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Hilda of Whitby or Hild of Whitby (c. 614–680) is a Christian saint and the founding abbess of the monastery at Whitby, which was chosen as the venue for the Synod of Whitby. An important figure in the conversion of Anglo-Saxon England to Christianity, she was abbess at several monasteries and recognized for the wisdom that drew kings to her for advice. The source of information about Hilda is ''The Ecclesiastical History of the English'' by the Venerable Bede in 731, who was born approximately eight years before her death. He documented much of the Christian conversion of the Anglo-Saxons. == Early life == According to Bede, Hilda was born in 614, into the Deiran royal household. She was the second daughter of Hereric, nephew of Edwin of Northumbria, and his wife Breguswith.〔(Lindemann, Kate. "Hilda of Whitby (614-680)", ''Women-philosophers'' )〕 When Hilda was still an infant, her father was poisoned while in exile at the court of the British King of Elmet in what is now West Yorkshire. In 616 CE, Edwin killed the son of Aethelric, Aethefrith, in battle. He created the kingdom of Northumbria and took the throne.〔 Hilda was brought up at King Edwin's court. In 625, the widowed Edwin married the Christian princess, Æthelburh of Kent, daughter of King Æthelberht of Kent and the Merovingian princess Bertha of Kent. As part of the marriage contract, Aethelburgh was allowed to continue her Roman Christian worship and was accompanied to Northumbria with her chaplain, Paulinus of York, a Roman monk sent to England in 601 to assist Augustine of Canterbury. Augustine's mission in England was based in Kent, and is referred to as the Gregorian mission after the pope who sent him.〔 As queen, Æthelburh continued to practice her Christianity and no doubt influenced her husband's thinking as her mother Bertha had influenced her father. In 627 King Edwin was baptised on Easter Day, 12 April, along with his entire court, which included the thirteen-year-old Hilda,〔 in a small wooden church hastily constructed for the occasion near the site of the present York Minster. In 633 Northumbria was overrun by the neighbouring pagan King of Mercia, at which time King Edwin fell in battle. Paulinus accompanied Hilda and Queen Ethelburga and her companions to the Queen's home in Kent. Queen Ethelburga founded a convent at Lyminge and it is assumed that Hilda remained with the Queen-Abbess.〔(St. Hilda's Anglican Church, Katoomba )〕 Hilda's elder sister, Hereswith, married Ethelric, brother of King Anna of East Anglia, who with all of his daughters became renowned for their saintly Christian virtues. Later, Hereswith became a nun at Chelles Abbey in Gaul (modern France). Bede resumes Hilda's story at a point when she was about to join her widowed sister at Chelles Abbey. At the age of 33, Hilda decided instead to answer the call of Bishop Aidan of Lindisfarne and returned to Northumbria to live as a nun.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hilda of Whitby」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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