156-640: In the seventh century the pagan Anglo-Saxons were converted to Christianity ( Old English : Crīstendōm ) mainly by missionaries sent from Rome . Irish missionaries from Iona , who were proponents of Celtic Christianity , were influential in the conversion of Northumbria , but after the Synod of Whitby in 664, the Anglo-Saxon church gave its allegiance to the Pope . Christianity in Roman Britain dates to at least
312-487: A "natural religion based on animism". Dunn suggested that for Anglo-Saxon pagans, most everyday interactions would not have been with major deities but with such "lesser supernatural beings". She also suggested that these entities might have exhibited similarities with later English beliefs in fairies . Later Anglo-Saxon texts refer to beliefs in ælfe (elves), who are depicted as male but who exhibit gender-transgressing and effeminate traits; these ælfe may have been
468-544: A Christian, as did members of his court. When Edwin was killed in 633 at the Battle of Hatfield Chase , Æthelburh and her children returned to her brother's court in Kent, along with Paulinus. James the Deacon remained behind to serve as a missioner in the kingdom of Lindsey , but Bernicia and Deira reverted to heathenism. The introduction of Christianity to Ireland dates to sometime before
624-478: A better alternative, although Carver cautioned against this, noting that Britain in the 5th to the 8th century was replete with new ideas and thus belief systems of that period were not particularly "traditional". The term "pre-Christian" religion has also been used; this avoids the judgemental connotations of "paganism" and "heathenism" but is not always chronologically accurate. Surviving primary textual source material derives from later authors, such as Bede and
780-838: A center for pilgrimage. Around 630 Eanswith , daughter of Eadbald of Kent , founded Folkestone Priory . William of Malmesbury says Rædwald had a step-son, Sigeberht of East Anglia , who spent some time in exile in Gaul, where he became a Christian. After his step-brother Eorpwald was killed, Sigeberht returned and became ruler of the East Angles. Sigeberht's conversion may have been a factor in his achieving royal power, since at that time Edwin of Northumbria and Eadbald of Kent were Christian. Around 631, Felix of Burgundy arrived in Canterbury and Archbishop Honorius sent him to Sigeberht. Alban Butler says Sigeberht met Felix during his time in Gaul and
936-455: A church by 1042, as the parish system developed as an outgrowth of manorialism . The parish church was a private church built and endowed by the lord of the manor , who retained the right to nominate the parish priest . The priest supported himself by farming his glebe and was also entitled to other support from parishioners. The most important was the tithe , the right to collect one-tenth of all produce from land or animals. Originally,
1092-547: A cleric well-versed in Roman customs and liturgy. Alhfrith gave Wilfrid a monastery he had recently founded at Ripon, with Eata , abbot of Melrose Abbey and former student of Aidan of Lindisfarne. Wilfrid ejected Abbot Eata, because he would not conform to Roman customs; and Eata returned to Melrose. Cuthbert , the guest-master was also expelled. Wilfrid introduced a form of the Rule of Saint Benedict into Ripon. In 664, King Oswiu convened
1248-630: A cremation urn's lid discovered at Spong Hill in Norfolk, which was interpreted as a possible depiction of Woden on a throne. Also found on many crematory urns are a variety of symbols; of these, the swastikas have sometimes been interpreted as symbols associated with Thunor. Many Anglo-Saxonists have also assumed that Anglo-Saxon paganism was animistic in basis, believing in a landscape populated by different spirits and other non-human entities, such as elves , dwarves , and dragons . The English literature scholar Richard North for instance described it as
1404-518: A development from an older Germanic paganism . The scholar Michael Bintley cautioned against this approach, noting that this "'Germanic' paganism" had "never had a single ur -form" from which later variants developed. Anglo-Saxon paganism only existed for a relatively short time-span, from the fifth to the eighth centuries. Our knowledge of the Christianisation process derives from Christian textual sources. Both Latin and ogham inscriptions and
1560-465: A god known as Ingwine and the writer Asser mentioned a god known as Gēat . The Christian monk known as the Venerable Bede also mentioned two further goddesses in his written works: Eostre , who was celebrated at a spring festival, and Hretha , whose name meant "glory". References to idols can be found in Anglo-Saxon texts. No wooden carvings of anthropomorphic figures have been found in
1716-445: A guide to understanding the beliefs of pre-Christian Anglo-Saxon England, caution has been expressed as to the utility of this approach. Stenton assumes that the connection between Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian paganism occurred "in a past which was already remote" at the time of the Anglo-Saxon migration to Britain, and claims that there was clear diversity among the pre-Christian belief systems of Scandinavia itself, further complicating
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#17328484343151872-548: A letter to the Irish bishops urging the native Celtic church to adopt the Roman method of calculating the date of Easter . He attended a church council in Paris in 614. Following the death of King Æthelberht of Kent in 616, Justus was forced to flee to Gaul but was reinstated in his diocese the following year. In 624, he was elevated to Archbishop of Canterbury, overseeing the despatch of missionaries to Northumbria . After his death, he
2028-684: A meeting at Hild's monastery to discuss the matter. The Celtic party was led by Abbess Hilda, and bishops Colmán of Lindisfarne and Cedd of Læstingau . (In 653, upon the occasion of the marriage of Oswiu's daughter Alchflaed with Peada of Mercia , Oswiu had sent Cedd to evangelize the Middle Angles of Mercia.) The Roman party was led by Wilfrid and Agilbert . The meeting did not proceed entirely smoothly due to variety of languages spoken, which probably included Old Irish , Old English , Frankish and Old Welsh , as well as Latin . Bede recounted that Cedd interpreted for both sides. Cedd's facility with
2184-552: A monk who had been a disciple of Saint Boisil , prior of Melrose . Ecgberht then recruited others. Around 677, Wilfrid, bishop of York quarreled with King Ecgfrith of Northumbria and was expelled from his see. Wilfrid went to Rome to appeal Ecgfrith's decision. On the way he stopped in Utrecht at the court of Aldgisl , the rulers of the Frisians, for most of 678. Wilfrid may have been blown off course on his trip from Anglo-Saxon lands to
2340-555: A number of conversions and established many churches in Sigeberht's kingdom. Around the same time Sigeberht established a monastery at Beodricesworth . Hilda of Whitby was the grand-niece of Edwin of Northumbria. In 627 Edwin and his household were baptized Christian. When Edwin was killed in the Battle of Hatfield Chase , the widowed Queen Æthelburh , her children, and Hilda returned to Kent, now ruled by Æthelburh's brother, Eadbald of Kent . Æthelburh established Lyminge Abbey , one of
2496-546: A number of stone carvings from the period, such as the Gosforth Cross , which included images of Ragnarök . The English church found that it needed to conduct a new conversion process to Christianise the incoming Scandinavian population. It is not well understood how the Christian institutions converted these settlers, in part due to a lack of textual descriptions of this conversion process equivalent to Bede's description of
2652-554: A part of older pagan beliefs. Elves seem to have had some place in earlier pre-Christian beliefs, as evidenced by the presence of the Anglo-Saxon language prefix ælf in early given names, such as Ælfsige (elf victory), Ælfwynn (elf friend), Ælfgar (elf spear), Ælfgifu (elf gift), Ælfric (elf power) and Ælfred (modern "Alfred", meaning "elf counsel"), amongst others. Various Old English place names reference þyrsas (giants) and dracan (dragons). However, such names did not necessarily emerge during
2808-462: A political purpose as a religious one. Metalwork items discovered by metal detectorists have also contributed to the interpretation of Anglo-Saxon paganism. The world-views of the pre-Christian Anglo-Saxons would have impinged on all aspects of everyday life, making it particularly difficult for modern scholars to separate Anglo-Saxon ritual activities as something distinct from other areas of daily life. Much of this archaeological material comes from
2964-515: A polytheistic cosmos, clouded from us by centuries of Christian theology and Enlightenment rationalism, we can discern the existence of a handful of potential deities, who though long deceased have perhaps left their mark in place-names, royal genealogies, and the accounts of proselytizing monks. Such sources have led scholars to put together a pantheon for early medieval England, populated by such murky figures as Woden, Þunor, Tiw, and Frig." — Historian Ethan Doyle White, 2014 Anglo-Saxon paganism
