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The rise and expansion of Christianity
Christianity through the ages
Summary essay of historical development of christianity
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"Pope Gregory I sent a mission to England of 40 monks, headed by the Benedictine prior Augustine... to convert Anglo-Saxons." Since Christianity was so scarce in Britain since the Romans had removed themselves that Pope Gregory I wanted to bring back Christianity. Instead of transforming all pagan practices to Christianity, for fear that it would not work that way, he combined the two religions into one religion called Hiberno-Saxon. This new religion flourished among the England and Ireland people. Christianity was so influential that it was able to transform pagan practices drastically, even enough to change the pre-Christian decorative vocabulary of the Sutton Hoo treasure that was created to honor a pagan god into a treasure that honored
Christian missionaries to Britain in the early centuries took many words belonging to heathen beliefs and practices and adopted them into the church (Blackburn 3). For example, Hel was at one time the goddess of the world of the dead; Catholic missionaries used Hell to indicate the place of the dead, later of the damned. Likewise with words such as Yule, Easter, God, haelend, nergend, drihten, metod, frea; the latter ones have fallen from usage. We see these words used in Beowulf as well as other Anglo-Saxon poetry.
The Christian influences in Beowulf ultimately came from the Christian/Catholic Church of Rome which converted Romans, and thereby the Roman legions and thereby the occupied provinces. Also the Christian/Catholic Bishop of Rome sent missionary priests and monks to the British Isles to proselytze the population. There are additional considerations too.
When the Vikings first attacked England many of the Anglo-Saxons viewed them as people who don’t claim a religion. The thought of the Vikings not claiming a religion horrified the people of England because of many reasons. The main reason was because the Vikings didn’t worship the same God as the people of England and the Vikings also didn’t have any respect to the symbols that connected the people of England together (Gunnell 351). Another reason is that the Vikings had been trying to teach a different view of the world to the English people; which furiated the church because the church had been trying to throws out these beliefs. This view of the world seemed to anger the English people because these beliefs wasn’t written down in a book, it was always told orally which meant
Before England was the superpower it is known to be today, it was a small country inhabited by many groups of people over time. First to England came the Celts, then the Romans, and then the Anglo Saxons. The Anglo Saxon’s traveled to England from the northern countries of Germany Norway and Sweden. When they arrived, they brought their gods with them. The Anglo Saxon’s religion consisted of multiple gods and goddesses and their own view of Heaven and what it would be like. The Anglo Saxon’s also loved poetry, and they used it to keep track of the history of their people. Beowulf is an epic poem that was past down by the Anglo Saxons from generation to generation. The poem is infused with multiple elements of their pagan religion. However, when they immigrated to England and began to tell the tale of Beowulf, the local inhabitants began to listen and put their twist on it. Douglas Wilson states:
The Roman conquest of England in 43 AD, coinciding with the introduction of Christian values, the alphabet and writing utensils was the start of a new Era. Missionaries sent by the Roman Pope to England influenced the pagan values of the native Britanie, as exemplified in their literature. Anglo-Saxons, whom contributed the features of a literary Epic, were torn between pagan beliefs and Christian values as their predecessors had been. The first literary Epic, Beowulf, illustrates the struggle between these two ideologies, as well as contributes the sought after values of heroism. The Eaters of the Dead also demonstrates this struggle between cultures, playing off Beowulf in theme. Excalibur, the Arthurian Legend, depicts the final battle between Christian and pagan belief, Christianity winning out in the end. Epics such as these express their values through heroic acts and support William Shakespeare's quote; "Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them."
