Christian Missionary Efforts a Thousand Years Later

A thousand years after its start, Christendom continued to expand. While, the Western Europe was generally secured by the religion, Eastern Europe was still primarily pagan and fairly tribal. The Bohemians, Wends, Pomeranians, Hungarians and Poles began forming kingdoms with rulers, similar to the transformation occurring with the Franks and Germans before them. As is the case with previous instances, Christian evangelism was used as a tool to further the reach of Western Europe.

In their missionary efforts, Christians came into a foreign territory and delicately attempted to take over the religious offices of the area. However, this domination was not always successful. In the case of the Wendish conversion, violence erupted as Christians were driven out of the area. Bohemian conversion was a smoother process, as they approached the German king directly. The Bohemians exchanged military protection from the Germans for their baptism. Through the Bohemian conversion, the Germans were able to further reach into Poland through marriage. Bohemian king, Boleslas, married off his daughter, Dobrava, to the Polish prince, Miezko. When she moved to Poland, Dobrava took many of her priests and books with her, serving an evangelical purpose as well. She proved successful, as Miezko was baptized two years later. A defined connection to Christendom arose when Otto III visited Poland, demonstrating a symbolic alliance. The eastward advance took a blow as the bishop of Prague, Adalbert, pressed on towards Prussia, where he was executed. However, the story of his martyrdom spread through Christendom, strengthening the religion. In Hungary, the king married into the Ottonian dynasty through the sister of a Bavarian king. As is typical, he converted to his wife’s religion, Christianity, and began passing Christian laws, which included instructions to plant churches all over Hungary. The Pomeranians christianized after their leader submitted to Christianity and went forth spreading religious knowledge. Still, the Wends continued to put up a fight until the twelfth century. While they successfully built a cohesive national pagan religion, it would also be their downfall. By the time of their conversion, all surrounding land was Christian, which left the Wends isolated, allowing for a successful Saxon crusade upon these people.

In a fashion similar to the first wave of conversion involving the Germanic tribes, the remaining pagan tribes were taken into Christendom. Through marriages, crusades and missionary efforts, Christianity was able to expand further through Europe. The first wave of conversion with the Germanic tribes was not the only effort necessary to take people from “paganism to Christianity.”

The Conversion of the Vikings

The Viking conversions of the eighth and ninth centuries differed greatly from the Germanic ones, which occurred a few centuries earlier. While Christianity previously was considered a political move, the Scandinavian conversion was the result of assimilation of their conquered lands. Rather than part of a greater strategy, they simply took the religion into their culture in the same manner in which they took a new possession’s customs.

While the Norse are arguably most well-known for their pillaging, the act is only a contributing factor in their conversion. The Vikings displayed intelligence in their attacks on  religious buildings, as these held great amounts of treasure.  However, “the Vikings came to trade as well as to raid” (371). The Norse did not destroy all they conquered, as is the stereotype. Through trade, these Scandinavians built communication, which assisted in their cultural absorption.  As a general rule, the Vikings tended to assimilate with the people they conquered rather than attempt to impose their own customs. Between maintaining communications with the Christians and ransacking Christian buildings, the next natural occurrence was conversion, particularly in the case of those who traveled to these taken areas.

In addition to making plenty of contact with Christianity, the Vikings were also open to accepting the Christian God alongside their pagan deities. “In Denmark and Sweden little soapstone moulds have been found for the simultaneous casting of both the cross of Christ and the hammer of Thor” (373-74). Scandinavians found their traditional paganism satisfactory, but Christianity appeared very attractive as well. Many of the miraculous tales which aided in the previous Germanic conversions were still being told. In their contact with the Christians, the Vikings found many desirable aspects in this new religion. Scandinavian religious beliefs did not fare as well among the Christians and was only exported successfully to Iceland.

