Editing Wilfrid (section)

=== Background to Whitby ===
The Roman churches and those in Britain and Ireland (often called "Celtic" churches) used different methods to calculate the date of Easter. The church in Northumbria had traditionally used the Celtic method, and that was the date observed by King Oswiu. His wife Eanflæd and a son, Alhfrith, celebrated Easter on the Roman date,<ref name=Making46 /> which meant that while one part of the royal court was still observing the [[Lent]]en fast, another would be celebrating with feasting.<ref name=Societal52>John "Societal and Political Problems" ''Land, Church and People'' pp. 52–53</ref>

Oswiu called a church council held at [[Whitby Abbey]] in 664 in an attempt to resolve this [[Easter controversy|controversy]]. Although Oswiu himself had been brought up in the "Celtic" tradition, political pressures may have influenced his decision to call a council, as well as fears that if dissent over the date of Easter continued in the Northumbrian church it could lead to internal strife.<ref name=Making46>Kirby ''Making of Early England'' pp. 46–47</ref> The historian Richard Abels speculates that the expulsion of Eata from Ripon may have been the spark that led to the king's decision to call the council.<ref name=Abels9>Abels "Council of Whitby" ''Journal of British Studies'' p. 9</ref> Regional tensions within Northumbria between the two traditional divisions, [[Bernicia]] and Deira, appear to have played a part, as churchmen in Bernicia favoured the Celtic method of dating and those in Deira may have leaned towards the Roman method.<ref name=Reassess24>John ''Reassessing Anglo-Saxon England'' pp. 24–25</ref> Abels identifies several conflicts contributing to both the calling of the council and its outcome, including a generational conflict between Oswiu and Alhfrith and the death of the Archbishop of Canterbury, [[Deusdedit of Canterbury|Deusdedit]]. Political concerns unrelated to the dating problem, such as the decline of Oswiu's preeminence among the other English kingdoms and the challenge to that position by Mercia, were also factors.<ref name=Abels2>Abels "Council of Whitby" ''Journal of British Studies'' pp. 2–3</ref>