises de tous les temps : elle fut la
conseillère aussi bien des dirigeants que des simples gens; elle insistait sur
l'étude de la Sainte Ecriture, et sur une préparation adéquate pour la
prêtrise; l'influence de son exemple de paix et de charité s'étendra bien au
delà des murs de son monastère; tous ceux qui la connaissaient l'appelaient
"ma Mère", tant étaient grandes sa piété et sa grâce".
(Attwater, Bénédictins, Delaney, Encyclopaedia).
Saint Hilda est
représentée dans l'art tenant l'abbaye de Whitby en ses mains, avec une
couronne sur sa tête ou à ses pieds.
Parfois on la
représente
(1) transformant des
serpents en pierres;
(2) arrêtant par la
parole des oiseaux sauvages qui ravagaient ses maïs; ou
(3) son âme étant
emportée au Ciel par les Anges (Roeder).
SOURCE : http://jubilatedeo.centerblog.net/6574880-Les-saints-du-jour-mercredi-17-Novembre
Detail
from Christopher Whall window in Gloucester Cathedral.
Витраж, изображающий святую Хильду. Кристофер Уолл (1849—1924), Глостерский собор
Sainte Hilda
17 novembre
Baptisée vers l'âge de
quatorze ans, elle quitta le Nord de l'Angleterre pour prendre le voile dans le
monastère de Chelles en France où sa sœur était déjà religieuse. En 649, saint
Aidan lui demanda de revenir en Northumbrie et de devenir abbesse d'un monastère
double, c'est à dire avec des femmes et des hommes dans des quartiers séparés,
bâtit à Hartlepool, sur la rivière Wear. Après quelques années, sainte Hilda
partit pour devenir abbesse du monastère double de Whitby à Streaneshalch,
qu'elle gouvernera pour le restant de ses jours. Hilda était connue pour sa
sagesse spirituelle, et son monastère pour le haut niveau d'érudition et pour
ses moniales. Saint Bède se répand en louanges enthousiastes concernant
l'abbesse Hilda, une des plus grandes Anglaises de tous les temps : elle fut la
conseillère aussi bien des dirigeants que des simples gens ; elle insistait sur
l'étude de la Sainte Ecriture, et sur une préparation adéquate pour la prêtrise
; l'influence de son exemple de paix et de charité s'étendra bien au delà des
murs de son monastère; tous ceux qui la connaissaient l'appelaient "ma
Mère", tant étaient grandes sa piété et sa grâce. (Attwater, Bénédictins,
Delaney, Encyclopaedia)
SOURCE : http://religion-orthodoxe.eu/article-sainte-hilda-de-whitby-614-680-89190578.html
Saint
Hilda St Albans Cathedral
Sainte Hilda
Saint Hilda (614-680) fut
higoumène de la grande abbaye de Whitby dans le nord de l'Angleterre au VIIe
siècle. Elle était la fille de Hereric, neveu du roi Edwin de Northumbrie, et
comme son grand-oncle, elle devint chrétienne par la prédication de saint
Paulin d'York, vers l'an 627, quand elle avait treize ans.
Mûe par l'exemple de sa
sœur Hereswith, qui était devenue moniale à Chelles, en Gaule, Hilda se rendit
en East Anglia, dans l'intention de suivre sa sœur à l'étranger. Mais saint
Aidan la rappela dans son propre pays, et après avoir mené une vie monastique
pendant un certain temps sur la rive nord de la Wear et ensuite à Hartlepool,
où elle dirigea un monastère double de moines et de miniales avec beaucoup de
succès, Hilda s'engagea finalement à remettre de l'ordre un monastère à
Streaneshalch, lieu auquel les Danois, un siècle ou deux plus tard donnèrent le
nom de Whitby.
Sous la règle de sainte
Hilda, le monastère de Whitby devint très célèbre. Les Saintes Ecritures
étaient plus spécialement étudié là-bas, et pas moins de cinq des moines
devinrent évêques, parmi lesquels saint Jean, évêque de Hexham, et de Saint
Wilfrid, évêque d'York.
À Whitby, en 664, eut
lieu le célèbre synode qui confirma, entre autres choses, le mode de calcul de
la date de Pâques. La renommée de sagesse sainte Hilda était si grande, que de
loin et de près, des moines et même des personnages royaux venaient la
consulter.
Sept ans avant sa mort,
la sainte fut frappée d'une fièvre grave qui ne la quitta point, jusques au
moment où elle rendit le dernier soupir, mais, malgré cela, elle ne négligea
aucun de ses devoirs envers Dieu ou envers ses enfants spirituels. Elle décéda
paisiblement après avoir reçu les très Saints Mystères du Christ, et le
tintement de la cloche du monastère fut entendu par miracle à Hackness à vingt
kilomètres de là, où une religieuse également dévote nommée Begu vit l'âme de
sainte Hilda emportée au Ciel par les anges.
La vie de sainte Hilda
est racontée par Bède dans son Histoire de l'Église et des peuples
d'Angleterre.
La vénération de sainte
Hilda dans les temps anciens, est attestée par l'inscription de son nom dans le
calendrier de saint Willibrord, écrit au début du VIIIe siècle.
Selon une tradition, ses
reliques furent transportées à Glastonbury par le roi Edmond, une autre
tradition veut que saint Edmond apporta ses reliques à Gloucester.
Sa fête est fixée au
dix-septième jour de Novembre.
Version française Claude
Lopez-Ginisty
d'après
http://www.oodegr.com/english/biographies/arxaioi/Hilda_Whitby.htm
SOURCE : http://orthodoxologie.blogspot.ca/2010/04/sainte-hilda-higoumene-der-whitby-680.html
St. Hilda monument detail in Whitby.
Also
known as
Hild of Whitby
Profile
Daughter of Hereric and
Breguswith. Sister of Saint Hereswitha.
Grand-niece of King Saint Edwin
of Northumbria. Baptized in 627 at
age thirteen by Saint Paulinus
of York. Lived as a single lay woman until
age 33 when she became a Benedictine nun at
the monastery of
Chelles in France. Abbess at
Hartepool, Northumberland, England. Abbess of
the double
monastery of Whitby, Streaneshalch. Abbess to Saint Wilfrid
of York, Saint John
of Beverley, and three other bishops.
Patroness and supporter of learning and culture, including the work of
the poet Caedmon.
Hilda and her houses
followed the Celtic
liturgy and rule, but many houses had adopted the continental Benedictine rule,
and the Roman liturgy. Hilda convened a conference in 664 to
help settle one a single rule. When the conference settled on the Roman
and Benedictine,
they were adopted throughout England,
and Hilda insured the observance of her houses.
Born
614 at Northumbria, England
680 of
natural causes
being carried to heaven
by the angels
holding Whitby abbey in
her hands with a crown on
her head or at her feet
stopping wild birds from
stealing a corn crop
turning serpents into
stone
Additional
Information
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Catholic
Encyclopedia, by Father Herbert
Thurston, S.J.
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Alban
Butler
Saint
Hilda, Abbess of Streoneshalh (Whitby), by Dr James Joseph Walsh
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
Virgin
Saints and Martyrs, by Sabine Baring-Gould
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
Saints
and Their Attributes, by Helen Roeder
other
sites in english
Christian
Biographies, by James Kiefer
audio
video
sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
fonti
in italiano
MLA
Citation
“Saint Hilda of
Whitby“. CatholicSaints.Info. 21 February 2024. Web. 28 June 2026.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-hilda-of-whitby/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-hilda-of-whitby/
Stained
glass window in Chester Cathedral cloister
Article
(Saint) Virgin (November
17) (7th century) The famous first Abbess of Whitby, in Yorkshire, over which
foundation she was placed by Saint Aidan. She was a Northumbrian Princess, and
had been baptised when a child by Saint Paulinus. She was indefatigable in her
zeal, and her counsel was sought even in regard to public affairs by the great
men of her time. She died after a long and painful illness, A.D. 680; and her
relics were translated to Glastonbury.
MLA
Citation
Monks of Ramsgate.
“Hilda”. Book of Saints, 1921. CatholicSaints.Info.
27 August 2017. Web. 28 June 2026.
<https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-hilda/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-hilda/
Presentation
drawing for the ‘St Hilda / Erie / Pittsburgh’ Window at St Luke’s Episcopal
Church, Evanston, Illinois.
Ink and watercolour., 1928. Inscribed. 16.5x11.5
inches. Offered for sale by Abbott and Holder in August 2019.
Hilda (Hild) of Whitby,
OSB Abbess (AC)
Born in Northumbria in
614; died at Whitby in 680.
Hilda was a grandniece of
King Edwin of Northumbria and daughter of Hereric. Both she and her uncle were
baptized by Saint Paulinus at York in 627, when she was 13. She lived the life
of a noblewoman until 20 years later she decided to join her sister Saint
Hereswitha at the Chelles Monastery as a nun in France. In 649, Saint Aidan
requested that she return to Northumbria as abbess of the double monastery
(with both men and women, in separate quarters) in Hartlepool by the River
Wear.
After some years Saint
Hilda migrated as abbess to the double monastery of Whitby at Streaneshalch,
which she governed for the rest of her life. Among her subject monks were
Bishop Saint John of Beverly, the herdsman Caedmon (the first English religious
poet), Bishop Saint Wilfrid of York, and three other bishops.
At the conference she
convened in 664 at Whitby abbey to decide between Celtic and Roman
ecclesiastical customs, Saint Hilda supported the Celtic party. Nevertheless,
she and her communities adhered to the decision of the Council of Whitby to
observe the Roman rule and customs. Her influence was certainly one of the
decisive factors in securing unity in the English Church.
Hilda became known for
her spiritual wisdom and her monastery for the caliber of its learning and its
nuns. Saint Bede is enthusiastic in his praise of Abbess Hilda, one of the
greatest Englishwomen of all time: she was the adviser of rulers as well as of
ordinary folk; she insisted on the study of Holy Scripture and on proper
preparation for the priesthood; the influence of her example of peace and
charity extended beyond the walls of her monastery; 'all who knew her called
her Mother, such were her wonderful godliness and grace' (Attwater,
Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia).
Saint Hilda is represented
in art holding Whitby Abbey in her hands with a crown on her head or at her
feet. Sometimes she is shown (1) turning serpents into stone; (2) stopping the
wild birds from ravaging corn at her command; or (3) as a soul being carried to
heaven by the angels (Roeder).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/1117.shtml
Whitby,
Roman Catholic Church of St. Hilda, near to Whitby, North Yorkshire
St. Hilda
Abbess,
born 614; died 680. Practically speaking, all our knowledge of St.
Hilda is derived from the pages of Bede.
She was the daughter of Hereric, the nephew of King
Edwin of Northumbria, and she seems like her great-uncle to have become
a Christian through
the preaching of St.
Paulinus about the year 627, when she was thirteen years old.
Moved by the example of
her sister Hereswith,
who, after marrying Ethelhere of East Anglia, became a nun at
Chelles in Gaul,
Hilda also journeyed to East Anglia, intending to follow her sister abroad.
But St.
Aidan recalled her to her own country, and after leading a monastic
life for a while on the north bank of the Wear and afterwards at
Hartlepool, where she ruled a double
monastery of monks and nuns with
great success, Hilda eventually undertook to set in order a monastery at Streaneshalch,
a place to which the Danes a
century or two later gave the name of Whitby.
Under the rule
of St. Hilda the monastery at Whitby became
very famous. The Sacred
Scriptures were specially studied there, and no less than five of the
inmates became bishops, St.
John, Bishop of Hexham,
and still more St.
