"To his most beloved son, the Abbot Mellitus; Gregory, the servant of the servants of God. We have been much concerned, since the departure of our congregation that is with you, because we have received no account of the success of your journey. When, therefore, Almighty God shall bring you to the most reverend Bishop Augustine, our brother, tell him what I have, upon mature deliberation on the affair of the English, determined upon, viz., that the temples of the idols in that nation ought not to be destroyed; but let the idols that are in them be destroyed; let holy water be made and sprinkled in the said temples, let altars be erected, and relics placed. For if those temples are well built, it is requisite that they be converted from the worship of devils to the service of the true God; that the nation, seeing that their temples are not destroyed, may remove error from their hearts, and knowing and adoring the true God, may the more familiarly resort to the places to which they have been accustomed. And because they have been used to slaughter many oxen in the sacrifices to devils, some solemnity must be exchanged for them on this account, as that on the day of the dedication, or the nativities of the holy martyrs, whose relics are there deposited, they may build themselves huts of the boughs of trees, about those churches which have been turned to that use from temples, and celebrate the solemnity with religious feasting, and no more offer beasts to the Devil, but kill cattle to the praise of God in their eating, and return thanks to the Giver of all things for their sustenance; to the end that, whilst some gratifications are outwardly permitted them, they may the more easily consent to the inward consolations of the grace of God. For there is no doubt that it is impossible to efface everything at once from their obdurate minds; because he who endeavours to ascend to the highest place, rises by degrees or steps, and not by leaps. Thus the Lord made Himself known to the people of Israel in Egypt; and yet He allowed them the use of the sacrifices which they were wont to offer to the Devil, in his own worship; so as to command them in his sacrifice to kill beasts, to the end that, changing their hearts, they might lay aside one part of the sacrifice, whilst they retained another; that whilst they offered the same beasts which they were wont to offer, they should offer them to God, and not to idols; and thus they would no longer be the same sacrifices. This it behooves your affection to communicate to our aforesaid brother, that he, being there present, may consider how he is to order all things. God preserve you in safety, most beloved son". This is the well-known letter concerning the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons, it was written by Pope Gregory in the year 601 AD, and was preserved by the Venerable Bede in his Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation. The letter was sent to Abbot Mellitus who was on his way to join Saint Augustine in England to aid him in the Anglo-Saxons conversion. The letter is used by many as proof that after the so called conversion of the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity, many pre-Christian Heathen traditions and lore were allowed to continue, sometimes as part of the Christian religion itself. It seems that compared to many other places in Europe, such as the acts of genocide committed against the continental Saxons by Charlemagne, the conversion process was relatively peaceful and quiet in England, that's not to say of course that forced conversion never happened at times. When an Anglo-Saxon king converted to Christianity, one of his first tasks was usually to construct laws demonising and forbidding Heathen worship. Many times the Anglo-Saxons did put up some resistance, there was the legendary Mercian king Penda who rejected Christianity and chose to live and die a Heathen, and even when converted many people lapsed back into their native religion. So during these times force may have been used. One thing that isn't known for sure from looking at the letter is whether Pope Gregory had any detailed information regarding the Anglo-Saxon Heathen religion, or if he was simply generalizing when he talks about what should be done in the conversion process. The missionary Saint Augustine arrived in England in the year 597 AD, and the quoted letter by Pope Gregory was written in 601 AD, so during that four year period some information concerning Anglo-Saxon Heathen worship may have found it's way back to the pope giving him enough information and insight as to ponder what was the best course of action to take, or he may have had information even by the time he had dispatched Saint Augustine. Also in the letter we read the following: "When, therefore, Almighty God shall bring you to the most reverend Bishop Augustine, our brother, tell him what I have, upon mature deliberation on the affair of the English," Pope Gregory does seem to have given much thought into how the conversion process should procede, and this may have come from him already knowing what was happening in England amongst the Heathens. Some surviving evidence from other sources does seem to give weight and back up at least some of what Pope Gregory was talking about in his letter to Mellitus, and suggests that he did know something as to how and where the Anglo-Saxons did their acts of worship. In the letter he says: "And because they have been used to slaughter many oxen in the sacrifices to devils," As pointed out else where on this site there is evidence that the Anglo-Saxons did sacrifice oxen, not to devils, but to honour their gods and goddesses. Such as in the month of November, known to the Anglo-Saxons as Blotmonath, which means the month of sacrifice. In this month Bede tells us: "because our ancestors, when they were Heathen, always sacrificed in this month; that is, they assigned and dedicated to their idols the cattle that they purposed to offer up" And as Bede was a good Christian monk we have no reason to believe that what he had to tell us about oxen sacrifice amongst the