3120-582: A problem. In the latter decades of the ninth century during the Late Anglo-Saxon period, Scandinavian settlers arrived in Britain, bringing with them their own, kindred pre-Christian beliefs . No cultic sites used by Scandinavian pagans have been archaeologically identified, although place names suggest some possible examples. For instance, Roseberry Topping in North Yorkshire was known as Othensberg in
3276-540: A purported common Indo-European root. The historian Clive Tolley has cautioned that any Anglo-Saxon world tree would likely not be directly comparable to that referenced in Norse textual sources. "The world of the Anglo-Saxon gods will forever remain a mystery to us, existing just beyond the reach of written history. This pagan world sits in an enigmatic realm that is in many respects prehistoric, an alien headspace far removed from our own intellectual universe. Situated within
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#17328484343153432-529: A reference to older Anglo-Saxon practices. Various scholars, among them historical geographer Della Hooke and Price, have contrastingly believed that these reflected the continuing practice of veneration at wells and trees at a popular level long after the official Christianisation of Anglo-Saxon society. Various elements of English folklore from the Medieval period onwards have been interpreted as being survivals from Anglo-Saxon paganism. For instance, writing in
3588-547: A reference to the cultural heritage of the Scandinavian population rather than their religious heritage. For instance, many Norse mythological themes and motifs are present in the poetry composed for the court of Cnut the Great , an eleventh-century Anglo-Scandinavian king who had been baptised into Christianity and who otherwise emphasised his identity as a Christian monarch. "The pagan hierarchical structure disintegrated rapidly in
3744-738: A roof with the Roman missionaries or to eat with them. There is no indication that the British clergy made any attempts to convert the Anglo-Saxons. When Æthelfrith of Bernicia seized the neighboring kingdom of Deira , Edwin , son of Ælla of Deira fled into exile. Around 616, at the Battle of Chester , Æthelfrith ordered his forces to attack a body of monks from the Abbey of Bangor-on-Dee , "If then they cry to their God against us, in truth, though they do not bear arms, yet they fight against us, because they oppose us by their prayers." Shortly after, Æthelfrith
3900-575: A sub-ruler in the region of Rochester. The grant itself is addressed directly to Saint Andrew, the patron saint of the church, a usage parallelled by other charters in the same archive. Wilhelm Levison, writing in 1946, was sceptical about the authenticity of this charter. He felt that the two separate addresses were incongruous, suggesting that the first address, occurring before the preamble, may have been inserted by someone familiar with Bede to echo Eadbald's future conversion (see below). A more recent and more positive appraisal by John Morris argues that
4056-425: A time after the death of their first converted king. However, by the end of the 680s, all of the Anglo-Saxon peoples were at least nominally Christian. Blair noted that for most Anglo-Saxons, the "moral and practical imperatives" of following one's lord by converting to Christianity were a "powerful stimulus". It remains difficult to determine the extent to which pre-Christian beliefs retained their popularity among
4212-699: Is Woden , as "traces of his cult are scattered more widely over the rolling English countryside than those of any other heathen deity". Place names containing Wodnes- or Wednes- as their first element have been interpreted as references to Woden, and as a result his name is often seen as the basis for such place names as Woodnesborough ("Woden's Barrow") in Kent , Wansdyke ("Woden's Dyke") in Wiltshire , and Wensley ("Woden's Woodland Clearing" or "Woden's Wood") in Derbyshire . The name Woden also appears as an ancestor of
4368-741: Is attested is Tiw . In the Anglo-Saxon rune poem , Tir is identified with the star Polaris rather than with a deity, although it has been suggested that Tiw was probably a war deity. Dunn has suggested that Tiw might have been a supreme creator deity who was nevertheless deemed distant. The name Tiw has been identified in such place-names as Tuesley ("Tiw's Wood or Clearing") in Surrey , Tysoe ("Tiw's Hill-Spur") in Warwickshire , and Tyesmere ("Tiw's Pool") in Worcestershire . It has been suggested that
4524-510: Is known about him before he arrived in England. He probably arrived in England with the second group of missionaries, sent at the request of Augustine of Canterbury in 601. Some modern writers describe Justus as one of the original missionaries who arrived with Augustine in 597, but Bede believed that Justus came in the second group. The second group included Mellitus , who later became Bishop of London and Archbishop of Canterbury. If Justus
4680-404: Is known about pagan conceptions of an afterlife, although such beliefs likely influenced funerary practices , in which the dead were either inhumed or cremated, typically with a selection of grave goods . The belief system also likely included ideas about magic and witchcraft , and elements that could be classified as a form of shamanism . The deities of this religion provided the basis for
4836-509: Is known about the cosmological beliefs of Anglo-Saxon paganism. Carver, Sanmark, and Semple suggested that every community within Anglo-Saxon England likely had "its own take on cosmology", although suggested that there might have been "an underlying system" that was widely shared. The later Anglo-Saxon Nine Herbs Charm mentions seven worlds, which may be a reference to an earlier pagan cosmological belief. Similarly, Bede claimed that
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4992-405: Is likely to have between 627 and 631. After his death, Justus was regarded as a saint, and was given a feast day on 10 November. The 9th-century Stowe Missal commemorates his feast day, along with Mellitus and Laurence. In the 1090s, his remains were translated , or ritually moved, to a shrine beside the high altar of St Augustine's Abbey in Canterbury. At about the same time, a Life
5148-413: Is no indication that he was particularly noted for virtue. Royalty could use their affiliation to such cults in order to claim legitimacy against competitors to the throne. A dynasty may have had accrued prestige for having a saint in its family. Promoting a particular cult may have aided a royal family in claiming political dominance over an area, particularly if that area was recently conquered. In 644,
5304-421: Is not clear why such names are rarer or non-existent in certain parts of the country; it may be due to changes in nomenclature brought about by Scandinavian settlement in the Late Anglo-Saxon period or because of evangelising efforts by later Christian authorities. In 1941, Stenton suggested that "between fifty and sixty sites of heathen worship" could be identified through the place-name evidence, although in 1961
5460-611: Is partial and far from complete, archaeology is beginning to reveal more." — Archaeologist Martin Welch, 2011. According to Wilson, the archaeological evidence is "prolific and hence is potentially the most useful in the study of paganism" in Anglo-Saxon England. Archaeologically, the realms of religion, ritual, and magic can only be identified if they affected material culture . As such, scholarly understandings of pre-Christian religion in Anglo-Saxon England are reliant largely on rich burials and monumental buildings, which exert as much of
5616-549: Is performed annually in the village of Abbots Bromley in Staffordshire , has also been claimed, by some, to be a remnant of Anglo-Saxon paganism. The antlers used in the dance belonged to reindeer and have been carbon dated to the eleventh century, and it is therefore believed that they originated in Norway and were brought to England some time in the late Mediaeval period, as by that time reindeer were extinct in Britain. Little
5772-421: Is problematic. Historically, many early scholars of the Anglo-Saxon period used these terms to describe the religious beliefs in England before its conversion to Christianity in the 7th century. Several later scholars criticised this approach; as the historian Ian N. Wood stated, using the term "pagan" when discussing the Anglo-Saxons forces the scholar to adopt "the cultural constructs and value judgements of
5928-453: Is set not in England but in Scandinavia , and revolves around a Geatish warrior named Beowulf who travels to Denmark to defeat a monster known as Grendel , who is terrorising the kingdom of Hrothgar , and later, Grendel's Mother as well. Following this, he later becomes the king of Geatland before finally dying in battle with a dragon. In the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, it
