because of her outstanding devotion and grace". Synod of Whitby The prestige of Whitby is reflected in the fact that King Oswiu of Northumberland chose Hilda's monastery as the venue for the Synod of Whitby, the first synod of the Church in his kingdom. He invited churchmen from as far away as Wessex to attend the synod. Most of those present, including Hilda, accepted the King's decision to adopt the method of calculating Easter currently used in Rome, establishing Roman practice as the norm in Northumbria. The monks from Lindisfarne, who would not accept this, withdrew to Iona, and later to Ireland. Illness and death Hilda suffered from a fever for the last seven years of her life, but she continued to work until her death on 17 November 680 AD, at what was then the advanced age of sixty-six. In her last year she set up another monastery, fourteen miles from Whitby, at Hackness. She died after receiving viaticum, and her legend holds that at the moment of her death the bells of the monastery of Hackness tolled. A nun there named Begu claimed to have witnessed Hilda's soul being borne to heaven by angels. Legends A local legend says that when sea birds fly over the abbey they dip their wings in honour of Saint Hilda. Another legend tells of a plague of snakes which Hilda turned to stone, supposedly explaining the presence of ammonite fossils on the shore. It was not unknown for local "artisans" to carve snakes' heads onto ammonites, and sell these "relics" as proof of her miracle. In fact, the ammonite genus Hildoceras takes its scientific name from St. Hilda. The coat of arms of nearby Whitby includes three such 'snakestones', and depictions of ammonites appear in the shield of the University of Durham's College of St Hild and St Bede. A carved ammonite stone is set into the wall by the entrance to the former chapel of St Hild's College, Durham, which later became part of the College of St Hild and St Bede. The coat of arms of St. Hilda's College, Oxford, includes a curled snake, and the ammonite is used by the college as a symbol. Veneration The veneration of Hilda from an early period is attested by the inclusion of her name in the calendar of Saint Willibrord, written at the beginning of the 8th century. According to one tradition,