While the Norse showed tendencies toward assimilation, they did impose at least one crucial change, particularly upon Ireland. Formerly a rural land, the Vikings introduced urban life through mercantilism and made use of the island’s coastal regions by establishing ports. The previous barbaric invasions did not establish these ports, but served more purpose in picking up the pieces of the recently fallen Roman Empire.

In contrast with the Germanic migrations which preceded them, the Viking takeovers of Christian lands brought the two cultures into direct contact, which resulted in an acceptance and absorption of customs. Additionally, the Norse took measures to attempt at furthering civilization, which goes against the uncivilized stereotypes they are often given.

Work Cited

Fletcher, R. A. Barbarian conversion from paganism to Christianity. Berkeley, Calif: University of California, 1999. Print.

The Conversion of Kings

Within Germanic societies during the fifth through seventh centuries, kings found conversion from their native paganism to the new Christianity to be a much more difficult task than the aristocracies they governed. For the former, “royal conversion was a complicated business,” while the latter found themselves to be pressured to convert and were able to do so speedily (106).  However, once a king converted, massive conversion occurred throughout the aristocracy, which would in turn secure Christianity as the dominant European religion.

A king during this time found conversion to be long and difficult because they were the firsts to do so within the land they governed. They had to set the example which the aristocracy would be able to follow. Also, in doing so, the king was making a statement about the country. Kings were considered a religious figure during this time and the symbolism behind the act of conversion sent a message of national conversion. Essentially, a king’s conversion consisted of two steps. The first was public acceptance of a Christian deity, followed by the second step of actual baptism. However, the process was drawn-out, as many years or decades would pass between the two events. Not only was this a way for the king to ease his followers into the ideas of Christianity, but it was also a method through which the king could test out the new religion. If their country found good fortune after the king’s acceptance of a Christian deity, then he was certain they were following the correct path.

The aristocracy found less pressure to make the right choice between paganism and Christianity and were often encouraged to choose the latter. They were partially assisted by the king’s leadership in being the first to convert, as following is generally much easier than leading the way. Also, missionary efforts  showed how attractive this new religion was, as the Germanic aristocracy witnessed bishops in their towns, who demonstrated the possibility of wealth, power and upward mobility. Christianity originally spread through urban areas, but Columbanus’ introduction of rural monasticism adjusted to the aristocracy’s lifestyle which fit that category better. In addition, Columbanus taught penance, which worked well in a country which valued honor. Through penance, Germanic Christians could redeem themselves for previous acts of dishonor.

While a Germanic king found conversion to Christianity to be an enormous decision which affected all of his followers, it also made it easier for the aristocracy to convert and even provide pressure for them to make the change. The kings’ conversion is part of the explanation as to why Christianity spread so rapidly and widely in the years following its creation. Thus, it remains a major contributing factor to the religion’s current majority status throughout Europe.

Work Cited

Fletcher, R. A. Barbarian conversion from paganism to Christianity. Berkeley, Calif: University of California, 1999. Print.

Christianity comes to Ireland

In regards to Christianity’s beginnings in Ireland around the fifth century, few know more than Patrick’s revelation of the trinity in the shamrock or his chasing out of the country’s snakes. However, these are untrue; Patrick would more correctly be associated with assisting in accommodating the religion in a land very different from mainland Europe. Ireland was an island very much detached from European society, so Christianity traveled to the land of paganism through Irish settlements in Wales, whose people would carry the religion back to the country, but was molded through Patrick’s efforts. Patrick and the Irish Church relied heavily on the Bible, so the texts were translated from Latin to the native language of the Irish, with the earliest surviving translations dating back to c. 600. This was brought on by the Irish tradition of storytelling. Patrick saw an opportunity to incorporate the Bible into their oral tradition, despite the wishes of some church officials, who felt the text should not be translated into other languages. If the Irish were to study the Bible at all at their time, they would have to learn Latin, which meant much schooling and hard work. By finally allowing for translation, the book’s word was further spread.

