The impact of the arrival of Christianity in Anglo-Saxon literature and
culture.
1. Arrival of Christianity to Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.
a. two directions – from Ireland and from Rome.
b. Irish missionaries like St. Columba – the establishment of a monastery in Iona,
Scotland (563 A.D.).
c. The mission of St. Augustine (St. Augustine of Canterbury) in 597 A.D.
d. the Synod of Whitby, 664 A.D., ending the discord between Irish and Roman
Christianity
2. Anglo-Saxon culture as growing out of several cultures:
a. Germanic heritage (from the continent).
b. Celtic elements (both those of the Romanized Celts and pagan Celts).
c. The memory of the power of Rome and classical culture.
d. Christian ideas and ideology – initially a mixture of pagan and Christian elements
and influences.
e. Several examples of the evidence for the existence of two cultures and two
traditions side by side:
1. the names of week-days in English. Óðinn – Wotan/Wodan – Wodansdæg
– Wednesday.
2. possible connections between Old Norse gods and Christianity: Baldr –
Christ, Óðinn – hanging on the Yggdrasil tree to obtain the wisdom of
runes.
3. Irish crosses – cross superimposed on the solar symbol.
4. the poem Heliand (Saviour) in Old Saxon (on the continent), ca. 825 A.D.,
also known as the Saxon Gospel.
5. the so-called Frank’s casket (see below), ca. 650 A.D., Northumbria.
6. the concept of the middangeard – Middle Earth/Middle Yard – in
"Cædmon’s Hymn” from 670 A.D., similar to Old Norse Midgaard.
3. The kingdom of Northumbria in the late 7th and 8th century:
a. the growth of monasteries and their importance as cultural and intellectual centres.
b. the idea of the so-called Northumbrian revival (also called Northumbrian
renaissance).
c. Insular art: production of beautifully illuminated manuscripts (like the Lindisfarne
Gospels) in the 7th and 8th century.
d. Anglo-Saxon intellectuals: bishop Aldhelm of Wessex (639-709A.D.), Abbess
Hild of Whitby (614-680 A.D.), Bede of Northumbria (673-735 A.D.).
4. “Translation of the new faith”: the vision of Christ in The Dream of the Rood – the
heroic element and Christianity.
a. recorded on a stone cross (Ruthwell, 8th c. Northumbria) and in a manuscript
found in Italy (the Vercelli Book).
b. Christ as a hero similar to pagan heroes or warriors – modified vision of
crucifixion.
