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Y301: The Early Anglo-Saxons c.400–800

Depth study: Augustine and the process of Christianisation — Synod of Whitby as a possible turning point

  • 3 things to know
  • Unit group 3

Overview

Recall questions on the Synod of Whitby as a possible turning point, problems of organisation, Theodore and the spread of monasteries, reasons for and consequences of the growth of monasteries, Christianity in the countryside, the relationship between the Church and kings.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Key term

Give two reasons for the rapid growth of monasteries after Whitby.

Key term

How was Christianity brought to the countryside?

Evaluation

How did the relationship between the Church and kings work to both sides' advantage?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Set out the case that the Synod of Whitby in 664 was a turning point.

    Model answer

    It ended the split within the Northumbrian court over Easter, committed the most powerful English kingdom to Roman order, opened the way to Theodore's reorganisation, and led those who dissented to withdraw from England altogether.

  2. 2

    Set out the case against Whitby as a turning point.

    Model answer

    It was a Northumbrian royal council on a narrow question of Easter and tonsure, southern Ireland had already conformed decades earlier, Irish influence in England continued afterwards, and Bede gave the meeting dramatic shape because it suited his theme.

  3. 3

    Why do interpretations of Whitby differ so sharply?

    Model answer

    The two main accounts were both written by partisans of the Roman side, one of them by a follower of Wilfrid, so the debate as it survives is already a victor's account and historians must judge how far it reflects what was really at stake.

  4. 4

    Outline the organisational problems facing the Church before Theodore.

    Model answer

    Dioceses were vast and matched shifting kingdoms rather than settled boundaries, sees fell vacant for years, there was no regular council of the whole Church, and rival Roman and Irish practices left no agreed discipline.

  5. 5

    How did Theodore address those problems?

    Model answer

    He filled the vacant sees, summoned the first council of the whole English Church at Hertford in 672 to agree common rules, and subdivided the largest dioceses so that bishops could supervise them properly.

  6. 6

    Give two reasons for the rapid growth of monasteries after Whitby.

    Model answer

    Kings and nobles could turn land into permanent family property by endowing a house with charter rights, and monasteries offered prayers for the founder's soul, burial places and prestige.

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