Ireland also had a king, who would also serve as a religious figure, along with a tuath, or a council of political leaders, but these would constantly change. There were also no towns or city governments in Ireland, which posed an issue as normally church officials would just latch onto their administrations to gain dominance. To overcome this, the bishops would preside over general areas of Ireland. The addition of bishops to the land would bring adhesion to the government, but, in exchange, Christianity would have to adopt to a land formed around kinship and clientage. This meant the Irish would gain a sense of order, but the bishops of the land were kept in check as they had to be aware of the complex social structure of the land.

Monasticism especially worked well with the Irish culture, as it was a flexible trade, accommodating itself to their ways, such as their lack of concept of land ownership. One could not sell land, as it was a family possession, so families would allow monasteries to use their land and the monks would pray for them in exchange. As in many other areas of Europe, self-denial was desired by this point, which allowed monasticism to become popular, thus spreading the religion further. At one point, it was believed that Irish Christianity was wholly monastic, but this was later proven to be absurd, as no country can be entirely composed of monks. Also vital to the missionary effort was a rise in pilgrimage, spreading the religion further.

Patrick would be the first to preach Christianity to non-Roman barbarians and would set the standard for future efforts. In his early life, Patrick would be kidnapped by Irish pagans from his native England to be placed into slavery. However, after being released, he claimed God spoke with him and asked him to convert these pagans. He would give up life in his homeland to bring Christianity to Ireland, which to this day predominately practices this religion.

Work Consulted

Fletcher, R. A. Barbarian conversion from paganism to Christianity. Berkeley, Calif: University of California, 1999. Print.

Christian Values Arising in Gothic Architecture

In the mid 1100s, innovations allowed Abbot Suger to devise plans to build the first Gothic, or “French Royal Style” cathedral. Prior to his creation, cathedrals were built in the Romanesque style. The new building techniques utilized in Gothic architecture allowed these new cathedrals to be built in a manner which creatively displays religious beliefs.

Due to lack of architectural technology, Romanesque style was very limited in capability, centralized around the buttress it used. Romanesque cathedrals used wall buttresses, which were attached directly to the outside wall. Consequently, this buttress style could not support enough weight to allow a cathedral to exceed about two stories in height. The architectural style utilized rounded arches, which limited the heights of doorways as well. Also, due to the lack of support given from the wall buttresses, heavier walls were required to support the roof, which led to few windows, leaving the interior darkened.

The development of the flying buttress, which was detached from the church wall, consequently allowed for further innovations. Flying buttresses allowed for taller cathedrals and towns raced to see who could build the tallest one. The Gothic cathedrals towered over everything else in the town, making it visible from a further distance. Since the roof had more support, it became possible to use more windows. In most Gothic cathedrals, the walls would be primarily composed of them and gave rise to stained glass use. Additionally, architects borrowed pointed door arches from the Muslim world, which allowed them to use various door heights. The resulting buildings were light-filled, airy and pointed-looking.

While Romanesque architecture did its best to embody and express medieval European religious ideals, Gothic expanded upon that. Romanesque cathedrals were built in the shape of Jesus’ cross. The altar pointed east, toward Jerusalem, as their world was awaiting the second coming of Christ. Due to structural limitations, the buildings drew the eye horizontally, tying the viewer to the land. Gothic architecture maintained the cross-shape and eastern orientation, but added to it. In the use of stained glass, the Old Testament stories were on the northern wall and the New Testament stories were on the southern wall, which was where the light would shine through most. The intention was to honor the Christ whom they were awaiting. Also, at the western entrance would be a stained glass rendition of the Final Judgment, as God judged those who entered. The stained glass use allowed people to learn the Bible through pictures in an age of high illiteracy. The pointed style of Gothic architecture drew the eye vertically, which caused one to look towards the heavens.

The innovations which led to the shift from Romanesque to Gothic architecture allowed cathedrals to expand upon the ideals their buildings already embodied. Primarily through the development of the flying buttress, stained glass became a key church composition, which would further spread Christian knowledge.