To what extent were the British Isles converted in the sixth and seventh centuries?

Christianity was a revolutionary form of human religious belief and organisation.  As it spread through the Western world, it rarely followed a linear path.  This was also the case across the British Isles.  I will argue the extent of conversion increased as time moved on, yet I will begin this essay by assessing what Christianity actually meant during this period, as it is important to realise the various ways in which people were practising the religion.  I then argue the aristocrats were converted to a very large extent by the end of the seventh century, although I am pessimistic as to their reasons for conversion, as Christianity provided them with a convenient political tool.  Similarly, I also argue conversion amongst the peasantry increased throughout the century, yet they were confused and not well enough educated to appreciate or adhere to the new religion.  But overwhelmingly, as time progressed Church structures and legislation sprung up, which I believe is the most indicative tool in demonstrating the extent of conversion, as without a significant Christian population, I do not believe the Church would have intensified to such an extent.

It is important to highlight what Christianity meant at this time, as once a description is established, it can be used to appreciate that there was no one way in which everyone was worshipping.  Still a relatively new faith and plagued by schism across Europe, Christianity in the British Isles was far from coherent and had a “placebound” character of many beliefs.  Having both Roman and Celtic influences, it varied from region to region.  No one locality practiced the same, but a belief in God, his divinity and the ascension to heaven was absolute, and was at the core of all teachings.  Nevertheless, the lack of coherence is a point worth stressing, as Christian and pagan festivals and practices became interwoven, as pagan Gods were renamed as Christian saints, and pagan festivals were given a Christian title, for example the Irish Celtic goddess Brigid was Christianised, becoming St. Brigid, and continued to be venerated on her feast day.  Christian religion was of a kind that matched paganism in so many structural respects that it provided an entirely satisfactory substitute for it, and as Carl Watkins highlights, instead of ‘seeking to label each facet of a ritual as “Christian” or “pagan,” we should study it as an organic whole in order to get some sense of its function and how it was understood by members of the community’.  Therefore, the key in approaching this essay is to remember that there was no one form of Christianity, nor was there one set of rules which the people of the British Isles were abiding by.

The aristocracy were converted to a large extent by the end of the seventh century.  By 700, all the major kings across the Isles were Christian, with the last remaining pagan king, Arwald of the Isle of Wight, converting in 686.  This was not a smooth process however, as the first Anglo-Saxon kings of Kent, East Anglia and Essex to convert to Christianity were all succeeded by pagan sons, highlighting that the rate of conversion was staggered, as the heptarchy initially struggled to retain a consistent Christian dynasty.  The rate of conversion however was aided by marriage, in which pagan Kings married Christian wives and vice versa, for example AEthelberht of Kent married the Christian Frank, Bertha.  Thus this type of intermarriage would have produced Christian heirs who would carry forth the faith.  I am sceptical however of the true belief in God, rather conversion to Christianity was a convenient political tool, as aristocrats converted in order to appease their overlord or secure alliances, for example Rhydderch Hael of Strathclyde is believed to have converted to Christianity to secure an alliance with Clydno Eiddin in order to fight against Rhun Hir ap Maelgwn.    Moreover, a contemporary letter by Bishop Daniel of Winchester stressed the association of Christianity with the most successful people of the known world.  Therefore this suggests those in power were willing to convert as they believed they would become more prosperous.  Furthermore, across the century there was a rapid increase in monasteries across the Isles.  The money used to facilitate this was coming from noble families, such as Peada of Mercia who helped found a monastery near modern day Peterborough, which the Anglo Saxon Chronicle described as, ‘[he] wished to establish a minster in praise of Christ…and they did so, and gave it the name Medeshamstede'.  This shows that conversion amongst the nobility was strong enough to the extent to propel forward the rise of monastic institutions.  Therefore, I argue that although the aristocracy were indeed converted to a large extent by the end of the century, I do not believe this always reflected the true religious sentiments of the individuals concerned, rather it was later generations who were the true believers in Christ, as they grew up knowing no other religion.  