6084-578: Is the St ;Augustine Gospels , now in Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Manuscript (MS) 286. Augustine consecrated Justus as a bishop in 604 over a province including the Kentish town of Rochester . The historian Nicholas Brooks argues that the choice of Rochester was probably not because it had been a Roman-era bishopric, but rather because of its importance in the politics of the time. Although
6240-404: The Anglo-Saxon migration in the mid 5th century, and remained the dominant belief system in England until the forced Christianisation of its kingdoms between the 7th and 8th centuries, with some aspects gradually blending into folklore . The pejorative terms paganism and heathenism were first applied to this religion by Christianised Anglo-Saxons, and it does not appear that the followers of
6396-464: The Anglo-Saxons between the 5th and 8th centuries AD, during the initial period of Early Medieval England . A variant of Germanic paganism found across much of north-western Europe, it encompassed a heterogeneous variety of beliefs and cultic practices, with much regional variation. Developing from the earlier Iron Age religion of continental northern Europe, it was introduced to Britain following
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6552-498: The Domesday Book . In this capacity, bishops and abbots had similar status and power to secular magnates, and it was vital to the king that trustworthy men occupied these positions. Anglo-Saxon paganism Anglo-Saxon paganism , sometimes termed Anglo-Saxon heathenism , Anglo-Saxon pre-Christian religion , Anglo-Saxon traditional religion , or Anglo-Saxon polytheism refers to the religious beliefs and practices followed by
6708-609: The Franks Casket , an artwork depicting both the pre-Christian myth of Weland the Smith and the Christian myth of the Adoration of the Magi . Blair noted that even in the late eleventh century, "important aspects of lay Christianity were still influenced by traditional indigenous practices". Both secular and church authorities issued condemnations of alleged non-Christian pagan practices, such as
6864-434: The Franks Casket . There are moreover two place-names recorded in tenth century charters that include Weyland's name. This entity's mythological stories are better fleshed out in Norse stories. The only surviving Anglo-Saxon epic poem is the story of Beowulf , known only from a surviving manuscript that was written down by the Christian monk Sepa sometime between the eighth and eleventh centuries AD. The story it tells
7020-895: The Merseburg Incantations . He is also often interpreted as being cognate with the Norse god Óðinn and the Old High German Uuodan. Additionally, he appears in the Old English ancestor of Wednesday , Ƿōdenesdæġ ( a calque from its Latin equivalent, as are the rest of the days of the week ). It has been suggested that Woden was also known as Grim—a name which appears in such English place-names as Grimspound in Dartmoor , Grimes Graves in Norfolk and Grimsby ("Grim's Village") in Lincolnshire —because in recorded Norse mythology,
7176-452: The Monastery of SS. Peter and Paul . After Augustine's death in 604, the monastery was named after him and eventually became a missionary school. Through the influence of Æthelberht, his nephew Sæberht of Essex also converted, as did Rædwald of East Anglia , although Rædwald also retained an altar to the old gods. In 601 Pope Gregory sent additional missioners to assist Augustine. Among them
7332-620: The Ruin of Britain by Gildas suggest that the leading families of Dumnonia and other Brittonic kingdoms had already adopted Christianity in the 6th century. In 596, Pope Gregory I ordered a Gregorian mission to be launched in order to convert the Anglo-Saxons to the Roman Catholic Church . The leader of this mission, Augustine , probably landed in Thanet , then part of the Kingdom of Kent , in
7488-689: The Welsh Marches , the majority of Wales (excepting Gwent ), Lancashire , and the south-western peninsula, are totally lacking evidence for Christianity in this period. Britons who found themselves in the areas now dominated by Anglo-Saxon elites possibly embraced the Anglo-Saxons' pagan religion in order to aid their own self-advancement, just as they adopted other trappings of Anglo-Saxon culture. This would have been easier for those Britons who, rather than being Christian, continued to practise indigenous polytheistic belief systems, and in areas this Late Iron Age polytheism could have syncretically mixed with
7644-458: The "T"-rune which appears on some weapons and crematory urns from the Anglo-Saxon period may be references to Tiw. Also, there is Tīƿesdæġ , which in Modern English has become " Tuesday ." "A worm came creeping, he tore a man in two, then Woden took nine Glory-Twigs, then struck the adder, that it flew apart into nine [bits] ... [Woden] established [the nine herbs] and sent [them] into
7800-448: The 1720s, Henry Bourne stated his belief that the winter custom of the Yule log was a leftover from Anglo-Saxon paganism, however this is an idea that has been disputed by some subsequent research by the likes of historian Ronald Hutton , who believe that it was only introduced into England in the seventeenth century by immigrants arriving from Flanders . The Abbots Bromley Horn Dance , which
7956-459: The 3rd century. It was introduced by tradesmen, immigrants, and legionaries . In 314, three bishops from Britain attended the Council of Arles . They were Eborius from the city of Eboracum (York), Restitutus from the city of Londinium (London), and Adelfius (the location of his see is uncertain). The presence of these three bishops indicates that by the early 4th century, the British church
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#17328484343158112-750: The 5th century, presumably in interactions with Roman Britain. In 431, Pope Celestine I consecrated Palladius a bishop and sent him to Ireland to minister to the "Scots believing in Christ". Monks from Ireland, such as Finnian of Clonard , studied in Britain at the monastery of Cadoc the Wise, at Llancarfan and other places. Later, as monastic institutions were founded in Ireland, monks from Britain, such as Ecgberht of Ripon and Chad of Mercia , went to Ireland. In 563 Columba arrived in Dál Riata from his homeland of Ireland and
8268-486: The Anglo-Saxon church. The bishop served the diocese from a cathedral town with the help of a group of priests known as the bishop's familia . These priests would baptise, teach and visit the remoter parts of the diocese. Familiae were placed in other important settlements, and these were called minsters . In the late 10th century, the Benedictine Reform movement helped to restore monasticism in England after
8424-534: The Anglo-Saxon populace from the seventh century onward. Theodore's Penitential and the Laws of Wihtred of Kent issued in 695 imposed penalties on those who provided offerings to "demons". However, by two or three decades later, Bede could write as if paganism had died out in Anglo-Saxon England. Condemnations of pagan cults also do not appear in other canons from this later period, again suggesting that ecclesiastical figures no longer considered persisting paganism to be
8580-408: The Anglo-Saxon queen consort of Clovis II .) Hild settled on a small parcel of land near the mouth of the river Ware, where under the direction of Aidan of Lindisfarne, she took up religious life. In 649, he appointed her abbess of the double monastery of Hartlepool Abbey , previously founded by the Irish recluse Hieu . In 655, in thanksgiving for his victory over Penda of Mercia at the Battle of
8736-777: The Burgundian and Birinus the Italian . The next phase of the conversion took place between c. 653 and 664, and entailed the Northumbrian sponsored conversion of the rulers of the East Saxons, Middle Anglians, and Mercians. In the final phase of the conversion, which took place during the 670s and 680s, the final two Anglo-Saxon kingdoms to be led by pagan rulers—in Sussex and the Isle of Wight—saw their leaders baptised. As with other areas of Europe,
8892-624: The Christian God and references to tales from Biblical mythology , such as that of Cain and Abel . Given the restricted nature of literacy in Anglo-Saxon England, it is likely that the author of the poem was a cleric or an associate of the clergy. Nonetheless, some academics still hold reservations about accepting it as containing information pertaining to Anglo-Saxon paganism, with Patrick Wormald noting that "vast reserves of intellectual energy have been devoted to threshing this poem for grains of authentic pagan belief, but it must be admitted that
