The Synod of Whitby, 664
Pageant type
Notes
Entry written and researched by Chloe Ratcliffe, King’s Undergraduate Research Fellow.
Performances
Place: Whitby Abbey Grounds (Whitby) (Whitby, Yorkshire, North Riding, England)
Year: 1964
Indoors/outdoors: Outdoors
Number of performances: 7
Notes
2–6 June 1964
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- Grandstand: Not Known
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Prices of admission and seats: highest–lowest
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Pageant outline
Prologue
St Hilda appears and introduces the theme of the Pageant. A group of Northumbrian women brought up in the pagan ways of their forefathers voice their longings for a new and better life.
Part One – The Message of the Church
Sequence 1. – Iona, A.D. 536.
St Columba and his Celtic monks build their monastery at Iona. He commissions them to go into the Western parts of Scotland to preach the Gospel.
Sequence 2. – The Royal Palace on the River Derwent, A.D. 626-7.
King Edwin of Northumbria is accompanied by Coifi, his pagan priest, and Bishop Paulinus of Rome. He receives news that his wife has given birth to her first-born child, Elfleda. His life is saved from the dagger of an assassin by one of this thanes—Lilla. It is Easter Day, and Paulinus urges the king to accept baptism. The King is interested in the new religion, but will not embrace it. However, when Coifi and one of his thanes confess their faith in Christianity, Edwin agrees to being baptized.
Sequence 3. – The Battle of Heavenfield, A.D. 634.
After Edwin has been slain in battle, Oswald comes to the throne, but has to fight for his crown. On the night before the battle he meets the forces of Cadwalla [Cadwallon], King of Wales, at Heavenfield, near the Roman wall, and sees a vision of St Columba, who commands him ‘to play the man’. King Oswald plants a cross with his own hands and, after prayer, leads his army to victory. He sends to Iona for missionaries to instruct his people in the Christian faith.
Sequence 4. – A Yorkshire Village, A.D. 636.
St Aidan and some of his missionary monks leave their monastery at Lindisfarne and go into the towns and villages of Northumbria, preaching the Gospel, healing the sick and freeing the slaves.
Sequence 5. – Whitby Abbey, A.D. 657.
After his victory over King Penda, King Oswy, pagan king of Mercia, gives twelve plots of land to the Church for the building of monasteries. One of these plots is at Whitby. King Oswy, St Hilda, and the builder inspect the site. St Hilda prays that the work will be blessed by God.
Part Two – The Fellowship of the Church
Sequence 6. – Whitby Abbey, A.D. 663.
At the close of the day, the townsfolk of Whitby enjoy themselves with song and dance. Cædmon runs away from the entertainment. A messenger tells St Hilda that the King is anxious for a Synod to be held in her monastery so that Roman and Celtic monks can settle their differences. Cædmon, in a vision, hears ‘The Hymn to Creation’, and in the morning reports what he has heard to St Hilda.
Sequence 7. – The Synod of Whitby, A.D. 664.
Colman, leader of the Celtic monks, faces Wilfred, spokesman for the Roman monks. They debate the correct date for the observance of Easer. King Oswy decides in favour of Wilfred [Wilfrid] and Rome. Colman appeals in vain to the delegates to support him. Feeling that their work in Northumbria is finished, the Celtic monks depart for Iona. St Hilda and the monks and nuns of Whitby pray for the unity of the Church.
Part Three – The Servants of the Church
Sequence 8. Whitby Abbey, A.D. 670.
Theodore, the new Archbishop of Canterbury, meets an angry Wilfred, who protests against the dividing of his diocese into four. He threatens to appeal to Rome for justice. The townsfolk are glad to see the Archbishop, and during their festivities the Archbishop joins a bride and groom in matrimony.
Sequence 9. Bamborough Castle, A.D. 680.
King Egfrid and Archbishop Theodore question St Hilda about future leaders of the church. Some of the Whitby monks are destined for high office. St Cuthbert asks for permission to live the life of an Anchorite on one of the Farne Islands. Benedict Biscop brings gifts from the Pope to King Egfrid [Ecgfrith] for the adorning of churches, and asks permission to build a monastery at Jarrow. News comes of the death of Cædmon and St Hilda.
Sequence 10. Whitby Abbey, A.D. 680.
Cædmon and St Hilda are laid to rest in the grounds of the Abbey. A nun has a vision of St. Hilda being carried to Heaven.
Epilogue.
Key historical figures mentioned
- Hild [St Hild, Hilda] (614–680) abbess of Strensall–Whitby [also known as Hilda]
- Columba [St Columba, Colum Cille] (c.521–597) monastic founder
- Eadwine [St Eadwine, Edwin] (c.586–633) king of Northumbria
- Paulinus [St Paulinus] (d. 644) bishop of York and of Rochester
- Eanflæd [St Eanflæd] (b. 626, d. after 685) queen in Northumbria, consort of King Oswiu
- Oswald [St Oswald] (603/4–642) king of Northumbria
- Cadwallon [Cædwalla] ap Cadfan (d. 634) king of Gwynedd
- Áedán [St Áedán, Aidan] (d. 651) missionary and bishop
- Oswiu [Oswy] (611/12–670) king of Northumbria
- Cædmon (fl. c.670) poet
- Colmán [St Colmán] (d. 676) bishop of Lindisfarne
- Wilfrid [St Wilfrid] (c.634–709/10) bishop of Hexham
- Theodore of Tarsus [St Theodore of Tarsus] (602–690) archbishop of Canterbury and biblical scholar
- Cuthbert [St Cuthbert] (c.635–687) bishop of Lindisfarne
- Ecgfrith (645/6–685) king of Northumbria
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Archival holdings connected to pageant
- Copy of Programme in British Library
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Summary
This pageant was staged to commemorate the one thousandth anniversary of the Synod of Whitby. An important landmark in the history of Christianity in Britain, the Synod saw King Oswiu of Northumbria rule that his kingdom would follow the religious customs of Rome, rather than those practised by Irish monks at Iona. Held outdoors, in the grounds of Whitby Abbey, the pageant appears to have been quite an elaborate production, and was performed seven times.
By Chloe Ratcliffe, King’s Undergraduate Research Fellowd
Footnotes
How to cite this entry
Angela Bartie, Linda Fleming, Mark Freeman, Tom Hulme, Alex Hutton, Paul Readman, ‘The Synod of Whitby, 664’, The Redress of the Past, http://www.historicalpageants.ac.uk/pageants/1319/