TheGermanic peoples underwent gradualChristianisation in the course oflate antiquity and theEarly Middle Ages. By AD 700England andFrancia were officially Christian, and by 1100Germanic paganism had ceased to exert political influence inScandinavia.
Germanic peoples began entering the Roman Empire in large numbers at the same time thatChristianity was spreading there.[1] The connection of Christianity to the Roman Empire was both a factor in encouraging conversion as well as, at times, a motive for persecuting Christians.[2] Untilthe fall of theWestern Roman Empire, theGermanic tribes who had migrated there (with the exceptions of theSaxons,Franks andLombards, see below) had converted to Christianity.[3] Many of them, notably theGoths andVandals, adoptedArianism instead of theTrinitarian (a.k.a.Nicene ororthodox) beliefs that weredogmatically defined by thechurch in theNicene Creed.[3] The gradual rise of Germanic Christianity was, at times, voluntary, particularly among groups associated with the Roman Empire. From the 6th century,Germanic tribes were converted (or re-converted from Arianism) bymissionaries of the Catholic Church.[4][5]
Many Goths converted to Christianity as individuals outside the Roman Empire. Most members of other tribes converted to Christianity when their respective tribes settled within the Empire, and most Franks and Anglo-Saxons converted a few generations later. During the centuries following the fall of Rome, as theEast–West Schism between thedioceses loyal to thePope of Rome in theWest and those loyal to the otherPatriarchs in theEast grew, most of the Germanic peoples (excepting theCrimean Goths and a few other eastern groups) would gradually become strongly allied with the Catholic Church in the West, particularly as a result of the reign ofCharlemagne.
Most of the East Germanic peoples, such as the Goths,Gepids and Vandals, along with theLangobards and theSuevi in Spain converted toArian Christianity,[6] a form of Christianity that rejected the divinity of Christ.[7] The first Germanic people to convert to Arianism were the Visigoths, at the latest in 376 when they entered the Roman Empire. This followed a longer period of missionary work by bothOrthodox Christians and Arians, such as the ArianWulfila, who was made missionary bishop of the Goths in 341 and translated theBible into Gothic.[8] Initially, Gothic Christians had also faced some persecution under the Gothic KingAthanaric, from 363 to 372. TheVandals appear to have converted following their entry into the Empire in 405; for other east Germanic peoples it is possible that Visigothic missionaries played a role in their conversion, although this is unclear.[9] Each Germanic people in the Arian faith had their own ecclesiastical organisation that was controlled by the king, while theliturgy was performed in the Germanic vernacular and a vernacular bible (probably Wulfila's) was used.[7] The Arian Germanic peoples all eventually converted to Nicene Christianity, which had become the dominant form of Christianity within the Roman Empire; the last to convert were the Visigoths in Spain underReccared I in 587.[10]
There is little evidence for any Roman missionary activity inGermania prior to the conversion of theFranks.[11] The areas of the Roman Empire conquered by the Franks,Alemanni andBaiuvarii were mostly Christian already, and while some bishoprics continued to operate, others were abandoned, showing a reduction in the influence of Christianity in these areas.[12] In 496 the Frankish kingClovis I converted toNicene Christianity. This began a period ofmissionary work within Frankish territory and the re-establishment of church provinces that had been abandoned within former Roman territory.[13] TheAnglo-Saxons gradually converted following a mission sent by PopeGregory the Great in 595.[14] In the 7th century theHiberno-Scottish mission resulted in the establishment of many monasteries in Frankish territory. At the same time, Frankish-supported missionary activity spread across the Rhine, led by figures of theAnglo-Saxon mission such asSaint Boniface. This affected peoples such as theThuringians, Alemanni, Bavarians,Frisians andSaxons.[15]
The Saxons rejected Christianisation, likely in part because doing so would have involved giving up their independence and becoming part of the Frankish realm.[16] They were eventually forcibly converted byCharlemagne as a result of their conquest in theSaxon Wars in 776/777: Charlemagne thereby combined religious conversion with political loyalty to his empire.[17] Continued resistance to conversion seems to have played a role in Saxon rebellions between 782 and 785, then again from 792 to 804, and during theStellinga rebellion in 844.[18]
TheAnglo-Saxons gradually converted following theGregorian mission sent byPope Gregory I in 595,[14] as well as theHiberno-Scottish mission from the north-west.Pope Gregory I sent the firstArchbishop of Canterbury,Augustine of Canterbury, to southern England in 597. The process of conversion usually proceeded from the top of the social hierarchy downwards, generally peacefully, with a local ruler choosing to convert, whereupon his subjects then also nominally became Christian. This process was often only partial, perhaps due to confusion as to the nature of the new religion, or for a desire to take the best of both traditions. A famous case of this was kingRædwald of East Anglia ofEast Anglia, who had a Christian altar erected within his pagan temple. Hissuspected burial place at Sutton Hoo shows definite influences of both Christian and pagan burial rites.