I argue that although the peasantry were converting to an increasingly large extent, they were confused or unaware of changes to their religion.  As previously mentioned, Christianity had a habit of hijacking pagan events and branding them as their own.  Moreover, as Kelly Taylor writes, Christian saints provided ample substitutions to pagan Gods and worship, for ‘as long as the people of Ireland were able to pray to the Mother figure…they did not care about the religious trappings of the rest of the religion.  Therefore I argue that although pagan rituals were on the decline amongst the peasantry, without the right education, the peasants were not truly converted to the new faith, rather they were using new words for old customs.  There is evidence to suggest that they were indeed a confused group of people.  The best example of this is the grave Sceattas discovered by Christopher Scull and John Naylor at Clifford street in Southampton, which ‘combined traditional apotropaic and explicitly Christian imagery.  The merging of the two images reflects the lack of coherence in the region itself, and also provides a wonderful insight to the confused mentality of the peasants, who, lacking in the same educational resources as their aristocratic counterparts, remain unaware of the major teachings of Christ.  Peter Lutz described ‘top to bottom conversion’ in which missionaries targeted aristocrats before they targeted peasants, thus it can be inferred that resources ran low when educating peasants, therefore explaining the lack of sincere conversion.  Although Irish monasteries served as a reliable place for seeking education across the Isles, the spread of Church teaching was done by making ‘written culture’ accessible to the peasants through recitation and preaching, in what D. H. Green calls “diagonal channels of communication”.  Simon Newman described this as ‘meagre’ however, emphasising peasants would not be able to leave their livelihood for such religious pursuits, nor did they care enough to make such an educational pilgrimage.  Some argue the peasantry took on the new religion stubbornly, but as there was no forced conversion to Christianity in Britain unlike Charlemagne and the conversion of the Saxons, it suggests peasants were converting in spite of their pagan inclinations in order to take advantage of the injunction in the Anglo Saxon Law Codes which was laid upon those in power to 'protect the poor and weak’.  Perhaps this is why Bede ended his Ecclesiastical History bemoaning the laziness of the Anglo-Saxons who he saw as half-hearted Christians still holding onto pagan practices.  Therefore, although there is indeed evidence of peasant conversion, I do not believe the peasants themselves were ardent believers until later decades, as memories of paganism became increasingly distant.

Moreover, one of the best ways in which to assess the true extent of conversion is to look at the Church’s structural and legislative progress throughout the period, as without a greatly converted population, I believe there would be neither demand nor possibility for these initiatives to go ahead.  Most notably, between the sixth and seventh centuries, 17 new diocese were created, from Canterbury to Lindisfarne.  As the new diocese were very spread out across the heptarchy, it is reflective of a nationwide demand, thus demonstrating the extent of conversion.   Also, the Church was a multitude of ecclesiastic establishments in the form of small monasteries, anchorites’ settlements and family rural grounds, all of which helped the Church make its impact on the general population. Furthermore, new legislation was being written in which the religious majority of the population was reflected, and a more firm basis was founded for the Church to conduct itself.  For example, the first six pronouncements of the Anglo Saxon Law Codes solely outline sanctions against molesting the property of the Christian church.  Similarly, the Synod of Whitby was an act which brought both the Celtic and Roman strands of Christianity under the same ruling.  The Synod established the date for Easter, a custom we still follow today.  The wide range of those who attended represent the geographical extent of conversion across the Isles, attendance being noted from Irish monks from Iona, to King Oswiu of Northumbria.  The Synod also shows a move towards providing a greater coherence to the religion, moving it away from its jumbled and inconsistent state.  Therefore, because the Church was expanding and cementing legislation I believe conversion across the British Isles was at a great extent. Although Bede highlighted that an organised and disciplined parish life which would regulate the beliefs and behaviour of the British people was still to mature, I believe the great increase in structures between the sixth and seventh centuries should not be underplayed.  My aforementioned reservations about the sincerity of conversion remain, yet on paper Christianity was certainly gaining in strength and numbers over the century.

Overall, the British Isles became increasingly converted as the century progressed, and we should regard religion at this time as variable and forming not a series of cultural compartments, but a spectrum.  The aristocracy’s path was rocky, but by the mid 650s, was comfortably Christianised.  The peasantry however appeared to be Christianised, but I argue that the evidence is confused, which is reflective of the peasants themselves, and the rebranding of pagan festivals makes me sceptical as to their true religious orientation.  Nevertheless, by the end of the seventh century, the legislation and structures which were being put in place by the Church reflect a largely converted society, as ultimately I argue these initiatives would not have been started without the demand of a significantly Christianised population.  Although I am always pessimistic about the motives behind conversion, I am confident in saying that by the end of the seventh century the people of the British Isles were increasingly Christian, not just outwardly, but sincerely, as memories of paganism became more distant and faded.