Wilfrid, Bishop of York,
rendering untold service to the Anglo-Saxon
Church at this critical period of the struggle with paganism.
Here, in 664, was held the important synod at
which King Oswy, convinced by the arguments of St.
Wilfrid, decided the observance of Easter and
other moot points. St. Hilda herself later on seems to have sided with
Theodore against Wilfrid. The fame of St. Hilda's wisdom was so great that
from far and near monks and
even royal personages came to consult her.
Seven years before her
death the saint was
stricken down with a grievous fever which never left her till she breathed her
last, but, in spite of this, she neglected none of her duties to God or
to her subjects. She passed away most peacefully after receiving the Holy
Viaticum, and the tolling of the monastery bell was
heard miraculously at
Hackness thirteen miles away, where also a devout nun named
Begu saw the soul of St.
Hilda borne to heaven by angels.
With St. Hilda is
intimately connected the story of Caedmon, the sacred bard. When he was
brought before St. Hilda she admitted him to take monastic vows in
her monastery,
where he most piously died.
The cultus of St.
Hilda from an early period is attested by the inclusion of her name in
the calendar of St.
Willibrord, written at the beginning of the eighth century. It was alleged
at a later date the remains of St.
Hilda were translated to Glastonbury by King
Edmund, but this is only part of the "great Glastonbury myth."
Another story states that St.
Edmund brought her relics to
Gloucester. St. Hilda's feast seems
to have been kept on 17 November. There are a dozen or more
old English churches dedicated to St.
Hilda on the northeast coast and South Shields is probably a corruption
of St. Hilda.
Thurston,
Herbert. "St. Hilda." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol.
7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 19 Nov.
2016 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07350a.htm>.
Transcription. This
article was transcribed for New Advent by Michael C. Tinkler.
Ecclesiastical
approbation. Nihil Obstat. June 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, S.T.D.,
Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2026 by New Advent LLC.
Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07350a.htm
This
is the banner of St Hilda's Church, Danby, North Yorkshire, England. - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Of_Runes_and_Saints.jpg
St.
Hilda, or Hild, Abbess
BY despising
the world for Christ, this saint became greater, even in the eyes of men, than
royalty itself could have made her: but she was truly great only because the
applause and veneration of this whole island was to her a most grievous
persecution, the dangers of which alarmed her humble soul more than the threats
of fire and sword could have done. Hilda was daughter of Hereric, nephew to St.
Edwin, king of the Northumbers; and she was baptized by St. Paulinus, together
with that prince, when she was but fourteen years old. The grace of this
sacrament she always preserved without spot, and from the moment she became a
member of the kingdom of God, the obligations and happiness of this great
spiritual
dignity took up all her thoughts, and engrossed her whole soul. The better to
attend to them alone she left her friends and country, and went into the
kingdom of the East Angles, where her cousin, the most religious king Annas,
reigned. Her first design was to retire to Chelles, in France, where her
sister, St. Hereswide, served God: with her she passed one year, till, upon her
death, St. Aidan prevailed upon Hilda to return into Northumberland, where he
settled her in a small nunnery upon the river Were, founded by the first
Northumbrian nun, Heiu. After living there one year, she was made abbess of a
numerous monastery at Heortea, 1 or Heterslie, now Hartlepool,
in the bishopric of Durham; and some years after called to found a great double
monastery, the one of men and the other of women, at Streaneshalch, (that is,
bay of the light-house,) afterwards called Prestby, from the number of priests
that lived there, and at present Whitby, (or Whitebay,) in Yorkshire. 2 All her monasteries were
destroyed by the Danes, about two hundred and fifty years after her death; only
this last was rebuilt in 1067, for Benedictin monks, and flourished till the
suppression of religious houses. St. Hilda, for her sanctity and her wisdom, in
conducting souls to God, was most dear to St. Aidan, and other holy prelates;
and kings and princes frequently repaired to Streaneshalch to consult her in
affairs of the greatest difficulty and importance. This holy abbess, who was
eminent in all virtues, excelled particularly in prudence, and had a singular
talent in reconciling differences, and in maintaining concord, being herself
endowed with the spirit of charity, meekness, and peace.
The
monastery of men at Streaneshalch, became a nursery of holy and learned
prelates; and out of it St. Bosa, St. Hedda, Ostfor, St. John of Beverley, and
St. Wilfrid were raised to the episcopal dignity. In this monastery St. Wilfrid
confuted Colman and the Scottish monks concerning the due celebration of
Easter. The nunnery of St. Hilda was not less famous; Oswy, king of the
Northumbers, was the chief benefactor, or founder of this house. He had reigned
twelve years, endured many devastations of his dominions from Penda, the cruel
Mercian king, and in vain attempted by presents to gain his friendship, when
that sworn enemy of the Christian name, who had already murdered five Christian
kings, (Annas, Sigebert, Egric, Oswald, and Edwin,) undertook the entire
conquest of Northumberland, though in the seventy-eighth year of his age. Oswy,
finding himself too weak for human relief, and all his offers, and gifts
rejected, turned them into vows to implore the divine assistance, and devoted
his daughter, then lately born, to perpetual virginity, with certain portions
of land for endowing monasteries. His vows produced greater effects than his
treaties; for, with a small army, he defeated the Mercians and their allies,
though thirty times more in number; and slew Penda himself upon the banks of
the Aire, near Seacroft, a village about three miles from Leeds, in Yorkshire,
in 655. 3 From this victory, the village
of Winfield seems to have taken its name: and by it Oswy was raised to the
height of power; so that in three years he subdued all Mercia, and the greatest
part of the country of the Picts, in the North. According to his promise, he
gave his daughter, Elfleda, scarcely then a year old, to be consecrated to God,
under the care of St. Hilda, at Heortea, by whom she was removed, two years
after, to Streaneshalch. The king gave to this house twelve estates of land for
maintaining religious persons, each estate being ten families. Oswy dying in
670, after a reign of twenty-eight years, his widow, Ealflede, who was daughter
to the holy King Edwin, retired to this monastery, and there ended her days in
the exercises of a religious life. St. Hilda died in 680, being sixty-three
years old, of which she had spent thirty-three in a monastic life. A nun at
Hakenes, thirteen miles from Whitby, on the strand, saw her soul carried up to
bliss by angels. She was succeeded in the government of her monastery by the
royal virgin, Elfleda, who, after serving God sixty years, went to his eternal
embraces. In the church of St. Peter, besides St. Hilda, and the royal virgin
Elfleda, were interred King Oswy, his mother Eanfled, his mother’s father
Edwin, and many other great persons. The body of St. Hilda, after the
devastation of the monastery by the Danes, Inguar and Hubba, was carried to
Glastonbury by Titus, the abbot, who fled thither. In the time of Hugh, Earl of
Chester, in the reign of the Conqueror, William de Percy, ancestor to the
Percies, earls of Northumberland, rebuilt the monastery for Benedictin monks,
in which state it continued till the suppression of monasteries. See Bede,
Hist. l. 3, c. 24, 25, l. 4, c. 23, and Registrum de Whitby, quoted by Burton,
in Monasticon Eboracense, t. 1, pp. 68, 69, 88, Leland’s Collectan, t. 2, pp.
141, 150.
Note
1. Heorthu, or Heterslie, or
Hertesie, i. e. the island of Stags, was founded under the direction
of St. Bosa, by Heiu, who seems to have been the first nun in the kingdom of
Northumberland; and afterwards retired to Calcester, now Tadcaster. (Bede, l.
4, c. 23.) Leland and Cressy confound Heiu, with St. Bega, or Bees; but the
latter served God in Copeland, and no monastery was founded by her, though one
was there erected in her honour, in the reign of Henry I. Heiu founded the
first monastery in the kingdom of the Northumbers on the northern bank of the
Were: the second at Hartlepool in the bishopric of Durham. (See Smith in Bede,
l. 4, c. 23.) Those who confound her with St. Hilda are certainly
mistaken. [back]
Note 2. The common people formerly imagined
that St. Hilda changed serpents into stones in this place, because on the face
of the cliff were found abundance of stones which have the appearance of
serpents or snakes rolled up, or in their coil, but without heads; which are
natural stones called Ammonitæ; and are still plentiful there, with many other
petrifactions moulded in the shells of fish. The Ammonitæ and many others are
natural stones; but others seem clearly petrifactions of fish, serpents,
shrubs, &c., as Woodward shows, which Mead was not able to disprove. They
seem, says Woodward, evident marks of an universal deluge. See an account (in
Philos. Transactions, vol. 50, anno 1757, p. 228,) of impressions of plants on
the slates of coals in the pits of this kingdom, France, Saxony, Bohemia,
&c., most of the gramineous and seed tribes; some very beautiful unknown to
botanists. The most part of the impressions of ferns, grasses, &c., are
easily recognizable; they so minutely tally to the plants they represent. The
like are found in ironstone in Shropshire, Yorkshire, &c. The like is
mentioned (ib. p. 396,) in fossils of wood, bones of animals, teeth and palates
of fishes, parts of vegetables, seeds, and fruits, as of figs petrified, beans,
cherry-stones, wall-nuts, chestnuts, the body of a crab, coffee-berries,
&c. Many sorts of fish and timber unknown in those parts, have beep found
at the greatest depths in the earth. See Woodward’s Theory Encyclopedia,
&c. [back]
Note
3. Bede, l. 3, c. 24, 25; Will. Malmesb. l.
1, c. 4; Thoresby. Duc. Leod. pp. 143, 144; Mon. Angl. v. 1, p. 71. [back]
Rev. Alban Butler
(1711–73). Volume XI: November. The Lives of the Saints. 1866.
SOURCE : https://www.bartleby.com/lit-hub/lives-of-the-saints/volume-xi-november/st-hilda-or-hild-abbess
St
Hilda's parish church, South Shields, Tyne and Wear, England, seen from the
southwest
Hilda of Whitby, abbess and peacemaker
18 November 680
Hilda (known in her own
century as "Hild") was the grandniece of King Edwin of
Northumbria, (see
12 Oct) a kingdom of the Angles. She was born in 614 and baptized in
627 when the king and his household became Christians. In 647 she decided to
become a nun, and under the direction of Aidan (see 31 Aug) she established
several monasteries. Her last foundation was at Whitby. It was a double house:
a community of men and another of women, with the chapel in between, and Hilda
as the governor of both; and it was a great center of English learning, one
which produced five bishops (during Hilda's lifetime or that of the Abbey?).
Here a stable-boy, Caedmon, was moved to compose religious poems in the Anglo-Saxon
tongue, most of them metrical paraphrases of narratives from Genesis and the
Gospels.
The Celtic peoples of
Britain had heard the Gospel well before 300 AD, but in the 400's and 500's a
massive invasion of Germanic peoples (Angles, Jutes, and Saxons) forced the
native Celts out of what is now England and into Wales, Ireland, and Scotland.
The invaders were pagans, and missionaries were sent to them in the north and
west by the Celts, and in the south and east by Rome and other churches on the
continent of Europe.
Roman and Celtic
traditions differed, not in doctrine, but on such questions as the proper way
of calculating the date of Easter, and the proper style of haircut and dress
for a monk. It was, in particular, highly desirable that Christians, at least
in the same area, should celebrate Easter at the same time; and it became clear
that the English Church would have to choose between the old Celtic customs
which it had inherited from before 300, and the customs of continental Europe
and in particular of Rome that missionaries from there had brought with them.
In 664 the Synod of Whitby met at that monastery to consider the matter, and it
was decided to follow Roman usage.
