levo

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

Religion and the Christian Church in Britain and Ireland: Whitby, Theodore, the monasteries and missions abroad

  • 3 things to know
  • Unit group 3

Overview

Recall questions on the Synod of Whitby, Theodore of Tarsus and Wilfrid, the golden age of monasteries and Bede’s criticism, minsters, other problems of the Church, Alcuin and English missionaries on the Continent.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Key term

Why is the later seventh and early eighth century called the golden age of monasteries?

Key term

Name two other problems the early English Church faced besides lay foundation.

Key term

Name two Anglo-Saxon missionaries to the Continent and where they worked.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What was decided at the Synod of Whitby in 664, and by whom?

    Model answer

    King Oswiu ruled that Northumbria would follow the Roman calculation of Easter and the Roman tonsure, after Wilfrid argued that Rome's practice rested on the authority of St Peter.

  2. 2

    Who was Theodore of Tarsus and why was his appointment unusual?

    Model answer

    He was a Greek-speaking scholar from Asia Minor, already in his sixties, sent from Rome as archbishop of Canterbury in 669 after the English candidate died of plague in Rome.

  3. 3

    State two achievements of Theodore's archiepiscopate.

    Model answer

    He held the first council of the whole English Church at Hertford in 672, which set common rules on Easter, diocesan boundaries and clerical discipline, and he divided the vast dioceses so that bishops could actually govern them.

  4. 4

    Why did Theodore's reforms bring him into conflict with Wilfrid?

    Model answer

    Dividing the enormous Northumbrian diocese stripped Wilfrid of most of his authority and wealth, and Wilfrid appealed over Theodore's head to Rome, beginning decades of dispute and exile.

  5. 5

    Why is the later seventh and early eighth century called the golden age of monasteries?

    Model answer

    Royal and noble endowment funded a rapid spread of houses such as Wearmouth-Jarrow, Whitby, Ripon and Hexham, which accumulated land, libraries and craftsmen and produced scholarship and manuscripts of European standing.

  6. 6

    What criticism did Bede make of the monasteries of his own day?

    Model answer

    He complained that many were false monasteries, founded by nobles who took vows in name only in order to hold land tax-free and escape military service, and warned that this was weakening both Church and kingdom.

Other ways to work this

The same content, four other ways.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

1Closed book
2Open book
3Closed book

The 3-step method, run for you

Answer cold, learn it, then prove it stuck. Levo tracks the jump between your first attempt and your last.

Y101: Alfred and the Making of England 871–1016
Y102: Anglo-Saxon England and the Norman Conquest 1035–1107
Y103: England 1199–1272
Y104: England 1377–1455

Cram a whole paper in one sitting

Sort every topic into what you know and what you do not, then drill only the weak ones.

Franz Ferdinand was shot at in June.
SarajevoBelgradeVienna

Blank Blitz makes facts automatic

Rapid timed gap-fills on the terms and numbers you need to recall without thinking.

AA republic replaced the sultanate.
BThe caliphate was abolished in 1924.
CThe Latin alphabet was adopted.

Build It gets the exam shape right

Assemble a full-mark answer from its marking points, in the order an examiner wants them.

Simony means the buying and selling of Church office.
TrueFalse

Test It catches misconceptions

Spot the fault in a statement. The traps are the mistakes students actually make.

721941163128510

Brain Breaks between sessions

Short focus games to reset attention, so the next set lands better than the last.

Every question in Y301: The Early Anglo-Saxons c.400–800, on a schedule.

Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.

Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.