9048-497: The Christian king Oswald of Northumbria defeated a pagan rival at a sacred plain or meadow called Heavenfield ( Hefenfelth ), which may be a reference to a pagan belief in a heavenly plain. The Anglo-Saxon concept corresponding to fate was wyrd , although the "pagan" nature of this conception is subject to some debate; Dorothy Whitelock suggested that it was a belief held only after Christianisation, while Branston maintained that wyrd had been an important concept for
9204-552: The Frisians . Willibrord fled to the abbey he had founded in Echternach, while Boniface returned to the Benedictine monastery at Nhutscelle . The following year he traveled to Rome, where he was commissioned by Pope Gregory II as a traveling missionary bishop for Germania. The Benedictine reform was led by Saint Dunstan over the latter half of the 10th century. It sought to revive church piety by replacing secular canons- often under
9360-502: The Roman tradition. The result was that one portion of the court would be celebrating Easter, while the other was still observing the Lenten fast. At that time, Kent, Essex, and East Anglia were following Roman practice. Oswiu's eldest son, Alhfrith , son of Rhiainfellt of Rheged , seems to have supported the Roman position. Cenwalh of Wessex recommended Wilfrid , a Northumbrian churchman who had recently returned from Rome, to Alhfrith as
9516-552: The Roman, which favored a diocesan administration, and differed on the style of tonsure, and dating of Easter. The southern and east coasts were the areas settled first and in greatest numbers by the settlers and so were the earliest to pass from Romano-British to Anglo-Saxon control. The British clergy continued to remain active in the north and west. After meeting with Augustine, around 603, the British bishops refused to recognize him as their archbishop. His successor, Laurence of Canterbury , said Bishop Dagán had refused to either share
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#17328484343159672-535: The Scandinavian god Týr . Archaeologically, the introduction of Norse paganism to Britain in this period is mostly visited in the mortuary evidence. A number of Scandinavian furnished burial styles were also introduced that differed from the Christian churchyard burials then dominant in Late Anglo-Saxon England. Whether these represent clear pagan identity or not is however debated among archaeologists. Norse mythological scenes have also been identified on
9828-506: The Textus in the 14th-century Liber Temporalium . Written mostly in Latin but using an Old English boundary clause, the charter records a land grant near Rochester to Justus's church. Among the witnesses is Laurence , Augustine's future successor, but not Augustine himself. The text turns to two different addressees. First, Æthelberht is made to admonish his son Eadbald , who had been established as
9984-739: The Viking attacks of the 9th century. The most prominent reformers were Archbishop Dunstan of Canterbury (959–988), Bishop Æthelwold of Winchester (963–984), and Archbishop Oswald of York (971–992). The reform movement was supported by King Edgar ( r. 959–975 ). One result of the reforms was the creation of monastic cathedrals at Canterbury , Worcester , Winchester , and Sherborne . These were staffed by cloistered monks , while other cathedrals were staffed by secular clergy called canons . By 1066, there were over 45 monasteries in England , and monks were chosen as bishops more often than in other parts of western Europe. Most villages would have had
10140-461: The Winwæd , King Oswiu brought his year old daughter Ælfflæd to his kinswoman Hilda to be brought up at the abbey. (Hild was the grand-niece of Edwin of Northumbria; Oswiu was the son of Edwin's sister Acha.) Two years later, Oswiu established a double monastery at Streoneshalh , (later known as Whitby), and appointed Hild abbess. Ælfflæd then grew up there. The abbey became the leading royal nunnery of
10296-508: The anonymous author of the Life of St Wilfrid , who wrote in Latin rather than in Old English. These writers were not interested in providing a full portrait of the Anglo-Saxons' pre-Christian belief systems, and thus our textual portrayal of these religious beliefs is fragmentary and incidental. Also perhaps useful are the writings of those Christian Anglo-Saxon missionaries who were active in converting
10452-413: The archaeologist Audrey Meaney concluded that there exists "very little undoubted evidence for Anglo-Saxon paganism, and we remain ignorant of many of its essential features of organisation and philosophy". Similarly, the Old English specialist Roy Page expressed the view that the surviving evidence was "too sparse and too scattered" to permit a good understanding of Anglo-Saxon paganism. During most of
10608-494: The archaeologist David Wilson commented that written sources "should be treated with caution and viewed as suggestive rather than in any way definitive". Far fewer textual records discuss Anglo-Saxon paganism than the pre-Christian belief systems found in nearby Ireland, Francia, or Scandinavia. There is no neat, formalised account of Anglo-Saxon pagan beliefs as there is for instance for Classical mythology and Norse mythology . Although many scholars have used Norse mythology as
10764-477: The archaeologists Martin Carver , Alex Sanmark, and Sarah Semple, Anglo-Saxon paganism was "not a religion with supraregional rules and institutions but a loose term for a variety of local intellectual world views." Carver stressed that, in Anglo-Saxon England, neither paganism nor Christianity represented "homogenous intellectual positions or canons and practice"; instead, there was "considerable interdigitation" between
10920-522: The area that once encompassed Anglo-Saxon England that are comparable to those found in Scandinavia or continental Europe. It may be that such sculptures were typically made out of wood, which has not survived in the archaeological record. Several anthropomorphic images have been found, mostly in Kent and dated to the first half of the seventh century; however, identifying these with any particular deity has not proven possible. A seated male figure appears on
11076-430: The care of their uncle King Eorcenberht, who was succeeded upon his death by his son Ecgberht . Through the connivance of King Ecgberht's advisor Thunor, the sons of Eormenred were murdered. The king was viewed as having either acquiesced or given the order. In order to quench the family feud which this kinslaying would have provoked, Ecgberht agreed to pay a weregild for the murdered princelings to their sister. (Weregild
11232-456: The charter and its witness list are authentic because they incorporate titles and phraseology that had fallen out of use by 800. Æthelberht built Justus a cathedral church in Rochester; the foundations of a nave and chancel partly underneath the present-day Rochester Cathedral may date from that time. What remains of the foundations of an early rectangular building near the southern part of
11388-543: The continent, and ended up in Frisia; or he may have intended to journey via Frisia to avoid Neustria , whose Mayor of the Palace , Ebroin , disliked Wilfrid. While Wilfrid was at Aldgisl's court, Ebroin offered a bushel of gold coins in return for Wilfrid, alive or dead. Aldgisl's hospitality to Wilfrid was in defiance of Frankish domination. The first missioner was Wihtberht who went to Frisia about 680 and labored for two years with
11544-401: The conversion to Christianity was facilitated by the aristocracy. These rulers may have felt themselves to be members of a pagan backwater in contrast to the Christian kingdoms in continental Europe. The pace of Christian conversion varied across Anglo-Saxon England, with it taking almost 90 years for the official conversion to succeed. Most of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms returned to paganism for
11700-460: The current cathedral might also be contemporary with Justus or may be part of a Roman building. Together with Mellitus, the bishop of London, Justus signed a letter written by Archbishop Laurence of Canterbury to the Irish bishops urging the native Celtic church to adopt the Roman method of calculating the date of Easter (the computus ). This letter also mentioned the fact that Irish missionaries, such as Dagan , had refused to share meals with
11856-522: The decrees of him who keeps the doors of the Kingdom of Heaven, lest he should refuse me admission". Some time after the conference Colman resigned the see of Lindisfarne and returned to Ireland. A number of Anglo-Saxon saints are connected to royalty. King Æthelberht of Kent and his wife Queen Bertha were later regarded as saints for their role in establishing Christianity among the Anglo-Saxons. Their granddaughter Eanswith founded Folkestone Priory, in 630
12012-619: The direct influence of local landowners, and often their relatives- with celibate monks, answerable to the ecclesiastical hierarchy and ultimately to the Pope. This deeply split the newly formed kingdom of England, bringing it to the point of civil war, with the East Anglian nobility (such as Athelstan Half-King , Byrhtnoth ) supporting Dunstan and the Wessex aristocracy ( Ordgar , Æthelmær the Stout ) supporting
