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THE GERMANIZATION OF

EARLY MEDIEVAL

CHRISTIANITY



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The Germanization of

Early Medieval Christianity

A Sociohistorical Approach to

Religious Transformat ion

James C. Russell

OXFORD UNIVERSITYPRESS

New York Oxford



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T o M y Fa mi l y



Preface

O n June 30,1988, A rchbishop M arcel Lefebvre consecrated four priests ofhis Catholic trad ition alist Society of Saint Pius X as bishops, thus trigger-in g a schism w ithin the Ro m an Catholic Ch urch. A lthoug h the theologicalorigins of Lefebvre's disagreement with th e Vatican may be traced to hisrejection of certain documents promulgated at the Second Vatican Council(1962-1965),

1a significant degree of his popular support may be attributed

to resentment toward th e m any l iturgical changes w hich followed the Coun-cil. The most visible of these was the replacement of the t raditional La tin

Mass with th e Nov u s Ordo Missae .O n a religioc ultura l level, th is schism may be considered the end of the

image of the Ro m an Catholic Ch urch as a popular expression of EuropeanChristianity. For at least the preceding m illennium, from th e coronation of

the Saxon King Otto I as Holy Roman Emperor by Pope John XII onFebruary 2, 962,to the opening of the Second Vatican Council by PopeJohn XX III on O ctober 11,1962, the religiocultural orien tation of popularR o m a n Catholicism w as predom inant ly E uropean and largely G ermanic.

2

A n example of a popular pre-Vatican II Eurocentric view of Christianityhas been provided by Avery Dulles in his study T h e Cathol ic i ty of the

C h u r c h , where he cites Hilaire Belloc's affirmation, "TheFaith is Europe.A nd Europe is the Faith."

3

1The primary Vatican II documents rejected by Lefebvre were G a u d iu m et Spes

(Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World) and D ig n i ta ti s H u m a n a e P er s o n a e

(Declaration on Religious Freedom). Addit ional informat ion regarding the events and docu-

ments preceding th e schism may be found in L ' O s s er v a to r e r o ma n o , English edition, June 27,

1988 and in Francois Laisney, Ar c h b i s h o p Lefebvre a n d t h e V a t i c a n (Kansas City, Mo.:Angelus

Press, 1989).2

An interesting Russian Orthodox parallel is discussed in Ernest Gordon, "A Thousand

Years of Caesaropapism or the Triumph of the Christian Faith," T h e Wor l d & I, 3:8 (1988):

681-98.3

Hilaire Belloc, E u r o pe and the Fa i th (London: Constable, 1920), p. 331; quoted in

Avery Dulles, T h e C a th o l i c i t y of the C h u r c h (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1985), p. 75. Dulles

comments: "Originally centred in the Mediterranean countries , Catholic Chris tianity later found

it s pr imary home in Europe. ... As a plea to Europeans to recover the religious roots of the i r

f o r m e r unity, this s logan could be defen ded. Ch ris tianity was in possession as the religion of

Europeans, and the Chris t iani ty tha t had uni ted Europe w as Catholic. B ut what about people o fdif fe ren t stock? D id Belloc m e a n to imply tha t to become Christian they would first have to be



viii Preface

The claim of "catholicity" by the R om an C atholic C hurch and of univer-sality by Christianity in general is central to the current inquiry. Primarilyto advance th e perception of its universality, th e post-Vatican II Church

has sought to shed it s predom inantly W estern, European image. This modi-fication may be witnessed in the Church's ecumenical relationships withrepresentatives of non-European Christianity and non-Christian religions,

in its appointment of more non-European prelates, in its canonization ofmore non-European saints, and in i ts virtual elimination of Germanic

elements from liturgical rites.4

The increased involvem ent of the Church in

social-justice issues may also reflect an attempt to distance itself from thearistocratic character of a Germanized medieval Church and an attempt torecapture the religiocultural orien tation of the early Church of the apos-

tolic and patristic eras. O ne reason for this current direction may be thatth e present e ra, w ith it s densely populated co smo politan areas that contain

sizable, alienated underclasses, has a social environment somewhat more

akin to the urbanized Roman Empire of late antiquity than to the rural-agrarian-warrior societies of early m edieval G erm anic Eu rope.

A t the same tim e that this "de-Europeanization" of the C hurch is beingpursued, however, the popularity of Catholic traditionalist movementsamong persons of European descent suggests that the Germanic e lementswithin C hristianity have not lost their appeal. It is hoped that, in additionto contributing to the study of religious transfo rm ation, the present inquiry

may be of some value to those engaged in pastoral and m issiological activi-

ties, as well as those pondering the forces involved in the development oftheir ow n personal religious identity.

The presen t bo ok is a revised version of my 1990 doc toral dissertation

in historical theology at Fordham Universi ty . I wish to thank m y mentor,Richard F. Smith, S.J., for his guidance, patience, and kindness. To my

readers, Louis B. Pascoe, S.J., and Jose Pereira, and my examiners, Ewert

H . Cousins and Joseph F. M itros , S.J., I owe much useful advice. To thosew ho have read the m anuscript, including G . Ronald Murphy, S.J., C . ScottLitt leton, Edw ard Peters, J. N . Hillgarth, David Harry Miller, Peter Brown,

Detlev Brand, Paul Math, and John Van Engen, I am also g rateful. I wishto acknowledge m y indebtedness to the late Robert E. M cNally, S.J., w ho

encouraged me to pursue m y interest in the Germanic impact on early

Europeanized? If so, his th inking was too particularist." Dulles's thoughts on the catholicity of

th e Church in the fu ture are the focus of his article "The Em erging W orld Church: A Theologi-

cal Reflection," Proceed ings of th e C a t h o l i c T h e o l o g i c a l S o c i et y of A m e r i c a 39 (1984): 1-12.4 It is noteworthy and perhaps ironic that much of the impetus fo r this m o v e m e n t came

f rom contemporary Germanic Council Fathers at the Second Vatican Council (e.g., Card ina ls

Bea, Suenens, Dopfner, Frings, Alfr ink , and Konig) and f rom Germanic theological consultants

(e.g., Karl Rahner , Joseph Ratzinger , Aloys Gril lmeier , Otto Semmelroth , and Edward Schille-

beeckx). Addit ional information on the in f luence of the Germanic Fathers at the Council m ay

be found in Ralph M. Wiltgen, T h e Rhine F lows in to th e Tiber: T h e U n k n o w n C o u n c i l (NewYork : Hawthorn Books, 1967).



Preface ix

medieval Christianity. The staff of the Fordham University Library also

deserves acknowledgment for their m a n y years of professional service.

I wish to thank Robert A. Markus, Patrick J. Geary, G. Ronald

M urphy , S.J., James Muldoon, Solomon A. Nigosian, Andrew P. Porter,

and Edward C. Hobbs for providing me with pre-publication or unpub-

lished versions of their work. To Cynthia A. Read, Paul Schlotthauer, and

Peter Ohlin, my editors at Oxford University Press, I owe assistance and

encouragement. M y wife , Patricia, a n d m y daughters, Megan and Marie,

have patiently endured many sacrif ices of time and pleasure to accommo-

date the completion of this book. Finally, to my parents, Roy and Agnes

Russell, and to my aunts, Marie Wilson and Emilie Prucha, I am indebted

for the continued support of my academic endeavors over the years.

W h i t e P l a i ns , N ew Y or k J. C. R.

June 1993



Contents

Abbreviations xiii

Introduction 3

PART I Toward a Mode l of Religious Tran sform ation

1. Transformations of Christianity 112. Conversion, C hristianization, and G erm anization 26

3. Sociohistorical Aspects of Religious Transform ation 45

4. Sociopsychological Aspects of Religious T ran sfo rm atio n 81

PART II The G erman ic Transfo rm ation of C hristianity

5. G erm anic R eligiosity and Social Structure 107

6. Germanization and Christianization: 376-678 134

7. Germanization and Christianization: 678-754 183

Conclusion 209

Bibliography 215

Index 249



Abbreviations

A HR A m e r i c a n Historical Review

A S R A m e r i c a n Sociological Review

JEH Journal of Ecclesiast ical History

JIES Journal of Indo-European StudiesJL Jahrbuch fur Liturgiewissenschaft

M GH M onum enta Germaniae His tor ica

A A Auctores Ant iqu i ss imi

Ep. sel. Epistolae selectae

SRM Scr iptorum rerum M erowingicarum

SSrG Scriptores rerum Germ anicarum inu s u m scholarum

PL Patrologiae cursus com pletus, series

lat ina. J.-P. Migne, ed. (Paris, 1844-)

R BP H Revue beige de philologie et d 'histoire

SC H Studies in Church History

Set t imane Set t imane d i studio del centro Italianodi studi sul l 'al to medioevo

(Spoleto: Centro Ital iano d i Studi

sull'A lto M edioevo, 1954-)

7 (1960) Le chiesi n ei regni dell 'Europa

occidentale e i low rapporti c o n

R o m a all '800.

14 (1967) La conversione al Crist ianesimo

nell'Europa dell 'alto m e d io e vo .

36 (1989) Sant i e demoni nel l 'a l to medioevo

occidentale.

Z K G Zeitschrift fur Kirchengeschichte



THE GERMANIZATION OF

EARLY MEDIEVAL

CHRISTIANITY



Introduct ion

This inquiry applies recent observations from th e behavioral sciences,

medieval history, th e history of religions, and Indo-European studies, aswell as from w ha t has become know n as "metahistory,"1 to the pivo tal reli-gious t ransformat ion which occurred as a result of the encounter of theGermanic peoples with Christianity. This transformation is examinedprimarily from the entrance of the Visigoths into the Eastern RomanEmpire in 376 unt i l th e dea th of St. Boniface in 754. It is proposed thatChristianization efforts among the Germanic peoples resulted in a sub-stantial Germaniza t ion of Christianity.

This inquiry is divided into tw o parts. Part I develops a model of reli-gious interact ion between folk-religious societies and un iversal religions.Part II applies this m odel to the encounter of the G erm anic peoples withChrist ianity.

In order to provide a basic framework for the study of the Germaniza-tion process, Part I focuses on the development of a general m odel of reli-gious t ransformat ion for folk-religious societies that encounter universalreligious movement s offering this-worldly socialization and other-worldly

salvation. Prominent in this model is the association of pre-Christ ian

1A somewhat s imilar approach is advanced by Hans Mol , Identity a n d t h e S a c r e d (New

York : Free Press, 1976), w ho describes his general, social-scientific theory of religion as "an

a t t empt to integrate anthropological, historical, psychological, and sociological approaches to

religion into one conceptual scheme" (p. ix). Herein, "metahis tory" or "megahistory" refers to

th e effor t to establish and systematically apply a paradigm to m ajor his torical developm ents.

The metahistorical approach has been encouraged by Kather ine Fischer Drew in the opening

r e m a r k s of her presidential address to the 1987 annual meeting of the Medieval Academy of

America, published as "Another Look at the Origins of the Middle Ages: A Reassessment of the

Role of the Germanic Kingdoms," Sp e cu l u m 62:4 (1987): 803-12: "Megahistory has not had

m u c h appeal to medieval historians, especially in recent years. Most of us are ra ther t ight ly

bound to a l imited body of source material , and we have been able to concentrate on topics of

l imited scope, expecting to become fam il ia r wi th all the l i terature on this subject and to produce

an answer to our questions or an interpretation of ou r problems that takes into account all the

relevant evidence. In the process I th ink tha t many of us have lost sight of the larger world or

even just th e world of the Weste rn Roman Empi re" (p . 803). T he dangers of generalization, su-

perficiality, and pedan t ry in w r i t i n g m e t a h i s to r y are aptly discussed by Chris topher Dawson,

"The Problem of Metahis tory ," T h e D y n a m i c s o f Wor ld History, ed. John J. M ul loy (New York :

Sheed & W a r d , 1956), pp . 287-93, w ho nevertheless concludes that "metahistory is not theenem y of true his tory but i ts guide a nd i ts f r iend , provided tha t i t is good m etahistory " (p. 293).

3



4 Introduction

Germ anic social structure, religiosity, and ideology w ith tha t of other folk-

religious Indo-European societies. Thus relevant insights from the study of

the transformation of Indo-European Greek and Roman religiosity have

been incorporated.With all due concern for the dangers of overgeneralization, the fun-

damental postulate derived from this model is that the world-view of the

Indo-European Greek, Roman, and Germanic religions was essentially

folk-centered and "world-accepting," whereas the world-view of the East-

ern mystery religions and early Christianity was essentially soteriological

and eschatological, hence "world-rejecting." Equally significant, and related

to this distinction, is the assertion tha t the social structure of the Germanic

peoples at the time of their encounter with Christianity reflected a high

level of group solidarity, while the urba n social env ironm ent in which early

Christianity flourished was one in which alienation and normlessness or

anomie prevailed. It is therefore emphasized that a primary appeal of theearly Christian Church was its fulfillment of the need fo r socialization and

its promise of otherw orldly salvation.

The Greco-Rom an Christianiza tion scenario in which a religious com-

munity fulfills the socioreligious aspirations of a highly anomie society

would be dysfunctional if applied to a predom inantly rural, w arrior, pastoral-

agricultural society with a high level of group solidarity. For Christianity tobe accepted by the G erma nic peoples, it was necessary that it be perceived

as responsive to the heroic, religiopolitical, and magicoreligious orienta-

tion of the Germanic world-view. A religion which did not appear to be

concerned with fundamental m ilitary, agricultural, and personal matters

could not hope to gain acceptance among the Germanic peoples, since the

pre-Christian G ermanic religiosity already provided adeq uate responses tothese matters. An unintended result of implementing a missionary policy

which accommodated G erm anic concerns was the Germanization of early

medieval Christianity. Although this accommodation apparently was ori-

ginally intended to have been merely a temporary and regional transition

to a more thorough doctrinal and ethical acceptance of Christianity, three

factors altered this expectation: an underestimation of the vitality of thepre-Christian Germanic world-view; an overestimation of available instruc-

tional resources; and the future religious influence of the O ttonian emperors(962-1002), Henry II (1002-1022), and Henry III (1039-1056) on the

papacy and the Church in general. In his study of the Germanic influence

on early medieval Christianity, Josef A. Jungmann has concluded that"from the 10th century onwards, the cultural heritage which had accumu-lated in the Carolingian North, streamed in ever increasing volume into

Italy and became the cultural standard in Rome itself," and from there,

eventually "became normative for a ll the West."2

2 Josef A. Jungmann, "The Defeat of Teutonic Arianism and the Revolution in ReligiousCulture in the Ea rly M iddle Ages," inPastoralLiturgy (New York: Herde r an d Herder, 1962),p. 19.



In t roduc t ion 5

Part II of this inquiry applies the m ode l of religious trans form ation just

discussed to the sociohistorical record of the encounter of the variouscont inental G erm anic peoples with C hris tian m iss ionary efforts. The role

of A rian i sm am ong the Eastern G erm anic peoples and Roman Chris t iani ty

among the Franks, as well as the methodologies of the Iro-Frankish and

Anglo-Saxon missionaries, is exam ined. Evidence of Christ ianizat ion and

Germaniza t ion is ident i f ied and analyzed throughout . Out l ines of indi -

vidual chapters fol low . Par t I comprises chapters 1 th rough 4,w hile Par t II

comprises chapters 5 t h rough 7.

Chapter 1 in t roduces the basic problems related to Christ ianizat ionefforts. Examples of cul tural conflict encountered dur ing contemporary

Christ ianizat ion efforts are provided and discussed. Basic sociological con-

cepts are in t roduced and the premises of a model of rel igious transforma-

t ion are established.

A n inquiry in to C hris t ianizat ion efforts among the Germanic peoples

and the Germaniza t ion of Chris t iani ty requires a clear sense of theconcepts of rel igious conversion, Christ ianizat ion, and Germanizat ion, as

well as a w ork ing def in i tion of C hristian ity itself. For this reason, cha pter 2

provides a sem ant ic evaluat ion of the concept of religious conversion, anda historiographical overview of the concept of Christ ianizat ion. This is

followed by the es tabl ishment of a reference model of Christ ianity with

which the process of G erm aniza t ion m ay be com pared. Several examplesof the G erm anizat ion of C hris t iani ty are a lso provided.

Since pre-Christ ian Germanic rel igiosi ty differed fundamen t a l l y from

ear ly , pre-Constant in ian Chris t iani ty , and since reliable source materials

that might provide insights into Germano-Christ ian interact ion, part icular-

ly from th e perspective of the G e r m a n i c peoples, are lacking, contributions

from th e fields of the sociology of religion, th e history of religions, and

Indo-European studies3

have been sought to elucidate the nature of the

re lig ious t ransfo rm at ion w hich occurred. Ch apter 3 establishes the socio-historical and religious Sitz im Leben of the Germanic encounter wi th

Christianity w ithin the larger context of the encounter of an Indo-European

folk religiosity with a non-Indo-European, uhiversal is t , salvat ion rel igion.

Indo -Eu ropean religiosi ty is general ly characterized here in as "folk-

3 The cu r ren t state of Indo-European s tudies is greatly indebted to Georges Dumdzil ,w ho devoted his career to the comparison of the ideological structures of the linguistically-related cultures of India, Persia, Greece, Ro m e , and Celto-Germanic Europe, and f ound them

to be remarkably s imilar . An English-language introduction to his work by his foremost

American exponent is , C. Scott Littleton, T h e N e w C o m p a r a t i v e Myt ho l ogy: A n A n t h r o p o l o g i c a l

A s s e s s m e n t of th e Theor ie s o f George D u m e z i l , 3rd ed. (Berkeley: University of Californ ia Press,

1982). Mircea Eliade, in A History o f Religious Ideas , vol. 1, trans. Willard R . Trask (Chicago:

University of Chicago Press, 1978), incorporated much of Dumezil 's Indo-European vision.

While Dumezil ' s focus had originally been on pre-Christian cultures, his observat ions have been

applied to the medieval West by his colleague at the College de France, Georges Duby, in T h e

Three Orders: Feuda l Society Imagined , t r a n s . A r th u r G o ld h a m m e r , with a fo r e w o rd by ThomasN . Bisson (Chicago: U niversity of Chicag o Press, 1980).



6 In t roduc t ion

religious" and "world-accepting," w hile Ch ristianity and its Hellenistic andJudaic antecedents are generally characterized as "world-rejecting" reli-gions of unive rsal salvation. Th e h istorical and socioreligious developm ents

in Greek and Roman religion which evolved into the socioreligious en-vironment of early Christianity are examined from th e perspective of a

"de-Indo-Europeanization" of the traditional world-accepting Greek andRoman Indo-European folk religiosity. This de-Indo-Europeanization is

believed to have occu rred in response to a decline in group solidarity and arise in anomie, which in tu rn are attr ibuted chiefly to urbanization, terri-torial expansion, prolonged internal conflicts, invasion, and social hetero-

genization.Chapter 4 compares the sociopsychological influences on Roman and

Germanic society at the times of their respective encounters with Chris-tianity. The prominent appeal of socialization within the early Christiancommunity and its promise of eternal salvation at a t ime of genera l Roman

social destabilization is established, and is contrasted with th e generalabsence of the need for such socially stabilizing features in Germanicsociety, owing to its high level of group solidarity. Contemporary medicalevidence is introduced to support a relationship between social destabili-zation and stress, as well as a relationship between socially induced stressand th e appeal of religious socialization.

The Germanic inf luence on early m edieval Ch ristianity may be found

in th e development of a dram atic-representational interpretation of Scrip-ture an d liturgy in w hich the historical dram a of the Incarna tion, the Passion,and the lives of the saints cam e to ov ershadow the soteriological-eschato-logical essence of early C hristianity. Germ anic influence also figuredstrongly in the development of local proprietary churches or Eigenkirchen,

chivalry, feudalism, the C rusad e ideology, and the cult of relics. However,rather than merely document and discuss th e results of Germanizat ion,Part II seeks to more fully explicate the underlying process of religioustransformation w hich precipitated and accompanied these developments.

Chapter 5 provides an evaluation of pre-Christian G erm anic religiosityfrom an Indo-Eu ropean perspective. Afte r examining the social structure,law codes, and epic literature of the Germanic peoples, it is asserted tha tfo r Ch ristianity to have been accepted by the Germ anic peoples, it had tobe reinterpreted in a primarily heroic and magicoreligious fashion thatwould appeal to military and ag ricu ltural concerns. A general perceptionof Christianity as primarily a cult dedicated to the most powerful god,however, tended to obscure th e soteriological, ethical, and communaldimensions of Christianity which had been preeminent in early Christian-ity. The anom ie socioreligious c ond itions prevalent in the declining R om anEmpire are contrasted with the high level of internal group solidar i tywhich existed among the Germanic peoples dur ing their encounter withChristianity between 376 and 754. The main tenance of this intragroup



In t roduc t ion 1

solidarity through lengthy periods of migrat ion appears primari ly due to

the operat ion of the c o m i t a t m institution and to strong interlocking kin-

ship and com m uni ty bonds , as well as to a religiosity tha t provide d political

reinforcem ent . C hapter 5 concludes w ith a discussion of the influence of a

society 's w orld-view on i ts rel igious development and how this influen ce m ay

have operated in the encounter of the Germanic peoples with Christ ianity.

Applying the religious, historical, and behavioral insights gleaned from

the preceding chapters to the historical record, chapter 6 presents a socio-

historical analysis of the processes of Germanizat ion and Christ ianizat ion

among the cont inental Germanic peoples from their entrance into the

Eas tern Roman Empi re in 376 unt i l th e Irish missions of the seventh

century. The role of Arian Christ ianity in enhancing a sense of identi ty and

solidari ty among th e Arian Germanic peoples is discussed, as well as therole of the Gallo-Roman episcopacy in the Christ ianizat ion of the Franks

and in the G erm aniza t ion of C hrist ianity. The status of catechetical in-struct ion among the Germanic peoples is noted. Also, notice is taken of the

m etaphysical dist inct ions between G erm anic and Christ ian notions of t ime.

Chapter 7 continues the sociohistorical analysis begun in chapter 6

th rough the period of the A nglo-Saxon m issions. T he origin and develop-

m en t of the Anglo-Saxon m issiona ry m ethodology is discussed here with

an emphasis on the policy of accommodation. Also, the significance ofsecular poli t ical involvement in the Chris t ianizat ion and Germaniza t ion

processes is evaluated. I t appears th at the associat ion of Ro m an C hris-

t ianity with Prankish poli t ical dominion, while providing Anglo-Saxon

missionaries with protection, also served to hinder thei r Chris t ianizat ion

efforts among non-Frank ish Germ anic peoples. In perceiving th e central i tyof divine power in Germanic religiosity, the missionaries sought to prove

tha t the power of C hrist surpassed that of the local de ities, as St. Boniface

sought to demons t ra te when he chopped down an oak tree dedicated to

Thor at Geismar in Hesse. Such emphasis on the superior intercessory

power of the Christ ian God in ear th ly affairs, and part icularly m il itary

conflicts, appears to have contr ibuted toward a perception of Christianity

as a powerful magicorel ig ious cul t , and thus advanced the Germanizat ion

of C hristianity. Given the substantial inh erent disparity betw een G erm anic

and Christ ian world-views, a missionary policy that encouraged the t em-porary accommodat ion of Christ ianity to a heroic, religiopolitical, magico-religious, world-accepting Germanic world-view appears to have beendeveloped as a more effect ive approach than straightforward preaching or

coercion. Although th e accommodat ion of the Germanic world-view w as

originally in tended to have been a temporary m easure, the general lack of

post-baptism al rel igious instruct ion, com plem ented by the vitality of Ger-manic religiosity, resu lted in the German i za t i on of Chr i s t i an i ty .



I

TOWARD

A MODEL OF RELIGIOUS

TRANSFORMATION



Transformat ions of Christianity

Each historical instance of an attempt to Christianize a society is uniqueand dependent upon m any factors. Ye t in most instances, the funda m en tal

h u m a n equation is the same: an individual or small group of highly moti-vated advocates of C hristianity seek to tran sform the beliefs, attitudes,values, and behavior

1of a target society. Whether the advocates of Chris-

tianity are Anglo-Saxon missionaries in eighth-century Frisia or Americanmissionaries in present-day Uganda, the primary long-term problem isusually one of cultural co nfrontat ion.

2

Distinguishing between that which is essential to C hristianity and tha t

which m ay be m odified or om itted to advance the process of Ch ristianiza-

tion, has always been a major problem for the m issionary. W hen Ch ristianessentials are considered to include substantial elements of the prose-lytizing party's culture, the potential for alienating the target society ishigh. W hen Ch ristian essentials are m inim alized, and indigenous culturaland religious custom s read ily incorpo rated, the likelihood of religious syn-cretism increases.

C hristian m issionaries are thu s com pelled to take a path between thetwin opposing dang ers of cultura l alienation and religious syncretism. They

tacitly presume that such a path exists. How ever, the re is another school ofthoug ht on the subject of C hristianization— one which challenges theuniversal or "catholic" character of the Ch urch and of C hristianity. Philo-sophically, its origins may be found in the life and writings of the Emperor

1The totality of the belief-at t i tude-value-behavior construct of a society will hereinafter

be referred to a s its BAVB.2

Some of the eighth-century problems are discussed in David Keep, "Cultural Confl icts

in th e Missions of St. Boniface," in Stu art M ews, ed., Rel ig ion a n d N a t io n a l Identi ty, SCH, no. 18

(Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1982), pp. 47-57.

11

1



12 Toward a M o d e l of Rel ig ious Trans format ion

Julian (d . 363), and for that reason i t m ay be referred to as "Julianism."3

Julian bel ieved that each ethnic and nat ional group had i ts own unique

origin, character , and go d, and tha t it w as i ll -advised to at tem pt to modify

the cultural and rel igious tradit ions derived from this organic uniqueness.

Although Julian's view has not been f requent ly ar ticulated througho ut

history,4

and is based upon Julian's personal social observations and reli-

gious speculat ion, Jul ianism anticipates some contemporary concerns re-

garding th e portability of religion.5

The Christ ianizat ion process is s ignificant f rom sociological, anthro-

pological, and psychological perspectives. Accou nts of C hristian missio na ryefforts consti tute some of the earl iest and best-documented sources of

at tempted group B A V B modif icat ion.6 Attempts at Christ ianizat ion are

m ore u nusual tha n ins tances of acculturat ion in which an imm igran t g roup

assimilates the cultural characteris t ics of a much larger host group. In the

3Recent biographies of Ju l ian include Robert Browning , The Em per o r J u li a n (Berkeley:

University of California Press, 1976), and Constance Head, T h e E m per o r J u l ia n (Boston: Twayne,

1976). An important critique of Browning 's work is Peter Brown, "The Last Pagan Emperor:

Robert Browning's "The Emperor Julian," " in Brown , Society and the Holy in Late Ant iqui ty

(Berkeley: Un iversity of California Press, 1982), pp. 83-102. An evaluation of Julian's religiousattitudes may be f ound in Polym ia Athana ssiadi-Fow den's analysis of the surv iv ing fragm ents of

his C o n t r a Gali laeos, in Jul ian a n d Hel len ism: A n Intel lec tual Biography (Oxford: Clarendon

Press, 1981), pp. 161-71.4

One who did articulate Julian's position was Oswald Spengler, who stated: "Each

Culture possesses its own standards, the validity of which begins and ends with it. There is no

general morale of human i ty . It follows tha t there is not and cannot be any 'conversion' in the

deeper sense" ( T h e Dec l i n e o f t he West , trans. Charles Francis Atkinson, vol. 2 [New York:

Knopf, 1926], p. 345). Spengler's explanation of w h a t does occur in certain instances of

religiocultural interaction may be found in ch. 7 of vol. 1 , which is entitled "Historic Pseudo-

morphoses."5

See, for example, John Hick and Paul F. Knitter, ed., T h e Myth o f Chr i s t ian Un iqueness :

T o w a r d a Plural is t ic Theology o f Rel ig ions (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 1987). A critique of the

pluralis t ic view is presented by Peter C. Phan, "Are There 'Saviors' for Other Peoples? A

Discussion of the Problem of the U niversal Significance and U niquene ss of Jesus Christ," in

idem , ed., Chris t iani ty and the Wi der E c u m e n i s m (New York: Paragon House, 1990), pp. 163-80.

Also of interest in th is volume is Joseph H. Fichter, "Christianity as a World Minori ty ,"

pp . 59-72, wh o hypothesizes tha t "the statu s of Ch ristianity declines w ith the d eclining status ofthe We stern nations, w hile sim ultaneo usly the non-C hristians of the world are growing in

prestige. T he religious su periority of Christianity w as closely allied with th e secular superiority

of Western civilization. . . , The importance of Chris t ian i ty has declined with the decreasingpower and in f luence of the Chris t ian nat ions" (p. 61). Within Europe today there remain

challenges to C hristianity that seek the res torat ion of a pre-Christian religiosity. Representative

of these challenges are Sigrid Hunke, E u r o p a s eigene Rel ig ion : Der Gl a ube d er Ketzer (Bergisch

Gladbach: Gustav Lubbe Verlag, 1983); and Alain de Benoist, C o m m e n t p e u t -o n etre pa ' i en ?

(Paris: Albin Michel, 1981). An American cr i t ique of the effects of Europe's Christianization

m ay be f ound in Lawrence Brown, T h e M i g h t o f th e Wes t (New York: Joseph J. Binns, 1963). A

recent overview of contemporary Western "neopaganism" from a Christian perspective may be

fo u n d in T h o m a s M o ln a r , T h e Pagan T e m p t a t i o n (Grand Rap ids , Mich .: Eerdm ans , 1987).6

The va lue of these accounts is emphasized by Jon M iller, "Missions, Social C hange, and

Resistance to Author i ty : Notes Toward an U n d e r s t a n d in g of the Re la ti v e A u to n o m y of Reli-gion," Journa l for the Scient i f ic Study of Religion 32:1 (1993): 29-50.



Transformations of Christianity 13

Christianization process, it is usually a smaller proselytizing group which

seeks to transform the religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices, as well as

various cultural characteristics, of the host group. The methodologies of

the Christian missionaries should therefore be significant to anyone inter-

ested in studying the modification of societal BAVB.7

Christianization is neither a process of organic evolution within a society

nor of cultural assimilation, although each of these functions is usually op-

erative and may influence the success of Christianization efforts. When a

fundamentally non-Christian society is targeted for Christianization, the

process is usually led by a small cadre of external agents who ultimately

seek to transform not only the society's religious attitudes, but also the

underlying ethos and world-view8

of the society. However, the extent of the

Christianizing party's intentions is not always apparent to members of the

targeted society. Whether such radical change is possible or even desirable

merits serious consideration, for the ethos and world-view of a society

constitute the essence of its identity.

Yves M.-J. Congar has suggested that religious conversion may involve

a number of factors that reach beyond religion itself:

It entails an ensemble of psychological and moral changes and of intellec-tual and affective motivations. Factors dependent upon a milieu may also

have an influence, especially an inhibitive one, as can be seen in studies of

the psychology of European working classes or of conversions in mission

countries, in areas subject to Islam, etc. Certain cases, known to the

author of this article, would even lead one to ask whether a certain

atavism does not sometimes influence conversions from one religious sect

7Some of the most interesting Am erican research in this area has been done by Milton

Rokeach, and Sandra Ball-Rokeach. For an introduction to their BAVB model, and an account ofits experimental application to the controversial area of television programming, see Sandra J.Ball-Rokeach, M ilton Rokeach, and Joel W . Grube, T h e Great A m e r i c a n Values Test: Influencing

Behavior a n d Belief Through Television (New York: Free Press, 1984).8

The terms "ethos" and "world-view" are used here in the sense described by Clifford

Geertz in "Ethos, World View, and the Analysis of Sacred Symbols," in T h e Interpretation of

Cultures (New York: Basic Books, 1973) pp. 126-41. Geertz states: "In recent anthropological

discussion th e moral (and aesthetic) aspects of a given culture, th e evaluative elements, have

commonly been summ ed up in the term 'ethos,' while th e cognitive, existential aspects have been

designated by the term ' ' world view." A people's ethos is the tone, character, and qu ality of their

life, i ts mo ral and aesthetic style and m ood; it is the un derlying atti tude toward themselves andtheir world that life reflects. Their w orld-view is their picture of the w ay things in sheer actuality

are, their concept of nature, of self, of society. It contains the ir mo st com prehensive ideas oforder. . . . The tendency to synthesize world view and ethos at some level, if not logicallynecessary, is at least empirically coercive, if it is not philosophically justified, it is at least

pragmatically universal" (pp. 126-27). The background of world-view analysis is discussed in

"World Views and National Souls," in W. Warren Wagar, World Views: A Study in C o m pa r a t i v e

History (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1977), pp. 1-14, while contemporary Am erican

and Indian w orld-views are compared in Paul G . Hiebert, Cultural Anthropology, 2nd ed. (Grand

Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1983), pp. 355-69. See also "The Structure of Worldviews,"

in Ninian Smar t , Worldviews: Crosscul tural Explorations of H u m a n Beliefs (New Y ork: Scribner's,1983), pp. 54-61.



14 Toward a Model of Religious Transformation

to another. B y this I mean that a conversion entails a very complexhumanreality, moral, social, historical, and perhaps even genetic, which it is per-missible and very interesting to study.9

Recent scientific research has affirmed a genetic component to many indi-

vidual personality traits such as traditionalism, alienation, and aggressive-

ness.10

Genetic factors are now claimed to account for approximately 50

percent of the individual differences in religious attitudes, values, and inter-

ests.11

If combined with the notion of group personality or "syntality,"12

these findings may contribute toward the development of a genetic approach

to societal religious identity.13

If a society's religious attitudes, values, and interests are indeed shaped

by genetic factors, the attempt by missionaries to alter them becomes more

than a matter of religious conversion. Walter Burkert, in his study Homo

Necans: T h e Anthropology o f Ancient Greek Sacr i f i c ia l Ritual a n d Myth,

has asserted: "Religious ritual is advantageous in the process of selection,

if not for the individual, then at least for the continuance of group

9 "The Idea of Conversion," trans. Alfeo Marzi, nought 33(1958): 5-20.10

This research has been conducted primarily at the Minnesota Center for Twin andAdoption Research at the University of Minnesota. The most recent results are discussed in

Thomas J. Bouchard, Jr., et al., "Sources of Human Psychological Differences: The Minnesota

Study of Twins Reared Apart," S c i e n c e 250 (12 October 1990): 223-28. A more general

background discussion of twin studies and their results may be f ound in Thomas J. Bouchard,

Jr., "Twins Reared Together and Apart: What They Tell Us About Human Diversity," in Sidney

W . Fox, ed., Individual i ty a n d D e t e r m i n i s m : Chemicala n d Bio logica l Bases (New York: Plenum,

1984), pp. 147-84. An introduction to contemporary evolutionary theory ispresented in Richard

Dawkins , T h e Selfish Gene (New York: Oxford University Press, 1976), w ho remarks: "Philoso-

ph y and the subjects known as 'humanities' are still taught almost as if Darwin had never lived"

(p. 1). Of related interest is Carl N . Degler, In S e a r c h of Human Nature: T h e Declinea n d Revivalof Darwinism in American S o c i a l T h o u g h t (New York: Oxford University Press, 1991); and

Horst D. Steklis and Alex Walter, "Culture, Biology and Behavior: A Mechanistic Approach,"

Human Nature 2:2 (1991): 137-69.11 Niels G. Waller et al., "Genetic and Environmental Influences on Religious Interests,

Attitudes, and Values: A Study of Twins Reared Apart and Together," Psycholog ica l Science 1:2

(1990): 138-42. While warning against biological reductionism, in a communication to The

American Soc io log is t 12 (April 1977): 73-75, Gerhard Lenski urges his colleagues to be more

cognizant of biological factors: "Sociologists need to be told . . . that our longstanding

opposition to effor ts to take biological factors into account in the study of human social systems

has become an albatross. If we persist in ignoring or, worse yet, denying th e powerful influenceof genetic and biochemical factors, w e jeopardize sociology's credibility in the scientific com-

munity ." There is no reason to suggest that th e sociology of religion should be exempt f rom

Lenski's advice.12

The term "syntality"wasintroduced bypsychologist Raymond B.Cattell in "Cultural and

Political-economic Psychology," in idem, ed., Handbook of Mult ivar ia te Exper imen ta l Psychology

(Chicago: Rand-McNally, 1966), pp. 769-89, to denote the equivalent of "personality" in an

organized group. Cattell has recently described the theoretical framework for a religion focusedupon evolutionary progress in B e y o n d i s m : Religion f rom S c i e n c e (New York: Praeger, 1987).

13Gene-culture coevolution theory is developed in C. J . Lumsden and E . O. Wilson,

Genes , Mind and Cul ture: The Evo lu t ionary Process (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard UniversityPress, 1981).




identity."14

The long-term sociological and psychological consequences of

modifying a society's B A V B construct have not been thoroug hly consideredand evaluated. However, by studying historical instances of attemptedChristianization, particularly tho se in which pre-Christian religious atti-tudes and values were substantially opposed to Ch ristian at t i tudes andvalues, useful insights into these consequences may be gained.

Such a study w as under taken by K enn eth Scott L atourette, wh o, toge-ther with C hristopher D awson, pioneered th e application of socioculturalanalysis to the history of Christianity.

15B y focusing on the interaction

between Christianity and non-Christian societies in his comprehensiveHistory o f th e Expansion o f Chris t iani ty ,

16Latourette derived a methodolo-

gy for the study of the effects of Christianity on no n-C hristian societies,and th e reciprocal effects of no n-C hristian societies on C hristianity. Thismethodology is best expressed in the form of the seven questions that he

poses in the introduction to his work .

Of course it m u s t be asked: W h a t was the C h r i s t i a n i t y wh i c h s p r e a d ? ...

Each t ime that it enters a new territory, we must seek to determine the

form and the content of tha t which was now in process of propagation.

A second question m u s t be raised again and again. Why did C h r i s t i a n -

ity s p r e a d ? . .. What motives led its converts to accept it? To w h a t extent

were the methods employed responsible for the successes achieved? How

far is the spread attributable to purely religious factors and how far must it

be assigned to other circumstances? Again , no one answer can be given

which holds true for all times, places, and individuals. The conditions which

prepared the ground for the rapid increase of Christianity in the Graeco-

Roman world were m a n y of t hem quite distinct from those which paved

the way for its t r i umph among the peoples of Northern Europe.... Since

Christianity itself is not always the same, the qualities with in it whichaccount for its ability to win men and women are not un i fo rm. The methods

of its agents have shown great variety.

The obverse of this second m a i n question is another: Why has C h r i s -

t iani ty suffered reverses and at times met o n l y p a r t i a l s uc c e s s e s ? .. . Why, in

the twentieth century, af te r being continuously present in India and China

fo r a longer time than was required to win the major i ty of the population

of the Roman Empire does Christianity sti l l enroll numerical ly only a very

small proportion of the peoples of either land?In the fou r th place it m u s t be asked: By w h a t p r o c e s s es did C h r i s t i a n i t y

s p r e a d ?

The fifth, then, of the main questions has to do with results: W h a t e f f e c t

h a s Chr i s t i an i t y had u p o n itsenvironment?... How far was the disappearance

14H o m o Necans: T he Anthropology of Ancien t Greek Sacrificial Ritual and Myth, trans.

Peter Bing (Berkeley: University of California Press , 1983), p. 26.15

For a current overview and evaluat ion of this approach, see L. Michael White, "Adolf

Harnack and the 'Expansion' of Early Chris t iani ty : A Reappraisal of Social History," T h e

S e c o n d Century 5:2 (1985/86): 97-127.16

A History of th e Expansion of Christianity, 7 vols. (New York: Harper, 1937-45).




of slavery and of gladiatorial contests of the Roman Empire due to Chris-

t ianity? To wh at extent are the Crusades to be ascribed to the Christian

impulse?

The sixth ma in qu estion, th e e f f e c t of th e e n v i r o n m e n t o n Christianity,...

is of similar importance and often equally difficult to answer with accu-

racy. . . . Shall we appraise the famous saying, "The Roman Cathol ic

Church is the ghost of the R o m a n Empire," as merely a clever phrase, or

does it contain an accurate s tatem ent of fact? W hat effect did that Mediter-

ranean wo rld into which Chris tiani ty w as born have upon th e faith in the

years in which it s ritual, doctrines and organizat ion were taking form? T o

w h a t extent, if at all, were th e m ystery religions w hich were such promi-

ne nt riva ls copied, either consciously or unconsciously, by the victor?T he seventh and final outstanding question is : What bear ing do the

processes by wh ich C hristianity spread have upon th e effect of Christianity

on i ts environment , and of the environment upon Chris t iani ty? How far

m ay medieval and modern Europe be ascribed to the methods employed

in the conversion of its peoples? ... To what extent may this often su perfi-

cial and far from thoroughgo ing transformation be t raced to the processes

by which nom inal conversion w as accomplished?17

These seven questions provide an orientation toward th e approach ofthe present inquiry. T he m ost challenging, according to Latourette,18 is the

seventh and last question, the one w ith which th is inquiry is prim arily con-

cerned. That is, this inquiry focuses on the process of the G erm anizationof Christ iani ty as a consequence of Christianization efforts a m o n g th e

Germanic peoples. Some recent examples of Christianization efforts m ay

serve to more vividly illustrate th e forces at play in the processes of Chris-t ianization and Germanizat ion.

John B. Kauta, a Ugandan priest , was recently pleased to report that"approxim ately 16,500 people a day are being converted to C hristia nity inAfrica," al though he felt that "the presence of Christianity in Africa has

'more or less left th e African in a state of confusion.' "19

K auta con t inued:

"The African is like a man straddling tw o worlds, his two feet resting onhis heritage and Christianity. . . . What Africa needs now are experts,

anthropologists and theologians w ho know and unders tand the Africans,people who are truly Christian and understand what is essential to both

Christianity and Africa."

20

K auta at tr ibutes much of the success of the early Christian missionariesto the educational system that they implemented. They taught "the Afri-cans the basics" and "brought with them medicine, schools and Western

17Ibid., pp. x-xv passim .

18Ibid., p. xv.

19 H arr ie t Rosenberg, "An Act of God," Reporter Dispatch, White Plains, N.Y., M arch 21,

1987, sec. A, p. 7.20

Ibid.



Tran s forma t ions o f Ch r i s tian i ty 17

civilization."21

However, Kauta "sounds a note of caution"22

to contem-

porary Christian missionaries inAfrica:

There has been a failure to integrate Africa's traditional religions in C hris-tianity and Christian values. I don't blame th e early missionaries who came

to Africa. I might have done th e same thing under their circumstances. B utnot enough attention has been given to etymological, anthropological andethnological research. That's where the attitude of what some call arro-gance comes in. W e need to have a dialogue betw een th e traditional African

religions and Christianity.23

While there are many substantial differences between the religiocultural

climate of twentieth-centuryAfrica and early medieval Europe, similaritiesdo exist in the relationship between the missionary and his mission field.

24

In each case social rewards may contribute significantly toward a non-

Christian's motivation to become affiliated with Christianity. In the case of

Clovis (d. 511), for example, the potential support of the Catholic Gallo-

Roman bishops and aristocracy probably contributed to his decision to be

baptized.25

In the case of contemporary African peoples, the association of

Christianity with Western medicine, technology, and education often pro-

vides such an impetus. Also, until recently, Christian missionaries in Africaoften expressed a less than optimal level of sensitivity and empathy toward

the indigenous religiosity of the target population. Similarly, missionaries

in early medieval Europe often denigrated the indigenous gods, myths, and

cultic practices of the Germanic peoples, sometimes characterizing them as

satanic. Such an approach may result in the secret continued adherence by

an indigenous population to their pre-Christian religiosity. Commenting

on this situation, Paul G. Hiebert notes that:

In the long run, when pagan customs are practiced in secret, they combinewith public Christian teachings to form Christopaganism— a syncretistic m ixof Christian and non-Christian beliefs. For example, African slaves in Latin

Am erican homes taught th e children of their masters th e worship of Afri-

can spirits. When th e children grew up and joined th e Roman Catholic

21Ibid.

22

Ibid.23Ibid. See also Vincent Mulago, "Traditional African Religion and Christianity," in

Jacob K. Olupona, ed., African Trad i t iona l Rel igions in Contemporary Socie ty (New York:

Paragon House, 1991), pp. 119-34.24

A discussion of such comparisons is presented in Peter Munz, "Early EuropeanHistory

an d African Anthropology," New Z e a land Journal of History 10 (1976): 33-48.25

Clovis's role in the attempted Christianization of the Germanic peoples will bediscussed in greater detail in chapter 6. The relationship between th e Franks and the Gallo-

Romans is treated in detail in Andrfi Joris, "On the Edge of Two Worlds in the Heart of the

New Empire: The Romance Regions of Northern Gaul During th e Merovingian Period," in

William Bowsky, ed., Studies in Medieval a n d Renaissance History, vol. 3 (Lincoln: University ofNebraska Press, 1966), pp. 3-52.



18 Toward a Model o f Religious Transformation

chu rch, they combined the Catholic veneration of saints and the A frican tr i-

bal religion into new forms of spirit worship that had a Christian veneer.26

For contemporary Christian missionaries, Hiebert advocates a middle roadbetween cultural rejection and syncretism, which he terms "critical contex-

tualization."27

After Christianity has been introduced into a previously non-Christianpopulation, the process of syncretism often occurs.

28This process appears

to accelerate in those scenarios where the initial impetus is essentially

social or political, and is not superseded by deeper religious convictions or

enhanced by catechetical instruction. The process of syncretism is especially

apparent in the emergence of ethnic forms of Christianity such as voodooin Haiti,

29Rastifar ianism in Jamaica, santeria in the Caribbean countries,

and macumba in Brazil. Exam ples of medieval European Christo-Germanic

syncretism may be found in the development of the concepts of the E igen-

kirche30

and of chivalry.31

It is f rom a vastly different environment that a second contemporary

example of attempted32

Christianization is drawn. "Barren Ground: Chris-

tian Missionaries Sow the Seed in Japan but Find Little Grows," is the title

26Anthropologica l Insights fo r Missionaries (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House,

1985), pp. 184-85.27

Ibid., pp. 186-92.28

A thorough discussion of the process and condition of syncretism is presented in the

Encyclopedia of Religion, s.v. "Syncretism," by Carsten Colpe, trans. M atthew J. O'Connell. The

most recent studies of religious syn cretism are contained in Richard Gray, B l a c k Chris t ians a n d

White Missionaries (New Haven, C onn.: Yale U niversity Press, 1990); and David J. Hess, Spirits

a n d Scient ists: Ideology, Spiri t ism, an d Brazi l ian Culture (University Park: Pennsylvania StateUniversity Press, 1991), who suggests an approach which "recognizes that all religion is complex

or syncretic, a truism th at m akes it possible to m ove on to the idea tha t religious complexity or

syncretism m ust be broad ened to include a broader dom ain of ideology" (p. 179).29

Furth er syncretic development involving Islam and H indu ism occurred in the early

nineteenth century on the west coast of Africa after voodoo was brought there by repatriated

American slaves. A thoroughly illustrated documentary of this development may be found in

Gert Chesi, Voodoo: Africa's Secret Power, trans. Ernst Klambauer (Worgl, Austria: Perlinger

Verlag, 1980).30

A n examination of the development and significance of the Eigenkirche, or "proprietary

church," may be found in Wilhelm Levison, Aus Rheinischer un d Frankischer Friihzeit (Diissel-

dorf: Verlag L. Schwann, 1948), pp. 323ff.; and Ulrich Stutz, "The Proprietary Church as anElement of M edieval Germ anic E cclesiastical Law," in Medieval Germ any ( 91 1 -1 250) : Essays by

G e r m a n Historians, trans, and ed, Geoffrey Barraclough, Studies in Mediaeval History, vol. 2

(Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1938), pp. 35-70.31

For a more extensive discussion of the development of chivalry, see R ichard Barb er,

The Knight an d Chivalry (New York: Harper & Row, 1982), especially chapters 2 and 13; and

Georges Duby, T h e Chivalrous Society , trans. Cynthia Postan (Berkeley: University of CaliforniaPress, 1980), especially chapters 11 and 15.

32 The wo rd "attem pted" precedes Christianization here and elsewhere, since th e question

of how, when, an d even if Ch ristianization occurs is central to this invest igation.To refer to

"Christianization" unqualifiedly, especially at this point, would be inappropriate, since stand ardsby which this process may be defined and m easured have not yet been discussed.



Tran sform ations o f C hris t iani ty 19

of a recent front-page W a l l St ree t Journal article.33

Liam O'Doherty, an

A ugustinian m issionary priest , notes tha t "we have 10 to 15 adult baptisms

a year.... Over in South K orea, in a sim ilar operation, they have 40 to 60

a month ." Despite the presence in Japan of over 5,200 foreign mission-

aries, "one of the world's largest concentrations . . . less than 1% of the

population is Christian, and despite all the m iss ionary w ork, the percentage

is dropping."34

Alden E . Matthews, a United Church of Christ missionary in Japan forthir ty-three years, concedes tha t "there i s no w ay that C hrist ianity will ever

take root in Japan," and Campion Lally, a Franciscan priest, concludes

tha t "the day of the fo reign m issionary in Japan is f inished."35

Several rea-

sons have been offered to help explain this situation. One is that "foreign

things tend to succeed in Japan on ly w hen they have been 'Japanized,'

while Chris t iani ty comes to Japan undi lu ted, unbending and strict."36

Moreover , "a missionary, in compet ing wi th Buddhism and Japanese

Shintoism, isn ' t so m uch up against their religious as their cu ltural grip on

the Japanese."37

Japanese religions, unlike early Christianity, possess a

significant ethnic component which stresses group loyalty over individual

accom plishm ent. This ethn ic or "genetic" loyalty is ofte n expressed b ymainta in ing an al tar for ancestor venerat ion. Furthermore, given Japan's

current advanced economic s ta tus , miss ionar ies working there cannot

benef i t from an implicit association of Christ ianity with a more highly

developed civilization.

In a discussion of Japanese religious psychology, B rend an B ranley, a

Maryknol l missionary to Japan , has noted that "essentially, there is a

heightened consciousness of the ir identi ty as a distinct people, of their m em -

bershipin a

group who se purposes theyare willing to

serveat the

expenseof their own."38

This o bservation is supported by Rob ert BelSah's analysis

of the re la t ionsh ip between Japanese relig ion and econom ic d evelopm ent .

Bellah describes the endu r i ng no t ion of kokuta i , which a rose dur ing the

Tokugawa Period (1600-1868) as "a concept of the state in w hich religious,

political an d familistic ideas are indissolubly merged."39

Jesuit missionaries

to China in the s ixteenth and seventeenth centur ies were similarly con-

33 Bernard Wysocki, Jr ., "Barren G round : Christian Missionaries Sow the Seed in Japanbut Find Little Grow s," Wall Street Journal, July 9,1986, pp. 1,20.

34Ibid.

35I b i d .

36I b i d .

37Ibid.

38Brendan R. Branley, Christianity and t he Japanese (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Maryknoll

Publications, 1966), p. 84.39 R ober t Bellah, Tokugawa Religion: T he Cultural Roots o f Modem Japan (New York:

Free Press, 1985), p. 104. Bellah combines the socioeconomic methodology of Talcott Parsons,

his mentor , with th e socioreligious methodology of Max Weber to establish the con tribution ofJapanese religion in the Tokugaw a Period toward Japanese socioeconomic modernization.



20 T o w a r d a M o d e l of R e l ig io u s T r a n s fo r m a t io n

fronted with a high level of organic uni ty that w as expressed t h rou g h ances-

tor and emperor worship.40

A strong sense of social unity and collective security also prevailed

among the Germanic peoples in the early Middle Ages.41 Although they

m ay have been less culturally sophisticated than the contemporary Japanese,

like them, the Germanic peoples did not have immediate social or spiritual

needs which Christ ianity might fulfill .42

Also, the homogeneity o f early

medieval Germanic society, like that of contemporary Japan, did not

predispose it to the Chris t ian message.43

Christ ianity tends to flourish in

heterogeneous societies in which there exist high levels of anomie, or so-

cial destabilization. Since the relationship of social structure to ideological

structure and religious expression w ill play a significant role in this inquiry,

a brief discussion of f u n d a m e n t a l concepts is presented here.

Thomas O'Dea has summar ized Emile Durkheim's concept of anomie

as

that state o f social disorganization in which established socia l and cultural

f orms break down. He [Durkhe im] spoke of two aspects of this breakdown.

40

This problem is discussed from a Catholic perspective in George Minaniki, T h e C h i n e s eRites Controversy from Its Beginning to M o d e m T i m e s (Chicago: L oyola U niversity Press, 1985);

an d from an E vangelical perspective by Ralph A. Covell, "The Con flict of the Gospel and

Culture in China: W. A P. M artin 's Answer," in Charles H . Kraft and Tom N. Wisley, R ea d in gs

in D y n a m i c Indigeneity (Pasad ena , Calif.: W illiam Ca rey Libra ry, 1979), pp. 428-38. The Jesuitmissionary role in China has been th e subject of renewed interest. Numerous scholarly con-

ferences commemorated th e four-hundredth anniversary of the arrival of the Italian Jesuit

Matteo Ricci in China in 1582. A collection of papers delivered at a symposium at Loyola

University on this topic has recently been edited by Charles E. R ona n and B onnie B . C. Oh, and

is entitled E a s t Meets West: T he Jesuits in C h in a , 15 82-1773 (Chicago: Loyola University Press,

1988).41A n important discussion of Germanic familial and collective security is presented in

Katherine Fischer Drew, "Another Look at the Origins of the Middle Ages: A Reassessment of

the R ole of the Germ anic Kingdoms," S pecu lum 62:4 (1987): 803-12.42

The Christianization methodology th at w as implemented where existing non-Christian

religious forms seemed to f u l f i l l the socioreligious needs of the target society is significant fo r

the study of historical instances of Christianization, as well as for contemporary missiology. A n

important analysis of such a situation from a historic al perspective is that of C. E. Stancliffe,

"From Town to Country: The Christianisation of the Touraine, 370-600," in Derek Baker, ed.,The C h u r c h i n Tow n and Countryside, SCH, no. 16 (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1979), pp. 43-59,

especially pp. 51-59.43The most recent study of Germanic social structure is Alexander Callander Murray,

Ge rman ic Kinship Structure: Studies in Law and Society in Antiqui ty and the E a r f y Middle Ages ,

Studies and Texts, no. 65 (Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies, 1983), whichchallenges traditional clan and lineage hypotheses and the notion of a unilineal kinship

structure, proposing instead a bilateral kindred structure. Bertha S. Phillpotts, Kindred a n d C l a n

in the Middle Ages a n d After (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1917), remainsimportant. Germanic ideological structure is studied in Georges Dumezil, Gods of the An cien t

N o r t h m e n , ed. Einar Haugen, in tro . C . Scott Littleton and Udo Strutynsk i (Berkeley: University

of California Press, 1973); Paul C. Bauschatz, T he Well and the Tree: World an d T i m e in Early

Ge rman ic Culture (Amherst: University of M assachusetts Press, 1982); and H. R. Ellis D avid-son, Myths a nd Symbols in Pagan E uro pe (Syracu se, N.Y.: Syracu se Un ive rsit y Press, 1988).




