Elfodd, Elvodug or Elfoddw ( or ''Elbodius''; died 809) was a Welsh bishop. He induced the Welsh church to accept the Roman

computus As a moveable feast, the date of Easter is determined in each year through a calculation known as – often simply ''Computus'' – or as paschalion particularly in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after th ...

for determining the date of

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

endorsed elsewhere in Britain at the

Synod of Whitby The Synod of Whitby was a Christianity, Christian administrative gathering held in Northumbria in 664, wherein King Oswiu ruled that his kingdom would calculate Easter and observe the monastic tonsure according to the customs of Roman Catholic, Ro ...

in 664. This was after centuries of continuing the practice. Elfodd appears to have been associated with the monastery at

Holyhead Holyhead (; , "Cybi's fort") is a historic port town, and is the list of Anglesey towns by population, largest town and a Community (Wales), community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales. Holyhead is on Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island ...

Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

as a young man and must have still been comparatively young when in 768 he persuaded the Welsh church to come into line with Rome as regards the method of calculating the date of Easter. The annals Brut y Tywysogion state: "Eight years after that 68Easter was moved for the Britons, and Elbodius the servant of God moved it". Elfodd's death is recorded under the year 809. Brut y Tywysogion describes him as "archbishop of Gwynedd", making him

bishop of Bangor The Bishop of Bangor is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Diocese of Bangor of the Church in Wales. The Episcopal see, see is based in the city of Bangor where the bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Bangor Cathedral, Cathedral Church of Sa ...

Nennius Nennius – or Nemnius or Nemnivus – was a Welsh monk of the 9th century. He has traditionally been attributed with the authorship of the ''Historia Brittonum'', based on the prologue affixed to that work. This attribution is widely considered ...

, who says in the ''

History of the Britons ''The History of the Britons'' () is a purported history of early Britain written around 828 that survives in numerous recensions from after the 11th century. The ''Historia Brittonum'' is commonly attributed to Nennius, as some recensions have ...

'' that he was a pupil of Elfodd's,II. The Apology Of Nennius. “Here begins the apology of Nennius, the historiographer of the Britons, of the race of Britons. 3. I, Nennius, disciple of St. Elbotus” Translated by J. A. Giles, an asterisk is attached to the name “St Elbotus” stating “Or Elvod, bishop of Bangor, 755 AD, who first adopted in the Cambrian Church, the new(Roman) cycle for regulating Easter describes him as a "most holy bishop" and reveals that Elfodd studied the works of

Bede Bede (; ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, Bede of Jarrow, the Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable (), was an English monk, author and scholar. He was one of the most known writers during the Early Middle Ages, and his most f ...

. One later source states that he was consecrated as a bishop in 755, but may not be reliable.

References

* John Edward Lloyd ''A history of Wales from the earliest times to the Edwardian conquest'' (Longmans, Green & Co.) * Thomas Jones, ed. ''Brut y Tywysogion: Peniarth MS. 20 version'' (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1952) {{authority control 809 deaths Bishops of Bangor 9th-century Welsh bishops Year of birth unknown

See also

References