12168-493: The double monastery of St. Mildred's at Minster-in-Thanet . (cf. the story of St. Brigid's miraculous cloak ). A similar situation arose in the North. Eanflæd was the daughter of King Edwin of Northumbria . Her maternal grandfather was King Æthelberht of Kent . She was married to Oswiu , King of Bernicia. In 651, after seven years of peaceful rule, Oswiu declared war on Oswine , King of neighboring Deira . Oswine, who belonged to
12324-515: The earlier Anglo-Saxon conversion. However, it appears that the Scandinavian migrants had converted to Christianity within the first few decades of their arrival. The historian Judith Jesch suggested that these beliefs survived throughout Late Anglo-Saxon England not in the form of an active non-Christian religion, but as "cultural paganism", the acceptance of references to pre-Christian myths in particular cultural contexts within an officially Christian society. Such "cultural paganism" could represent
12480-487: The early medieval [Christian] missionaries" and thus obscures scholarly understandings of the so-called pagans' own perspectives. At present, while some Anglo-Saxonists have ceased using the terms "paganism" or "pagan" when discussing the early Anglo-Saxon period, others have continued to do so, viewing these terms as a useful means of designating something that is not Christian yet which is still identifiably religious. The historian John Hines proposed "traditional religion" as
12636-587: The end of the 6th century the most powerful ruler among the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms was Æthelberht of Kent , whose lands extended north to the River Humber. He married a Frankish princess, Bertha of Paris , daughter of Charibert I and his wife Ingoberga . There were strong trade connections between Kent and the Franks. The marriage was agreed to on the condition that she be allowed to practice her religion. She brought her chaplain, Liudhard , with her. A former Roman church
12792-463: The equivalent term was hæðen ("heathen"), a word that was cognate to the Old Norse heiðinn , both of which may derive from a Gothic word, haiþno . Both pagan and heathen were terms that carried pejorative overtones, with hæðen also being used in Late Anglo-Saxon texts to refer to criminals and others deemed to have not behaved according to Christian teachings. The term "paganism"
12948-506: The existence of such a belief, the possibility that the pre-Christian Anglo-Saxons believed in a cosmological world tree has also been considered. It has been suggested that the idea of a world tree can be discerned through certain references in the Dream of the Rood poem. This idea may be bolstered if it is the case, as some scholars have argued, that their concept of a world tree may be derived from
13104-505: The first monastery in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms for women. Her aunt Æthelburh founded Lyminge Abbey about four miles northwest of Folkestone on the south coast of Kent around 634. In a number of instances, the individual retired from court to take up the religious life. The sisters Mildrith , Mildburh , and Mildgyth , great granddaughters of King Æthelberht and Queen Bertha, and all abbesses at various convents, were revered as saints. Ceolwulf of Northumbria abdicated his throne and entered
13260-466: The first religious houses to be founded in the new Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. It was a double monastery, built on Roman ruins. Æthelburh was the first abbess. It is assumed that Hilda remained with the Queen-Abbess. Nothing further is known of Hild until around 647 when having decided not to join her older sister Hereswith at Chelles Abbey in Gaul, Hild returned north. (Chelles had been founded by Bathild ,
13416-399: The foundations for parts of Anglo-Saxon Christianity. Pre-Christian beliefs affected the folklore of the Anglo-Saxon period, and through this continued to exert an influence on popular religion within the late Anglo-Saxon period. The conversion did not result in the obliteration of pre-Christian traditions, but in various ways created a synthesis of traditions, as exhibited for instance by
13572-605: The fourth century, the majority of Britain had been part of the Roman Empire , which—starting in 380 AD with the Edict of Thessalonica —had Christianity as its official religion. However, in Britain, Christianity was probably still a minority religion, restricted largely to the urban centres and their hinterlands. While it did have some impact in the countryside, here it appears that indigenous Late Iron Age polytheistic belief systems continued to be widely practised. Some areas, such as
13728-403: The god Óðinn is also known as Grímnir . Highlighting that there are around twice as many Grim place-names in England as Woden place-names, the place-name scholar Margaret Gelling cautioned against the view that Grim was always associated with Woden in Anglo-Saxon England. The second most widespread deity from Anglo-Saxon England appears to be the god Thunor . It has been suggested that
13884-454: The government of the church, provided that the monks of a cathedral monastery had the right to elect their bishop. This was approved by a synodical council in 973, but largely ignored. Bishops played a crucial role in government, advising the king, presiding over shire courts and taking parts in meetings of the king's council, the witan . Even more importantly, the church was a wealthy institution—owning 25 to 33 per cent of all land according to
14040-637: The hammer and the swastika were the god's symbols, representing thunderbolts, and both of these symbols have been found in Anglo-Saxon graves, the latter being common on cremation urns. A large number of Thunor place-names feature the Old English word lēah ("wood", or "clearing in a wood"), among them Thunderley and Thundersley in Essex . The deity's name also appears in other compounds too, as with Thunderfield ("Thunor's Open Land") in Surrey and Thunores hlaew ("Thunor's Mound") in Kent. A third Anglo-Saxon god that
14196-438: The harvest has been meagre. The poet may have known that his heroes were pagans, but he did not know much about paganism." Similarly, Christine Fell declared that when it came to paganism, the poet who authored Beowulf had "little more than a vague awareness of what was done 'in those days'." Conversely, North argued that the poet knew more about paganism that he revealed in the poem, suggesting that this could be seen in some of
14352-536: The incoming Anglo-Saxon religion. Conversely, there is weak possible evidence for limited survival of Roman Christianity into the Anglo-Saxon period, such as the place-name ecclēs , meaning 'church', at two locations in Norfolk and Eccles in Kent . However, Blair suggested that Roman Christianity would not have experienced more than a "ghost-life" in Anglo-Saxon areas. Those Britons who continued to practise Christianity were probably perceived as second-class citizens and were unlikely to have had much of an impact on
14508-493: The indigenous faith had a name for their religion themselves; there has therefore been debate among contemporary scholars as to the appropriateness of continuing to describe these belief systems using this Christian terminology. Contemporary knowledge of Anglo-Saxon paganism derives largely from three sources: textual evidence produced by Christian Anglo-Saxons like Bede and Aldhelm , place-name evidence, and archaeological evidence of cultic practices. Further suggestions regarding
14664-445: The kingdom of Deira, a centre of learning, and burial-place of the royal family. Eormenred of Kent was the son of King Eadbald and grandson of King Æthelberht of Kent . Upon the death of his father, his brother Eorcenberht became king. The description of Eormenred as king may indicate that he ruled jointly with his brother or, alternatively, that as sub-king in a particular area. Upon his death, his two young sons were entrusted to
14820-428: The language and references. Justus Justus (died on 10 November between 627 and 631) was the fourth archbishop of Canterbury . Pope Gregory the Great sent Justus from Italy to England on a mission to Christianise the Anglo-Saxons from their native paganism ; he probably arrived with the second group of missionaries despatched in 601. Justus became the first bishop of Rochester in 604 and signed
14976-575: The languages, together with his status as a trusted royal emissary, likely made him a key figure in the negotiations. His skills were seen as an eschatological sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit , in contrast to the Biblical account of the Tower of Babel . Colman appealed to the practice of St. John; Wilfrid to St. Peter. Oswiu decided to follow Roman rather than Celtic rite, saying ""I dare not longer contradict