Anglo-Saxons was untrue. Pope Gregory then says: "and no more offer beasts to the Devil, but kill cattle to the praise of God in their eating", Here is perfect evidence of the integration of Heathen traditions and celebrations and continuation as part of the Christian religion. This allowing for the continuation of Heathen traditions is probably one of the reasons why the conversion of England ran as smoothly as it did. Pope Gregory also says: "that the nation, seeing that their temples are not destroyed, may remove error from their hearts, and knowing and adoring the true God, may the more familiarly resort to the places to which they have been accustomed." The obvious 'tactic' of the missionaries here was to win the trust and confidence of the Heathens. If the missionaries had been forceful and bigoted in their mission, then the resistance to conversion from the Anglo-Saxons could have been one of anger, and the missionaries would more than likely have failed in their attempts. But allowing so much mixing of the religions and Heathen continuation gained that trust and confidence to the extent that Heathenism became a thing of the past or just an annoying underground cult that needed to be stamped out.One of the main Christian celebrations is of course that of Easter. The name and word Easter comes from that of the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre. Many would feel that taking the name of a Heathen goddess and applying it to a thoroughly Christian celebration rather strange indeed. But as we have seen and read from surviving evidence the mixing of the Heathen and Christian religions during the 6th and 7th centuries in England was not uncommon, in fact at times it seems to have been the norm. The same could also be said too for Christmas, or by it's Heathen name Yule. Today during this celebration we still have Christmas tree's, holly, ivy, the twelve days of Yule, mistletoe, the bringing in of the boar head, wassailing, the Yule log and much more. These Christmas customs of course are not all of Anglo-Saxon heritage, some come from related Germanic peoples and some come from the Celts, which shows Heathen/Pagan continuation amongst many peoples throughout Europe and not just with the Anglo-Saxons. It seems at times that within the minds of missionaries and other people the simplest and most convenient and effective thing to do was to 'give a little to get a little', until over time giving a little meant getting a whole lot. So much of our traditions and customs that we celebrate today come direct from our Heathen ancestors, both Germanic and Celtic. The missionaries had no right to go to a far away foreign country and take away it's religion and take away much of it's culture in the name of their own religion, but because this did happen, in a strange way maybe we should be thankful to the Pope and his missionaries for the way they went about their mission, a way that allowed much Heathenism to continue and survive, and continue and survive right up to the present day. |
"To his most beloved son, the Abbot Mellitus; Gregory, the servant of the servants of God. We have been much concerned, since the departure of our congregation that is with you, because we have received no account of the success of your journey. When, therefore, Almighty God shall bring you to the most reverend Bishop Augustine, our brother, tell him what I have, upon mature deliberation on the affair of the English, determined upon, viz., that the temples of the idols in that nation ought not to be destroyed; but let the idols that are in them be destroyed; let holy water be made and sprinkled in the said temples, let altars be erected, and relics placed. For if those temples are well built, it is requisite that they be converted from the worship of devils to the service of the true God; that the nation, seeing that their temples are not destroyed, may remove error from their hearts, and knowing and adoring the true God, may the more familiarly resort to the places to which they have been accustomed. And because they have been used to slaughter many oxen in the sacrifices to devils, some solemnity must be exchanged for them on this account, as that on the day of the dedication, or the nativities of the holy martyrs, whose relics are there deposited, they may build themselves huts of the boughs of trees, about those churches which have been turned to that use from temples, and celebrate the solemnity with religious feasting, and no more offer beasts to the Devil, but kill cattle to the praise of God in their eating, and return thanks to the Giver of all things for their sustenance; to the end that, whilst some gratifications are outwardly permitted them, they may the more easily consent to the inward consolations of the grace of God. For there is no doubt that it is impossible to efface everything at once from their obdurate minds; because he who endeavours to ascend to the highest place, rises by degrees or steps, and not by leaps. Thus the Lord made Himself known to the people of Israel in Egypt; and yet He allowed them the use of the sacrifices which they were wont to offer to the Devil, in his own worship; so as to command them in his sacrifice to kill beasts, to the end that, changing their hearts, they might lay aside one part of the sacrifice, whilst they retained another; that whilst they offered the same beasts which they were wont to offer, they should offer them to God, and not to idols; and thus they would no longer be the same sacrifices. This it behooves your affection to communicate to our aforesaid brother, that he, being there present, may consider how he is to order all things. God preserve you in safety, most beloved son". This is the well-known letter concerning the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons, it was written by Pope Gregory in the year 601 AD, and was preserved by the Venerable Bede in his Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation. The letter was sent to Abbot Mellitus who was on his way to join Saint Augustine in England to aid him in the Anglo-Saxons conversion. The letter is used by many as