Saint Hilda

Saint Hilda (614-80), English abbess and founder of Streaneshalch (now Whitby) Abbey. Grandniece of Edwin, king of Northumbria, Hilda was baptized in 627. At the age of 33 she became a nun, and in 649 she was made abbess of a convent at Hartlepool. In 657 she founded the abbey later known as Whitby—a double monastery for both men and women in adjoining quarters. It became one of the foremost religious centers in England. One of its members was Caedmon, the first English Christian poet. The abbey housed the Synod of Whitby (664), which met to settle differences between Celtic and Roman church customs. St. Hilda had great influence in the church. Her feast day is November 17.