During the turn of the 5th century, the British Isles were under control of a strong and powerful group of people, called the Anglo-Saxons. These individuals worshipped under a Pagan religion that shaped their society in many ways. During the time period when the story was written, it is believed to have followed strict Paganism beliefs. Throughout the time the story has been told, Christian monks have rewritten it, changing it around to follow a Christian belief system. Even with these changes and rewrites, the core essence of the Anglo-Saxon beliefs remain in the story. Within the epic poem of Beowulf, readers can clearly see the traditions of Anglo-Saxon culture and the Pagan religion, including importance of reputation, concept of fate,
In 432 Celtic Ireland was converted to Christianity by Patricius. Patricius, a Romanized Briton became a bishop and gradually started converting people to Christianity. It was when the rest of Europe sank into constant warfare confusion, and ignorance that Ireland experienced a Golden Age. In Ireland Christianity was said to have, "burned and gleamed through the darkness", in the words of Winston Churchill. If it hadn't been for the Irish missionaries that converted the Anglo-Saxon kings and the constant reemergence of Christianity in Britain, even king Alfred might have failed to unify the Anglo-Saxons . The Anglo-Saxons fought hard under Christianity and Alfred to protect their people, their culture, and their church from the Danes. Eventually Christianity took over and the old warrior religion was forgotten.
They were invading Western Europe and promoting their pagan faiths. He knew that the pagan Slavic army was more powerful than his army. St.Henry II had his army pray and receive communion before battle. When the pagan Slavic army began to fight, they saw an angel and three martyrs approach them. This scared the pagan Slavic army and they retreated. The Slavs submitted to St. Henry’s rule and became part of the Holy Empire.
The next step in the progression seems to be Beowulf, drawing from mythologies and various pagan sources but still containing a strong Christian backing. Though this work was merely twenty years after the pious Catholic works aforementioned, it seems to be a noticeable step toward English paganism.
The Christian religious groups had a major influential role in the British colonies around the time of 1600 and 1776. They attempted to start the religion through the government and the town rules. They would make laws that would make everyone attend a house of worship and pay taxes that funded the salaries of ministers, eight of the thirteen British colonies of established churches and practices a different version of a non-Christian faith. The religion inspired both good and bad with many religious leaders. Many of the outpourings from this period are either supported or not supported at all by the enlightenment.
Wilson, Douglas. "The Anglo-Saxon Evangel." Touchstone: A Journal Of Mere Christianity20.6 (2007): 30-34. Academic Search Complete. Web. 5 Mar. 2012.
The Canterbury Cathedral was built first in 597AD by St. Augustine. He was sent from Rome as a missionary to introduce the bible in England where his mission was complete when he baptized the local Saxon king, Ethelbert into Christianity. By 602AD St. Augustine was then given a seat as the first Archbishop of a Church at Canterbury which had been a place of worship during Roman occupation of Brittan rehallowed by the missionary saint. This was a momentous event in the timeline of the Canterbury Cathedral as the Archbishop was the most senior religious figure in the land and was based at the Cathedral, giving a huge significance at both a religious and political level in medieval times; it became a place of peace and power.2
Christianity started in Israel, and spread westward into Europe. If it hadn’t have spread westward, there is a good chance that the population of the world that is Christian today, would be much smaller. When the pope was trying to promote Christianity, he realized that in order to get more people's attention, he would have to adopt things from other religions. Such as specific practices, that persuaded some of the pagans to convert to christianity. One specific practice that he adopted was holidays such as easter and christmas. Of course the Pagans already celebrated these things, but for different reasons. In christianity, before the purpose of the holidays were extended into what they are now,, the only reason for the holidays was to celebrate
Before the year 596, almost everybody had strong pagan beliefs. In 596 missionaries had begun to attempt to convert the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity. By the year 650, almost all of England had converted to Christianity- at least in name. Although almost everyone claimed to be strong believers in Christ and the church, most still held on to their pagan beliefs and traditions. No matter what they believed, everyone applied their religious beliefs to their everyday life. (Chin et al. Glencoe Literature, p.35).
Religion plays a very large role in Beowulf whether it be Christianity or the warrior-centered pagan beliefs of the Anglo-Saxons. Anglo-Saxon Britain remained pagan until 1597, also the early Anglo-Saxons worshiped ancient Germanic gods- these guys were abandoned with the spread of Christianity. To name a few gods, there was Woden, the chief God, Fria was the goddess of the home and Waldens wife, and Tiu was the god of war. England's name came from Engla-land, which is old English for "land of the angles", who were a Germanic tribe.