There is loss of sol idar i ty; old groups in which individuals f ind security and

response tend to break down. There is also loss of consensus; felt agree-

ment (often only semiconscious) upon values and norms which provided

direction and meaning for life tend to break down.44

Synthesizing Durkheim's concept of anomie with Max Weber's association

of salvation religions with underprivileged classes, O'Dea concludes:

People suffering f rom extreme deprivation and people suffering from

anomie (some groups may be experiencing both) display a considerable

responsiveness to religions which preach a message of salvation—that is,

which present the world as a place of toil and suffering, and o f fe r some

means of deliverance from it. Christianity is a religion of this kind. It offers

the believer salvation through participation in Christ's victory over evil and

death.45

The relative success of Christianization in South Korea may be at least

somewhat related to a Korean sense of anomie derived from the pro-

tracted military and political conflict which has geographically split the

nation in half. Internal political dissension, resulting in frequent public

demonstrations, and occasional rioting are symptoms of social destabiliza-

tion. Japan's previous military occupation of Korea, its current economicprimacy, and its generally low regard for Korean immigrants are additional

44T he Sociology o f Religion (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1966), p. 56.

(Emphases appear in the original.) A further introduction to contemporary concepts in the

sociology of religion may be found in Peter L. Berger, T he Sacred Canopy: El emen t s o f a

Socio logical Theory of Rel igion (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1967); and Charles Y. Glock,

Religion in Sociological Perspective: Essays in the Empir ica l Study o f Religion (Belmont, Calif.;

Wadsworth, 1973). The application of the sociological concept of anomie to medieval studies

has been pioneered by Barbara Rosenwein, R h i n o c e r o s B o u n d : Cluny in the Tenth Century

(Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982), especially pp. 101-12. Further discussionof anomie may be found in Robert K . Merton, "Social Structure an d Anomie," in S o c i a l Theory

and Soc ia l S t ruc ture (Glencoe, III.: Free Press, 1949); Renato Poblete and Thomas F. O'Dea,

"Anomie and the 'Quest fo r Community ' : The Formation of Sects Among th e Puerto R icans of

New York," A m e r i c a n Cathol ic Sociological Review 21 (1960): 18-36; and Melvin Seeman,

"Alienation and Anom ie," in John P. Robinson, Phillip R. Shaver, and Lawrence S. Wrigh tsman ,

Measures o f Personality and Soc ia l Psychological At t i tudes , vol. 1 of Measures of Soc ia l

Psychological At t i tudes (San Diego, Calif.: Academ ic Press, 1991). Of related interest are Karl

Mannheim, Ideology a n d Utopia: An Introduct ion to the Sociology o f Knowledge, trans. Louis

Wirth and E dw ard Shils (New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1936); and Peter L . Berger and Thom as

Luckmann, T he Societal Construct ion of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge (GardenCity, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1966).

45O'Dea, Sociology of Religion, p. 57. See also Max Weber, "Religion of Non-Privileged

Classes," in T h e Sociology of Religion, tran s. Ep hra im Fischoff, intro. Talcott Parson s (Boston:Beacon Press, 1963); and idem, "Major Features of World Religions," in H. H. Gerth andC. Wright M ills, eds.,From M a x Weber (Ox ford: Oxfo rd Un iversity Press, 1946). Recent critical

applications of the work of Durkheim and Weber include W. S. F. Pickering, Durkhe i m' sSociology of Religion: T h e m e s a n d Theories (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1984); W olfgan gSchluchter, Rat i ona l i sm, Religion, a n d D o m i n a t i o n : A Weberian Perspective, trans. Neil Solomon

(Berkeley: University of Ca lifornia Press, 1989); and Eugen Schonfeld, "Privatiza tion and Glob-

alization: A Durkheimian Perspective on M o ra l and Religious Development," Archives desciences sociales des religions 69 (1990): 27-40.



22 T o wa r d a M o d el of Rel ig ious Trans format ion

factors which m ay have also co ntributed to a decline in self-esteem, and a

concurrent rise in anom ie, amo ng Ko reans. O'Dea notes that one response

to anomie may be a " 'quest for commun i t y ' and a search for new meaning.

From such quests , movements develop that offer new values and new

solidarities."46

Thus C hrist ianity 's appeal to some Koreans may be derived

from a desire fo r relief f rom f rus t rat ion through m em bership in a religious,

nonbiological com m unity w hich prom ises salvation.

Early nineteenth-century Hawaii provides an example of a society in

which th e expansion of Christ ianity appears to have benefi ted from the

disruption of indigenous socioreligious customs.47

In 1819 Chief Kame-

h a m e h a II deliberately violated taboos, known as k a p u s , which hadfunct ioned to reinforce the dominance of the chief , the nobil i ty, and the

priesthood. This action appears to have been taken at least partially to

decrease the competing influence of the priesthood and to increase the

chiefs personal authori ty, as well as to improve his relat ionships with

European t raders w ho provided him with f i rearm s. Al though the weapons

that Chief Kamehameha II was able to acquire through European trade

m ay have su pplanted the immedia te funct ion of the kapus fo r maintaining

his dominance, the socioreligious and sociopsychological effects of theirabandonmen t appear to have provoked a widespread condit ion of anomie .

This condit ion seems to have contr ibuted to the subsequent success of

Christian m issionaries am ong H aw aiian vil lagers.

The last contemporary example of attempted Christ ianizat ion to be

described here is that of the Jews for Jesus. In h is colum n in the N ew York

archdiocesan weekly newspaper, C a t h o l i c N ew York, George Higgins has

accused this grou p of unfairly employing "aggressive and deceptive prose-

lytizing tactics."48 His cri t icism, and that of the Interfai th Conference ofMetropoli tan Washington, D.C., which he quotes, is based upon a rejec-

t ion of "proselytizing efforts which delegit imize the fai th t radi t ion of the

person whose conversion is being sought."49

Examples of deceptiveness

at tr ibuted to the Jews for Jesus by Higgins include concealing their spon-

sorship by fundamenta l i s t C hristians, im itat ing Jewish l iturgical fo rm s, and

deliberately avoiding "references to central C hristian do ctrines such as theTrinity and the crucifixion."

50

46 O'Dea, Sociology of Religion, p. 56. The "alternate community" response to anomie is

further developed in Rober t Nisbet , T h e Ques t f o r C o m m u n i t y (Oxford : Oxford UniversityPress, 1953).

47A detai led account may be found in William Daven port, "The 'Haw aiian Cu ltural Rev-

olution': Some Political and Economic Considerations," A m e r i c a n Anthropologis t 71(1969):

1-20.I am indebted to C. Scott Littleton fo r bringing this example to my a t tent ion .48 George G . Higgins, "Jews fo r Jesus Ignore Church Tradit ion," Catho l ic New York,

January 7,1988, p. 10.

4 9 Ibid .50

Ib id.



Tran sforma t ions of Ch ris tiani ty 23

This last example raises the problem of "accommodating" Christianity

to the religiocultural traditions of various ethnic and social groups. M ayreal and fund am ental differences between Ch ris t iani ty and non-Chris tian

religions be tem porarily m isrepresented in ord er to fac ilitate initiation intoChristianity?

51May the work of catechesis be postponed until some

undetermined t ime in the baptized individual 's future when one may beprodd ed into co nform ity w ith C hristian beliefs, values, and practices w ith

admonishments l ike "If you're a Christian, why don't you act like one"?

The Jews for Jesus do not appear to have emphasized the distinctiveredemptive core of C hristianity, namely, that Jesus Christ, by his suffering

and death , has redeemed mankind from their sins. Instead they emphasizeJesus' Jewish heritage and those elements of Christianity that are most

clearly derived from Judaism, aspects that one would expect potential

converts from Judaism to identify w ith mo st closely.Similarly, the A nglo-Saxon m issionaries d id not em phasize the central

soteriological and eschatological aspects of Christianity. Instead, seeking

to appeal to the G ermanic regard fo r power, they tended to emphasize theomnipotence of the Chris t ian God and the temporal rewards he would

bestow upon those who accepted him thro ug h baptism and through

conformity to the discipline of his Church.52 O ther m edieval advocates of

Christ ianity, such as the au thors of the H e l i a n d53

and T h e D r e a m o f the

slCiting the research of John Lofland, "Becoming a W orld-Saver Revisited," in James T.

Richardson, ed., Conversion Careers: In and Out o f the New Religions (Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage

Publications, 1978), pp. 10f., which deals with the conversion m ethodology of the West Coastbranch of the Unification Church, Eugene V. Gallagher, Expectat ion a n d Experience: Explaining

Rel igious Convers ion , vol. 2 of Ventures in Religion (Atlanta, Ga.: Scholars Press, 1990), notes

tha t "new m issionary tactics enabled the Unificationists to overcome a persistent dilemma: the

more they disclosed their distinctive beliefs at the outset, th e less potential converts were likelyto join" (p. 74). The new tactics involved th e initial formation of close interpersonal bonds

between the prospective convert and church mem bers. G allagher observes: "Co m m itmen t and

belief travel through a web of social relations. Such relations can be firmly established before

an y full intellectual acceptance of doctrine; in fact, the development of affective bonds will

hasten intellectual assent" (p. 77).52

A nton M ayer, "Religions- und Kultgeschichtliche Ziige in Bo nifatianischen Quellen,"in S a n k t Bonifatius: Gedenkausgabe zum zwolfhundertsten Todestag (Fulda: Parzeller, 1954),

pp. 308-9. The mo st famou s instance of an appeal to power is, of course, St. Boniface's felling ofthe Hessian sacred oak at Geismar in 723 or 724. Although no copies of St. Boniface's actual

sermons have been discovered, Thom as Leslie Am os, "The Origin and N ature of the Carolin-gian Sermon" (Ph.D. diss., Michigan State University, 1983), summarizes th e Anglo-Saxonapproach to missionary preaching: "The Anglo-Saxons concentrated on stressing the power ofth e Christian divinity and the positive virtues of Christianity. . .. The Anglo-Saxon m issionarypreachers always accentuated th e positive, emphasizing th e power of God and Christ to dothings for the faithful in this life and to reward them in the next" (p. 109).

53Otto Behaghel, ed., Heliand un d Genesis , 9th ed., rev. Burkhard Taeger (Tubingen:

M ax Niem eyer Verlag, 1984); and T h e Heliand: T h e S a x o n Gospel: A Transla t ion a n d C o m m e n -

tary, trans. G . Ronald Murphy (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992). A few re levant

passages from th e Heliand are translated and analyzed in J. Knight Bostock, A Handb ook o n O l d

High G e r m a n Literature, 2nd rev. ed., rev. K. C. King and D. R. M cLintock (Ox ford: Clarend onPress, 1976), pp. 172-75. For a more detailed analysis, see G. Ronald Murphy, T h e S a x o n



24 Toward a M o d e l of Religious Trans format ion

R o o d ,54

apparently sought to appeal to the Germanic ethos and world-view

by portraying C hrist as a w arrior lord.

These con tem porary exam ples and their early med ieval analogues illus-

trate several important and t imeless problems associated with attemptedChris t ianizat ion. T he African scenario illustrates the problem of large

num bers of potential converts in developing n ations wh o may be at tracted

as m u c h by the extrareligious aspects of the m issionary 's culture as by his

religious instruction. This may be paralleled by a m issionary 's tenden cy to

ignore or suppress indigenous religious attitudes. Conversely th e Brazil ian

and Caribbean scenarios demonstrate an allegedly "converted" society's

tendenc y tow ard rel igious syncretism . T he Korean and Hawaiian examples

seem to ind icate tha t social destabilizat ion c on tributes to the expansion of

Christianity, whereas the Japanese exam ple depicts the missiological prob-

lem of gain ing entree to a s table and cohesive advanced society in w hich

the missionary 's culture has mi n i ma l appeal. The Jews for Jesus scenariodescribes a m iss ionary m ethodology of initial misrepresentat ion by obscur-

ing inherent differences in order to gain a foothold. This is apparently

followed by a gradual exposure to less compatible Christ ian bel iefs and

practices.After considering these examples, one is tempted to sketch a prel imi-

nary m o d e l of the rel igious transformation which m ay occur as a result of

proselyt izat ion. T he most significant factors in determin ing an appropriate

missiological approach and in predicting missionary success appear to be

the prevailing world-view of the target society, the degree of popular

satisfaction with the indigenous religion, the level of the target society's

sociocultural cohesion, and the target society's levels of scientific and eco-nomic development compared to those which exist in the society from

which the proselytizing party originates. A n anomic society with relativelylo w levels of scientific and economic development , a prevailing soteriologi-

cal-eschatological world-view, and an indigenous relig ion that is waning in

populari ty, would seem to be the ideal candidate for proselyt izat ion by

representatives of a universal religion. On the contrary, a cohesive, scien-

tifically advanced, economically stable society with a funct ional folk reli-

giosity w ould seem to be the least likely cand idate for m issionary success.Just as the field of the scientific study of rel igion abounds with dis-

cussions of the psychosocial stimuli and responses involved in individual

Sav ior : The G e r m a n i c Trans fo rm a t ion o f the Gospel in the Ni n t h -C e n t u ry Hel iand (New York:

Oxford University Press, 1989); Jiirgen Eichoff and I rmengard Rauch , D er H e l i and (Darms tad t :

Wissenschaftl iche Buchgesellschaft , 1973);" 'Germanisierung' und Akkomraodationstendenzen

der Kirche," in Johannes Ratofer , D er Heliand: T h e o h g i s c h e r S i n n a ls t e kt o n i s c h e F o r m , Nieder-

deutsche Stud ien, vol . 9 (Cologne: Bohlau Verlag, 1962); and Wolfgang H u b e r , Hel iand u n d

Mat thausexegese (Munich : Max Hueber Verlag, 1969).54

Bruce Dickins and A lan S. C. Ross, eds., T h e D r e a m of t h e R o o d (New York: Apple ton-Century-Crof ts , 1966).




conversion,55

th e fields of pastoral theology and contemporary missiologyabound with discussions of m issionary goals and appropriate techniques.

56

Elements of each of the contem porary C hristianization scenarios describedearlier are present in the historical instances of Christianization efforts innor thern and central Europe. Yet the know ledge derived from these con-temporary examples has not heretofore been applied to these historicalinstances. The present inquiry seeks in part to contribute to such anapplication, as A lan T ippett has urged:

M y contention is tha t w e should turn th e information w e have on the

dynamics of contemporary religious movements and the diffusion of

Christianity onto the documents of the middle ages, which so of ten have

been interpre ted in the ligh t of the heresies or the politics of Graeco-

Roman Chr is tendom. . . . Our missiological insights on m o d e r n people

movements should be brough t to bear on the experiences o f Boniface and

Patrick.57

55See, fo r example, W illiam James, Varieties of Rel igious Exper ience (1902; reprint, N ew

York: New American Library of World Literature, 1958); J. H. Leuba, A Psycholog ica l Study of

Rel ig ion (New York: Macmillan, 1912); Edwin D. Starbuck, Psychology of Rel igion (New York:

Scribner's, 1915); W alter Houston Clark, "William James: Contributions to the Psychology of

Religious Conversion," Pas tora l Psychology 26 (1965): 29-36; R u t h Ann Wallace, "Some Social

De te rminan t s of Change of Religious Affil iation" (Ph.D. diss., University of California,

Berkeley, 1968); Geoffrey E. W. Scobie, Psychology o f Re l i g i on (New York: Wiley, 1975);

Andrew R. Davidson and Elizabeth Thomson, "Cross-Cultural Studies of Att i tudes and Beliefs,"

in S o c i a l Psychology, Harry C. Triandis and Richard W . Brislin, eds., vol. 5 of H a n d b o o k o fCross -Cul tura l Psychology (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1980); and Michael A. Persinger, N e u r o -

p s y c h o l o g i c a l B a s e s o f G o d Beliefs (New Y ork: Praeger, 1987).56 See, for example, William A. Smalley, ed., R e a d i n g s in Miss ionary A n t h r o p o l o g y

(Tarrytown, N.Y.: Practical Anthropology, 1967); Johannes Verkuyl, C o n t e m po r a r y Missio logy:

An I n t rodu c t i on , trans, and ed. Dale Cooper (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1978); V. Bailey

Gillespie, Re l i g i ou s C o nve rs i on a n d Persona l Identi ty: H o w a n d W h y People C h a n g e (B i rmingham:

Religious Education Press, 1979); Robert D. Duggan , C o n v e r s i o n and the C a t e c h u m e n a t e (New

York: Paul is t Press, 1984); and Walte r Conn , C h r i s ti a n C o n v e r s io n : A D e v el o p m e n t a l Interpre-

ta t ion of A u t o n o m y a n d Surrender (New Y ork: Paul ist Press, 1986).

57 Alan R . Tippett , "Chris topaganism or Ind igenous Chr i s t i an i ty?" in Kraf t and Wisley,R e a d i n g s in D y n a m i c Indigeneity, p. 420 n. 8.



Conversion, Christ ianizat ion, and

Germanizat ion

"Convers ion" and "Ch ris t ianizat ion" are term s w hich are used f requent ly ,

interchangeably, and inconsis tent ly . This co ntr ibutes to a considerable de-

gree of am bigui ty . W hen the concepts th at these term s represent l ie a t the

center of a religious and historical inquiry, it is par ticular ly im portant todefine the context in which they will be used, as well as to un ders tand the

context in w hich they have been used.At the conclusion of his Pentecostal discourse, S t. Peter w as asked by

some o f h is audience w hat they should do. Peter answ ered, "Repent and

be baptized every one of you in the n a m e of Jesus Christ for the forgive-ness of your sins."

1In h is defense before Herod Agrippa II , St . Paul

claimed that , in obedience to the vision he experienced on his journ ey to

Damascus , he "set abo ut d eclaring tha t they [ the people of Damascus andJudea] sho uld repent a nd tu rn to God, doing w orks bef i t t ing thei r repen-

tance."2

In these passages, and t h roughou t the NewTestament , the Greekword m e t a n o i a is cha racteris tical ly rend ered in the L atin of the V ulgate as

poen i ten t ia , and in English transla t ions as "repentance" or "penance."3

Indeed, within a scriptura l con text, "conversion" im plicitly seems to m e a n"conversion from a state of sinfulness." Aloys Dirksen has concluded tha tthe Church in both the West and the East , from A.D. 200 unt i l the Refor -

mat ion , has consis tent ly taught that "met a n o i a is a convers ion from sin

1Acts 2:38. The NewTestament version cited here and subsequently is the Confra te rn i ty

of Ch ristian Doctrine Revision (Paterson, N .J.: St. Anthony G u i ld Press, 1941).2 Acts 26:20-21.3

The most thorough discussion of the association of both conversion and penance with

the term m e t a n o i a isAloys H. Dirksen, "The NewTestament Concept of M e t a n o i a " (Ph.D. diss.,

Cathol ic Univers i ty of America, 1932), particularly pp. 60-69, 96-105. Additional theological

in te rp re ta t ions of m e t a n o i a may be f ound in Theolog i s ches Wor te rbuch zu m N e u e n T e s t a m e n t ,

s.v. "metaneo, metanoia," by J . Be h m and E. Wiir thwein ; L ex i ko n fu r Theolog ie u n d K i r c h e , s.v.

"Metanoia," b y R . Schnackenburg ;and S a c m m e n tu m M u n d i, s.v. "M etano ia," by Kar l Rahner .

26

2



Convers ion , Chr i s t ian iza t ion , a n d G e r m a n i z a t i o n 27

which implies contrition, confession, amendment and satisfaction."4

Con-

sequently, from a semantic perspective, the notions of repentance and

conversion are intertwined. Yet "etymologically metanoia means a c h a n g e

of mind,"5 and it is this meaning which appears to be the basis of most

current notions of conversion. In his discussion of "Conversion" in the

Encyc lopedia o f Rel ig ions , Lewis R . Rambo states that "recently scholarshave argued that conversion is a progressive, interactive process that has

consequences in the community. Conversion is thus not a single event, but

an evolving process in which th e totality of life is transformed."6

The association of repentance with conversion can be especially con-

fusing in the current context, given th e relative absence of a notion of

sinfulness in pre-Christian Germanic religion.7 If one accepts such an asso-.ciation, it might be difficult to provide substantial evidence of repentance,and hence conversion, among the Germanic peoples in the sixth througheighth centuries. This is one reason why the term "conversion," especially

w h e n applied generally and unqualifiedly, seems inappropriate for a study

of the effects of Christian missionaryactivity on Germanic society.T he ambiguity surrounding the term "conversion" increases when it is

applied to the experience of an entire society. Studies of individual con-

version, whether of saints or political leaders, often carefully analyze an

individual 's actions and writ ings fo r indications and contraindications of

conversion.8

The process of an individual's conversion is not usually con-

sidered to consist of baptism alone, but rather presumes a fervent desire to

m o v e toward higher levels of Christian perfection: "When Origen speaks

of th e process of being converted, he speaks not only of a mere puri-fication process, or the need for a group of moral choices, or progress in

4

Dirksen, "Metano ia ," p. 69.3 Ibid., p. 104. This has most recently been restated by Paul Keresztes, "The Phenomenon

of Constantine the Great's Conversion," Augustinianum 27 (August 1987): 85: "The meaning of

Conversion can probably be best described with the somewhat trite and popular word, the

Greek metanoia, perfectly expressing the idea of turning around, or a change of mind." This

entire issue of Augustinianum is devoted to the study of conversion.6

See also Lewis Rambo, "Current Research on Religious Conversion," Rel ig ious Studies

Review 8 (1982): 146-59; as well as David A. Snow and Richard Machalek, "The Sociology of

C onve rs i on , " Annual Reviewof Soc io logy 10 (1984): 167-90.7

See, fo r example, Hans-Joachim Schoeps, T h e Rel ig ions of M a n k i n d , trans. Richard and

Clara Winston (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1966), pp. 114-15; and Walter Baetke, Die

Aujhahme d es Christentumsd u r c h d ie Gemanen: Ein Beitrag zu r Frage d er Gemanisierung d es

C h r i s t en tu ms , special ed. (Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1962), p. 39. Thiscontrast and others between Germanic and Christian religious ideals will be discussed in greater

detail in subsequent chapters.8 See, for example, Paula Fredriksen, "Paul and Augustine: Conversion Narratives, Ortho-

dox Traditions, and the Retrospective Self," Journa l of Theolog ica l Studies 37:1 (1986): 3-34;Elisabeth Fink-Dendorfer, Conver s io: Motive un d Motiv ierung zu r Bekehrung i n d er Alien Kirche ,

Regensburger Studien zur Theologie, no. 33 (Frankfur t am Main: Verlag Peter Lang, 1986);

John Moorhead, "Clovis" Motives for Becominga Catholic Christian," Journa l of Rel ig ious History

13:4 (1985): 329-39; and Keresztes, "The Phenomenonof Constantine the Great's Conversion,"pp. 85-100.



28 Toward a M o d el of Rel ig ious Trans format ion

th e spiri tual life. T he process of conversion is not sim ply purga tive, ethicalor mystical; i t is the continuous result of the coincidence of al l three di-

mensions."9

Contemporary authors associate a high degree of ideological and be-havioral m od ificat ion w ith individ ual conversion. A . J . Krai lsheim er states:

"Implicit in the idea of conversion is t ha t of forsaking the past uncondi-

t ionally an d accepting in its place a fu ture of which the one certain fact is

tha t it will never allow the previous patterns of life to be the s ame again."10

Hugh T. Ker r and John M. M ulde r succinctly sum m arize: "conversion,

however i t may be described, involves a complete change from one life-

style to another."11 Finally, Charles Y. Glock and Rodney Stark have

stated that "conversion . . . maywell be def ined as the process by which a

person comes to adopt an al l-pervading w orld view or changes f rom one

such perspective to another."12

One does not expect to f ind the sam e level of re l ig ious mo t ivat ion o r

devot ion dis t r ibuted evenly thro ug ho ut a social group. I t m ay be assumed

tha t case studies of the religious deve lopment of exc eption al individu als

are not usually representat ive of the rel igious development of their peers,

especially in regard to the aspect of intensi ty. Accordingly discussions of

historical instances of societal conversion cannot effectively apply stan-

dards of rel igious development as encompassing and r igorous as those

applied in discussions of individual conversion.13

Ins tead, s tandards of

societal conversion often consist of the n u m b e r and social s tatus of those

persons who a re bapt ized, and the degree to w hich the y accept ecclesiasti-

cal custom and discipline.

H istorical s tudies of so cietal conversion are usually less concerned w ith

theological nuances than are s tudies of individual conversion.14

Indeed,

9John Clark Sm ith, "Conversion in Origen," S c o t t i s h Journa l o f Theo logy 32 (1979): 240.

10Convers ion (London: SCM Press, 1980), p. 1.

11 Hugh T. Kerr and John M.Mulder , Convers ion : The Chr is t ian Exper ience (Grand Rapids,

Mich.: Eerdmans, 1983), p. ix. Further discussion of the nature of conversion may be f ound in

th e C a t h o l i c Encyc loped ia , s.v. "Conversion," by B . Guldner ; New C a t h o l i c Encyc loped ia ,

s.v. "Conversion, I (In the Bible)," by E. R. Callahan, and "Conversion, II (Psychology of)," by

C . Williams; S a c r a tn e n tu m M u n d i, s.v. "Conversion," by Kar l Rahner ; Lexikon f i i r Theolog ie un d

K i r c h e , s.v. "Bekehrung," by B . T h u m and W. Keilbach; Theo logische Rea lenzyk lopad ie ,

s.v. "Bekehrung," by William H. C. Frend and M ichael Wolter; Di c t i o n n a i r e d e spirituality,s.v. "Con version," by Henry Pinard de la Boullaye; and T h e N ew Interna t iona l Dic t ionary of New

T e s t a m e n t Theology, s.v. "Conversion," by J . Goetzmann .12

R el i g i o n a n d Socie ty in Tens ion , (Chicago: Rand-McNally, 1965), p. 6.13

Theoretically, an investigation of a contemporary ins tance of societal conversion might

be exam ined in the sam e degree of detai l as indiv idual conversions often are, if an appropriate

bat tery of religious and other personality surveys could be devised and adminis tered to a repre-

sentative statistical sa m ple of the affected population.14 Welcome exceptions are Birgi t Sawyer, Peter Sawyer, and Ian W ood, eds ., T h e

Chr is t ian iza t ion o f S c a n d in a v ia : Repor t o f a Sympos iun he ld a t Kunga lv , Sweden , 4- 9 A u g u s t 1 9 8 5

(Alingas, Sweden: Viktoria Bokfor lag, 1987), which w as suggested in correspondence f romP e te r B ro w n ; and James M uldoo n, "Medieval M iss ionary Ef for t s—Conver t ing the Infidels to



Co nvers ion , C hr i s t ian iza t lon , and G e r m a n i z a t i o n 29

w he n theological distinctions are applied directly to historical religious

developments, difficulties inev itably arise. A case in po int is the classicwork of A rthu r Darby Nock w herein convers ion is def ined as "the reor ien-

tation of the soul of an individual , his deliberate turning from indi f fe rence

or from one form of piety to another , a turning w hich implies a conscious-ness that a grea t change is involved, tha t the o ld w as w r o n g and the new isright."

15Ramsay MacMullen notes that Nock 's v iew is based on "the

fu n damen ta l assumption that religious belief does not deserve the n a m e

unless it is intense and consuming."16

Against th is v iew M acM ullen offers

an example of the level of religious superficiality which may prevail in a

society which presumably had been "converted" to C hris tiani ty e ight hu n-

dred yea rs earl ier:

Discoveries [were] made by church w orke rs in regions and in a period

w h e r e w e would assum e par t icular ly deep and w ell-instructed religiosity:

Saxony and the neighboring par ts of Germany around 1600. Once out of

the upper-class circles, however, and even in a t ime of bitter theological

rivalries to concentrate the greatest possible attention on the faith, th e

vast bulk of the population are found to have been largely or totally

ignorant of the simplest matters of doctrine, rarely or never a t tending

church. . . . [TJhey were given over to "soothsayers, cu nn ing wo m en,crystal-gazers, casters of spells, witches, and other practit ioners of forbid-

den arts."17

MacMullen's response to Nock's r igorist defini t ion of conversion is to

provide his own l iberal de fini t ion of conversion as "that change of belief by

which a person accepted the real i ty and suprem e power of God and deter-

mined to obey him."18

This approach does not , however , immediately

What?" Paper presented at the Twenty-s ixth In ternat ional Congress on Medieval Studies,

Kalamazoo, Michigan , May 1991. Muldoon discusses the fun da m en tal ques t ions : "Can a whole

society usefully be described as becoming converted? Were Constant ine, August ine and Clovis

all converted to the same religion? . . . Can it even be said that these indiv iduals possessed

roughly similar or related views of the world, the same starting point so to speak in the process

of conversion? In the cases of Constantine and Clovis, can it be said that those who followed

their lead and accepted baptism were converted in any m ean ingfu l sense—and if so, to whom or

to wh at were they converted?" (p. 5). In addit ion to this paper, I am gra teful to James Muldoon

fo r providing copies o f "Conversion of the B arbarian s in the O ld World and the New," pre-

sented at the Conference on the History of C hristianity, U niversity of Notre Dame, March 1992,and "Religious Conversion on the Frontier in the Old World and the New," presented at the

Tw enty-seventh In tern atio nal Congress on M edieva l Studies, Kalam azoo, M ichigan, M ay 1992.15

Convers ion : T h e O ld a n d th e N ew in Rel ig ion f rom A l e x a n d e r th e G r e a t to Augus t i n e o f

Hippo (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1933), p. 7.16 MacMullen , Chr is t ian iz ing the R o m a n E m p i r e (New Haven, Conn. : Yale Univers i ty

Press, 1984), p. 4.17

Ibid. , p. 5. MacMullen is citing Gerald Strauss, L ut h er 's Ho us e o f L ea r n i n g: I n d o c t r i -

na t i on o f t h e Y o u n g i n t h e G e r m a n Reformat ion (Ba l t im ore , Md.: Johns Ho pk ins Un ivers i ty

Press, 1979). An add i t iona l source re fe r red to by M acM ul len i s J . J . C . von Gr im m elshausen ,

S imp l i c iu s S i m p l i c i s s i m us , t rans . G. Schulz-Behrend ( Indian apolis , Ind.: Bo bbs-M erri l l, 1965).18 M a c M u l l e n , Chr i s t ian i z ing th e R o m a n E m p i r e, p. 5.




clarify matters. It is clear from MacMullen's example of seventeenth-

century German rel igiosi ty that he and Nock are discussing conversion in

tw o different contexts . Althoug h the title of Nock 's wo rk m ight lead one tobelieve tha t i t is a s tudy in early Ch rist ian societal conversion, i t is prim ar-

ily a s tudy of individ ual conversion within variou s sociohistorical settings.

This is part icularly evident in Nock's f inal chapter, which consists of a

comparat ive study of conversion, not of three societies, but of three indivi-

duals: Justin, Arnobius, and August ine. In contrast, MacMullen 's work is astudy of the progress of Chris t iani ty throughout all levels of R o m a n

society.

This divergence of focus illustrates the need for a m o r e precise termi-

nology. N ock 's de fini t ion of conversion as "the reo rientat ion of the soul of

an individual"19

is complemented by his defini t ion of adhes ion as a form of

rel igious m od ificat ion w hich requires a less radical brea k with one's cur-rent beliefs and practices. Adhesion w as usually derived from in tercul tural

contact and did not lead "to any de fini te crossing of rel igious fro ntiers , in

which an old spir i tual hom e w as left for a new once and for all," and "did

not involve th e taking of a new way of life in place of the old."20

Adhesion

is often the result of "changes in belief and worsh ip due to politica l devel-

opment or cultural interplay," and not the result of a "difficult decision to

make be tween tw o views of life w h i ch m a k e its every detai l different ."21

Thus i t may be surmised that MacMullen would include as conver ts to

Christianity s ome whom Nock wou ld classify as m ere adheren t s.22

For the purpose of historical and religious studies that seek to measure

"the degree to w hich specifically C hrist ian teachings and practices shaped

the c ultural m il ieu of med ieval folk both high and low,"23

the use of Nock's

strict defini t ion of conversion as radical rel igious reorientat ion m a y be

beneficial, since it helps to establish a stable reference system. For this

reason, No ck 's de f in i t ion of conversion, despite i ts or ientat ion toward the

experience of indiv idua ls rather tha n groups, will be accepted herein.

However, i t is essential that a term be introduced which spans Nock's

notions of adhesion and conversion and connotes a sense of progression

from "non-Chris t iani ty" through adhes ion to convers ion and does notnecessarily imply radical religious reorien tat ion .

Such a term w ould overcome the inh eren t seman t ic l im i tat ions of theterm "conversion" when it is applied societally. It would also convey thecomplexity of the in teract ive process which ensues w hen a non-C hrist ian

19 Nock, C o n v er s io n , p. 7.20 Ibid., pp. 6-7.21

Ibid, p. 5.22

The views of Nock and MacMul len are discussed fur ther in "Un ders tan ding Conversion

in Late Ant iqui ty," in Eugene V. Gallagher , Expectation a n d Experience: Explaining Rel ig ious

Convers ion , vol. 2 of Ventures in Religion (A tlanta, Ga.: Sch olars Press, 1990).

23 John Van Eng en, "The Ch ris t ian Middle Ages as an H is tor iographica l Problem," A H R91 (1986): 537.




society and Christ ianity encounter each other. A suitable term for this

process is "Christianization."24

The concept of Christianization suggests a

societal process that optimally could be studied and measured in a more

r igorous m ann er , som ewhat l ike tha t in which a psychologist or theologian

m ay study the religious bel ief and behavior of an individual who claim s to

have undergone a personal religious conversion. The s tudy of a historical

instance of at tem pted societal C hristianizat ion m ay be aided by the appli-

cation of concepts from the sociology of religion to the transformation of

the bel iefs , at t i tudes, values, and behavior (BAVB) of the society. AsChris topher Dawson has noted, to unders tand the religion of "periods like

the Middle Ages, when rel igion and civilization w ere so closely united . . .

i t is not enough to study it theologically in its essential dogmas and

religious principles; it is also necessary to study it sociologically with

reference to the changing complex of social t radit ions and cultural

inst itut ions into w hich i t becam e incorporated."25

Although carefully researched studies of the process of religious

conversion in individuals are not uncommon ,26

s imi lar s tudies of societal

conversion are less com m on, and usually concentrate on con tem porary

missionary efforts by Chris t ians27

and proselytizers of the various "new

religions,"28 ra th er tha n o n his tor ical ins tances of a t tem pted C hrist ianiza-

t ion . The prim ary sociorel igious treatm ents of historical instances of Chris-t ianizat ion appear to be Richard E. Sullivan's studies of ear ly medieval

missionary activity,29

Peter Brown's article "Aspects of the Christ ianisat ion

24Comparing th e papers presented at the 1966 and 1980 Spoleto conferences on the early

Middle Ages, Joh n Van Engen, "The Ch ristian Middle Ages," has observed an increasing reluc-tance to accept th e finality implied in the terms "conversion" and "Christ ianization." H e notesthat "the official christening of a king or people hardly produced deep faith or organized prac-tice overnight; in anthropological terms, it did not in itself transform a custom ary cul ture"(p. 542).

25"The Sociological Foundations of M edieval Ch ristendom ," in C hristopher Daw son, ed,

Medieval Essays (New Y ork: Sheed & Ward, 1954), pp. 54-55. O ther relevant works by Dawsoninclude Religion a n d Culture (New Y ork: Sheed & Ward, 1948), T h e Ma ki n g o f Europe: An

Introduct ion to the History o f European Unity (1932; reprint, New York: World, 1952), an d

Religion and the Rise of Western Culture (1950; reprint, Ga rde n City, N.Y.: Dou bleday, 1958).26

Contemporary studies include Robert D. Duggan, Conversion a n d t h e C a t e c h u m e n a t e

(New Y ork: P au list Press, 1984), an d Joseph F. Byrnes, T h e Psychology of Rel igion (New York:Free Press, 1986).

27 Fo r examples of such studies , see W. H arold Fuller, Mission C h u r c h Dynamics : How toC h a n ge Bicultural Tens ions i n to Dynamic Missionary Outreach (Pasaden a, C alif.: William CareyLibrary, 1940); and Charles H . Kraft and Tom N. W isley, ed., Readings in D y n a m i c Indigeneity

(Pasadena, Calif.: William Ca rey Lib rary , 1979).28

See especially th e extensive treatm ent presented in four articles unde r th e entry "NewReligions" in the Encyclopedia of Religions. Also of interest ar e Jacob N eed leman, The New Reli-

gions (G arden City, N.Y.: Do ubleday , 1970); C harles Y . Clock an d Robert N . B ellah, eds., T h eNew Religious Consc iousness (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1976); an d IrvingHexman and Karla Poewe, Understanding Cults and Ne w Religions (Grand Rapids , Mich. :Eerdmans , 1986).

29 "The Carolingian Mission and the Pagan," Speculum 28 (1953): 705-40; "Early Medi-eval Missionary Activity: A Comparative Study of Eastern and W estern Methods," C h u r c h History




of the Roman Aristocracy,"30

Henry Mayr-Hart ing 's s tudy of the coming

of Chris t iani ty to Anglo-Saxon England,31

C . E. Stancliffe's analysis of theChrist ianizat ion of the Touraine region,

32Ramsay MacMul len ' s recen t

work Christ ianiz ing th e R o m a n Em p ir e ,33 to which reference has been madeabove, Peter M unz 's s tudy of ear ly European his tory and A fr ican anthro-

pology,34

H ans-D ietrich K ahl 's phenom enological assessm ent of early medi-

eval Ch ristianizat ion efforts ,35

and the recently published report of a 1985

symposium on the C hrist ianizat ion of Scandinavia.36

A s the current inquiry

w as being completed, three books and two art icles appeared which arenoteworthy fo r their incorporat ion of a sociorel igious approach to reli-

g ious t rans form at ion . The books a re by Ro ber t A . M arkus ,37

Ronald

Hut ton,38 and Valerie I. J. Flint.39 The articles appear as chapters in the

Oxford Il lustrated History o f Christ iani ty .40

They are by Rober t A . M a r k u s41

and Henry Mayr-Har t ing .42

Finally, no tice should be take n of the recent

publication of a paper presented by Robert A. Markus .43

23 (1954): 17-35; "Carol ingian M iss ionary Theories," Cathol i c Historical R ev iew 42 (1956/57):

273-95; "The Papacy and M issionary Activity in the Early M iddle Ages," Mediaeval S tud ie s 17(1955): 46-106; and , of special interest for i ts systematic approach, "Kha n Bo ris and the Con-

version of Bulgaria: A Case Study of the Impact of Christianity on a B arb aria n Society," in S tud ie s

in Medieval a n d Re na i s sance History, vol. 3, William Bowsky, ed. (Lincoln: Univers i ty of

Nebraska Press, 1966). Of related interest is Sullivan's recent historiographical analysis: "TheCarolingian Age: Reflections on Its Place in the History of the M iddle A ges," Speculum 64

(1989): 267-306.30

Journa l of Religious Studies 51 (1961): 1-11.31

T h e C o in in g o f Chris t iani ty to A n g l o - S a x o n England , 3rd ed. (University Park:Pennsylvania State U niversity Press, 1991).

32"From Town to Country: The Christianisation of the Touraine, 370-600," in Derek

Baker, ed, T h e C h u r c h in T o w n a n d Countrys ide , SCH, no. 16 (Oxford: Blackwell, 1979),

pp. 43-59.33 Of related interest is his s tudy P ag an i sm i n t he R o m a n E m p ir e (New Haven, Conn.:

Ya le U niversity Press, 1981).34 "Early European History and African Anthropology," New Z e a l a n d Journa l o f History

10 (1976): 37-50.35

"Die ers ten Jahrhunderte des missionsgeschichtl ichen Mittelalters: Bausteine fur eine

Phanomenologie bis ca. 1050," in K nu t Schaferdiek, ed., Die Kirche des fruheren Mittelalters, first

half of vol. 2 of Kirchengesch ich te a ls Miss ionsgesch ich te (M unich: Chr. K aiser Verlag, 1978),

pp. 11-76; and "Bausteine zur G rundlegu ng einer m iss ionsgeschicht lichen Phanom enologie des

Hochmittelalters ," in Misce l lanea Historiae Ecclesiast icae, vol. 1 (Louvain: Pu blications U niversi-

taires de Lo uva in, 1961), 50-90.36 Sawyer, Sawyer, and Wood, eds , T h e Chris t ian iza t ion of Scand i nav i a .37

T h e E n d of A n c i e n t Chris t iani ty (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990). I amindebted to Edw ard Peters fo r bringing this work t o my attention.

38T h e Pagan Rel ig ions of th e A n c i e n t Bri t ish Isles: Their Nat u re and Legacy (Oxford: Basil

Blackwell, 1991).39

T h e Rise of Magic in E a r f y Medieva l Europe (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press,

1991).40 John McManners, ed., Oxford Illustrated History o f Chris t iani ty (Oxford : Oxford

University Press), 1990.41 "From Rome to the B a r ba r i a n K i ngdoms (330-700)," ibid., pp. 62-91.42

"The West : The Age of Convers ion (700-1050)," ibid., pp. 92-121.43 "From Caesar ius to Boniface: Christ ianity and Paganism in Gaul , " in Jacques Fontaine



Co nvers ion , C hr i s t ian iza t ion , a n d G e r m a n i z a t i o n 33

MacMullen 's Christ ianiz ing th e R o m a n E m p i r e consti tutes the first

systematic book-length historical s tudy of an instance of Christ ianizat ion,

and is thus valuable in the current development of a model of rel igious

transform ation. H is penetrat ing analysis of the sociocultural forces at w ork

is in m any w ays reminiscent of Latourette's History o f the Expans ion o f

Christ ianity.** MacMullen's chapter ti t les include: I. Problems of Approach,

II. What Pagans Believed, III. Christianity as Presented, VI. Nonreligious

Factors in Conversion, IX. How Complete Was Conversion? and X. Con-

version by Coercion.45

The present inqu iry will seek to address these key

topics as they apply to the Christ ianizing of the Germanic peoples and the

Germaniza t ion of Christ ianity.Before proceeding fur ther , i t may be ben eficial to devise w orking defi-

nit ions of Christ ianity and Christ ianizat ion for the purpose of this inquiry.

A popular perception of the at tempted Chris t ianizat ion of the German i cpeoples includes the baptism of Clovis, the missionary efforts of the Irish

m onk s, the m ission of St . Bo niface, and the coerced baptism of the Saxo ns

by Charlemagne, after which the G ermanic peoples are considered "con-

verted to Christianity." Studies of m edieval C hristianity generally concede

tha t the initial results o f Christ ianizat ion efforts were largely superficial,

and that many pagan pract ices and at t i tudes remained fo r centuries , bu tsuch studies seldom analyze th e sociohistorical and sociopsychological

aspects of the process of rel igious transformation which occurred as a

result of the encounter of the Germanic peoples wi th Chris t iani ty . It is

hoped that the mode l of rel igious transformation developed here in Part I

will provide a s tructural reference that will assist in interpreting the his-

torical record in Part II.

Regarding the conversion of Clovis, Patrick J. Geary has recently re-

marked : "From w ha t Clovis was converted is not certain. ... To w h a t he

w as converted is equally problematic."46

Many a t t empts have been made

throughout history to dist i l l the "essence of Christ ianity."47

Christ ianity

and J. N. H illgarth, eds., T h e Seventh Century: C h a n ge a n d Cont inui ty (London: Warburg Institute,

University of London, 1992), pp. 154-172. Appreciation is extended to Robert A. M ark u s for pro-

viding a pre-publication copy of this paper which was presented at the W arburg Ins t i tute in 1988.44

See above, pp. 15-16,15 n. 16.

45 MacMullen, Christ ianizing th e R o m a n Empire , p. v. Related articles by MacMulleninclude "Conversion: A Historian's View," T h e S ec o n d Century 5:2 (1985/86): 67-81; "TwoTypes of Re ligious C onversion to Early Ch ristianity," Vigiliae Chris t ianae 37(1983): 17-92; and" 'What Difference Did Christianity Make? ' " Historia 35 (1986): 322-43. A critique of

MacMullen's approach with m ethodological considerations for the study of Christian religioust ransformat ion may be found in the first chapter of Markus , The End of A n c i e n t Christianity.

Additional critiques published in T he Second Century 5:2 (1985/86) are William S. Babcock,"MacMullen on C onversion: A R esponse," pp. 82-89; and M ark D. Jordan, "Philosophic 'Con-version' and Ch ristian C onversion: A Gloss on Professor M acM ullen," pp. 90-96.

46Before F rance and Germany: The Creat ion and Transformation of the Merovingian World

(New Y o r k : Oxford University Press, 1988), pp. 84-85.47

The most famous such effort was that of Adolf Harnack, entitled Da s Wesen des



34 T o wa r d a M o d el of Rel ig ious Trans format ion

m ay be defined according to a rigorist, historicist paradigm in which the

religiosity of a particular era, individual, or council is considered to epito-

mize "true Christianity." O ne form of the historicist approach is the "oldest

is best" assertion: the older a belief or custom may be shown to be, the

greater is its proximity to an imm utable core or essence of Chris t ian dogmaor tradit ion. A s time goes on and societies deviate from this exemplaryinstance of Christ ianity, reforms are regularly required to restore confor-

mity with an ancient ideal .

An objection to this approach from w ithin the context of the history of

ideas has been m ade by Jeffrey Burton Russell:

I propose that a concept is n o t best un derstoo d in light of its origins, butra ther in light of the direction in which th e tradition is moving. T o take

Christianity as a notorious exam ple: I do not believe that the tr u th of Chris-

tianity will best be elucidated by a search for its origins, but r a the r by an

observation of its development in tradition. This approac h is a reversal of the

assumption tha t has dom inated Ch r is t ian an d m uch other religious scholar-

ship for a very long t im e, an assum ption character ized by the gene tic fallacy:

tha t th e t r ue mean ing of a w o r d — o r of an idea—lies in its pristine state.48

Such a position m a y b e considered a relativist one. Even less stable may be

a subjectivist d efin i t ion of C hris tiani ty based upon the self-identif icat ion

of individ uals or a society as "Ch ristian."

A general ly relativist approach to the problem of the diffe ren tiat ion of

C hrist ian bel ief and practice has been advanced by W ill iam A . Clebsch,

w ho asserts that "changing cultures and differing aspirat ions produced a

variety of C hrist ianit ies , evinced in var ious m anifes tat ions of Christ, over

the centuries o f Eu ropean History."49

In a m ann er w hich recalls La touret te 's

fifth and sixth ma in concerns, w hich are, "wh at effect has Christ ianity hadupon i ts environm ent" and "the effect of the environ m ent on C hrist ianity,"50

Clebsch claims that "the task ... is to make sense of the mutual ly depen-

dent relat ion betwee n the C hrist ian rel igion and Eu ropean culture by i llus-

trating how the culture has been rel igiously shaped and how the rel igion,

including its deity and savior, has been cultural ly condit ioned."51

Chris ten tums , t r ans la ted as W h a t is Christ ianity? intro. by Rudolf Bul tmann , trans, and ed. T. B.

Saunders (1902; reprint, New Y ork: Harper, 1957). A discussion of the validity of the notion of

an ideological core within Christianity is presented in Stephen Sykes, T h e Identity of Christianity:Theologians and the Essence o f Christ ianity f rom Schle iemtacher to Bar th (Philade lphia: Fortress

Press, 1984).48

T h e Devil: Perceptions o f Evil f rom Antiquity to Primitive Christianity (Ithaca, N.Y.:

Co rnell U niv ersity Press, 1977), pp. 49-50.49

William A . Clebsch, Christ ianity in European History (New York: Oxford Universi tyPress, 1978), pp. v-vi. Clebsch, long a s tudent of Church history, has "over the last tw o decades.. . tr ied to rethink and relearn this field in the interest of rel igious history ra th er than churchhistory" (ibid. p. viii). H is first chapter, "Introduct ion: History and Eu ropean Chr is t ian i ty ," is

devoted to distinguishing be tween the two areas.50

See above, pp. 15-16.51 Clebsch, Christianity in European History, p. 6.



Convers ion, Chris t ianization, a nd G e r man lza t ion 35

W hile Clebsch's view of C hristianity is appealing, a par ticu lar problem

with relativist perceptions is tha t the ir instability furth er complicates com-parisons between Germanic and Christian socioreligious B A V B constructs.If the essence of Christianity is always in a state of flux, how can any

particular form of belief or observance be deemed "non-Christian"? Thisabsence of well-defined religious standards inevitably leads to imprecision

and confusion, particularly since th e characterization of any aspect of a

religious developm ent as "non-C hristian" is usually interprete d as a nega-

tive value jud gm ent and therefo re only m ade reluctantly.How, then, are the boundaries to be drawn in order to distinguish

among those attitudes, beliefs, and practices which appear to be tradi-tionally Christian, those which appear to be "borderline" Christian, and

those which appear not to be Christian at all? It must be acknowledgedbeforehand tha t any definition of Christianity may be criticized as arti-ficially static or exclusive. Even so, for the purpose of this inquiry an

objectivist definition of Christianity and Christianization will be adopted,only because a w ell-defined standa rd perm its m ore reliable m easurem ent

and comparative analysis of vario us aspects of religious development. This

approach may eventually lead to conclusions similar to those asserted byClebsch above. However, instead of proceeding from the assumption that

"changing cultures and differing aspirations produced a variety of Chris-tianities," it is sought here to evaluate th e religiocultural interactionbetween the Germanic peoples and Christianity from within the largercontext of the intera ction betw een Indo-European societies and universalreligious m ovem ents. After comparing the religious, cultural, and behav-ioral aspects of the early Christian and Germanic expressions of Christian-

ity, the m agnitude and the nature of the dispari ty between them m ay beevaluated. Then it may be possible to determ ine with som e accuracy the

extent of reciprocal accu lturation between G erm anic religiosity and Chris-

tianity, and the path this acculturation followed.For the purpose of this comparison it is helpful to isolate the most

distinctive and essential characteristic of Chris t ianity that predominated

prior to Constantine and Licinius's Edict of M ilan, which officially legiti-mated Chris t ianity in 313. Nearly all world religions share certain funda-

m ental ch aracteristics. Individ uals and groups g enerally seek to guaranteetheir basic requirements for survival. A fruitful harvest and physical secu-rity are often foremost among the favors sought from supernatural entities.It is not in the realm of supplication for survival, then, that the uniquecharacteristics of C hristian ity are to be located. Rather , it is in the belief inindividual redem ption through the suffering and death of Jesus Christ.

52

52That this soteriological focus of Christ ianity w as prevalent in the Apostolic Church, and

p a ra m o u n t in the New Testament, is argued by Arland J. Hultgren, C h r i s t a n d H is Benefi ts:Chris to logy a n d R ed em pt io n in t h e N ew T es ta m en t (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1987).



36 T o w a r d a M o d el of Re l i g i ous T ra n s f o rm a t i o n

Therefore, whenever the notion of Christianization is discussed, a thor-

ough effor t should be made to determine the extent to which the distinctive

soteriological-eschatological core of Christianity is consciously accepted. If

Christianization effor t s in a folk-religious society do not result in a substan-

tial and discernible reorientation of the world-view of that society toward a

Christian soteriological-eschatological world-view, then Christianization

cannot be said to have occurred. In addition, it is helpfu l to evaluate a

society's degree of conformity in each of the fol lowing areas: the reception

of baptism and other sacraments, doctrinal assent, ethical conformity,

liturgical usage, and ecclesiastical discipline. The extent to which the epic

literature of a society reflects Christian ethical ideals is another measureof the degree to which that society has been Christianized. The notion that

baptism alone may be equated with conversion or Christianization is not

considered acceptable f rom the perspective of this inquiry.53

The most signif icant conceptual discussion of medieval Christianiza-

tion is contained in a recent article by John Van Engen.54

In it, he dis-

cusses the current debate among historians as to whether or not "medieval

culture was essentially 'Christian' or 'Catholic.' "55

As Van Engen notes,

some historians now claim that, outside of a minuscule clerical elite, "thegreat mass of medieval folk lived in a 'folklore' culture best likened to that

observed by anthropologists in Third World countries."56

Van Engen attributes the origin of this debate to "the emergence of

medieval religious life as a field o f historical inquiry fully as legitimate as

medieval politics, warfare, and economics."57

He traces this development

f rom Herbert Grundmann's focus on popular medieval religious move-

ments58

and Etienne Delaruelle's focus on popular piety,59

through Jean

Leclercq's work in bringing monastic piety into the mainstream of secular

53Gabriel Le B ras, "The Sociology of the Church in the Early Middle Ages," in Sylvia

Thrupp, ed., Early Medieval Society (NewYork: Appleton-Century-Crofts , 1967), has stated:

"W e m eet peculiar difficulties in the problem of conversion. It is impossible to tell how many of

those who w ere baptized became Christians" (p. 52).54

JohnV an Engen, "The Christian M iddle Ages,"519-52.55

Ibid., p.522.56

Ibid., p. 519. For an overview of works by supporters of this general view, se e ThomasTentler, "SeventeenAuthors in Search of Two Religious Cultures," Cathol ic Historical Review,

71 (1985): 248-57.57

Van Engen, "The Christian Middle Ages,"p. 522.58

Ibid., p. 523. Herber t G r undma nn , Religiose Bewegungen im Mittelalter, 3rd ed.

(Hildesheim: Georg O lm Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1961), is considered by Van Engen to have

become "the foundation for the study of m edieval religious life" (ibid.). Other related works by

Grundm ann a re Ketzergeschichte des Mittelalters, 2nd ed. (Gott ingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht ,1967), and "Neue Beitrage zur Geschichte der religiosen Bewegungen," Arch iv fur Kultur-

gesch ich te 37 (1955): 129-82.59

Van Engen, "The Christian Middle Ages," p. 524. Several of his recent articles arereprinted in Et ienne Delaruelle, La piett a u m o y en a g e (Turin: Bot tega d 'Erasm o, 1975).




historical research60

and Gabriel L e Bras's sociology of religion.61

From

the work of these historians, each of whom possessed some degree of

personal interest in m edieval Christ ianity, em erged a new school w hich

"approached medieval life as historical anthropologists invest igat ing anative culture subjected to the pro pag an da of Christ ian m issionaries."

