Early Christianity in Britain
Following the 2017 AGM of the Norfolk branch of the CCJ, we were entertained with a short presentation entitled Early Christianity in Britain by one of our local members, Stephen Pank.
In an illuminating and fascinating talk that covered the period from the Crucifixion to Edward the Confessor, Stephen introduced us to the key historical (and mythical) figures who played a role in bringing Christianity to this island. One of Stephen’s starting points actually predated this period when he reminded us of Julius Caesar’s two abortive attempts to conquer Britain in 54 and 55 BCE. This was illustrative of the fact that the native peoples were no pushover and gave rise to the account in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain of how Caesar’s sword became lodged in the shield of the mythical Prince Nennius in battle.
The arrival of Christianity here finds its first sources in the legend of Joseph of Arimathea and the Holy Grail and links with Glastonbury and South Wales. The story dates to around 36 BCE when he is reputed to have been set adrift in the Mediterranean with Lazarus and Mary Magdalene, eventually reaching Marseilles and then travelling to this country. He is linked by some to the mining of tin in Cornwall. The legend of Saint Joseph, known as Saint Ilid in Wales, is an enduring and romantic one.
Saint Paul then appointed Aristobulus as the first Bishop of Britain and shortly after in 43 CE, Claudius invaded Britain, ostensibly to rid it of Druidism and Christianity. Caradoc, a Celtic commander who resisted Roman dominion for several years, was eventually captured and delivered to Rome as a war prize. His cousin Arviragus played a key role in making Britain part of the Roman Empire from 45 CE onwards, a transition that was interrupted briefly by the exploits of Boudicca and the Iceni in 61 CE.
King Lucius of Silures (South Wales) became in 176 CE the first British King to be recognised as Christian by the Roman Church. The story of St Alban, the first British martyr, dates from about 200 CE.
Around 312 CE following Emperor Constantine’s victory over Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, Christianity was adopted formally by the Roman Empire and its capital moved to Byzantium (Constantinople or modern Istanbul). Helen, the mother of Constantine, was according to some sources the daughter of Coel, a prominent Welsh leader whose life is the subject of many legends.
Until 410 CE and the Sack of Rome by King Alaric and the Visigoths, Christians in Britain were protected. Then Emperor Honorius removed the Roman legions and Britain was at the mercy of the invading Picts and Saxons which led by 550 CE to the Seven Kingdoms of the Heptarchy. The Venerable Bede records that Ethelbert was the first Anglo-Saxon King of this period to convert to Christianity. The Papacy of Pope Gregory (590-604 CE) was contemporaneous and it was during this period that Saint Augustine was sent to Britain to convert the pagans to Christianity. Interestingly, the British Church amongst other things set a different date for Easter to the Roman Church.
The monastery at Lindisfarne was established by an Irish monk, Saint Aidan, in about 634 CE and during the Bishopric of Eadfrith (698-721 CE), the stunning Lindisfarne Gospels were produced and Stephen showed us slides of these beautiful manuscripts which also provide us with the first written translation of Latin into Old English. The period from 650-800 CE was the golden age of Saxon illuminated manuscripts and we were told about the Book of Durrow, one of the insular manuscripts, and the Book of Kells and shown images of the stunning ornamental carpet pages.
In 793 CE, Lindisfarne and Iona were ransacked by the Viking invaders, who sailed principally from modern-day Denmark. This led to the period of the Danelaw until King Alfred defeated the Danes at the Battle of Edington in 878 CE. In 886 CE after a treaty was negotiated with the Danish leader and he became the dominant ruler in Britain.
Canute, a Dane by birth, was King of England from 1016-1035 CE and a Christian monarch with significant influence within the Roman Empire, attending the Coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor Conrad. Finally, in 1042 CE, Edward the Confessor restored the rule of the House of Wessex to the English throne. As his title indicates, he was reputedly a pious and Godly man and he appears to have left the running of the country to Earl Godwin and Harold, Godwin’s son. And we know what happened after that of course!
We are very grateful to Stephen for providing us with such an informative and concise history of the arrival of Christianity in Britain and for leaving us all more knowledgeable on the subject.