Hilda herself greatly
preferred the Celtic customs in which she had been reared, but once the
decision had been made she used her moderating influence in favor of its
peaceful acceptance. Her influence was considerable; kings and commoners alike
came to her for advice. She was urgent in promoting the study of the Scriptures
and the thorough education of the clergy. She died 17 November 680.
Prayer (traditional
language)
O God, whose blessed Son
became poor that we through his poverty might be rich: deliver us from an
inordinate love of this world, that, following the example of thy servant
Hilda, we may serve thee with singleness of heart, and attain to the riches of
the world to come; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with
thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
O God of peace, by whose
grace the abbess Hilda was endowed with gifts of justice, prudence, and
strength to rule as a wise mother over the nuns and monks of her household, and
to become a trusted and reconciling friend to leaders of the Church: Give us
the grace to respect and love our fellow Christians with whom we disagree, that
our common life may be enriched and thy gracious will be done, through Jesus
Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one
God, now and for ever.
O God of peace, by whose
grace the abbess Hilda was endowed with gifts of justice, prudence, and
strength to rule as a wise mother over the nuns and monks of her household, and
to become a trusted and reconciling friend to leaders of the Church: Give us
the grace to recognize and accept the varied gifts thou dost bestow on men and
women, that our common life may be enriched and thy gracious will be done,
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy
Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Prayer (contemporary
language)
O God, whose blessed Son
became poor that we through his poverty might be rich: deliver us from an
inordinate love of this world, that, following the example of your servant
Hilda, we may serve thee with singleness of heart, and attain to the riches of
the world to come; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
O God of peace, by whose
grace the abbess Hilda was endowed with gifts of justice, prudence, and
strength to rule as a wise mother over the nuns and monks of her household, and
to become a trusted and reconciling friend to leaders of the Church: Give us
the grace to respect and love our fellow Christians with whom we disagree, that
our common life may be enriched and your gracious will be done, through Jesus
Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God,
now and for ever.
O God of peace, by whose
grace the abbess Hilda was endowed with gifts of justice, prudence, and
strength to rule as a wise mother over the nuns and monks of her household, and
to become a trusted and reconciling friend to leaders of the Church: Give us
the grace to recognize and accept the varied gifts you bestow on men and women,
that our common life may be enriched and your gracious will be done, through
Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one
God, now and for ever.
Psalm 122 or 33:1-5,20-21
Ephesians 4:1-6
Matthew 19:27-29 (St1)
SOURCE : http://elvis.rowan.edu/~kilroy/JEK/11/18.html
Преподобная
Хильда (слева) - Преподобный Гутлак Кроуландский (справа) на почтовом блоке Республики Беларусь
2018 года «Иконопись XXI столетия»
Sainte
Hilda (à gauche) et Saint Guthlac de
Crowland (à droite) sur le bloc-feuillet de 2018 de la République de
Biélorussie intitulé « Peinture d'icônes du XXIe siècle »
Saint
Hilda, Abbess of Streoneshalh (Whitby), by Dr James Joseph Walsh
One of the very precious
debts of knowledge that we owe to Venerable Bede, the great Church historian of
England of the eighth century, is contained in the details that he has left us
with regard to Abbess Hilda. Without the information provided by his writing we
would have only the vaguest hints with regard to this great woman who ruled a
monastic establishment which comprised both monks and nuns and under whose
patronage the first great contribution to English literature was made. She was
no mere figurehead, elected to the post of abbess by complacent nuns nor placed
there through political influence. The fame of her wisdom was so great that
from far and near monks and bishops and other high ecclesiastics came to
consult her and even royal personages journeyed long distances to have the
advantage of her counsel.
No wonder that it has
been said that under her rule the monastery of Streoneshalh (the town to which
the Danes several centuries later gave the name Whitby) became famous. As the
result of the impulse to intellectual and spiritual development that was given
under Hilda’s influence nq less than five of the monks of Streoneshalh became
bishops, among them Saint Wilfrid, bishop of York, who rendered such untold
service to the Anglo-Saxon Church at this critical period of its struggle with
paganism.
Father Herbert Thurston,
S.J., in his brief sketch of Hilda for the Catholic Encyclopedia, has dwelt particularly
on her power of administration, for before coming to Streoneshalh she had ruled
a similar double monastery of monks and nuns with great success at Hertlepool.
Indeed it was her success in this position which led to her being invited to
the superiorship of Streoneshalh where the monastery needed to be set in order,
for certain abuses had crept in. She made Streoneshalh a place of study famous
for its devotion to the sacred Scriptures and for the opportunity that it
afforded to women for the development of the intellectual and the spiritual
life as well as of their own characters and personality.
The story of her work
there is one of the great traditions of the early English Church particularly
interesting for our own day because we are so little prone to think that there
could by any possbility have been practical and efficient interest in education
for women twelve centuries ago and more among the Anglo-Saxon people.
Like so many of the
distinguished Abbesses of these early centuries, like Saint Bridget herself to
take but one example, Hilda came of royal lineage. She was the daughter of
Hereric, the nephew of King Edwin of Northumbria. She became a convert to
Christianity in the early years of her girlhood when she was yet under fifteen.
Following the example of her sister, in her ardor of devotion she became a nun.
She resolved at first to enter a convent at a distance from home, so as to be
free from the distractions that might come to her from the nearness of
relatives, and above all so as to make the complete sacrifice of worldly
considerations and home ties in the religious life, but she was recalled by
Saint Aidan, the great Irish apostle to Midland England, who assured her that
there was plenty of opportunity for her to devote herself to her own people and
accomplish much good.
Probably the incident or
rather set of incidents for which Saint Hilda’s name is best known among the
scholars and students of our generation, is the story of Caedmon, the famous
author of a series of biblical poems, in which the material of Genesis,
afterwards used by Milton, was first put into poetic form in the west of
Europe. That story told us by the venerable Bede, who was himself a
contemporary of Caedmon, as he was of Saint Hilda is extremely interesting.
Caedmon was attached as a laborer, perhaps what would now be called a lay
brother, to the twin monasteries of Whitby, over which Saint Hilda ruled as
Abbess. He had received no education and his life was spent in laboring with
his hands. He had often heard his fellow laborers sing with the harp in the
evenings after their work was done, a custom which reveals rather interestingly
a definite stage of culture among the working classes about the middle of the
seventh century and contradicts much of current opinion as to popular ignorance
at that time.
Once the harp was passed
to him and he was asked to take his share in the entertainment of the assembled
laborers by singing to them for the benefit of the company. Knowing nothing of
poetry he left the room for very shame. On several other occasions this
happened to him until he began to take this inevitable exhibition of his
ignorance rather to heart.
In his shame-facedness he
used to withdraw to the stable where, having charge of the horses of the
monastery he was accustomed to sleep during the night. Here he had a dream in
which, as is not uncommon with dreams, the last incident that he had been
thinking about before he fell asleep recurred to him and there stood by him one
in his vision who called him by name and bade him sing. His mystical visitant,
however, insisted and when Caedmon said, “I cannot sing, and therefore I left
the feast,” replied: “Sing to me nevertheless, sing of Creation.” Thereupon
Caedmon, who was familiar with Genesis because of the frequent reading of the
Scriptures in the monastery out loud for the benefit of all, and who therefore
knew it very well, though at this time he could neither read nor write, began
to sing in praise of God verses descriptive of the creation of man which he had
never heard before.
In the morning he
recalled not only the incidents of the dream but the words which had come to
him. Others have had dream poems and indeed a book of verses which, according
to their authors, were composed in dreams would, if collected, make a rather
large volume. No one, however, has ever dreamed quite so successfully, and
above all, not at such length in verse as Caedmon.
The next morning Caedmon
went to Saint Hilda and told his story. Then at her invitation he recited for
her and the scholarly men of the monastery, whom, after listening for a little
while, the Abbess summoned to hear him, the verses which had come to him during
the night. There could be no possible doubt that he had been inspired to sing.
Whether that inspiration shall be taken in the modern sense in which the poets
so often use it, or in the older sense which seemed to these good monks and
their Abbess to proclaim that this lay brother had received a Divine gift must
be left for modern readers to decide for themselves, according to their mental
attitudes toward such events.
They were not satisfied,
however, with the first sample that he had given them, but they suggested some
further sacred stories as subjects for his muse and he confirmed their opinion
of his inspiration by turning them into excellent verse. The Abbess Hilda then
persuaded him to become a monk and thus secure opportunities for his education.
His humility would scarcely permit him, but it was represented to him, he owed
it to himself, to the monastery and, above all, to the inspiration which had
come to him to give just as full play as possible to his poetic abilities.
Accordingly he was taught
to read and devoted himself to the biblical story which he turned into “sweet
verse.” Bede has told us of his long years of poetic writing and then of his
holy death, so that, no wonder, he came to be honored as a saint as well as a
poet and is acknowledged as such by the Church, though few who have studied the
account of his great poems, or the poems themselves seem to be aware of this
title of honor and veneration, which was so lovingly accorded him by the people
of his own time and generation.
This was the beginning of
the precious heritage of English sacred poetry, which has had its contributions
in practically every century ever since. What is interesting for us here, of
course, is the Abbess Hilda’s connection with Caedmon and her place as the
patroness of literature and education, even for the laborer of the monastery at
Whitby, who showed that he had a gift for higher things. Surely this must be
taken not as an exception, but as representing the custom of the time.
Only one such great poet
as Caedmon could well be expected in a single generation, but there must have
been many other laborers at Whitby who, showing some ability with harp and
song, were accorded the opportunity to develop their talents and make
themselves something more than hand workers in this great establishment. That a
woman should have been an institution that meant so much for education and be
so looked up to, is indeed a startling contradiction of what is so often said
with regard to the absolute lack of opportunities for women to develop their
intellects or exhibit their powers of administration in the times so long
before our own.
This century of Saint
Hilda is often supposed to be one of the darkest periods, yet here is a
striking testimony of the fact that when women had in them powers of
intelligence and administrative ability, opportunities for their display were
not lacking, but on the contrary, were afforded with a fullness that might well
be envied in our time.
Saint Hilda came to be
held in the following generations almost as much in veneration among the
inhabitants of what we now call England as Saint Bridget was among the Irish.
Many churches were named after her, and as the towns grew around these churches
they came to bear her name also. There are probably a dozen or more old English
churches dedicated to Saint Hilda on the northeast coast of England alone. She
was very early looked upon as a saint and it was felt in erecting churches
under her invocation that the people were raising just so many monuments in her
honor.
This was a favorite mode
of recognition for those who had done great good work, particularly in what we
now call social service, in that olden time. Probably the finest monument ever
erected to a woman is the Cathedral at Marburg in honor of Saint Elizabeth of
Hungary, which was after all a popular tribute of veneration in the early
thirteenth century from the German citizens of Marburg, very like that given to
Saint Hilda some six centuries before.
