The ever-kontroversial Saintly Kitsch Week continues with a tough choice between Harriet Tubman and Hilda of Whitby. Harriet made it thus far by storming past Nicholas Ferrar and Martha of Bethany. Hilda of Whitby made it to the Elate Eight by overwhelming Samuel Seabury before holding off a pesky Ignatius of Antioch. The winner of this match-up will earn a spot in the Faithful Four and a date with Frances Perkins. Get a preview of today's match-up from the hardest working video blogger this side of the Yukon Territory, Maple Anglican.
Yesterday we bid farewell to a valiant Florence Li Tim-Oi as she was soundly defeated by Oscar Romero. The martyred archbishop of El Salvador will now face the winner of tomorrow's battle between Luke and Dorothy Day.
We're halfway through the Elate Eight! By the weekend there will be just four saints standing. Is your favorite still in the bracket? Do you have someone you're passionately pulling for? Are you out campaigning and driving all of your friends and relatives crazy with this little churchy game you're playing? Has Lent ever been so awesome? Have you ever dreaded the approach of Easter? These are some of the questions hanging out there as you prepare to face more kitsch.
Harriet Tubman
Harriet Ross Tubman, abolitionist, activist, soldier, spy, visionary and all-around fighter for justice, has much paraphernalia to her illustrious name.
First of all, there is an elementary school named after Harriet. They have much merchandise for the purchasing, and they are the Harriet Tubman Frogs. No clue why, but hey, frogs are intrepid little amphibians with their transforming and their adaptiveness! So, you go Harriet Tubman Frogs of Washington DC! Hop with bravery!
While you're hopping, you might get scared. In this case, why not get a cute Harriet Tubman-quoting teddy bear? YES. These exist.
(Ok, it would appear that this bear is quoting Hilary Clinton, who is quoting Harriet Tubman, at the '08 DNC, all in support of Obama in 2008. Which is a heck of a lot for one small bear's tummy to do, but still. Behold a multitasking teddy bear!)
If the idea of a politically-affiliated plush toy upset you, I have a solution. Behold, Harriet 
Tubman barware! We have several options here:
One, if you are assured of your closeness with Lady Moses, and one if you have some humility about you, somewhere.
(These are also available as wine chillers, for you die-hard Episcopalians.)
But if you are inspired, and want to fully decorate your abode in this theme, this can be done. Here, Tubman-themed throw pillows, and Tubman-quoting messenger bags.
(You thought the bear was confused on his message -- I don't know what the throw pillow is communicating. But you can get that message on a teddy bear too, so if the earlier teddy bear confused you, here's a viable alternative. You can also get this message on a pet bowl, which I'm not even going to attempt to unpack.)
Then, we have the usual dizzying array of t-shirts. Again, we have ones for those who want to take on the saint's identity:
And finally, we have my personal favorite:
As for me, I am totally ordering one of those glasses.
Hilda of Whitby
Hilda, the great Abbess of the double monastery at Whitby, is more appropriately known as Hild of Streaneschalch (this proper Old English form of her name). However, since most of us can barely spell Episcopalian without spell-check, she is known in the church and throughout the world as Hilda.
Whitby is seaside town in the English county of North Yorkshire. The actual monastery was sacked by the Vikings in the 9th-century and dissolved under Henry the VIII’s reign, eventually falling into ruins. The Abbey ruins inspired Count Dracula’s castle and served as a prominent landmark for sailors. So, if you’re looking to meld God and the current vampire fad together, you can purchase this stunning hat that shows you are hip and holy, all at the same time. Especially tasteful is the elegant “trucker cut” of the hat, sure to be flattering on clergy and laity alike.
Being a coastal town, the beaches of Whitby are home to ancient ammonite fossils. To the mere novice, they might simply look
like the fossilized remains of prehistoric predatory squid-like creatures (hey, I wonder the Sy-Fy Channel has considered a “The Horrors of Hilda” movie, pitting predatory squids against Dracula? But I digress…). To the knowledgeable readers of Lent Madness, you know that these are in fact the skeletal remains of the plague of snakes that Hilda turned to stone after they messed with the wrong abbess. Scientists even named the genus of these particular ammonites Hildoceras. Hilda’s ammonites exist today, commonly known as snakestones. You, too, can order any number of jeweled settings such as this lovely silver cuff bracelet. Because trust me, it’s the classiest thing in this post.
