Early Medieval

Early Medieval: Religion

Although Christianity in Britain tends to be associated with the arrival of St Augustine’s mission to the English from Rome in 597, it had already taken root in Roman Britain in the 4th century.

A synod held at the Anglo-Saxon abbey at Whitby in 664 determined the future of Christianity in England
A synod held at the Anglo-Saxon abbey at Whitby in 664 determined the future of Christianity in England

CHRISTIANS AND PAGANS

The Christian faith persisted in British society after imperial Roman rule had ended. Fifth-century Christian cemeteries and many early post-Roman inscriptions bearing Christian symbols attest to its survival.

Christianity was challenged, however, by the invading Anglo-Saxons, devotees of pagan deities like the war god Tiw, the all-powerful Woden, the thunder god Thor and the fertility goddess Frey. Though they are unwittingly remembered every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, the worship of these pagan gods left little physical trace. No contemporary written sources survive to describe early pagan religious practices.

This grave marker from Lindisfarne Priory, known as the Viking Domesday stone, dates from the 9th century. This side of the stone shows two figures kneeling at the foot of a cross under a sun and moon. It is thought that the stone could represent fears among Christians of the imminence of Judgement Day.
This grave marker from Lindisfarne Priory, known as the Viking Domesday stone, dates from the 9th century. This side of the stone shows two figures kneeling at the foot of a cross under a sun and moon. It is thought that the stone could represent fears among Christians of the imminence of Judgement Day.

MISSIONARIES

The first Christian missionaries to the southern Anglo-Saxons were sent by Pope Gregory the Great in 597. Augustine quickly converted King Æthelberht of Kent (whose queen, Bertha, a Frankish princess, was already a Christian), before founding St Augustine's Abbey at Canterbury. About 30 years later one of his fellow missionaries, Paulinus, baptised King Edwin of Northumbria at York.

The success of Roman Christianity was no foregone conclusion, though. The kingdoms of Kent and Northumbria temporarily reverted to paganism, and King Rædwald of East Anglia simply installed an altar to Christ alongside one to Thor and Woden in his royal temple.

Christian missionaries also came from Ireland, and evangelised the Northumbrians. Their first monastery was founded on Lindisfarne in 635 by the Irish monk Aidan, under the patronage of King Oswald.

The 9th-century Sandbach Crosses, Cheshire, are two of the finest surviving Anglo-Saxon high crosses. They are elaborately decorated with biblical scenes, including Christ’s Nativity and Crucifixion, and may have belonged to a Saxon monastery.
The 9th-century Sandbach Crosses, Cheshire, are two of the finest surviving Anglo-Saxon high crosses. They are elaborately decorated with biblical scenes, including Christ’s Nativity and Crucifixion, and may have belonged to a Saxon monastery.

WHITBY AND BEDE

Irish (or ‘Celtic’) and Roman Christian practices were different, and their rivalry for English souls came to a head because of their two different ways of calculating the date of Easter.

At the Synod of Whitby in 664, King Oswiu of Northumbria decided once and for all to follow Roman practices. But the Celtic tradition still suffused men like St Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, the most revered saint of the Northumbrian church.

The chronicler of the early English Church was Bede (673–735), a monk of St Paul's Monastery, Jarrow. His Ecclesiastical History of the English People was vastly influential in promoting the idea of a single English nation. He recorded too the lives of saints like Hild (614–80) of Whitby Abbey, North Yorkshire, one of the royal-born abbesses who played an important role in the English Church.

Reconstruction drawing of St Peter’s Church, Barton-upon-Humber, as it may have looked soon after its foundation in the early 11th century. The church was almost certainly founded as a private chapel belonging to the manor of Barton, with room for only a small congregation.
Reconstruction drawing of St Peter’s Church, Barton-upon-Humber, as it may have looked soon after its foundation in the early 11th century. The church was almost certainly founded as a private chapel belonging to the manor of Barton, with room for only a small congregation. © English Heritage (drawing by Liam Wales)

DESTRUCTION AND REVIVAL

The 9th-century Viking onslaught – which laid waste to Lindisfarne, Whitby, Tynemouth Priory and many others – almost destroyed the Church in the north and east of England. But King Alfred of Wessex (r.871–99) and his successors laboured to revive it, and were soon aided by Christianised Scandinavian settlers. These were among the first to revere the holy King Edmund of East Anglia, whom their ancestors had martyred in 869.

The 10th century brought a far more thoroughgoing revival, headed by Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury (960–88), and continued under King Cnut (r.1016–35). Monasteries were founded or re-established, often following the Europe-wide Benedictine rule. These included Westminster Abbey in London, Muchelney Abbey in Somerset, and Deerhurst Priory in Gloucestershire, by whose gate Odda's Chapel was built in 1056.

Its builder, Earl Odda, was a relation of King Edward the Confessor (r.1042–66), himself honoured as a saint in his own lifetime. Co-operation between monarchs and clergy, together with leadership in culture and learning, had long been a hallmark of the English Church. Yet within a decade of the Norman Conquest, many of its traditions would be swept away.

More about Early Medieval England

  • Early Medieval: Architecture

    Most early medieval buildings were constructed mainly using wood, but this tradition left its mark on later stone-built churches.

  • Early Medieval: Art

    The early medieval period produced many examples of highly distinctive art of world-class significance.

  • Early Medieval: Networks

    Between the end of Roman rule and the arrival of the Normans, England's relationship with the wider world changed many times.

  • Early Medieval: Power and Politics

    This period saw the evolution of a nation of warlords into a country organised into distinct kingdoms.

  • Early Medieval: Religion

    Christianity in Britain tends to be associated with the arrival of St Augustine in 597, but it had in fact already taken root in Roman Britain.

Early Medieval Stories

  • The Viking Raid on Lindisfarne

    A devastating Viking attack on the church of St Cuthbert in 793 sent a shockwave through Europe. But how did a Christian community at Lindisfarne survive?

  • Who Was St Augustine?

    In the late 6th century, a man was sent from Rome to England to bring Christianity to the Anglo-Saxons. But who was St Augustine, and how did his mission succeed?

  • Caedmon, Whitby and Early English Poetry

    How Cædmon’s poetic awakening, at the monastery that lies beneath Whitby Abbey, produced one of the first fragments of English verse.

  • Queen Bertha: A Historical Enigma

    In 597, St Augustine arrived in England to convert the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity. Virtually every modern description of this mission mentions Queen Bertha of Kent. But who was Bertha?

  • The Synod of Whitby and the Keys of Heaven

    How a decision about the way in which the date of Easter should be calculated was a landmark in the history of Christianity in England.

  • St Hild of Whitby

    Hild is a significant figure in the history of English Christianity. As the abbess of Whitby, she led one of the most important religious centres in the Anglo-Saxon world.

  • Two Happy Accidents Reveal Odda’s Chapel, Deerhurst

    How the chance discovery of a chapel in Gloucestershire  has proved crucial to our understanding of Anglo-Saxon architecture.