Christianity in Anglo-Saxon England: What do the homiletic materials reveal about contemporary belief systems?

The attitudes towards Christianity in the Anglo Saxon world was ever subject to change, it was still finding its footing in terms of its practices. The elements of paganism still had an enduring influence on their culture as well as a stronger inclination toward traditional Germanic views as apparent in their texts, entertainment and examples of law. Yet almost in a paradox there is no reluctance in the gradual undertaking of Christian beliefs; instead what is seen is a hybrid of the pagan themes with the Christian approach. The Anglo Saxons founded their interpretation of Christianity though familiar themes they found; reflecting just how the established church within England may well have taken up a strong respect for the Church in Rome but yet found communications with the continent to sparse to fully echo its interpretation of the text. This was of course not unheard of in the early centuries, however their approach certainly is a unique reflection of their society manipulating the faith to their own interpretations. With this in mind it is not surprising that during the later tenth century and beginning of the eleventh we see that homiletic text began to gain a more consistent focus in their narrative. The need was never greater then at this time; their world was shaken by the fears of doomsday and the impacts of a political system that was a far cry from the traditional one.  Politics and religion where blending to further each other’s cause as well as their own and there by bridging the gaps each had to society.

The society of later Anglo Saxon England was one that can be read into with three main bodies in mind; The State, the Church and the laity. Their relationship with each other is arguably significantly shaped by the aspects of religious beliefs and practices. Church and state where now established as working in relation to each other; in an effort to influence the wider lay and opposing factors in society. The laity itself had its own role in influencing how the political and religious writers developed their style of communication and writing. Although, unfortunately the source material in terms of texts from this period is rather sparse, what we can gather tells us a great deal about this significant change.
What is automatically striking in the records is the movement into old English. This can imply a number of things particularly in the case of such religious texts and sermons. Firstly the text becomes far more accessible to the wider Anglo Saxon world, though this is not to say that the average member of the laity read directly from the source, it is clearly intended to be spoken in the vernacular rather than the Latin that made up the majority of religious texts. These texts where not purely to be locked away in the safe guard of monasteries but meant for the consumption of local communities; read by a religious figure to the masses in hopes to educate them. Even Wulfstan himself recognized the importance of this distinct method of public deliverance of sermons in the vernacular; giving a substantial number of his own in person as well as circulating them to major population centers such as his major consistencies of York and Worster.
Additionally it can be of interest to compere these homilies and sermons to that of the entertainment that was so indicative of the Anglo-Saxons. Public readings or reciting popular poetry from memory was part of a traditional and well established culture, thus it could be argued that the new approach of writing and delivering these religious teachings was deliberately trying to echo this tradition and there by register all the more firmly in the public mind set. It is by no accident that his sermons follow a similar pattern, they not only invite the attention of the audience by addressing them directly but additionally aim to provoke a sense of personal questioning in regards to the chosen topic all the while implicating what is the ideal righteous choice. In what was perhaps his most famous sermon; ‘Sermo Lupi’ (Sermon of the Wolf) we can take a great deal from the issues that largely concerned the lay society and how religious belief was offered as a method of solving said issues as well as using them as a means of explaining the very cause. One common ideology highlighted in Wulfstan’s sermon concerns the contemporary reality of invasion from the various Viking armies. It was a well-established in the scriptures that an element of the end times would include nations that God had abandoned being ravaged by their enemies. “We pay them continually and they humiliate us daily; they ravage and they bur, plunder and rob and carry to the ship; and lo! What else is there in all these happenings except God’s anger clear and evident over this nation?” This being made more evident in the case that the rivals where in fact viewed as typically pagan as the Vikings arguably where. Furthermore the message of the danger of worshiping false God’s and committing sin echo though this particular sermon as the cause of the misfortunes that where befalling the nation, therefore it comes across as clear that the Anglo Saxon Christian beliefs where far from solidly established, or at least in to the extent of Wulfstan’s ideals on the practice of religion.