62

The leading exponents of this school, ac cording to Van Engen , are Jacques

L e Goff and Jean-Claude Schmit t , both of whom "have now set out to

draw far more systematical ly on structural analysis as a way of gett ing at a

submerged popular cul ture in which re l ig ion—that is, a re lig ion comm on

to Indo-European peoples—played a cohesive force."63

Van Engen seeks to temper L e Gof f 's view of a Christian clerical elite

rel ig ious cul ture which coexis ted wi th a predominant ly Indo-Europeanpopular rel igious culture, and argues for an ongoing synthes is , a slow

"transition from one cus tomary rel ig ious cul ture to another ," concluding

w he n "at some un de term inab le poin t m os t people in Europe came toconsider themselves 'Christ ian. ' "

6 4The self-perception of a majori ty of

Europeans that they w ere Ch ris tian is not , however , equivalent to a more

objective test of their beliefs, atti tudes, values, religious practices, ethics,and behavior . Van Engen notes e lsewhere that Jean Delumeau, Kei th

Thom as, Car lo G inzburg, G erald St rauss, and several others hav e argued

"that medieval folk were at best only superficial ly C hrist ianized ," and t ha t

"Christ ian faith and practice first took hold among the European masses

dur ing the Reform at ion and Counter Reform at ion m ovements."65

In his reject ion of a rel igious dichotom y between early m edieva l clerical

and popular elements, VanEngen notes that " inf luence cut bo t h ways . . . .

[w}ritten clerical cu lture , ho w eve r, also absorbed a grea t d eal f rom popular

religious cul ture , as demonst rated plainly and most obviously in the

60Van Engen, "The C hrist ian M iddle Ages," p. 525. See Jean Leclercq, T h e Love o f

Learning a n d Desire fo r God: A Study of Monas t ic Culture, trans. C. Misrashi, 2nd ed. (New Y ork :Fordham U nive rsity Press, 1974), an d M o n k s a n d Love in Twelfth-Century France: Psycho-

Historical Essays (Oxford: C laren do n Press, 1979).61

Van Engen , "The Christian M iddle Ages," p. 525. For an in trod uc tion to his approach,

se e Gabriel Le B ras, "The Sociology of the Church in the Early Middle Ages," in Th rupp, ed.,

Early Medieval Society, pp. 47-57; or H en ri Desroche, "Areas and M et h o d s of a Sociology of

Religion: The Wo rk of G. Le Bras," Journal of Religion 35 (1955): 34-47.62

Van E ngen, "The Christian Middle Ages," p. 528.63Ibid., p. 529. Recent representative w orks of these authors are Jacques Le Goff, T i m e ,

W ork a n d Culture in the Middle Ages , trans., A r t hu r Goldhammer (Chicago: Univers i ty of

Chicago Press, 1980), an d Jean-Claude Schmit t , T he Holy Greyhound: Guinefort, Healer o f

Children S ince th e Thirteenth Century (Cambridge: Cam bridge University Press, 1983). O f

particular relevance to the present study are two articles contained in Le Goff s work: "Labor,

Techniques, and Craftsmen in the Value Systems of the Early Middle Ages (Fifth to Tenth

Centuries)," pp. 71-86; and "Clerical Culture and Folklore Traditions in Merovingian Civiliza-tion," pp. 153-58.

64Van En gen, "The Christ ian Middle Ages," p. 550.

6 5

Ibid., p. 521. The general approach leading to this view and Markus ' s crit ique of it maybe found in The End of A n c i e n t Christianity, pp. 10-13.



38 Toward a M o d e l of Religious Trans format ion

various reform movements."66

O ne need not, however, wait unti l the vari-ous reform m ovements of the twelfth century to discover the influence of

popular religious culture on written culture. Its beginnings were coin-

cidental with the first attempts to Christianize the Celtic and Germanicpeoples of northern and central Europe, and is evident in the epic literary,dramatic, and liturgica l developm ents of the early M iddle Ages, tha t is, theseventh through tenth centuries. Indeed, occurring sim ultaneously w ith th e

Christianization efforts of the missionaries was the less obvious process ofth e Germanizat ion of Western Christianity.

67

This Germanization process is of ten overlooked.68

Studies of the inter-action between Christian and Germanic rel igion and culture customarily

focus upon the Chris t ianizat ion process as the active force and Germanic

paganism as a passive or reactionary phenom enon. This is understandable,

since there is no evidence of a major drive by non-Chris t ian Germanic

peoples comparable to tha t of the Emperor Julian to restore or advancepre-Christ ian Roman religion. Yet there did exist a subtle but pervasiveGermanizing force which resul ted primari ly from a m issionary policy of

accommodation and gradua lism , instead of a policy requ iring preliminarydoctrinal and ethical inculcation.

This observation is not intended to detract from the overall effec-

tiveness of the Church's missionary policy. In fact , it is quite possible thatif doctrinal assent and ethical modification had consti tuted a prerequisite

for baptism, those Celtic and Germanic leaders whose ow n baptism often

66Van Engen, "The Christian M iddle Ages," p. 550.

67 The expression "the Ge rma nization of Christianity" w as popularized by Ar thur Bonus

in Vo n Stocker zu N a u m a n n : Ein Wort zur Germanis ierung des Chris ten tums (Heilbronn: Eugen

Salzer, 1896), and in Zur Germanis ierung des Chris ten tums (Jena: Eugen Diederichs, 1911).

Although Bon us coined th e expression in the context of the then emergen t "Deutsche Christen"

movement , which sought to eliminate un-Germanic e lements from Christianity, Heinrich

Bohmer , "Das germanische Christentum," Theologische S t ud i en un d Kritiken 86 (1913):

165-280, responded by reformulat ing th e notion of the "Germanization of Christianity" as a

subject m eriting historical inquiry. Particularly significant is K urt Dietrich Schm idt, "Die Ger-

manisierung des Christentums im friihen Mittelalter ," in idem, Ger m a n i s c h er Gl aube un d

Chris ten tum (Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ru precht, 1948). A dditional backgroun d is contained

in Die Religion in Geschich te un d Gegenwart, 3rd ed., s.v. "Germanisierung des Christentums,"by Kurt Dietrich Schmidt, and Theologische Realenzyklopadie, s.v. "Germanisierung des

Chris tentums," by K nu t Schaferdiek.68One who has not overlooked the significance of the process of G erma nization is Erwin

Iserloh, who has stated: "Fur den Kirchenhistoriker ... erhebt sich d ie Frage, ob das Christen-

tu m in seinem vollen W esensbestand von den germanischen Volkern angenommen wurde oder

ob die Germanen auf Grund ihrer Art und gemiiB ihrer dam aligen Reife nur bestimmte Seitender christlichen Lehre und des christlichen Lebens zu realisieren vermochten und dadurchandere wesentliche Elem ente zun achst nicht oder kunftig iiberhaupt nicht mehr in Erscheinung

traten. Brennender als die Frage nach der Christianisierung der Germanen is t also fur den

Kirchenhistoriker die nach der Germanisierung des Christentums" ("Die Kont inui ta t des

Chris tentums be im Ubergang von der Antike zum Mittela l ter im Lichte der Glaubensver-

kiindigung des heiligen Bonifatius," in Klaus W ittstadt, ed., Verwirklichung des Chris t l ichen imWandel der Geschichte [Wiirzburg: E ch ter V erlag , 1975], p. 12).



Co nvers ion , C hr is t ian iza t ion , and Germaniz a t ion 39

precipitated that of m a n y of their kinfolk m ight well have rejected C hris-

tianity ou tright ow ing to its obvious ideological o pposition to the ir Indo -European warr ior code. Thus th e C hristianization policies o f accommoda-tion and gradualism 69 were effective in incorporating the Germanic peo-

ples into the Ro m an C athol ic Church , but at the same t ime they led to asubstantial Germanization of Western Christianity.

The early medieval G erm anization of C hristianity, in m ost cases, then ,

was not the result of organized Germanic resistance to C hristianity, or ofan at tempt by the Germanic peoples to t ransform Chris t iani ty in to anacceptable fo rm. R ather , i t was prima rily a consequence of the deliberate

inculturation of Germanic religiocultural att i tudes within Christ iani ty byChrist ian missionaries. This process of accommodation resulted in the

essential transformation of Christ iani ty from a universal salvation religion

to a Germ anic, and eventually Eu ropean, folk religion. The sociopsycho-logical response of the Germanic peoples to this inculturated form of

Christianity included th e acceptance of those traditionally Christian ele-

men t s which coincided with Germanic religiosity and the resolution ofdissonant elements by re interpret ing them in accordance with the Ger-manic ethos and world-view. T he profundity of the resu lt ing t ransfo rm a-

tion of Christ iani ty is attested to by Josef A . Jungmann , w ho notes: "w em ay safely assert t ha t in all the two thousand years of the C hurch 's h is tory ,

no period has ever seen a greater revolution in re l ig ious thought and

insti tutions than tha t which took place in the first five centuries betweenth e close of the patristic age and the dawn of scholasticism [600-1100]."

70

T he general im perceptibili ty of th is t ransformat ion m ay be d ue to two

reasons. T he first is that theologians and church historians are accustomed

to locating developments in Christianity in such matters as doctrinaldebates, hetero do x form ulatio ns, C hurch-State con troversies, spiri tual

treatises, th e founding of religious orders, and concil iar prono uncem ents.

However, the order of magni tude of the development being considered

here is far greater than any of these. For example, the Germanic peoples

did not bothe r to o bject to individual dogmas, because dogm atic orthodoxy

w as not cen tral to their notion of religion. Th e second reason th at the G er-

manizat ion of Christ iani ty is seldom acknowledged may be tha t now, wh en

syncretic developm ents are usu ally associated w ith "developing nation s,"there m ay exist at least a sub-conscious reluctance by Western Chris t iansto accept the notion that their mainstream religious tradition is i tself the

result of a syncretic development which eventually became normative.

69A more detailed discussion of the development of these policies will be presented in

chapter 7.70

"The Defeat of Teutonic Arianism and the Revolution in Religious Culture in the Early

Middle Ages," in Pastoral Liturgy (New York: Herder and Herder, 1962), p. 1; originally

published as "Die Abwehr des germanischen Arianismus und der Umbruch der religiosen

Kultur im friihen Mittelalter," Zei tschr i f t f i i r katholische Theologie 69 (1947): 36-99.



40 T o w a r d a M o d e l o f R e l i g i o u s T r a n s f o r m a t i o n

However, such reluctance among Christians may be somewhat ironic, since,

were it not for its Germanization, Christianity might never have spread

throughout Northern and Central Europe.

One of the most obvious examples of the Christian accommodation of

Germanic religiocultural attitudes may be f o u n d in the medieval Church's

attitude toward warfare. In a s tudy of this subject, J. M. Wallace-Hadrill

has noted:

Germ anic pagan peoples had a clear sense tha t war was a re lig ious unde r-

taking, in which th e gods were interested. A t once one t h in k s of Wode n as

a G od peculiarly, thou gh not exclusively, connected with w arfare Pagan

and pagan- t ransi t ional warfare , then, had i ts re l ig ious facet . Not surpr i -singly, Chris tian miss ionar ies fou nd this ineradicable , thou gh not un ad apt-

able to the i r ow n purposes . Chr is t ian vernacular makes considerable use

of the te rms of pagan w a r f a re . . . . Why, then, d id the m en who conver ted

th e Anglo-Saxons differ so sharply [in thei r apparent indif fe rence toward

the w arr ior code] from Wulfila? The Anglo-Saxons were not less bell icose

than the Goths . The answer may l ie in the prudent spir i t of accommoda-

tion shown by Gregory the Great . More than that , the pope was an arden t

suppor ter of wa r f a r e to spread C hr is tiani ty and con ver t the he athen, and

this last is , I think , the m ore im po rtan t conside ration. So far from rejecting

the Germanic war -e thos the pope means to harness i t to his own ends ,

and the evidence is that he succeeded. The barbar ians m ay fight to their

heart 's con tent in causes blessed by the C hu rch, and this is m ad e clear not

only in the mat te r of vocabulary. It is the pos i t ion o f th e C h u r c h r a t h e r t h a n

of th e G e r m a n s t h a t h a d undergone modi f ica t ion . A s E r dm a n n s h owe d , th e

Chu rch subsum ed and did not re ject the wa r l ike m oral qua l i ties of it s

conver ts . W ho shal l say that St . M ichael of la ter days was not W oden und er

fresh colors?71

The apotheosis of the Christian assimilation of the Germanic warrior code

may be found in St. Bernard of Clairvaux's "recruitment tract" for the

military order of the Knights Templars, De l a u d e novae mi l i t iae , in which

the killing of non-Christians in battle is justified, if not encouraged.72

71"War and Peace in the Early Middle Ages", in Early M e d i e v a l History (Oxford: Basil

Blackwell, 1975), pp . 29-30 (emphasis added). Carl Erdmann's Die E nt s t e hu ng d es Kreuzzugs-

g e d a n k e n s (Stut tgar t : W. K o h l h a m m e r , 1935), to which Wallace-Hadril l refers , contains a thor-ough discussion of the development of medieval military ethics, and has since been translated by

M. W. Baldwin and Walte r Gof fa r t as T h e Origin of the Idea o f C r u s a d e (Princeton, N.J.:

Princeton University Press, 1977). Further discussion of the tension between the Germanic

warr ior code and Christian pacifism may be f o u n d in Clinton Albertson's introduction to his

edition of A n g l o - S a x o n S a i n t s a n d H e roe s (New York: Fordham Univers i ty Press, 1967),

pp. 1-28. The prominence of the Germanic warr ior code in medieval l i te ra ture is documented

by M ary Crawford Clawsey, "The Co m ita tus and the Lord-Vassa l Rela t ionship in the Medieval

Epic" (Ph.D. diss. , Un iversity of M ary lan d, 1982).72

D e l aude novae m i l i t i ae , in S a n c t i B em a r d i Opera , ed. J. Leclercq, C. H . Talbot, and

H. Rochais, vol. 3 (Rom e: E dition es Cistercienses, 1959), pp. 213-39. A d d i ti o n a l in f o r m a t i o non the Templars may be fo u n d in Edi th S imon , T h e Piebald: A Biography o f t h e Knigh t s o f



C onvers ion , C hr i s t ian i z a t ion , and Germanization 41

To further validate the assertion of the Germanization of medieval reli-

gious culture, it is useful to consider the principle lex o r a n d i , lexcredendi.

Van Engen advances this notion when he states that "the real measure of

Christian religious culture on a broad scale must be the degree to which

time, space, and ritual observances came to be defined and grasped essen-

tially in terms of the Christian liturgical year."73

Similarly, it may be pre-

sumed that the real measure of the Germanization of medieval religious

culture must be the degree to which time, space, and ritual observances came

to be defined and grasped essentially in terms of the Germanic ethos and

world-view.

The succinct outline of early medieval liturgical history provided byCyrille Vogel in his guide to medieval liturgical resources ascribes a major

role to Germanic influence in the formation of early medieval religious

culture. He states:

T he period that extends from Gregory the G r e a t [590-604] to Gregory V II[1073-1085] is characterized by the follow ing facts rega rding l i turgy:

a) the system atization of the l i turgy of the C ity of Rom e and of the

papal court (theR o m a n liturgy in the strict sense);

b) the spread of th is l iturgy in to the Frankish kingdom thro ug h theinitiatives of ind ividu al pilgrim s and, af te r 754, w ith the support of the Caro-

l ingian kings;c) the del iberate Romanizat ion of the ancient liturgy of Nor th e r n

Europe (Gallican) at the behest of Pepin III and Char lemagne;

d) the progressive creation of a "mixed" or "hybrid" set of new ritesin the Carol ingian Empire through the amalgamat ion of the Roman l i tur -

gy with indigenous ones;

e) the inevitable liturgical diversification result ing from these Romani -

zing and Gall icaniz ing thrus ts ;f) the re tu rn of the adapted Ro m ano-Frank ish or R om ano-G erma nic

l i turgy to Rome u nd er the Ottosof G erm any , especially after the Renova t io

Imperi l of 962;

g) the perm ane nt adopt ion of th is l iturgy a t Ro m e because of the wor-

ship vacuu m and the gene ral state o f cul tura l and religious decadence whichprevailed in the City at that t im e.

This long period w hich we have just outl ined is one of m a j o r impor-

tance in the h istory of Christ ian w orship. The Latin l i turgy w hich came into

being in this era and which cont inued to be the liturgy fo r centur ies to come,was not a purely Ro m an one;as a result of i ts long and turb ulen t history, it is

better ch aracterized as R om a n o- Fr a n k i s h or even as R om a n o- G e r m a n ic .74

Templars (Boston: Little, B row n, 1959). Informat ion regarding other medieval military religiousorders as well may be found in Desmond Seward, T h e M o n k s o f War: T h e Military Religious

Orders (H am den , Conn.: A rchon, 1972); an d A lan Forey, T h e Military Orders f rom the Twelfth to

th e Early Fourteenth Centuries (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1992).73

Van Engen, "TheChrist ian M iddle Ages," p. 543.

74 Medieval Liturgy: A n Introduct ion to the Sources , t rans , and rev. William Storey andNiels Rasm ussen (Washington, D. C.: Pas tor al Press, 1986), p. 61. Of re la ted in terest by Vogel




Vogel is not alone in attributing great significance to the evolution of theofficial Rom an Cathol ic l i turgy in to a Rom ano-Germanic form . Jungmannlikewise viewed this developmen t as portending momentous consequences,

not only for the fu t u re of Christian worship, but for W estern religious cul-ture in general:

As is well known, in Church life, in fo rms of worship, in canon law, in

monastic life, and , not least, in theological science, from the 9th century it

w as the cou ntries n orth o f the A lps that took the lead, while Italy suffere d

a period of set-back. From the 10th century onwards, the cul tura l heritage

which had accumulated in the Carol ingian North, s t reamed in ever in -

creasing volume into I ta ly and became the cul tural s tandard in Rome

itself. . . . Ultimately it was from Rome tha t the new spirituality and new

ways spread to the Church at large. What had been established in the

Carol ingian em pire now becam e normative for al l the W est. Th e s t ructureof th e liturgy is but the m ost outs tan ding exam ple.

75

Some examples , der ived by Jungm ann from a Germanic over-react ion

against Arianism, are a decline in Christ 's mediat ive role, an increase in

private votive Masses commemorating Mary and the saints , the mult ipl i-

cation of signs of the cross in the Mass , and the int roduct ion of silent

prayer w i th hand s folded, w hich w as derived from the posture of a vassalpledging fealty to his lord. Germanic inf luence w as largely responsible,

according to Jung m ann, for an increased em phasis upon the d ram at ic and

allegorical representation of events from the life of Christ in the Mass and

in Scripture, as well as in the weekly liturgical cycle, and a s imul taneous

decline in soteriological-eschatological emphases in the l i turgy and in artis-tic expression. Also related to Germaniza t ion was the emergence of the

Christmas festival cycle as a rival to the Easter cycle, and an increased

stratification of clergy and laity, represented by the growing distancebetween the altar and the faithful, as well as by the in t roduct ion of a com-

m union ra i l boundary at w hich com m unican t s kne lt . Al though Jungm ann

believed that the prim ary cause of these dev elopments w as an anti-A rianresponse which emphasized Christ 's power and glory, given the general ly

lo w level of the perception and significance of doc tr inal subt le t ies am ong

the Germanic peoples in the early Middle Ages, it seems more l ikely thatthese developments were the expression of a Germanic e thos and world-

view.76

are "Les Echanges l iturgiques en tre Rom e et les pays francs jusq u'a l 'epoque de Charlemagne,"

Se t t imane 1 (1960), pp . 185-295; and Le Pontifical r o m a n o - g e m a n i q u e , 3 vols., S tudi e Testi,

nos. 226,227, and 269 (Vatican City: Biblioteca Apostolica V atican a, 1963-72).75 Josef A . Jungmann , "The Defeat of Teutonic A rianism and the Revolution in Rel ig ious

Culture in the Early Middle Ages," pp. 18-19.76

This posit ion may be reinforced by the ob servation t ha t th e Franks , who d id no t becomeaffiliated with Arianism, do not appear to have differed significantly in their interpretat ion of

Christianity from t he i r formerly Arian G e r m a n i c neighbors. Josef A . J u n g m a n n , "The Defeat ofTeutonic Arianism and the Revolu t ion in Religious Culture in the Early Middle Ages," ch apters




A s Jungm ann observed, l i turgy w as not the only aspect of medieval reli-

gious culture which w as Germanized. In his History o f Chr is t ian Spirituali ty ,

Urban T. Holmes notes that Germanic spiri tual i ty "tended more toward

objects—e.g., the Cross, the Real Presence in the Eucharist , the Blessed

Virgin, the Scriptures—than the subtleties of process—e.g., growth inperfection. T h e w h o l e shap e o f Western spirituality is a f u n c t i o n o f th i s

radically n ew G e r m a n i c c u l tu r e w i th a s t rong addi t ion o f Celt ic culture."77

Drawing upon evidence from the Germ anic law codes, K atherine

Fischer Drew has recently sought to "reemphasize the importance of the

role played by the Germanic k ingdoms .. . [in] the period from about A.D.

500 to 800."78

A common f ea t u re among the Germanic peoples is "the

developm ent of a concept o f collective sec urity. Th is w as closely related totw o Germanic inst i tut ions: The family and kin group on the one hand andpersonal lordship on the other."

79Collective security may be considered

the antithesis of anomie. The social and spiritual needs of the Germanic

peoples were being adequately fulfilled from sources within their ow nsocieties. A religious mov em ent which had f lour ished in the anom ie urban

quar ters o f a declining society,80

was no t likely to meet wi th immedia tesuccess in a rural emerging society with a high level of collective security,

unless that rel igious movement w as represented in a manner wh i ch w ascom patible w ith the w orld-view of the lat ter society. O nly the n could analien religious movement effectively compete with the internal sources ofstability.

81A notewo rthy exam ple of such accommodation w as the por t ray-

al of Christ as a victorious G erm an ic w arlord.82

The gradual Germanizat ion of Christian ethics, liturgy, religious cul-

ture , and ecclesiastical orga niza tion w hich occurred con tem poraneo usly

with Christ ianizat ion efforts ,83

provides an alternate explanation for the

9 through 11 of idem, T he M ass of the R o m a n Rite: Its Origins a nd Development , vol. 1 (New

York: Benziger Brothers, 1951), and chapter 5 of R a y m o n d E. McNally, T h e Unreformed

C h u r c h (New York: Sheed and Ward, 1965), which generally follows Jun gm ann 's exposit ion,provide addition al discussion of the developments m entioned here .

77A History of Christ ian Spirituality: A n Analyt ical Introduct ion (New York: Sea bury Press,

1980), p. 50 (emphasis in the original). See also Oliver Dav ies, God Within: T he Mystical Tradi-

t ion of Northern Europe, with a foreword by R ow a n Williams (New York: Paulist Press, 1988).78 "Another Look at the Or ig ins of the M iddle Ages: A Reassessment of the Role of the

Germanic Kingdoms," Speculum 62:4 (1987): 803.79 Ibid., p. 804.80

For addit ional information on the socioeconomic background of the R om a n C hur ch ,

se e Mikhail Rostovtzeff, Soc ia l an d E c o n o m i c History of th e R o m a n Empire , 2 vols., 2nd rev. ed.,rev. P. M . Fraser (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1957); A. Judge, "The Social Identity of the FirstChristians: A Question of Method in Re ligious History," Journa l of Religious History 11 (1980):

201-17; and W. A. Meeks, T he First Urban Christ ians: T he Soc ia l World of the Apostle Pau l (NewHaven, C onn.: Yale University Press, 1983).

81 This situation is discussed in Stancliffe, "From Town to Country ," pp. 43-59,especiallypp. 51-59.

82See above, pp. 23-24, 23 n . 53.

83 These and o the r examples of Germaniza t ion will be discussed within their historicalcontexts in Part II .




observation that "medieval folk were at best only superficially Chris t ian-ized," and that "Chris t ian faith and pract ice first took hold among theEuropean masses du r ing the Reform at ion and Co unter R efo rm at ion m ove-

ments."84 Depending on how one def ines "masses," it might be that "Chris-t ian fai th and practice first took hold am ong the European masses" dur ing

the C om m ercial Revolut ion o f the twelfth century , as may be evidenced by

the emergence of such expressions of organized lay piety as the Humiliat iand the W aldensians , culm inat ing in the O rder of Friars M inor . I f the first

major episode of Christ ian response to anomie occurred in late antiquity,and the second may have occurred dur ing the Commercial Revolut ion,

85a

th i rd may be occurring in the present era in response to the Industrial

Revolution, a response tha t m ay have been formal ly in i ti a t ed by Leo XIII's

1891 encyclical R e t u r n N o v a r u m .Nei ther Le Goff and the "new school" nor Van Engen focus on the

sociocul tural dynam ics tha t operate dur i ng the process o f Chr i s t i an iza t ion .Le G off s argum ents for a " tw o-t iered" clerical-popular d ichotom y in m e-dieval rel igious c ulture are fundamental ly class-based, and al low only for a

s tubborn retention of pre-Chris t ian Indo-European rel ig ious express ions

by popular elements, while the "clerical elite" was a source of Chris t ianiza-

t ion. How ever, the G erm anizing l iturgical contr ibut ions of an A lcuin o r anAmal a r of Metz , fo r example, do not f i t easily into a schema w here in a

cler ical el ite i s seeking to impose or thodo x R om an C hris t iani ty upo n thenative populace. Neither L e Goff and the "new school" nor Van Engen

explicitly at t r ibu te a subs tant ia l role to the Germ anic ethos and wo rld-viewin the development of m edieval religious cu lture. Instead of a class-basedapproach to the problem of medieval Chris t ianizat ion, th is inquiry takesan ethnocul tural approach in which the German i za t i on of Chr i s t i an i ty is

the prim ary feature.

Van Engen, "The Christian Middle Ages," p. 521. Here Van Engen is summar iz ing the

views of Jean Delum eau, K eith Thom as, Carlo Ginzburg , Gerald Strauss, and several others.83

For an im portant socioreligious analysis of the Commercial Revolu t ion , see Barbara H.

Rosenwein and Lester K. Little, "Social Mean ing in the Monastic and Mendicant Spiritualities,"

Past and Presen t 63 (1974): 4-32, especially 16-20. Little fu r t h e r develops his analysis of the

mendican t orders, and credits th em w ith providing the necessary spiritual response to the new

economy, in Rel ig ious Poverty a n d th e Profit E c o n o m y in Medieva l E u r o p e (London: Paul EIek,

1978). See also Robert S. Lopez, T h e C o m m e r c ia l R e v o lu t io n of the Middle Ages , 950-1350

(Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1971). Addit ional informat ion on the W a ld e n s i a n s and

other prototypes of the Franciscan movement is contained in G r u n d m a n n ' s Ketzergeschichte d esMit tela l ters , pp. 28-34.



Sociohistorical Aspects of Religious

Trans fo rma t ion

To better unders tand the religious transfo rm ation which resulted from theencounter of the Germanic peoples with Christianity, it is useful to be-come fam iliar with other instances of pre-Christian and non-C hristian

religious transformation, particularly those in which a folk-religio us society

encountered a universal religious movement. O f special interest is thereligious transformation which occurred when the folk-religious Indo-

European societies of ancient Greece and Rome encountered "proto-Christian" mystery cults during the Hellenistic age. A n examination ofHellenistic and Jewish religious and philosophical currents should con-

tribute toward th e development of a general model of the interactionbetween folk-re ligious societies and universal religions, and of the religioustransformation which stem s from it. This model will then be applied to theencounter of the G erm anic peoples w ith Ch ristianity.

Several approaches from the comparative study of religion are utilized

this chapter. These include the distinction between folk and universalreligions, the analysis of th at wh ich is considered sacred by these types ofreligion, and a com parison of the prom inence of political, m agical, ethical,and doctrinal elements in each type of religion. I t is understood that in

certain instances th e application of such comparative structures m ay tem-porarily obscure some of the subtle distinctions that exist in the multi-

dimensional matr ix of religious characteristics, and, given the limitations

of dualistic and tripartite classifications, m ay even occasionally lead to

forced generalizations. However, it is believed that the benef i t s to bederived from careful typological com parisons ou tweigh the dangers.

1

1Talcott Parsons, in his introduction to Max Weber, The Soc io logy o f Re l ig ion , by trans.

Ephraim Fischoff (Boston: Beacon Press, 1963), pp. Ixiii-bcvii, criticizes Weber's implementa-

tion of his concept of the "ideal type," since Parsons believes it has contributed toward "typo-

logical rigidity and t rai t atomism." Given this danger, in the current inquiry th e attribution of a

particular characteristic to a religious phenomenon does not imply an exclusive association, nor

does it imply that antithetical characteristics m a y n o t also exist within th e same phenomenon,

albeit less prominent ly . Notice is also taken of the likelihood of a range of var iat ion wi th in most

characteristics.

45

3




To successfully develop a general model of religious transformation for

th e encounter of folk-religious societies with universalist religious move-

ments, i t is important, first, to avoid attributing preconceived Christian

notions of religion to non-Christian religions,2 and second, to consider the

categorization of religions into tw o types based upon fundamental struc-tural differences. These tw o types may be described as "folk," "ethnic," or"natural,"religions, and "universal," "revealed,""prophetic," or "historical"religions.

3Indo-European religions may be placed in the category of folk

religions, whereas, for the purpose of this inquiry, th e category of universalreligions will comprise Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and the mystery cults

of Isis, Cybele, Sarapis, Mithras, Eleusis, and Dionysus.By placing th e Christianization of the Germanic peoples and the

Germaniza t ion of Christianitywithin the larger context of the relationship

between Indo-European folk religions and the universal religious move-ments that developed in their midst, one may carefully draw analogies

regarding the development and expansion of Christianity. T he sociohis-torical analogies and hypotheses drawn from Indo-European studies and

th e sociology of religion, which are advanced in this chapter and elsewhere,are intended to contribute toward a deeper insight into the ideological and

cultural transformations that accompanied Christianization effor ts amongthe Germanic peoples. Also, in those areas where serious lacunae occur inthe historical record, carefully drawn analogies and inferences from the

fields of Indo-European studies and the sociology of religion may a t leastprovide a reasonable interpolation of what m ay have transpired, not, of

course, insofar as actual historical events are concerned, but rather as

regards ideological and cul tural transformations. In this way, certain pat-terns derived from the study of the Indo-European religions of India,

Persia, Greece, Rome, Scandinavia,and Ireland m a y b e carefully applied

2A succinct discussion of this prerequisite is contained in Ernest Benz, "On Understand-

in g Non-Christian Religions," in T h e History o f Rel ig ions : Essays in Methodology , ed. Mircea

Eliade and Joseph M. Kitigawa (Chicago: Universityof Chicago Press, 1959), pp. 115-31.3

A good introduction to this schema of categorization may be found in Gustav Mensching,

"Folk and Universal Religion," trans. Louis Schneider, in Rel ig ion , Cul ture a n d Socie ty: A Reader

in th e Soc io logy o f Rel ig ion , ed. Louis Schneider (New York: Wiley, 1964), pp. 254-61. O f

related interest, particularly for the student of popular religion, and those who, like Jacques Le

Goff, prefer to approach the process of medieval Christianization with a class-based paradigm,is Mensching's "The Masses, Folk Belief and Universal Religion," trans. Louis Schneider, in

Rel ig ion , Cul ture a n d Society , pp. 269-73. See also U go Bianchi, T h e History o f Rel ig ions (Leiden:

E. J. Brill, 1975), p. 53, in which the author, though he advocates caution in classifying "Types of

Religion" (pp. 36-44), appears to consider the classifications of "ethnical and 'founded' " reli-

gions to be a valid one. He states: "One must first of all distinguish between those religions which

have an 'ethnic' character, and those which were 'founded', a distinction of primary importancein th e typology of religions." Bianchi continues: "The former have their roots in the pre-history

of a people.... T he religious qualification of a member of the group will generally coincide with

his ethnical, cultural and political status." Bianchi considers Hinduism to be primarily an

ethnical religion, while in Judaism he notes th e coexistence of the universal ism usual ly associatedwith founded religions, together with an ethnical-national character.



Soc iohis tor ical Aspects of Religious Transformation 47

to the Indo-European religion of the Germanic peoples.4

When they per-tain to the interaction of Indo-European religion with proto-Christ ian orearly Christian religion, they may be particularly valuable. They are not

intended to substitute for the historical record, but to supplement andenh ance it, w hen it is ben eficial and possible to do so.

The responses of non-Chris t ians to Christianization efforts have onlyrecently become th e focus of scholarly analysis. Claiming that Adolf vonHarnack's classic study, T h e Miss ion a n d Expansion o f Christianity in the

First Three Centuries, contains no reference "to a pagan source and hardlya line in dicating the least attempt to find out wh at non-C hrist ians thoug htand believed,"

5Ram say M acM ullen comm ents tha t "to ignore the prior

views of converts or to depict th e Mission as operating on a clean slate isbo und to strike an historian as very odd indeed."

6It wo uld seem to b e just

as odd if the historian of m edieval C hrist ianity w ere to ignore those devel-opments in the sociology of religion and in Indo-European s tudies whichm ay compensate for the dear th of reliable extant sources for the s tudy ofpre-Christ ian Germanic rel igion, and particularly its interaction with

Christianity.7

A n appropriate starting point for studying the encounter between folk-

religious societies and un iversa l religions may be an examinat ion of the

concept of religion itself. The m ost comm on contemporary focus in informalcomparative discussions of religion a ppears to be on belief. O ne Christ iansect differs from another in its beliefs. C hristianity differs from Judaism

4The application of Indo-European studies to Germanic religiosity is considered essen-

tial by Jan de Vries, "Der heutige Stand der germanischen Religionsforschung," G e r m a n i s c h -

r o m a n i s c h e Monatschri f t , series 2 (1951-1952): 1-11.

5 Ramsay MacMullen, P a g a n i s m in the Roman E m p i r e (New Haven, Conn.: Yale Univer-sity Press, 1981), p. 206 n. 16; quoted in Robert L. Wilken, The C h r i s t i a n s as the Romans Saw

T h e m (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1984), p. xiv. W hile in general agreement with

the point made by MacMullen, L. Michael White, "Adolf Harnack and the 'Expansion' of Early

Christianity: A Reappraisal of Social History," The S e c o n d C e n t u r y 5:2 (1985/86): 105 n. 39,

cites seven references by Harnack to Pliny, Celsus, and Porphyry.6

MacMullen, P a g a n i s m , p. 206 n. 16.7

An important discussion of the advantages and l imitations of applying sociological or

anthropological theories to the history of Christianity is contained in Wayne A. Meeks's intro-

duction to T h e First Urban C h r i s ti a n s : T h e S o c ia l Wor l d o f t h e Apo s t l e P a u l (New Haven, Conn.:

Yale University Press, 1983), pp. 2-7. Ananthropological perspective on this subject is presented

in George R. Saunders's preface, in t roduct ion, and concluding article entitled "Transformations

of Christianity: Some General Observations," in C u l tu r e a n d Chris t iani ty: T h e D ia lec t i c s o f

Trans format ion , ed. idem (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1988). Speaking for the contri-

butors to this work and other colleagues at the University of Cali fornia at San Diego, Saunders

recalls that "w e were mystified by the paucity of serious anthropological studies of Christianity,

and particularly the lack of systematically comparative work" (p. xi). Recent applications of

sociological theory to early Christian religious development include Howard Clark Kee,

Chr is t ian Origins in S o c io lo g ic a l Perspective: M e t h o d s a n d R es o u r c es (Philadelphia: Westminster

Press, 1980); idem, M i r a c l e in t h e Early C h r i s t i a n Wor l d: A Study in S o c io h i s to r i c a l M e th o d (New

Haven: Yale University Press, 1983); and idem et al., Chris t iani ty: A S o c i a l a n d C u l tu r a l History

(New York: Macmil lan, 1991).



48 T o w a r d a M o d el o f R e l i g i o u s T r a n s f o r m a t i o n

and Islam in its doctrine that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. An approach

to comparative religion which focuses on doctrinal beliefs is certainly valid

when describing the distinguishing characteristics of revealed, universal

religions, and particularly forms of Christianity. Such a doctrine-centered

approach is not, however, well suited to discussions of folk religions, or to

comparisons of folk religions and universal religions, since folk religions

tend to iden t i fy themselves primarily in an ethnocultural sense rather than

in a doctrinal sense. Consequently, when one proposes to discuss a folk

religion, or to compare a folk religion with a universal religion, or espe-

cially when one proposes to discuss the attempted transformation of a

society f rom a folk religiosity to a universal religion and the concurrent

transformation of a universal religion into a folk religion, one must care-

fully consider the method to be used in studying the interaction between

two inherently dissimilar phenomena. In his discussion "Problems of

Approach," the first chapter of his study C hr i s t i an i z i ng the Roman Empire,

Ramsay MacMullen stresses the importance of this consideration:

General izing m ay conclude tha t all forms of religion have one c o m m o n

structure: so a person's shift of allegiance toward Christianity need have

involved only the exchange of one theology or theodicy or liturgy or sys-

tem of morals for some other tha t w as seen as preferable. Perhaps no one

today is likely to m a k e so strange an error, but it is not hard to find it in

older authorities otherwise deserving of great respect. Granted , somevariations of the generalizing fault are hard to avoid. Even to be recog-

nized, they need a certain degree of de tachment from our own ways. W e

ourselves naturally suppose, immersed as we are in the Judeo-Christ ianheritage, tha t rel igion means doctr ine. W h y should we think so? In fact,

"that emphasis is most unusua l as seen from a cross-cultural perspective."8

The f irst step in studying the interaction between a folk-religious soci-

ety and a universal religion is to acknowledge that the fundamental distinc-

tion between a folk religion and a universal religion is one of kind, and not

merely of degree. The next step is to devise a comparative methodology that

recognizes this distinction. Rudolf Otto's pioneering approach to the study

of religion through the study of that which manifests a sacred character in

a particular culture is helpful in this regard.9

It appears that the primary

sacral locus of most folk religions, including Indo-European religions, is

the folk community itself. The sacrality of the community is expressed in

ritual ceremonies that celebrate its relationship with its own exclusive gods

and that "promote a strong sense of in-group identification and loyalty."10

In contrast, the primary sacral locus of universal religions, such as early

8Chr is t ian iz ing th e Roman E mpir e (A.D. 100-400) , (New Haven, Conn.: Yale Univers i ty

Press, 1984), p. 8. The quotation in the last sentence is taken from Clyde K l u c k h o h n , "Myths

and Rituals: A General Theory,"Harward Theolog ica l Rev iew 35 (1942): 53 .9

Rudo l f Otto, T h e Idea o f th e Holy, 2nd ed. ( L o n d o n : Oxford Univers i ty Press, 1950).10

Roger Pearson, In troduc t ion to Anthropo logy (NewY o r k : Holt, R i n e h a r t and Wins ton ,1974), p. 269.



S o c i o h i s t o r i c a l Asp e c t s of Rel ig ious Trans format ion 49

Christianity, appears to be the salvation of the individual by access to an

existence w hich transcends th at n orm ally associated with a biological view

of h u m a n life. According to most universal religions, this existence isattainable by a l l m ank ind throug h in i tia t ion in to a commun i t y of belief and

adherence to a universal ethical code.11

Historically, folk rel igions have usually been succeeded by universal

rel igions. Gustav Mensching suggests three ways in which th is has oc-

curred: (1) a prophet-figure within th e folk religion proclaims a universal

rel igion based upon the older folk rel igion, as in prophetic Judaism and

early Zoroa strianism ; (2) contact w ith a fore ign universal rel igion is estab-

l ished w hich com plem ents or replaces the original folk religion, as in the

case of those m ystery rel igions from Egypt and Asia Minor that expanded

into post -Alexandrian Greco-Roman society; and (3) a "supra-nat ional

world re l ig ion" is established by a rel igious leader, who is in some degree of

tens ion wi th his native folk rel igion, as in the case of Christ ianity and

Islam.12

Mensching at tr ibutes change in rel igious structure to "structural

change in the m ode o f exis tence of men themselves and thus upon a n t h r o -p o log ica l presuppositions."

13A ccordingly, universal rel igions are perceived

as "a response to a newly arisen need of man awakened to self-conscious-

ness,"14

a need tha t folk rel igions did not address.

W hile M ensching impl ied a natural progression from folk to universal

rel igion, Robert Bellah has advocated a thesis of "rel igious evolution."15

Conceding first t ha t the "construction of a wide-ranging evolut ionaryscheme ... is an extremely risky enterprise,"

16Bellah categorizes religions

into tw o types: those th at are "world-accepting"— generally, prim it ive and

modern rel igions; and those tha t are "world-reject ing"—general ly, the "his-

toric rel igions" that emerged in the first mil lennium B.C. and the first

millennium A.D.17 Bellah's description of "historic" religions corresponds

to Mensching's descript ion of "universal" religions. This categorization

does not , of course, deny that primitive and archaic rel igions may exhibit

11 Gustav M ensching , "Folk and Un iversal Religion," pp. 257-61.12 Ibid., p. 256.13 Ibid., p. 257.14 Ibid., p. 261. In the section "The Vlth century B.C.: An 'Axial Epoch,' " in the chapter

"Studies and Problems in the History of Religions," in Ugo Bianchi , T h e History of Rel ig ions , th e

following questions are posed: "To what extent did the tendency towards a 'spiritualistic'in terpretat ion , with a part icu lar fondness for dual is t concepts, prevail in this epoch and spread

across the world between the Medi te r ranean and India? To what extent and in w h a t way could

analogous circumstances produce analogou s developments?" (pp. 142-43).15

"Religious Evolution," in Ro land R obertson, ed., Soc io logy o f Rel ig ion : Selected R e a d -

ings (Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1969), pp. 262-92, first published inASR 29(1964): 358-74.16 Ibid., p. 291. Bellah continues: "Nevertheless such efforts are justifiable if, by th rowing

l ight on perplexing developmental problems they contr ibute to modern man 's effor ts at self

in terpreta t ion" ( ib id.) .17

Ibid., pp. 264-65. Bellah ' s overal l schema, including his association of w orld- reject ion

with historic religions, is assessed in M. H. Barnes , "Primit ive Rel ig ious Thought and theEvolut ion of Religion," Religion 22:1 (1992): 21-46, especially 25-31.




some w orld-rejecting characteristics, or tha t "historical,"universal religions,

which for the purpose of this discussion have been l imited to Buddhism,Christianity, Islam, and several mystery cults, m ay exhibit some world-

accepting ch aracteristics, particularly after they are accepted by rulingelites.

The prim ary appeal of a unive rsal religion to a ruling elite may be its

potential as a force fo r enhanced social cohesion. Although further re-

search into this area of sociopolitical and religious interaction is necessary

before an informed appraisal m a y b e rendered, it appears that thisutili tarian view con tributed tow ard the popularization of Zoroastrianism

throughout the Persian Empire by King Cyrus (d. 431 B.C.), in Alexander

th e Great's advocacy of Hellenistic ecumenism, in the expansion of

Hinayana Bu ddh ism dur ing the reign of the Indian E m peror Asoka (d. 232

B.C.), in the expansion of Mahayana Buddhism th roughout China dur ing

the T'ang dynasty (620-907), in the legitimizing of Christianity by

C on stantine in 313, and in the m ili tary-rel igious expansion of Is lam und er

the Caliphate (632-661) and the Um ayyad Dynas ty (661-750). Also, as will

be discussed inPart II, some G erm anic leaders appear to have ut il ized A rian

Christianity to preserve their ethnocultural identi ty, while others ut i l ized

R om an C hrist ianity to enhan ce the level of social cohesion thro ug ho ut

their realms.

It seems that the tendency of folk religions to be supplanted by uni-

versal religions occasionally may be reversed by the imposition of a folk-

rel igious world-view which, in tu rn , reinterprets the universal religion in a

folk-religious m ode. This seems to occur w hen universal rel igions spread to

areas where folk-rel igious at t i tudes are solidly entren che d. Such appearsto have been the case in Buddhism's expansion in to China and Japan, as

well as in Christ ianity 's expansion into the ear ly medieval Germanic

kingdoms.

T he prima ry contr ibut ion of Bellah to the current inquiry is his analysis

of "the phenomenon of religious rejec tion of the w orld characterized by an

extremely negative evaluation of man and society and the exaltation ofanother realm of reality as alone true and infinitely valuable."

18This world-

rejecting orientat ion tends to be manifes ted in universal religions and is

contrasted by Bellah with the world-accepting orientat ion of primitivereligion, which is "concerned with the main tenance of personal, social and

cosmic harmony and w ith at taining specific goods— rain, harvest, chi ldren,hea l th—as m en have always been. B ut the overriding goal of salvation thatdomi na t e s the world-rejecting religions is almost absent in prim it ive religion,

and life af ter death tends to be a shadow y semi-existence in some v aguelydesignated place in the single world."

19

18 Ibid., p. 264.19 Ibid. , p. 265.



S o c i o h i s t o r i c a l Asp e c t s of Religious Trans format ion 51

To determine the nature and consequences of the Germaniza t ion of

early m edieval C hristianity, it is not necessary to establish an evolutionary

mode l of religious deve lopmen t, nor is it necessary to establish a t axonomy

of religious movements. However, since th e current inquiry is primari ly

concerned with the interrelationship between a predominantly world-accept-

in g folk religiosi ty and a predo m inantly wo rld-rejecting universal religion,

it would be beneficial if observations could be made regarding th e recep-

t ion of expanding w orld-reject ing religions in various types of societies. Itis in this regard that Mensching's and Bellah's sociological approaches are

useful.

Between primit ive and historic religions B ellah places archaic religions.

They differ from primitive religions primarily in their degree of complex-

ity, systematizat ion, an d hierarchical d iffere ntiat io n, but not in the ir w orld-

accepting ideological core, w hich tends "to elaborate a vast cosmology in

which all things divine and natura l have a place."20

Both primit ive and

archaic religions in Bellah 's system m ay be included in M ensching's desig-

nat ion of folk religions. In each of these types, religion is an intrinsic com -

ponent of the predominant cul ture and as such reinforces the social order.

W hen the social order is disrupted b y internecine r ivalry, poli tical change,or m il itary conq uest , at tem pts to provide rel igious rat ionalizat ion for these

developm ents m ay provoke "new m odes of rel igious thinking."21

In certain

instances, "the breakdown of in ternal order led to messianic expectat ionsof the com ing of a savior king."

22These destabil izing social developm ents

seem to have con tr ibuted to the emergence of the historical, universal reli-

gions, w hich are distinguished from th e archaic, folk religions by their t ran-scendental, world-rejecting character. Bellah explicates:

For the m asses, at least, the new d ualism is above all expressed in thedifference between this w orld and the life after death. Rel igious concern,focused on this life in primit ive and archa ic rel igions, now t ends to focuson life in the other rea lm , which m a y b e ei ther infinitely superior or, u n d e rcertain circumstances, with th e emergence of various conceptions of hell,infinitely worse. Under these circumstances th e religious go al of salvation(or en l ightenm ent , release an d so fo r th) is for the first t ime the centralreligious preoccupat ion

. . . From the point of view of these religions a man is no longer de-

fined chiefly in t e rms of w hat clan he comes from or what par t icu lar godhe serves but ra ther as a be ing capable of sa lv a t io n . . . .

Rel ig ious a c t i o n in the historic religions is thus above all action neces-sary for salvation.23

This description of historical , un iversa l rel igions is sign ificant, since it also

describes the ideological milieu from which Christ ianity emerged. I t maybe compared with the earl ier observations of Ernst Troeltsch:

20Ibid. , p. 273.

21Ibid. , p. 275.

22 Ibid .23

Ibid . , pp. 276-77.



52 T o w a r d a M o d e l of R e l i g i o u s T r a n s f o r m a t i o n

A new era of creative religious experience and sensitiveness to religious

influences characterized the close of the ancient w orld. The w ay had been

prepared for this change by a numbe r of factors, which may be briefly

enu m erated : the destruction of national religions, w hich w as a natu ralresult of the loss of national independence; th e mingling of races, w hich

le d natural ly to the mingling of various cults; th e rise of m ystery religions

with their exclusive em phasis upon the inner life, and their independence

of questions of nationality and bir th; th e fusion of various fragments of

religion which had broken away from their national foundation; the philo-sophical religion of culture with its varied forms of assimilation to the

popu lar religions; the need of a world em pire fo r a world religion, a need

which w as only partially satisfied by worship of the Emperor.24

The consequence of these sociohistorical developments was an increased

concern regarding "the supreme question of eternal salvation."25

Whereas

Bellah tends to attribute the emergence of world-rejecting religious fo rms

primarily to internal forces of socioreligious evolution, Troeltsch tends to

associate the popularity of Christianity with specific sociohistorical devel-

opments. While the current inquiry follows Bellah's application of a "re-

sponse to the world" taxonomy to folk and universal religions, his notion

of religious evolution has not been incorporated. Instead, religious trans-formation is attributed herein more to ethnocultural forces than to evolu-

tionary patterns.26

It is always important to recognize the existence of many subtle nuances

with in religious attitudes and behavior—nuances whichmay be temporarily

obscured in an attempt to develop a general model of religious transfor-

mation. It is similarly important to reiterate that characterizations such as

"world-rejecting," when made regarding a particular religion, reflect an

attempt to designate what appears to be its predominant emphasis, anddoes not deny that opposite emphases may coexist with in that religion. An

example of such coexistence is found wi th in early Christianity, which may

be characterized as predominantly "world-rejecting," given its strong

soteriological-eschatological orientation epitomized by the transcendent act

and notion of Redemption. However, such a characterization does not

exclude a coexisting emphasis on the immanent sanctification of matter

epitomized by the act and notion of the Incarnation.

It may be he lpfu l to provide a more precise definition of what is meantby "world-rejecting" and "world-accepting" with in the scope of the current

24T h e Soc ia l Teaching of the Christ ian Churches , vol.1, trans. Olive Wyon, intro.

H. R ichard Niebuhr (1931; reprin t, New Y ork: H arper & Row , 1960), p. 43.25

Ibid., p. 40.26

Ro bert W uthnow , "Perspectives on Religious Ev olution," in Rediscovering th e Sacred:

Perspectives o n Religion in Contemporary Society (Grand Rapids , Mich.: Eerdmans, 1992), has

commented th at since Be llah's essay on religious evolution was first published in 1964,he "has

at times appeared to aband on even th e premises of progress and l inear deve lopment on whichevolutionary theor ies are based" (p . 88).



Soc ioh i s tor ica l Aspec ts of Rel ig ious Trans format ion 53

inquiry.27

Although the use of these categories in the current inquiry has

been inspired by Bellah, their meaning fo r this inquiry di f fers somewhat

from Bellah's. "World-rejection," as used herein, is broadened to includenot only an "extremely negative evaluation of man and society and the exal-

tation of another realm of reality as alone true and infinitely valuable,"28

but also at t i tudes of general indifference or opposition toward th e socio-

biological principle of group survival through in-group altruism.29

World-

27Before deciding upon a "response to the world" taxonomy of "world-accepting" versus

"world-rejecting" to describe folk and univ ersal religions respectively, consideration was given tothe following alternative taxonomies: monist versus dualist, collectivist versus individualist,

polytheist-pantheist versus monotheist, and im m an ent versus transcende nt. W hile each ofthese

provides some degree of insight into th e distinctions b etween folk and unive rsal religions, and

more particularly, between pre-Christian Germanic religiosity and early Christianity, i t was felt

that the classifications of world-accepting versus world-rejecting, as defined herein, provoked

th e least number of exceptions and m ost productively elucidated th e relationships in question.The classification of religions is discussed in "The 'Structures' of Religion and the Historical

Typology of Religions," and in "Types of Religion," sections in Ugo Bianchi, T he History of Reli-

gions . Studies in the sociology of religion which employ a "response to the w orld" taxono my

include B. R. Wilson, "A n Analysis of Sect Development," ASR 24 (1959): 3-15; idem, "ATypology of Sects in a Dynamic an d Comparative Perspective," Arch iv es de Sociologie de

Religion 16 (1963): 49-63, trans. Jenny M . Robertson, in Robertson, Sociology o f Religion:Selected Readings, 361-83; idem, Religious Sects (London: Weidenfeld, 1970); idem, Magic a n d

th e M il len ium (London: Heinemann, 1973); and Roy Wallis, T h e Elementary F o r m s o f the New

Religious Life (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1984). Aware of the l imitations inherent in

applying ideal-type m odels to religious sects, Wilson, Religion in Socio logical Perspective (New

York: Oxford University Press, 1982), has proposed a tripartite "response to the world" taxon-

om y which is comprised of three basic categories: "world-denying, world-indifferent, and world-enhancing" (pp. 111-13). I am grateful to Solomon Nigosian for a copy of his paper, "Eliade,

Bellah and van der Leeuw on Classification of World Religions," presented at the ann ua l

meeting of the Eastern International Region of the American Academy of Religion, Toronto,

April 1991, in wh ich he proposes a system of classification w hich distinguishes between thosereligions "originated by a fou nd er and those originated by a group" (p. 6).

28Bellah, "Religious Evolution," p. 264.

29Sociobiology has been defined in E. O. Wilson, Sociobiology: The New Synthesis

(Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1975), as the "systematic study of the biological

basis of all social behaviour" (p. 4). To Wilson, the central theoretical problem of sociobiology

is: "How can altruism, which by definition reduces personal fitness, possibly evolve by natural

selection?" H e responds: "The answer is kinship: if the genes causing th e altruism are shared by

tw o organisms because of common descent, and if the altruistic act by one organism increasesthe joint contribution of these genes to the next generation, the propensity to altruism will

spread th rough th e gene pool" (pp. 3-4). In an article entitled "Ecology and the Evolution ofSocial E thics," in J. W. S. Pringle, ed., Biology and the H u m a n S c i e n c e s (Oxford: Oxford Univer-

sity Press, 1972), V. C. Wynne-Edwards states: "From the biological point of view, his [theindividual's] overriding duty should be to ensure the survival of the stock to which he belongsand whose torch he tem porarily bears. T hat is the prim ary purpose toward which his mo ral oraltruistic behaviour ought therefore be directed" (p. 68). The sociobiological notion of in-group

altruism m ay be tra nslate d into the sociological concept of grou p solidarity. The successful

operation of in-group altruism, and hence group solidarity, is dependent upon a high degree ofgenetic homogeneity within th e group, whereas an increase in social heterogenization, such as

that which often accompanies urbanization and impe rial expansion, may act to impede th e

operation of altruism, and hence result in a decline in social cohesion. Wilson has commentedtha t "the rate of gene flow around th e world has risen to dra m atic levels and is accelerating, and




rejection implies a desire to transcend or substantially t ransform one's

current earthly existence, whether through asceticism, meditation, or socio-

political action during one's l i fe t ime, or through eternal l ife after death. In

this regard a universal religion, in which the primary condition for m e m -

bership is orthodox religious belief rather than ethnocultural identity or

class status, may be considered truly world-rejecting.

