Germanic Christianity
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9th century depiction of Christ as a heroic warrior (Stuttgart Psalter, fol. 23) |
The
Germanic peoples underwent gradual
Christianization in the course of the
Early Middle Ages, resulting in peculiarly Germanic brands of
Christianity.
In the
4th century some Germanic tribes, notably the
Goths, adopted
Arianism. From the
6th century, Germanic tribes were converted (and re-converted) by
missionaries of the
Roman Catholic Church, firstly among the
Franks, after
Clovis I convert to Catholicism in
496. The
Lombards adopted Catholicism as they entered
Italy, also during the 6th century.
Christianization of
Anglo-Saxon England began around AD
600, influenced by the Roman Catholic Church from the south-east and the
Hiberno-Scottish mission from the north-west. The first
Archbishop of Canterbury,
Augustine took office in
597. The
Alamanni became Christians after a period of syncretism during the
7th century, by gradual emulation of the new religion of the
Merovingian elite.
In the
8th century, the Franks became standard-bearers of orthodox Catholicism in Western Europe, waging wars on its behalf against Arian Christians,
Islamic invaders, and
heathen Germanic peoples such as the
Saxons and
Frisians. Until
1066, when the
Danes and the
Norse had lost their foothold in
Britain, theological and missionary work in
Germany was largely organized by
Anglo-Saxon missionaries, with mixed success. In the political and military sphere, however, the Saxons were the object of intense military pressure by
Charlemagne and the Franks, culminating in the defeat and massacre of Saxon leaders at the
Blood court of Verden in
787 and the annexation of the tribe.
From the
High Middle Ages, the territories of
Northern Europe were successfully converted to Christianity under
German leadership, and made into
nation states under the Church's guidance, finalized in the
Northern Crusades. As a result, German and
Scandinavian noblemen extended their power to also
Finnic,
Samic,
Baltic and some
Slavic peoples.
Unlike the history of Christianity in the Roman Empire, conversion of the Germanic tribes took place "top to bottom", in the sense that missionaries aimed at converting Germanic nobility first, which would then impose their new faith on the general population. Consequently, Christianity had to be made palatable to these Migration Age warlords as a heroic religion of conquerors, a rather straightforward task, considering the military splendour of the
Roman Empire compared to the comparatively primitive Germanic armies, and the legendary victory of
Constantine the Great under the sign of the
Labarum.
Consequently, early Germanic Christianity was presented as an alternative to native
Germanic paganism and elements were syncretized, for examples parallels between
Woden and
Christ. A fine illustration of these tendencies is the
Anglo-Saxon poem
Dream of the Rood, where Jesus is cast in the heroic model of a Germanic warrior, who faces his death unflinchingly and even eagerly. The
Cross, speaking as if it were a member of Christ's band of retainers, accepts its fate as it watches its Creator die, and then explains that Christ's death was not a defeat but a victory. This is in direct correspondence to the Germanic pagan ideals of fealty to one's lord. This tie between the Christian religion and Germanic nobility is perceptible in the German
Holy Roman Empire of the High Middle Ages, and the division from Roman Christianity was latent in the chronic power-struggle between the Emperor and the Pope.
From the
16th century this tension erupted in the
Protestant Reformation (the last German Emperor to be crowned by the Pope was
Maximilian I in
1493), which took hold almost exclusively of territories where Germanic languages are spoken (
Germany,
Scandinavia,
Britain), while Romance speaking territories remained Catholic (with the exception of
Geneva, where
Calvinism originated).
Christian Missionaries to Germanic peoples:
to the Goths
*
Ulfilas (4th century)to the Lombards
*
Saint Severinus (5th century)
**
Eugippusto the Alamanni
*Columbanus (Irish, 6th century)
**Saint Gallto the Anglo-Saxons (see
Christianity in the British isles 410-1066)
*
Liuhard of Canterbury (6th century)
*
Augustine of Canterbury (597-604)
**
Laurence of Canterbury**
Mellitus**
Justus*
Chad of Mercia (7th century)
*
Saint Honorius (7th century)
*
Aidan of Lindisfarne (7th century)to the Frankish Empire (see
Hiberno-Scottish,
Anglo-Saxon mission)
*
Saint Trudpert (Irish, 7th century)
*
Saint Boniface (English, 8th century)
**
Saint Walpurga,
Saint Willibald and
Saint Winibald (English siblings assisting St Boniface)
*
Saint Wilfried*
Saint Willibrord*
Saint Willehad*
Saint Lebuin*
Saint Liudger*
Saint Ewald*
Saint Suidbert*
Saint Pirmin (8th century)
*
Charlemagneto the Bavarians
*
Saint Corbinian (8th century)to Scandinavia
*
Ansgar (9th century)
*
Adam of Bremen (11th century)
*
ArianismCuius regio, eius religio*
Germanic paganism*
Muspilli*
Protestant Reformation