– taken from These
Splendid Sisters, compiled by Dr James Joseph Walsh, 1927
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-hilda-abbess-of-streoneshalh-whitby-by-dr-james-joseph-walsh/
Christopher
Whall. Aidan of Lindisfarne visits Hilda. Gloucester Cathedral
The extensive ruins of
ancient abbeys still to be seen in Yorkshire mark it out to us as a very
nursery of monasticism in this country. The names of Fountains, Bolton,
Rievuulx, and Whitby are familiar to every scholar, while the relics which
survive of those great monasteries, many of whose inmates played so prominent a
part in our history, are eagerly visited year after year by hundreds of
admiring tourists. Yet, as we gaze spell-bound at those vast monuments of
Christian art, our thoughts go back to the time when those cloisters were
peopled with happy, busy inmates; when from the great church now re-echoing
with the cry of the rooks there rose daily to God that mighty song of praise,
that strong cry for mercy on a sinful world, those transports of love and
adoration which found expression in the unbounded riches of the monastic
Liturgy. Of the many thousands who for centuries peopled these cloisters, by
far the greater number have passed from the memory of man; they have gone to
form the living stones of the heavenly Jerusalem, after being fashioned and
polished by the Divine Architect with the chisel of mortification and the
refining influence of religious life. Yet, as we stand in those hallowed
scenes, there are many whose names recur to our minds with a sense of pride and
gratitude “our fathers in their generation, men of renown, whose goodly deeds
have not failed.” That a bishop like Aidan, or a reformer like Wilfrid, or even
a simple monk like Bede, with the wondrous influence of his pen, should have
left their mark in history and endeared themselves to us is, after all, not so
strange. But it is certainly very remarkable that the name of a woman who never
ruled a kingdom, or wrote books, or did anything particularly striking, should
have survived all these centuries. God surely means that Saint Hilda should be
a pattern to us, in these days of “progress,” of what a strong woman ought to
be in the Christian sense of the word. The Anglo-Saxon Saints of her period
stand out before us very forcibly as perfect types of the valiant woman who
“put forth her hand to strong things.” They were never masculine, nor forgetful
that the chief ornament of a woman is womanliness; yet at the same time we find
in them no trace of feminine weakness, pusillanimity or sentiment. They had a
work to do, and they did it with a strength of purpose and a determination
which carried all before it. “The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the
violent bear it away.”
Saint Hilda was of the
royal race of Aella, and was born in stormy times. Aella was that king of the
Northumbrians to whom Saint Gregory had at first intended to carry the light of
faith on seeing the Saxon slaves in the market. He had inquired the name of
their king, and, making a play on the word, he exclaimed, “Alleluia shall soon
be sung in Aella’s kingdom.” Dying in 589, Aella left a little son three years
old, named Edwin. Ethelfred the Cruel, who had so savagely murdered the monks
of Bangor, usurped the throne of his defenceless nephew. Though he hated Edwin,
he dared not murder him outright, fearing a revolution, for the Northumbrians
loved the child; but after he had grown to man’s estate, not being able any
longer to bear the sight of him, Ethelfred exiled him, on pretense of a crime
imputed to him, hoping that he would die of poverty and want. At the same time
Hereric, probably Edwin’s younger brother (the exact relationship is disputed),
also took to flight, fearing Ethelfred’s vengeance, he being next heir to the
throne in case of Edwin’s demise. Hereric took with him in his flight his
beautiful young wife, the Lady Breguswith, and their only child, Hereswida, who
was Hilda’s elder sister. While her parents were in exile Hilda was born; and Venerable
Bede tells us how, before her birth, her mother had a wonderful dream, in which
it seemed to her that she had lost her husband, and as she was seeking
everywhere for him she lifted her garment and there found so precious a jewel
that the beams which issued from it shone throughout Britain. This dream was
truly fulfilled, for her husband, pursued by Ethelfred’s spies, was by them
cruelly murdered; but to console her for her loss God gave to her a daughter
whose life afforded an example of light and holiness to so many of her
fellow-countrymen. It was probably on account of this prophetic dream that the
name Hilda, which means light, was bestowed on the child.
Meantime Edwin had been
more fortunate than his brother; and after many adventures, and disguised as a
peasant, he at length reached the court of Redwald, king of Essex, of whom he
implored an asylum from the pursuit of his cruel uncle. Redwald received him
with all the honour due to a dethroned prince, and treated him with royal
hospitality. Edwin endeared himself to all by his rare qualities and his
talents in literary pursuits and martial exercises. However, Ethelfred soon
discovered his retreat, and sent ambassadors to Redwald with a great sum of
money to buy the fugitive, and when the bribe was generously rejected
threatened to make war upon him. This threat shook Redwald’s courage for the
moment, and he began to negotiate with the tyrant, choosing rather to expose
the life of a stranger than to lose his whole kingdom. These negotiations came
to Edwin’s ear, and he was advised by his friends to take to flight again; but
he was tired of wandering like a homeless vagabond, and he said that after
experiencing Redwald’s generosity for so long he would not be the first to
suspect so mean a treachery in so great a king. Yet he was naturally much
disturbed by the rumour, and was far too anxious to think of sleep that night.
He therefore went out into the cool of the evening, and there abandoning
himself to his thoughts, considered rather how he could die nobly than how he
could save his life. As he mused, a stranger accosted him and entered into
conversation with him. Bede thinks he was an angel, but at least he was a
messenger endowed with the spirit of prophecy. “My son,” he began, “you have
indeed great cause to be grieved and to stand in fear of Redwald, who is
resolved on your ruin. But what reward would you give to one who restored you
to your former place in this king’s friendship?” Edwin answered that any
adequate recompense would be beyond his power. “What reward,” continued the
other, “would you give to him who should, moreover, make you stronger than your
enemy and possessor of his crown?” To which Edwin replied that he could only
promise a grateful heart. “But what,” concluded the messenger, “would you do
for him who will not only make you happy and glorious in this world, but after
this life will procure for you immortal glory? Will you not at least afford him
your attention and submission when he shall propose to you holy and good
counsels?” This Edwin readily promised, and the stranger, laying his hand on
his head, said to him, “When hereafter you shall see a man’s hand thus laid
upon your head, and all the things which I have foretold accomplished, then be
sure to remember the promise you have made.” Saying this, he vanished, leaving
Edwin in an uncertainty between hope and fear.
Two of the prophecies
were speedily fulfilled, for Redwald, urged by the entreaties of his wife,
broke off the negotiations, repenting of his treachery. War was declared, and a
decisive battle was fought, in which the tyrant, being too confident of his own
powers, rushed blindly upon his foes, and, being separated from his followers,
was slain; an end, says the chronicler, which his ambition richly deserved.
Edwin was now hailed as
the rightful king of Northumbria. He was then twenty-seven years old. On his
restoration he recalled his exiled relatives, and among them his niece, Saint
Hilda. In the course of his wanderings he had seen the princess Ethelburga,
daughter of Ethelbert, king of Kent, who had been converted by Saint Augustine.
Being “ravished by her beauty,” he bethought himself of her when safely seated
on his throne, and sent ambassadors to seek her hand. But the royal maiden had
Saint Augustine for her spiritual father, who, says Bede, had instilled into
her a deep sense of Christianity; therefore she refused to hearken to the
proposals of a pagan king, and answered that it was not lawful for a Christian
maiden to be married to a pagan, for fear lest the faith and Sacraments of the
celestial King should be profaned by so near an association with a monarch who
was ignorant of the worship due to the true God.
Edwin, however, nothing
daunted, replied that he would never do the least thing contrary to the
Christian faith, and would allow Ethelburga and all her retinue the free
exercise of their religion. He further declared that if, after due examination,
he found the Christian religion more holy and more beseeming the majesty of God
than that in which he had been brought up, he would himself embrace it. So
favourable an offer could not be refused, and Ethelburga saw that she might be
the means of converting the North umbrian nation to the true faith. She
therefore set out, accompanied by Saint Paulinus, one of the monks sent by
Saint ( Gregory to England, a man well fitted to be her spiritual guide and
adviser in her difficult mission. In order to give him more power and authority
he was consecrated first Bishop of York, previous to his departure. Paulinus
blessed the marriage of Edwin and Ethelburga amid great rejoicing, and Pope
Boniface sent letters of congratulation and exhortation to the bride and
bridegroom, together with a silver mirror and an ivory and gold comb as tokens
of good-will to the bride. These last were discovered at Whitby in 1872, having
most likely been given by Ethelburga to the Abbess Hilda, her niece. Hilda, who
lived with her uncle and aunt, was thus thrown into contact with Saint
Paulinus, and was by him gradually won over to the Christian faith. In the year
627 she was solemnly baptised with the king and a great number of nobles, the
ceremony taking place on the holy feast of Easter, with all possible pomp and
splendour.
King Edwin had hesitated
some time before submitting his neck to the sweet yoke of Christ. Venerable
Bede says of him, that he was a “man of a piercing, sagacious spirit, who would
oftentimes sit alone, revolving in his mind many doubtful thoughts as to what
resolution he should take and what religion he should adopt.” He was
dissatisfied with his own superstition, yet his principal objection to the
Catholic faith was that he thought it unbecoming a great king to submit to be
the follower of one who had been crucified. However, one day as he was thus
musing, the third prophecy formerly made to him was suddenly fulfilled, for
Saint Paulinus, breaking in on his reveries, laid his hand on his head as the
stranger had foretold, and asked him whether he remembered the promise he had
made as an exile in danger of death, and whether he did not fear to continue
longer in opposition to the God who had so exalted him and could as easily
confound him. Edwin was convinced and, acknowledging his want of trust in his
deliverer, promised to do whatever Saint Paulinus should command him. His doubts
and objections vanished, and he promised not only to become a follower of
Christ him self, but to use all means to bring the people of his nation to the
knowledge of the truth. This he succeeded in doing by means of a great national
council summoned for the purpose, Coifi, the chief of the idolatrous priests,
being the first to declare himself a Christian.
In 633, six years after
Edwin’s baptism, he went to receive the eternal crown promised to him by the
divine oracle. He was killed in a holy war against the pagan king Penda and his
ally, Cadwallon, who, in their hatred of Christianity had put to death so many
innocent victims. The queen Ethelburga fled, under Paulinus’s protection, to
her home in Kent, Hilda probably accompanying her; and under an idolatrous
ruler, Christianity, which was but just beginning to take root in Northumbria,
was almost entirely destroyed. James the Deacon alone, tried to keep alive a
feeble spark until the day when Aidan was to come and again fan it into a
flame; a flame never more to be extinguished, for even in the darkest days of
persecution the faith was always kept alive in the North, and in at least one
chapel the sanctuary lamp has ever remained burning to testify to the belief of
the faithful few in the real presence of their God in the Sacrament of His
love.
The year that intervened
between Saint Edwin’s death and the accession of Saint Oswald was called by the
Northum brians the “accursed year,” such chaos prevailed under a pagan
government. However, at length Saint Oswald, a nephew of Edwin, who had taken
refuge in Scotland, trusting in God’s help, attacked and overthrew the tyrant
and became king of Northumbria. Peace was restored and the exiles returned once
more to their homes in the North, Hilda being then twenty-one years old.
Oswald’s first care was
to apply to the Scottish monks of lona, with whom he had become acquainted
during his banishment, for missionaries to re-enkindle the faith among his
people. The first monk sent in answer to his appeal was somewhat harsh and
severe, and could not adapt him self to the Saxons, whom he considered a
hopeless race, and he therefore returned to his monastery. Then the gentle
Aidan, whose heart bled for the lost sheep wandering shepherdless over the
wilds of Northumbria, begged to go in his stead to endeavour to tame their
rough natures and to win them to Christ. His mission was wholly successful; he
endeared himself to all, especially to the king, who accompanied him
everywhere, acting as his interpreter, for at first Aidan knew but little
English. It was during his frequent sojourns at the Northumbrian court that
Saint Aidan formed a friendship with Saint Hilda, whom he began to lead to God
along the strait and difficult paths of perfection. Venerable Bede describes
him as a man of piety, meekness and moderation a rare quality in those days yet
with an unbounded zeal for God’s glory. He adds that the two points which most
appealed to those whom he sought to convert were that he never taught anything
that he did not himself practise, and that he had no affection for the honours
and pleasures of the world. Whether in his cell or at court, he was always the
same simple monk. The influence which he won over others by his unobtrusive
virtue was very great, and numbers put themselves under his direction. As an
instance of the power of his example we read that, in imitation of him, many
religious men and women prolonged their fast until three o clock in the
afternoon on Wednesdays and Fridays. Yet, notwithstanding the natural sweetness
and gentleness of his character, Aidan was no respecter of persons, nor did he
shrink from speaking out boldly against the deplorable vices then prevalent
among the Saxon nobility. By this he would have won the admiration of Hilda,
whose strong and unflinching nature was capable of appreciating the fearless
courage of the Scottish monk in telling the truth to those fierce northern
chieftains. Although she was thirty-three years old before she finally
consecrated her self to God, her resolution to become a nun had been fixed long
before, but the unsettled state of the country and the many troubles through
which her relations had to pass prevented her from sooner carrying out her
purpose.