It is appropriate at this point to consider some examples of world-

rejection and their relationship to sociohistorical factors in various religious

traditions. Perhaps the closest parallel to the expansion of Christianity in

the Roman Empire can be f o u n d in the expansion of Mahayana Buddhism

in China. In his discussion "Otherworldliness," Hajime Nakamura describes

the sociohistorical climate which accompanied this expansion:

In the China of early centuries A.D., th e confidence of the declining aristo-crats w as shaken and could not be res tored. M en began to seek som ething

immutab le in a t ime of disaster, or perhaps an escape into nature from an

i n h u m a n scene they found intolerable. . . . A m o n g the literati, the earlyoptimism reflected in classical Chinese l i terature yielded to a generally

m ore pessim istic view of life during and after the Han dynasty (from aboutth e second century B.C.). The experience of early Chinese buoyancy and

the onset of a m ore pessimistic m ood sensitized the Chinese to Buddh i sm,making them m ore receptive to this foreign religion in the thi rd and four th

centuries than they had been ear l ie r or were to be m uch later.

Gradual ly more and mo re C h inese came to subscribe to B u d d h i s m , a

religion at first alien to t hem; m a n y even eventual ly believed tha t con-

formity to the Buddhis t way of celibacy and ritual acts of bodi ly m ort i -

fication rendered a higher service to the i r parents than the Confucian

ideals of preservation of the body and perpetuat ion of the family.30

th e mean coefficients of relationship within local communities are correspondingly d iminishing.

T he result could be an eventual lessening of al t ruis t ic behavior through th e maladapt ion and

loss of group-selected genes" (Sociobiology, p. 575). Wilson cites I. Eshel, "On the Neighbor

Effect and the Evolut ion of Altruis tic Traits," Theore t i ca l P op u l a t i on Biology 3:3 (1972): 258-77.

For a s u m m a r y of recent research, see J. Phil l ipe Rushton, "Genetic Similari ty , H um an Alt ru-

ism, and Group Selection,"B e h a v i o r a l and B r a i n S c i e n c e s 12:3 (1989): 503-18, with "Open Peer

C o m m e n t a r y " and an "Author's Response," pp. 518-59. Part icular ly noteworthy is the c o m m e n t

of Douglas T . Kenrick that "Chris tianity began to develop in the rapidly overpopula t ing M iddle

East only 2,000 yea rs ago, and may have been a cul tura l adapta t ion to the novel experience of

living am ong closely all ied nonk in" (p. 532).30

"Otherworldliness," a section in the chapter "Features of Medieval Thought," in A

C o m p a r a t i v e History o f I de as (London: KPI, 1986), p. 356. Nakamura i l lustrates Buddhist

Otherworldliness by citing th e following parable: "I n medieval Japan a disciple asked Master

Dogen, 'My m o t h e r is very old, and I am the only son. If I should become a recluse [i.e.

Buddhis t monk], she cannot live for even one day. W hat shal l I do?' The master replied, 'If you

are surely aspiring for the Way of B u d d h a , you should take ( the Buddhis t ) orders, having

prepared for the livelihood of your mother. However, if it is difficult, you should take orders

immediately . Even i f you r o ld m other sh ould s tarve to d eath , her m eri t of le t t ing her only son

enter the Way of Bu ddh a is very grea t , i sn 't i t? Her m eri t will cause her to a t ta in Enl ightenment

in an after- l i fe in the fu ture . ' " (p. 359). B ud dh ism 's tendency toward w orld-re jec t ion isd o c u m e n t e d t h r o u g h o u t t h e D h a m m a p a d a , and par t icu lar ly in chapter 1 3 , "The W orld ," wh ere



Sociohistorical Aspects of Religious Transformation 55

The world-rejecting tendency of Mahayana Buddhism in its sociohistorical

context has also been observed by Ninian Smart in "The Appeal of Bud-

dhism":

The spread of Buddhism was assisted by the disintegration of the Han

empire toward the latter part of that century [second century A.D.]. In a

time of turbulence, civil war, and unrest, the official Confucian doctrines

were bound to seem ineffective and inadequate, and the way was open for

a faith which had more personal and individual concerns....

The appeal of the new faith was various. First, the monastic order—the

Sangha—presented an idea of the contemplative and religious life that

could command respect. Moreover, the order was open to all, and thus

provided a peaceful haven for many for whom the bloodshed anddistresses of the period had become intolerable. The notion that a person

should forsake his kith and kin to lead a religious life undoubtedly en-

countered considerable resistance in a culture where family ties, rein-

forced by the cult of ancestors, were so strong. Nevertheless, the Sangha

gradually made headway.31

In China, resistance to the world-rejecting elements of Buddhism was

centered in the world-accepting, socially-reinforcing Confucian notions of

ancestor and emperor worship, while in Japan, adherence to the predomi

nantly folk-centered Shinto world-view functioned similarly.32

In the initial expansion of Islam, one may also find indications of the

destabilizing sociohistorical circumstances which tend to predispose a com

munity to the reception of a prophetic, revealed, religious movement with

one is admonished: "Do not follow the evil law!Do not live on in thoughtlessness! Do not

follow false doctrine! Be not a friend of the world. ... Look upon th e world as you would on abubble, look upon it as you would upon a mirage: the king of death does not see him who th us

looks down upon the world. Come, look at this world, glittering like a royal chariot; the foolishare immersed in it, but the wise do not touch it." This excerpt is from "The Dhammapada,"

trans. M ax Miiller, in Lin Yutang, ed., T he Wi s d o m o f C h i n a a n d India (NewYork: Modern

Library, 1942), pp. 338-39. See also the section "A n Eastern Example of a Universalist Reli-

gion: Buddhism," in the chapter "Studies and Problems in the History of Religions," in Ugo

Bianchi, T h e History o f Religions, where Bianchi states: "Pettazzoni has pointed out that Bud-

dhism, in its historical dynamism, was somewhat similar to Christianity in the West. Both were

rejected by the religion and the people of their ow n land, of which the respective foun ders were

nevertheless very eminent personages, and both were widely diffused, with a universalist trend,because of their appeal to the individual, fo r they preached a doctrine, or rather a way, of

salvation. Yet, Pettazzoni observes, these tw o religions are very dissimilar. Ch ristianity is anti-syncretical whereas Buddhism comes to terms with gods and rites of different cults." (p. 161).

The degree to which Christianity w as syncretized or otherwise transformed through its relation-ship with th e Germanic peoples remains at the crux of this inquiry.

31"The Appeal of Buddhism," in the chapter "Chinese and Japanese Religious Experi-

ence," in Ninian Sm art, T he Religious Experience of M a n k i n d , 3rd ed. (New York: Scribner's,1984), pp. 181-82.

32Hans-Joachim Schoeps, T h e Religions of M a n k i n d , trans. Richard and Clara Winston

(Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1966), has writ ten of Shintoism: "I t differs from most otherreligions in having no founder, no dogm atic scriptures, and in being a pure religion of this world,

concentrating upon th e family and the nat ional comm unity. The closest historica l parallel to it isto be fou nd in the folk religions of the an cient Greeks, Ro m ans and Teutons" (p . 213).




world-rejecting tendencies. N inian Sm art has observed that the Arab w orld

at the t i me of M u h a m m a d suffered from urban decay, a lack of i rr igat ion

and control of f looding, and f requent involvement in military conflictsbetween the Byzantine and Persian Empires.33 Also, in the ci ty of Medina

the re e xisted a large Jewish com m unity "whose prosperity co ntrasted w ith

the relative poverty of the Arabs."34 I t was here t ha t Muhammad came

after spending several years in Mecca and Taif without success. A s Smar t

notes:

M edina, three h und red m iles nor th of Mecca, offered m ore hope. Someof th e Medina citizens, concerned at the internal strife wh ich plagued that

city, were a t t rac ted to M uham m ed as a leader who m ight br ing peace and

a reorder ing of the communi ty . . . . The situation at Medina gave the

Prophet remarkable oppor tu ni t ies . . . . He had to reconcile the m a n y t en -

sions w hich grew up. . . . The bro therhood of those who acknowledged

Islam , or obedience to A llah, wa s stressed. A lmsgiving w as introd uce d as am e th od o f alleviating the lot of the poorer members of the new commu-

nity. Th is strong sense of bro therhood under G od w a s a n impor tant fac tor

in th e religious and m ilitary successes of the faith in later years.35

I t was not only in this initial expansion of Islam that sociohistorical factors

appear to have played a contributing role. Af t e r Muhammad ' s death in

632, Arab armies, inspired by "the uni ty of purpose imparted by Islam,"36

con quered extensive Persian and B yzan t ine ter r itor ies .

S m a r t attribu tes the success of Islam ic expansion in these territorie slargely to the fact that "great num bers of people am ong the populations of

th e coun tries w hich they first ove rran were disaffected."37

T he relationship

between their al ienation and their acceptance of Islam is addressed by

Smart: "The substratum of the populat ion was Semitic, and on i t was

superimposed Hellenist ic and B yzan t ine cu l tu re and rule. T he Semitic

peoples still retained enough consciousness of their origins and tradit ionsto welcom e the A rab invas ion and the over throw of thei r Greek m asters.

A lso, divisions and subsequen t persecutions had w eakened Ch ristianity:

and m any were happy to escape the tens ions by accept ing the und oub tedlymonotheis t ic faith of Is lam, and the new brotherhood which it seemed to

offer."38

Addit ionally, Is lam's world-reject ing tendency offered its fai thful

adherents, including its warriors, the soteriological-eschatological benefitsof an afterlife replete with earthly joys, w hile s inners w ould experienceeternal torment.

39

T he Rel ig ious Experience of M ank i nd , 3rd ed., pp. 390-91.

Ibid., p. 391.

Ibid., p. 397.

j. rt c i\vugiui4A34

Ibid., p. 391.35

Ibid., p. 397.36

Ibid., p. 411.37

Ibid., p. 412.

38 Ibid.39

Ibid., p. 400.



S o c i o h i s t o r i c a l Aspec ts of Religious Trans format ion 57

Although th e previous survey of the apparent role of sociohistorical

factors in the expansion of religions with world-rejecting tendencies is not

an exhaustive examination of the topic, i t is hopefully sufficient to postu-

late a relationship between the sociohistorical status of a folk-religious

society and i ts propensity toward accepting a world-rejecting religious

movement . Briefly stated, it is suggested here that the prolonged existence

of anomic social conditions in a folk-religious society predisposes tha t

society to religious m ovem ents w ith prom inent w orld-reject ing tendencies.

Conversely, i t is suggested that the presence of a high level of group soli-

darity in a society impedes the acceptance of a rel igious movement withprominent world-reject ing tendencies, unless these tendencies are initially

obscured from potential converts. This sociohistorical postulate will beutilized later to assist in comparing th e reception of Christ ianity by the

urban communi t ies of the Roman Empire in the first through four th

centuries, and the reception of Christianity by the Germanic peoples in the

four th throug h eighth centur ies.

T he interrelat ionship between anomic social condit ions and world-

rejecting religious tendencies forms th e core of Arnold Toynbee's study

"The Epiphany of the Higher Religions":

A n historian's first approach to the high er rel igions [here com pris ing Jud a-

ism, Zoroastrianism, B uddhism , Ch ris tiani ty, and Islam] will be by way of the

social milieu in which they m ake their epiphany. They are not the product of

the ir social milieu Nevertheless, an examinat ion of the social milieu will

help us to un de rstan d the n atu re, as w ell as the rise, of religions in w hich

this experience of m eet ing Go d is comm ended to M ankind as the inspira-tion for a new way of life.

T he founde r s of the higher rel igions have m ost ly ar isen in the r a n k s of

the vast majority of the member s of a disintegrat ing society whose norm al-human sufferings have been intensif ied to an ab norm al deg ree b y the so-

cial breakdown and disintegrat ion resul ting from th e failure of parochial-

communi ty worship. In the successive degrees of th i s abnormal suffering

the last turn of the screw, short of physical extermination, is the experi-

ence of being uprooted from one's home and becoming a refugee, exi le ,

o r deportee who has been wrenched out of his ances t r a l f r amework . . . .

This has been the human seed from which the higher religions have

s p r u n g . . . .The epiphany of these new high er religions in the souls of the deracines

w as neither quick nor easy. The breakdown and disintegration of Society

and the victims' consequ ent loss of their a ncestral heritage, including their

physical h o m e in w hich their l ives had their roots, was a challenge of unusua lseverity.

40

According to Toynbee, the spiritual response to the social disintegrationwhich character izes the "t im e o f troubles" tends to b e one in w hich "men's

40 A n Histor ian 's A p p r o a c h to Rel ig ion , 2nd ed. (Oxfo rd : Oxfo rd U nive rs ity Press, 1979),pp. 76-77.




and women's hearts ... transfer their religious allegiance to some object of

wo rship that will give them peace by unit ing them , and that will un ite themin virtue of being, itself, un itary an d universal."

41

If th e predominant world-view of early Christianity is considered to beone of world-rejection, and if the predom inant world-view of the traditional

Indo-European religions is considered to be one of world-acceptance, the

northwestward expansion of Christianity m a y be viewed as an encounter

between opposing world-views. Sociohistorically speaking, early Christian-ity emerged f rom the predom inan tly wo rld-rejecting religious environm ent

of Palestinian Judaism and Hellenism, and subsequently encountered th e

predom inantly world-accepting religiosity of the Roman, Celtic , Germanic,

and Slavic branches of the Indo-European peoples. T he Greek branch has

been purposefully excluded here since, by the t ime of Christianity, Greek

religiosity had become so thoroughly "de-Indo-Europeanized" by centuries

of contact w ith wo rld-rejecting religious and philosophical movements that

it no longer exhibited a predom inantly wor ld-accepting character.

T he traditional Indo-European religions in their early stages exhibited

characteristics w hich may be expected of a pastoral, nomad ic, wa rrior people

who conquered agrar ian peoples. The Indo-Europeans "had a patr iarchal

social organization"42 and tended to impose an aristocratic feudal social

structure upon the indigenous peoples whom they conquered.43

Indo-

European society w as usually organized into "three social strata, which41

Ibid., p. 35. In an im portan t discussion of contem porary religious responses to societal

anomie, which refers to the research of Renato Poblete, "Puerto Rican Sectarianism and the

Quest fo r Community" (M.A. thesis, Fordham University, 1959), Herv6 Carrier, T h e Sociology

o f Religious Belonging, t rans. A rthu r J. Arrieri (New York: Herder and Herder, 1965), describes

th e psychosocial reaction of an immigrant to a large city: "H e experiences his first shock w hen

he sudd enly becomes aware of his unadaptabil i ty,his insecurity, and w ha t th e author calls his'state of anomie. ' A parallel reaction accompanies th e first; it expresses a basic need fo r identi-fication; it is fostered by the kindness of num erous com patr iots shar ing th e same fate and speak-

ing th e sam e language. This experience is described by the author as the 'quest fo r community. '

The immigrant arriving without resources and being harshly subjected to contact with a complexcul ture which seems ho stile to him, has the feeling of no longer belonging to anything; he has

lost his frame of reference with it s na tu ra l supports; even th e Catholic Church seems a strangerto him. The invitation to join a small religious group w here he will meet his fellow countrymen,will pray with them and will be understood, answers his craving fo r affiliation" (p . 89). For thePuerto Rican immigrants in Poblete's stud y, "the sm all religious groups" to which they were

attracted were th e myriad Pentecostal sects of New Yo rk City.42R. A. Crossland, "Immigrants from th e North," Cambridge A n c i e n t History, 3rd ed.,

vol. 1 (Camb ridge: C am bridge U niversity Press, 1971), p. 861. See also, idem, "Indo-EuropeanOrigins: The Ling uistic Evidence," Past a nd Present 12 (1957): 16-46; P. Friedrich, "Proto-Indo -European Kinship," Ethnology 5 (1966): 1-23; and Emile Benveniste, Indo-European L a n g u a g e

and Society, trans. Elizabeth Palmer (Coral Gables, Fla.: University of M iam i Press, 1973). Thestrength of the evidence for Indo-European patrilineal descent has been questioned by

Alexander Callander Murray in "Introduction and Indo-European Background," in G e r m a n i c

Kinship Structure: Studies in Law and Society in Ant iqui ty and the E a r f y Middle A g e s , Studies an d

Texts, no. 65 (Toronto: Pontifical Ins t i tu te of M ediaeval Studies, 1983). Murray suggests th e

possibility of patrilocal residences and bilateral kindred s (p . 37).43Crossland, "Immigrants from the N orth ," pp. 863-65, 874-76.



Soc ioh is tor ica l Aspects of Rel ig ious Trans format ion 59

included, in order of precedence, a priestly stratum, a warrior s tratum, and

a herder-cultivator stratum."44

It has been the contribution of Georges

Dumezi l to show that the hierarchic tripartite social organization of theIndo-Europeans w as reflected in their mythology and ideology. Given th esignificant role of the warrior in Indo-European societies, it is not surpris-

in g that the w arrior ideology is "perhaps the most distinctive feature of theIndo-European worldview."

45

While Indo-European societies were being Christianized, Christianity

itself w as being "Indo-Europeanized."46

However, by the t ime of theirencounter with Christianity, the Indo-European ideological core of the

older Indo-European societies of Greece and Rome had been substantially

diluted through the assimilation of the religiosity of the indigenous non-

Indo-European Mediterranean inhabitants of Greece, and, following th e

conquests of Alexander the Great, particularly through th e religiosity ofmany non-Indo-European immigrants.

47For the purpose of comparison,

W . K. C. Guthrie's description of Hellenic, pre-Alexandrian, Greek reli-

gious attitude s is provided:

To appreciate the situation, we must realize how completely identified

were the state and its religion. It was not a case of making the Churchsubordinate to the State. There was no word for church at all, nor didsuch a thing exist apart from the state itself. The gods were worshipped at

44C. Scott Littleton, The New Compara t ive Mythology: An Anthropological Assessment o f

th e Theories of Georges Dumlz i l , 3rd ed. (Berkeley: U niversity of California Press, 1982), p. 4.45

Encyclopedia o f Religion, s.v. "War and Warriors: Indo-European Beliefs and Prac-tices," by C. Scott Littleton.

46The concept of "Indo-Eu ropeanization," as applied here, is restricted to the accultura-

tion of those expressions which appear to be grounded in a common Indo-European ideology,

and thus are likely to have had their origin in a period of proto-Indo-European unity. It does notautomatically apply to those random features of an individual Indo-European society whichcannot be derived from a common Indo-European tradit ion. The methodology of comparativeIndo-European studies will be discussed in greater detail in chapter 5.

47Expressions of indigenous, non-Indo-E uropean Greek religiosity m ay include th e Eleu-

sinian and Dionysiac mysteries, for which, according to Walter Burkert , Greek Religion, trans.John Raffan (Cam bridge: Ha rvard Un iversity Press, 1985), "a Neolithic basis may be assumed"(p. 278). He continues: "Both the [Eleusinian] Dem eter and D ionysos my steries show specific

relations to the ancient Anatolian Mother Goddess." See also Part 1, ch. 3, "The Minoan-Mycenaean Religion." In a chapter en titled "The Religion of Eleusis," in Greek Folk Religion

(1940; reprint, Philadelphia: University of Penn sylvan ia Press, 1984), M artin P. Nilssonproposes that this pre-Indo-E uropean ve getation cult was t ransformed into a cult of individualimmortality in the Hellenistic period (pp. 63-64). A discussion of the relationship between th eIndo-European an d non-Indo-European sources of Greek religion may be found in Raffaele

Pettazzoni, "Les Deux Sources de la religion grecque," Mne mosyne 4 (1951): 1-8. Non-Indo-

European elements are the focus of Marija Gimbutas , T h e Goddesses a nd Gods of Old Europe:

6500-3500 B.C.: Myths a nd Cult Images (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1982); andidem, T he Language of the Goddess; Unearthing the Hidden Symbols of Western Civilization, with a

foreword by Joseph Cam pbell (New Y ork: Harper & Row, 1989). The m ost recent discussion ofthe Indo-European immigration to Greece is Rob ert Drews, T he C o m in g o f the Greeks: Indo-

European C onques ts in the Aegean an d the Near E a s t (Princeton N.J.: Princeto n University Press,1988).




festivals which were state occasions, and participation in them was part ofthe ordinary dut ies of a citizen as such. Although m any gods were

worshipped at Athens, the patron of the city, and the deity nearest to

every Athenian 's hear t , was of course Athena , and the coincidence of then a m e is significant. Religion and patriotism w ere the same thing.... Such

a thing as personal and individu al religion w as unknown to the great

majority of citizens. The sects w hich attem pted to introduce it neverachieved m uch influ enc e so long as the city-state held together, and in so

fa r as they had any success, were definitely subversive of the established

order.48

It should be noted that, despite significant differences, there existed

fundamental similarities between the manifestations of Indo-Europeanreligiosity and social structure found in Hellenic Greece and the Roman

Republic. Notwithstanding his criticism of comparative Indo-European

studies in general, and his observation that "we cannot but be struck by a

decided difference between them," H. J. Rose acknowledges "real and

considerable resemblances," since

both Greek and Ro m an cults w ere polytheistic, both w ere creedless, nei-

ther was at tached to any system of ethics , both admit ted, though nei ther

requ ired, the u se of cult im ages and other visible objects o f w orship, bo thhad priests and priestesses, yet neither developed a powerful priesthood

which could, as such, make its influence felt in politics or even ingoverning the life of the individual in any great detail; and, perhaps most

im portant of all , both w ere closely attached to the o rganiza tion of the

State, and be fore th at existed, to the family, clan, or tribe.49

Together with the social and intellectual characteristics described in the

preceding paragraphs, this description of Hellenic Greece and the Roman

Republic f o r m s a model of what may be designated as "traditional,""classical," or "authentic" Indo-European religiosity.

Interestingly, the timetable and geographic pattern of Christian ex-

pansion resulted in its interaction with successively younger, more homo-

geneous, and more authentically Indo-European societies.50

Despite the

48T h e Greek Phi losophers: F r o m Thales to Aris to t le (New York: Harper & Row, 1960),

pp. 82-83.49

Religion in Greece a n d R o m e (New York: Harper & Row, 1959), p. ix.50

The socioreligious relationsh ip of G reek and Ro m an religion vis-a-vis Christianity hasbeen discussed in Franz Cumont, Oriental Rel igions in R o m a n P a g a n i s m (1911; reprint, New

York: Dover, 1956); Arthur Darby Nock, Convers ion: The O ld and the Ne w in Religion f rom

Alexander the Great to Augus t i ne of Hippo (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1933); Alain Hus, Greek

and R o m a n Religion, trans . S. J. Tester (New York: H aw thorn Books, 1962); Jo hn HollandSmith, T h e Deat h o f Classical Pagan i sm (New York: Scribner's, 1976); Ramsay MacMullen,

Paganism in the R o m a n Empire and Christ ianizing th e R o m a n Empire; Robert L. Wilken, T h e

Chri s t ians as the R o m a n s S a w T h e m ; Stephen Benko, Pagan R o m e and the E a r f y Chris t ians

(Bloomington, Ind.: In dia na U niversity Press, 1984); and Robin Lane Fox, Pagans a n d Chris-

t ians (New York: Knopf, 1987). Unfortunately , comparable scholarship regarding th e early

medieval in terac t ion be tween pre-Chris t ian Cel lo -Germanic religion and Christianity does no tyet exist. The only recent works which focus on th is area appear to be J. N. Hillgarth , ed.,



Soc iohis tor ical Aspects of Religious Transformat ion 61

diluted state of Indo-European ideology in the Roman Empire dur ing the

early Christ ian period, some of the older Indo-European socioculturalforms appear to have endured. They contributed to a gradual Indo-Euro-peanization of various aspects of early Christianity, even prior to itscontact with th e G erm anic peoples. Some of the most prominent examplesof pre-G erm anic Indo-Europeanization include th e adoption of a Greekphilosophical method in Christian apologetic literature and the emulationof Roman hierarchical and legal structures by the Church. The most sig-nificant effects of the subsequent Celto-Germanic Indo-Europeanizationof Christianity were th e emergence of a sense of Euro-Christian religio-political complementarity and a m agicoreligious reinterpre tation of Chris-tianity, both of which figured prominent ly in medieval Europe.51

Frederick Copleston in his History o f Phi losophy has summarized th eChristian debt to G reek philosophy:

A s Christ ianity became more firmly established and bet ter known and as i t

became possible fo r Christian scholars to develop thought and learning,the philosophical element tended to become mo re s t rong ly m arked , espe-

cially w h e n there w as question of meet ing the attacks of pagan profession-

al philosophers. ... As the Christ ians had no philosophy of thei r own to

start w ith (i.e. in the academic sense of philosophy), they very na turally

turn ed to the prevail ing philosophy, which was derived from Platonism but

w as strongly impregnated with other elements. As a rough generalisation,

therefore, one may say tha t the philosophic ideas of the early Christ ian

writers were Platonic or neo-Platonic in character (with an admixture of

Chris t iani ty a n d P a g a n i s m , 3 5 0 -7 5 0 : T h e C o n v er s io n o f Western E u r o pe , rev. ed. of T h e C o n -

vers ion o f Western E u r o pe , 350-750 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 1986); Gale R .

Owen, Rites and R el ig io n s of the A n g l o - S a x o n s (New York: Dorset Press, 1985); Valerie I. J.Flint, T h e R i s e of Magic in Early M ed iev a l E u r o pe (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press,

1991); and Ronald Hutton, T h e P a g a n R e l ig io n s o f t h e An c ien t B r i ti s h Isles: The i r N a tu r e a n d

Legacy (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1991). T w o recent works which focus on the later Christian-

ization efforts among th e Scandinavians, but which contain valuable observations regarding th e

Christianization process, are Regis Boyer, Le C h r i s t d e s B a r ba r es : Le M o n d e n o r d i q u e , I Xe- X I I

e

s iecles (Paris: Cerf, 1987); and Birgit Sawyer, Peter Sawyer, and Ian Wood, eds., T h e Chris-

t ian iza t ion o f S c a n d in a v ia : R epo r t o f a S y m p o s i u m h e l d a t K u n g a lv , S w ed en , 4- 9 Au g u s t 1 98 5

(Alingas, Sweden: Viktoria Bokforlag, 1987).51

See "Men Bound by Ties of Service and Fidelity," in vol. 1 of The C a m br id g e I llu s tr a ted

History o f th e Middle Ag es , ed . Robert Fossier, trans. Janet Sondheimer (Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press, 1989), pp. 83-84; Georges Duby, T h e Three Orders: Feu d a l S o c ie t y I ma g in ed ,

trans. Arthur Goldhammer, with a foreword by Thomas N . Bisson (Chicago: University of

Chicago Press, 1980); Mircea Eliade, "The Assimilation and Reinterpretation of Pre-Christian

Traditions: Sacred Kingship and Chivalry," sect. 267 of A History of Rel ig ious Ideas , vol. 3, F r o m

M u h a m m e d t o t he A g e o f Reform s , trans. Alf Hiltebeitel and Diane Apostolos-Cappadona

(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985), pp. 89-92; and "Indo-European Christianity," in

Larry Caldwell, "The Indo-European Context of B eo w u l f " (Ph.D. diss., University of Nebraska,

Linclon, 1983). Caldwell does not different ia te be tween var ious stages of Indo-European

socioreligious development and hence, includes certain "later stage" phenomena such as Persian

dualism and Greco-Roman neo-Platonism as authentically Indo-E uropean, whereas in the cur-rent inqu iry they are considered to be the results of de-Indo-Europeaniza t ion.




Stoicism) and that th e Platonic tradition continued for long to dominate

Christian thoug ht from the philosophic viewpoint.52

The assertion that there was an Indo-European Greek influence on early

Christianity is limited here to the categorical, logical form of most apologe-

tic literature. As R. T. Wallis has concluded: "Neoplatonism thus stands

not as an abandonment of Greek rationalism, but as an adaptation of the

categories of Greek thought to the world of inner experience."53

The

apparent decline in the Indo-European ideological orientation of the

content of Greek philosophy through the process of "Hellenistic trans-

formation"54

will be developed as this chapter progresses. These assertions

are not intended to in any way diminish the profound influence of thepredominantly non-Indo-European content of Hellenistic philosophy on

Christianity, examples of which appear to include the influence of Neo-

platonism among the Alexandrian apologists, and their development of

allegorical exegesis.55

A religious movement is unlikely to gain adherents if it does not re-

spond to a prevalent social aspiration. Two of the most prevalent social

aspirations have been the desire among "out-groups" to improve their social

status and the desire among "in-groups" to retain and rationalize their social

52A History of Philosophy, vol. 2 (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1950), pp. 28-29.

53Neopla ton ism (New York: Scribner's, 1970), p. 6.

54Since th e term "Hellenization" inherently emphasizes th e assimilation of Hellenic

Greek cultu re by non-Greeks, the term "Hellenistic transform ation" is employed here to include

th e reciprocal assimilation of non-Hellenic religiocultural atti tude s and practices by the Greeks

themselves. Many of these non-Hellenic religiocultural influences originated in Egypt and

Babylon. However, some originated in pre-Hellenic, n on-Indo-European , M inoan Greece. Jaan

Puhvel, Compara t ive Mythology (Baltimo re: John s H opkins U niversity Press, 1987), provides a

helpful model of these cultural forces: "The three main ingredients of ancient Greek culture in

general, and of myth in particular, may be described as substratal ('Aegean,' 'Pelasgian,'

'Minoan' in Crete) , superstratal (Indo-European Greek), and adstratal (the steady seepage

from Asia M inor and points farthe r east). Indeed th e substratum and early adstratum m ay have

been in considerable measure a continuum" (pp. 127-28). O ne example of this cont inuum m ay

have been the development of substratal pre-Hellenic cults of seasonal vegetative rejuven ation

into adstratal Hellenistic cults of individual immortal i ty , as asserted by Nilsson, Greek Fol k

Religion: "So it was possible to develop on the f ou nd atio n of the old agra rian cult a hope ofimmortali ty and a belief in the eternity of life, not for the individual but for the generations

which spring from one another. Thus, also, there was developed on the same foundation amorality of peace and good will, which strove to embrace hum an ity in a brotherhood w ithout

respect to state allegiance and civil standing. The thoroughly industrialized and comm ercialized

citizens of Athens in its heyday had los t unders tan ding of the old foundat ion of human civili-

zation—agriculture—and at the end of the fifth century B.C. th e individual w as freed from th e

old fetters of family and tradition. . . . Man w as no longer content with th e immortal i ty of the

generations but wanted immortal i ty fo r himself (pp. 63-64). The term "Hellenism," as used

herein, refers to the syncretic product of the H ellenistic transform ation.55

A n impor tan t t rea tment of the role of Hellenistic philosophy in the development of

Christian doctrine is found in Jaroslav Pelikan , T h e Emergence of the Cathol ic Tradi t ion (100-

600), vol.1, The Chri s t ian Tradit ion: A History of the Developmen t of Doctrine (Chicago: Unive r-sity of Ch icago Press, 1971), pp. 27-55.



Sociohis tor ical Aspec ts of Religious Trans format ion 63

dominance.56

Among the Indo-European peoples, who were the in-groups

in the societies that they conquered, dominance was often expressed in the

mythological theme of a "war of foundation," in which th e Indo-European

invaders absorbed their defeated subjects into th e lowest stratum of soci-

ety.57

The existence of ancestor worship among the Indo-European conquer-

ors also served to reinforce their social dominance, since "those who are

most closely related to the original heroic or legendary ancestors are likelyto rank more highly than those with more remote kinship affiliation."

58

Christ ianity was not alone in providing solace for those members of

out-groups who sought to transcend the anomic conditions of the Hellen-

istic world. Ideologies of world-rejection and individual salvation began tobecome popular in Greece following the devastating internecine Pelopon-

nesian Wars,59

and their popularity accelerated during th e reign of Alex-

ander the Great. His conquest of the Persian Empire, which included Egypt,

Syria, Assyria, and Babylon, resulted in extensive social amalgamation and

ul t imately contributed to the destabilization of Hellenic culture and tradi-

t ional Indo-European Greek religion. Samuel Angus has observed:

The national character of Greek religion disappeared. The Greeks began

to abandon their religion, which they believed came from the North, and tolook with favourable regard upon religions coming f rom the East. Hence,

particularly from the four th century B.C. onwards, Oriental cults gained

access into Greece....

56Max Weber, T he Sociology of Religion, trans. E phraim Fischoff, intro. Talcott Parsons

(Boston: Beacon Press, 1963), pp. 106-8; the entirety of chapter 7, "Religion of the Non-Privi-leged Classes," is relevant. See also the discussion of Thomas F. O'Dea, The Sociology of

Religion (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.:Prentice-Hall, 1966), pp. 57-61.57

Littleton, "War and Warriors: Indo-European Beliefs and Practices," This absorptionof conquered peoples is evident in the Roman mythological portrayal of the subjugation of the

Sabines by Romulus and his companions, as well as the Homeric Greek portrayal of the victoryover the Trojans. It should be noted that these mythological portrayals are not considered by

Littleton to have been derived from historical occurrences, but rather constitute expressions of acentral Indo-European mythologem.

58Pearson, Introduction to Anthropology, p. 270.

59In a chapter entitled "Anomie and Arms: Toward a Sociology of War," Elwin H.

Powell, The Design of Discord: Studies of A n o m i e (NewBrunswick, N.J.: Transaction Books,

1988), theorizes: "When the state is weakened by anomie, i.e. internal discord, the power of the

military grows because a lack of cohesion invites attack by outsiders an d undermines the authorityof the ruling class, which then resorts to force, terror, and intim idatio n to m aintain its positionof dominance. Times of anomie are times of war" (p. 141). Strains of world-rejection eman atingfrom this period are reflected in the growing popularity of the Orphic mysteries, Pythagorean

dualism, Sophist relativism and skepticism, as well as the Platonic concept of the individual,immortal soul. These and other indications of a growing tendency towa rd world-rejection in thef i f t h an d fourth centuries B.C.are discussed in the chapter "Mysteries and Asceticism" in WalterBurkert, Greek Religion. Elizabeth K. Nottingham, Religion and Society (NewYork: RandomHouse, 1954), has observed th at "historical evidence indicates that new religious m ovements arebest able to make a lasting imprint on hum an societies if they are born when civilizations are in

turmoil," (p. 64), an d that "extensive anomie is a fertile breeding ground for new types of reli-gious organization" (p.66).




Greek religion w as doomed in the collapse of t he po l l s which had givenit life and form.

60

A primary factor in the emot ional and spi r i tual reor ientat ion toward

individual salvation may be traced to Alexan der's policy of cosm opolitan-

ism, or o i k o u m e n e . When a cohesive society is destabilized by invasion,

imm igration, or civil strife , it seems l ikely that those citizens w ho formerly

derived a sense of unity, stability, and even immortal i ty from their com-

m on ancestral religion m ay begin to feel alone, al ienated, and threatened.

In such a psychological state, the appeal of mystery cults that offer

individual salvation and a sense of community is likely to increase. This

societal "failure of nerve," as i t was coined by J. B. Bury ,61

may be con-

t ras ted wi th the heroic , Homeric a t t i tude of courageously facing and

accepting one's dest iny, no mat ter how t ragic i t may be. Al though he i sdescribing the early Christ ian era, the contrasts which Gilbert Murray has

drawn in the following excerpt succinctly summarize the effects of the

H ellenis tic transfo rm at ion as well:

A ny one who tu rns from the great wri ters of classical A thens, say Sophocles

or Aristotle, to those of the Chris t ian era must be conscious of a great

difference in tone. There is a change in the w hole relat ion of the writer toth e world about h im . The new qual i ty is not specifically Christian: it is just

as m a r k e d in the Gnostics and Mithras-worshippers as in the Gospels and

th e Apocalypse, in Jul ian and Plot inus as in Gregory and Jerome. It ishard to describe. It is a rise of asceticism, of mysticism, in a sense, of pessi-

mism; a loss of self-confidence, of hope in life and of faith in norma l

h u m a n effort ; a despair of patient inquiry, a cry for infallible revelation; an

indifference to the we lfare of the state, a conversion o f the sou l to God . It

is an atmosphere in which the aim of the good man is not so m u c h to live

justly, to help th e society to which he belongs and enjoy th e esteem of hisfellow creatures; but ra ther , by m e a n s of a burn ing faith, by contempt fo r

the world and i ts s tandards, by ecstasy, suffering and mar ty rdom, to be

gran ted pardon for his unspeakable unworthiness , his immeasurable s ins .

There is an intensifying of cer tain spir i tual emotions; an increase of sensi-

tiveness, a failure of nerve.62

It is particularly the wo rld-reject ing tendency to focus on a life af terdea th tha t d istinguishes the new H ellenistic rel igiosi ty from the tradit ional

world-accepting Indo-European Hellenic rel igiosi ty. The ancient Greeks

60T h e Mystery Religions a n d Christianity: A Study i n the Rel ig ious B a c k g r o u n d o f Early

Chris t iani ty (New York : Scribner's, 1925), pp. 11-15.61

This description of the Christian era was suggested by J. B. Bury to Gilbert Murray,

w ho used it for the title of chapter 4 of his Five Stages o f Greek Relig ion, 3rd ed. (1925; reprint,

G arden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1955). M urray recalls his conversat ion with B ury in his preface,

p. xiii.62

Five Stages o f Greek Religion, p. 119. Robert K. Me r t o n , Soc i a l Theory a n d S o c i a l

Struc ture , enlarged ed. (New York: Free Press, 1968), believes th a t M urray 's chapter on "The

Failure of Nerve," from which this excerpt is taken, "must surely be r a n k e d a m o n g th e m o s tcivilized and perceptive sociological analyses in our t ime" (p . 202).



Sot iohis tor ical Aspec ts of Religious Transformat ion 65

w ere not as concerned w ith their posthumo us status, nor did they attemptto construct a system of posthum ous reward and punishm ent. Rather, theyregarded any posthumous existence as an undesirable shadowy replica oftheir current existence. Even in Thucydides' account of Pericles' funeraloration to the fam ilies of slain A thenian w arriors, "there is no suggestionanywhere of a personal existence continued after death; the dead live onlyin their deeds; and only by memory are the survivors to be consoled."

63G .

Lowes Dickinson further elaborates on the Indo-European Greek attitudetoward life after death:

From such a conception of the life after death l i t t le comfort could be

drawn; nor does it appear t ha t any was sought. So far as we can trace th ehabitual at t i tude of the Greek he seems to have occupied himself little

with speculation, either fo r good or evil, as to wh at might await him on the

other side of the t omb. H e w a s told indeed in his legends of a happy place

for the souls of heroes, and of torments reserved for great criminals; but

these ideas do no t seem to have haunted h is imaginat ion. H e w a s never

obsessed by t ha t close and imminent vision of heaven and hell which

overshadowed and dwarfed , for the medieval mind, the brief space of

pilgrimage o n earth. Rat he r he turned, by preference, from the t hough t of

death back to life, and in the memory of honourable deeds in the past andthe hope of f ame for the future sought his compensation for the loss of

youth and love.64

In searching for the source of this apparent disinterest in the prospectof life after death, one cannot overlook the possibility that a strong senseof group solidarity m ay have co ntributed to a feeling that one attains somedegree of imm ortali ty through th e ongoing life of one's polis, particularlywhen one perform s heroic deeds to guarantee it s continued existence. T he

Greek polis em bodied far m ore than the com m on notion o f a "city-state"suggests. A ccording to H. D. F. Kitto, "the Greeks thought of the polis asan active, formative thing, training the min d s and characters of the citi-zens."

65"The polis was a living com m unity, based on kinship, real or

assumed—a kind of extended family, tu rn ing as mu ch as possible of life

into family life."66

"Religion, art, gam es, th e discussion of things—all thesewere needs of life that could be fully satisfied only th rough th e polis."

67

According to the idealized description of the polis contained in Plato's

Laws, the traditional polis religion "is not tuned to the religious needs ofthe individual."

68R athe r, "it shapes the com m unity of the polis, pointing

out and verbalizing its func tions throug h its gods. To have Hestia, Zeus,

63G . Lowes Dickinson, T h e Greek View of Life, preface E. M. Forster (1896; reprint, A nn

Arbor: U nive rsity of M ichigan Press, 1958), p. 36.64

Ibid., pp.35-36.65

T h e Greeks (H arm ond sw orth: Peng uin Books, 1957), p. 75.66

Ibid., p. 78.67 Ibid.68

Burker t , Greek Religion, p. 335.



66 T o w a rd a M o d el of Rel ig ious T ra n s f o rm a t i o n

and Athena on the acropolis means having the hearth as the centre of the

communi ty , and the highest god and the representative of the city in proxi-

mity."69

It is significant that Gregory Nagy has recently concluded that

"the Greek polls grew out of tribal institutions that reflect, albeit from a

distance, an Indo-European heritage."70

The apotheosis of the ancient Greek ideal of familial unity and security,

and a resulting sense of immortality, may be fo und in Sparta, where "the

family-state raised kinship relations to a more universal level. Whatever

helped the family-state was regarded as good, whatever injured it as

bad."71

The religious effect of such strong endogamous reinforcement was

that "the individual Spartiat, at any rate, no longer faced fate alone; the

enlarged household gave a greater sense of social solidarity; it removed the

sting of death, and gave every loyal Spartiat a sense of immortality in the

survival and security of the family-state."72

While granting the existence of multiple influences, one may yet pro-

pose a relationship between social heterogeneity, anomie, and the pros-

pects fo r expansion of universal world-rejecting religions within a given

society. As natural biological solidarity is perceived to diminish and

t r ad i t iona l social institutions decline, individualsmay tend to focus more

upon their own personal existence and seek membership in nonbiologically

related universal cults that provide opportunities for socialization and a

promise of individual salvation. Oswald Spengler, in his discussion of the

"world-city," of which Rome and Alexandria were examples, postulated:

"The last man of the world-city no longer wants to live—he may cling to

life as an individual, but as a type, as an aggregate, no, for it is a

characteristic of this collective existence that it eliminates the terror of

death. That which strikes the true peasant with a deep and inexplicable

fear , the notion that the family and the name may be extinguished, has

now lost its meaning."73

As the destabilization of a society becomes more

apparent, and the anxieties of everyday life become less bearable, the

appeal of universal, world-rejecting religions which promise idealistic solu-

tions seems likely to increase. Since socioreligious destabilization often

follows a period of imperial expansion,74

i t is not surprising to f ind civil

69ibid.

70

"The Indo-European Heritage of Tribal Organization: Evidence from th e Greekpolls ,"in Susan Nacev Skomal an d Edgar C. Polomfi, eds., Proto-Indo-European: T he Archaeology o f a

Linguist ic Problem: Studies i n Honor o f Marija Gimbutas (Washington, D.C.: Institute for the

Study of Man, 1987), p. 262.71

John W . Richards, "The Evolution of the Spartan Social System," M a n k i n d Quarterly

20 (1980): 339.72

Ibid.73

The Decl ine of the West, vol.2: Perspectives o f World History, trans. Charles Francis

Atkinson (New York:Knopf, 1928), pp. 103-4.74

The existenceof such a relationship between political and socioreligious developments

is advanced by Eric Voegelin, Order an d History, vol. 4: T he E c u m e n i c Age (Baton Rouge:Un iversity of Louisiana Press,1974), pp. 21-22, in his discussion o f the e xpansion of Gnosticism.



Sociohis tor ical Aspec ts of Religious Trans format ion 67

rulers advocating th e acceptance of universalist world-rejecting religions

among their diverse subjects, at least partially to impose a sense of unity.75

When Christianity is viewed from th e historical perspective of the

Hellenistic mystery cults, its subsequent expansion becomes more under-standable. From Egypt came th e cults of Osiris and Sarapis, from AsiaM i n o r came th e cult of the Great Mother goddess Cybele, and from Syria

came that of Atargatis and Adonis.76

T he cults of Dionysus and Eleusis

appear to have originated in pre-Hellenic, Minoan Greece,77

while the

cults of Jupiter Doliche and of Mithras appear to have originated in the

West.78

Although each originated in a different geographical area, they all

appealed to a general sense of individual alienation that seems to havepervaded the Mediterranean region during the Hellenistic age. After dis-

cussing th e cults of Osiris and Serapis, Cybele, and Atargatis and Adonis,Kar l Baus concludes:

The three mystery cults have, in spite of differences of detail, one basic

idea in common. The death and constant renewal observed in Nature

were symbolically crystallized in the myth of a young god of vegetation,

w ho is torn f rom the side of the goddess by a tragic death but rises again

to new life. B y this is represented the fate of man, whose strange and

sometimes incomprehensibly tragic death weighed like a dark burden

upon the thought and feel ing of Antiquity. Should there not be for him

also, as for the god in the myth, a resurrection into a mysterious

hereaf te r? The mere possibility, hinted at in the myth, of such an eschato-

logical hope was bound to appeal to Hellenistic man. Precisely because

the old religions of Greece and Rome knew no encouraging answer to this

exciting question, people turned to these new forms of religious fai th ,

whose attraction was increased by the mysterious and outlandish nature of

the initiation ceremonies, which seemed like an echo f rom beyond thegrave. T he hymns and prayers, with their intensity of feeling, caught in

their spell many an anxious and excitable mind.79

While the mystery cults appear to have appealed primarily to middle-class elements of Hellenistic society, the upper classes turned to the new

See also, Paul M. Kennedy, The Rise and Fall o f th e Great Powers: Economic Change and M i l i t a r y

C o n f l i c t from 1500 to 2000 (New York: Rand om House, 1988).15

Toynbee.yln Historian's Approach to Religion, pp. 105-13, discusses wh at he refers to as

"the capture of higher religions for political purposes," noting: "So long as a Church is pro-scribed and is exposed to the peril of being persecuted at any mom ent, its membership is likelyto be limited to a spiritual 61ite who are b oth disinterested and courageous. As soon as it istaken into partnership by the powers that be, its moral quality is likely to be diluted throughmass-conversions of time-servers eager to jump on the victor 's band-wagon.,. . The Church ca nbe captured an d converted into an instrument for the furtherance of the old order's interests ifthe m anoeuvre is not advertised or avowed" (pp. 106-7).

76Ka rl Baus, From th e Apostol ic Com muni ty to Constant ine , vol.1 of History of th e Church ,

ed. Hub ert Jed in and Jo hn Dolan (New Yo rk: Crossroad, 1982), p. 90.77

Burkert, Greek Religion, p. 278.78 MacMullen, Paganism, pp. 118-30.79

Baus, From the Apostolic Com muni ty to C ons tan t ine , pp. 92-93.




philosophical schools of Cynicism, Skepticism, Stoicism, and Epicurean-

ism.80 Rather than appeal directly to a desire fo r immorta l i ty , the Epicu-

reans and Stoics succeeded because their philosophies satisfied a desire fo r

individual happiness and self-fulfillment: "they offered a conception of the

world and human nature which drew i ts suppor t f rom empirical obser-

vations, reason and recognit ion that all men have comm on needs;.. . both

systems adopted the important assumption that happiness depends uponan understanding of the universe and w ha t i t is to be a man."

81While the

Skeptics challenged th e validity of philosophical inquiry and the Cynics

challenged societal norms of behavior, both schools espoused individual

f reedom and were critical of the traditional values of the polis. The focuson an ethical pursuit of self-fulfillment in each of the major Hellenistic

philosophies differs signif icantly from the focus on metaphysical inquiry

found in the traditional H ellenic, and pa rticularly pre-Socratic , G reekphilosophy of the "world of the polis," which had prevailed during the pre-

Alexandrian period.82

In contrast to the Hellenistic quest for new paths toindividual happiness or salvation, Walter Burkert has noted that "the pre-

Christian [and in this con text 'pre-Hellenistic '] religions proclaim ed w ith

the utmost conviction that only ancestral tradition could guarantee the

legitimacy of religion."83

80O f these philosophical schools, Alain Hus, Greek a n d R o m a n Religion, pp. 77-78,

observes that th e Stoics predo m inated in their acceptance among th e elite, w hile A. A. Long,Hellenistic Philosophy: Sto ics , Epicureans, Sceptics , 2nd ed. (Berkeley: University of California

Press, 1986), has noted tha t "in the R o m a n world during th e first tw o Christian centuries

Stoicism was the dom inant philosophy am ong educated pagans" (p . 232). It s adherents includedSeneca, Epictetus, and M arcus A urelius.

81 Long, Hellenistic Philosophy, pp. 6-7. Ed wa rd M cNall Burns, Western Civilizations: Thei r

History a n d Their Culture, 7th ed. (New Yo rk: W. W. Norton, 1969), has noted that , "despite th edifferences in their teachings, th e philosophers of the Hellenistic A ge were generally agreedupon one thing: th e necessity of finding some way of salvation for man from th e hardships and

evils of his existence" (p. 193). Guthrie, T h e Greek Phi losophers: F rom Thales to Aristot le, con-

cludes his work with th e following comments: "Aristotle's philosophy represents th e final

flowering of Greek thought in its na tu ra l s e t t i n g . . . . He was the teacher of Alexander, the man

who finally swept away that compact uni t in which everyone could play an active part, and

substituted for it the idea of a great kingdom which should embrace the world. . . . The help-lessness of man befo re great powers brou gh t philosophy of a different type. It brought intenseindividualism, and the conception of philosophy not as an intellectual ide al but as a refuge from

impotence and despair. It might be the quietism of Epicurus or the fatalism of the Stoa. The oldGreek spirit of free and fearless inquiry was gone, and Aristotle's order was inverted. Sometheory of conduct, something to live by, came first, and the satisfaction of the intellect was a

secondary consideration. The Hellenistic world has its own achievements, but they are largelyth e outcome of an increased mingling of Greek with foreign, and particularly with Oriental

elements. If what we w a nt to discover is the mind of Greece, there is perhaps some excuse fo r

stopping here" (p. 161).82

See Eric V oegelin, "From Myth to Philosophy," par t 2 of T h e World of th e Polis, vol. 2

o f Order a n d History (Baton R ouge: Lo uisiana State University Press, 1957).83

H o m o Necans: The Anthropology of A n c i e n t Greek Sacrificial Ri tua l a n d Myth, trans.

Peter Bing (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1982), p. xxii. B u r k e r t notes fur ther t ha t"through his oracle, th e Delphic god always sanctioned rites 'according to the custom of the



S o c i o h i s t o r i c a l Aspec ts of Religious Trans format ion 69

Although Stoicism w as characterized by reason and restraint and did

not focus on otherworldly yearnings as did later Neoplatonist and Neo-

pythagorean philosophical movements, it did possess certain inclinationswhich conform to the description of world-rejecting tendencies stated

earlier in this chapter. Primary among these were th e notions of indivi-

dualism and universalism, each of which may be viewed as a rejection of

th e world-accepting sociobiological principle of group survival through

in-group altruism. Instead of reinfo rcing group so lidarity, "stoicism pro-

vided a theoretical basis for self-sufficiency and for universal brotherhoo d,

thus fulfilling tw o essential aspirations of the uprooted individuals of the

Hellenistic Age."84

While the upper class became attracted to the new philosophical

schools which extolled individualism and universalism and the middle class

became attracted to various m ystery cults, "the great mass o f sim ple f o l k . . .

turned towards th e lower kinds of superstition, which in Hellenistic times

especially were very widespread in numerous forms."85 A m o n g these

people th e m ost attractive forms of religious behavior involved astrologicalspeculation and magic. Franz Cumont sought to explain w hy astrological

tendencies, which had their or igin in Babylon, were not expressed among

the Greeks prior to the Hellenistic era.

city'; and the Boeotian [the second c entu ry B.C. Greek auth or, Ag atharchides] was speaking fo r

many w he n he remarked, in regard to a strange fish sacrifice at Lake Copais, 'There is just onething I know: that one must m ainta in th e ancestral customs and that it would be improper to

excuse oneself for this before others' " (ibid.). In an observation which challenges the notionthat cultural advancement is necessarily accompanied by a movement toward a universalistreligious perspective, B urkert m aintain s that "only in ancient Greek religion do we find an

uninterrupted t radit ion of the greatest antiquity in a highly refined culture, u nsurpassed in itsintellectual and artistic achievement" (p . xxiii). H e also m aintains tha t "it was due to this unionof antiquity w ith sophistication tha t th e Greeks were th e first systematically to call religion in toquestion" (ibid.).

84James L. Price, Interpreting the New Tes tament , 2nd ed. (New Y ork: Holt , Rineh ar t and

Winston, 1971), p. 342. In his discussion "Alexander's Influence," Everett Ferguson, B a c k -

grounds o f Early Christianity (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1987), notes an "increase of

individualism" following his conquests, and observes: "Individualism m ay seem a paradox

alongside universalism, but the two are corollaries. The breaking of traditional patterns of

inherited conduct in the enlarged world of the Hellenistic age threw m en back upon themselves

and gave opportunity for individual expression. Chosen things became m ore im portant thaninherited things. As one example, personal religion stems from th e philosophical individ ualismof Socrates. It is hard to imagine Ch ristianity succeeding in any other environment than thatwhich resulted from th e conquests of Alexander" (p. 9). This last sentence is particularlynoteworthy wh en the ano m ic, individu alistic, sociocultural conditions of the H ellenistic age arejuxtaposed with th e high level of group solidarity which existed among th e Germ anic peoples atth e time of their encoun ter with C hristianity.

85 Baus, From th e A p os to l i c Commu ni t y to Cons tan t ine , p. 94. The appeal of astrology was

not, of course, limited to the lower class. A s Ro m e became H ellenized, it s emperors and upperclass also succumbed to the influences of astrology and magic. These developments are

discussed in greater detail in J. H. W . G. Liebeschuetz, Continui ty a n d C h a n ge in R o m a n Religion(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1979), pp. 119-39.




T he insatiab le curiosity of the Greeks, then, did not ignore astrology, but

their sober genius rejected its haza rdou s doctrines, and their keen crit ical

sense was able to distinguish the scientific data observed by the Babylon-

ians from the erroneous conclusions w hich they der ived from themB ut after the conquests of Alexander a great change took place. The

ancient ideal of the G reek republic gave way to the conception of univer-

sal m onarchy. Then cefor th m unicipal cul ts disappeared before an interna-

tional religion. The worship of the stars , common to all the peoples, was

s t rengthened by everything that weakened th e particularism of cities. In

proportion as the idea of "hum anity" spread, men were the more ready to

reserve their homage for those celestial powers which extended their

blessings to all mank ind .86

Thus Alexander 's conquests and ecumenical pursuits appear to have

contributed toward rel igious syncret ism, the popularizat ion of astrology

and the advancement of the not ion of a universal brotherhood of man.