proof that after the so called conversion of the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity, many pre-Christian Heathen traditions and lore were allowed to continue, sometimes as part of the Christian religion itself. It seems that compared to many other places in Europe, such as the acts of genocide committed against the continental Saxons by Charlemagne, the conversion process was relatively peaceful and quiet in England, that's not to say of course that forced conversion never happened at times. When an Anglo-Saxon king converted to Christianity, one of his first tasks was usually to construct laws demonising and forbidding Heathen worship. Many times the Anglo-Saxons did put up some resistance, there was the legendary Mercian king Penda who rejected Christianity and chose to live and die a Heathen, and even when converted many people lapsed back into their native religion. So during these times force may have been used. One thing that isn't known for sure from looking at the letter is whether Pope Gregory had any detailed information regarding the Anglo-Saxon Heathen religion, or if he was simply generalizing when he talks about what should be done in the conversion process. The missionary Saint Augustine arrived in England in the year 597 AD, and the quoted letter by Pope Gregory was written in 601 AD, so during that four year period some information concerning Anglo-Saxon Heathen worship may have found it's way back to the pope giving him enough information and insight as to ponder what was the best course of action to take, or he may have had information even by the time he had dispatched Saint Augustine. Also in the letter we read the following: "When, therefore, Almighty God shall bring you to the most reverend Bishop Augustine, our brother, tell him what I have, upon mature deliberation on the affair of the English," Pope Gregory does seem to have given much thought into how the conversion process should procede, and this may have come from him already knowing what was happening in England amongst the Heathens. Some surviving evidence from other sources does seem to give weight and back up at least some of what Pope Gregory was talking about in his letter to Mellitus, and suggests that he did know something as to how and where the Anglo-Saxons did their acts of worship. In the letter he says: "And because they have been used to slaughter many oxen in the sacrifices to devils," As pointed out else where on this site there is evidence that the Anglo-Saxons did sacrifice oxen, not to devils, but to honour their gods and goddesses. Such as in the month of November, known to the Anglo-Saxons as Blotmonath, which means the month of sacrifice. In this month Bede tells us: "because our ancestors, when they were Heathen, always sacrificed in this month; that is, they assigned and dedicated to their idols the cattle that they purposed to offer up" And as Bede was a good Christian monk we have no reason to believe that what he had to tell us about oxen sacrifice amongst the Anglo-Saxons was untrue. Pope Gregory then says: "and no more offer beasts to the Devil, but kill cattle to the praise of God in their eating", Here is perfect evidence of the integration of Heathen traditions and celebrations and continuation as part of the Christian religion. This allowing for the continuation of Heathen traditions is probably one of the reasons why the conversion of England ran as smoothly as it did. Pope Gregory also says: "that the nation, seeing that their temples are not destroyed, may remove error from their hearts, and knowing and adoring the true God, may the more familiarly resort to the places to which they have been accustomed." The obvious 'tactic' of the missionaries here was to win the trust and confidence of the Heathens. If the missionaries had been forceful and bigoted in their mission, then the resistance to conversion from the Anglo-Saxons could have been one of anger, and the missionaries would more than likely have failed in their attempts. But allowing so much mixing of the religions and Heathen continuation gained that trust and confidence to the extent that Heathenism became a thing of the past or just an annoying underground cult that needed to be stamped out.One of the main Christian celebrations is of course that of Easter. The name and word Easter comes from that of the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre. Many would feel that taking the name of a Heathen goddess and applying it to a thoroughly Christian celebration rather strange indeed. But as we have seen and read from surviving evidence the mixing of the Heathen and Christian religions during the 6th and 7th centuries in England was not uncommon, in fact at times it seems to have been the norm. The same could also be said too for Christmas, or by it's Heathen name Yule. Today during this celebration we still have Christmas tree's, holly, ivy, the twelve days of Yule, mistletoe, the bringing in of the boar head, wassailing, the Yule log and much more. These Christmas customs of course are not all of Anglo-Saxon heritage, some come from related Germanic peoples and some come from the Celts, which shows Heathen/Pagan continuation amongst many peoples throughout Europe and not just with the Anglo-Saxons. It seems at times that within the minds of missionaries and other people the simplest and most convenient and effective thing to do was to 'give a little to get a little', until over time giving a little meant getting a whole lot. So much of our traditions and customs that we celebrate today come direct from our Heathen ancestors, both Germanic and Celtic. The missionaries had no right to go to a far away foreign country and take away it's religion and take away much of it's culture in the name of their own religion, but because this did happen, in a strange way maybe we should be thankful to the Pope and his missionaries for the way they went about their mission, a way that allowed much Heathenism to continue and survive, and continue and survive right up to the present day. |
Letter From Pope Gregory |
This page was last
updated on: July 22,
2003