15132-445: The local level... In this way Christianity ultimately penetrated the homes and daily lives of the various Germanic peoples in the centuries after the arrival of the first missionaries." — Historian Karen Louise Jolly, 1996. Although Christianity had been adopted across Anglo-Saxon England by the late seventh century, many pre-Christian customs continued to be practised. Bintley argued that aspects of Anglo-Saxon paganism served as
15288-557: The missionaries. Justus became Archbishop of Canterbury in 624, receiving his pallium —the symbol of the jurisdiction entrusted to archbishops—from Pope Boniface V, following which Justus consecrated Romanus as his successor at Rochester. Boniface also gave Justus a letter congratulating him on the conversion of King "Aduluald" (probably King Eadbald of Kent), a letter which is included in Bede's Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum . Bede's account of Eadbald's conversion states that it
15444-614: The missionaries. Although the letter has not survived, Bede quoted from parts of it. In 614, Justus attended the Council of Paris , held by the Frankish king, Chlothar II . It is unclear why Justus and Peter , the abbot of Sts Peter and Paul in Canterbury, were present. It may have been just chance, but the historian James Campbell has suggested that Chlothar summoned clergy from Britain to attend in an attempt to assert overlordship over Kent. N. J. Higham offers another explanation for their attendance, arguing that Æthelberht sent
15600-561: The monastery at Lindisfarne. In some cases, where the death of a member of royalty appears to be largely politically motivated, it was viewed as martyrdom due to the circumstances. The murdered princes Æthelred and Æthelberht were later commemorated as saints and martyrs. Oswine of Deira was betrayed by a trusted friend to soldiers of his enemy and kinsman Oswiu of Bernicia. Bede described Oswine as "most generous to all men and above all things humble; tall of stature and of graceful bearing, with pleasant manner and engaging address". Likewise,
15756-440: The monastery shortly after Oswine's death, Oswiu and Eanflæd avoided the creation of a feud. By the early 660s, Insular Christianity received from the monks of Iona was standard in the north and west, while the Roman tradition brought by Augustine was the practice in the south. In the Northumbrian court King Oswiu followed the tradition of the missionary monks from Iona, while Queen Eanflæd , who had been brought up in Kent followed
15912-432: The names of particular deities, while others use terms that refer to cultic practices that took place there. In England, these two categories remain separate, unlike in Scandinavia, where certain place-names exhibit both features. Those place-names which carry possible pagan associations are centred primarily in the centre and south-east of England, while no obvious examples are known from Northumbria or East Anglia . It
16068-534: The names of the days of the week in the English language. What is known about the religion and its accompanying mythology have since influenced both literature and modern paganism . The word pagan is a Latin pejorative term that was used by Gentile Christianity (also: Pagan Christianity ) in Anglo-Saxon England to designate non-Christians. In Old English , the vernacular language of Anglo-Saxon England,
16224-472: The nature of Anglo-Saxon paganism have been developed through comparisons with the better-attested pre-Christian belief systems of neighbouring peoples such as the Norse . Anglo-Saxon paganism was a polytheistic belief system, focused around a belief in deities known as the ése (singular ós ). The most prominent of these deities was probably Woden ; other prominent gods included Thunor and Tiw . There
16380-453: The new king. Mellitus also returned to England, but the prevailing pagan mood did not allow him to return to London; after Laurence's death, Mellitus became Archbishop of Canterbury. According to Bede, Justus received letters of encouragement from Pope Boniface V (r. 619–625), as did Mellitus, although Bede does not record the actual letters—the historian J. M. Wallace-Hadrill assumes both letters were general statements encouraging
16536-485: The north, the Province of York was led by the archbishop of York . Theoretically, neither archbishop had precedence over the other. In reality, the south was wealthier than the north, and the result was that Canterbury dominated. In 669, Theodore of Tarsus became Archbishop of Canterbury. In 672 he convened the Council of Hertford which was attended by a number of bishops from across the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. This Council
16692-504: The pagan Anglo-Saxons. He suggested that it was cognate to the Icelandic term Urdr and thus was connected to the concept of three sisters, the Nornir , who oversee fate in recorded Norse mythology. It is possible that the pre-Christian Anglo-Saxons held a belief in an apocalypse that bore similarities with the later Norse myth of Ragnarok . Although we have no evidence directly testifying to
16848-506: The pagan kings and aristocracy which was then emphasising Anglo-Saxon culture and defining itself against British culture. If the British Christians were able to convert any of the Anglo-Saxon elite conquerors, it was likely only on a small community scale, with British Christianity having little impact on the later establishment of Anglo-Saxon Christianity in the seventh century. Prior scholarship tended to view Anglo-Saxon paganism as
17004-408: The pagan period of early Anglo-Saxon England, but could have developed at a later date. In pre-Christian Anglo-Saxon England, legends and other stories were transmitted orally instead of being written down; it is for this reason that very few survive today. In both Beowulf and Deor's Lament there are references to the mythological smith Weyland , and this figure also makes an appearance on
17160-408: The pagan societies of continental Europe, namely Willibrord and Boniface , as well as the writings of the 1st century AD Roman writer Tacitus , who commented upon the pagan religions of the Anglo-Saxons' ancestors in continental Europe. The historian Frank Stenton commented that the available texts only provide us with "a dim impression" of pagan religion in Anglo-Saxon England, while similarly,
17316-613: The pair to the council because of shifts in Frankish policy towards the Kentish kingdom, which threatened Kentish independence, and that the two clergymen were sent to negotiate a compromise with Chlothar. A pagan backlash against Christianity followed Æthelberht's death in 616, forcing Justus and Mellitus to flee to Gaul. The pair probably took refuge with Chlothar, hoping that the Frankish king would intervene and restore them to their sees, and by 617 Justus had been reinstalled in his bishopric by
17472-408: The parishes and monasteries within their dioceses, the office of archdeacon was created. Once a year, the bishop would summon parish priests to the cathedral for a synod. The king was regarded not only as the head of the church but also "the vicar of Christ among a Christian folk". Bishops were chosen by the king and tended to be recruited from among royal chaplains or monasteries. The bishop-elect
17628-437: The payment of weregild). However, Oswine's nearest kinsman was Oswiu's own wife, Eanflæd, also second cousin to Oswine. In compensation for her kinsman's murder, Eanflæd demanded a substantial weregild, which she then used to establish Gilling Abbey . The monastery was staffed in part by the relatives of both of their families, and given the task of offering prayers for both Oswiu's salvation and Oswine's departed soul. By founding
17784-417: The period in which pagan beliefs were being supplanted by Christianity, and thus an understanding of Anglo-Saxon paganism must be seen in tandem with the archaeology of the conversion. Based on the evidence available, the historian John Blair stated that the pre-Christian religion of Anglo-Saxon England largely resembled "that of the pagan Britons under Roman rule... at least in its outward forms". However,
17940-511: The permission of Aldgisl ; but being unsuccessful, Wihtberht returned to Briiain. Willibrord grew up under the influence of Wilfrid, studied under Ecgberht of Ripon, and spent twelve years at the Abbey of Rath Melsigi. Around 690, Ecgberht sent him and eleven companions to Christianise the Frisians. In 695 Willibrord was consecrated in Rome, Bishop of Utrecht. In 698 he established the Abbey of Echternach on
18096-452: The place-name scholar Margaret Gelling cautioned that only forty-five of these appeared reliable. The literature specialist Philip A. Shaw has however warned that many of these sites might not have been named by pagans but by later Christian Anglo-Saxons, reflecting spaces that were perceived to be heathen from a Christian perspective. "Although our understanding of Anglo-Saxon pre-Christian religion from written sources and from place names