A page from Wulfstan’s ‘Sermo Lupi ad Anglos’ (Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sermo_Lupi_ad_Anglos)

“We have also therefor endured many injuries and insults, and if we shall experience any remedy then we must deserve better of God than we have previously done. For with great deserts we have earned great misery…we must obtain the remedy from God, f henceforth things are to improve.”
This leads into the sermon becoming Wulfstan’s means of teaching his own concerns with the behavior of the laity and clergy, preaching that the only ways in which they may avoid the negative judgement of God was to follow the new reform movements he championed; being that of the already existing Benedictine movement.
Furthermore there is also an evident concern in the practices of the church itself. It was the belief of many prominent clerical writers that It was the duty of the clergy to not only set an example for the community but to by extension attempt to educate them in matters of the faith and how to best live their lives in accordance to the religious teachings. The concerns surrounding the clergy at the time are not dissimilar to the general concerns that where upon the laity; they too were thought to be straying from the path of righteousness and corrupting the church, thus furthering God’s displeasure with the nation. Wulfstan in particular continuously pays reference to his worries over the behavior of Monks and other monastic figures, perhaps due to his monastic background and interactions. For example, in a sermon delivered at a time estimated as around 1019-1020 in his series ‘on polities’ he addressed priests directly in concerns to their duties to God and the community. “He must preach well and set a good example for others; and at Gods Judgement he must render into God’s hands and account of both his own deeds and of those he is to oversee.” This is particular of note when we consider society as a whole; the laity’s sin was directly linked to the local parishes and clerical figures. In the mind of Wulfstan, they should in theory be able to lead those below them. He further elaborates in ‘Duties of the clergy’ that priesthood itself suffered from an inability to set this example to the people due to the potential motives of the priests entry into the clergy itself; their means being self-fulfilling and therefor compromising their willingness, capability and worth in best teaching and making an example in themselves. “[…] Take priestly orders out of desire for worldly gain, and do not know that which they should know […] He who would be protected by God must amend himself thereby, or he will perish entirely in the afterlife.” This offers potential insight into the perceptions of the clergy from that of a reformist’s point of view but does not really give us a perception of a more general belief system for the wider word of Anglo Saxon Christendom.

Although what these critiques of the Church and clerical world do reveal a significant factor in the potential belief system and that is the factor of the growing focus on matters of Sin, Salvation and penance. As mentioned previously; there is a clear focus on the eventual judgement that they would receive from God during the end of days. If these writings read as if there is a determination among the population to do whatever maybe in their power to find a method by which they may atone for any wrong doings, wrong doings by their own actions and the more wide reaching actions of a so called doomed society. If Wulfstan’s implications of an unfit clergy are considered then it could be considered that he advocated a form of a ‘top down’ way of doctoring the malpractices of religion and the inherit sins. In addition to this it is implied that there is a standing belief that society should be looking up to the clerical figures for guidance in religious matters, almost taking a degree of responsibility away from the laity. “Woe unto them who receive a spiritual flock and can tend neither to the flock which they must protect, and worse are those who can and will not.” This can further show the degree of uncertainty in the religious practices and explain why the homilies focus on amending a more cohesive practice of religion across the population.

It is not only the writing of figures living during the time period that serve as a means of understanding the contemporary belief system, but also it is that of the texts that where redistributed. There is an awakening in interest for the homilies of Gregory and other such influential clerical figures during this turbulent time in Anglo Saxon history. Documents such as the Vercelli homilies where drawn upon for influencing the new scholars; both leading to shaping and validating their interpretation of the world around them. This is explored at further details by historian such as Jane Roberts who hones in upon Homily VII from the Vercelli homilies. This particular passage concerns the nature of earthly pleasures distracting people from the concept of judgement and mortality, which quiet clearly is a reoccurring concern displayed in the homilies of the tenth and eleventh centuries. Moreover arguments that the older homilies that where drawn upon by their tenth century counterparts where perhaps mistranslated (From Latin to Old English) in some cases; this possibly indicating that they were manipulated to further fit into the modern narrative or in a more innocent vein, simply misunderstood by the translators in order to meet the rapid demand from the renewed interest and additionally suffering from the lack of original documents. Leading to copies of copies becoming the cause of blame for increasing errors.