The last pagan Anglo-Saxon king, theJutish kingArwald of theIsle of Wight, was killed in battle in 686 fighting against the imposition of Christianity in his kingdom.
During the prolonged period of Viking incursions and settlement of Anglo-Saxon England pagan ideas and religious rites made something of a comeback, mainly in theDanelaw during the 9th century and particularly in theKingdom of Northumbria, whose last king to rule it as an independent state wasEric Bloodaxe, a Viking, probably pagan and ruler until 954.
Attempts to Christianise Scandinavia were first systematically undertaken by Frankish EmperorLouis the Pious. In 831 he made the missionaryAnsgar archbishop of the newly createdArchdiocese of Hamburg-Bremen to undertake a mission to Scandinavia, which, however, mostly failed. Missionary activity resumed under theOttonian dynasty. The Danish kingHarald Bluetooth was baptised in the late 900s, but most Danes appear to have remained pagan and converted later under English influence during the reign ofCanute the Great.[19] Norway was converted mostly by the activity of its kings. Despite resistance such as the rule of the paganHaakon Sigurdsson, Christianisation was largely achieved by Olaf II of Norway (died 1030), later venerated asSaint Olaf, who had converted in England.[19] Thesettlement of Iceland included some Christians, but full conversion there did not occur until a decision of theAlthing in 1000.[20] The last Germanic people to convert were the Swedes, although theGeats had converted earlier. The paganTemple at Uppsala seems to have continued to exist into the early 1100s.[21]
The baptism of Clovis highlights two important characteristics of theChristianisation of Europe. Clovis I's wifeClotilde was aChalcedonian Christian and had an important role in the conversion of her husband.[22] Long before his own baptism, Clovis had allowed his sons to be baptised.[23] However, the decisive reason for Clovis to adopt the Christian faith was the belief that he received spiritual battle aid from Christ.[24][25] In theBattle of Tolbiac he prayed to Christ for victory. Clovis was victorious, and afterward he had himself instructed in the Christian faith bySaint Remigius.[26]
That a pagan like Clovis could ask Christ for help shows the adaptability ofGermanic polytheism. In thepolytheistic Germanic tradition, "ifOdin failed, one absolutely could try it with Christ for once."[23] The Christian sense ofreligious exclusivism was unknown to the pagans. As a result, pagans could be pragmatic and almost utilitarian in their religious decisions. A good example for this are severalThor's Hammers with engraved crosses, worn asamulets, that archaeologists have found in Scandinavia.[27] Another exemplary event happened duringAnsgar's second stay inBirka, when a pagan priest demanded from the locals that they not participate in the cult of the foreign Christian God. If they did not have enough gods yet, they should elevate one of their deceased kings,Erik, to be a god.[28]
The baptism of Clovis I also highlights thesacral role of the Germanic king. A Germanic king was not only apolitical ruler, but also held the highest religious office for his people.[29] He was seen as ofdivine descent, was the leader of thereligious cult and was responsible for the fertility of the land and military victory. Accordingly, the conversion of their leader had a strong impact on his people. If he considered it appropriate to adopt the Christian belief, this also was a good idea for them.
Conversion of the Germanic tribes in general took place "top to bottom" (Fletcher 1999:236), in the sense that missionaries aimed at converting the Germanic nobility first, who would then impose their new faith on the general population. This is attributable to the sacral position of theking inGermanic paganism: The king is charged with interacting with the divine on behalf of his people, so that the general population saw nothing wrong with their kings choosing alternate modes of worship (Padberg 1998:29; though Fletcher 1999:238 would rather attribute the motivation for conversion to the workings of loyalty-for-reward ethics that underpinned the relationship between a king and his retinue). Consequently, Christianity had to be made palatable to theseMigration Agewarlords as a heroic religion of conquerors, a rather straightforward task, considering the military splendour of theRoman Empire.
Thus early Germanic Christianity was presented as an alternative to nativeGermanic paganism and elements weresyncretised, for examples parallels betweenWoden and Christ. A fine illustration of these tendencies is theAnglo-Saxon poemDream of the Rood, where Jesus is cast in the heroic model of a Germanic warrior, who faces his death unflinchingly and even eagerly. TheCross, speaking as if it were a member of Christ's band of retainers, accepts its fate as it watches its Creator die, and then explains that Christ's death was not a defeat but a victory. This is in direct correspondence to the Germanic pagan ideals offealty to one's lord.
Christian missionaries to Germanic peoples:
to the Goths
to the Lombards
to the Alamanni
to the Anglo-Saxons (seeAnglo-Saxon Christianity)
to the Frankish Empire (seeHiberno-Scottish,Anglo-Saxon mission)
to the Bavarians
to Scandinavia