Th is no tion later becam e a central and d istinct ive fea ture o f C hristianity.According to W. W. Tarn, Alexander "declared that all men were al ike

sons of one Father, and w h e n at Opis he prayed that Macedonians and

Persians mig ht be par tners in the com m onw ealth and tha t the peoples of

his w orld m ight live in h a r m o n y and in uni ty of hear t and m i n d , he pro-claimed for the first t ime the uni ty and brotherhood of m a n k i n d . . . . He,

first of all m e n , w as ready to t ranscend nat ional di f ferences , and to

declare, as St. Paul was to declare, that there was nei ther Greek nor bar-

barian."87

It has thu s far been asserted th at each class of Hellenistic Greek soci-

ety t ended toward i ts own form of world-rejecting religiosity: the upper

class tend ed to be attracted to w orld-reject ing philosophical schools,88

the

middle class to m ystery cults , and the lower class to astrology and magic.Following th e conquest of Greece by R o m e in 146 B.C., O riental m ystery

cults, and H ellenistic religiosity in gen eral, achieve d grea ter acceptance

within the Roman Republ ic . When these cul ts " threatened to break the

exclusive control of the political authorities over religious activities" and

"threatened to und erm ine ra ther than supplem ent the ancestral religion,"

the R om an government 's "official response to innovat ion w as ei ther nega-tive, or more often passive."

89Contr ibut ing to the spread of the general

86Astrology a n d Religion a m o n g th e Greeks a n d R o m a n s , trans. J. B. Baker (1912; reprint ,

New Y ork: Dover, 1960), pp. 31-32.87

Alexander th e Great (1948; reprint, Boston: Beacon Press, 1956), p. 147. The relevantscriptural passages are Galat ians 3:26-29and Colossians 3:10-11.

88Since th e implicit inclusion of Epicureanism here may be challenged, it should be

recalled, as Everett Ferguson, Backgrounds o f E a r f y Christ ianity (Grand Rapids, Mich.:Eerdmans, 1987), does that: "Epicurus was not (in its m odern connotation) an Epicurean. .. .

Both Epicureans and Stoics sought to liberate humans from fate, to make them self-sufficient

an d indifferent to exte rnals" (pp. 300-1).

89 Peter Garnsey and Richard Sailer, T h e R o m a n Empire: E c o n o m y , Society a n d Culture(Berkeley: Universi ty of California Press, 1987), pp. 170-74. Garnsey and Sailer also note tha t



S o c i o h i s t o r i c a l Asp e c t s of Rel ig ious Trans format ion 71

Hellenistic quest fo r individual salvation w as the socioeconomic upheaval

which resulted from th e protracted Punic Wars (264-146 B.C.). O f particu-lar significance for the success of the mystery cults was "the growth of a

helpless city m ob composed of impoverished farmers and workers displacedby slave labor."

90

The first official reception of an Oriental mystery cult in Rome w as

that of Cybele, also known as the Great Mother, which w as introduced in

204 B.C. The reception provoked substantial opposition from th e republi-can Senate, which "objected to the ecstatic nature of the cult inwhich there

w as scope for self-mutilation by males, and practice of the cult was at first

restricted to the natives who had come with the 'image' from Pessinus."91

The next major Roman encounter with an Oriental cult was in 186 B.C. The

Dionysiac Bacchanalia w as viewed by the Roman authorities as "a cultwhich allowed meetings by night of both sexes, made a pretext of ecstasy

and w as on the side of public disorder." They therefore "decided to forbidthe cult to their citizens and to license it only fo r those w ho could show it

w as their traditional religion."92

Burkert, w ho views the Bacchanalia as anatypically well-organized cult, has noted that the essence of the caseagainst i t w as largely sociopolitical:

T he accusation w as that there had been a huge conspiracy (coniura t io) that

w as to overthrow the existingrespubl ica; "another people is about to rise,"

al terum ia m populum esse. This vision of "another people" that is to oust

i h e p o p u l u s Romanus Quiritiumis a frightening one which in a strange w ay

foretells th e proclamation of a newpoliteia, a new civitas by later Christians.This m ay also explain w hy repression was so cruel and radical, with some

6,000 executions at a time. There is nothing comparable in religious history

before th e persecution of Christians.93

In addition to the suppression of the cults of Cybele and Bacchus, later

in the first century B.C. "consular officials destroyed a temple of Isis and

Sarapis which had been put up 'on privately owned land.' "94 Although

there were sporadic attempts to bolster the status of the traditional religion

by Augustus and other emperors, th e absence of a vigilantly enforced policy

of opposition to the introduction of alien ideological and religious influ-

ences resulted in the gradual permeation of the Hellenistic mysteries and

their ideal of individual salvation throughout all levels of Roman society.

"this attitude falls fa r short of the policy of toleration with which the Roman state is usually

credited" (ibid.), and refer th e reader to Peter Garnsey, "Religious Tolerance in ClassicalAn tiquity," in Persecut ion an d Tolerat ion, ed. W. J. Shells, SCH, no. 21 (Oxford: Basil Blackwell,

1984), pp. 1-28.90

Burns,Western Civi l izat ions, p. 217.91

Alan Wardman, Religion a n d Statecraft a m o n g t h e Romans (London: GranadaPublishing, 1982), p. 112.

92Ibid., p. 113.

93 AncientMystery Cults (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1987), p. 52.94

W a r dma n , Religion a n d Statecraft, p. 113.




Coincidentally, in the single career of the emperor Caracalla, who reigned

from A.D. 198 to 217, may be found actions which epitomized the Hellen-

istic t ransform ation of the trad it ional Indo-E uropean R om an religion.

Afte r Commodus (reigned A.D. 176-192) "had represented himself asHercules, participated fully and openly in the festivals of the Egyptian

gods, incorporated a prayer to Sarapis in the official prayers of the new

year , and saluted Sarapis C onserva t or A u g u s t i on his coins, all tha t w as left

for Ca racalla to do was to introduc e the Egy ptian gods into the sanctuaries

within the sacred bou nd ary of Ro m e ( the pomerium) and reconstruct the

official Pantheon around them."95

In addit ion to this act of rel igious inno-vation, Caracalla advanced the egali tarian and individualis t ic ideological

components of Hellenism by his "Antoninian C onst itu tion," an edict issued

in A.D. 212 which conferred ci t izenship upon nearly all free inhab i tan t s of

the Roman Empi re .96

T he effect of this edict was greatest in the eastern

areas of the em pire , where few inhab i tan t s had previously possessed citizen-

ship. As an indirect consequence, nontradit ional Oriental cults gained intheir level of acceptability and prestige.

In examin ing the effects of this process of Hellenist ic t ransformation

upon the Ind o-E uropea n classical religiosi ty, Solomon K atz has noted that

"the Grasco-Roman spiri t of ra t ional ism w as being buffe ted and broken by

waves of rel igious enthusiasm," and that "of al l the many changes occur-

r ing in the Roman Empire , th is change from a scientific, ob jective, and

rat ional basis of thought and life to a way of life based upon faith and

dogm a is perhaps the m ost revolutionary."97

While acknowledging that the

intellectual and psychological aspects of the decline of Rome are "ex-

t remely difficult to assess," Katz speculates on the causality of the ideolo-

gical developments which accompanied the Hellenist ic t ransformation:

A s a result of the chaos and dislocation of life, there was a growing note of

pessimism and despair which led to apathy and iner t ia . A reflection of this

w as the shift of interest from th e here to the hereaf te r . W e have seen how,

unde r th e stress of political, econ om ic and social ills, m en t u rned to other -

worldly religions, the O riental m ystery cul ts and Christianity. A s they lost

confidence in the Empire and in t he i r ow n power to alter conditions, theytried to find inner security as compensat ion for a world which w as grimand unc er tain. This groping for salvation in new religions is one aspect of

the psychological change; another is the resignat ion to the misfor tunes ofthis wo rld; to a total i tar ian regime, a col lapsing economy, and the barba r-

ia n invaders them selves. There was a "loss of nerve," as it has been called,

95Garnsey and Sailer, TheR o m a n E m p i r e , p. 172.

96This action appears to have been motivated primarily by economic concerns rather than

by sociopolitical ideology. To support his profligate reign, Caracalla sought to increase the

revenue which accrued from inhe r i tance taxes. Onl y Rom an c i ti zens were requ i red to pay these

taxes.97

T h e D e cl i ne of R o m e a n d th e Ri se of M e d i a e v a l E u r o p e ( I thaca , N.Y: Cornel l Univers i tyPress, 1955), p. 53.



S o c i o h i s t o r i c a l Aspects o f R e l i g i o u s T r a n s f o r m a t i o n 73

a breakdown of morale, a defeatist mentality. Even if they had the means,

m en no longer had the will to maintain the Empire against invasion and

dissolution.98

When considering the significance of the expansion of Hellenistic

religious attitudes for the expansion of Christianity, it may be helpful to

distinguish between the two. The foremost distinction was the lack of any

formal socioreligious organization or ekkles ia among the mystery cults,

philosophical schools, astrologers, or magicians, whereas "with Christianity

there appeared an alternative society in the ful l sense of potentially in-

dependent, self-sufficient, and self-reproducing communities."99

Another

distinction lay in the generally ambiguous notion of salvation in Hellenism,

where it referred to a wide spectrum of actions including recovery f rom

illness and the immortality of one's soul, whereas within the context of

early Christianity, salvation referred primarily to the bodily resurrection of

the faithful.100

One might add that a distinctive aspect of Christian salva-

tion is the notion of atonement by the savior figure for individual and

corporate sinfulness.

Kurt Aland has asserted that "the only thing the mystery religions and

Christianity have in common is the term [salvation, resurrection and

immortality], but the things that really matter are fundamentally di f fe r -

ent."101

Furthermore, the historicity of the person of Jesus is unparalleled

in the myths surrounding the central characters of the mystery cults. How-

ever, what is most s ignificant for the present study is not the extent to which

Christianity may have been influenced by Hellenistic religious developments,

but rather, the extent to which Christianity and the mystery cults responded

to the same fundamental socioreligious aspiration. This may be summar-

ized as a world-rejecting desire for personal salvationf rom

an earthly exis-

tence f r a u g h t with uncertainty, dissatisfaction, and the dissolution of old

98Ibid., p. 83. This general sociopolitical apathy, and particularly th e reluctance to risk

personal physical injury for the preservation of the empire , may be considered a primary

indicator of social decadence. Indeed, Rober t M . Adams, Decadent Societ ies (San Francisco:North Point Press, 1983), has claimed tha t "the simplest definition of decadence . .. is not

failure, misfortune, or weakness, but deliberate neglect of the essentials of self-preserva-

tion—incapacity or unwillingness to face a clear and present danger" (p . 36).99

Burkert , A n c i e n t M y s t e r y Cults , p. 51.

100 Ibid., p. 28.10 1

A History of Christianity, vol. 1: From th e Beginnings to the Threshold of th e Reformat ion,

trans. James L. Schaaf (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1980), p. 24. Aland cites th e study of Greekreligion by M artin Nilsson, Geschichte der griechischen Rel igion, 2 vols., 3rd ed. (Mu nich: Beck,

1961), to buttress his assertion. Also noteworthy in the at tempt to dissociate Christianity from

the influence of the mystery cults is Hugo Rahner , Greek Myth a n d Chri s t ian M y s t e r y , trans.

Brian Battershaw, intro. E. O. James (1963; reprint , Cheshire, Conn.: Biblo & Tannen, 1971).

The influential and provocative work which sought earlier in this century to at t r ibute th e

development of early Christianity to the mystery cults, and ultimately to Persian religious con-

cepts, is Richard Reitzenstein, Hellenistic M y s t e r y Religions: Their Basic Ideas an d Significance,

3rd ed., t rans. John E. Steely, Pittsburgh Theological Monograph Series, no. 15 (Pit tsburgh:Pickwick Press, 1978), published in German in 1926.




communal bonds. Karl Baus has provided the following important synopsis

in "The Religious Situation in the Graeco-Roman World at the Time of

Its Encounter with Christianity":

Political d evelopm ents in the eastern Mediterranean area also played their

part in fur ther ing the d ecline of the classical G reek religion. The period of

rule of the Diadochs [successors of Alexander who fought among them-

selves from 323 to 280 B.C.] involved in Greece itself th e final dissolution of

the o ld city-states, and this in tur n was a d eath-blow to the religious cults

which had been m ainta ined by the m or their associations of noble families.

T he newly founded Hellenistic cit ies in the East, with their commercial

possibilities, enticed m an y G reeks to emigrate, so tha t the homeland grew

poorer and m any ancient sanc tuar ies fell into ruin. O f m u c h m o r e far-reaching effect was the exchange of religious ideas and their liturgical

fo rms of expression, which w as brought about by the hellenization of the

East, an exchange in which the gods of Greece and the Orient were to a

great extent assimilated to one another but lost many of their or iginal

attr ibutes in the process.... O riental cul ts s t reamed into G reece and be-

yond to the western par ts of the empire, effecting there a decline of old

beliefs and, even in spite of new forms, a loss of religious content.

The ancient Ro m an religion was also subjected to the sam e process of

dissolut ion. Since the Second Punic War there had been a s teadi ly

growing hellenization of Ro m an re lig ion W hen towards the end of the

Second Pu nic W ar the S ibyll ine books d em and ed the introduct ion of the

cult of Cybele from Asia Minor , th e gods of the East began their

t r iumphal entry into Rom e and contr ibuted to the dis integration of the

ancient Roman faith. A ll at tempts to s tem the invasion on the par t of the

Senate and of those circles in Rom e wh ich viewed these developmentswith anxiety were in the long run unsuccessful.10 2

Baus has also noted within Hellenistic religion certain predispositions thatwere conducive to the subsequent arrival of the Christian message. Among

these were "the feeling of emptiness which had undeniably arisen among

men of more t hough t fu l nature on account of the fai lure of the ancient

religions, ... a deep desire of redemption in the men of that time which

was also bound to be quickened when eternal salvation was of fered by a

Savior," and "f inal ly, the strong tendency to monotheism, so apparent in

the religions of the Hellenistic period."103

These Hellenistic religious

attitudes "provided the Christian missionaries with an ideal bridgehead in

the pagan lands."104

Thus far, the transformation of the traditional world-accepting Indo-

European classical religions into the potpourri of Greco-Roman and

Oriental cults and unlimited syncretic variations that existed in the Roman

Empire by the third century A.D. has been surveyed. This development is

10 2Baus , Fr o m th e A p os to li c Com mu ni t y to Cons tan t ine , pp. 87-88.

103

Ibid., pp.97-98.10 4Ibid., p. 98.



Soc ioh i s tor ica l Aspec ts of Rel ig ious Trans format ion 75

significant not only because it relates to the decline of Indo-Europeanreligiosity, but also because the resulting Hellenistic religiosity formed one

of the two major environmental, if not ideological, influences upon earlyChrist ianity. T he other major influence w as Palestinian Judaism. Since

Indo-European Greco-Roman and Hellenistic religiosities were comparedearlier f rom th e perspective of a world-accepting folk religiosity versus

world-rejecting universal religions, Palestinian Judaism will be examinedsimilarly.

T he socioeconomic environment of Palestine in the time of Jesus and

th e apostolic Church was one of urban disenchantment:

Everyone was dissatisfied with th e existing political and social conditions,with th e exception of the wealthier families, many of whom were priests,

know n as the Sadducees. This ruling faction kowtowed to their overlords.

Fear, hatred, and bitter resentment were in evidence everywhere; and, on

top of these things, there w as much poverty. In spite of recurrent warfare,

th e population had increased during these centuries [6 3 B.C. to AD. 135].

Declining food supplies and wasteful governments made desperate th e

plight of all citizens, except for some of the provident and hard-working

peasants and artisans. Commercial and maritime trade had greatly in -

creased during the era of the Hasmoneans and the Herods, but this influxof wealth had no t improved conditions among the masses. It had tended

r a th e r to uproot them from their lands and, in chaotic times, to make

t hem a restless group of malcontents.105

T he religious attitudes which accompanied this socioeconomic situation,and which were probably reinforced by it , m ay be characterized as "Jewish

'apocalypticism,' a movement and a literature . . . which had a decisiveinf luence on early Christianity."

106Incorporated into the Jewish apoca-

lyptic world-view were the eschatological beliefs that "history is the arenaof God's activity," that Israel w as "destined to serve th e divine purpose ina special way," and that this service would soon be facilitated through a

messiah figure.107

10 5James L. Price, Interpreting the New Tes tament , 2nd ed. (New York: Holt, Rinehart and

Winston, 1971), pp. 45-46. Additional socioeconomic details of this period are discussed inJoseph Klausner, Jesus o f Nazareth: His Life, T i m es a n d Teaching , trans. H . Danby (1929; re -

print , New York: Macmillan, 1959); Frederick C. Grant, T h e E c o n o m i c Background of theGospels (London: Oxford University Press, 1926); and Joachim Jeremias,Jerusalem in the T i m e

o f Jesus, trans. F. H. Cave and C. H. Cave (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1969).10 6

Price, Interpreting the New Tes tament , pp. 75-76.107

Ibid., pp. 75-82. Jewish apocalypticism and related topics are discussed further by D. S.Russell, T he Method a nd Message of Jewish Apocalypt ic (1964; reprint, Philadelphia: FortressPress, 1978); Amos N. Wilder, Eschatology and Eth ics in the Teach ing o f Jesus, rev. ed. (NewYork: Harper & Row, 1950); and Joseph Klausner, T h e Mess ian ic Idea in Israel: From I ts

Beginning to the Complet ion o f t he Mishnah , trans. W. F. Stinespring (New York: Macmillan,1955). An interesting study which follows th e developmentof apocalyptic thought through th e

Middle Ages i s Norm an Cohn, T h e Pursui t of th e Mi l l e nn iu m, rev. and expanded ed. (New York:Oxford University Press, 1970).




These prominent apocalyptic and messianic notions of Palestinian Juda-

ism, which also permeated early Christianity, shared with contemporary

Hellenistic religiosity a fundamenta l ly world-rejecting character. This is an

important assertion for the current inquiry, given the relative absence of

the world-rejecting notions of salvation, astrology, magic, messianism,

apocalypticism, and dualism in authentic Indo-European religiosity. It is

contended here that the Hellenistic transformation process was also a "de-

Indo-Europeanization process," insofar as the core world-accepting Indo-

European folk ideal of famil ia l and communal solidarity as exemplified in

the life of the polis was gradually displaced by an individualist and univer-

salist religiosity.The idea of salvation is central to this inquiry. In the preceding chapter

it was stated that belief in redemption through the suffer ing and death of

Jesus Christ constitutes, at least for the current inquiry, the ideological

core of the Christian ethos and world-view.108

It has been noted by S. G. F.

Brandon that "Christianity, which is the salvation-religion par excellence,

stemmed f rom Judaism; but its soteriology was profoundly influenced by

ideas current in the Greco-Roman world, in which it spread during the for-

mative centuries of its growth."109 Since Palestinian Judaism and Hellenism

were both essentially world-rejecting and salvation-oriented, it is not

surprising that these themes were incorporated into early Christianity.

While Christianity's Hellenistic heritage contributed toward the notion of

individual salvation, Christianity's Judaic heritage advanced notions of

both individual and group salvation, as well as the associated concepts of

eschaton and messiah. The transformation of "this-worldly" Judaic group

salvation into "other-worldly" Christian universal salvation may be cred-

ited to sociopolitical factors, as well as to the Pauline initiative. Vittorio

Lanternari has developed an interesting theory regarding this transfor-

mation:

T he t ranscendenta l natu re of C hristianity sets it historically apa rt both fromthe messianic movements that preceded i t and from those arising amongprimit ive peoples which strive equa lly for hum an salvation on earth.

O ne m ay w ond er what caused Christianity to so transform the valuesinherent in the earlier prophetic messages. A determining factor is the

108See above, p. 35.

109Dictionary o f th e History of Ideas, s.v. "Sin and Salvation." Brandon has also edited a

collection of essays entitled The Savior God: Comparat ive Studies in the Concept of Sa l va t i on

Presented to Edwin Oliver J a m es (1963; reprin t, W estport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1980). Alsorelated to this topic are idem, M a n a n d H is Dest iny in the Great Rel igions (Manchester:Manchester University Press, 1962); idem, History, T i m e a n d Deity (Manchester: ManchesterUniversity Press, 1965); idem, T h e Judgement o f th e Dead (London: Weidenfeld & Nicholson,1967). Further discussion of the concept of salvation may be found in the Encyclopedia o f Reli-

gion, s.v. "Soteriology"; Encyclopedia o f Religion and Et h i c s , s.v. "Sin" an d "Salvation"; Real -

lexikon fu r Ant ike un d Chris ten tum, s.v. "Erlosung"; Religion in Geschich te und Gegenwart , s.v."Erloser" and "Erlosung."



Sodohistorical Aspects of Religious Transformation 77

endogenous nature of the Christian movement, which developed from an

urban society overburdened by hierarchical structures. Christianity arose

and grew as a "popular" manifestation in reaction to the presence within

its society of two oppressive forces, the Jewish priesthood and the RomanEmpire, which could be fought on religious grounds only if the existing

values of that society were rejected and others of purely spiritual and

nonworldly significance were adopted in their stead. The redemptive mes-

sage of Christianity—opposing the fo rm and nature of both church and

state at that time—was obliged to offer, as it did, a total escape from

reality by holding out the promise of a kingdom able to overthrow all the

worthless institutions which sustained society.110

Although the internal scriptural evidence of early Christianity's world-rejecting orientation is probably most convincing,

111the discovery of the

Nag Hammadi Library in 1945 and the Dead Sea Scrolls in Qumran in

1947 may contribute additional credibility to such a characterization. If

Jesus was associated with an Essene community, and if the Qumran scrolls

depict such a community, there exist grounds for suggesting that the

ascetic, messianic, eschatological, and proto-Gnostic orientation expressed

in the scrolls may have influenced Jesus and the early Christian commu-

nity.

112

The Christian subject matter of many of the Nag Hammadi Library11 0

Vittorio L anternari, T h e Religions of th e Oppressed: A Study of M o d e m Mess ian ic Cults,

trans . Lisa Sergio (N ew York: Kno pf, 1963), pp. 312-13. B y referr ing to the "endogenous nature

of th e Chris t ian movement," Lan ternari is asserting that Christianity is a movement "produced

to me et c ritical cond itions of purely int ern al origin." Salvation is sought "through spiritual,

cultural, or ethical channels," and is eschatologically directed toward "life in the hereafter,

wh ere the ind ividual may truly achieve liberation." This form of salvation is to be contrasted

with th e more sociopolitical form of "immed iate action through m ilitant struggle" (pp. 310-43).11 1

The rather consistent use of the term "world" in a perjorative sense in each of the

Gospels, which can be documented with the aid of a scriptural concordance (e.g., T h e E e r d m a n sAnaly t ica l Concordance to the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, compiled by Richard E.

Whitaker , with James E. Goehring [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1988], pp. 1237-38),

especially when combined with the Pauline spirit-flesh dichotomy, seems to generally coincide

with the first half of Bellah's de scription of world-rejection as "an extremely n egative evaluation

of man and society" ("Religious Evolution," p. 264), whereas Jesus' proclamation of the

"kingdom of God,"whether it is interpreted in a historical or eschatological sense, seems to

generally coincide with the second half of Bellah's description of world-rejection as "the

exaltation of another realm of reality as alone true and infinitely valuab le" (ibid.). Furtherm ore,

scriptural in junct ions to leave one's family to follow Christ, such as those found in Luke10:28-31, are inhe rently opposed to the fundamental w orld-ac cepting sociobiological principleof grou p survival.

11 2A concise analysis of the philosophical and religious views of the authors of the

Q umr a n scrolls is contained in ch. 9, "The Doctrines of the Sect," and ch. 13, "The Messianic

Conceptions of Qumran and the Early Church," in John Allegro, T h e Dead S ea Scrolls: A

Reappraisal , 2n d ed . (Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1964), as well as in Price, Interpreting th e

Ne w Tes tament , pp. 72-76. Allegro's personal impression is worth noting: "My own opinion is

t ha t th e scrolls prompt us increasingly to seek an eschatological meaning fo r most of Jesus'

reported sayings: M o re and more become intelligible when viewed in the light of the immin en t

cataclysm of Qumran expectations, and the inner conflict in men 's hear t s as the t ime d rew near"(p. 175).



78 T o w a r d a M o d e l of R e l ig io u s T ra n s f o rm a t i o n

texts tends to associate them, at least peripherally, with early Christianity.

Their Gnostic orientation has been viewed by James M. Robinson as con-

stituting a developmental continuum with the Dead Sea Scrolls.113

Although Gnosticism may have been a more radically world-rejecting

religious movement than mainstream early Christianity, it may also be

viewed as a quasi-intellectual response to the same problems of social

destabilization and alienation to which mainstream Christianity advocated

a response of faith. J. N. D. Kelly has surmised that Gnosticism "was

neither religion in the strict sense nor philosophy pure and simple; it is

best described as a species of theosophy."114

In its "bizarre mixture of

speculation, fantasy and mysticism, interspersed with Scriptural remini-

scences,"115 Gnosticism may be considered the apotheosis of the world-

rejecting religious outlook. If, as Elaine Pagels has suggested, the Gnosti-

cism presented in the Nag Hammadi texts represents an "alternative form

of early Christianity,"116

its significance for a fuller comprehension of early

Chris t iani ty is substantially increased. However, even if this is not the case,

an understanding of Gnosticism is important for this inquiry because it

m ay be considered to constitute the antithesis of Indo-European religi-

osity, and particularly its Hellenic and Germanic manifestations.

Historically the origins of Gnosticism, like dualism, have been attri-

buted by some to Zoroastrian influence.117

However, since the discovery of

the Nag Hammadi texts, a consensus appears to be developing which places

the origin of Gnosticism within the Jewish community.118

In addition to

s tudying the historical origins of Gnosticism and other world-rejecting

religious movements, it also may be f rui t ful to consider them f rom an exis-

tential perspective. This approach has been taken by Hans Jonas, who

views Gnosticism as an escapist response by those who felt alienated by the

sociopolitical disintegration of the Eastern Roman Empire.119

Eric Voegelin

113James M. Robinson, introduction to idem, ed., The Nag Hammadi Library in Engl ish ,

trans. Members of the Coptic Gnostic Library Project of the Institute fo r Antiquity and

Christianity (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1977), p. 7. This work, which is an indispensable

resource fo r analysis of the texts, has been completely revised in a th i rd edition published in

1988.114

Early Chr is t ian Doc tr ines , 2nd ed. (New York: Harper & Row, 1960), p. 24.115

Ibid.116

G n o s t i c Gospels (New York: Random House, 1979), p. xxiv.117

J. Duchesne-Guillemin,The Western R e s p o n s e to Zo r o a s te r (Oxford: Clarendon Press,

1958), particularly ch. 6, "Iran, Israel, Gnosticism."118

Encyc lopedia of Rel ig ion , s.v. "Gnosticism," by Gilles Quispel. However, Rodney Stark,

"Christianizing the Urban Empire: An Analysis Based on 22 Greco-Roman Cities," S o c i o l o g i c a l

Ana ly s i s 52:1 (Spring 1991): 77-88, supports "the thesis that while Christianity arose as a 'Jewish

heresy,' Gnosticism arose as a Christian 'heresy,' rather than constituting a Jewish movement

with origins parallel to those of Ch ris tianity" (p. 77).11 9

T h e Gnostic Religion: T h e Message o f the Alien God and the Beginn ings o f Chris t iani ty ,

2nd rev. ed . (Boston: Beacon Press, 1963), is the popular English i n t roduc t ion to Jonas's work.A recent overviewof the history and his tor iography of Gnosticismm a y b e fo u n d in the E n c y c lo -



Soc i oh i s t o r i ca l Asp ec t s of Rel ig ious T ra n s f o rm a t i o n 79

has pursued the existential approach fur ther toward the realm of psycho-

history. His analysis of Gnosticism is important because it posits a relation-

ship between sociopsychological development and religious orientation, and

contributes to an understanding of possible sociopsychological factors in-

volved in the expansion of universal, salvation-oriented, world-rejecting

religions:

T he knowledge, the Gnosis,... is the precondition for engaging success-

fully in the operation of l iberating th e pne uma in man from it s cosmic pri-

son. The imaginative game of liberation derives its momentum from an

intensely experienced alienation and an equally intense revolt against it;

Gnostic thinkers, both ancient and modern , are the great psychologists ofalienation, carriers of the Promethean revolt.

The futility of existence in a t ime of imperial expansion, how ever, can

find less-complicated ways to vent itself, as the history of zealotism and

apocalyptic mov em ents shows. Alienation and revolt, thou gh they provide

the m om entum , do n ot a lone produce a G nostic system that , w ith consid-

erable speculative effort, tries to comprehend the whole of reality and its

process. The additional factor is a consciousness of the movement toward

th e Beyond of such strength and clarity that it becomes an obsessive

i l lumination, bl inding a man for [to] the contextual structure of reality.12 0

In chapter 1 it was suggested that social and ideological structure may

predispose a society to one or another form of religious expression.121

More

particularly, Thomas O'Dea's conclusion that "people suf fer ing f rom ex-

treme deprivation and people suf fer ing f ro m anomie (some groups may be

experiencing both) display a considerable responsiveness to religions which

preach a message of salvation" was noted.122

Conversely, it was suggested

that a social structure which provided a strong degree of cohesiveness andsecurity, l ike that which prevailed within the Germanic societies of the

early medieval period, mi g h t not be conducive to the social and ideological

messages of salvation expressed by Christianity.123

Powell, Lanternari, and

Voegelin have supplemented th i s model by suggesting conditions which m ay

cause stable, cohesive societies to become destabilized, anomie ones. The

pedia o f Religion, s.v. "Gnosticism," by Gilles Quispel. Additional research on Gnosticism is

contained in Ugo Bianchi, ed., Le Origini dello Gnost ic i smo: Col loquio d i Mess ina , 13-18 A pr i l e1966, Nu m en Supplement, no. 12 (Leiden: B rill , 1967), particularly E. M . M endelson, "Some

No tes on a Sociological A pproach to G nosticism." An im porta nt resource for G nostic as well as

other studies in Hellenistic and O riental religiosity is the ongoing work of Maarten J. Vermas-eren, ed., Etudes prelimin aires a ux religions orientates d a n s I'Empire r e m a i n (Leiden: Brill, 1967-

81), which contains over a hund red volumes.12 0

T h e E c u m e n i c A g e, pp. 19-20. Ackno wledgm ent is due Ellis Sandoz, Director of the

Voegelin Institute at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, fo r suggesting th e clarifying

interpolation in the last sentence.121

See above, pp. 20-21.

12 2 T he Sociology of Religion, p. 57, quoted and cited above on p. 21.123

See above, p. 20.




m ost com prehensive survey of the social, political, psychological, and histor-

ical factors wh ich appear to con tribute to the developm ent of w orld-reject-

in g rel igious movements may be found in a series of articles by Noel W .

Smith.124

After com m enting on the inse cure sociopolitical con ditions w hich preci-

pitated th e Christ ianizat ion of Egypt in the second century, Smith concludes:

"Egypt w as only one of m any cu ltu res tha t underw ent a revolution in social

and psycholog ical conce pts at that t im e. U nder the same insecure and debili-

tat ing cond itions as the Egyptians faced, Greece and other nat ions in muchof the Mediterranean and in regions eastward also shifted their psycholo-gical concepts.... U nder condi t ions of fear , debasement , and ens lavement ,

natura l ism gave way to supernatural i sm. . . . The internal/external or

mind/body dichotom y which did not exist in earl ier Egypt or in Homer ic or

Hellenic Greece has remained a legacy of psychology to the present day."12 5

1 2 4 «jhe Distant Past and Its Relation to Cu rrent Psychology: A Tour of Psychophysical

Dualism and Non-Dua lism," Ma n k i n d Quarterly 32:3 (1992): 261-73; "The Evolution of Psycho-

physical Dualism in An cient Ind ia: From the R ig Veda to the Sutras," Mank ind Quarterly 31:1/2

(1990): 3-15; "Psychological Co ncepts U nd er C han ging Social Co ndition s in Ancient Egy pt,"

Mank ind Quarterly 30:4 (1990): 317-27; "Indo-E uropean Psychological Concepts and the Shift

to Psychophysical Dualism ," Ma n k i n d Quarterly 30:1/2 (1989): 119-27; "Belief Systems— A

Psychological Analysis," Ma n k i n d Quarterly 25:3 (1985): 195-225; and "The Ancient Back-

ground to Gr e e k Psychology," Psychological Record 24 (1974): 309-24.

1 2 5 "Psychological Concepts Under Changing Social Conditions in Ancient Egypt,"pp. 324-25.



Sociopsychological Aspects ofReligious Transformation

A comparison of the Sociopsychological forces opera ting within the anomicurban centers of the Roman Empire, and those operating among the

predominantly rural societies of the Germanic peoples, will aid in under-standing the different responses to C hristianity in each of these disparatesocial environments.

A recent social history of Pauline Christianity by Way ne A. M eeks pro-

vides im portan t insights into th e social struc ture and social psychology ofth e early Christian community. H e notes that "the image of the initiatebeing adopted as God's child and thus receiving a new family of h u manbrothers and sisters is a vivid way of portraying what a modern sociologistmight call the resocialization of conversion. The natural kinship structureinto which the person has been born and which previously defined hisplace and connections with th e society is here supplanted by a new set of

relationships."1

Meeks contrasts the spontaneous, ad hoc nature of the

Ch ristian com m unity and its "regular use o f terms like 'brother ' and 'sister,'

[and] the em phasis on m utu al love," both of wh ich "reinforce the c o m m u n i -

ta s of the Christian groups," with th e society "of ' the world, ' " exemplifiedby "the closely structured, h ierarchical society of the G reco-R om an city."

2

Th e attem pt of the early C hristian comm unities to em ulate and eventuallysupplant the na tur al sociobiological relationships of the family unit and thelarger ethnic com m unity contr ibuted to a perception of them by some non-Christian Rom an ci tizens as "a disruptive social pheno m eno n and a danger

to the security of the state."3 Th is perception is at least partially attributab le

1Wayne A . Meeks, T h e First Urban C h r i s t i a n s : T h e S o c ia l Wor l d o f th e Apos t le Pau l (New

Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1983), p. 88.2

Ibid., p. 87. For the use of a surrogate family model in contemporary alternative reli-

gious movements, see Robert H. Cartwright and Stephen A. Kent, "Social Control in Alterna-

tive Religions: A Familial Perspective,"Soc io log ica l Analys is 53 (1992): 345-61.3

Stephen Benko, P a g a n R o m e a n d t h e E a r f y C h r i s t i a n s (Bloomington: Universi ty of

Indiana Press, 1984), p. 21. The most notable exponent of this view w as Celsus, whose cri t ique

of Ch rist ianity, enti tled T h e True W o r d (c. 180), expressed concern regarding the effect of Chris-

t iani ty on R o m a n family life. Perhaps this concern had been heightened by scriptural passages

81

4



82 T ow ar d a Model o f Re l i g i ous T ra n s f o rm a t i o n

to the novel universalist form which Christianity took. Robert L. Wilken

has examined this fundamental distinction in form as i t appears in Celsus's

critique of Christianity:

There is another dimension to this exchange between Celsus and the Chris-tians. It is not simply a debate between paganism and Christianity, but a

debate about a new concept of religion. Celsus sensed that Christians hadsevered th e traditional bond between religion and a "nation" or people.

T he ancients took fo r granted that religion w as indissolubly linked to a

particular city or people. Indeed, there was no term for religion in the

sense we now use i t to refer to the beliefs and practices of a specific group

of people or of a voluntary association divorced from ethnic or national

i d e n t i t y . . . . The idea of an association of people bound together by a reli-gious allegiance with i ts ow n traditions and beliefs, i ts ow n history, and its

own way of life independentof a particularcity or nation w as foreign to the

ancients. Religion belonged to a people , and it was bestowed on an individ-

ual b y the people or nation from which one came or in which one lived.4

The eschatological orientation of early Christianity as expressed in the

Pauline exhortation to celibacy,5

contributed to the frequent attraction of

individuals who had left their families. T he early Christians gathered in

nonbiological communities that tended to emulate familial bonds. The nov-el and socially dysfunctional nature of these communities, when judged by

contemporary Roman standards, incurred substantial criticism. As Elaine

Pagels has recently noted: "In a sense such critics were right; for Christians

did threaten the social and ethical system of the ancient world in ways that

eventually would alter the structure of the empire itself."6

Those who were attracted to such alternative communities were not

exclusively from the lower classes of the empire, as was once thought.7

such as Luke 14:26: "I f anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, and wife

and children, and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple"; and

Luke 18:29-30: "Amen I say to you, there is no one who has left house, or parents, or brothers,

or wife, or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, w ho shall not receive much more in the

present time, and in the age to come life everlasting." See also Celsus, O n th e True Doctrine: A

Discourse Against th e Chr is t ians , trans. R . Joseph Hof f mann (New York: Oxford University

Press, 1987).4 Robert L . Wilken, T h e Chr is t ians a s t h e Romans S a w Them (New Haven, Conn.: Yale

Univers i ty Press, 1984), pp. 124-25.5

See, for example, 1Corinthians 7:29-35.6

Adam, Eve, and the Serpent (New York: Random House, 1988), p. 32. The socially

disruptive effect of early Christianity is conveyed by the legend of Thecla, an attractive adoles-

cent girl w ho rejected an arranged marriage to a wealthy man, left home, and joined a Christian

communi ty . Pagels surmises: "Whether or not she in fact heard Paul himself preach, she—and

thousands like her—welcomed such radical versions of the gospel. Following Jesus' advice, these

young disciples broke with their families and refused to marry, declaring themselves now mem-bers of 'God's family." Their vows of celibacy served many converts as a declaration of indepen-

dence from the crushing pressures of tradition and of their families, w ho ordinarily arranged

mar r i ages at puberty and so determined th e course of their children's lives" (p . 20).7

Inf luen t ia l in advancing this view has been Abraham Malherbe, S o c ia l As pec t s o f EarlyChris t iani ty (Baton Rouge: University of Louisiana Press, 1977). However, this should not be



Soc i op sycho l og i ca l Aspec ts of Rel ig ious Trans format ion 83

However, although "the most active and prominent members of Paul's

circle" may be classified as "upwardly mobile," they m ay also be classifiedas "people of high status inconsistency" because "their achieved status is

higher than their attributed status."8 The sociopsychological significance of

this condition is discussed by Meeks:

A series of studies has demonstrated that, in present-day American society,

persons of low status crystallization, that is , those who are ranked high in

some important dimensions but low in others, tend to behave in certain

predictable ways. Some m ay take political action favoring change in the

society. Some m ay withdraw from groups and tend to become unsocial.

Others m ay develop psychophysiological symptoms of stress. A ll these kinds

of behavior, some sociologists believe, show that a high degree of statusinconsistency produces unpleasant experiences that lead people to try to re-

m ov e th e inconsistency by changing th e society, themselves, or perceptions

of themselves.9

Related to the concept of social inconsistency is that of "relative depriva-tion," according to which "it is not the absolute level of poverty or power-

lessness [of a group] that counts, but the way in which they perceive their

status relative to significant other groups."10

taken to exclude th e observation of Celsus, recently concurred in by Stephen Benko, Pagan

Rome a n d t h e Early Chr is t ians , p. 157, that "the uneducated were attracted in great numbers to

the church." Also commenting upon Celsus, Ramsay MacMullen, Chr is t ian iz ing theRoman Em-

pire , A.D. 100-400 (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1984), notes that "the church's

teachings were offered most often to the unsophisticated or uneducated, and by people of low

s tanding in the community" (p. 37). In this regard, see also 1Corinthians 1:26-29. After noting

that in "all but the largest cities," there was an "absence of clearly defined middle or 'merchant'

classes," Robin Lane Fox, Pagans and Chr is t ians (New York: Knopf, 1986), states: "The hard

core of these churches' membership lay in the humbler free classes, people who were far re-moved from higher education and at most controlled a very modest property of their own. It is

against this silent majori ty that the exceptions should be seen, although the exceptions generally

wrote the surviving texts and addressed exceptional Christians" (pp. 299-301).8

Meeks, The First Urban Chr is t ians , p. 73. The studies on "status inconsistency" cited by

Meeks were provoked by Gerhard E. Lenski, "Status Crystallization: A Non-vertical Dimension

of Social Status," ASR 19 (1954): 405-13, which "stimulated a series of responses and further

investigations which has probably still not come to end" (p. 215 n. 24). These responses and

fu r ther investigations include Irwin Gof f man , "Status Inconsistency and Preference fo r Change

in Power Distribution," ASR 22 (1957): 275-81; Gerhard E. Lenski, "Social Participation and

Status Crystallization," ASR 21 (1956): 458-64; Elton F. Jackson, "Status Consistency andSymptoms of Stress," ASR 27 (1962): 469-80; Elton F. Jackson and Peter J. Burke, "Status and

Symptoms of Stress: Additive and Interaction Effects," ASR 30 (1965): 556-64; Herbert M.

Blalok, "Status Inconsistency, Social Mobility, Status Integration, and Structural Effects," ASR

32 (1967): 790-801; Carlton A. Hornung, "Social Status, Status Inconsistency, and Psychological

Stress," ASR 42 (1977): 623-38; and M. S. Sasiki, "Status Inconsistency and Religious Commit-

ment," in T h e Rel ig ious Dimension: New Direc t ions in Quantitative Research, ed. Robert

Wuthnow (New York: Academic Press, 1979), pp. 135-56.9

T h e First Urban Chr is t ians , p. 55.10 Ibid., p. 172. This concept, which appears to have developed from the Weberian con-

cept of "nonprivileged classes," has been fu r th e r examined and applied by David Aberle, "ANote on Relative Deprivation Theory as Applied to Millenarian and Other Cult Movements," in



84 T o w a r d a M o d el of Religious T r a n s f o r m a t i o n

While "cautious in applying to ancient society a theory that has been

empirically generated f rom observations about a modern society," Meeks

believes that in investigating the social status of the early Christians, theo-

ries of status inconsistency "can have great heuristic power."11 Among the

early Christians, intellectuals whowere not accepted into the predominantly

pagan social structure, may have been forced to accept careers as artisans

or laborers. Feeling thwarted by the existing socioeconomic system, they

may have experienced that sociopsychological condition of alienation vari-

ously described as "cognitive dissonance" or "status dissonance."12

Persons

affected by status inconsistency also often develop feelings of resentment

toward a society in which they are not permitted to enjoy the influence and

prestige they feel they are entitled to. For example, a well-educated Syrian

immigrant who performed menial tasks in a Greek city no longer enjoyed

the esteem accorded him in his native land. He may therefore have been

attracted to a socioreligious community in which all members were con-

sidered equal, and enjoyed the mutual respect and intimacy of brothers

and sisters, regardless of their status outside the community. The promise

of "the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting" also probably figured in the

decision of status-inconsistent individuals to become members of the local

Christian community. It is likely that the alienation and resentment fe l t by

many status-inconsistent individuals was shared by a substantial percen-

tage of more "consistently low status" individuals such as uneducated

slaves.

Although Meeks does not speculate on the historical origins of wide-

spread status inconsistency, some attempt at explanation is in order. One

may theoretically trace its impetus to the social destabilization of the en-

tire Mediterranean region by the Peloponnesian Wars and the conquests

of Alexander the Great, which were discussed in the previous chapter in

connection with the emergence of Hellenistic mystery cults. To more fully

convey the magnitude of the "heterogenization" process that accompanied

the Hellenistic transformation, a demographic summary of Alexander's

empire is provided:

A lexander 's empire was basically the old Persian Em pire plus Greece and

must be accounted an Asian state in term s of population:

Sylvia L . Thrupp, ed., Mil lenn ia l D r e a m s in Action: Studies in Revo lu t ionary Re l ig ious M o v e m e n t s ,

Comparative Studies in Society and History,supp., 2 (The Hague: Mouton, 1962),pp. 209-14.11

Meeks, The First Urban Chr is t ians , p.55.12

Ibid., p. 173. For a fur ther discussionof "cognitive dissonance," Meeks suggests Leon

Festinger, A Theory o f Cognit ive D i s s o n a n c e (Stanford , Calif: Stanford University Press, 1957).

More recent discussions may be found in Lawrence S. Wrigh t sman , S o c ia l Psychology, 2nd ed.

(Be lmon t , Calif:Wadswor th , 1977),pp . 364-73; and Neil R. Carson, Psychology: T h e S c ien c e o f

B e hav i or (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1984), pp. 583-87. For Robin Lane Fox's response to

Meeks and the application of the concept of cognitive dissonance to the early Church , see h isP a g a n s a n d Chr is t ians , pp . 317-22.



S o c i o p s y c h o l o g i c a l A s p e c t s of R e l ig i o u s T r a n s f o r m a t io n 85

M acedonian Em pire in Europe (Greece) 3.0m [million]

in A frica (Egypt) 3.5

in the N ear East (less A rabia) 12.0

in C entral Asia and India 1.5TOTAL 20.0

N u m b e r in Asia 13.5, or two thirds

However, if the demographic centre of the Empire lay in Asia i ts driving

force was clearly European and its conscious aim was to promote the

Greek way of life. The number of Greek settlers was, in absolute terms,

insignificant—no more than 0 .25m—but as agents for the spread of Hel-

lenism they proved sufficient. Later the Romans took over the Greek role

and for the rest of the classical period the western Near East was part of

thei r Empire.13

Despite the intentions of these "agents of Hellenism," the ultimate result

was not cultural conformi ty but syncretism, cultural confusion, and the loss

of cultural identity by native and immigrant alike. Not only were the cul-

tures of the conquered territories "syncretized" with Greek culture, but

native Greek culture itself was gradually transformed and "de-Hellenized."

Mircea Eliade has summarized the key socioreligious aspects of this social,

historical, cultural, and religious transformation:From wh atever po in t of view Alexander 's campaigns are judged , there isagreement that their consequences were profound and i r revocable. After

Alexander the historical profile of the w orld was radical ly changed. The

earlier political and religious structu res— the city-states and their cult in -

stitutions, thepo l i s as the "center of the wo rld" and reservoir of exem plary

models , the anthropology elaborated on the basis o f a cer tainty that there

w as an irreducible difference between Greeks and "barbar ians"—all these

structures collapse. In their place the notion of the o i k o u m e n e and "cos-

mopoli tan" and "universal is t ic" t rends become increasingly dominant . . . .

... W h a t has been called the "Hellenis t ic Enlightenment" encouraged

individualism and at the same t ime cosmopoli tanism. The decadence of

the po l l s had freed the individual from his imm em orial c ivic and religioust ies; on the other h an d, this f reedom showed h im his soli tude and al iena-

tion in a cosmos that was terrifying by its mystery and vas tness . . . . But it

was the Stoics who popular ized the idea that a l l men are co s m o po l i l a i—

citizens of the same city, i .e. , the cosmos—whatever their social origin or

geographical situation.14

As Eliade has observed, the de-Hellenizing effects of the Hellenistic

transformation were particularly directed against the traditional Greek polis.

Persian, Syrian, and Egyptian immigrants to Greek cities and towns of ten es-

tablished their owncommunities and shrines. Eventually, "as their numbers

13 Colin McEvedy and Richard Jones, At l a s o f Wor ld Popula t ion History (Harmondswor th :

Penguin Books, 1978), pp. 125-26.14

Mircea Eliade, A History of Religious Ideas , vol. 2: F r o m G a u t a m a B u d d h a t o the T r i u m p h

of Chris t iani ty , trans. W illard R. Trask (Chicago: U nive rsity of Chicago Press, 1982), pp. 203-8pass im.




and solidarity grew to the point that they could demand some civic re-

cogn ition, their cu lt, by now usually housed in a proper G reek temple and

ass im i lated in m any other w ays as wel l to the Greek urban environm ent ,,

became par t of the m un icipal religious establishm ent."15 N ative G reeks then

became at t racted to the new religious fo rm s. Tha t the process of demogra-

phic heterogenizat ion and rel igious syncretism ini t iated by Alexander did

not end w ith the R om an conquest of G reece in 197 B.C., is m ade clear by

George L a Piana in his s tudy of foreign groups in Rome.16

A n unders tanding of the socioreligious dynamics of urbanizat ion is vitalto this inquiry. The differences between the rural environment of theGer-

manic peoples and the urban environm ent w here early C hris tiani ty thrived

consti tute the single most sal ient social dist inct ion between the two soci-

eties . R odney Stark has recently conf i rm ed tha t not only w as C hris t iani ty

"first and forem ost an urban m ovem ent ," but th at c ity s ize and the degree

of Chris t ianizat ion are positively c orrelated.17

H e relates this observation

to a "wel l-known subcu l tural theo ry of urban ism " which asserts that "the

larger the populat ion, in absolute numbers, the easier i t is to assemble a'critical mass' needed to form a deviant subculture."

18Stark suggests that

th e hig h levels of social disorganization and ethnic heterogenei ty in Greco-

Roman ci t ies contr ibuted toward thei r h igh levels of Christ ianizat ion.19

15 Meeks, The First Urban Chr is t ians , p. 18. The "de-Hellenization" or "Oriental izat ion" of

th e Greek cities is discussed in detail in chs. 3 and 4 of Nock, Convers ion : The O l d and t he Ne w i n

Rel ig ion f rom A l e x a n d e r th e Grea t to Augus t i n e of Hippo (Oxford: C larendon Press, 1933), while

the expansion and appeal of the O riental cults are discussed in chs. 6 and 7.16

Foreign Groups in R o m e D u r in g th e First Cen tur ies of the E m p i r e (Cambridge, Mass.:

Harvard Univers i ty Press, 1927). Co m m enting on th is work , El izabeth K. N ott ingha m , R el i g i o n

a n d Society (New York: Random House, 1954), remarks: "La Piana . . . has shown how the

contacts and conflicts of the foreign groups in the tene m ent qua rters of Rome's vast imm ig ran tareas fu rnishe d a haven for a great variety of cults and oriental m ystery religions. H is de-

scriptions rem ind us of im m igra nt areas in New York City or Chicago, w ith their converted

down-at-heel brownstone houses, m a n y of which are meeting places fo r Rosicrucians, spiritual

or oriental churches, or m ore ephem eral cults . According to La Piana, one of the reasons that

Christianity—itself a mystical oriental import to the Roman scene—survived and flourished

while vast num bers of contem porary cults and m ystery religions became extinct was that Chris-

t ianity possessed a superior type of organization" (pp. 66-67). Nott ingham ci tes La Piana,

Foreign Groups in R o m e , p. 370, for this observation.17 Rodney Stark, "Christianizing the Urban Empire : An Analysis Based on 22 Greco-

Roman Cities," Soc io log ica l Ana ly s i s 52:1 (1991): 77. Similar ly , W alter Bu rkert , Gr eek R e l i g i o n ,trans. John Raf fan (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1985), has stated in the

concluding sentences of his book: "There was one ul t im ate poin t at which th e polis religion w asbound to collapse, the development of the very large and hence amorphous city. It was in the

megalopolis of the ancient wo rld that Ch ris t ian i ty would most easi ly find a foothold" (p. 337).18 Stark , "Ch ristianizing," p. 80. The source of this theory is Claude S. Fischer, "Toward a

Subcultural Theory of Urbanism," A m e r i c a n Journa l of Soc io logy 80 (1975): 1319-41.19

Stark, "Christianizing," pp. 86-87. Stark indicates his in ten t ion to treat this topic in a

fu tu re article. H e does, however, provide th e following explanat ion of the operat ion of u rb a n

social d isorganizat ion: " It is axiom atic that co nform ity to norm s is the resu lt of [ in terpersonal]

a t t achments—to th e extent that w e va lue our re la t ionships with others w e will conform in orderto re ta in their es teem. When people lack a t tachmen ts , they have much g rea te r f reedom to



S o do ps y c h o l o g i c a l Aspec t s of Religious Trans format ion 87

This view has also been expressed by Howard Clark Kee, who notes: "An

impor tant consequence of the breaking up of indigenous populations andcultures under th e impact, first of Hellenization and then of extension of

Roman imperial power and administration, was the rapid increase in the

voluntaristic element in religion. With th e hold of tradition and ethnic heri-

tage broken by the new mobility, men and women felt f ree to choose new

forms of religious identity that better served their needs."20

After nearly four centuries of urbanizat ion, there probably existed asizable number of residents in most Greek cities w ho could be classified as

status-inconsistent. A s already noted, it is f rom this group that Meeks be-

lieves the most prominent converts to Pauline Christianity originated. He

provides possible examples of the psychosocial profiles of individuals w ith-

in this group: "Independent women with moderate weal th , Jews with

wealth in a pagan society, freedmen with skill and money but stigmatized

by origin, and so on—brought with them not only anxiety but also lone-

liness, in a society in which social position w as impor tant and usually

rigid."21

Meeks then asks rhetorically: "Would, then, the intimacy of the

Christian groups become a welcome refuge, the emotion-charged language

of family and affection and the image of a caring, personal God powerful

antidotes, while th e master symbol of the crucified savior crystallized abelievable picture of the w ay the world seemed really to work?"22

deviate from th e norms. In m odern studies, u nconventional behavior is strongly correlated with

various measures of population turnover and instability" (p. 86),20

Miracle in the E a r f y Christ ian World: A Study in Sociohistorical Method (New H aven,Con n.: Yale U niv ersity Press, 1983), p. 61.

21Meeks, T he First Urban Chris t ians, p. 191. One may conjecture tha t the feelings of anxi-

ety, alienation, loneliness, and rootlessness experienced by many residents of ethnoculturally

diverse urb an areas m ay contribute to a condition of at least mild depression. According to theMerck M a n ua l of Diagnosis and Therapy, ed. Robert Berkow, 13th ed . (Rah wa y, N.J.: M erck,Sharp & Dohme Research Laboratories, 1977), "depressed patients often see themselves as

helpless or trapped in a hopeless situation, and em pathy, support, and compassion are needed tohelp them find their way out" (p. 1495). The em pathy, support, and compassion offered by the

early Ch ristian comm unities would certainly seem to appeal to the depressed individual. A re-

cently reported epidemiological study of the increasing incidence of depression am ong youngAmericans has suggested environ m ental risk factors which correspond surprisingly well with th e

environment of early Christianity depicted thu s far. According to Gerald L. Herman and MyrnaM . Weissman, "Increasing Rates of Depression," Journal o f th e A m e r i c a n Medica l Associa t ion

261:15 (1989): "The coho rts born since Wo rld War II have been am ong the healthiest physicallyan d were raised during a period of economic prosperity in the United States and WesternEurope. Nevertheless, they show high rates of alcoholism, substance abuse, depression, an dsuicide. The environmental risk factors fo r depression and other mental disorders fo r thiscohort have not been established but probably include (a ) demographic shifts, (b ) changes in theratio of males to females in the population, (c ) increasing urban ization, (d ) greater geographicmobility with resu ltant loss of at tachments an d face-to-face groups, (e ) increasin g social a no m ie,(f) changes in family structure, (g ) alterations in the roles of wo m en, especially th e increasednumber of wome n in the work force, and (h) shifts in gend er-related occupational patterns. . . .There are data tha t overall rates of depression are lower in rural as compared with urb an areas"

(p. 2234).22 Meeks, T he First Urban Chris t ians, p. 191.




