2. Conversion of the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity.

The conversion of the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity began at the end of the 6th century (597) and was completed, in the main, in the second half of the 7th century. Before this the Angles, Saxons and Jutes had been pagans, that is, they believed in many gods. They worshipped the sun and the moon, the sea, springs and trees, and other pagan gods. One of their gods was Tu, or Tuesco—the god of Darkness. Another was Woden—the great god of War. The red-bearded Thor was the god of Thunder. The Anglo-Saxons thought they heard his magic hammer in the thunderclap. Freya was the goddess of Peace and Plenty. The Anglo-Saxons named the days of the week after their gods. Thus Sunday meant the Sun's day, Monday—the Moon's day, Tuesday—the day of the god Tuesco; Wednesday was Woden's day, Thursday was Thor's day and Friday—Freya's day; Saturday was named after Saturn, a Roman God.

Paganism had developed among the Anglo-Saxons when they lived under the primitive system and it reflected the life of the tribal society where all men were equal and where there was no oppression of man by man.

In 597 the Roman Pope sent about forty monks to Britain to convert the Anglo-Saxons. The monks landed in Kent and it became the first Anglo-Saxon kingdom to be converted. The first church was built in the town of Canterbury, the capital of Kent that is why the Archbishop of Canterbury is now Head of the Church of England. The Christianity spread among the Anglo-Saxons of the other kingdoms.

It was the Anglo-Saxon kings and nobles who accepted Christianity first. Then they began to convert the rank-and-file to the new faith. But they did not meet with great success. The people were attached to their old gods and after a short time they went back to their old religion. Moreover, the old religion meant freedom for the peasants, while the new one justified the power of the big landowners over them, that is why they resisted their conversion into Christianity stubbornly. It took about a century to compel all the Anglo-Saxons to accept the new faith.

The spread of Christianity brought about important changes in the life of the Anglo-Saxons. Many new churches and monasteries were built all over the country. The kings and nobles granted much land to the bishops and monasteries, and that promoted the growth of the big landed estates. The kings also granted them the right to collect dues from the population and to administer justice on their estates. Thus alongside with the lay landlords the churchmen became great landowners too.

Besides, the spread of Christianity was of great importance for the growth of culture in Britain. The Roman monks who were converting the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity helped to spread Roman culture in the country again. The Roman monks brought many books to Britain. Most of them were religious books and they were all written in Latin and Greek. The church services were also conducted in Latin.

Glossary

The Saxons, Jutes, Angles, – the Germanic tribes that invaded Britain.

Kent, Sussex, Essex, Wessex, Mercia, East Anglia, Northumbria – seven Anglo- Saxon kingdoms.

Arable farming – work on the ploughed land.

Natural economy – the mode of life when people produce most of what they want.

Moot – a meeting of free people who settled the problems of community.

Arthur – is the most famous of all the inhabitants of medieval Britain. His name is connected with the period of invasion of Germanic tribes, when a large part of the native population was driven from the land and retreated to the west, into the present Wales or Cornwall, or north into Scotland. In these parts of Britain the Celtic population has kept alive its own traditions and culture. Some of the Celts sailed south from Cornwall to settle in the northwest corner of France - Brittany, a name that was another version of Britain. Another significant link between these two Celtic areas is in the legends and archaeological remains telling about King Arthur and his knights, fictional heroes of the Celtic resistance against the Anglo-Saxon advance, legends, which have remained parts of the folklore both of Britain and Brittany.