THE work was soon done. When Roman missionaries came to Kent in 597, they introduced handy tables devised in Alexandria for determining the Paschal moon, and March 21st as a convenient first day of Spring.
Nonetheless, older methods remained in circulation, and in 635 St Aidan brought a peculiarly Irish one to Northumbria.* Seven years later, the two calendars collided, after King Oswy of Northumbria married Eanflaed, granddaughter of King Ethelbert of Kent. Oswy adopted Eanflaed’s Roman Easter in 664, convinced by a Synod in Whitby of its superiority.*
The Synod acquired international significance in 725 when Bede, a Northumbrian monk, published a brilliant treatise on the Paschal maths of Rome and the East. Europe was completely won over by it; and soon the Englishman had the whole Church, East and West, keeping the day of Christ’s bright resurrection together at Passover. “God has made Bede rise from the West” exclaimed Notker the Stammerer in Switzerland “as a new Sun to illuminate the whole Earth”.*
The Irish Easter was calculated accoring to an idiosyncratic system with roots in fourth-century Gaul and Rome. They allowed Easter Sunday to fall on the first day of Passover or even the day before, which some thought obscured the crucifixion, and their celebrations also lasted just one day, whereas for many churches worldwide Easter had always been a three-day event.
The argument was based on maths, the Nicene Council, and on what St Peter would have wanted. See The Synod of Whitby. Rome herself had been persuaded to come into line in part by St Ambrose of Milan, after their Easters did not match in 386. Work continued, and by the later fifth century the calculation devised at Alexandria commanded universal respect, except for some pockets of resistance such as Ireland.
For the story of how Bede’s hard-won harmony was broken in the 16th century, see The Calendar ‘English Style’.
Archive
Word Games
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Complete. Handy. Year.
2 Marry. Rise. Superiority.
3 Earth. Long. Not.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Adjectives Find in Think and Speak
For each word below, compose sentences to show that it may be used as an adjective. Adjectives provide extra information about a noun, e.g. a black cat, a round table, the early bird etc..
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Historical. 2 Complete. 3 Near. 4 Brilliant. 5 Longest. 6 Routine. 7 Oldest. 8 Forbidding. 9 Weekly.
Variations: 1.show whether your adjective can also be used as e.g. a noun, verb or adverb. 2.show whether your adjective can be used in comparisons (e.g. good/better/best). 3.show whether your adjective can be used in attributive position (e.g. a dangerous corner) and also in predicate position (this corner is dangerous).
Verb and Noun Find in Think and Speak
Many words can serve as noun or verb depending on context: see if you can prove this with the examples below. Nouns go well with words such as the/a, or his/her; verbs go well after I/you/he etc..
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Respect. 2 Work. 3 Time. 4 March. 5 Still. 6 Spring. 7 Sun. 8 Gather. 9 Date.
Variations: 1.if possible, use your noun in the plural, e.g. cat → cats. 2.use your verb in a past form, e.g. go → went. 3.use your noun in a sentence with one of these words: any, enough, fewer, less, no, some.
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
Your Words ()
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