Thus, f rom a sociopsychological perspective, th e early C hristian com-

munit ies were not perceived as a means fo r social advancement, but ra ther

as a social refug e and a center for egali tarian resocialization for those w ho

experienced status inconsistency or cognit ive dissonance. O bserving tha t a

theory of status inconsistency does not of itself explain w hy Christ ian con-

verts "resolved the inconsistency by taking to C hris tiani ty ra ther tha n to any

other cult,"23

Robin Lane Fox suggests:

W e wou ld do b etter to view its appeal no t ag ainst inconsistency bu t against

a grow ing social exclusivity. C hristianity w as least l ikely to attract the peo-

ple w ho were m ost embedded in social tradition, th e grea t famil ies of R o m e ,

the upper families w ho filled th e civic priestho od s and competed in publicgenerosity for the gods. There were exceptions, but it was also least likely

to attract the teacher and an t iqua r i an w ho were steeped in pagan learn-

ing. It cou ld, however , offer an a l te rna tive com m uni ty and r ange of values

to those w ho were d isenchanted by the display of riches, by the harshness

of th e exercise of power and the progressive hardening of the gradat ions

of r ank and degree . Only a simple view of h u m a n na tu re will expect suchpeople to be n o n e but the poor and the oppressed themselves . . . .

O n a longer view, the r ise of Ch ris tiani ty owed m uch to a broade r

initial change , a loosening of the civic c ohesion of the Greek city-state.Even in the classical city, th e citizen had not been l imited to his city's

public cults, but as groups of non-ci t izens mult ipl ied through migrat ion

from place to place and as t ighter restrictions were placed on the holding

of local citizenship, th e general connect ion between a city's cu lts and i ts

citizens had been grea t ly weakened . 24

A nother fac tor which often accompanies urb aniza t ion and e thnocu l tu ra l

destabilization and is related to the at tract iveness of early Christ ianity, is

the dissolut ion of the family unit . Meeks ci tes Franz Bomer to the effecttha t "the religious solidarity of the familia in old Roman agrar ian society

gave w ay un de r pressures of urbanizat ion."25

T he destabi l izat ion of family

life w as reflected in the larger com m uni ty of the town or city. As the levels of

family and civic solidarity dec lined, th e high level of grou p solidari ty present

within the local C hrist ian com m uni t ies became m ore apparent and attrac-

tive. The reputat ion of "brotherly love" am ong C hris tians wou ld certa in ly

have had some degree of appeal for spiritually and cultural ly al ienated in -

dividuals. According to Fox, "this 'brotherly love' has been mi n i mi zed as a

reason fo r tu rn ing to the Church , as if only those w ho were members could

know of it," whereas "in fact i t was widely recognized" and "must have

23Fox,P a g a n s and Chris t ians , p.321.

24Ibid., pp. 321-22.

25 Meeks, T h e First Urban Chris t ians , p . 205 n. 139. The source cited here by Meeks is

Franz Bomer, Untersuchungen iiber d ie Religion d er Sk laven in Griechen land un d Rom, vol. 1

(Mainz: Steiner, 1957), pp. 57-78. See also Keith R . Bradley, Discovering th e R o m a n Family:Studies in R o m a n Soc i a l History (New Y or k : Oxford University Press, 1991).



Sociopsychologica l Aspec ts of Rel ig ious Trans format ion 89

played its part in drawing outsiders to the faith."26

John Ferguson, in his

study Th e Rel ig ions of th e Roman E m p i r e , concurs:

Wherein then lay the appeal of Christianity? It was first in the personalityof the founder. ... It was secondly in the way of love revealed, in the

witness of community (koinonia), in a fellowship which took in Jew and

Gentile, slave and free, men and women, and whose solid practicality in

their care for the needy won the admiration even of Lucian. "How these

Christians love one another!"was a respectful affirmation.27

T he significanceof early Christian social solidarity w as noted earlier in

this century by Pierre Batiffol, w ho wrote that "w e must, indeed, attach a

great importance to the social solidarity which it established among all itsmembers," and claimed that "nothing in Christianity impressed the pagans

more than th e love of Christians for one another."28

Although messianic

hopes and apocalyptic fears had somewhat subsided by the middle of the

second century, th e fundamental ly world-rejecting world-view expressed by

these attitudes endured, albeit in a more secular fo rm. N ot only d id Chris-

t ianity offer its faithful the eternal benefits of redemptive salvation through

Jesus Christ, but, as Fox has noted, "in cities of growing social divisions,

Christianity offered unworldly equality."29 A more detailed description ofth e effects of high population density

30and of the high level of ethnocul-

tu ra l diversity found in the urban environment in which early Christianity

appears to have flourished, is provided by Latourette in his discussion of

the factors contributing toward the expansion of Christianityin the first five

centuries:

Another factor, and one which we have mentioned more than once, ap-

pears to have been the disintegration of society. From at least the time ofAlexander the Mediterranean world had been in a state of flux. The pass-

ing of the o ld w as hastened by the wars which culminated in the founding

of the Roman Empire and was further accelerated by the Empire itself.

The construction of a universal state could not but dissolve the barriers

which divided people from people. In the consequent intermingling of

individuals and ideas old cultures, with their religions, were weakened. In

26Pagans and Christians, p. 321.

27 T h e Rel ig ions of th e Roman E mpir e (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1970), p. 126.28

Primi t ive Catho l ic i sm , trans, from 5th ed. by Henri L. Brianceau (New York: Longmans,Green, 1911), p. 31. In support of this statement, Batiffol refers to Thessalonians 4:9-10 and

Romans 12:10-13.29 Fox, Pagans a n d Chris t ians , p. 335.30 Meeks, T h e First Urban Chris t ians: "MacMullen estimates that th e average population

density in cities of the Roman Empire m ay have approached tw o hundred pe r acre—an equi-

valent found in Western cities only in industrial slums. Further, given t h a t much of the

space—one-fourth , by MacMullen'scalculations—was devoted to public areas, 'the bulk of the

populat ion had typically to put up with most uncomfortable crowding at home, made tolerable

by th e attractive spaciousness of public facilities' " (pp. 28-29). Meeks is citing RamsayMacMullen, Roman S o c ia l Relat ions (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1974), p. 63.



90 T o w a r d a M o d el o f R e l i g i o u s T r a n s f o r m a t i o n

th e grea t ci t ies especially were tho usan ds of deracinated individuals, some

of them s laves , some f reedmen, and some merchants , who had been sepa-

ra ted by force or voluntar i ly from thei r hered i tary m ilieu. O f ten insecure,

subject to oppression from the powerful , presumably many of them wel-comed the fe l lowship afforded by the strong Christ ian o rganization and

the security w hich the faith promised for the life to come. I t is notable that

Christ ianity had its first strongholds in the large cities, where these

condit ions were par ti cu lar ly pr o m in en t . . . . H ad Christ ianity been born in

a vigorous yo ung cul ture who se ad heren ts were conf iden t of i ts v ir tues , i t

mig h t have met a different fate.31

It becomes apparent that the intimacy, cohesion, and inclusiveness of early

Christianity were prominent factors in attracting alienated individuals inthe Roman Empire. This view is shared by Gilbert Murray:

It always appears to me tha t, historically speaking, the charac te r of Chris-

t ianity in these early centuries is to be soug ht no t so m uch in the do ctr ines

which it professed, near ly all of which had thei r roots and their close

paral lels in older Hellenist ic or Hebrew thought, but in the organization

on which it rested. . . . W h e n I try to realize it as a sort of semi-secret

society fo r m utua l he lp wi th a mystical religious basis, resting first on the

prole tar ia ts of Ant ioch and the great com mercia l and m anu factu r ing townsof th e Levant , then spreading by instinctive sym pathy to similar classes in

Rome and the West, and r ising in influence, l ike certain other mystical

cults, by the special appeal it m a d e to w o m e n , th e various historical puz-

zles begin to fall into place.... It explains its h u m a n i ty , its in tense feeling

of brotherhood wi th in its ow n b o u n d s , its incessant care for the poor , and

also i ts com parative ind ifferen ce to the v ir tues w hich are especially incum -

ben t on a governing c lass.32

In his His to ry o f Re l ig iou s Ideas , Mircea Eliade also considers the fac-

tors which contributed toward the expansion of Christianity. His observa-

tions are remarkably similar to those of Meeks, Fox, Ferguson, Bat i f fo l ,

Latourette, and Murray:

T he causes of the final t r i u m ph of Chris t ian preaching are m a n y and

various. First of al l were th e unshakab le faith and moral s t rength of Chris-

t ians , thei r courage in the face of tor ture and death—a courage admired

even by thei r greates t enemies . . . . Fur thermore , the solidari ty of the

Ch ris tians was uneq ua led; the co m m unity took care of widows, o rphans ,

and the aged an d ransomed those captured by pira tes . Dur in g epidemicsand s ieges, on ly Ch r is t ians tend ed the wou nd ed and bur ied the dead. F o r

all the rootless mu l t i tu des of the E m p i r e , for the m a n y wh o s u f f e r e d f rom

lone l iness , for the v ic t ims o f cu l tu ra l a n d soc ia l a l i ena t ion , th e C h u r c h wa s

th e only h o p e of obta in ing a n identity, of f inding, or recovering, a m e a n i n g fo r

l i f e . Since there were no barriers, ei ther social , racial , or intellectual ,

31T h e Expans ion o f Christianity, vol. 1: T h e First Five Centur ies (New York: Harper , 1937),

pp. 163-64.32

Five Stages o f Greek Relig ion, 3rd ed. (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1955),pp. 185-86.



S o c i o p s y c h o l o g i c a l Aspects of R e l i g i o u s T r a n s f o r m a t i o n 91

anyone could become a member of this optim istic and paradoxical society

in which a powerful citizen, the emperor ' s chamberla in , bowed before a

bishop who had been his slave. In all probability, nei ther before nor after-

ward has any historical society experienced th e equivalent of this equality,of th e charity and brotherly love that were the life of the Christ ian com-

m unit ies of the first four centuries.33

Additionally, in his study The C u l t of the Saints, Peter Brown has noted:

"The church was an artificial kin group. Its members were expected to

project onto the new community a fair measure of the sense of solidarity,

of the loyalties, and of the obligations that had previously been directed to

the physical family."34

Although the Sociopsychological appeal of early

Christianity has been discussed in each of the works quoted above, thework which deals most exclusively with this subject is E. R. Dodds' Pagan

a n d C hr i s t i an i n a n A g e o f Anxie ty .3*

Dodds suggests that Christians in the period between 161 and 313 may

have interpreted the prevalence of war, pestilence, and economic instability

as an eschatological prelude to messianic and apocalyptic expectations.36

The communal and transcendent aspects of early Christianity are likely to

have been attractive to those urban inhabitants of the Roman Empire whose

existence was f r a u g h t with loneliness, fear, and despair. Featuring greaterorganizational stability and solidarity than other religious or philosophical

groups, Christianity of fe red the alienated individual, without regard to sex,

ethnicity, or socioeconomic status, membership in a caring community,

together with the hope of bodily resurrection. The high degree of Chris-

tian solidarity in the midst of widespread social anomie is thought by Dodds

to constitute "a major cause, perhaps the strongest single cause, of the

spread of Christianity."37

His closing discussion which leads to this conclu-

sion is worth reviewing, for it succinctly presents the classical socioreligiousand Sociopsychological environment of early Christianity—an environment

with which the Germanic environment will later be compared and con-

trasted:

T he benefi ts of becoming a Christian were not confined to the next world .A Christian congregation w as from the first a community in a m u c h fuller

sense than any corresponding group of Isiac or Mithrais t devotees. . . .

The Church provided the essentials of social security: it cared for widows

33 A H i s t o r y o f R e l ig i o u s I d e a s , vol. 2, p. 413 (emphasis added).34

The Cult o f th e Saints: Its Rise and Function in Latin C h r i s t i a n i t y (Chicago: University ofChicago Press, 1981), p. 31.

35Pagan and Christ ian in an Age o f Anxiety: Some Aspects of Religious E x p e r i e n c e from

M a r c u s Aurelius to Constantine (1965; reprint, New York: W. W. Norton, 1970). Scatteredcritical references to an "Age of Anxiety" are found in Fox, Pagans and Christ ians,chs. 3 and 4.Fox does not deny the presence of social anxiety in the period under discussion, but ratherquestions the "characterization of any one age in antiquity," since he feels that "anxiety wasever-present" and not the "distinctive tone of the Antonine age" (pp. 122-23). More critical ofsuch a characterization is MacM ullen,Paganism, pp. 122-25.

36 Dodds, Pagan and Christ ian, p. 12.37Ibid., p. 138.



92 Toward a Model of Religious Transformation

and orphans, the old, the unemployed, and the disabled; it provided a

burial f u n d for the poor and a nursing service in time of plague. But even

more important, I suspect, than these material benefits was the sense of

belonging which the Christian community could give. Modern social stud-

ies have brought home to us the universality of the "need to belong" and

the unexpected ways in which it can influence human behaviour, particu-

larly among the rootless inhabitants of great cities. I see no reason to think

that it was otherwise in antiquity: Epictetus has described for us the

dreadful loneliness that can beset a man in the midst of his fellows. Such

loneliness must have been fel t by millions—the urbanised tribesman, the

peasant come to town in search of work, the demobilised soldier, the ren-

tier ruined by inflation, and the manumitted slave. For people in that situ-

ation membership of a Christian community might be the only way of

maintaining their self-respect and giving their life some semblance of

meaning. Within the community there was human warmth: someone was

interested in them, both here and hereafter. It is therefore not surprising

that the earliest and the most striking advances of Christianity were made

in the great cities—in Antioch, in Rome, in Alexandria.38

In his review of Dodds'swork, Peter Brown concurs that "the 'Age of Anx-

iety' became, increasingly, the age of converts."39

Brown also notes that

"Professor Dodds has made us realize how much the social and religious

historian, the psychologist and the sociologist must keep together, in order

to understand the fateful ramifications of the increasing urge of so many

members of the Roman Empire to become 'new' men."40 From the pre-

38Ibid., pp. 136-38. O ne recent study which suppor ts th e significance of the "need to

belong" in religious conversion is David G . Bromley and Anson D. Shupe, "Moonies," in

A m e r i c a : Cul t C h u r c h a n d Crusade (Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage P ub lication s, 1979), w hich foun d

tha t "Unificat ion Church conversion efforts became more successful when strong t ies wereestablished w ith prospective converts prio r to revealing the movement ' s core beliefs" (pp. 39-

40). The Unificat ion Church's conversion methodology, including its technique of "love-

bombing , " has been examined in John Lof land, D o o m s d a y Cult , enlarged ed. (New York:

Irvington Press, 1977), and Eileen Barker, T h e M a k i n g o f a M o o n i e : C h o i c e o r B r a i n w a s h i n g ?

(London: Basil Blackwell, 1984). Of related interest are John Lofland and Rodney Stark,

"Becoming a World-Saver: A Theory of Conversion to a Deviant Perspective," A S R 30:6

(1965): 862-74; John Lofland , "Becoming a World-Saver Revisited," in James T. Richardson,

ed., Convers ion Careers: In and O u t of the New Rel ig ions (Beverly H ills, Calif.: Sage Publications,

1978), pp. 10-23; and Eileen Barker, "Who'd B e a Moonie? A Compara t ive Study of Those

W ho Join th e Unificat ion Church in Britain," in T h e S o c i a l Im p a c t of New Rel ig ious M o v e m e n t s ,ed. Bryan Wilson (New Yo rk: Rose of Sharon Press, 1981). The recen tly published collection of

essays presented at the fifth Phil lips Sym posium on "Jewish and Christ ian Tradit ions" at the

University of Denver 's Center for Judaic Studies, M artin E. M arty and Frederick E. G reen-spahn, eds., Pu sh ing th e Fai th: Proselytism a n d Civility in a Pluralistic World (New York:

Crossroad, 1988), contains three part icularly relevant w orks: John G . Gager, "Proselytism and

Exclusivity in Early Christianity," pp. 67-77; H. Newton M alony, "The Psychology of Prosely-

tism," pp. 125-42; and James T. Richardson, "Proselytizing Processes of the New Religions,"

pp. 143-54.39

Peter Brown, "Approaches to the Religious Crisis of the Third Century A.D. ," in

Religion a n d Society in the Age of S t. A u g u s t ine (London: Faber & Faber, 1972), p. 80.40

Ibid. Also in substantial accord with Dodds, R. A. Ma r k u s , "The Problem of Self-



Sociopsychologica l Asp e c t s of Religious Trans format ion 93

vious review of the opinions of M eeks, Fox, Ferguson, Batiffol, Latouret te,

Murray, El iade, Brown, and Dodds it may be concluded that one of the

m ost significan t facto rs in the ex pansion of early C hristianity appears to

have been its appeal as an alternative community.Despite the inherent dangers of comparing societies nearly two millen-

n ia apar t , the contem porary u rban social environm ent and tha t of the Hel-

lenistic era seem at t imes to invite co m parative analysis . A lthou gh a thor-ough analysis is beyond th e scope of the current inquiry , one is tempted toat least tentatively apply to early Christ ianity some of the insights gained

from the study of new religious developments. O ne of the m ore interest ing

new rel igions that seems to parallel th e early Christ ian Church in m a n y

ways is the Unificat ion Church. After noting difficulty in establishing a

psychological pro file of a typical potential U nifica tion C hu rch rec ruit, Eileen

B arke r considered the influence of co ntem porary social factors:

In car icature, the potential rec rui t can see the no n-Un if icat ion w orld as a

divisive, turb ule nt, cha otic society, charac terized by racial intolerance, injus-

tice, cutthro at com petition and lack of direction— a society wh ich seem s to

be out of control and he ading for im m inent disaster. He can see an im m oral

(possibly amoral) society which no longer recognizes absolute values and

standards; everything is relative to the util i tarian interests and desires of a

p leasure-seeking , m oney-grubbing , power-hungry po pu la t io n . . . .

It is a world in which th e family is no longer a stable or a happy insti -

tu t ion , and in which it is no longer th e fund am enta l bui ld ing b lock of a de-

cent society.... It is a wor ld in wh ich there is no spirit of c o m m u n i t y ; . ..

It is a world of i n s e c u r i t y . . . .

T he U nif ica t ion C hurch offers the potential recruit the chance to be a

part of a family of like-mind ed people w ho care about the s tate o f the

world, wh o accept and l ive by high mo ral s tandard s, who are dedicated tores tor ing God 's Kingdom of Heaven on E ar th . I t offers him the oppor-

tunity to belong; it offers him the opportunity to d o something tha t is of

value and t hus the opportunity to be of value.41

I t appears then, that affiliation with the U nif ica t ion Church m ay pro-

vide the individua l w i th a m eans of resolving or adjust ing to the anxiety

generated by a discordant , meaningless, and anomic social environment .

Definit ion: From Sect to Church," in T h e Shaping o f Chris t iani ty in the S e c o n d a n d Th i rdCen tur ies , vol. 1 of Jewish and Chr is t ian Self-Defini t ion, E. P. Sanders, ed. (Philadelphia: Fortress

Press, 1980), observes of the third century: "The world around the Christians, Roman society

f rom Gaul to Syria, was in the grip of a crisis of unprecedented depth. Not only its social fabric

and political stability were in jeopardy; th e essence of security of an ordered world w as under-

mined and dissolving into a confusion of concepts, attitudes and feelings. Ancient trad itions

were losing their hold and Roman society had to rally all its conservatism to their defence. We

have been reminded tha t the relationship between crisis and religious change is by no m e a n s a

simple one; but I still find much force in Professor E . R. Dod ds 's suggest ion tha t Ch ris t ian i ty

was the chief beneficiary of the urge which leads disorien ted men to find a new hope in new

groups and around new leaders" (pp. 11-12).41

Barker , T h e M a k i n g o f a M o o n i e , pp . 240-44 pass im.




The not ion of re lig ion as a m ode of adjus tmen t to stress is not new in the

area of sociology.42

However , th e demons t ra t ion of a relat ionship between

individual or social change and the inducement of stress, as well as the

relat ion ship o f s tress to disease, is relat ively new. R ecent m edical research

supports th e not ion tha t significant sociocul tural t ransform at ions as well as

personal life changes are "stressors" which not only m ay cause anxiety and

depression, but also actually predispose individuals to physical i l lness.43

M a n y nurses are currently taught that "adaptat ion to change, of whatever

nature , requires expendi ture of energy over and above that required for

the maintenance of a 's teady state' of life," an d that "therefore, i f an ind ividual is called upon to cope with m a n y significant changes within a s h o r t

per iod o f t i m e , it is l ikely tha t th e person will be overextended and expend

too m uch ada ptive energy and , consequen tly, becom e i ll ."44

This sociopsychological and m edical in form at ion is re levant to the pres-

en t inquiry because it relates to the intern al societal s tress o f urban iza t ion ,

familial dissolut ion, imm igrat ion , and general ano m ie w i thin the R om an

Empire dur ing the emergence of C hris t iani ty , s tress factors w hich appear

to have been substantial ly less ev iden t in the m ore rura l , interna lly cohesive,

and stable Germanic societ ies at the t ime of their ini t ial encounter withChristianity. The explanations of Meeks , Fox, Ferguson, Batiffol , Latour -

ette, Murray, El iade, Brown, and Dodds presented ear l ier regarding the

expansion of Christianity in the classical world ascribe a significant role to

Christianity 's palliative effect on societal co nd it ion s of ano m ie, divisiveness,

and anxiety. C urren t me dical research seem s to support the ba sic premise of

this hypothesis, that is, that individuals w ho experience a confluence of

stress factors, such as those present in the R o m a n E m p i r e from the first

42 See the cha pter "Religion and H u m a n Stress" in Nott ingham, Religion a n d Society; and

Talcott Parsons, Religious Perspectives o f College Teaching in Sociology and Soc ia l Psychology

(New Haven, C onn.: Edward W . Hazen Foundat ion, 1951), pp. 10-13.43

William W . Dressier, Stress and Adaptat ion in the Contex t o f Culture: Depression in a

Southern Bla ck C o m m u n i t y (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1991), in his first

chapter, "Studies of Stress and Disease," states: "It is well-established tha t a portion of the risk

associated with th e development of diseases such as depression, hypertension, and coronary

hear t disease is due to the social and cultural circumstances in which a person lives, as well asth e beliefs and att i tudes held by tha t person. The research issue is not merely to demons t ra te

that this is so, but r a t h e r to work out in a refined and systematic way the processes involve d"(P. 8).

44 Joan Luckmann and Karen Creason Sorensen, Medical-Surgical Nursing: A Psycho-

physiologic A p p roach , 2nd ed. (Philadelphia: W. B. Sa und ers, 1980), p. 37. Studies in which, ac -

cording to Luckmann and Sorensen, th e link between life change and illness has been "syste-matically studied and irrevocably confirm ed," include T. H. Holmes and R. H. Rahe, "The

Social Readjus tment Rat ing Scale," Journal of Psychosomat ic Research 11 (1967): 213-18; J. S.

Heisel et al., "The Significance of Life Events as Contr ibut ing Factors in the Diseases of

Children," T he Journal o f Pediatrics 83 (1973): 119-23; R. H. Rahe, "Subjects ' Recent Life

Changes and Their Near- fu ture Illness Reports ," A n n a l s of Cl inical Research 4 (1972): 250-65;

and E. S. Paykel, "Life Stress, Depression and At tempted Suicide," Journal o f H u m a n Stress 2(1976): 3-12.



Soc i op sycho l og i ca l Asp e c t s of Rel ig ious Trans format ion 95

through th i rd centur ies A.D., would be prone to a significant increase in their

level of anxiety.

It is l ikely that early C hrist ianity functione d to some extent as a means

of assisting alienated individuals to cope with social stress. Ari Kiev notes

that "whether stress . . . leads to maladaptive responses depends on the

individual 's general vulnerability, as well as his ability to adapt to a part ic-

ular kind of stress. Psychological defenses and/or cultural defenses—e.g.

belief system s— m ay succeed in preventing the stress from impinging upon

the individual's psychological or psychosomatic integrity."45

He notes f u r -

ther th at "the availabil ity of beliefs and ri tuals for the reduction of tensions

is an important factor in determin ing how stressful cultural pressures will

be."46

T he effect of com m unal rel igious experience has been s tudied by Kiev,

who , in describing a West Indian Pentecostal service held in London, claims

that it provides "a form of social integration for emotionally isolated i mmi -grants , by supplying a structured world-view and met hods of at ta in ing grace

that are independent of par t icular personal qual i t ies and require only a

willingness to have fa i th."47

Kiev observes th at "during the services, a reduc-

t ion of sel f - iden t ity and awareness, and a sense of m erging w i th the group,

are increased by the dogm at ic preaching and the ' testimonies, ' in an emo-

tionally heightened atmosphere; this seems to contr ibute to an increase ofposit ive good feel ing, elat ion, and sometimes exaltat ion, such as may con-

t r ibute to the therapeut ic efficacy of the meetings."48

Kiev believes that

religious sects "can provide a sense of exclusiveness, together with a feel-

ing of belonging to a t rue com m uni ty , in which the individual rem ains all -

im portant ," and th at "for m any unh appy and dissatisfied individuals , w ho aresocially isolated, m em bership in a religious sect fulfills a variety of needs."

49

It may not be too t enuous a leap to consider the historical implications

of research based on current social structures, if sufficient allowances for

con tem porary differenc es, such as the influence o f indu strial izat ion , are

made. This is part icularly so if it is agreed that contemporary Western

civilization has m u c h in com m on w i th earl ier c iv il izat ions w he n they

unde r w e n t periods of post-expansion, urbanizat ion, and destabil izat ion.50

45Transcul tural Psychiatry (New Y ork: Free Press, 1972), p. 6.

46 Ibid., p. 7.47

Ibid., pp. 127-28.48

Ibid., p. 129.49

Ibid., p. 35.50

A n impor tan t discussion of "civilization dynamics" which may be helpful in comparingperiods in different civilizations is contained in ch. 5, "Historical Change in Civilizations," in

Carroll Quigley, T h e Evolution o f Civilizations: A n Introduct ion to Historical Analysis , 2nd ed.(Indianapolis, Ind.: L iberty Press, 1979). Follow ing a period of expansion, Quigley posits an Age

of Conflict which is characterized by "imperialist wa rs and of irrationality supported fo r reasonsthat are usually different in the different social classes. The masses of the people (w ho have no

vested in teres t in the existing institution of expansion ) engage in imperialist wars because itseems the only way to overcome th e slowing dow n of expansion. U nab le to get ahead by o ther




Therefore, it is believed that the current discussion of the relationship

between sociocultural, psychological, and physiological factors will aid in

elucidating certain principles of religious transformation, and particularly

those operative in Christianization efforts among the Germanic peoples.

Some of the stress factors which may lead to anxiety,51

and ultimately

to disease, and which may also influence the development of individual

and group religious attitudes, are rapidly changing cultural values, culture

shock, migrations, and ecologic imbalance. Joan Luckmann and Karen

Creason Sorensen discuss the operation of these factors in greater detail:

R a p i d f y changing cu l tura l values also can create a major source of anxiety.

O ld and traditional cultures appear to produce less stress and disease than

newer, more radical societies. Values in traditional societies change little,

and there are sanctioned w ays for resolving anxiety and conflict. On the

other hand, in societies where th e "old ways" of life are breaking down

and th e "new w ays" have not yet been fully established, stress and disease

tend to become more prevalent. Indeed, disease can become a "way of

life" in a society, like our own, which is rapidly changing, w here nothing is

defined and noth ing is sacred, where everyone is potentially mobile, and

where there is open choice and constan t conflict.

Cul ture s h o c k , an upsetting psychologic phenomenon, can have atemporary but devastating effect upon the individual w ho moves into a

new cultura l environment. The disorienta t ion and confusion that are

characteristic of "culture shock" arise wh enever a person leaves a famil iar

country, region, lifestyle, or occupation and en te rs an environm ent where

dress, customs, beliefs, etc. , are radically different. . . .

O ne s tudy of "social" coronary risk factors has demonst ra ted tha t

migrat ion, considered in the broad sense discussed above, plays an impor-

t an t role in the causation of heart disease. Some of the relevant factorsnam ed in the study are : (1) recent migrat ion to an urban center , (2) high

residential mobility, (3) high occupational m obility, (4) great d iscontinuity

between childhood and adult environment and situation, (5) status incon-

gruity (individuals high on one social status dime nsion and low on another) ,

(6) residence in an area undergo ing rapid increase in its degree of urba n -

ization, (7) recent first entrance to an indust r ia l occupa t ion . . . .

Ecologic balance is most easily maintained in environments that are

stable and fairly settled, so that stresses and the need for change are at a

mi n i mum. How ever w hen people must exist un der environm ental condi-

means (such as economic means), they seek to get ahead by political action, above all by taking

wealth from their political neighbors. At the same t ime they turn to irrationali ty to compensate

fo r th e growing insecurity of life, for the chronic economic depression, for the growing

bitterness and dangers of class struggles, for the growing social disruption and insecurity from

imperial ist wars. This is gene rally a period of ga m bling, use o f narcotics or intoxicants , obsession

with sex ( f requen t ly as pervers ion) , increas ing cr ime, growing num bers of neurotics and

psychotics, growing obsession with death and with th e Hereafter" (pp. 151-52).51

"Anxiety is a normal reaction to many stresses of modern l ife," according to Neil R .Carlson, Psychology: T h e S c ien c e of B eh a v io r (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1984), p. 664.



S o c io ps y c h o lo g ic a l A s pe c t s of R e l ig io u s T r a n s fo r m a t io n 97

tions tha t are upset, unsettled, or highly com plex, ecologic balan ce ten ds

to break down and morbidity and m ortality rates rise.52

It is significant that most of the stressors cited above were present in

the Roman Empire during the pre-Constantinian expansion of Christianity.

In a chapter about Rome in his recent study of anomie, Elwin H. Powell

has noted: "Anomie is the touchstone of Roman history from Augustus

onward."53

Despite "a rising level of material comfort , and t imes of rela-

tive tranquility like the 2nd century A.D. . . , beneath the splendor of

imperial Rome was that 'profound malaise common to aging nations,' as

Jacob Burckhardt said," and "by the third century A.D. anomie had be-

come manifest everywhere; 'chaos and misery reigned through the empire,'

writes Rostovzeff."54

While the present focus is on the religious rather

than the physiological effects of anxiety, the preceding discussion is impor-

tant for its characterization of various social conditions as stress factors.

The derivative relationship between social stress, anxiety, and the appeal

of Christ ianity, as developed by Meeks, Fox, Ferguson, Bati f fo l , Latourette,

Murra y , Eliade, and Dodds, is fu r the r supported by sociological insights of

Durkhe im, Weber, and O'Dea which relate the attraction of the Christian

promise of salvation to anomie social conditions.

55

Latourette's speculation, cited earlier, that the expansion of Christian-

ity would not have met with such success had it "been born in a vigorous

52Luckmann and Sorensen, Medical-Surgical Nursing, pp. 56-58. O f related interest are

H. W. Gruchow, "Socialization and the H um an Physiologic Response to Crowding," A m e r i c a n

Journal of Public Health 67 (1977): 455-59; J. J. Lynch, T he Broken Heart: T h e Medical Conse-

quences o f Lonel i nes s (New York: Basic Books, 1977); David Riesman, Nathan Glazer , and

Reuel Denney, T h e Lonely Crowd: A Study of the C hang i ng A m e r i c a n Charac ter (New Haven,

Conn.: Yale U niv ers ity Press, 1950); an d Rollo May, Man's Search fo r Himself (New York:

W. W. N orton, 1953). The effects of m igration are discussed in M. M icklin and C. A. L eon,"Life Change and Psychiatric Disturbanc e in a South A merican C ity: The Effects of Geographic

an d Social Mobility," Journal of Health and Soc ia l Behav i or 19 (1978): 92-107. Also of interest

is Paul Tillich, "The Meaning of Health," in D. Belgum, ed., Religion a n d Medic ine: Essays o n

Meanings , Values a n d Health (Am es: Iowa State U niv ersity Press, 1967).53

T he Design of Discord: Studies of A n o m i e , 2nd ed. (New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction

Books, 1988), p. 225.54

Ibid., pp. 225-26. The quotation of Jacob Burckhardt is from The Age o f Co ns t an t i neth e Great, trans. Moses Hadas (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1956). The quotation of Mikhail

Rostovzeff is from his T he Soc ia l an d E c o n o m i c History o f th e R o m a n E m p i r e, 2 vols., 2n d rev.

ed., revised by P. M. Fraser (Oxford: Clarendon Press), pp. 491-492. Some "tangible measuresof growing disorganiza tion" noted by Powell are: "roads unsafe; public buildings deteriorating;population declining; banditry increasing; th e disappearance of Latin as the official language

and its replacement by native dialects; th e final decay of art and high culture" (ibid.). A n

important survey of the sources of anomie in the Ro man E mpi re is Ramsay MacMullen,E n em ies o f th e R o m a n Order: Treason , Unrest a n d Al ienat ion in the Emp i re (Cambridge, Mass.:

Ha rvard University Press, 1966), particularly ch. 5, "Urban Unrest," and ch. 6, "The Outsiders."55

See above, pp. 20-21. In his study "Social Change as Stress," A ri Kiev, Transcul tural

Psychiatry, pp. 9-15, not only regards th e "loss of old culture," "urbanization," and "change itself,"as sources of stress which m ay con tribute tow ard anxiety, depression, and physical illness, but

also claim s that "messianic religious cults .. . provide psychological support fo r oppressed peo-ples in dis integrat ing cul tures" (p . 13).




young culture whose adherents were confident of i ts virtues,"56

forms an

appropriate introduction to a discussion of the early medieval encounter

of C hristianity w ith th e Germanic peoples. For i t m ay be from th e perspec-

t ive of a com parative history of civilization s that the distinctions betw eenthe Chris t ianizat ion process in the classical and Germanic worlds become

m ost apparent . I t is here that the study of w hat Carrol l Quigley refers to as

"civilizational dynamics,"57

and others have referred to as the philosophy

of history, m ay become a useful aid. In a previous reference to Quigley'sschema,

58the period of classical decline from which Christ ianity emerged

w as categorized as an Age of Confl ict . R am say M acM ullen, in the preface

to his s tudy E n e m i e s o f th e R o m a n Order, piquan tly describes the confl ict-

ridden sociopolitical environment of early C hrist ianity:

The Empire was "democratized," to use a greatly exaggerated term. The

civilization called R om an , in the sense defined above, yields to another ,

compounded of heterogeneous elements former ly suppressed and la t ter ly

vital. Styles of art la tent in the masses in Augustus ' day, but excluded from

th e official m onum ent s , emerged to full acceptance in the Arch of Con-

stantine; beliefs about the supernatural, once il legal or contemptuouslyrelegated to plowboys and servant girls, after the first century began to

infect even the educated , and were ultimately embodied as a principale lement in la te ant ique phi losophy. A s a final i l lustration chosen from

social and polit ical history, the urban and rural poor began to be heard

f rom, t hough not to control their ow n fates fully, th rough such forb idden

activities as rioting and br igandage . In the end [the four th century A.D.],

the dichotomy on which this book rests [between Roman and u n - R o m a n ]

breaks do wn. There w as l i tt le "Rom an" left in the Roman empire . Rather ,

the "un-Rom an" e lem ents had come to the fore , and now cont ro l led the

worldin

w hich they lived.

59

T o fully appreciate the very real dispa rity betw een the process of C hris-

t ianizat ion in classical and G erm anic societies, on e m ust recall tha t each wa s

at a different stage of development when i t encountered Christ ianity. The

anomic , heterogeneo us , urban s tage of a senescent classical civilization m ust

be co ntras ted with the m ore cohesive, hom ogen eous, pastoral-wa rrior s tage

of a nascent G erm anic cul ture . Aspects of both which m a y be comparedare their social s tructure, w orld-view, and religious at t i tud es. T hro ug ho ut

such a comparat ive effort , one should rem ain mindfu l of the relat ionshipbetween classical and Germanic culture advanced by Georges Dumezi l ,tha t is, as successive manifestat ions of a common Proto-Indo-European

language, m ythology, ideology, and social o rganizat ion.60

56T he Expans ion of Christianity, vol. 1, p. 163,

57T h e Evolu t ion of Civil izations, p. 130.

58See above, p. 95 n. 50.

59MacMul len , E n e m i e s of th e R o m a n Order, pp. viii-ix.

60

A n i n t roduc t ion to Du m ezi l 's theor ies may be f ound in his L'Idfologie tripartie d es I n d o -Eur o p i en s , Col lec t ion L atom us, vol . 31 (Brusse ls : Latomus, 1958), in C. Scot t Li t t le ton, T h e



S o c i o p s y c h o l o g i c a l Aspects o f R e l i g i o u s T r a n s f o r m a t i o n 99

In a study entitled Antike, Gennanentum und Christentum, Ildefons

Herwegen compared the historical and cultural factors present in Chris-

tianity's successive encounters with Roman and Germanic societies.61

Em

phasizing that the Roman and Germanic characteristics under discussion

should not be considered the exclusive domain of one group, but just more

prevalent or t yp i sch in one than the other, he described the predominant

classical ethos as sein or "being-oriented," and the predominant Germanic

ethos as werden or "becoming-oriented."62

Accordingly, Herwegen consid-

ered the classical ethos to be primarily harmonious and objective, and the

Germanic ethos to be primarily dynamic and subjective.63

He elaborates:

If Classical m an found th e meaning of life in the perfection of being, thenGermanic m an found it in the restlessness of becoming. Being is calmness,harm ony, clarity; becoming is motion, change, uncertainty. The addition of

rhythm as the movem ent of being may be contrasted with the m ultipl ica-

tion of dynam ics as the m ovem ent of becom ing.

It needn' t be emphasized that no h u m a n life m a y b e formed wi thout

both motives: being and becoming. H owever, i t is a great d ifference w heth-

er German ic m an views becom ing no t only as the means , but also as hisgoal.... W hile Classical man experiences his feelings in the context of an

objective ideal, Germanic m an struggles to gain access to the infinitethrough the subjective perception of the concrete.

This deep-rooted differen ce, wh ich represents a real antithesis be-

tween Classical and G erm anic psyches, leads one to expect that the recep-

tion, interpretation, and realization of Chris t iani ty by the Classical and

G erma nic worlds would be very different.

In addition to this difference, derived from the blood and soil of the

Classical and Germanic worlds, is the significance of the stage of devel-

opment of each of these peoples with respect to Christianity. The Classical

world was in i ts senescence, while the Germanic world was in i ts youth

wh en it encountered Christ .64

While the present analysis is not in total agreement wi th Herwegen's

speculation regarding distinctions between the classical and Germanic

ethos—a subject which, by its very complexity, does not readily lend itself

to consensus—his observations remain useful . The harmonious classical

New Compara t ive Mythology: An Anthropologica l A s s e s s m e n t of the Theories o f Georges Dume'zil,3rd ed. (Berkeley: U niversity of California Press, 1982), especially pp. 4 — 6 , 130—32, and, morebriefly, in the following chapter.

61Ant ike, Chr i s tentum un d G e r m a n e n t u m (Salzburg: Ve rlag Anto n Pus tet, 1932).

62Ibid., p. 20.

63Ibid.

64Ibid., pp. 20-22 (m y translation). If a detailed comparison were made of early Greek

and Roman Indo-European societies, each might be found to have passed through a phasewhich could be described as "werden-orienled." Likewise, if the Renaissance we re viewed as the

more "mature" classical phase of Germano-European society , it might also be described as

"sein-oriented." See also th e discussion of the Ge rma nic psyche in Stephen E. Flowers, "Towardan Archaic G erm anic Psychology," JIES 11:1/2 (1983): 117-38.




ethos described by Herwegen may have prevailed among the Greeks until

the Peloponnesian Wars (431^404 B.C.), and among the Romans until the

Second Punic War (218-201 B.C.). However, these prolonged conflicts,

when combined with the conquests of Alexander (d. 323 B.C.), appear to

have irreversibly disrupted the harmonious ethos of the Classical world.

According to Eliade, when "the Second Punic War threatened the very ex-

istence of the Roman state, religion underwent a transformation in depth,"

during which "Rome appealed to all the gods, whatever their origin."65

In

this period of Roman decline which preceded the emergence of Christian-

ity, the stable, cohesive social structure which prevailed during the early

republic, and which is likely to have contributed substantially toward the

development of a harmonious, "being-oriented" Classical ethos, was rapidly

disintegrating.66

An ethos of harmonious cohesion was gradually displaced

by an ethos of individual fu l f i l lment , which in many instances became an

ethos of personal salvation. In his discussion "Specific Characteristics of

Roman Religiosity," Eliade succinctly describes this displacement process:

The Rom an gen ius is distinguished . . . above all, by the 'sacralization' of

organic collectivities: family, gens , fa ther land. T he famous R o m a n disci-

pline, their honor ing of obligations ( f i d e s ) , their devotion to state, and the

religious prestige they attributed to law are expressed by depreciation of

the h u m a n person: the individual mat tered only insofar as he belonged to

his group. I t was no t unt i l later, u n d e r the influence of Greek philosophy

and the Oriental cults of salvation, tha t t he Romans discovered the reli-

gious importance of the person; but this discovery, which will have marked

consequences, more especially affected the urban populations.67

As has been asserted earlier, the decline of the classical world, and

particularly the social destabilization of the urban centers of the Eastern

Empire, contributed to a social, psychological, and religious climate inwhich

alienated individuals sought re fuge in socioreligious communities which

of fe red socialization in this world and salvation in the next. Given the gen-

eral geographical area and sociocultural environment f rom which Chris-

tianity emerged, it is not very surprising that the strongest initial positive

response to the early Church came f rom Greco-Roman cities and towns in

Asia Minor that had substantial Jewish populations. As Christianity spread

65Eliade, A History of Religious Ideas, vol. 2, p. 133. Less religious significance is attri-

buted to the Second Punic War by Alan Wardman, Religion and S t a t ec r a f t Among the Romans

(London: Granada, 1982), pp. 33-41.66

Accounts of this process are provided by Arnold J. Toynbee, Hannibal's Legacy: The

Hannibalic W a r ' s Effects on Roman Life , 2 vols. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1965), and

H. E. L. Mellersh, The Roman Soldier (New York: Taplinger, 1964). While social conditions

may change rapidly as the result of wars and revolutions, the ethos of a society is usually molded

over a period of centuries. The inherent psychosocial depth of the ethos allows it to endure long

after the social order that engendered it has undergone substantial change. However, when

radical social change occurs, this "ethos lag," may contribute to ideological conflict.67

Mircea Eliade, A History o f Religious Ideas, vol. 2, p. 115.



Sociopsychological Aspec ts of Religious Transformation 101

westward and northward, th e degree of positive response appears to havedim inished. Sim ilarly, as the sociocultural environment changed from urbanto rural, even among th e Mediterranean inhabitants of the empire, th e

degree of acceptance of C hristian ity appears to have d iminished. It seemsthat after C hristianity m oved beyond its original Judeo-H ellenistic socio-cultural environment, th e primary factors contributing toward it s accept-

ance in a given geographical area we re the presence of a Jewish com m unity,substantial exposure to Christianity, and an anomic urban social structure.W hile advocates of Christian expansion had some control over the am ount

of exposure Christianity received in a given community, there w as littlethey could do to change a com m unity's social structure.

In a com m unity w here the social s tructure diverged sharply from tha tof th e Greek towns and cities in which early Christianity had first

flourished, advocates of C hristian expansion had two fun dam enta l options:to candidly present C hristianity with its Judeo-Hellenistic soteriology andbe satisfied with m inimal quan ti tat ive results , or to m ake substantial initialaccommodations to the indigenous culture and hope to move th e commu-nity gradually toward conformity w ith a more authentic Christianity.

68The

latter approach m ay yield a greater n um ber of candidates for baptism, butit also includes a significant risk to the authenticity of their Christian-ization, given th e potential for long-term religious syncretism. Furtherm ore,

if those core elements of the C hristian message w hich m ay conflict with anindigenous culture are deliberately or even un inte ntio na lly obscured or de-emphasized, while more compatible, though more peripheral aspects ofChrist ianity are und uly emphasized, charges of misrepresentation m ay arise.Such has been a basic criticism of the contem porary "Jews for Jesus," w ho

68

This latter approach appears to be endorsed for contemporary missionaries by AryRoest Crollius, "What Is So New About Inculturation?" in idem, ed., Incu l tura t ion: Working

Papers o n Liv ing Fai th a n d C u l tu r es , no. 5 (Rome: Centre "Cultures and Religions," Pontifical

Gregorian University, 1984), pp. 1-20, who refers to the "dynamic relation between the Church

and the variety of cultures" as "inculturation," or "insertion in a culture," preferring it to terms

such as "adaptation," "accommodation," and "contextualisation,"which he feels are more expres-

sive of an "extrinsic contact" (pp. 3-4). He describes the ini t ial stage of the process of incul-

turat ion as "that in which the Christ ian community has to assimilate the language and symbols

of the local culture and to learn how to funct ion according to the basic cultural patterns of the

surrounding society. In this stage th e local Church can be said to find itself in a 'conditioning

process,' in which it cannot always exercise a perfect freedom of choice. C er ta in e l emen t s m a y beass imi la ted , a t leas t provisorify, w h ic h la t e r p r o v e to be con f l ic tua l w i th th e c o r e of i ts m e s s a g e a n d

ident i ty . When, in a later stage, the local Church has effectively become present in its own cul-

ture and has learned to live w ith the language and values, the norms and expectations recognised

by the surrounding society, then it is in a position to display a greater freedom in regard to the

various alternatives in thought and conduct, in order to make choices which influence the local

culture, reorienting it in accordance with the message of the Gospel" (p. 13; emphasis added).

See also "Inculturation and the Early Missions" in Aylward Shorter, T o w a r d a Theology o f I n c u l -

tura t ion (M aryknoll , N.Y.: Orbis B ooks, 1988); Louis J. Luzbetak, T h e C h u r c h a n d C u l tu r es : New

Perspectives i n M is s io lo g ic a l An th r o po lo g y , foreword by Eugene Nida (Maryknoll , N.Y.: Orbis

Books, 1988); and Joseph P. Fitzpatrick, O n e C h u r c h , M a n y C u l tu r es : T h e C h a l l en g e of Diversity(Kansas City, Mo.: Sheed and W a r d , 1987).



102 T o w a r d a M o d e l of R e l ig io u s T ra n s f o rm a t i o n

were discussed earlier.69

A correlate to the misrepresentation of an idea,

even when unintentional, is the misunderstanding by the audience of the

idea that is being presented,

As the end of Part I has now been reached, it is appropriate to provide

an outline of the fundamental postulates of the general model of religious

transformation that has been developed:

1. Social structure influences ideological structure and both contribute

significantly to a society's general religious orientation.70

2. The appeal of the promise of salvation to a group is usually inversely

related to the degree of solidarity among group members.71

3. Societies in which a desire for individual or group salvation exists, and

which do not yet adhere to a universal religion, are usually predisposed

toward accepting one.

4. Its association with a caring community, together with its promise of

eternal salvation, constituted the fundamental appeal of early Chris-

t iani ty with in the anomic urban centers of the Roman Empire.

5. In part because the development of early Christianity was organically

related to, or "syngenic with," the decline of the Roman Empire, thesocial structure and ideological currents of the declining empire were

in manyways inherently conducive to the promise of salvation offered

by Christianity.

6. Societies in which a desire for ind iv idua l or group salvation does not

exist usually have little inherent interest in religions which promise

salvation, particularly if they d o no t offer temporal benefits.

7. Whereas early Christianity was generally world-rejecting and uni-versalist, with important universal ethical and doctrinal components,

Indo-European religiosity was generally world-accepting and folk-

centered, without fo rmal ethical and doctrinal elements, and usually

possessing heroic, religiopolitical, and magicoreligious characteristics.

8. Neither the cohesive social structure nor the Indo-European ideologi-

cal heritage of the Germanic peoples predisposed them to desire sal-

vation.

69See above, pp. 22-23.

70The observation of C. E. Stancliffe, "From Town to Country: The Christianisation of

the Touraine, 370-600," in T h e Chu rch in Tow n a n d Countryside, ed. Derek Baker, SCH, no. 16

(Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1979), is worth noting in this regard: "I do not think tha t sociological

analysis on its own can 'explain' religious conversion; but it can usefully throw light upon th e

sort of social conditions in which people are more likely to respond to the call of a prophetic

religion. It can analyze the soil in which th e word of God falls, and predict whether i t has a high

or low chance of taking" (p. 51 n. 43).71 "Group solidarity" or "cohesion" may be considered th e antithesis of anomie. A recent

work on the subject is Michael Hechter , Principles o f Group Solidarity (Berkeley: University ofCalifornia Press, 1987).



Sociopsychologica l Asp e c t s of Rel ig ious Trans format ion 103

9. If a un iversal salvation religion is to succeed in making inroads in a

folk-religious society which does not desire salvation, it must t em-

porar i ly accommodate the predominantly world-accepting ethos and

wo rld-view of tha t society.

In Part II, th is model of re l ig ious t ransformat ion will be applied to the

enco unter of the G erm anic peoples w ith C hristianity.



I ITHE G E R M A N I C

T R A N S F O R M A T I O N OF

CHRISTIANITY



Germanic Religiosity andSocial Structure

The study of Germanic religiosity has always suffered from a paucity of

reliable extan t sources. H owever, the work of Georges Du m 6zil in the fieldof comparative mythology provides a framew ork throug h which th is d efi-

ciency may be compensated in certain instances. Dumezil 's comparative

model of Indo-European societies posits th e existence of a f u n d a m e n t a l

similarity in the ideological and sometimes the social structure among theancient societies of India, Persia, Greece, Rome, and pre-Christian north-ern Europe. This association permits the careful application of evidence

regarding a fun da m en tal ideological concept or "mythologem"1

found in

one or more Indo-European societies to that mythologem as it exists inanother Indo-European society. Through such a process of analogy, onem ay enhance the understanding of that mythologem in the latter society,

for wh ich the currently available do cum entation m ay be scanty or inconclu-

sive. When Dumezil 's model is applied to pre-Christian Germanic religi-osity, various aspects of form and structure hitherto interpreted solely as

local, Germanic phenomena, acquire a new dim ension, derived from theirassociation with the greater Indo-E uropean family of peoples.

In th is inquiry the term "Germ anic" refers not only to the Gothic, Frank-

ish, Saxon, Bu rgun dian, A lamannic, Suevic, and Va nd al peoples, but also tothe Viking peoples of Sc and inavia and the A nglo-Saxon peoples of B ritain.

In addition, the term "religiosity" is often used when referring to the

1Dum6zil's notion of an antecedent mythologem, expressed somewhat differently in the

myths of various Indo-European societies, may in some ways be said to parallel Karl Rahner's

notion of a single dogma which may be expressed somewhat differently as "theologumena" by

different Chris t ian communit ies at dif feren t periods in history, as indicated in Rahner's

discussion "What Is a Dogmatic Statement?" in Th eo logica l Inves tiga t ions , trans. Karl Kruger,

vol. 5 (Baltimore: Helicon, 1966), pp. 42-66; and S a c r a m e n t u m M u n d i , s.v. "Theologumenon."

Both Dumezil ' s notion o f mythologem and Rahner's of dogma seem to correspond to a primal,

nonverbalized idea o f a part icular relat ionship between o r among supernatural and h u m a n

enti t ies. An im portant difference is tha t a Ch rist ian dogm a is implici t ly held to be universal ly

valid, wh ile Du m dzil ' s mythologem is exclusively Indo -Euro pean.

107

5



108 T h e Germanic T r a n s f o r m a t i o n o f C h r i s t i a n i t y

religious elements of Indo-European and particularly Germanic societies,

while the term "religion" is usually reserved for Christianity and other uni-

versal religious movements. This is due to the organic relationship of the

religious elements of folk-religious societies to other elements of those soci-

eties. Religious elements tend to be more extensively dif fused throughout

a folk-religious society, whereas, in a society where a universal religion

such as Christianity predominates, religious elements tend to be more iso-

lated in specific doctrines and practices.

The optimal sources that one could possess for reconstructing the pre-

Christian religious attitudes of the Germanic peoples would be somewhat

akin to the comprehensive exposition of early Christian religious beliefs

and attitudes contained in the writings of the patristic authors. Unfortu-

nately, there exist no extant sources written by members of pre-Christian

Germanic societies. Since it is unlikely that such works exist, alternative

sources must be careful ly considered. These alternative sources may be

generally categorized as written and archaeological. The written sources

vary in their proximity to the conditions which they describe, while it is

generally dif f icul t to accurately derive religious attitudes f rom archaeologi-

cal f inds .2Early Roman accounts were essentially reports by visitors to Ger-

manic lands w h i c h tended to focus on the material details of Germanic

l ife. As may be expected, they failed to capture the inner spirit and struc-

ture of the Germanic ethos and world-view.

The earliest written record of Germanic religious attitudes is Julius

Caesar's De Bella G a l i l e o . He noted in book 6, written in 53 B.C.: "They

have no Druids to control religious observances and are not much given to

sacrifice. The only beings they recognize as gods are things that they can

see, and by which they are obviously benefited, such as Sun, Moon, and

Fire."3

Over a century later, in A.D. 98, Cornelius Tacitus wrote in chapter

9 of hisGermania:

Above all other gods they worship Mercury, and count it no sin,on certain

feast-days, to include huma n victims in the sacrifices offered to him. Her-

cules and Mars they appease by offerings of animals, in accordance with

ordinary civilized c u s t o m . . . . T he Ge rma ns do no t think i t in keeping with

the divine majesty to confine gods within walls or to portray them in the

2 Both th e writ ten and archaeological, as well as the linguistic sources of Germanicreligiosity are considered in Edgar C. Polome, "Germ anic Religion: A n Overview," in Essays o n

Ge rman ic Religion, JIES, Monograph Series, no. 6 (Washington, D.C.: Institute for the Study ofM a n , 1989). See also "Die Quellen der germanischen Religion" and "Geschichte der For-

schung," in Jan de Vries, Al tgermanische Religionsgeschichte, 2n d ed., vol. 1 (Be rlin: Walter deGruyte r , 1956-57).

3Gaius Julius Caesar, T h e Conques t o f Gaul, trans. S. A. Handford (New York: Penguin

Books, 1951), p. 35; original in C. Julius Caesar, Libri VII De hello Gall ico, vol. 1 of C o m m e n -

tarii, ed. R. L. A. Du Pontet, Oxford Classical Texts (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1900),

par. 21: "Nam neque druides habent qui rebus divinis praesint neque sacrificiis s tudent . Deorum

num e r o eos solos ducunt quos cernunt et quorum aperte opibus iuvantur, Solem et Vulcanum etLunam."