Father Faber says: “To be
a princess in England in the seventh century was only to be the more liable to
a disturbed life than the humbler ranks of the people, and that exile,
deposition and murder were the foremost retinue of a king and his family; that
of all the members of the royal household the princesses were in the most un
favourable position, for they were looked upon as a means of extending and
consolidating power by being given in marriage to other princes. Thus, if a
royal maiden wished to dedicate herself to holy virginity, she became at once
useless to her family.” But Hilda, sought in marriage as she must have been,
not only on account of her position, but also of her extraordinary beauty and
talents, remained firm in her resolve awaiting God’s own time, having deter
mined, as soon as opportunity offered, to cross to France and take the veil in
the Abbey of Chelles, where her widowed sister had already retired, to devote
the remainder of her life to God. Of Hereswida we have the following testimony
in the Gallican Martyrology: “In the monastery of Chelles in the territory of
Paris, on September 20th, is celebrated the memory of Saint Hereswida. She,
being a queen in England, out of love to Christ forsook her sceptre and
kingdom, and betook herself to the said famous monastery, where, after she had
afforded admirable examples of piety, humility, and regular observance, she was
consummated with a happy end and obtained the reward of a heavenly crown.”
Meantime there had been
sad doings at the Northumbrian court; the good and great king Oswald had been
slain by that arch-enemy of the Christian faith, Penda. Some time previous to
his death a terrible pestilence had ravaged the kingdom, which must have given
ample scope to the Princess Hilda to exercise many works of mercy. The
chronicler quaintly remarks that king Oswald was pierced to the soul at seeing
such a world of funerals, and that he earnestly prayed God, as king David had
done, to spare his people, and to turn the scourge against himself and his
family. This prayer was granted, for soon after Oswald was seized with the
plague and brought to the point of death. As he lay on what seemed to be his
death-bed, rejoicing to die as a victim for the salvation of his nation, three
angels appeared to him and addressed him, saying: “O king, thy prayers and
resignation are acceptable to God. Thou art one of ours, for shortly thou shall
receive an immortal crown for thy faith, piety, and charity. But that time is
not yet come, for God at present gives thee both thy own life and that of thy
subjects. Now thou art willing to die for them, shortly thou shalt die far more
happily, a martyr for God.” This prediction was verified on 5 August 642, when
the holy king was slain, praying for his people with his dying breath.
After the death of
Oswald, his brother Oswy succeeded him, a young man of about thirty, who
reigned twenty-eight years. He divided his kingdom with Oswin, a descendant of
the royal race of Aella, and a kinsman of Hilda, giving him the kingdom of
Deira. It is probable that Hilda remained at Oswin’s court during the last five
years spent by her in the world. In 647, all obstacles having been surmounted,
she left the court and waited on the coast for a vessel to carry her to France
to join her sister. In thus forsaking her country, as well as her family and
friends, she sought to make her sacrifice the more complete. However, Aidan had
formed other plans for her, and when he heard of her departure he sent to urge
her to return to him, for he had destined her to foster the little seed of
religious life which, by means of another holy soul, he had already planted at
Hartlepool.
Hilda, moved by his
entreaties, consented to forego her long-cherished plan, and, returning to
Northumbria, Aidan gave her a small estate, just sufficient to support herself
and a few companions, on the banks of the river Wear. One cannot but be struck
at the literal way in which Hilda took our Lord’s words about leaving all
things, since it is evident from the fact that Saint Aidan gave her this estate
to support her, that she must have left the court dowerless, and this by her
own desire. This little side-light which we get of her character speaks volumes
for the whole-heartedness of her sacrifice and the thoroughness of her resolve.
Not far from Saint Hilda’s small convent was that established by Saint Bees, at
Hartlepool, on the coast of Durham, the first convent ever seen in Northumbria.
Tradition says that she was an Irish princess who had vowed her virginity to
God, and, as a pledge of her vow, had received from an angel a bracelet marked
with a cross; as he gave it to her he said: “Receive this blessed gift, sent to
you by God, by which you may know that you are dedicated to His service, and
that He is your Spouse.” Being considered the most beautiful maiden in the
land, she was sought in marriage by the king of Norway, who came in person to
fetch her. The night before the wedding there was a great feast, and while all
were drinking and making merry, she seized the opportunity to escape, and,
embarking on a ship she chanced to find ready to set sail, she passed over to
Northumbria, where for many years she lived in solitude not far from
Whitehaven, doing good to the poor people around, nursing and tending them in
sickness, and teaching them the healing arts.
After a time the place
was infested by pirates, and Saint Bees was obliged again to take to flight,
this time settling at Hartlepool. Here she was found by Saint Aidan in the
course of his apostolic labours, and at once placed herself under his
direction. By his advice she adopted a fixed rule, which he gave her, together
with the veil and habit of a consecrated virgin. Other young maidens, attracted
by her example and holy life, sought to share her retreat, and Aidan urged her
to undertake their training. For this it was necessary to have some sort of
convent built, in which they could live and keep regular observance. As she was
not herself able to lift the stones and set them up, she got men from the
neighbourhood to do the work, she meanwhile helping them by every means in her
power, carrying the mortar for them, cooking their dinner, and ministering to
all their little wants. Thus the building grew apace, and soon was filled with
fervent souls eager to imitate the virtues of one who had so long schooled
herself in their practice, and who had learnt to tame and subdue those strong
passions which they felt so unruly in their own hearts. Still, Saint Bees was
only known to a few; none guessed her origin, for the humble virgin would have
been the last to spread abroad the fact that she was of royal blood. With Hilda
the case was very different, she was well known in Northumbria, and when people
heard that she had retired to a remote village with a few other maidens in
order to dedicate IK -rself to religious life, they were lavish of criticism,
and not a little curious about the matter. Religious life for women was
absolutely new to the Northumbrians, so we can easily imagine the sinister
prophecies made as to the outcome of Hilda’s venture. In truth, it did seem a
bold step for a princess, who had always lived in luxury, to go to a wild spot,
unprotected, with scant provision and a poor shelter. Would she not soon grow
weary of her hard life, of its monotony, its poverty, most of all, of its
society? Would her health stand the test? These and similar queries would
naturally have been uppermost, then as now, in the minds of the onlookers; yet
days, weeks, and months, nay years, rolled by, and Hilda still remained unmoved
in her purpose, and proved by her living example that a heart on fire with love
for God can surmount every difficulty, whether of body or mind.. And as she had
proved herself superior to the allurements of the world and the claims of
nature, others began to ask themselves whether they could not do what she had
done; and so many came to join her and emulate her example.
There is an old proverb
which says that “Small beginnings make great ends,” and perhaps in no case is
this more true than in the spiritual life. Hilda’s beginnings were very small,
her convent was so insignificant that not even its name has survived; but the
seed soon matured, and in a short time Hilda began to exercise that
extraordinary influence which made itself felt on all classes throughout the
kingdom. As was but natural, Hilda and Bees soon became fast friends; Hilda learnt
much from the long experience of Bees, while Bees saw in the strength of
character of the Deiran Princess one who was born to rule and lead, and she
therefore spared no pains in instilling into her a true religious spirit.
Meanwhile Saint Bees had secretly formed a plan which she now unfolded to Saint
Aidan. At his word, she had been willing to renounce the solitude which she
loved in order to train up others in virtue and holy living; she had undertaken
without a murmur all the difficulties incumbent on a new foundation in a
country where conventual life was unknown; she had trained the wild
Northumbrian maidens, and had succeeded in introducing regular observance into
her convent. Now that she had made a difficult way easy, she felt that she
would not be shirking her duty if she left another to reap where she had sown.
She therefore begged Saint Aidan to allow her to resign the reins of government
into Hilda’s hands, and to retire once more into solitude. At first Aidan would
not hear of such a proposal; he knew Hilda’s worth, and appreciated her powers,
yet he was by no means willing to lose Saint Bees. However, the latter had
recourse to prayer, and persisting in her request, she at length gained the day
as far as Saint Aidan was concerned, for he could not deny that Hilda was
eminently qualified to govern, and that her position would do much to propagate
religious life in the kingdom.
But what did Hilda
herself think of the plan? As the first element of holiness is humility, she
could not for a moment have esteemed herself fitted to take the place of one
whom she regarded as her superior in every way. When the exchange was suggested
to her she would not even surfer the idea to be discussed and lovingly
remonstrated with Saint Bees, pleading her own inexperience and the need she
still felt for her guidance. Nevertheless Saint Bees had taken her resolve, and
since she could not herself persuade Hilda, she enlisted the holy Bishop’s
help, and by his authority effected her purpose. When Aidan said that a thing
must be, Hilda knew that she had to obey; and so with great reluctance she
accepted the cross of superiority laid on her shoulders by holy obedience. All
things having been finally settled Saint Bees took her departure, deeply
regretted by those who had been privileged to live under her rule, and went to
a village called Tailcaster, some twelve miles from York, where she lived in
great holiness. She continued, however, to take a lively interest in the
community she had left, and especially in her successor, the Abbess Hilda, to
whom she remained much attached, leaving her solitude every year to visit her.
When Hilda was struck down with her last long illness we shall find Bees again
at her side bringing her comfort and consolation by her presence.
Hilda was welcomed with
great respect and cordiality by the nuns of Hartlepool. They had often seen her
at their convent, and had been attracted to her at the outset; while they could
not but marvel at the courage and fervour of this royal lady. Venerable Bede
tells us how Hilda’s nuns loved her with an intense love (” immenso amore “),
and there must have been something very winning about her in order to account
for the remarkable influence she exercised alike over men and women. As Abbess,
she was most careful to maintain regular observance in every detail as she had
been taught by Saint Aidan and other religious men. Bede goes on to tell us how
she instilled into her nuns the perfect practice of piety and chastity and of
all virtues, especially those of peace and charity. He lays stress on these
last, for to keep peace and charity between these untrained and independent
natures required almost a miracle of grace. It would have been easier to have
made hermits of them and to teach them to do heroic penance, than to live
together in peace and union. According to the practice of the primitive Church,
Hilda exacted rigorous poverty; no distinction was made between rich and poor,
all things were common to all, and no one was allowed to exercise any
proprietorship. This was, perhaps, not quite so great a hardship as might
appear at first sight, for in those times the households, even of the Court and
nobles, were accustomed to live in common, all, masters, servants, and serfs,
meeting in the large hall of the castle or manor for meals and work. The walls
of these halls were of rough masonry, except at the higher end, where the
nobles and their families sat, and this was hung with tapestry worked by the
deft fingers of noble ladies and their maidens, who also spun and wove the
garments for the entire household, nobles and peasants all sharing alike, the
only difference being in the richness of the weaving.