If you’d like to read more about this particular snakes-to-stone account, Sir Walter Scott wrote all about it in his epic poem Marmion, filled with accounts of lust, betrayal, dishonest nuns, duels, being walled up alive, heroism, and love. Hilda’s involvement in the plot of about the locale only, in case you’re wondering if she and John Donne had more in common than being Anglican saints.
Hilda’s monasteries became havens for those looking to worship God, live in community, and be educated. Hilda saw the poetic skills of Caedmon 
and urged him to write poetry in his native tongue. Her efforts as Abbess led to her being named the patron saint of learning, culture, and poetry. Several schools are named in her honor, including the College of St. Hild and St. Bede, which has produced many scholars, artists, musicians, politicians, religious leaders, and not one, but two – two, I say -- of the actors who portrayed James Bond.
Historian JoAnn McNamara says of Hilda: She assumed a prestige usually reserved for bishops when she presided over the Synod where the Irish and Roman churches compete for the allegiance of the Northumbrian king. Hilda is likely most remembered for her presence at the Synod of Whitby. Hilda, along with St. Colman, lobbied for the Celtic expression of Christianity. Wilfrid supported the Romanized expression of the faith. In the end, Wilfrid and his supporters won. Hilda graciously accepted defeat and implored all present to conform to the Synod’s decision. Hilda may have conformed, but legend holds that she remained a critic of Wilfrid for the remainder of her life, even challenging his decision to withhold part of his diocese from one of Hilda’s protégé’s who was establishing a new monastery by sending her personal ambassador to the Holy See. Hilda, it seems, may have conformed to Romanized Christianity, but she still had Wilfrid’s number and may have used her very own iPhone case to call him out on occasion.
Some criticize Hilda’s actions at Whitby. Perhaps if she had lobbied harder, Celtic Christianity would have held
the day and produced a very different Church. Maybe. Maybe not. Hilda, we may surmise, was personally not pleased with the outcome, but she did realize the value of community unity over personal opinion. But one does wonder if, had this nifty shirt been available in the Whitby gift shop, she would have made it part of her regular monastic fashion.
-- Laurie Brock
Vote!
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126 comments on “Harriet Tubman vs. Hilda of Whitby”
Hilda has better kitsch but Harriet is still the brassier saint. Go Harriet!!!
I am voting for Hilda. I also want to thank Jill for her comments. I will have to purchase Martins’ book “Between Heaven and Mirth”
Thank you, Skip. And, I hope you enjoy Fr. Martin!!
In church circles, this is usually referred to as "compromising" rather than "caving" -- it's a virtue. So congratulations to you and to Hilda!
She was not shy about using force to correct a wrong, that's for sure. Hence, her support of John Brown's Raid (recruited for him).
Have you been trying to vote from your email? I can't do that either but click on the url above "see all comments" to go to the web. The voting selection is at the bottom of the write-ups.
Hilda hasn't failed me through 2 rounds. I'm riding that Saintly horse into the Faithful Four! What am I gonna do after Lent Madness is over? I'll have to get out my trusty "All Saints (Daily Reflections on Saints, Prophets and Witnesses for Out Time)" by Robert Ellsberg. Highly recommended--with real human goodness tested by life for every day of the calendar.
Its not about the bracket (this section was busted long ago), or that Harriet wasn't a pacifist (I can't claim to be one either, although I hope I am a person of peace), or any deep seeded connection to Hild of Streaneschalch (cool name, but just learned of her in Lent madness), or even the fact that I'm part Celt (one of the not-so-many Italian-Irish Lutherans in the world)...Hilda just strikes me as having the more profound impact on the church as a whole. So, Hild of Streaneschalch it is.
Harriet's awesome and I don't have a problem with her strong take-no-prisoners-especially-not-us ethos. Today, though, I decided for Hilda: double monasteries, example of staying in community even when important votes didn't go her way (no, SEC, since you asked - my favourite is NOT still in the bracket!), and because those were probably 'my people' that came over on the boats and sacked everything and wrecked all her stuff so I owe her one. Sorry about that.
