PAGANISM VS CHRISTIANITY

ANGLO–SAXONS

BY IOANA STANESCU
ANGLO–SAXONS
 In Roman Britain many people had been Christians. But the early Anglo-Saxons were not Christians, they were pagans.
 After the Romans left, Christianity continued in places where Anglo-Saxons did not settle, like Wales and the west. However,
when the Anglo-Saxons came to Britain they brought their own gods and beliefs with them.

Over time their beliefs changed and many Anglo-Saxons were

converted to Christianity.
EARLY BELIEFS

 Anglo-Saxon paganism, or as it has

also been known, Anglo-Saxon
heathenism, refers to the religious
beliefs and practices followed by
the Anglo-Saxons between the fifth
and eighth centuries CE, during the
initial period of Early
Medieval England.
 Developing from the earlier Iron Age
religion of continental northern
Europe, it was introduced to Britain
following the Anglo-Saxon migration
in the mid fifth century, and remained

the dominant religion in England until the Christianization of its kingdoms between the seventh and eighth
centuries, with some aspects gradually blending into English folklore.
 WODENISM
 As with most religions designated as being pagan by later Christian writers, it was a polytheistic belief system, focused around the
worship of deities known as the ése (singular ós). The most prominent of these deities may have been Woden, for which reason the
religion has also been called WODENISM, although other prominent gods included Thunor and Tiw. Pagan beliefs also

influenced funerary practices,

where the dead were either
inhumed or cremated,
typically with a selection of
grave goods. These religious
beliefs also had a bearing on
the structure of Anglo-Saxon
society, which was
hierarchical, with kings often
claiming a direct ancestral
lineage from a god,
particularly Woden.
 ANGLO–SAXON PANTHEON AND ITS LEGACY
 As far as we know, Anglo-Saxon pagans did not rely on written texts. Those writings that do describe pagan customs in the early
Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were written by composed by churchmen, such as BEDE (died 735). Bede’s descriptions of temples, priests
and the various pagan gods seem to be based on Greco-Roman mythology, rather than first-hand experience of Anglo–Saxon
paganism.
 ANGLO–SAXON PANTHEON
Perhaps the most prominent female deity
in Anglo-Saxon paganism was FRIGE,
however there is still very little evidence
for her worship, although it has been
speculated that she was "a goddess of
love or festivity".

The second most widespread

deity from Anglo-Saxon
England appears to be the
god THUNOR, who was a
The most popular god appears to have god of the sky and thunder and
been WODEN, as "traces of who was "a friend of the
his cult are scattered more widely over common man"
the rolling English countryside than
those of any other heathen deity"
ANGLO–SAXON PANTHEON

HEL was the goddess of

death, Queen of the
Underworld

was the god of

immortality A third Anglo-Saxon god that
we know about was TIW, who,
in the Anglo-Saxon rune
poem TIR is identified with the
WADE was the god of the sea star Polaris rather than with a
deity, although it has been
suggested that Tiw was likely a
war deity.

LOKI was the god of cunning

 FESTIVALS
 Everything that we know about the religious festivals of the pagan Anglo-Saxons comes from a book written by the Christian
monk, the Venerable Bede, entitled De Temporum Ratione, meaning The Reckoning of Time, in which he described the
calendar of the year. The pagan Anglo-Saxons followed a calendar with twelve lunar months, with the occasional year having
thirteen months so that the lunar and solar alignment could be corrected.

Then, in Eostur-monath
Aprilis (April), a spring festival was
Bede claimed that the greatest pagan
celebrated, dedicated to
festival
the goddess Eostre, and the
was Modraniht (meaning Mother
later Christian festival of Easter took
Night), which was situated at the Winter
its name from this month and its
Solstice, which marked the start of the
Following this festival, in the month goddess.
Anglo-Saxon year.
of Solmonað (February), Bede claims
that the pagans offered cakes to
their deities.
 The month of November was known as Blod-
 The month of September was known Monath, meaning Blood Month, and was
as Halegmonath, meaning Holy Month, commemorated with animal sacrifice, both in
which may indicate that it had special offering to the gods, and also likely to gather a
religious significance. source of food to be stored over the winter.
 SACRIFICE
The pagan Anglo-Saxons performed animal sacrifice in honour of the gods. It appears that they emphasised the killing
of oxen over other species, as suggested by both written and archaeological evidence. Sacrifice itself was not only found
in Anglo-Saxon paganism, but was also common in other Germanic pagan religions, for instance the Norse practised a
blood sacrifice known as Blót. The Christian monk Bede records that November (Old English Blótmónaþ "the month of
sacrifice") was particularly associated with sacrificial practices:

“This month is called

Novembris in Latin, and in
our language the month of
sacrifice, because our
forefathers, when they
were heathens, always
sacrificed in this month, that
is, that they took and devoted
to their idols the cattle which
they wished to offer”
 MYTHOLOGICAL CREATURES

The WHITE DRAGON flag

The ANGLO–SAXONS
believed that it was
a DRAGON’S task to seek
out such treasure and
guard it fiercely and
personification of
ELVES  were viewed as malevolent beings who “DEATH THE
could bring harm to humans. It states that DEVOURER”.
various forms of sickness, such as rheumatism,
could be induced by "elfshot" - arrows fired by
elves.

 There was also a belief in a variety of other supernatural entities who inhabited the
landscape, including elves, nicors and dragons.
MYTHOLOGICAL CREATURES
DWEORGAR( or
dwarfs)are usually
described as ugly, often
bad tempered and
occasionally evil. 

NICORS –
are shapeshifting water spirits
in Germanic
mythology and folklore who
usually appeared in the form of
other creatures.
 MYTHOLOGICAL CREATURES
 GRENDEL is a fictional character, a monstrous creature defeated by Beowulf in the Old English
poem Beowulf (composed between 700 and 750 CE). Descended from the biblical Cain, Grendel is
an outcast, doomed to wander the face of the earth. He revenges himself upon humans by
terrorizing and occasionally devouring the warriors of the Danish king Hrothgar.

Grendel’s mother avenging her

son’s death

Many critics have seen Grendel as the embodiment of the physical and moral evil of
heathenism. Beowulf’s struggles to overcome the monster are thought to symbolize
Anglo-Saxon England’s emerging Christianity.
THE CONVERSION TO CHRISTIANITY
Christianity was introduced to Britain during the Roman period. The first Briton to be considered a saint was Alban, a
Roman soldier who was martyred around 303. After the eclipse of Roman rule, English-speaking pagans came to dominate
southern and eastern Britain, but communities of Romano-British Christians survived, especially in the West. The rulers of
the Anglo-Saxons began to be converted to Christianity from the end of the sixth century. Pope Gregory I (590–604) sent a
group of missionaries to the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, led by Augustine, who became the first archbishop of Canterbury.
They arrived in Kent in 597 and converted King Æthelberht (died 616) and his court.
 THE CONVERSION TO CHRISTIANITY
The Anglo-Saxons were attracted to The conversion of the Anglo-Saxons to
Christianity for a variety of reasons. It is Christianity was not straightforward. After
perhaps no coincidence that some began some Christian rulers died, they were
converting to Christianity at the time replaced by pagans. Some leaders adopted
when larger kingdoms began to be formed. certain Christian customs while retaining
Christianity brought with it access to writing pagan practices. According to Bede, the
technologies such as the Latin alphabet we still seventh-century King Rædwald of East
use today and the Latin language itself. Kings Anglia had a temple which contained both a
used these writing systems to create Christian altar and a pagan idol.
written law codes, and charters to transfer
rights and property.

The conversion was also influenced by

political connections. Æthelberht was
married to Bertha, a Christian princess
from the area around Paris, and there were
many cultural, social and political
exchanges between the Anglo-Saxon
kingdoms and Christians in Ireland.
ANGLO–SAXONS CHRISTIANIZED
 During the Anglo-Saxon period, parts of the Bible were translated into English. Bede was said to have been
translating the Gospel of John into English on his deathbed. The psalms were translated in the ninth century, as seen
in the Vespasian Psalter, while the four Gospels and the first books of the Old Testament were translated and
repeatedly copied at the end of the 10th century. The reformers emphasised the need to preach to the people and to
reform society as a whole.
CONCLUSION
 In the end, the Anglo-Saxons might had chosen Christianity to believe in, but they didn’t turn their
backs on their early beliefs and because of that, their legacy lives on .