But if this life in
common was natural to them, the Christian virtues of submission, patience and
charity were absent from the minds of the haughty and proud Saxon nobles who
were accustomed to treat their dependants with harshness and cruelty,
forgetting that God is no excepter of persons and that, whether bond or free,
all are one in His sight. Hilda’s own convent was the first founded in northern
England, so that those who presented themselves could not to use a homely
phrase have known what they were in for, and Hilda must have exercised
consummate prudence and tact to instil into such unsubdued minds a true monastic
spirit and religious sentiments. The difficulties she must have encountered are
confirmed by the fact that later on at Whitby she found it necessary to
separate completely the novices from the professed, so that they even lived in
a separate house. Not until they had been thoroughly moulded, tried and
purified, were they allowed to join those who had learnt to bear the yoke of
Christ in meekness and humility.
It is probable that the
nuns of Hartlepool had many opportunities of showing hospitality to poor and
ship wrecked mariners, as on that coast wrecks were, and still unfortunately
are, very common occurrences. The fishing people who lived around would also
come to them for help and comfort, both in their temporal and spiritual needs,
and grew to love the Abbess and her community, and to regard them with honest
pride as being in a sense their property. Hilda herself, no doubt, regarded
Hartlepool as her permanent home, and had no thoughts of moving. However, God
had other designs for her and destined her to possess more widespread influence
for His greater glory. The change was brought about by a providential
circumstance. The restless Penda saw with jealousy the peace that reigned in
Northumbria and determined once again to put an end to it. “Oswy,” says Bede,
who “had already received intolerable vexations from him, sought still to buy
him off with bribes.” Penda, however, would listen to no terms, and Oswy had
recourse to God, saying: “Since the pagan king refuses our gifts let us offer
them to our Lord God, who will graciously accept them.” He therefore vowed that
in the event of victory he would consecrate his daughter to God in holy
religion, and give twelve estates for the foundation and endowment of a
monastery. God accepted his vow, and, in spite of tremendous odds against him,
Oswy obtained a victory little short of miraculous and slew the cruel tyrant.
Mindful of his vow, Oswy did not forget to whom he owed the victory, and, not
less faithful than Jephte, he hastened to fulfill it. His daughter Elfleda was
but a babe of scarce a year old, yet, taking her as a fair blossom in all her
purity and innocence, he offered her to God in the convent of Saint Hilda at
Hartlepool, leaving her to be fostered and trained as a chaste bride for the
celestial Spouse to whom she was vowed.
This act of sacrifice
was, however, only a portion of the vow, and Oswy called a council to
deliberate upon a suitable site to build the abbey, which was to serve as a
perpetual memorial of thanksgiving for the signal grace received. The council
unanimously agreed that Streaneshalch (the Isle of Beacon), a platform rising
some three hundred feet above the sea, was a most conspicuous and fitting spot
to establish such a monument; and that on no community could it be more worthily
bestowed than on that of the Princess Hilda. The Isle of Beacon was afterwards
called Whitby by the Danes on account of the dazzling white cliffs standing out
against the great dark rocks below. It was one of the crown lands, and in 630
King Edwin had caused a church to be built there in honour of Saint Peter for
the use of the fishermen. On the edge of the cliff was a watch-tower hence the
name, Isle of Beacon to keep a look out for the approach of a hostile fleet and
to serve as a danger signal to unwary navigators approaching the dangerous
rocks by night.
Oswy signified his
intentions to Hilda, who concurred in his decision, understanding that her
removal would further the glory of God and the salvation of souls. The outline
of a monastery was then begun on a princely scale, with a magnificent church.
Hilda came constantly to the spot to superintend the building and to give the
necessary directions to men, willing, no doubt, but probably unskilled in the
erection of conventual establishments. At length, in 657, the buildings being
sufficiently advanced, Hilda removed permanently to Whitby with ten of her
nuns. It must have cost her a sharp pang to leave Hartlepool, to which she was
bound by so many sacred ties. There her mother lay buried, having come to end
her days in peace beneath her daughter’s rule. In 1843, while some excavations
were being made in the church at Hartlepool, some graves were discovered
.bearing Saxon names, among them that of the Lady Breguswith, Hilda’s mother.
Hartlepool was also associated with those memories of Aidan which Hilda
cherished with such true fidelity that she would never swerve one iota from the
rule and customs learned from this revered guide and teacher.
Some years before, she
had had the grief of losing him; he had died 31 August 651. On the night of his
death Saint Cuthbert, then a shepherd, was watching his sheep on the downs near
Melrose, when he saw the sky brilliantly lighted up and angels descending from
heaven. As he gazed on, spell-bound, at the wondrous sight, he saw the same
angel returning, bearing the soul of the holy bishop to paradise. The next
morning he heard that Saint Aidan had died at that same time; and from
thenceforward he determined to embrace a monastic life, all earthly things
having lost their attractions for eyes which had caught a glimpse of heavenly
glory.
When Hilda arrived at
Whitby and settled down there with her nuns, she found some very objectionable
neigh bours. The cliff, so long uninhabited, was infested by snakes and all
kinds of creeping horrors. This unexpected pest was a great trial to the good
nuns, who scarcely dared to go out for fear of finding a snake lurking in the
long grass which grew abundantly in this dangerous spot. Saint Hilda shared the
dread of her sisters for these reptiles and besought God to deliver them from
them. The Divine Master had compassion on His handmaids and, acceding to their
petition, drove out the snakes by His almighty power; like the swine of the
Gerasenes. they went over the cliff and were turned into stones on the shore
beneath. This legend is still popular among the country-folk, who point out the
stones on Whitby beach, which, to all appearance, bear the form of petrified
snakes. At any rate, Saint Hilda’s prayers were not less efficacious than those
of Saint Patrick, for a snake was never again seen in the neighbourhood.
Her mission, however, was
not only to rid the country of venomous reptiles that might injure the body but
could not kill the soul, she had to expel a much older and more wily serpent,
“the most subtle of all the beasts which God had made.” The princely scale upon
which the monastery had been built, the rich lands with which it was endowed,
the prestige given to it by the presence of the king’s little daughter, and
most of all, Hilda’s extraordinary influence and power of organization and
government, soon caused Whitby to become a centre of piety and learning,
frequented by people of every rank and condition. Fuller says: “I behold Hilda
as the most learned female before the Conquest, and I may call her the She
Gamaliel, at whose feet many learned men had their education.” The surrounding
peasants both loved and respected her, and it became the custom of the country
to address her as “Mother,” showing how in her great heart all found a place.
Her superior counsel and gift of judgement were so highly esteemed that she was
consulted as an oracle, not only by her neighbours, but also by bishops,
learned men, the king, and the nobles; and, as Venerable Bede significantly
adds, “they did not merely ask her advice, but they also followed it.”
Whitby was not only an
abbey for nuns, it was one of those great double monasteries of which several
examples are found in England. Ely, Coldingham, and Wimbourne were all
invariably governed by an abbess, and the reason is not difficult to
conjecture. In those rough -days, when a lady of distinction founded a
monastery for the weaker sex it was very necessary that they should have
protectors, and if these protectors could minister to their spiritual wants as
well as guard them from the violence of the times, so much the better. It must
be clearly borne in mind that the monks and nuns were absolutely separate; they
never saw each other, nor held any communication with one another further than
was required for their spiritual ministry. The abbess, in company with an elder
nun, transacted the necessary business with the prior and officials and
arranged for the general well-being of all. There were two distinct choirs for
monks and nuns, in some cases two separate churches; the houses in which they
lived were always apart. The prior was generally chosen by the abbess, and the
monks took care of the estates of the monastery, instructed the people of the
neighbourhood, and exercised the various mechanical arts, these last often in a
very high degree of perfection. Abbots and bishops emulated the skill of their
inferiors by practising themselves in the arts of carpentering and working in
metals, both iron and gold, all of which crafts they turned to the service of God,
enriching their churches with the produce of their labours.
The nuns, in their turn,
were not idle, though their work lay in a more retired and gentle sphere
adapted to their sex. The gorgeous vestments and church hangings which they
embroidered were celebrated in foreign lands, while they were not less skilled
in illuminating and beautifying missals and prayer books. Lingard tells us how
Saint Wilfrid ordered the four Gospels to be written in letters of gold on a
purple ground; most likely this work of art was executed by the nuns of Whitby;
it was afterwards presented to the church of Ripon enclosed in a golden casket
enriched with precious stones. The Saxons delighted in display, and well for
them, when their love for the beautiful caused them to pour forth their riches
in adorning the house of God and in giving to Him all that was best and most
precious. We can scarcely credit the accounts we read of the church furniture
of those days; and yet we never find that the poor suffered in consequence, or
were less cared for because God’s temples were sumptuously adorned. No, then as
now, the same spirit of faith which makes men generous to God in His
Sacramental Presence makes them equally open-handed in helping Him in the
person of His poor. In Lingard’s “Antiquities” we read that the altars were
plated with silver and gold and inlaid with jewels, that the walls were hung
with richest tapestry and foreign paintings, while everything employed in the
sacred ministry was of silver or gold.
Among its many other claims
to our admiration and wonder, the Abbey of Whitby stands pre-eminent for the
high standard of its intellectual culture, and for the famous men it produced
even in Hilda’s lifetime. Bede tells us how “she took such care to make her
subjects diligent in reading the Holy Scriptures and practising works of piety
that there were many persons found there very fit to undertake the
ecclesiastical degree and office of the altar.” Of Hilda’s own disciples five
became bishops, the most celebrated being Saint John of Beverley, who was the
most popular saint of that period. Another striking personality among Hilda’s
subjects was the first Anglo-Saxon poet, the famous Caedmon, who, according to
the old legend, re ceived his talent from heaven. He was but a cowherd, and it
grieved him that, while his fellow-labourers sang and made merry, he perforce
remained silent, having no voice to sing. One evening he slipped away from his
friends, sad and disquieted, and fell asleep in the stable. As he slept he
heard a voice saying, “Sing to me,” and he answered, “I cannot sing.” Still the
voice persisted, and Caedmon said, “What can I sing about? I know no song.” To
which the mysterious voice answered, “Sing about God and His creation, His
power and His greatness.” And immediately the poor cowherd began to sing verses
about the glories of God and of nature which had never entered his mind before.
The miraculous talent he
had acquired was naturally much talked about, and the Abbess Hilda, recognizing
in in him one gifted by God, received him into the service of the Abbey,
together with all his family. Here he eventually took the habit and became a
most holy monk, edifying all by the deep and tender piety which animated his
songs and poems.
Of Caedmon Venerable Bede
says that “he was a most religious man, who humbly subjected himself to regular
discipline” (surely a rare virtue in a genius!), “and that though after him
many Anglo-Saxons tried to compose verses, none equalled him, for he had
received his talent from above, taught by God, not by men.” As a monk he
translated into Anglo-Saxon and put into verse a great part of the Bible, and
composed marvellous verses about heaven and hell, death and judgement, the fall
of the angels, and those great truths calculated to make men realize the vanity
of temporal things, and to aspire after something greater and better. Many,
induced by his verses, left their sins and embraced a monastic life. Bede
touchingly describes the poet’s simple death: “Death had no terrors for him;
till the last he was making jokes with those around him in the infirmary. As
his last hour approached he asked for Holy Communion, and, before receiving it,
he turned to his brethren and asked them whether they had anything against him,
and as they answered No, he told them that he died at peace with all men. He
received his Lord, laid his head on the pillow, and, gently falling asleep, he
thus in silence finished his life.”