Lots of women religious voting for Hilda. As the saying goes "sisterhood is powerful."
After weeks of serious study, it is no wonder one gets a little "punchy". Giggling over nothing is sort of a coping mechanism for dealing with all that thinking Madness. (This year's kitsch was rather mild, I thought, in comparison to some of last year's kitsch ---which was of questionable heritage.)
Voting for Hilda of Whitby because of her organization of dual abbeys, evangelism, and general Celt--ness. (Also, I'm just reading Absolution by Murder by Peter Tremayne recommended by one of the LM community. You know who you are (and I THINK I do...)).
Awesome place, the Abbey. Mystical, holy, strikingly beautiful.
True Madness! I got hooked on the fossil, Hilda's namsake will be a birthday gift for my wife. As a card carying marine biologist what was I to do with this opportunity! This was unfair and I protest. The UK economy has benefited. I did cast my ballot for Hilda, but love Harriat and wish her well for all her miraculous deeds. Gosh this is a fun Lent learning experience. Blessings to all.
And a third Cynthia goes for Hilda!
I do like Amy's suggestion of St. Bede for next year and Harlie's suggestion of Corrie Ten Boom (required reading at my high school).
How *does* the bracket get created? It was in place when I discovered Lent Madness this year.
During Eastertide, the SEC will receive nominations. And then every cardinal under 80 goes to the Sistine Chapel.... Oh, sorry. That's something else.
Once the SEC has nominations, we have our annual Bracket Discernment Retreat. You can watch video highlights of last year's retreat here:
https://www.lentmadness.org/2012/04/monday-madness-discerning-the-bracket/
Bottom line: stay tuned to Lent Madness during Eastertide to make suggestions.
I love Barbara Pym! I have been debating all day how to cast my vote, which I usually do at 8 am. This may help.
I think it has to do with the order of the photos on the blog post.
Have you watched the helpful video on voting that the SEC created? It is at http://vimeo.com/59327571
I've actually visited part of the underground railroad. I'm also a human rights minor and descendant of someone who picked the wrong side in that no-so-Civil War, so I feel compelled to vote for the one who helped lead her people out of bondage into freedom.
And though it isn't yet Eastertide, I think C. S. Lewis, Saint Caedmon (the first poet to write in English), the Rt. Rev. Jackson Kemper, William Wilberforce (who lead the sucessful battle to abolish slavery in the British Empire), and the Episcopal lay woman who pretty much single-handedly wrote and pushed into being the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt Roosevelt (she also famously quit the Daughters of the American Revolution in protest when they wouldn't let Marian Anderson sing at Constituion Hall solely because of her skin color) all deserve a place on the bracket next year!
Hild surprised me with all of her awesome kitsch! The throw pillow kind of freaked me out. 🙂
How very prescient of the SEC (or was it the ferrets) to plan the brackets so that If Harriet Tubman made it this far she would coincide with the reading of Exodus 7:25-8:19 at Evensong (using 2 lessons of course).
Whatever on the kitsch, it just means I can't really use Lent Madness as a vehicle to accomplish my Lenten "meditation on lives of saintly people" commitment because of the silliness. But who said Lent was about efficiency? I'll keep voting, but meditation on kitsch not being on my Lenten list...gotta go do some study.
Are you sure? Can't 'how their legacy has been interpreted and enacted by people over time' be part of a serious meditation?
On the serious side of kitsch, check out the work of some of the foundations posted as sources and listen for a call to action. Part of my LM meditation is also to look for connections between saints' lives and now...even the FLORENCE Y'ALL water tower can be fruitful fodder in that regard (hint: Judeo-Christian themes of hospitality...also the huge salvation-history theme of God always finding a "Plan B" when original plan seems to be going awry...) : )
Barbara Pym went to St Hilda's? Why didn't you say so. Vote Hilda!
I know this is a bit late in asking, but can anyone enlighten me on the difference between Celtic Christianity and Roman Christianity as referred to in the latest information about St Hilda. We are told that she supported Celtic Christianity in the Synod vying for support of the Northumbrian King. It makes me wonder how different the church in England would have been if St Hilda had won out. Thanks.