G e r m a n i c Religiosi ty a n d Social Structure 109

likeness of any human countenance. Their holy places are the woods and

groves, and they a pply th e names of deities to that hidden presencewhich

is seen only by the eye of reverence.4

Descriptions of Germanic religious practices may also be found in the

collections of ordinances known as "capitularies" issued by the Prankish

kings,5 in the canons of the national Gallic Councils,6 in the directives of

local councils,7 and in the biographies, sermons, and correspondence of

Christian missionaries.8 The description of Germanic religiosity contained

in these documents reveals a widespread devotion to sacred trees, groves,

springs, and stones, and an interest in prophecy and magic.9

However,

since the references to Germanic religiosity in these documents are madefrom an anti-pagan perspective and are often sketchy,

10their contribution

4 Cornelius Tacitus, T h e Agrico la a n d t h e Germania, trans, with intro. by H . Mattingly,

revised by S. A. Handford (New York: Penguin Books, 1970), pp. 108-9; original in Cornelius

Tacitus, "De origine et situ Germanorum," ed. M. Winterbottom, in Opera minora, Oxford

Classical Texts (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1975), par. 9: "Deorum maxime Mercurium

colunt, cui certis diebus humanis quoque hostiis litare fas habent. Herculem ac Martem concessis

animal ibus placant... ceterum nec cohibere parietibus deos neque in ullam humani oris speciem

ads imula re exmagnitudine caelestium arbitrantur; lucos acnemora consecrant, deorumque nomi-

nibus appellant secretum illud quod sola reverentia vident."5The Prankish capitularies are arranged in the Capitular ia Regum Francorum, MGH

Legum Sectio//vol. 1,part 1, ed. Alfred Boretius (Hanover: Hahn Verlag, 1881).6

These records may be found in the Conc i l ia GalliaeA. 511-A. 695, ed. Carlo de Clercq,

Corpus C h r i s t i a n o r u m Ser ies Latino, 148A (Turnhout: Brepols, 1963).7 Documents issued by local councils are included in Carlo de Clercq, La Legislation

religieuse f ranque de Clov is a Char lemagne: Etude sur les actes des conciles et des capi tu laires , le s

s ta tu ts diocesains et les regies monastiques, 507-814, 2nd series, no. 38 (Louvain: Bureaux du

Receuil, University de Louvain, 1938), and Odette Pontal, Histoire des candles merovingiens,

(Paris: Cerf, 1989). Among the most interesting of the local councils, according to J. N. Hillgarth,

Chris t iani ty a n d P a g a n i sm , 350-750: T h e Convers ion o f Western Europe (rev. ed. of T h e Conver-s i o n o f Western Europe , 350-750) (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1986), is the

diocesan council of Auxerre, held in the latter half of the sixth century, which is "the only dioce-

san synod preserved from Merovingian Gaul" (p. 98). Hillgarth's translation of the canons of

this council include those which condemn th e following activities: participation in the festival of

the Kalends of January, making vows "among woods or at sacred trees or at springs," and the

consul ta t ion of "soothsayers or... augurs, or to those who pretend to know the future" (p. 103).8

A representative selection of these sources is translated in Hillgarth, Chris t iani ty and

P a g a n i s m . See also Thomas Leslie Amos, "The Origin and Nature of the Carolingian Sermon,"

Ph.D. diss., Michigan State University, 1983.9 The most exhaustive compilation of such evidence remains Wilhelm Boudriot, Die Alt-

g e r m a n i s c h e Rel ig ion i n d er amtlichen kirchlichen Literatur d es Abendlandes v o m 5 . b i s 1 1 .

J a h r h u n d e r t (1928; reprint, Bonn: Ludwig Rohrscheid Verlag, 1964), while a recent interpretive

analysis may be f ound in Valerie I. J. Flint, T h e Rise of M a g i c in Early Medieva l E u r o pe (Princeton,

N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1991). See also "Seelen, Geister und Damonen; Shicksals-

machte," in de V r ies ,A l tg er ma n i s c h eR e l ig io n s g es c h ic h te , vol. 1.10

An exception to the sketchy outline of Germanic religious practices contained in most

Chris t ian sources m ay have been a mid-eighth-century document which has come to be known

as the Indiculus Supers t i t ionum e t Paganiarum (Capi tu lar ia Regum Francorum, pp . 222-23).

Unfor tuna te ly , only th e index to this document remains extant. It is discussed in Ruth Mazo

Karras , "Pagan Survivals and Syncretismin the Conversion of Saxony,"C a th o l i c His tor ica l Review72 (1986): 561-66; and in Flint T h e Rise of Magic , pp. 41-44, 211-12.



110 The G e r m a n i c Transformat ion of Christianity

to an understanding of G erm anic religiosity and of the G erman ic ethos andworld-view is l imited.

The R o m a n and C hristian sources are complemented by a collection ofIcelandic documents com monly referred to as the E d d a s . They are usually

divided into tw o collections: the Elder or Poetic Edda, the oldest of whichm ay date back to A.D. 700, and the Prose Edda, written by the Christian

Icelander Snorri Sturluson (d. 1241). Fortunately for the student of Ger-

manic religiosity, Snorri's accounts of pre-Christian religious beliefs andpractices do not follow the polemical style of his Latin Christian counter-

parts in their accounts of pre-Christian classical religion. This is all the

more significant for the cause of G erm anic religious studies, since Sno rri'swritings constitute th e bulk of the contemporary docum entation, whi le

patristic apologetic documents do not consti tute th e sole source of classicalpaganism. In fact, Sno rri's historical perspective transcend s m ere tolerance

of th e religion of his ancestors. W hereas m any contem porary chroniclerswere Icelandic mon ks whose major literary concern appears to have beenth e lionization of the missionary kings of No rway, Sno rri's approach to his

sources w as m ore objective:

Snorri 's sagas are both more realist ic an d more entertaining. Snorri's

ruthless handling of these earlier sagas, his sources, is , however, not due

solely to his greater cri t ical acumen and stricter regard for the truth.

Rationalistic laym an and chieftain as he was, he was repelled by the eccle-

siastical spirit pervading th e sagas in quest ion—all the way from th e legen-

dary tales, sermons of edification, pious remarks and unctuous style, to

th e very delineation of character and interpretation of events themselves.

In fact, behind all this is the political struggle between the old families of

the aristocracy, who from the period of the conversion of Iceland had ex-ercised complete authority over th e church , and the bishops of the twelfth

century an d later, w ho were endeavour ing to m a k e the church as indepen-

den t and pow erful as it w as in the rest of Europe— a state w ithin a state.11

In spite of the Icelandic clergy's d esire to eradicate pre-Christian religious

beliefs and t raditions, Snorri w as able to avoid the suppression of his Edda

by including a disclaimer, wa rnin g readers not to give them th e assent offaith. For these reasons Sigu rdur N orda l concludes that "the richest and

purest source extant for the ideas and att i tude to life of the early Ger-manic peoples is the l i terature of Iceland du ring th e twelfth and thirteenthcenturies."

12

11Sigurdur Nordal, Introduction to The P r o s e E d d a of S n o r r i S tu r lu s o n , ed. Jean I. Young

(Berkeley: University of California Press, 1966), p. 9.12

Ibid., p. 8. Nordal's view is not, however, universally shared, as Edgar Polom6 indicates

in his discussion "Approaches to Germanic Mythology" in Myth in I n d o - E u r o pea n An t iqu i ty , ed.

Gera ld James Larson (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1974), pp. 51-66. Also of

interest in the same volume is Udo Strutynski's article "History and Structure in GermanicMythology: Some Thoughts on Einar Haugen ' s Cri t ique of Dumezi l ," pp . 29-50.



G e r m a n i c Religiosity and Soc ia l S truc ture 111

Despite the quality of the Icelandic sources, there has always existed

uncertainty regarding their expression of the cosmological and ideological

perceptions of the early Germanic peoples, A critical area has been th einterpretation of the two prima ry groups of Germanic deities: th e Aesir,comprising the gods of sovereignty and battle, Odin and Thor; and the

Vanir, comprising th e gods of sustenance and reproduction, Njord, Frey,and Freya. The relationship between these tw o groups of deities is funda-

mental to an understanding of G erm anic religiosity and provides an intro-duction to Dumezil 's methodology.

Prior to Dumezil 's studies, it had been common to "historicize" th ebatt le between the Aesir and the Vanir as recounted in the Poetic E d d a ,

13

the Prose Edda 1 4 and the Heimskr ingla .1 5 It had been thought , and it is stillheld by some today,

16that the Va nir were the agra rian deities of an indige-

nous agricultural society which originally inhabited th e lands later con-quered by Indo-European invaders, while the warl ike Aesir were thedeities of the Indo-Europeans. Without denying the possible historicaloccurrence of these events in the evolution of G erman ic society, Dum ezilargued that "the duali ty of the Aesir and the Vani r is not a reflection ofthese even ts, nor an effect of evolution," but ra ther "it is a question ... oftw o com plementary term s in a un itary rel igious and ideological structure ,one of which presupposes the other."

17This religious and ideological

structure did not develop as a response to conflicts which arose duringGermanic conquests or migrations, but was "brought, fully articulated, bythose Indo-European invaders wh o became the G erm anic peoples,"

18from

13"Voluspa," 21-24, in The P o e t i c E d d a , 2nd ed, ed, trans., and in t ro . by Lee M.

Hollander (1962; reprint, Austin: University of Texas Press, 1986), pp. 4-5. A primary source

fo r th e P o e t i c E d d a in Old Norse is E d d a , d ie Lieder d es C o d e x R e g i us , 4th ed., ed. Gustav

Neckel, rev. Hans K u h n (Heidelberg: Winter Verlag, 1962).14

"Skaldskaparmal," ch. 5 of Prose E d d a , ed. Young, p. 100.1 5

"Ynglingasaga," chs. 1-5 of H eims kr in g la : History o f th e K i n g s o f N o r w a y , 2nd rev. ed.,trans. Lee M. Hollander (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1964), pp. 6-10.

16Foremost among the dwind l ing number of Dumezil's historicist critics is E. A.

Philipson, author of D ie G en ea lo g ie d er G o t t er i n g er m a n i s c h er R e l ig io n : Mytho log ie un d

Theolog ie , Illinois Studies in Language and Literature 37, no. 3 (Urbana: University of Illinois

Press, 1953). It is significant to note the n u m b e r of specialists in separate Indo-European

disciplines who have come to endorse Dumezil 's general Indo-European paradigm. Many,

including specialists in the areas of Germanic religion, mythology, and philology, are noted in C.

Scott Littleton, "The Disciples and the Critics," in The New C o m p a r a t i v e Mythology, 3rd ed.

(Berkeley: University of California Press, 1982). The most recent specialist in Germanic as well

as Celtic and Scandinavian mythology to indicate her support for Dume'zil is H. R. Ellis

Davidson, Myths a n d S y m b o l s in P a g a n E u r o p e (Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press,

1988), pp. 220-28.17

Georges Dume'zil, G o d s of theA n c i e n t N o r t h m e n , trans. Einar Haugen et al. (Berkeley:

University of California Press, 1973), p. 12.18

Ibid. A recent examination of the route and chronology of the Germanic Indo-

European migra t ions is contained in Edgar C . Polome, "Who Are the Germanic People?" inSusan Nacev Skomal and Edgar C . Polome, eds., P r o to - I n d o - E u r o pea n : T h e A r c h a e o l o g y o f a

L in g u i st i c P r o b lem: S tu d ie s in H o n o r o f Mari ja G imbu ta s (Washington, D.C.: Institute for theStudy of M a n , 1987), pp. 216-44.




their Urheimat on the steppes of the Urals.19

The mythologem from whichthe Aesir-Vanir myth developed originated during the era of proto-Indo-

Euro pean un ity in the third m illennium B.C. and "should be situated at

tha t momen t of mythological history when society is formed throughreconciliation and the union of priests and warriors on the one hand [and]

with farmers and all the powers of fecundity and nourishment on theother."

20This foun dat iona l mythologem, as manifested in the Germanic

Aesir-Vanir myth, is considered by Dumezi l to support "the central motifof Indo-European ideology, th e conception according to which th e worldand society can live only through th e harmonious collaboration of thethree stratified fun ctio ns of sovereignty, force and fecundity."

21

Dumezi l did not arrive at this conclusion merely from a careful exami-

nation of the Germanic sources. Instead, in his derivation of this centralmythologem, Dum ezil drew upon his knowledge of the docum ents of other

members of the Indo-European family of cultures:

It is here that comparative considerations may [and must] intervene to

assure us that our texts do in fact have meaning, and to determine what

that meaning is. Let us be very precise: we are concerned here with com-

parative Indo-European considerations, implying a common genetic rela-

tion (filiation), not simply typological or universal considerations.... It is

thus legitimate and even methodologically necessary, before denying signi-

ficance or antiquity to a "theologeme" or myth among the Scandinavians,

to ask if the religions of the most conservative Indo-European peoples, the

19The argument fo r locating th e proto-Indo-European homeland in this area is cogently

presented by Marija Gimbutas, "Proto-Indo-European Culture: The K urgan Culture during the

Fifth, Fourth, and Third Millennia B.C.," in George Cardona, Henry M. Hoenigswald, andAlfred Senn, eds., I n d o -E uro pea n and Indo-Europeans: Papers Presented at the Third Indo-European Conference at the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia: U niversity of Pennsylvania

Press, 1970), pp. 155-98. A recent linguistical challenge w hich locates the homeland in Anatolia

has been presented by Thomas V. Gamkrelidze and V. V. Ivanov, Indoevropejskij j a zyk iIndoevropejcy, 2 vols. (Tbilisi: Pu blishin g Ho use of the Tbilisi State Un iversity, 1984). A n English

version of this work is forthcoming from Mouton de Gruyter, while a s u mmary is contained in

idem, "The Early History of Indo-European Languages," Scientific A m e r i c a n 262:3 (1990):

110-16. JIES 13:1/2 (1985) contains translations of three articles by Gamkrelidze and Ivanov,and is devoted to a discussion of their assertions. It also contains a response from MarijaGim butas entitled "Primary and Secondary Hom eland of the Indo-Europeans: Com ments onth e Gamkrelidze-Ivanov Articles." Also important is David W . Anthony , "The Archaeology of

Indo-European Origins," JIES 19:3/4 (1991): 193-222. Related discussions of Indo-Europeantopics are presented in J. P. Mallory, I n S ea rch of th e Indo-Europeans: La n gua ge , Arch a eo lo gyan d Myth (London: Thames and Hudson, 1989); idem, "Human Populations and the Indo-European Problem," M a n k i n d Quarterly 33:2 (1992): 131-54; T. L. Markey an d John A. C.Greppin, eds., W he n Worlds Collide: I n d o -E uro pea n s a nd P re-I n d o -E uro pea n s (Ann Arbor,Mich.: Karoma Publishers, 1990); an d Perspectives o n In d o -E uro pea n La n gua ge , C u l ture a n d

Religion: S tud ie s in H o n o r o f Edgar C . P ol om 6 , 2 vols., JIES Monograph no. 7 (McLean, Va.:

Insti tute for the S tudy of M an, 1991).20

Georges Dumezil, Loki (Paris: G.-P. M aisonne uve, 1948), p. 105;quoted in idem, Gods

o f th e An cien t No r th m en , p. 23.21

Georges Dumezil, T h e Destiny of the Warrior, trans. Alf Hiltebe itel (Chicago: Un iversityof Ch icago Press, 1970), p. 4.



G e r m a n i c Religiosi ty a n d Social Structure 113

speakers of Sanskrit, Italic, and Celtic, do not present a similar belief or

story. This is sometimes th e case, and it happens that in the Indie versionfo r example, which is attested earlier in books writ ten directly by the

keepers of divine knowledge, th e structure of a fo rmula or the m eaning ofa story appears more clearly, more obviously l inked to religiousand sociallife, than in the literary wor k s of the Christ ian Snorri. ... It happens thatthe problems of the Aesir and the Vanir are of the kind that lend

themselves to such a method.22

Dume z i l discovered parallels between Snorri's account of the Aesir and

Vanir, and the Indian account of the conflict between Mitra, Varuna, and

Indra, who collectively represented the functions of sovereignty and force,

and the Nasatya, w ho represented the function o f fecundity.23 B y carefullyexamining the details of each account, Dumezil discovered a pattern

common to both, but nonexistent in the folklore of non-Indo-European

peoples. This pattern is one in which a mythical character personifyingintoxication appears "at the moment when divine society is with difficulty

bu t definitely joined by the adjunction of the representatives o f fecundity

and prosperity to those of sovereignty and force, it is at the moment when

the two hostile groups make their peace."24

Dumezil has also noted a

corresponding pattern in Roman epic history where th e first three kings ofRome—Romulus, Numa, and Tullus Hostilius—collectively represented

the functions of sovereignty and force, while the conquered Sabines repre-

sented the func t ion o f fecundity.25

In the above analysis a central assumption of Dumezil's system was

introduced, that is, that the social structure and related ideology of proto-

Indo-European society is reflected in the mythologies and epic histories of

the various branches of the Indo-European family. Dumezil had originally

hoped to substantiate both the retention of the original social structure of

the proto-Indo-Europeans, a s well a s the expression of their ideology, as

he had done in the case of India. However, he later conceded that because

of organic developments that could take place in the life of an Indo-

European society over a substantial period of time, it would be overly

optimistic to hope to discover unmodified social structures in each of the

22Dumezil, Gods o f ' t h e Ancient Northmen, p. 16.

23S h r im a n M a h a bh a ra ta m , Ramachandra Kinjawadekar et al, eds., 6 vols. (Poona: Chitra-

shala Press, 1929-33), book 3, sect. 123-25.24

Dume'zil, Loki, pp. 104-5, cited in Gods of t he A nc ien t No rth m en , p. 23. In the Ger-manic version of this mythologem the characterpersonifying intoxication is named Kvasir, whilein th e Indian version he is nam ed M ad a (ibid.,pp. 21-23).

25Dume'zil, Gods of the A ncien t No rth m en , p. 24, and Littleton, The New Comparat ive

Mythology, pp . 70-71. While the Germanic and Indo-Iranian branches of the Indo-Europeanfamily tended to express Indo-European mythologems in the form of cosmic myths, th e R om a nbranch tended to express these same mythologems as epic history, such as the events describedby Livy in the first book of his Histories. A comprehensive discussion of the Ro man mode ofexpressing Indo-European mythologems may be found in Georges Dume'zil, Archa i c Roman

Religion, trans. Philip Krapp, with a foreword by Mircea Eliade, 2 vols. (Chicago: University ofChicago Press, 1970).



114 T he G e r m a n i c Trans format ion o f Chr is t ian i ty

descendant Indo-European societies: "I recognized that, wherever one can

establish its presence, th e tripartite ideology is nothing (or is no longer, or

perhaps never was) but an ideal and, at the same t ime, a method of

analysis [moyen d'anafyser], a method of interpreting the forces whichassure the co urse of the w orld and the lives of men."

26Dumezi l has fur ther

delineated th e limits of his comparat ive method in "what should be itsGolden Rule, namely that it permits one to explore and clarify structures

of thought but no t to reconstruct events."27

Dumezi l has characterized the fund am ental social and ideological struc-tu re of proto-Indo-European society as one of "tripartition." Its foremost

manifesta t ion l ies in the three m ajor elem ents of the Indo-Eu ropean social

hierarchy: (1) chieftains and priests, constituting th e "firs t func tion," that of

sovereign and supe rnatu ral au tho ri ty, w ith a considerable degree of bipolar

tension betwee n these elements; (2) w arriors , con st i tut ing the second func-

t ion of physical force; and (3) farmers and herders , const i tut ing the third

and last funct ion of fecu nd ity. Intrinsically associated w ith this tripar titesocial structure is a t r ipart i te ideological s tructure, o f w hich the characters

and events contained in the wri t ings of Snorri and in the M a h a b h a r a t a are

lasting m anifestat ions. Beyon d this direct relat ion ship there existed in early

Indo-European societ ies "a tendency to conceive of phenomena in general

as divided into three interrelated categories, defined in terms of the three

above-mentioned functions."28

Julius Caesar 's account of the G ermanic

worship of the S un, the M oon, an d Fire , referred to ear lier, m ay have re-

flected this tendency.29

The present inquiry in to the encounter of the Germanic peoples with

Chris t iani ty s tands to benef i t from the applicat ion of Dumezil 's compara-tive met hod to the rel igious development of the Greek, Roman, Celt ic,

and Germanic branches of the Indo-European family, both as individual

societies and as inte rac ting societies.30

At th is junc ture i t may be advan ta-geous to examine those characteris t ics that have been general ly at tr ibuted

to Indo-European social s tructure and religion. In his recent article "Indo-

Eu ropean C ulture, w ith Special A ttention to Religion," Edgar Polome dis-

cusses these characteristics:

26Translat ion from C. Scott Littleton, " 'Je ne suis pas ... structuraliste ': Some Funda-

menta l Differences Between Du mezi l an d Levi-Strauss," Journal of As i an Studies 34 (1974): 154n. 12; quoted in Udo Strutynski, introduction to Georges Dum ezil, Cami t tus (Berkeley: U niver-sity of California Press, 1980), p. 7.

27Dumezil, Arch a ic R o m a n Religion, p. xvi.

28 Littleton, T h e New Comparat ive Mythology, p. 5. This work constitutes th e most compre-hensive and current introduction to Du m ezil 's system and method. The appendix to the thirdedition contains a g uide to recent d evelopmen ts and applications.

29Dumezil , Gods of t h e An c ien t Nor thme n , p. 19.

30Specific topics in this and other areas are suggested in Matthias Vereno, "On the Rela-

t ions of Dum6zil ian Com para t ive Indo-E uropean Mythology to the History of Religions in

General ," in G erald James L arson, ed., Myth in Indo-European Antiquity (Berkeley: Universi tyof California Press, 1974), pp. 181-90.



Germanic Rel ig ios i ty and Social Structure 115

Indo-European society, as far as we can judge, was agnatic and ethno-

centric, its basic unit being the patriarch al, patrilinear, and essentiallypatrilocal extended family. Kindre d was the foundation of its concentric

structu re, grou ping the fam ilies in clans, claiming descent from a commonancestor, and the clans in tribes, presumably deriving their origin from

some eponymous founder. Ethnic solidarity became especially manifest incontrast with outsiders. . . . Inside his group, with his kith and kin, the

Indo-European is safe; outside lurk th e dangers. Inside his family, his clan,

his tribe, he enjoys all the rights and privileges that pertain to free

me m be rs o f the c om m un i ty . . . .It has long been assumed that their oldest religious concepts were

associated with nature and the cosmos—the supreme G od being Father

Sky (Vedic Dyaus p i ta , G k. Zeus pa ter , Lat. Juppiter, etc.), whose mainfunct ions were sovereignty and creativity, the latter being manifested both

in the cosmogony and his paternity in divine and h u m a n genealogies....

The Indo-Europeans must have elaborated an extensive mythology;their tradition w as transmitted orally, and after some of them acquired th e

skill of writ ing, a taboo w as mainta ined against putt ing down in writ ingtheir religious lore. Their gods were close to them, though their a t t i tudetoward them was am bivalent , character ized by: 1) awe, and 2) tnist, tinged

with a certain familiarity. T he religious fear w as inspired by their holiness,and the reserved attitude of the Indo-Europeans w as t ransla ted in their

piety by a set of interdictions. As the gods were, how ever, accessible andinterested in h u m a n affairs, the Indo-Europeans respected them for it,

while giving them the ir f u l l confidence, show ing the ir feelings of t rust andadmirat ion for their deities in their prayers, their offerings and their entire

cult.31

Beyond these fundamental observations, Polome believes that "the most

important problem in connection with Indo-European religion is, however,

the validi ty of the Dumezilian hypothesis of the trifunctional religious

ideology for the earliest period, as a reflex in the world of the divine of the

fundamental structure of the nomadic pastoral society."32

Acknowledging

31"Indo-European Culture , with Special A ttention to R eligion," in Edgar C. Polom 6, ed.,

T he Indo-Europeans in the Fourth a n d Third Millennia (Ann Arbor, M ich.: K arom a Publishers,1982), pp. 161-67 passim. See also, idem, "The Indo-European Component in Gennanic Reli-gion," in Jaan Puhvel, ed., Myth and Law A m o n g th e Indo-Europeans (Berkeley: U niversity ofCalifornia Press, 1970), pp. 55-82.

32 Ibid., p. 167. The sociological background of this hypothesis, ranging from EmileDurkheim and his colleague A ntoine M eillet to Du rkh eim 's disciples, his nephew Marcel M aussand Marcel Granet , and then to Dumezil , is discussed by Littleton, The New Compara t ive

Mythology, pp. 38-40. The key Durkh eimian conclusion employed by Dumdzi l was that "religionis something em inently social," since "religious representations are collective representationswhich represent collective realities," which is developed in Dur khe im , T he Elementary F o r m s o fth e Religious Life, trans. Joseph W ard Swain (1915; reprint, New York: Free Press, 1965); th eprevious quote appears on p. 22. The first exposition of this notion appeared in Em i leDurkhe im and Marcel M auss, "D e que lques formes primitives de classification: contr ibutions &1'etude des representations collectives," L'Annee sociologique 6 (1903): 1-72. M eille t, w ho se

study of Indo-European linguistics and I ran ian mythology influenced Dur khe im , w as Dum6zil 'sdoctoral me ntor .



116 T he G e r m a n i c Transformation o f Chris t iani ty

the complexity of substantiating such an inclusive hypothesis, Polome

nonetheless concludes:

If w e consider th e f r agmen ted and heterogeneous her i tage of the VedicIndians, of ancient Rome, and of medieval Scandinavia and Ireland, and

the scattered elements provided by archaeology, votive inscriptions, runicfo rmulae , onomastics, reports of ancient au thors and early Christian mis-sionaries, capi tular ia of Charlemagne, epic poetry and medieval historio-graphy, and w hat not, it is unden iable tha t a set of striking correspondences

emerges in w hich m yths preserved in the Rigveda will find parallels in the

legendary history of the kings of R o m e as reported by Livy and in Scandi-

navian mythology in the collection compiled by Sno rr i Stur luson, as well as

in som e passages of the Irish epics. An d, mo re im porta nt sti ll , these tradi-tions will be organized aroun d a t r ipar t i te s t ructure of the pantheon and ofthe corresponding society.

33

O ne m ay que st ion the uniqueness of Indo-E uropean society and reli-gion as just depicted. I t may seem tha t the t r ipart i te division of society is a

natura l o r universal ra the r than a strictly Indo-European characteris t ic. In

responding to suc h a criticism , C. S cott L ittleton first cites Stuart Piggott 's

observation that " the t r ipar t i te ar rangem ent i s perhaps an obvious enough

division of responsibilities within a commun i t y , but its fo rma l recognit ionis chara cteris tical ly Indo-E uropean."

34N oting also that "it was only among

the Indo -Eu ropeans" tha t the tr ipar t i te division of social functio ns "served,

initially at least, as the basis for a societal stratific atio n system ,"35

Littleton

also prov ides exam ples of no ntr ipa r t i te divisions of social fun ct ions amo ngnon- Indo -Eur ope a n societies.

36

But i t is not only in societal t r ipart i t ion that Ind o-E uropean socioreli-gious uniqu ene ss may be located. T he bipolar tension betw een the religious

and poli tical elem ents of the first funct ion of sovereignty is an impor tan t ,uniquely Indo-European characteris t ic, which is exemplified by the follow-

ing pairs of divini t ies: the Vedic pair of Mi t ra and Varuna , the Germanic

pair of Odi n and Tyr, and the R o m a n p a ir of Jupiter and Dius Fidius.37

A nother "uniquely Indo-European phenom enon," w hich is m ore relevant

to the subject at hand, was the existence of "a class of military specialists

33Polome", "Indo-European Cul ture ," pp. 167-68.

34Prehis tor ic India (Harm ondsw or th : Penguin Books, 1950), p. 260, cited in L ittleton, T h e

New C o mpa r a t iv e Mythology, p. 221. The possibil i ty of Indo-European inf luence in the develop-ment of the doct r ine of the Trin ity, suggested by Littleton (ibid., p. 231), is explored in EdwardC. Hobbs and Andrew P. Porter, "The Trinity and the Indo-European Tripart i te World-View,"unpublished. I am grateful to Andrew P. Porter fo r providing m e with a copy of this paper.

35Lit t le ton, The Ne w C o mpa r a t iv e Mythology, p. 221.

36Ibid., p. 273.

37The bipolar tension between the poli t ical and rel igious elem ents of the first function of

sovereignty as it has occurred in several Indo-European societ ies is discussed in detai l in

Georges Du m ez i l, Mitra-Varuna: A n Essay o n T w o Indo-European Represen ta t ions o f Sovereignty,

t rans . Derek Co l tman (New Yo rk: Zone Books, 1988), and i dem, Jupiter, Mars, Quir inus: essai

sur la concept ion indo-europeenne de la societe et sur les origines de R o m e , Collect ion "L aMo n t a g n e Sainte G enevieve," vol . 1 (Paris: Gall imard , 1941).



Germanic Religiosity and Social Structure 117

whose prim e purpose was to exercise physical prow ess, eithe r in defense ofth e society or in order to conquer new territory."

38Members of this class

of military specialists usually organized themselves into a c o m i t a t u s orManne r bund , "a band of young warr iors led by a chief or king w hich w asdistinct from the other strata of society (i.e., the priests and the cultiva-tors) and w hich exhibited in battle a rem ark ab le recklessness and esprit de

corps."39 The c o m i t a t u s figured "among the most prominent features of

ancient Indo-European social organization."40

Continuing his study of the second Indo-European function of force as

institutionalized in the c o m i t a t u s , Dumezil discovered additional distinc-tive features. H e noted th e recurrence of specific themes concerning the

behavior of the warrior in Indie, Greek, and Germanic mythology. Thisbehavior, wh ich has been sum m arized as "les trois peches du guerrier,"

41

involves transgressions by a warrior hero against each of the three divi-

sions of Ind o-E uro pean society. These includ e regicide, a crime against th esocietal function of sovereignty; cow ardice, a violation of the w arrior ethicof the second function of force; and adul tery, a violation of the thi rd func-

t ion of fecundity. Each of the warrior heroes, the Indie Indra , the Greek

Heracles, and the G erm anic Starka6r, is punished after each transgressionby losing some degree of his power, unti l he finally dies. The centrality of

the warr ior figure to the Indo-European and hence Germanic e thos hasbeen summarized by Littleton:

Aspects de la f onc t lon guerriere must indeed be r anked among Dumezil's

m ost significant publications, for in this delinea tion of the am bivalent posi-

tion of the I-E warrior, an ambivalence clearly expressed in myth and saga,

he touches upon what appears to have been a fundamental e lement of I-E

ideology. More than any single military implement, the I-E warr ior band,

or M a n n e r b u n d , organized around th e person of a fearless leader (cf. Finn

and the f i a n n a , Indra and the M a r u t s ) , seems to have been th e "secret

weapon" that facilitated the I-E expansion. The warr ior was thus the prop

an d, in m any respects, the pivot of the social system.42

Given this pivo tal role, it is un derstandab le that , despite the pacifying

effects of Christ ianity, th e ethos of the w arrior band or c o m i t a t u s enduredthrough the M iddle Ages and remained at the center of the medieval epic,

testifying to the vitality of the Indo-European ideological heritage.43

Also,

38Encyclopedia o f Religion, s.v."War and Warriors: Indo-European Beliefs and Practices,"

by C. Scott Littleton.39

Littleton, The New Compara t ive Mythology, p. 156.40

Encyclopedia of Religion, s.v. "Indo-European Religions: History of Study," by C. Scott

Littleton.41

This is the title given by Dumezil to the second essay in hisAspects de lafonction guerriere

chez les Indo-Europtens, Bibliotheque de I'Ecole des Hautes Etudes, Section Religieuse, vol. 68

(Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1956).42

Littleton, T h e New Comparat ive Mythology, p.127.

43 See John Simpson, "Comparative Structural Analysis of Three Ethical Questions inBeowulf, th e Nibelungenlied and the C h a n s o n d e Roland," JIES 3 (1975): 239-54. Simpson




since the G erm anic peoples constitute the last wave of Indo-Europeanexpansion, and since, prior to their enco unter w ith C hristianity, they h adminimal interaction with non-Indo-European peoples, it is l ikely tha t at

th e t ime of their encounter with Ch ristianity they embodied Indo-European social and ideological traditions somewhat more authenticallythan the older and m ore socioculturally heterogeneous Greek and R o manbranches of the Indo-European family. For these reasons, as well as theimmedia te sociopolitical reality of intertr ibal competition and militaryconflict with Rome, the Indo-E uropean w arrior ethos, w ith its emphasis on

high group solidarity and individual courage, w as preserved by theGermanic peoples throughout the periods of contact with Christianity inlate antiquity and the ear ly M iddle Ages and perhaps beyond. Littletonhas noted that "European society of the eleventh and twelfth centuries,though professing belief in a religious system having its roots in theSemitic t radit ion, w as nevertheless an I-E speaking one and , as such, heirto the co mmo n I-E ideology."

44

The prominence of the c o m i t a t u s and its wa rrior ethic as a d istinguish-in g fea ture of early medieval Germanic society has lead M ary Craw fordClawsey to assign it a G erm anic origin.

45Although she does not employ an

Indo-European comparativist approach to the c o m i t a t u s , Clawsey arguestha t "this institution , w he rein a nob le served his lord in return for mater ialrewards and the opportunity to win glory, and in fear of shame if he failedto live up to his oath, persisted am ong the G erm anic peoples, though not

necessarily in the same precise form in every tribe, long after they had

given up their pagan religion and in many cases their langu age."46

N ot onlydid the institutio n of the c o m i t a t u s persist among the Germanic peoples,according to Clawsey, but also, "there is little evidence of its independentexistence elsewhere."47 The prim ary description of the c o m i t a t u s may befound in Tacitus's G e r man ia :

Both prest ige and power depend on being cont inual ly a t tended by a large

train of picked young warriors, which is a dist inct ion in peace and a

protect ion in war . An d it is not only in a chiefs ow n nat ion that th e super-

ior nu m be r and qual i ty of his retainers b r ing him glory and renown.

Neighbouring states honor them also, court ing them wi th embassies andcompliment ing them wi th presents . Very often the mere reputat ion of

such men will virtual ly decide the issue of a wa r.

utilizes a Dumezi l ian approach to establish that th e ethical behavior of the hero of each of these

epics conforms to the Indo-European warr ior code.44

Ibid., p. 122, n. 13. The developmental course of the Germanic ethos and world-view

and their interaction with Christ ianity, from th e Middle Ages t h rough the Reformat ion to the

present, may be studied in subsequent inquiries.45

"The C o m i t a t u s and the Lord-Vassal Relat ionship in the Medieva l Epic" (Ph.D. diss.,

Universi ty of M a r y l a n d , 1982), p. 24.46

Ibid., p. 2.47 Ibid., p. 24.




On the field of battle it is a disgrace to a chief to be surpassed in cour-

age by his followers, and to the followers not to be equal to the courage of

their chief. And to leave a battle alive after their chief has fal len means

lifelong in famy and shame. To defend him and protect him,and to let him

get the credit for their own acts of heroism, are the most solemn obliga-

tions of their allegiance. The chiefs fight for victory, the followers for their

chief.48

The main "distinguishing characteristic of the comitatus,"which Clawsey

finds lacking in classical and non-Western analogues, is "its reciprocity—

more precisely, its being at once vertical and reciprocal," that is, "only the

comitatus combined both qualities and made the assumption that the

leader in a vertical relationship had obligations as much as did the follower

and that therefore a voluntary element existed on both sides."49This simul-

taneous verticality and reciprocity would seem to contribute to a high degree

of group solidarity, which is why it is especially relevant to this study. Not

only the generally heroic nature of the age during which the Germanic peo-

ples initially encountered Christianity (376-754),50

but also the particular

cohesiveness engendered by the comitatus relationship, denote a funda-

mental social departure from the anomic environment of the urban centers

of the declining Roman Empire which were so conducive to the expansion

of early Christianity.

At the heart of the comitatus relationship lay the Germanic notion of

honor or ere. However, as George Fenwick Jones advises, one must be

careful that contemporary connotations of honor do not obscure its Old

High German (OHG) meaning: "Above all, ere should not be rendered as

Ehre, except in certain specific contexts, such as in 'show honor to' or 'in

honor of.' "51 Jones refers to the Mittelhochdeutsches Worterbuch for "the

48Tacitus, TheAgr i co l a and the G e r m a n i a , pp. 112-13; original in Cornelius Tacitus, "D e

origine et situ Germanorum," pars. 13-14: "haec dignitas, hae vires magno semper electorum

iuvenum globo circum dari, in pace decus, in bello praesidium . nee solum in sua gente cuique sed

apud finitimas quoque civitates id nomen, ea gloria est, si nume ro ac virtute co mitatus eminaet;

expetuntur enim legationibus et muner ibus o rnan tur et ipsa plerum que fama bella profligan t.

Cum ventum in aciem, turpe principi virtute vinci, turpe comitatui virtutem principis non

adaequare. ia m vero infame in omnem v i tam ac probrosum superstitem principi suo ex acierecessisse; ilium defendere tueri, sua quoque fortia facta gloriae eius adsignare praecipuum

sacramentum est: principes pro victoria pugn ant, comites pro principe."

49 Ibid., p. 32. Clawsey refe rs to D . H . Green, T h e Carol ing ian Lord: Sema n t i c S t ud i es o nFour Old High G e r m a n Words: Balder, F r d , Truhtin, Herro (Cambridge: Cambridge UniversityPress, 1965), pp. 115,156.

50A concise study of this factor and its role in Christianization efforts is found in Clinton

Albertson's introduction to h is A ng lo - Saxon Saints a n d Heroes (New York: Fordham UniversityPress, 1967). Also significant are Henry M unro Chadwick, T he Heroic Age (Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press, 1912); and Jan de Vries, Heroic S o n g an d Heroic Legend, trans. B. J. T immer

(1963; reprin t, Salem, N.H.: Ayer, 1988).51

George Fenwick Jones, H o n o r in G e r m a n Literature, Studies in the GermanicLanguages and Literatures, no. 25 (Chapel H ill: University of N orth Ca rolina Press, 1959), p. 4.

Jones, who was Clawsey's doctoral m ento r, discusses this sem antic problem in greater detail inpp. 5-7.



120 T he G e r m a n i c Trans format ion o f Christ iani ty

t rue meaning of the word ere ," which is defined there as "splendor, glory,

the higher standing, partly that which arises from power and wealth (high

position, superior feud al rank), partly tha t which arises from courage and

bravery."52 T he notion of honor in the Germanic Ear ly Middle Ages w asfocused upon th e external approval which one usually m erited by courag-

eous acts performed on behalf of one's kin or one's lord. T he predomi-

nant ly external focus of OH g honor , which s temm ed from a desire to avoid

being publicly sham ed, may be contrasted with the predominantly internalfocus of the Christian notion of honor as a moral quality stemming primar-

ily from a desire to avoid the feelings of guilt and the fear of punishment

associated with sinfulness.

Since the early Germans could no t rely upon the protection and assist-

ance of a bureaucra t ic em pire when they were threatened w ith a t tack or

famine , i t was incum bent upon each m an and wo m an of the com m unity toadhere to the fundamenta l sociobiological principle of group survival

emb odied in the bon ds o f familial and com m unal sol idar ity . One's status in

society depended upon how closely o ne adhered to th i s fund am enta l prin-

ciple. Those w ho behaved honorably, thereby contr ibut ing toward the ad-

vancem ent of the ir com m unity, were mater ia lly rewarded and thu s increased

the ir wealth, power, and inf luence. It is l ikely tha t th e coalescence of honor,

wealth, inf luence, and power w ithin G erm anic socie ty inhibi ted the spread

of status inconsistency an d its pote ntially anom ic effects, and served to

fu r the r reinforce Germanic group solidarity.

T o better i l lustrate the dispari ty between G ermanic and Christian val-

ues, i t may be helpful to read Jones's Germanic parody of the Beati tudesf rom the Sermon on the M o u n t in Ma t the w 5:3-12:

Blessed are the rich, for they possess th e earth and its glory.Blessed are the strong, for they can conqu er kingdo m s.

Blessed are they w ith s t rong kinsmen , fo r they shall find help.

Blessed are the warlike, fo r they shall w in weal th and renown.

Blessed are they w ho keep the ir faith, for they shal l be hono red.

Blessed are they who are open handed, for they shal l have f r iends and

fame.

Blessed are th ey who w reak vengeance, for they shall be o ffended no m ore ,and they shall have hono r and glory all the days of thei r life and eternal

f a me in ages to come.53

52Ad olf Zieman n, ed., Mittelhochdeutsches Worterbuch (Leipzig, 1838), p. 78, cited ibid .

53Jones, H o n o r in G e r m a n Literature, pp. 40-41. The appropriateness of using the Ser-

mon on the M o u n t to establish a comparison of Germanic and Christian values is reinforced by

Hans Dieter Betz, "Cosmogony and Ethics in the Sermon on the Mount ," in Robin W . Lovinand Frank E. Rey nolds, eds., C o s m o go n y a n d Ethica l Order: New Studies in Compara t ive Ethics(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985), who claims: "The autho r or a u t h o r s of the Ser-m on were very close in t ime and religious and cultural e nv i r onm e n t to the historical Jesus. If

they de te rmined tha t this teaching was the essence of Jesus ' teaching, they had a greater chancewith it than with any other text in the N ew Testament of being r ight" (p . 158).



G e r m a n i c Religiosity a n d Soc ia l S t ruc ture 121

Excerpts from an early Norse-Germanic source which succinctly expresses

the Germ anic at t itude toward posthum ous rewards , and which may be con-trasted with the world-reject ing Christ ian aspirat ions of individual salva-

t ion and eternal bliss, are found in strophes 69 and 76 of the "Havamal"

("Sayings of the High One"), which are rendered f rom the Old Norse in

Lee M . H ollander 's t ranslat ion of the Poet ic Edda:

Al l undon e is no one though at death's door he lie:some w ith good sons are blessed,

and some w ith kinsmen, or with coffers full,

and some w ith deeds well-done.

Cattle die and kinsmen die ,thyself eke soon wilt die;

but fair f a m e will fade never ,

I ween , for h im who wins it.54

Given th e dispari ty between G erm anic and C hristian values, Jones con-

cludes that there was not m u c h to which the missionaries could appeal."55

Instead of directly confronting this opposing value system and attempting

to radical ly t ransform i t—an approach which almost certainly would have

resulted in an im m ediate reject ion of C hrist ianity— the m issionaries ap-parently sought to redefine the G erm anic vi r tues of strength, courage, and

loyalty in such a m ann er that would reduce thei r incom patibil ity with Chris-t ian values, w hile at the same t im e "inculturat ing" C hristian values as far as

possible to accommodate the G erm anic e thos and world-view.

However, i t was inevitable that some degree of confl ict would arise

from such a s trategy. The notion of Christ ian honor, with i ts goal of indi-

vidua l salvation, directly opposed the supremacy of the Germanic concept

of th e vridu, the bond of k inship which could be extended to others th rough

an oath of loyalty, as in the c o m i t a t u s . This bond included the duty to

avenge a k i ns man or lord's death, as well as the obligation to follow one's

lord in to a bat t le , even i f death was imminent . To survive one's lord in

batt le w as cause for disgrace, exceeded in shamefulness only by acts of

cowardice and outright betrayal . In fact, the intensi ty of the c o m i t a t u sbond seems to exceed even that of kinship. The force of the societal pres-

sure b ehind the vridu of the c o m i t a t u s w as so strong that , in those instances

w h e r e a con flict between one's personal salvation and loyalty to one's lordarose, the lat ter tended to prevail. Based u pon her survey of medieval epic

l i terature, Clawsey concludes that "in the epics, men generally choose,

how ever so rrowfully or reluctantly, to fight for their lords against those

w ho personal ly mean more to them—their f r iends , thei r own flesh and

blood, even their own salvation."56

54T h e Poetic Edda, pp. 17,25.

55

Jones, Honor in Ge rman Literature, p. 41.56

Clawsey, "The Comita tus ," p. 146. On p. 144 she also cites G eorge Fenwick Jones, T he




A n example of the persisting primacy of the pre-Christian Germanic

inst i tut ion of the blood feud over concern for individual salvation is dra-

mat ized in Njal's Saga , w h e n Njal and his sons are surrounded in their

h o m e by Flossi, who is seeking to avenge the murder of his son-in-law byNjal 's sons. Aware of the superior warrior skills of Njal 's sons over his own

men, Flossi concludes: "There are only tw o courses open to us, neither of

them good: w e m u s t either abandon the attack, which would cost us our

ow n lives, or we m u s t se t fire to the house and burn them to death, which

is a grave responsibility before God, since we are Christ ian m en ourselves.B ut tha t is w h a t w e m u s t do."

57

Jones and Clawsey are not alone in document ing the vitality of theGermanic ethos and world-view w ell beyon d the eighth-century Christ ian-

izat ion efforts of Boniface and other missionaries. O ne m a y recall the pop-

ular admoni t ion in the Sermon on the Mount "no t to resist the evildoer; o n

the contrary, if someone str ike thee on the r ight cheek, tu rn to h im the

o ther also,"58

and contrast it with the Germanic duty of vengeance within

the com i ta tus and kin group. This not ion of vengeance received literary

endo rsem ent long after Bon iface 's dea th, albei t in a somewhat compro-mised fo rm . In his review of recent research, "M oral Values in the Icelandic

Sagas," Claiborne W . Thompson ci tes "the thir teenth century Norwegian

E th o s of the S o n g o f R o l a n d (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1969): "When vassals had to

choose between feudal loyalty and excommunication, they usually placed their worldly honor

above their immortal soul" (p. 179). For a fur ther analysis of the tension between the obliga-

tions a vassal owed to his biological kinfolk and to his lord, see George Fenwick Jones,

"Riideger's Dilemma," Studies in Philology 57 (1960): 7-21. Also of interest is John Lindow,

Comi ta tu s , Individual a n d Honor: S tud ie s in North G erm a n ic In s t i tu t io n a l Vocabulary, University

of California Publications in Ling uistics, vol. 83 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1975).57Njal's Saga, t rans , and intro. Magnus Magnusson and Hermann Palsson (Harmonds-

worth: Penguin Books, 1960), p. 265. Despite the earlier historical and mythological references

contained in the Icelandic sagas, which had previously le d students of the sagas to ascribe their

origins to an ancient oral tradition, Claiborne W . Thompson, "Moral Values in the IcelandicSagas: Recent Re-evaluations," in Harald Scholler, ed., T h e Epic in Medieval Society (Tubingen:

M ax Niemeyer Verlag, 1977), rem inds the rea der th at a current consensus holds the sagas to be

' 'products of thirte en th cen tury literary consciousness" (p. 349). Furtherm ore, Thom pson notes

tha t "the effect of this re-thinking on a study of moral values is to remind us that what we en-counter in an Icelandic Saga is more likely to be a reflection of thirteenth century concerns tha n

of pagan Germanic culture, for in the thirteenth century Iceland was a part of the Christiancommunity of We stern E urope and shared in the learn ing of the time" (ibid.). Therefo re thepersistence of Germanic values in the sagas may be interpreted as a more reliable indicator of

the persistence of these values throughout Western Europe in the thirteenth century. Thisopinion should not in any way affect th e credibility of the earlier Poetic E d d a , parts of which m ay

date back to A.D. 700, and which is gene rally viewed as being representative of a more thor-oughly pagan era of Germanic religiosity. The dat ing of the Poet ic Edda is discussed in greater

detail in Lee M . Ho llander's general in trod uc tion to his tran slatio n, pp. xxvii-xxvix. See also,

"The Bloodfeud of the Franks," in J. M. Wallace-Hadri l l , The Long-Haired Kings, MedievalAcademy Reprints fo r Teaching, no. 11 (1962; reprint, Toronto: University of Toronto Press,

1982).58M atthe w 5:39.




didactic treatise called the King's Mirror,"59

in which Lars Lonnroth "findsnot only an atti tude sympathetic to worldly honor, but also a reservedapproval of the revenge principle," as expressed in the following excerpt:

"Keep you r temper calm though not to the point of suffering abuse or bring-in g upon yourself the reproach of cowardice. Though necessity may force

you into strife, be not in a hu r ry to take revenge; first m ake sure that your

effort will succeed and strike w here it ought,"60

Although Lonnroth is not comparing Germanic and Christian values

from the perspective of the transformation of religious attitudes, as doesthe current inquiry , his observations o f the status o f thirteenth-cen tury Ice-

landic and, m utat is mutandis , Germ anic Ch ris tiani ty m ay be in terpreted as

a testimony to the Germaniza t ion of C hristianity which accompanied theattempted Christianization of the Germanic peoples. Thompson summar-izes Lonnroth's position:

Arguing against the prevalent notion that the Christian and pagan moral

codes stood in stark contrast to one another, Lonnroth sees much over-

lapping. Whereas previous scholars tend to associate the virtues of humil-

ity, forgiveness, compassion, and obedience to the Church with the Chris-

tian "system," and worldly honor, the duty of revenge, and loyalty to thefamily with the pagan "system," Lonnroth believes that given a certain

leniency on the part of thirteenth century Icelanders, most of the heroic

pagan ideals would be found acceptable to a Christian audience. There

are, to be sure, certain aspects of paganism, such as heathen sacrifice and

worship, the exposure of children, the practice of sorcery and witchcraft,

which are completely unacceptable in Christian eyes (and condemned in

the sagas), but otherwise most of the so-called heathen values can be

found to be supported in Christian documents of the thirteenth century.61

59"Moral Values in the Icelandic Sagas," p. 350.

60Ibid. The translation of the King's Mirror cited by Lonnroth and Thompson is by L. M .

Larsen (New York: Am erican-Sc andina vian Society, 1917), p. 6, while the original Norwegian

version may be found in L. Holm-Olsen, K o n un gs skuggsja (Oslo: Norske historiske kildes-

krif tfond, 1945), p. 85. Of related interest is John Simpson, "Comparative Structural Analysis of

Three Ethical Questions in Beowulf, th e Nibehmgenlied and the C h a n s o n de R o la n d ."61

"Moral Values in the Icelandic Sagas," pp. 349-50. A t ransformational development

from a more strictly Germanic ethic to a moderat ion of the heroic pagan ideal in some of the

Icelandic sagas has also given rise to an e xplana tion by T. M. Andersson, "The Displacement ofth e Heroic Ideal in the Family Sagas," Speculum 45 (1970): 575-93 which, according to Thom pson,tends to "minimize the debt to C hristianity, viewing the em phasis on m ode ration as evidence of

a new social consciousness analogous to the Greek notion of sophrosyne" (p. 351). He cites

Andersson, p. 592:"What we probably have in the sagas is not so much the replacement of apagan ideal w ith a C hristian ideal as the replacement of a w arrior ideal with a social ideal." In

his conclusion, Thompson, advocates a paradigm of social pragmatism which seems to favor

Andersson's approach: "I think, too, that there is an aspect of the pragm atic also lying behindth e sagas' criticism of violence and the feud menta l i ty . As was the case with th e Icelanders'

conversion from paganism to Christianity, th e institution of blood revenge was examined in its

pragmatic implications as well as its m oral ones. Just as Thorgeir go6i found it politically unwisefo r Iceland to risk civil war by at tempt ing to resist the new faith, so some saga ch aracters realize




That pre-Christ ian Germanic values, part icularly those relat ing to the

Germanic code of ho no r, reta ine d acceptance in W estern European Chris-

t ian circles in the thir te en th cen tury seems to indicate th at , as C hristianity

expanded to include the G erm anic peoples, som e of its core values, such asits w orld-reject ing notion of honor , its pacifism, and its focus on individual

posthum ous salvation, were subs tantia lly t ransform ed in a process of Ger-

maniza t ion . With the add i t ion al impetus of an "Ottoman Capt ivi ty of theChu rch," these G erm anized ethics, along with G erm anic l i turgical and spir-

i tual developments , eventual ly becam e norm at ive throug ho ut European

Chris tendom.62

Medieval hagiography provides fur ther evidence of the ongoing influ-

ence of the G erm anic ethos and value sys tem . In discussing the Vita S a n c t i

Geraldi , wri t ten by Cluny's second abbot , St. Odo (d . 944) , Barbara H .Rosenwein notes tha t whi le genera lly adher ing to the "well-wo rn ge nre of

Saints' Lives," O do "saw some things differently from his predecessors."63

Since he l ived at a t im e d ur ing w hich hagiographers w ere a t tem pt ing "tofo rmula te a new m odel com bining piety with coercive power,"

64O do sought

to subl imate the Germ anic w ar r ior e thos in to th e service of the Church :

T he potentate was to assis t with temporal force wh en the church 's spir i tualsanct ions proved ineffective. There was no quest ion th at violence was in-

volved. ... In the Vita Geraldi , th e ideal w as realized. Gerald w as explicitly

se t for th as a m o d e l for the p o t e n t i o r e s . . . . Gerald was rich (dives) and

powerful (potens) and a war r io r (pugnator). Gerald wanted to be a m o n k ,

and indeed h e became one , but he hid his t onsu re und e r his cap a nd con-

t inued to function as & p o t e n s . This was a radica l redefinit ion of the v i r tu ou s

l i f e . According to Odo, i t w as the best way to per form th e w o r k of God .65

In apparent anticipation of those w ho m ight ques tion any degree of accep-tance of the G erm anic w arrior ethos, even in a sublimated fo rm, O do states:

"Truly , no one ought to be worr ied because a jus t man somet imes makes

use of fighting, w hich seem s incom patible w ith religion."66

that a social system based on inflexible honor and vengeance is out-of-date, self-defeating, and

foolish" (p. 359). See also, Richard North, P a g a n W o r d s a n d Chr is t ian M e a n i n g s , C o s t e r u s , n.s.,

vol. 81 (Am s terdam: Rodopi , 1991).62

Josef A . Jun gm ann , "The Sacram ents and the Mass," in T h e C h u r c h i n t h e A g e o f F e u -

d a l i s m , vol. 3, in Huber t Jedin and John Dolan, eds., History of th e C h u r c h , trans. Anselm Biggs(New York: Crossroad, 1987), notes t h a t "a doub le s t ream of powerful intellectual and ins t i tu-

t ional inf luence moved from the nor th toward I ta ly and the centre of Chris tianity in the tenth

and eleventh centuries . The one was cons t i tu ted by the Italian expedition of the G e r m a n emper-

o rs from Otto th e Grea t ; in the i r re t inue m any c ler ics came south. T he other proceeded f rom

Cluny" (p. 307).63

Barba ra H. Rosenwein, "Looking O u t : The Clun iac Perception of the World," in R h i n o -

ceros B o u n d : C l u n y i n t h e T e n t h Cen tury (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982),

pp. 57-58.64

Ibid. , p. 71.65

Ibid. , pp . 73—75 (emphas i s added) .66Ibid. , p. 76. The quote from th e Vita Geraldi , 1.8, may be located in PL 133: col. 647:



G e r m a n i c Religiosity a n d S o c i a l S truc ture 125

In his study "Greek Inf luence on the Eleventh-Century Western Revi-

val of Hermitism," John McDonald Howe also discusses th e emergence of

a sublimated warrior ethos in the hagiographies of the tenth and eleventh

centuries:

Christ ianity in nor thern Europe replaced cults that had emphasized the

rel igious funct ions of war and had stressed heroic moral i ty. How muchthey affected northern hagiographical ideals has been debated. It does

seem safe, however, to postulate the influence of non-Classical non -Ch ris-

tian heroic traditions on particular hagiographic works such as the first

Anglo-Saxon l i f e of Guthlac, where a Latin original based on Classicalm odels suddenly is put into an even more heroic mode when it is recast in

the vernacular . In the later M iddle Ages, hagiography and secular romancel i terature m erge f reque ntly.