We now come to the famous
Parliament of Whitby, which caused so much feeling between those who followed
Celtic traditions and those who desired union with Rome on every point. The
subject of discussion was the observance of Easter, which the Celtic monks,
according to their tradition, kept on the fourteenth day of the moon, when that
day happened to fall on a Sunday, instead of celebrating it on the Sunday after
the fourteenth day. The Romans, on the other hand, had adopted the reformed
calendar, carefully drawn up by the Alexandrians, which confined the
celebration of Easter between March 23rd and April 25th. It thus happened in
the Northumbrian court that King Oswy was sometimes celebrating the glorious
feast of Easter, while his wife and her chaplains, who followed the Roman
usage, were keeping Palm Sunday in purple and mourning. Wilfrid had but now returned
from his pilgrimage to Rome, and was full of youthful eagerness and fervour for
the universal adoption of the Roman usage. He therefore urged the king to call
a Parliament to settle the matter once for all. Saint Hilda was then fifty
years of age, and an ardent advocate of the tradition received from her beloved
spiritual father, Saint Aidan. The Parliament was very largely attended by all
classes, and the wishes and desires of his subjects seem to have been consulted
by the king, who, in the vast assembly, appealed not only to the ecclesiastics
and lay men who formed his Parliament, but to all the yeomen standing round,
listening to the debate. The king opened the proceedings by saying that, as
they all served one Cod and hoped to go to the same heaven, it was fitting that
they should all have the same observance with regard to the worship of God and
the celebration of the Sacred Mysteries. It now rested, therefore, with those
present to hear both sides, and determine which party held the true tradition.
Bishop Colman, Aidan’s successor first spoke, and was answered by Wilfrid, who
ended by saying that however great a saint Columba may have been, Christ had
not entrusted to him the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Then the king arose,
and clenched the whole argument by asking Bishop Colman whether our Lord had
given to Saint Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and, receiving an
affirmative answer, he questioned him further whether Christ had made a similar
promise to Saint Columba. Here the good bishop could make no answer; whereupon
the king aptly remarked that since all were agreed that the keys of heaven were
held by Saint Peter, he had no mind to quarrel with the porter of heaven, but
was determined in all to obey his ordinances, “lest,” he concluded, “when I
come to heaven’s gate he who keeps the keys be displeased with me, and there be
none to open and let me in.”
The king’s speech was
much applauded by all who were unbiassed, and from that time forward the Roman
obser vance of Easter was adopted in the kingdom. Unfortu nately the Celtic
monks, with their Bishop Colman, and Saint Hilda and her community, still clung
tenaciously to the old traditions, and conceived a great dislike for the young
monk, Wilfrid, who had forced the controversy on them. Their opposition is not
difficult to understand under the circumstances, and even Venerable Bede, who
is an enthu siastic admirer of Saint Wilfrid and all that was Roman, allows
that though the Celtic monks had doubtless immoderate esteem for their forefathers,
which caused them to prefer their own traditions to the practice of the rest of
the Church, yet he asserts that such was their virtue in other respects, that
this, their one fault, disappears in the light of their patience, chastity,
temperance, and untiring efforts after the heights of Christian perfection.
However, if in this
matter Hilda had shown herself somewhat too tenacious, God now laid His hand
upon her, and by long and sharp suffering the over-eagerness of her ardent
nature was finally subdued and purified. For six years she was subject to a
painful and wearying sickness, yet throughout she never ceased to praise God
for thus purging her from all defects and exercising her in patience. Nor did
she consider herself exempted, on account of her infirmities, from the duties
of her exalted position. From her sick bed she continued to regulate the
affairs of her community and to instruct her daughters, inciting them to
fervour in praising God, as well in adversity as in pros perity. Thus, great in
death as she had ever been in life, she joyfully gave up her soul to God on 15
December 680.
God vouchsafed to reveal
her death to Saint Bees, who was then staying at Hackness, a priory thirteen
miles from Whitby. One night Bees was awakened by the sound of the great Abbey
bell tolling in the distance. She got up, and, looking out into the darkness,
she saw the heavens all aglow with a wondrous light, and angels carrying Saint
Hilda’s pure soul to Paradise. She felt so convinced that this vision was a
reality that she went at once to tell the superior what had occurred. The next
morning Bees vision was confirmed by the arrival of messengers from Whitby, who
announced the happy departure of their Abbess at the very hour Saint Bees had
seen her; and not only was she privileged to witness this sight, but it was
likewise beheld by the Mistress of Novices, who presided over the house which
was set apart for probationers and those newly converted to a more perfect
life.
Hilda, the great Abbess,
was laid to rest in the church at Whitby, where she remained in peace until the
monastery was destroyed by the Danes; her relics were, however, rescued and
transferred to Glastonbury.
In the reign of the
Conqueror the ancient Abbey was restored by William Percy, an ancestor of the
Earls of Northumberland, and continued a most flourishing monas tery of
Benedictine monks until the Reformation.
“Who shall find a valiant
woman? far and from the uttermost coasts is the price of her. She hath put out
her hand to strong things. She hath opened her hand to the needy. She hath
given her mouth to wisdom, and the law of clemency is on her tongue. She hath
looked well to the paths of her house, and hath not eaten her bread idle. Her
children rose up and called her blessed; many daughters have gathered together
riches, thou hast sur passed them all. Favour is deceitful, beauty is vain: the
woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.” (Proverbs 31)
– text taken from the
booklet Saint Hilda and Her Times,
author not listed, published by the Catholic Truth Society of London
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-hilda-and-her-times/
St
Hilda's Roman Catholic Church, Sunderland
St Hilda and Hidden Gold
Today is the feast of St Hilda, abbess of Whitby, who died on 17 November 680.
Born into a royal family in the north of England, Hilda entered religious life
at the age of 33, and in 657 became the founding abbess of Whitby, a double
monastery for men and women. She was famous for her wisdom and counsel,
according to Bede, who was born in her lifetime and describes her in his Historia
Ecclesiastica thus:
Bishop Aidan, and other religious men that knew her and loved her, frequently visited and diligently instructed her, because of her innate wisdom and inclination to the service of God... She undertook either to build or to arrange a monastery in the place called Streaneshalch [Whitby], which work she industriously performed; for she put this monastery under the same regular discipline as she had done the former; and taught there the strict observance of justice, piety, chastity, and other virtues, and particularly of peace and charity; so that, after the example of the primitive church, no person was there rich, and none poor, all being in common to all, and none having any property. Her prudence was so great, that not only indifferent persons, but even kings and princes, as occasion offered, asked and received her advice.
At this point Bede notes, as evidence of Hilda's wise leadership, that her
monastery produced five men who went on to become bishops, including St
John of Beverley.
Thus this servant of
Christ, Abbess Hilda, whom all that knew her called Mother, for her singular
piety and grace, was not only an example of good life, to those that lived in
her monastery, but afforded occasion of amendment and salvation to many who lived
at a distance, to whom the fame was brought of her industry and virtue... When
she had governed this monastery many years, it pleased Him who has made such
merciful provision for our salvation, to give her holy soul the trial of a long
sickness, to the end that, according to the apostle's example, her virtue might
be perfected in infirmity. Falling into a fever, she fell into a violent heat,
and was afflicted with the same for six years continually; during all which
time she never failed either to return thanks to her Maker, or publicly and
privately to instruct the flock committed to her charge; for by her own example
she admonished all persons to serve God dutifully in perfect health, and always
to return thanks to Him in adversity, or bodily infirmity. In the seventh year
of her sickness, the distemper turning inwards, she approached her last day,
and about cock-crowing, having received the holy communion to further her on
her way, and called together the servants of Christ that were within the same
monastery, she admonished them to preserve evangelical peace among themselves,
and with all others; and as she was making her speech, she joyfully saw death
approaching, or if I may speak in the words of our Lord, passed from death to
life.
Bede describes how two
nuns who were especially close to Hilda had miraculous visions telling them of
her death. He then goes on to tell the story of Cædmon, which should be dear to
all lovers of English literature - you probably know it! The story goes that
Cædmon was a cowherd living in the monastery at Whitby, whose job was to look
after the animals. An unlearned man, he felt unable to join in with the others
at feasts where everyone was expected to sing or perform poetry. (I wonder if
the abbess used to sing at these feasts...) During one such occasion, Cædmon
hid himself away in the cowshed in embarrassment. There, as he slept, a
miraculous figure appeared to him, who addressed him by name and ordered him to
sing. Cædmon protested that he couldn't, but his visitor taught him to sing of
the creation of the world, to the praise of God, in words which were not his own.
When he spoke of his dream the next morning he was taken to Hilda, so that the
abbess might judge the story of his vision and the poem it produced.
Recognising his gift, Hilda took control of Cædmon's future: she decreed that
he should enter her monastery, and provided him with more subjects for his
verse. Cædmon's short hymn has a claim to be the earliest recorded English
poem, and Hilda's role as Cædmon's patron means that she played an influential,
often forgotten part in the production of the earliest Christian poetry in
English. Would we know about Cædmon at all, if not for Hilda?
St Hilda's day seems as good a reason as any to post a short extract from an
Old English poem which I've been meaning to post here for a while. It comes
from a text which rejoices in the modern title 'Instructions for Christians',
but it's much less dull than that title makes it sound. It provides counsel on
how to live a virtuous and holy life, and is particularly concerned with the
proper use of wealth and of learning; the two seem to be associated in the
poet's mind, as the first lines of the extract below demonstrate. The poem
survives in a twelfth-century
manuscript, and therefore comes from the very end of the Anglo-Saxon
period, a good five hundred years after Hilda. But that makes it all the more a
reminder of the strength and endurance of the poetic tradition for which
Cædmon's story is such a powerful origin-legend - five centuries of English
poetry of the kind fostered in Mother Hilda's monastery, and it would still be
another two centuries before the birth of the man who's today called 'the
Father of English poetry'.
The text comes from Old English Short Poems: vol. I, Religious and
Didactic, ed. Christopher A. Jones (Cambridge, Mass., 2012), pp. 143-4, but the
translation's mine.
('handmaid' isn't a very good translation, but the word þeowne here means 'a female servant'. As Bede notes in apology for his translation of Cædmon, 'verses, though never so well composed, cannot be literally translated out of one language into another without losing much of their beauty...').
I've been thinking a lot over the past few months about teaching, learning and wisdom more generally, and so this extract appealed to me when I encountered it a little while ago. For various reasons I've had particular cause to be grateful recently to the women who have taught me, and I've been considering the many forms women's teaching can take; and that's the main reason why I followed the grammatical gender of the Old English here (as I wouldn't normally do) and used the pronoun she, Old English heo, for the feminine noun leornung. This seems not inappropriate, since this passage (and the whole poem) is clearly influenced by the Biblical tradition of wisdom literature as well as by the native variety; and in that tradition, the Book of Proverbs for instance, Wisdom is spoken of as female.