18252-449: The rival Deiran royal family, was Oswiu's maternal second cousin. Oswine refused to engage in battle, instead retreating to Gilling and the home of his friend, Earl Humwald. Humwald betrayed Oswine, delivering him to Oswiu's soldiers by whom Oswine was put to death. In Anglo-Saxon culture, it was assumed that the nearest kinsmen to a murdered person would seek to avenge the death or require some other kind of justice on account of it (such as
18408-523: The royal genealogies of Kent , Wessex , East Anglia and Mercia , resulting in suggestions that after losing his status as a god during the Christianisation process he was euhemerised as a royal ancestor. Woden also appears as the leader of the Wild Hunt , and he is referred to as a magical healer in the Nine Herbs Charm , directly paralleling the role of his continental German counterpart Wodan in
18564-647: The same period. The Anglo-Saxons were a mix of invaders, migrants, and acculturated indigenous people. Before the withdrawal of the Romans, Germanic militia had been stationed in Britain as foederati . After the departure of the Roman army, the Britons recruited the Anglo-Saxons to defend Britain, but they rebelled against their British hosts in 442. The newcomers eventually conquered England, and their religion, Anglo-Saxon paganism , became dominant. The Britons of Wales and Cornwall, however, continued to practice Christianity. At
18720-484: The secularists. These factions mobilised around King Eadwig (anti-Dunstan) and his brother King Edgar (pro). On the death of Edgar, his son Edward the Martyr was assassinated by the anti-Dunstan faction and their candidate, the young king Æthelred was placed on the throne. However this "most terrible deed since the English came from over the sea" provoked such a revulsion that the secularists climbed down, although Dunstan
18876-457: The seven worlds, for the poor and the rich, a remedy for all, it stands against pain, it fights against poison, it avails against three and against thirty, against foe's hand and against noble scheming, against enchantment of vile creatures." The Nine Herbs Charm . Perhaps the most prominent female deity in Anglo-Saxon paganism was Frig ; however, there is still very little evidence for her worship, although it has been speculated that she
19032-474: The seventh century in the face of Christianity's systematic organization. But folk practices were all-pervasive in everyday life. The animistic character of Germanic belief prior to Christianization, with its emphasis on nature, holistic cures, and worship at wells, trees, and stones, meant that it was hard to counteract on an institutional level of organized religion... The synthesis of Christian and Germanic ideas gradually transformed these practices, undoubtedly at
19188-505: The site of a Roman villa donated by the Austrasian noblewoman Irmina of Oeren . Aldgisl's successor Redbad was less supportive than his father, likely because the missionaries were favored by Pepin of Herstal , who sought to expand his territory into Frisia. In 716, Boniface joined Willibrord in Utrecht. Their efforts were frustrated by the war between Charles Martel and Redbad, King of
19344-445: The sons of Arwald of the Isle of Wight were betrayed to Cædwalla of Wessex , but because they were converted and baptized by Abbot Cynibert of Hreutford immediately before being executed, they were considered saints. Edward the Martyr was stabbed to death on a visit to his stepmother Queen Ælfthryth and his stepbrother, the boy Æthelred while dismounting from his horse, although there
19500-612: The summer of 597. While Christianity was initially restricted to Kent, it saw "major and sustained expansion" in the period from c. 625 to 642, when the Kentish king Eadbald sponsored a mission to the Northumbrians led by Paulinus, the Northumbrian king Oswald invited a Christian mission from Irish monks to establish themselves, and the courts of the East Anglians and the Gewisse were converted by continental missionaries Felix
19656-461: The throne. He defeated the combined forces of Cadwallon and Penda of Mercia at the Battle of Heavenfield . In 634, Oswald, who had spent time in exile at Iona, asked abbot Ségéne mac Fiachnaí to send missioners to Northumbria. At first, a bishop named Cormán was sent, but he alienated many people by his harshness, and returned in failure to Iona reporting that the Northumbrians were too stubborn to be converted. Aidan criticised Cormán's methods and
19812-465: The tithe was a voluntary gift, but the church successfully made it a compulsory tax by the 10th century. By 1000, there were eighteen dioceses in England: Canterbury , Rochester , London , Winchester , Dorchester , Ramsbury , Sherborne , Selsey , Lichfield , Hereford , Worcester , Crediton , Cornwall , Elmham , Lindsey , Wells , York and Durham . To assist bishops in supervising
19968-515: The town was small, with just one street, it was at the junction of Watling Street and the estuary of the Medway and was thus a fortified town. Because Justus was probably not a monk (Bede did not call him that), his cathedral clergy was very likely non-monastic too. A charter purporting to be from King Æthelberht, dated 28 April 604, survives in the Textus Roffensis , as well as a copy based on
20124-582: The twelfth century, a name which derived from the Old Norse Óðinsberg , or 'Hill of Óðin'. A number of place-names also contain Old Norse references to mythological entities, such as alfr , skratii , and troll . A number of pendants representing Mjolnir , the hammer of the god Thor , have also been found in England, reflecting the probability that he was worshipped among the Anglo-Scandinavian population. Jesch argued that, given that there
20280-456: The twenty-five year old Ecgberht of Ripon was a student at the monastery of Rath Melsigi when he and many others fell ill of the plague. He vowed that if he recovered, he would become a perpetual pilgrimage from his homeland of Britain and would lead a life of penitential prayer and fasting. He began to organize a mission to the Frisians , but was dissuaded from going by a vision related to him by
20436-432: The two. As a phenomenon, this belief system lacked any apparent rules or consistency, and exhibited both regional and chronological variation. The archaeologist Aleks Pluskowski suggested that it is possible to talk of "multiple Anglo-Saxon 'paganisms'". Adopting the terminology of the sociologist of religion Max Weber , the historian Marilyn Dunn described Anglo-Saxon paganism as a "world accepting" religion, one which
20592-440: The use of Scandinavian material to understand that of England. Conversely, the historian Brian Branston argued for the use of Old Norse sources to better understand Anglo-Saxon pagan beliefs, recognising mythological commonalities between the two rooted in their common ancestry. Old English place-names also provide some insight into the pre-Christian beliefs and practices of Anglo-Saxon England. Some of these place-names reference
20748-493: The veneration of wells, trees, and stones, right through to the eleventh century and into the High Middle Ages. However, most of the penitentials condemning such practices—notably that attributed to Ecgbert of York —were largely produced around the year 1000, which may suggest that their prohibitions against non-Christian cultic behaviour may be a response to Norse pagan beliefs brought in by Scandinavian settlers rather than
20904-464: Was Justus for whom Æthelberht built a church near Rochester, Kent . Upon Augustine's death around 604, he was succeeded as archbishop by Laurence of Canterbury , a member of the original mission. After the departure of the Romans, the church in Britain continued in isolation from that on the continent and developed some differences in approach. Their version of tradition is often called "Celtic Christianity". It tended to be more monastic-centered than
21060-536: Was "a goddess of love or festivity". Her name has been suggested as a component of the place-names Fretherne in Gloucestershire , and Freefolk , Frobury , and Froyle in Hampshire . The East Saxon royalty claimed lineage from someone known as Seaxnēat , who might have been a god, in part because an Old Saxon baptismal vow calls on the Christian to renounce "Thunaer, Woden and Saxnot". A runic poem mentions
21216-466: Was "concerned with the here and now" and in particular with issues surrounding the safety of the family, prosperity, and the avoidance of drought or famine. Also adopting the categories of Gustav Mensching , she described Anglo-Saxon paganism as a " folk religion ", in that its adherents concentrated on survival and prosperity in this world. Using the expressions "paganism" or "heathenism" when discussing pre-Christian belief systems in Anglo-Saxon England
21372-462: Was Laurence, Justus's predecessor at Canterbury, who converted the king to Christianity, but D. P. Kirby argues that the letter's reference to Eadbald makes it likely that it was Justus. Other historians, including Barbara Yorke and Henry Mayr-Harting , conclude that Bede's account is correct, and that Eadbald was converted by Laurence. Yorke argues that there were two kings of Kent during Eadbald's reign, Eadbald and Æthelwald, and that Æthelwald