Unfortunately it is much harder to gather information on what the lay society may have understood and perceived in their religious outlook due to the simple fact that they themselves do not leave written records that we may then use beside the homiletic text. The major fault in using homilies to judge the Christian practices of the population is that they are written as a method of direction and a means for the writer to preach their own belief, not a statement of the more practical side of how the people may have lived their day to day religious convictions. For the same reasons it is also difficult to thoroughly grasp the effect that these homilies may have had on their audience. Certainly there is an effort made to echo familiar styles of narrative to familiar verse and obviously wider consumption due to the public preaching and use of the vernacular, action upon the teachings are however open to interpretation. In order to gain at least a glimmer into the practice of religion among the average lay person it is perhaps best to focus on individual areas and communities rather than risking generalization. At this time the country was very much divided in terms of political and social matters, for example, the north being subject to Viking influences and regional north-south tensions playing a part in the political atmosphere. From observing parish and public legal records of events we can track the extent of the outreach of the religious preaching and thereby begin to understand the potential audience to an even more accurate degree. Major population centers where of course more likely to observe preaching by virtue of the inheritance while more rural communities may have found themselves left in the dark, however it is important to understand location in terms of the culture of the area; such as Wulfstan’s using his position to assure there was preaching’s of his sermons in the Northern areas that otherwise may have been neglected. Furthermore a great deal of information concerning common belief can be gained from the surviving physical materials and written observations that reference religious belief. What is often found is a hybrid between old pagan like traditions being converted into a Christian image. (This being a concern mentioned in previous analysis of homilies.) One way in which we see this hybrid of ideas can be seen in the medical practices of the people. The society still heavily relied upon local care and traditional practices in order to heal the sick, these ranged from herbal remedies to rituals that were believed to expel supernatural influences that came from their pagan past such as elves or goblins. This forgoes a change in style as society becomes more and more concerned for its Christian practices, increasingly old chants where changed into Christian prayer but under a ritualistic method that for the most part did not change. This is further seen in religious teaching and writing though the Anglo Saxon period, likely to sway the population over to a more Christian ideal without too sudden of a shock as they gradually introduced the concepts of a more centralised and structured belief system; Old myths became adapted into Christian ones such as the adaptation of a serpent at the end of days, monks and clerical figures taking at least some agency in medical aid to the people and the strict warnings against slipping into openly pagan methods. Furthermore if we take the homilies as any form of influence, they is clear guidance on how to best relieve and avoid sins, which suggests an appetite form the people for Christian salvation and concern for their souls or potentially the implication that it was a concern that the authors and clergy wished to instill in the populations minds. One such example is the payments one owed to the church and the importance of promptly paying the amount due of them as determined by their social and economic status; something that of course was possibly a manipulation for the benefit of the church and monastic houses at the expense of those outside of it but additionally can lead to questioning just to what extent the people where following these payments.

Homilies and other such religious preaching material offer a unique view into the religious mind set of a society, however limited it may be, there is certainly a value in the topics they address and methods by which they believed the people should practice religion by. But it is also vital to pay attention to the source of this writing. By their very nature they are written by those who lived in a different social sphere then the general population. This meaning that their personal agenda may colour how we then perceive the belief system of the population as a whole. It is therefore difficult to make assumptions of the concerns and belief system of this period based purely on the homiletic texts. To gain a well-rounded image of the genuine development of the Anglo Saxon belief systems one must additionally explore the more subtle details found among the common laity alongside the homiletic texts.