Perhaps Bede's description of Hilda, too, draws on a traditional image of female wisdom as well as on the personal qualities of the abbess herself. Hilda is particularly a symbol of female learning for me, because I was an undergraduate at St Hilda's College in Oxford, which was founded in 1893 for the education of women and named for that wise abbess. Over the years St Hilda's has produced some outstanding female scholars, including - as befits the only Oxford college named for an Anglo-Saxon saint - several brilliant medievalists. When I was at St Hilda's it was still an all-female college, at the time Oxford's only remaining women's college. (It went mixed just after I left.) Coming from a mixed school, and associating single-sex education with fancy boarding schools very far out of my experience, I wasn't all that pleased to find myself at a women's college, and I didn't then think it had any particular advantages; but since leaving I've come to feel I didn't appreciate it properly. I didn't know then what a privilege it was to be taught almost exclusively by brilliant, articulate women, and surrounded by female students. There, no one cared you were a woman: you were a person, a student, and it was not in question that you had a right to be taught and a right to be taken seriously. When I left that undergraduate bubble and began to enter the wider world of academia, it was an adjustment to a culture where women were now a minority. I still had wonderful female teachers and mentors, the best anyone could ask for, but nonetheless it was quite a shock. I imagine that the effects of living in such a culture will be familiar to many of you reading this, academics or not - it manifests itself in more ways than one can count, and you gradually learn to recognise the signs. You learn what it's like not to be listened to when you talk, to be talked over, to be judged for how you look or sound as you say something rather than for the value of what you say; you get used to seeing women you respect belittled and badly treated, to being shown that there are people who don't want you in their seminar or their common room, to listening to supposedly intelligent men trying to flirt with you by pontificating on the stupidity of women ('oh no, I don't mean you; most women'). The formal structures of academia - peer review, conference Q&As, etc. - obligingly provide many platforms for men who are so inclined to privately or publicly scold women, especially women who are considerably junior to them. Fun, huh? It's easy to say that you just shouldn't let it get to you, and most of the time I didn't; I stood up for myself pretty well, and for others, too. But one incident did some tangible career damage to me a few months ago, in part because I let myself be talked over when it was especially important that I should be heard. I let myself be silenced by a bit of meaningless aggression, and the cost was a valuable career opportunity, a lot of miserable soul-searching, and serious loss of faith in my own work. I was surprised by the strength of my own reaction and by how difficult it was to shake it off; I already well knew, as I'm sure many of you do, how often women's voices are thus privately silenced, day after day, and how often the investment of much careful mentoring is thrown away by a few careless words. But there was one positive result: if anything good came from that experience, it was the reaction I received when I found my voice again and wrote about it here. A post I wrote here in the summer struck a chord with many women, who contacted me to say they had had similar experiences - several of them scholars I hugely respect, the kind of people I would have thought no one would dare try to silence.
It was that response, more than anything, which made me realise how fortunate I've been, all my life, to be taught and guided by women - and some men, too - who knew how to express themselves in clear, measured, and constructive ways. They knew how to give criticism which was intended to improve the quality of a piece of work, not to score points against the writer; they knew how to challenge ideas and to debate incisively without wasting energy on unnecessary aggression; they understood how to use their power and influence for good, and not for self-aggrandizement; they were prepared to be patient with ideas, and with people, which might need time to grow. They knew when it was important to listen rather than to talk, and how to amplify the voices of others rather than shouting them down. These wise people, these St Hildas, taught me how to teach and learn, by teaching me how to do both at the same time. Some of this teaching was formal, some informal - some hardly looked, from the outside, like teaching at all. Some of it came from very successful and brilliant women, some from women living 'hidden lives', who never sought what the world considers success. Their lives might have been hidden - but not their wisdom, their gold. They didn't allow themselves to be silenced, or bullied into hiding the good they knew they could do. Instead, they spent their gold in teaching, and their teaching took many forms. The results of such lives are so widely diffused that they may never be recognised or honoured as they ought to be; if you freely spend your gold rather than hoard it, you'll never grow wealthy yourself. But the effects of influence can be immeasurable, the consequences unlooked-for, the rewards rich in ways not to be counted. Clarity of thought, patience, generosity, the conquest of self - these are not qualities of weakness but of immense strength and wisdom, of leadership and power. That's the learning which humbles the king, and raises up the poor - and teaches the poet to sing
SOURCE : https://aclerkofoxford.blogspot.com/2015/11/st-hilda-and-hidden-gold.html
James Clark (1858–1943), Detail from St. Hilda at Hartlepool
Hilda de Whitby Abbess
and Peacemaker
Hilda (known in her own century as "Hild") was the grandniece of King
Edwin of Northumbria, a kingdom of the Angles. She was born in 614 and baptized
in 627 when the king and his household became Christians. In 647 she decided to
become a nun, and under the direction of Aidan she
established several monasteries. Her last foundation was at Whitby. It was a
double house: a community of men and another of women, with the chapel in
between, and Hilda as the governor of both; and it was a great center of
English learning, one which produced five bishops (during Hilda's lifetime??).
Here a stable-boy, Caedmon, was moved to compose religious poems in the
Anglo-Saxon tongue, most of them metrical paraphrases of narratives from
Genesis and the Gospels.
The Celtic peoples of
Britain had heard the Gospel well before 300 Ad, but in the 400's and 500's a
massive invasion of Germanic peoples (Angles, Jutes, and Saxons) forced the
native Celts out of what is now England and into Wales, Ireland, and Scotland.
The invaders were pagans, and missionaries were sent to them in the north and
west by the Celts, and in the south and east by Rome and other churches on the
continent of Europe.
Roman and Celtic
traditions differed, not in doctrine, but on such questions as the proper way
of calculating the date of Easter, and the proper style of haircut and dress
for a monk. It was, in particular, highly desirable that Christians, at least
in the same area, should celebrate Easter at the same time; and it became clear
that the English Church would have to choose between the old Celtic customs
which it had inherited from before 300, and the customs of continental Europe
and in particular of Rome that missionaries from there had brought with them.
In 664 the Synod of Whitby met at that monastery to consider the matter, and it
was decided to follow Roman usage.
Hilda herself greatly
preferred the Celtic customs in which she had been reared, but once the
decision had been made she used her moderating influence in favor of its
peaceful acceptance. Her influence was considerable; kings and commoners alike
came to her for advice. She was urgent in promoting the study of the Scriptures
and the thorough education of the clergy. She died 17 November 680.
PRAYER (traditional language)
O God, whose blessed Son
became poor that we through his poverty Might be rich: deliver us from an
inordinate love of this world, that, following the example of thy servant
Hilda, we may serve thee with singleness of heart, and attain to the riches of
the world to come; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with
thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
O God of peace, by whose
grace the abbess Hilda was endowed with Gifts of justice, prudence, and
strength to rule as a wise mother over the nuns and monks of her household, and
to become a trusted and reconciling friend to leaders of the Church: Give us
the grace to respect and love our fellow Christians with whom we disagree, that
our common life may be enriched and thy gracious will be done, through Jesus
Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one
God, now and for ever.
PRAYER (contemporary
language)
O God, whose blessed Son
became poor that we through his poverty Might be rich: deliver us from an
inordinate love of this world, that, following the example of your servant
Hilda, we may serve thee with singleness of heart, and attain to the riches of
the world to come; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
O God of peace, by whose
grace the abbess Hilda was endowed with Gifts of justice, prudence, and
strength to rule as a wise mother over the nuns and monks of her household, and
to become a trusted and reconciling friend to leaders of the Church: Give us
the grace to respect and love our fellow Christians with whom we disagree, that
our common life may be enriched and your gracious will be done, through Jesus
Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God,
now and for ever.
Unless otherwise
indicated, this biographical sketch was written by James
E. Kiefer and any comments about its content should be directed to
him. The Biographical
Sketches home page has more information.
SOURCE : http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/285.html
St
Hilda, Statue, Brockley Road, Crofton Park
Sant' Ilda Badessa
Festa: 17 novembre
VII sec.
La madre, una Principessa
inglese, fu delusa quando venne alla luce una bambina. Il Vescovo Paolino,
compagno di Sant'Agostino di Canterbury, e uno dei primi Vescovi
nell'Inghilterra del VII secolo, battezzò la bambina, nell'età della ragione,
con il nome di Ilda. Deludendo ogni aspettativa e disprezzando ogni onore, Ilda
abbandonò la casa principesca per mettersi al servizio di Dio. Lasciò il paese
dove era conosciuta, per recarsi nelle regioni orientali dell'isola, celandosi
agli occhi del mondo e rimanendo solo sotto lo sguardo del Padre celeste. A
trentatré anni, Ilda attirava attorno a sé giovani desiderose di vita
contemplativa. Dov'ella passava, sorgevano monasteri in ogni contea
dell'Inghilterra.
Per altri trentatré anni Ilda lavorò per la sua patria, a lei si rivolgevano
per consiglio i potenti dell'isola; a lei, monaca, ricorrevano prelati e
religiosi. Per trent'anni, Ilda fu così la guida spirituale dell'Inghilterra
cristiana. La prima cosa che raccomandava era la giustizia. Il primo dovere, il
primo debito dell'uomo, per questa donna piena di illuminata saggezza, era la
giustizia, che non si stancava mai di consigliare. Molti di coloro che si
posero sotto la sua guida spirituale, divennero Vescovi, e furono ottimi
pastori. Gli ultimi anni della sua vita furono tormentati da una febbre
continua, fino alla morte nel 680 nel suo Monastero di Whitby.
Martirologio
Romano: A Whitby nella Northumbria in Inghilterra, santa Ilda, badessa,
che accolta la fede e i sacramenti di Cristo, posta alla guida del monastero,
si adoperò per il rinnovamento della disciplina monastica maschile e femminile,
per la difesa della pace e dello spirito di carità e per la promozione del
lavoro e della lettura della Sacra Scrittura, al punto che si riteneva avesse
compiuto in terra opere celesti.
Nei secoli passati l’universo femminile veniva considerato poco, o nulla. Tuttavia la storia insegna che alcune donne straordinarie hanno dato prova di grandi capacità, nonostante fossero ostacolate da pregiudizi e ostilità. Una di loro è Sant’Ilda, nata nel 614 in Northumbria (Inghilterra settentrionale), in una famiglia di nobili legati alla casata reale. Il nome Ilda significa “guerriera” e deriva da hilt, parola dell’antico tedesco. La madre di Ilda, mentre è in dolce attesa, fa un sogno: sotto la propria veste trova un bellissimo brillante, capace di illuminare tutta l’Inghilterra. La donna pensa che la pietra preziosa rappresenti il figlio maschio che sta per nascere e che sarà un re valoroso. Invece arriva una femmina, Ilda. Allora la mamma, un po’ delusa, sogna per la figlia un matrimonio splendido, con un principe. Niente di tutto ciò.
Ilda cresce alla corte reale e a tredici anni viene battezzata. È splendente come un diamante, saggia, buona, intelligente. Il suo destino è di illuminare l’Inghilterra diffondendo la Parola di Dio. Entra in convento e ne diventa la badessa. In seguito viene chiamata a guidare altri monasteri. Nel 655 il re Oswiu di Northumbria, durante una battaglia, fa un voto: in caso di vittoria avrebbe donato dodici campi per la costruzione di monasteri e avrebbe offerto a Dio sua figlia Elfleda. Poiché la sua preghiera viene esaudita, il re mantiene la promessa. Fa entrare in monastero la figlia, sotto la guida di Ilda, e a quest’ultima regala uno degli appezzamenti di terreno che si trova a Whitby (contea di North Yorkshire), paese bagnato dal Mare del Nord. La monaca fa edificare una grande abbazia maschile e femminile dedita allo studio e alla divulgazione delle Sacre Scritture.
Il monastero, guidato da Ilda, diventa celebre. E proprio a Whitby, nel 664, si tiene un incontro importantissimo tra varie correnti di pensiero cristiano in disaccordo tra loro, voluto dal re Oswiu. A Ilda spetta il prestigioso e difficile compito di guidare l’incontro che avrà ampio successo. Ilda è una donna e il suo parere dovrebbe contare meno di niente, eppure a lei, per avere consiglio, si rivolgono vescovi e regnanti. Anche la povera gente dai suoi suggerimenti trae beneficio. Si narra che Ilda abbia liberato intere coltivazioni dall’invasione di anatre selvatiche e serpenti. Ilda muore nel 680 nel suo Monastero di Whitby, pittoresco porto di pescatori diventato, oggi, meta di turismo.
Autore: Mariella Lentini
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