21528-447: Was a polytheistic belief system, with its practitioners believing in many deities. However, most Christian Anglo-Saxon writers had little or no interest in the pagan gods, and thus did not discuss them in their texts. The Old English words for a god were ēs and ōs , and they may be reflected in such place-names as Easole ("God's Ridge") in Kent and Eisey ("God's Island") in Wiltshire . The deity for whom we have most evidence
21684-499: Was a member of the second group of missionaries, then he arrived with a gift of books and "all things which were needed for worship and the ministry of the Church". A 15th-century Canterbury chronicler, Thomas of Elmham , claimed that there were some books brought to England by that second group still at Canterbury in his day, although he did not identify them. An investigation of extant Canterbury manuscripts shows that one possible survivor
21840-484: Was a milestone in the organization of the Anglo-Saxon Church, as the decrees passed by its delegates focused on issues of authority and structure within the church. Afterwards Theodore, visiting the whole of Anglo-Saxon held lands, consecrated new bishops and divided up the vast dioceses which in many cases were coextensive with the kingdoms of the heptarchy. Initially, the diocese was the only administrative unit in
21996-500: Was already organised on a regional basis and had a distinct episcopal hierarchy . It is unclear how widely the Romano-British people adopted Christianity. Archaeological evidence from Roman villas indicates that some aristocrats were Christians, but there is little evidence for the existence of urban churches. Roman rule ended in the 5th century, and Romano-British society collapsed. Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain began during
22152-512: Was also a belief in a variety of other supernatural entities which inhabited the landscape, including elves , nicors , and dragons . Cultic practice largely revolved around demonstrations of devotion, including sacrifice of inanimate objects and animals to these deities, particularly at certain religious festivals during the year. There is some evidence for the existence of timber temples, although other cultic spaces might have been open-air, and would have included cultic trees and megaliths. Little
22308-479: Was an important legal mechanism in early Germanic society; the other common form of legal reparation at this time was blood revenge. The payment was typically made to the family or to the clan.) The legend claims that Domne Eafe was offered (or requested) as much land as her pet hind could run around in a single lap. The result, whether miraculous or by the owner's guidance, was that she gained some eighty sulungs of land on Thanet as weregild , on which to establish
22464-554: Was behind Felix's coming to Anglo-Saxon England. Felix established his episcopal see at Dommoc and a monastery at Soham Abbey . Although Felix's early training may have been influenced by the Irish tradition of Luxeuil Abbey , his loyalty to Canterbury ensured that the church in East Anglia adhered to Roman norms. Around 633, Sigeberht welcomed from Ireland, Fursey and his brothers Foillan and Ultan and gave them land to establish an abbey at Cnobheresburg . Felix and Fursey effected
22620-522: Was commonly believed that Beowulf was not an Anglo-Saxon pagan tale, but a Scandinavian Christian one; it was not until the influential critical essay Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics by J. R. R. Tolkien , delivered in 1936, that Beowulf was established as a quintessentially English poem that, while Christian, looked back on a living memory of paganism. The poem refers to pagan practices such as cremation burials, but also contains repeated mentions of
22776-437: Was effectively retired. This split fatally weakened the country in the face of renewed Viking attacks. Under papal authority, the English church was divided into two ecclesiastical provinces , each led by a metropolitan or archbishop . In the south, the Province of Canterbury was led by the archbishop of Canterbury. It was originally to be based at London, but Augustine and his successors remained at Canterbury instead. In
22932-559: Was granted land on Iona. This became the centre of his evangelising mission to the Picts. When Æthelfrith of Northumbria was killed in battle against Edwin and Rædwald at the River Idle in 616, his sons fled into exile. Some of that time was spent in the kingdom of Dál Riata , where Oswald of Northumbria became Christian. At the death of Edwin's successors at the hand of Cadwallon ap Cadfan of Gwynedd, Oswald returned from exile and laid claim to
23088-440: Was killed in battle against Edwin, who with the support of Rædwald of East Anglia claimed the throne. Edwin married the Christian Æthelburh of Kent , daughter of Æthelberht, and sister of King Eadbald of Kent . A condition of their marriage was that she be allowed to continue the practice of her religion. When Æthelburh traveled north to Edwin's court, she was accompanied by the missioner Paulinus of York . Edwin eventually became
23244-541: Was one used by Gentile Christians as a form of othering , and as the archaeologist Neil Price put it, in the Anglo-Saxon context, "paganism" is "largely an empty concept defined by what it is not (Christianity)". There is no evidence that anyone living in Anglo-Saxon England ever described themselves as a "pagan" or understood there to be a singular religion, "paganism", that stood as a monolithic alternative to Christianity. These pagan belief systems would have been inseparable from other aspects of daily life. According to
23400-536: Was only evidence for the worship of Odin and Thor in Anglo-Scandinavian England, these might have been the only deities to have been actively venerated by the Scandinavian settlers, even if they were aware of the mythological stories surrounding other Norse gods and goddesses. North however argued that one passage in the Old English rune poem , written in the eighth or ninth century, may reflect knowledge of
23556-549: Was restored for Bertha just outside the City of Canterbury. Dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours , it served as her private chapel. In 595, Pope Gregory I dispatched Augustine , prior of Gregory's own monastery of St Andrew in Rome, to head the mission to Kent. Augustine arrived on the Isle of Thanet in 597 and established his base at the main town of Canterbury . Æthelberht converted to Christianity sometime before 601; other conversions then followed. The following year, he established
23712-473: Was revered as a saint and had a shrine in St Augustine's Abbey , Canterbury, to which his remains were translated in the 1090s. Justus was a member of the Gregorian mission sent to England by Pope Gregory I. Almost everything known about Justus and his career is derived from the early 8th-century Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum of Bede . As Bede does not describe Justus's origins, nothing
23868-427: Was soon sent as his replacement. Oswald gave Aidan the island of Lindisfarne, near the royal court at Bamburgh Castle . Since Oswald was fluent in both one of the and Irish, he often served as interpreter for Aidan. Aidan built churches, monasteries and schools throughout Northumbria. Lindisfarne became an important centre of Insular Christianity under Aidan, Cuthbert , Eadfrith and Eadberht . Cuthbert's tomb became
24024-408: Was the "Aduluald" referred to by Boniface. Yorke argues that Justus converted Æthelwald back to Christianity after Æthelberht's death. Justus consecrated Paulinus as the first bishop of York , before the latter accompanied Æthelburg of Kent to Northumbria for her marriage to King Edwin of Northumbria . Bede records Justus as having died on 10 November, but does not give a year, although it
24180-534: Was the monk Mellitus . Gregory wrote the Epistola ad Mellitum advising him that local temples be Christianized and asked Augustine to Christianize pagan practices, so far as possible, into dedication ceremonies or feasts of martyrs in order to ease the transition to Christianity. In 604 Augustine consecrated Mellitus as Bishop of the East Saxons. He established his see at London at a church probably founded by Æthelberht, rather than Sæberht. Another of Augustine's associates
24336-475: Was then presented at a synod where clerical approval was obtained and consecration followed. The appointment of an archbishop was more complicated and required approval from the pope . The Archbishop of Canterbury had to travel to Rome to receive the pallium , his symbol of office. These visits to Rome and the payments that accompanied them (such as Peter's Pence ) was a point of contention. Æthelwold of Winchester's Regularis Concordia which laid down rules for
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