H agiographers w ri ting between 970 and 1070 had an abundance of

heroic models available. Whatever att i tudes Christians m ay have had

towards actual physical violence, they found the images of the Christian

moral s t ruggle in the heroic life. Stock phrases describe combat with th e

wor ld , the flesh, and the devil. M ilitary term s designate the saintly hero.

Thus even though m il itary imag ery m ay serve to evoke specific images

such as the victory of the good angels over the demons, or Christ 's resis-

tance to temptation, i ts non-Christian and pre-Christian prototypes showthat the heroic image had i ts ow n coherence, indepen den t of the Chris t ianglosses that were put on it.

67

T he impact of the Germanic warr ior e thos on the Lives o f early medieval

herm its w as not , however, relegated to the realm o f m etaphor. In a regional

comparison of hermits ' Lives , Howe concludes: "Hermits who are literal

soldiers are a northern theme. Northern ' servant of God' phrases too show

a 'vir D e i ' who is m ore of ten an 'athleta, ' a 'miles, ' a member of the heavenly

'mi l i t ia ' than a r e his Mediterranean counterparts . Overal l these combatantsare in somewhat different f ie lds— the M edi te r ranean hermi ts fight more

interior battles against their flesh, against dem ons who at tack their percep-

tions, and they are 'slaves of God' in under tak ing these com bats; while the

northern hermits , on the other hand, fight more concrete external oppo-

nents , are more literal soldiers, and are hailed as 'men of God. ' "68

O ne reason for the form idable impact of pre-Ch ris t ian G erman ic values

on m edieval rel igious culture w as the substantial Germanic contribution to

the development of the feudal sys tem, through which the essence of thec o m i t a t u s relat ionship seem s to have been preserved. According to Mircea

Eliade:

"Nemo sane moveatur , quod homo Justus usum praeliandi, qui incongruus religioni videtur,al iquando habuerit."

67 "The C hristian Spiritual W arrior," section in the chapter "The Hermit as Warrior ," in"Greek Influence on the Eleventh-Century Western Revival of H ermitism " (Ph.D. diss., Univer -

sity of California, Los A ngeles, 1979), p. 68.68 Ibid., p. 104.



126 The Germanic Transformation of Christianity

After the conversion of the Germanic tribes to Christianity, this institution

[the comitatus] was preserved. It is found at the base of feudalism and

chivalry.... The institution briefly described by Tacitus had, to be sure, a

religious dimension: the promotion of the young man announced the com-pletion of his military initiation; absolute loyalty to the chief constituted, in

fact, a religious mode of being. Conversion to Christianity gave rise to many

reinterpretations and revalorizationsof such ancestral traditions. But it nev-

er succeeded in effacing the pagan heritage.69

The comitatus relationship is not the only social example of Germanic

group solidarity. The entire Germanic kinship structure is such that group

solidarity is reinforced at every level of the family and community. This is

quite the opposite of the situation that existed in the urban centers of theRoman Empire when Christianity was taking root and expanding. One

explanation of the conditions which contributed toward a decline in family

solidarity in the Roman Empire at this stage may be derived from Michael

Hechter's observation of "the massive changes in family structure that

have occurred in the course of industrialization,"70

changes which, allowing

for the obvious differences between the Roman and modern eras, are also

likely to have occurred in third- and fourth-century Rome, commensurate

with increased urbanization, bureaucratization, and taxation:

69"The Assimilation and Reinterpretation of Pre-Christian Traditions: Sacred Kingship

an d Chivalry," sect. 267 of A History of Rel igious Ideas, vol.3, F r o m M u h a m m e d to the Age of

Reforms, trans. A lf Hiltebeitel and Diane Apostolos-Cappadona (Chicago: University of Chi-

cago Press, 1985), pp. 91-92. Eliade also notes in sect. 266 that "the feudal system and its

ideology are of Germanic origin" (p . 87),while Albertson, An glo -S a x o n S a in t s a n d Heroes,

comments that "it was no little achievement of late r m edieval society to have Ch ristianized this

Ge rma nic warrior-ethos into chivalry" (p. 17 n. 42).Taking a me diating position between those

who reject any continuity between th e c o m i t a t u s and feudalism, and those who, like Eliade,

argue for a direct influence, D. H. Green, T h e Carol ing ian Lo rd , posits that "if it is possible toshow, as I believe th e l inguistic evidence pe rm its, that Prankish feudalism shares a n u mb er of

peculiar characteristics with th e c o m i t a t u s which it cannot have derived from th e Gallo-Roman

clientela or from any other ins t i tu t ion abou t which we have historical evidence, then this surelyargues in favor of the Germ anic institutio n having survived actively at least long enough to pass

on some of its most characteristic features to the form of society which replaced it in medieval

Europe" (p. 63). Furthe r discussions of Ge rm anic influence are contained in Carl Stephenson,

Medieval Feud a l i sm (Ithaca, N. Y.: Cornell Un iversity Press, 1942); and Marc Bloch, Feudal

Society, trans. L. A, Mayon, with a foreword by M. M. Postan (Chicago: University of ChicagoPress, 1961). Fo r valuab le archaeological and literary insights, see A. Margaret Arent , "The

Heroic Pattern: O ld German Helmets , Beowulf a n d Grettis sag a," in Edgar C. Polome, ed., O ldNorse Litera ture and Mythology: A Sympos ium (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1969),

pp. 130-99.70

Principles o f Group Solidarity (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1987), p. 57.The decline in family solidarity has been cited above (p . 88), while th e composition and struc-ture of the Rom an household is discussed in Marleen B. Flory, "Family and 'Familia': A Studyof Social R ela tion s in Slavery" (Ph.D. diss., Yale University, 1975), pp. 17-55; B. M. Rawson,"Family Life Among th e Lower Classes at Ro me in the First Tw o Centuries of the Empire,"Classical Philology 61 (1966): 71-83; idem, ed., T h e Family in A n c i e n t R o m e : New Perspectives

(Ithaca, N.Y.: C orne ll Un iversity Press, 1986); Keith R. Bradley, Discovering th e R o m a n Family :

Studies in R o m a n S o c ia l History (New York: O xford Un iversity Press, 1991), and Suzanne Dixon,The R o m a n Family (Bal timore, M d. : Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991).



Germanic Rel ig ios i ty and S o c i a l S t r u c t u r e 127

One way to read th e history of the family in western societies is as the

story of the erosion of family members' dependence on the head of the

household. The preindustrial family w as the sole source not only of shelter,

sustenance, and em otional support for m ost wives and ch ildren, but alsoof education, occupational trainin g, em ployment an d, m ost generally, wel-

fare. Wome n and children w ere extremely dependent on the heads of house-

holds. .. . Since the members of such households worked at home, these

families had a high control capacity. As a result, the solidarity of families

w as at a peak. Today, much has changed. In the first place, many of these

functions have been taken over by the welfare state, m a king wom e n a nd

children m uch less depen de nt on m en. In the second place, the separation

of workplace and residence, coupled w ith hig h levels of fem ale labor forceparticipation, have sharply reduc ed the family's control capacity. In conse-

quence, family solidarity has reached a nadir: high rates of divorce are one

of these changes, runaw ay children another.71

N ot only w as R o m a n family solidarity in a state of decline during th e

expansion of Christ ianity in the third and fourth centuries, but nat ionalsolidarity w as also wan ing, as evidenced by the increasing need to employG ermanic m ercenaries to protect a R om an populace which lacked the will

to defen d itself. Ex am ining the military organization of the W estern Em pirefrom th e reign of Diocletian (284-305) to the end o f the empire in 476, J. B.Bury observes:

T he a rmy of this age had a la rge admixture of men of fore ign bir th , and

for the historian this perhaps is its most impor tan t fea tu re . In the early

Empire the fore igner w as excluded from military service; the legions were

composed of Roman ci t izens, th e auxil ia of Roman subjects. Every able-

bodied citizen and subject w as liable to serve. Under the autocracy both

these principles w ere reversed. Th e auxilia w ere largely recruited from thebarbarians outside the Roman borders; new troops were formed, desig-

na ted by foreign nam es; and the less civilised these soldiers we re the m ore

they we re prized.... T he fact that most of the soldiers whom w e know to

have held th e highest posts of c o m m a n d in the last quarter of the four th

century were of G erman origin speaks for itself.72

The Germaniza t ion of the R o m a n army w as fur ther accelerated as a result

of th e al lotment of im perial provincial terri to ry to arm ed bands of Goths

71Hechter, Principles of G r o u p Sol idar i ty , pp. 57—58.

72History of t h e L a t er R o m a n E m p i r e , vol. 1, p. 38. Bury later (p. 99) attributes a signifi-

cant rise in Germ an m ili tary influence to the at t i tud e of Constantine. Cit ing Julius Caesar's D e

hello Gal l i co , 4.12, and Tacitus's Histories, 4.20, E. A. Thompson, T h e Early G e r m a n s (Oxford:

Clarendon Press, 1965), notes that "from Caesar's day onwards German horsemen were

frequently used in the Roman army. But their number was severely l imited, for only a fewGermans could afford to keep a horse" (p . 116). Further analysis of the Germanic role in the

post-Diocletian R o m a n a r m y may be found in A. H. M. Jones, T h e L a t e r R o m a n E m p i r e ,

284-602: A Soc ia l , E c o n o m i c , a n d A d m i n is t r a ti ve Survey, 1 vols . (Oxford: Oxford Universi ty

Press, 1964), pp. 199-200, 619-23; and Manf red Waas, G e r m a n e n im r d m i s c h e n D ie n st i m 4 .J a h r h u n d er t n a c h Chr is tus (Bonn: Habelts Dissertat ionsdrucke, 1965).




and B urgundians .73

Finally, Valen tinian "expressly enacted tha t 'no R o m a ncitizen should be compelled to serve,' except for the defence of his town in

case of danger."74

In the previously cited words of Robert M . Adams:

"This indeed is the simplest defini t ion of decadence; it is not fai lure,misfor tune, or weakness, but deliberate neglect of the essentials of self-

preservation—incapacity or unwillingness to face a clear and present dan-

ger."75

It may be speculated that as a nation expands into a vast empire,incorporat ing diverse nat ionali t ies , the extent to which individual ci t izens

identify w ith the state, and hen ce the exten t to which they feel obligated tosupport the state, m ay tend to dim inish, part icularly if the general citizenry

has not m aterial ly benefi ted from im perial ex ploits.

T he decline in familial and na tiona l solidari ty in the Rom an Em pire m ay

be con trasted w ith the high sense of familial , communal, and tr ibal sol idar-

ity am ong the Germ anic peoples . These kinship t ies originated in funda -

mental interlocking sociobiological relationships, and were supplemented

by th e m ore elective c o m i t a t m relationship discussed earlier. When it is re-called tha t one of the greatest appeals of the C hrist ian Ch urch in a social ly

disintegrating R om an E m pire was i ts role as an al ternat ive com m uni ty , i tbecomes apparent that in a closely kn it social system w ith strong bon ds of

kinship and vassalage, the social appeal of the Chris t ian Church m a y b e

substantially diminished.76

A t th is point i t m ay be useful to recal l Wal ter Ul lmann 's axiom that

"the history of jur isprudence is the his tory of civilization," and his f o r m u -

lation of Henry Char les Lea's approach: "In order to see and explain andunders tand an inst i tut ion or the actuali ty of living in an historical period

or in a part icular coun try, there is no better guide and no m ore rel iable m ir-ro r than the law enacted and practised."

77In her comprehensive studies o f

the law codes of the B urgu nd ians, Lo m bards, Visigoths, Franks, and Anglo-Saxons, Katherine Fischer Drew has corroborated th e existence of a high

level of grou p sol idar i ty amo ng the G erm anic peoples.78

Her impressions

are summar ized in a recent article:

73A new interpreta t ion of this development is presented in Walter Goffart , Barbar ians

and R o m a n s : A . D . 4 1 8 - 58 4 : T h e Techniques o f A c c o m m o d a t i o n (Princeton, N.J.: PrincetonUniversity Press, 1980).

74

Bury, History of th e L a te r R o m a n Empire , vol. 1, p. 39.75Decadent Societ ies (San Francisco: No rth Poin t Press, 1983), p. 36, cited above, p. 73 n. 98.

76The social appeal of early Christianity is discussed in greater detail in the preceding

chapter.77

"Historical Introduction" to Henry Char les Lea, T h e Inquisi t ion of the Middle Ages ,

abridged by M argaret Nicholson (New Y ork: Macmillan, 1963), p.12, cited by Edw ard Peters, inan introduction to his edition of Henry Char les Lea, T h e Duel a n d th e O ath (1866; reprint,

Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1974), pp. 6, 9.78

A n u m b e r of her articles have recently been collected and republished as Ka the r ineFischer Drew, Law and Society in Early Medieval Europe: Studies in Early Medieval History

(London: Variorum Reprints , 1988). These include "Legal Mater ia ls as a Source fo r EarlyMedieval Social History," "The G erm anic Family of the Leges Burgundionum," and "The Law



Germanic Rel ig ios i ty and S o c i a l S t r u c t u r e 129

Although these codes vary great ly— from those ref lec ting strong Rom an

influence (the Burgundian, Lombard and Visigothic) to those reflectinglittle if any Rom an influence (the Prankish and A nglo-Saxon)— all have

certain features in common, and I would like to point out and emphasizeone of them here.

This common feature is the development of a concept of collectivesecurity. This was closely related to two Germanic institutions: the family

and kin group on the one hand and personal lordship on the other....

... I th ink tha t the Germanic concept of the role of the family and kin

group came to dominate in all parts of the early-medieval population,w hether descended from R o m a n or German.... T he underlying concept

w as th e assurance that each individual knew at all t imes whom he could

call upon to support him in getting offenders against his peace into thecourts o r in providing proof or in supporting his oath in the courts, and in

some cases (certainly among the Franks and Anglo-Saxons) helping himpay compositions assessed against him. In re turn for this real or merelymoral support , the kin group had an established place in the inheritancepatterns of all the Germanic k ingdom s

The G erm anic inheritanc e laws provide som e of our best evidence forthe impor tance of the kin group. . . . Even among the Visigoths, whoselaws specifically covered R om ans as w ell as Visigoths and w here the in-

fluence of Rom an law was grea te r than am ong the o ther G ermanic peo-ples, th e Visigothic hold er of family land could not alienate all of that landif he or she had d irect descendants— it m ust pass to the h eirs .

So membership in a family and kin group was one me a ns of guaran-teeing peace and security to the individual du ring the period when th estate w as w eak. The other m eans w as for a m an to be und er the legal pro-tection of someone stronger than he who was no t a me mbe r of his family

or kin group.79

Whereas the comitatus institution, as discussed earlier, existed primar-

ily among members of the mili tary aristocracy, Drew believes that a more

common "lord-man relationship existed throughout almost all levels of soci-

ety."80

The social bonds established through kinship and the lord-man rela-

tionship, later referred to as "vassalage," protected the individual not only

of th e Family in the Germanic Barbar ian Kingdoms: A Synthesis." Included ibid, is the first

publication of "The Family in Prankish Law" and "The Family in Visigothic L aw." Of relatedinterest ar e T h e Burgundian Code: B o o k of Cons t i tu t ions or Law o f Gundobad a n d A d d i t i ona l

Enac tme n t s , t rans, idem, with a foreword by Edw ard Peters (Philadelphia: Un iversity of Penn-sylvania Press, 1972); T h e L o m b a r d La w s , trans, idem (Philadelphia: Un iversity of PennsylvaniaPress, 1973); and T h e L a w s of th e Sal ian Franks , t rans, and intro. idem (Philadelphia: Un iversityof Pennsylvania Press, 1991).

79K atherine Fischer Drew, "Another Look at the Origins of the M iddle Ages: A Re-

assessment of the Role of the Germanic Kingdoms," Speculum 62:4 (1987): 804, 807-8. Seealso, "Family, Kin and Law," in Edward James, T he Origins o f France: Fr o m Clovis to the

Capet ians , 5 00-1000 , New Studies in Medieval History (London: Macmillan Press, 1982), who

observes that "the study of the way in which a society organises its structures of kinship and

marr iage, out of the immense variety of possibilities, is fundamen ta l for an unders tanding of

ho w th e w ho le society works" (p. 73).80 Drew, "Another Look," p. 808.



130 T he G e r m a n i c Trans format ion of Chris t iani ty

f rom th e threats of physical attack and exploitat ion, but the equally real

t h r ea t of social alienation. A s Marc Bloch com m ents , "in the eyes of ten th-

century Anglo-Saxon law, the lordless m an is an outlaw unless his relat ives

are prepared to assum e responsibility fo r him."81These bonds of kinship and

vassalage were supplemented by the bonds of tribe, nobility, and kingship.82

Together, these social bonds served to forge a strong sense of group

solidarity within the Germanic peoples. When complemented by the rigor-

ous tribal selection process which occurred during the Volkerwanderungs-

zei t (A.D. 375-568), the result was "a social structure of unprecedented

solidarity and firmness"83 in the emerging Germanic kingdoms. Regarding

the role of the nobility and king in achieving "internal solidarity," Josef

Fleckenstein notes t ha t "all th e tribes had a similar nucleus of noblemen

w ho f lourished whether under a monarchy o r dukedom and who consti-

tuted the decisive element in the tribe's success and survival, encouraging

it to t ake root in the countryside so thoroughly that later , after they had

become incapable of carrying ou t their former funct ions, the countryside

proved to be the bond which ensured the tribe's cohesion."84

81Bloch, Feudal Society, p. 224. In this important section "Vassalage as a Substitute for

th e K ins hip Tie," Bloch describes the emergence of vassalage as "a sort of substitute for, or

complement to, the solidarity of the family, which had ceased to be fully effective" (ibid.). H e

attribu tes this decline in effectiveness to the persistence of m atrilineal kinship bonds, along w ith

the mo re comm on patrilin eal bonds w hich had enjoyed exclusivity in Rom an society. However,

the occasional conflict between m atri l ine al and patri l ineal bond s need not necessarily im ply a

decline in overall kinship-based solidarity, since such a "bilateral" or "cognatic" kinship struc-

ture also increases the nu m ber of kin who would be bound to defend the individual. Supporting

th e not ion of a bilateral kinship structure, Alexander Callander Murray, G erm a n ic K in sh ip

Structure: Studies in Law and Society in Antiqui ty and the Early Middle Ages (Toronto: Pontifical

Insti tute of Medieval Studies, 1983), suggests that social stability m ay actually have beenenhanced by additional kinship bonds, s ince "most feud was un do ub tedly local feud and the

m ore kindred s remained in the same locali ties, the m ore complex and interlocking became the

kinship network; consequently th e more likely reconciliation became, as kinsmen and affines

with divided loyalties wo uld be less inclined to take sides. Fo r some time now it has been rec-

ognized that th e interlocking network of relationship was an important factor conducive to

compensation and reconciliation. The same factor would also tend to limit the size of the

vengeance group when violence broke out" (pp. 136-37). Murray cites J. M. Wallace-Hadrill,

Early G erm a n ic Kingship in E n gla n d and on the C o n t in en t (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1971),

pp. 41-43, in support of this contention.82Tribal bonds are discussed in ch. 1, "The Social Basis," while th e bonds uni t ing a king,

nobility and people are discussed in ch. 2, "Political Forces and Institutions," in Josef Flecken-

stein, Early Medieval G e r m a n y , trans. Berna rd S. Sm ith, Eu rope in the M iddle Ages: Selected

Stud ies, vol. 16 (Am sterdam : North-Hol land, 1978).83

Ibid., p. 13. A challenge to tradit ional assum ptions about th e significance of the Volker-

wanderungen is made in "The Barbarians in Late Ant iqui ty and How They Were Accommo-

dated in the West," in Goffar t , Ba rba r ia n s a n d R o m a n s; and idem , "The Theme of 'The Barbar-

ia n Invas ions ' in Late Ant ique and Modern His tor iography," in idem, R o m e ' s Fall a n d After

(Lond on: H am ble do n Press, 1989), pp. 111-32.

84 Early Medieval G e r m a n y , pp. 13-14. A discussion of the development of kingship froman Ind o-E uro pean perspect ive is presented in Roger Pearson, "Chieftainship as an Evolut ionary



G e r m a n i c Religiosity an d S o c i a l S t r u c tu r e 131

Thus fa r , the high grou p solidarity of Germanic society and the anomic

socia l environment of early Christianity have been established and con-

trasted. Durkheim's association of religious development with social condi-

tions, together with O'Dea's synthesis of Durkheim's concept of anomie

with Weber's association of salvation religions with deprivation,85

have been

applied to the disparate social environments of early C hristianity and early

m edieval Germ anic society. It is believed that these disparate social environ-

m ents contr ibuted significantly to the development of disparate world-views,

value systems, and religious attitudes. Consequently, it has been argued that

the low level of anom ie within Germ anic society, at least prior to the nin th

century, sub stantially d iminished th e social appea l of Christianity as an alter-nat ive community.86

It has fur the r been proposed that the disparity in world-views was the

primary obstacle to the Chris t ianizat ion of the Germanic peoples and tha t

th e primary missiological response to this obstacle was a methodology of

initial accommodat ion to a pre-Ch r ist ian G erman ic world-view. This m eth-

odology presumed an ongoing program of catechetical instruction, which

would facilitate the gradual acceptance of Christian beliefs, attitudes, val-

ues, and behavior , and ult imate ly a Christian world-view. However, thecatechetical expectations were never fully realized, and thus, simultaneous

with an at tempted Chr is t ianizat ion of the G erm anic peoples, there occur-

red a substantial Germanization of Christianity and Christian religious

cul ture . T he resul ting G ermanic Ch r is tiani ty eventual ly became norm ative

th r oughou t m ost of medieval Europe.87

Thus w hen Clawsey concludes that

Stage in the Transition from Tribal to Feudal Society," Mank ind Quarterly 28:2 (1987): 139-50,

who proposes that "with th e concentration of author i ty in the h a n d s of a central chief, the IE[Indo-European] chief represents a 'pro to- feuda l ' s i tu a t i on . . . . The chiefdom is a stage or form

of social evolution in the transition from gemeinschaft to gesellschaft, from folk to mass society.

It marks an early stage in the decline of ascription in favor of achievement; it m a r ks (a t least in

IE society) th e wid espread acceptance of 'clientship' as a significant and acceptable social rela-

t ionship quite distinct from and eventually in replacement of kinship. ... IE chiefdoms were

proto-feudal, heroic societies that in successful cases blossomed into th e full complexity of

European feudalism" (p . 147). Also re leva nt is the discussion of Germ anic kingship in Henry A .

Myers and Herwig Wolfram, Medieval Kingship (Chicago: Nelson-H all, 1982), pp. 2-6, as well as

ch. 4, "Carolingian King ship: Problems o f Regna and the/mperiwn."85See above, pp. 20-21.

86 "The quest fo r communi ty is a way of circumventing th e alienation engendered by

anomie: i t leads to subsocieties in which th e a nom ie of the larger community is rendered less

acute by the solidarity of the smaller," states Barbara H . Rosenwein in the concluding chapter,

"Looking at Cluny in Context," of Rhinoce ros B o u n d : Cluny in the Tenth Century, p. 106. Rosen-

wein views th e Clun iac ideal as a stabilizing response to social disruption caused by contention

between th e expansion of Carolingian sta te inst i tut ions and "first, th e warr ior t radit ion, which

tied success and leadership to conquest ," and second, "the family t radit ion, which de m a nde d th e

expansion of the patr imony" (p . 105).87 Although this conclusion is similar to tha t of Josef A . Jungmann , "The Defeat of Teu-

tonic Arianism and the Revolution in Religious Culture in the Early Middle Ages," in Pastoral



132 The Germ anic T rans form at ion o f Ch r i st ian i ty

the pre-Christian Germanic c o m i t a t u s ethos "pervaded heroic literature

for well over a thousand years after Tacitus first observed it,"88

it is an in-

dication that neither the Christianization efforts of Boniface, nor those of

his immediate successors achieved the level of societal religious transfor-

mation which could be considered Christianization in accordance with the

objectivist defini t ion of Christ ianity adopted fo r this inquiry.89

Implicit in this discussion is the anthropological premise that the world-

view of a society comprises that society's most f unda me n t a l assumptions

about reality and as such directly influences that society's religious attitudes,

customs, and beliefs. Such deeply held assumptions, some of which may be

held implicitly, are unlikely to be rapidly transformed by an encounter withChristian missionaries. In his guide for contemporary missionaries, Paul G.

Hiebert fu r the r discusses the dynamics o f world-view t rans format ion :

Our world view moni t o r s culture change . We are constantly confrontedwith new ideas, behavior, and products that come from within our societyor from without. These m ay introduce assumptions that undermine ourcognitive orde r. O ur wo rld view helps us to select those tha t fit our cultu rean d reject those that do not. It also helps us reinterpret those we adopt sothat they fit our overall cultural pattern. For example, villagers in SouthAm erica began to boil their drink ing wa ter, not to kill germs, but (as theysaw it) to drive out evil spirits. World views, therefore, tend to conserveold ways and provide stability in cultures over long periods of time.Conversely, the y are resistant to change.

But world views themselves do change, since none of them are fully

integrated, and there are always internal contradictions. M oreover, wh enwe adopt new ideas they m ay challenge our fundamental assumptions. A l-thou gh we all live w ith cu ltura l inconsistencies, wh en the interna l contra-

dictions becom e to o great , we seek ways to reduce th e tension. Normally,we change or let go of some of our assumptions. The result is a gradualworld-view t ransformation of which we ourselves may not even be aware.

Som etim es, however, our old world view no longer meets our basic needs.If ano ther and m ore ade qua te one is presented to us, we m ay reject the oldand adopt the new. For exam ple, some M uslims and H indus m ay decidethat Christianityoffers better answers to the ir questions th an the ir old reli-gions. Such world view s h i f t s are at the heart of what we call convers ion.

90

The resistance to change of the Germanic world-view, even under external

pressure, has been noted by Georges Duby . In assessing the progress of

Christianization among the Germanic peoples, he concludes:

Liturgy (New York: Herder and Herder, 1962), it is here attributed to the persistence of the

Germanic ethos and world-view, rather than to doctrinal dialectics.88

Clawsey, "The Comi ta tu s , " p. 204.89

See above, p. 35.90

A nthrop o log ica l Insights fo r Missionaries (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House,1985), pp. 48-49 (emphasis added). This subject is treated in greater detail in "World Views,"

ch. 18 of Hiebert 's Cu l tu ra l Anthropology, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House,1983).



G e r m a n i c Rel igiosi ty a n d Social Structure 133

Very striking, fo r example, is the slow progress made by Christianity ... inthe tribes which th e great migrationsof the early middle ages brought intoclose contact with less rudimentary civilizations. Archaeology has revealed

tha t Christian symbols were only very gradually insinuated into th e gravesof Germanic burial grounds, and that pagan beliefs for long persistedu n d e r th e superficial guise of rites, tales and formulae imposed by forceon the rest of the tribe by the converted chiefs. Eleventh century prelateswere still eager to extirpate them, and they had not wholly disappeared, atth e very end of the middle ages, even in those provinces of Christianitymost securely appropriated by the church.91

As suggested in chapter 3, the world-view of early Christianity was or-

ganically related to the world-rejecting world-view of the Judeo-Hellenistic

environment inwhich it initially expanded. Notwithstanding this primary in-

f luence on the formation of early Christianity, some elements of the earlier

Indo-European Greek tradition of Hellenic rationalism were incorporated

into an emerging Christian philosophy viapatristic writings such as the Stro-

m a t a of Clement of Alexandria.92

Additionally, the legal and organizational

structure of the Church was substantially derived from Roman models, to

the extent that the distinction between Romanitas and Chr is t ian i tas may have

eventually become blurredto

somewho

stood outsidethe

empire.

93

BothGreek and Roman influences contributed toward some degree of an Indo-

Europeanization of Christianity, not by actively seeking to do so, but as

the passive result of the rapid expansion of Christianity to include people in

whom the traditional world-accepting Indo-European world-view remained

alive and meaningful.This prior Indo-Europeanization of Christianity may have eased its

acceptance within a Germanic society which retained the traditional Indo-

European world-view long after it was supplanted in the classical world.The vitality of the Indo-European Germanic world-view in its encounter

with Christianity, is attested to by the accommodation of the Germanic

ethos in medieval hagiographic literature and liturgical developments, as

well as by the religiopolitical and magicoreligious reinterpretation of

Christianity which will be discussed in the following chapters.

91T h e Chivalrous Society, trans. Cynthia Postan (Berkeley: University of California Press,

1977), p. 216.92

English translations of the S t romata and other works of Clement of Alexandria may befound in Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, eds., T h e An te -Nicen e Fathers, vol. 2 (1925;reprint, Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1983). See also the discussion of Indo-European

influence on early C hristianity above on pp. 59-62.93

Walter Ullmann, T h e Growth o f Papal Gove rnme n t i n t he Middle Ages: A Study in the

Ideological Relat ion o f Clerical to Lay Power, 3rd ed. (London: Methuen, 1970), has concludedthat, by 754, "the Romans , in a word, are synonymous with Latin Christians. This is indeed th e

fruit of St. Boniface's work and in a wider sense of Gregory I: it is the ideological conflation ofR o m a n i t a s and Christ iani tas" (p. 61).



Germanizat ion and Christianization:

376-678

Th e purpose of this chapter is not to provide a comprehensive historico-

religious survey of the Germanic peoples f rom their ini t ial entrance intot he Roman Empire in 376 unti l the Anglo-Saxon mission inaugurated by

Bishop Wilfrid of Y ork's visit to Frisia in 678. It is ra ther to exami ne those

developments du r ing th is per iod that seem to m ost c learly reveal the

operat ion of the processes of Germanizat ion and Chris t ianizat ion. Thisexamina t ion will be conducted in l ight of the sociohistorical and socio-

psychological observations of the preceding chapters. T he developmentswhich will be exam ined include the expansion of G erm anic A rianism , the

affiliation of the M erovingians w i th the Cathol ic C hurch, the development

of the Eigenk irche and Eigenklos ter ins t i tu t ions and the Adelshei l ige hagiog-

raphies, th e unif icat ion of socio-politico-religious attributes in Germanic

kingship, the in f luence of the Ir ish m ission, and the m etaphysica l confl ict

between G erm anic and C hris tian concepts of t im e.This rel igiohistorical period may be approached through i ts division

into tw o prom inent themes: G erm anic A rianism and Frank ish Catholicism .

T he first major contact between Chris t iani ty and a Germanic society1

occurred in A.D. 376 w h e n the Visigoths, who had occupied the fo rmer

Roman prov ince of Dac i a (modern Roman i a ) in the previous century ,crossed the D anu be in to the Imperial R om an province of M oesia , seekingrefuge from the ons l augh t of the Huns .

2It is likely t ha t the leadership of

1 Employing a philological as well as historical approach, Knut Schaferdieck, "Zur Frage

friiher christlicher Einwirkungen auf den westgermanischen Raum," ZKG 98:2 (1987): 149-66,

has sought evidence fo r earlier contact.2

The migrat ions of the German ic peoples in the Volkerwanderungszei t are discussed in

Lucien Mussel, T h e G e r m a n i c In v a s io n s : T h e M a k i n g o f Europe , A. D. 40 0 - 60 0 , t rans . Edward

and Columba James (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1975); and J. B.

Bury, T h e Invas ion of Europe by the B a r b a r i a n s (1928; reprint, N ew York : W. W. Norton, 1967).

"The B arba rians in Late A nt iqu i ty and How They Were Accom mo dated in the West," in

W a l t e r Goffar t , B a r b a r i a n s a n d R o m a n s A . D. 418 - 5 8 4: T h e T e c h n i q u e s o f A c c o m m o d a t i o n

(Princeton , N.J.: Princ eton U niv ersity Press, 1980), prov ides an overview of rec ent scho larship

and reevaluates th e role of the Volkerwandemngen in Germ an ic -Rom an re la tions , wh i le idem,

134

6



Germani za t ion and Christ ianizat ion: 376-678 135

the Tervingi, one of the larger Gothic confederations, negotiated withValens, th e Arian Christian emperor of the Eastern Empire, to adopt hisreligion in return for asylum.

In th is initial encounter of the Germ anic peoples w ith Christianity maybe fo und elements which were to pervade their relationship for at least thenext four centuries. Chief among these elements was the importance of

political considerations. The mass m ode of Christianization in w hich poli-tical leaders vouched for their subjects is established at this time.

3Also

im portant he re is the association of Ch ristianity w ith Ro m an culture andRoman polity, the absence of adequate religious instruction before andafter baptism,

4and the em ergence of a G erm anic folk-religious reinterpre-

tation of C hristian ity. A dd itiona lly, "the total absence of Visigothic doc-uments"

5w hich m ight provide a G ermanic perspective on th eir attempted

Christianization is a problem that persists through the mission of St.Boniface. Finally, the inadequacy of the term "conversion," except when

employed qualifiedly, as Heather does below, also becomes evident at thistime. In considering these issues it may be useful to recall the historic-graphical advice of J. B. Bury: "There are two ways in which th e subject

m ay be treated, tw o points of view from which th e sequence of changeswhich broke up the Rom an Em pire may be regarded. We may look at the

process, in the earliest and most important stage, from th e point of view ofthe Em pire which w as being dismembered or from that of the barbar iansw ho were dism embering it . . .. W e must, however, t ry to see things from

both points of view."6

Th e persona lity m ost frequ en tly associated with the Visigothic encoun-ter with Christianity is the Arian Gothic bishop Ulfila. Although he is

sometim es referred to as the "Apostle to the Goths," it should be recalledtha t the actual purpose o f his consecration in 341 was not the initiation ofa Gothic mission, but rather "to serve as bishop of those Christians who

were already living in Gothia in 341 and who were, we may suppose, not

Visigoths at all but Roman prisoners or their descendants."7

While pur-suing this task, Ulfila apparen tly attracted a number of native Visigothic

"The Theme of 'The Barbarian Invasions' in Late Antique and Modern Historiography," in

idem, R o me ' s Fa l l and After (London: Hambledon Press, 1989), pp. 111-32, reevaluates their

overall significance.3

Peter Heather, "The Crossing of the Danube and the Gothic Conversion," Greek,

Roman and Byzant ine S tud ies 27:3 (1986), concludes that "the link between conversion and the

legal crossing of the Danube made by the Tervingi carries with it the implication that religion

w as a political issue to R o m a n and Goth" (p. 316).4

See New C a th o l i c E n c y c lo ped ia , s.v. "Catechumenate," by J. A. J u n g m a n n .5

E. A. Thompson, T h e Visigoths i n the T i m e of U l f i l a (Oxford: C larendon Press, 1966),p. 109.6

Invas ion , p. 3.7

E. A. Thompson, "Christ ianity and the Northern Barbar ians ," in Arnaldo Momigl iano,

ed., T h e Confl ict B etw een P a g a n i s m a n d Chris t ian i ty in the Fo u r th C en tu r y (Oxford: Clarendon

Press, 1963), p. 63. The basic reference for this period r emains Thom pson , T h e Visigoths i n t heT i m e of Ulfila.




converts . In 348 an anti-C hrist ian persecution arose, causing U lfila and his

followers to f lee to an area near Nicopolis in the Roman province of

Moesia , where Constant ius II , the Arian eas tern Roman emperor , granted

them terri tory. While there, Ulfi la and a circle of associates devised a

G othic a lphabet into which the y translated the Bible. I t is l ikely tha t they

also contributed toward the development of a Gothic l i turgy and liturgical

calendar. A subsequent persecution of Visigothic Christ ians, cond ucted by

Athanar ic f rom 369 to 372, probably added to the n um ber of G othic Chris-

t ian refugees in the area of Nicopolis . Athanaric appears to have been

motivated by a desire to preserve the ancestral religion of the Goths , as

well as to check any re l ig iocul tural inroads m ade by the t rad i t iona l Rom anenemy.8

Debate cont inues over the t i me and ci rcumstances of the "mass con-

version" of the V isigoths. In a recen t art icle Peter H eather provides a con-cise backgro und of the dispute and qualifies the concept of conversion as it

is usua lly applied to the Visigoths.

T he date of the conversion has great his tor ical importance, for i t estab-

l ishes the c i rcumstances of the m ass penet ra t ion of the D anu be f ron t ie r by

the Goths in 376. . . . On one level a single date for the conversion of apeople does not make sense. C onve rs ion is a p r o c e s s , n o t a n event, a n d

takes time to c o m e to f ru i t ion . ... A single date can have meaning ,

however , where it m a r k s an intent ion, often on the part of the leadership

of a group, to advance th e process of conversion consistently. S u c h a date

r e f e r s not to a group ad herence body a n d s o u l to a new se t o f beliefs, bu t

m a r k s ra ther a de terminat ion to c h a n g e pu bl i c prac t i ce?

This is considered the " t radi t iona l v iew" by Eugen Ewig.10

However,

claiming tha t four th -cen tury autho r i ties do not refer to "a spectacular

conversion in 376 or at an y other t ime,"11 E. A. Thompson has postulated

t ha t "thebulk of the Visigoths . . . became a Chris t ian people in the years

382-395," af ter Ulfi la ' s death in about 383.12

His explanation appears to

be based upon not ions of social ad aptat ion and ass im i lat ion:

T he conversion took place whe n th e Visigoths were living in close associa-

tion with the Roman inhab i t an t s of M oesia. Since the opt im ates were now

becoming lando w ners , their social interests were approxim ating m ore an dmore closely to the interests of the Ro m an landowner s a round them . T he

t ribal religion had decayed with the decay of the tr ibes themselves; and

8Athanaric's motiva t ion is discussed f u r t h e r in Thompson, Vis igoths , pp. 98-102, where

Thompson also suggests that the Visigothic council or "megistanes" used the Chris t ians as a

scapegoat fo r the i r ow n m il i ta ry fa i lu res .9

"Crossing," pp. 292-93 (emphases added).10

"The First Contacts of Chris t ian i ty wi th the Germans and the Conversion of the

Goths," in Hubert Jed in and John Dolan , eds . , His tory o f t h e C h u r c h , vol. 2, t rans . Anse lm Biggs

( N e w Y o r k : Crossroad, 1980), p. 227.

11 Vis igoths , p. 90.12

Ibid., p.106.



Germanization and C hr i s t ian i z a t ion : 376-678 137

hence, living as they were in a Roman env i ronment , th e Visigothic leaders

were accepting the outlook of the Roman proper t ied classes whose social

position they hoped to reproduce in their ow n society.13

Even if 376 is accepted as the year of a negotiated acceptance of Arian

Christianity, Thompson's dates of 382-395 may yet be valid as the time

when proselytization actually got under way.Although Ulfila is not con-

sidered by Thompson to have personally effected the conversion of the

Goths, he "must have lef t behind him an active and able school of clerics"

who, utilizing Ulfila's Gothic translation of the Bible, "must have gone

among the optimates [tribal chiefs] in Moesia in 382-395 so as to explain

the tenets of Arian Christianity and to instruct them in the faith."14

The Arian form of Christianity,which was to some extent accepted by

many Visigoths residing w i t h i n the Roman province of Moesia, was sub-

sequently transmitted to other Germanic peoples.15

Departing f rom Moesia

in 395, the vast majority of the Visigoths embarked on a westward expedi-

tion under the kingship of Alaric and Athaulf through the Balkan and

Peloponnesian provinces to northern I taly , Rome, Gaul, and Spain, where

Athaulf s brother Wallia founded the Toulousian Visigothic kingdom in

13Ibid., p. 107. Elsewhere Thompson speculates further on the relationship between th e

decay of the tribe and the decay of the tribal religion: "I wo uld suggest as an hypothesis tha t th e

decay of the tribal religion and the spread of Ro m an influen ce were both alike merely sym ptomsof th e collapse of tribalism. If tribal life had still been in a healthy condition, its religion wo uld

not be disintegrating and spiritual influences from th e Roman Empire would not have been

making much headway in Gothia. Tribal religion was an integral part of the tribal system itself:nei ther could exist in its old fo rm wi thou t th e other. But now the accumulation of privately

owned wealth and the concentration of political power into comparatively fe w hands were

putt ing an end to the significance of the tribes and hence to the religion of the tribes. That, w e

may th ink, is why paganism declined and Christianity triumphed in the last quarter of thecentury rather than sooner or later" (p. 101). While it is likely that the internal disruption of a

social system m ay predispose it to the acceptance of new religious form s, as was likely th e case in

the later R om an E mpire, i t rem ains unclear whe ther a comparable degree of internal social dis-

ruption was experienced by the Visigoths.14

Ibid., p. 118. Un fortunately , more specif ic inform ation on the strategy of these first

missionaries to the Germ anic peoples does not appear to be available. N or does there appear toexist docum entat ion on the pagan response to their proselytizing.

15The process by which the majority of the Germanic peoples became affiliated with a

form of Arian C hristianity rem ains an enigma. The most comprehensive treatment of this topic,

and of the attempted Christianization of the various Germanic peoples in general, is found inKur t Dietrich Schmidt, D ie Bekeh run g d er G erm a n en zum C h r i s ten tum , 2 vols. (Gottingen:Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1939-42). Most relevant to the expansion of Germanic Arianism isvol. 1, Die Bekeh run g der Ostgermanen zum C h r i s ten tum (Der os tgermanische Aria n i sm us) , partic-

ularly ch. 22, "Die Gotenmission unte r den 'deutschen' Stammen," and ch. 23, "Die Bedeutungdes germanischen Arianismus." More recent discussions of the topic include K nu t Schaferdiek,

"Die geschichtliche Stellung des sogenannten germanischen Arianismus," in idem ed., Die

Kirche des friiheren Mittelalters, first half of vol. 2 of Kirchengeschichte a ls Missionsgeschichte

(Munich: Chr. Ka iser Verlag, 1978), pp. 79-90; idem, "Gab es eine gotisch arianisch-christlicheMission im s i idwes tdeu tschen Rau m ?" Zeitschrift fu r bayerische La n d esgesch ich te 45 (1982):

239-57; and idem, "Zur Frage friiher chris t licher Einwirkung en auf den westgermanischenRaum."




419. However, the first group of Ulfila's disciples w ho accompanied him to

Nicopolis following the initial anti-Christian persecution of 348, together

with their descendants, apparently refused to accompany their kinfolk in

their westward expedition. I t is this Gothic remnant mentioned briefly byJordanes and sometimes referred to as the "Kleingoten, "

1 6tha t is thought

to have been responsible for missionary efforts a m ong the Ostrogoths

while the latter were living in the Ro m an province of Panno nia (Hungary)

in 456-472, af ter th e disintegration of the Hunnic empire , or at an earlier

date.17

These Gothic missionaries are also believed to have been responsi-

ble for missionary efforts among the Gepids toward the end of the fifth

century, w hen the Gepids migrated southward from Transylvania to Dacia.18

T he Suevi and the Vandals, w ho ha d migrated to Spain together by 409,were probably proselytized by Arian Visigothic missionar ies w ho arr ived

several years later w ith A thau lf and his followers. A polit ical alliance of the

Burgundians with the Visigoths against the Huns in 451 may have contri-

bu te d to sympathy among th e B ur gund ia ns fo r Ar ia n i sm , an d an alliance

of the Visigoths w ith the Suevi in 464 may have func t ioned similarly.19

B y

the middle of the s ixth century, the Rugi , Herul i , Alans, Bavar ians , Thu-

ringians, and Lombards are also believed to have accepted Arianism to

some degree, whereas the Franks, A lam ann i , Fr is ians , and Saxons seem to

have remained unaffec ted .

More re levant to the cur ren t inqui ry than the expansion o f Germanic

Arianism is the elusive quest ion of the na tu r e of its appeal among theGermanic peoples . Thompson has sought to expla in the dis t r ibut ion of

A rianism among the var ious G erm anic peoples by hypothesiz ing genera lly

that "the act of crossing the imperial f rontiers and sett l ing down as land-

lords or the l ike on Roman soil necessarily and inevitably entailed the

abandonment o f paganism and conversion to the Roman religion," since

"nei ther phenomenon is found except in company with the other."20

H isconclusion that "the religious history of the Ge r m a ns in the Roman per iod

16Jordanes , Getica 51.267, cited by Thompson , Visigoths, p. 103. The his tor iography of

this period is discussed in Walter Gof fa r t , "Jordanes and His Three Histories," in T h e N a r r a to r s

of B a r ba r ia n History (A.D. 550-800): Jordanes , Gregory o f Tours , B ed e , a n d P a u l th e D e a c o n

(Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1988).17

Thompson, "Chris tianity," p. 73. Thompson bel ieves tha t whi le the Ostrogoths were

living under the dominat ion of the Huns (375-455), Chris t ianiza t ion effor ts among them would

have proven unf ru i t fu l because of H un nic opposition. However, T hom as B urns, A History o f

th e Ostrogoths (Bloomington: Ind iana U nivers i ty Press , 1984), believes that "there is no doub t

tha t th e Ostrogothic leaders were Arian Chris tians before they crossed into Pannonia in 455"

(p. 150), and suggests that some of the Ostrogothic nobili ty m ay have come into contact with

th e Kleingoten c. 420-427. Ewig, "First Contacts," concurs with Burns that "the Ostrogoths

probably accepted U lfila 's Ch ris tianity even befo re their m igration to Pannonia in 455"

(pp. 29-30).18

Thompson, "Chris tianity," p. 75.19

Ewig, "First Contacts ," p. 230.20

"Chris t iani ty ," p. 78.



Germanization and Christianization: 376-678 139

cannot be divorced from their political history" is undeniable,21

whereas

his assertion that "the move into a new economic and social world was

necessarily followed by a move into a new spiritual world,"22

while likely,

requires further socioreligious validation.

The question naturally arises: Why did the leaders of most of the Ger-

manic peoples accept the Arian form of Christianity, just as this heresy was

in the process of being extirpated throughout the Roman empire? Observ-

ing the lack of documentation relating to the question, Thompson notes

that some have postulated the existence of an inherent conceptual correla-

tion between Germanic social structure and the hierarchical structure of

the Arian divinity, according to which the Son is subordinate to the Father.23

Thompson himself favors an explanation based upon the sociopolitical

notion of group identity:

By accepting Catholicism they [the Visigothic leaders] could scarcely have

failed before very long to have been absorbed into the organization of the

Universal Church, which in Theodosius' reign they would not all have cared

to do, nor, if they had, would their followers have been likely to acquiesce

in their action. As Catholics they would unquestionably have lost some-

thing of their freedom of organization. Their priests would have beenliable to take their instructions f ro m an authority outside the people, who

at this date would scarcely have submitted to any form of government which

was directed by Romans. Now,Arianism was not a centralized or inter-

provincial organization; it remained a number of essentially separate, local,

and independent churches and hence was more suited organizationally to

21Ibid. Heather , w ho disagrees with Thom pson regarding th e t ime of Visigothic "conver-

sion," states in "The Crossing": "I t would seem that th e Tervingi were afraid that Christianity

would und erm ine that aspect of Gothic identity which w as derived from a common inheritedreligion, and that Ch ristianity wa s associated w ith an em pire who se influence they attempted to

resist. That religion was a political issue to Gothic leaders is confirmed by the way in which

persecution followed im por tan t events in Go thic-Rom an relations" (p. 316). While assertions of

political motivation m ay sometimes appear to express a form of political reductionism or a

diminishment of religious influence, it should be recalled that pre-Christian Germanic religion,

like most folk religions, w as essentially bound up with th e political life of the community.

Contemporary notions of the "separation of church and state" were unknown and would have

seemed preposterous to a folk-religious m entali ty.22

Thompson, "Christianity," p. 78.23Thompson, Visigoths, p. 109. Thompson cites Jacques Zeiller, Les Origines chre t iennes

d a n s le s provinces danubiennes (Paris: E. de Boccard, 1918), p. 517; C. A, A. Scott, U l f i l a s ,

Apost le of the Goths (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1885), p. 78; and Helm ut Lother,

Die Christusauffassung de r Ge rma ne n (Giitersloh: Verlag C. Bertelsmann, 1937), pp. 17ff. Also

sharing this opinion is Schmidt, Die B e ke hru ng der Ge rm ane n zu m Ch r i s te n tu m, vol. 1, p. 275;

an d Heinz-Eberhard Giesecke, Die O s t g e r m a n e n un d d er A r ian i smu s (Leipzig: Teubner, 1939),

pp. 57-61. Rejecting it are Ewig, "First Contacts," p. 228, w ho attributes th e association of

Arianism with th e Germanic peoples to coincidental factors; Schaferdiek, "Die geschichtliche

Stellung des sogena nnten germ anisch en Arianism us," p. 88; and Wa lter B aetke, Die A u fnahme

des Ch r i s te n tu ms du rch die G e r m a n e n : Ein Beitrag zur Frage der Germanis ierung des Chr i s t e n iu ms ,special ed. (Darmstadt : Wissenschaftliche Buc hgesellschaft, 1962), pp. 14-19.




a people w ho wished to preserve their social identity inside the R o m a n

Empire.24

He ather m akes a similar observation regarding the concerns of the TervingiVisigoths, claiming that "they were afraid that Ch rist ianity would under-mine that aspect of Go thic identi ty wh ich w as derived from a commoninherited religion, and that Christianity w as associated with an empirewho se influence they attem pted to resist."

25Herw ig W olfram also believes

that th e function of "a 'Gothic' faith as a means of preserving ethnic iden-tity" m ight have been "responsible for the conversion of the overwhelmingmajority of the Goths who had penetrated the em pire, even though , or pre-

cisely because, the ir Rom an environm ent became m ore and m ore radicallyCatholic."

26

A s a result of economic exploitation by Rom an m erchants , th e relation-ship between the Vis igoths and their Roman hosts became embit tered.

27

The host il ity between the Vis igothic im m igrants and the Rom ans erupted

in the battle of Adrianople (378), in which th e Visigoths under Fritigernwe re victorious, and in which the Roman emperor Valens , an Arian, w askilled. After the renewed condemnat ion of Arianism at the Council of

Constant inople (381), summoned by Valens' C atholic successor T heod osiusthe Great , the popularity of A rianism general ly declined through out theempire.

28This disassociation of Arianism from the empire m ay have served

to m ake it m ore acceptable to the Visigoths and other G erm anic peoples,for eventually Arianism became near ly the exclusive religious dom ain of the

non-Frankish Germanic k ingdom s.The significance of religion as an im portan t factor in forming th e iden-

tity of groups as well as individuals has been recognized by anthropologists .

24Thompson, Visigoths, p. 110. Zeev Rubin disagrees with Thompson's dating scheme, but

agrees with his view tow ard th e "decay of the tribal religion," and the sociological implications of

conversion to Arian Christ ianity. In "The Conversion of the Visigoths to Christianity," M u s e u m

Helveticum 38 (1981), Rubin concludes: "The Visigothic enclave within th e Empire found i tself

separated f rom it s envi ronment by a bar r i e r of religious creed. In the long run this barrier

helped it to retain its special identity and its in ternal cohesion, whereas both adherence to

paganism and conversion to Catholicism would have ended in complete assimilation. This lesson

w as very soon learned by the leaders of other barbar i an na t ions w ho sought settlement in R o m -

an territories" (p. 54).25

Heather, "Crossing," p. 316. He surmises that "these fears on the part of the Gothic

leadership had some basis in reality, for the Empire had a manifes t interest in the spread of

Chr i s t i an i ty . . . . I t m ay be that the idea w as already current that Christ ianity could help to pacify

dangerous peoples. . .. Religion seems therefore to have been a political issue to both Empire

and Goths in the fou r th century" (pp. 316-317).26

History o f t he G o th s , Thomas J. Dunlap, trans., rev. from 2nd German ed. (Berkeley:

University of California Press, 1988), p. 85.27

E. A. Thompson, R o m a n s a n d B a r ba r ia n s : T h e Decl ine o f th e Western E mpir e (Madison:

Universi ty of Wisconsin Press, 1982), p. 39.28

T he conc il ia r canons cond em ning A r i an i sm were ampl i f ied by subsequen t Theodosianlegislation.



Germanization and C h r i s t i a n i z a t i o n : 376-678 141

In a recent study of the interaction of Christianity with indigenous cul-

tures, George R. Saunders provides a modern example remarkably similar

in structure to the subject at hand:

In local-level religious politics, schism s often d evelop aro un d differing inter-

pretat ions of issues in the "core reference system," the group's conceptual-

ization of the definitive and essential features of Christianity. For example,

tw o Jamaican Pentecostal sects are distinguished pr ima ri ly by the fact that

one baptizes in the name of Jesus alone, while the other baptizes in the

nam e of the entire T rinity. Th e d ifference m ay appear tr ivial to outsiders,

but is extremely important to m e m b e r s of the two sects. T he distinctions

provide each group with important criteria fo r differentiating themselves,

and enco urage group solidarity and identity. Th e differenc es are sym bolic,and the sym bols selected for the definition of group boun daries may to some

degree be arbi t rary, as long as they serve to dis t inguish the two groups.29

Focusing on the Ostrogoths rather than the Visigoths, Thomas Burns's

evaluation of Arianism reflects the centrality of sociopolitical concerns of

group identity and solidarity :

Theology, specifically th e A rian denia l of the Trinity, m attered li tt le to mos t

Goths.... Theodoric and the nobility essentially viewed religion a s a partof po l i t i c s . . . .

T he Ostrogoths as a people clung to Arianism fo r political and social,

not theological , reasons. Theodoric championed Arianism in the Eastern

Empire as an extension of his role in Italy, where he se t about to control

the process of assimilation. H e env isioned distinct spheres for the O stro-

goth and the Ro m an, despi te th e fact t ha t gove rnm en t and settlement in -

creasingly threw them together . O ne viable center of Ostrogothic society

w as their A rian faith, which set them apar t from the Or thodox ma jo r i ty . . . .

Arianism w as their n at ion al rel igion, and as such i t wa s a n institutionalforce acting in concer t with th e monarchy to preserve a special and distinc-

tive place for the Ostrogoths in Italy. . . . Once the political and social

reasons fo r group solidarity and exclusivity had lessened, there would

undoubtedly have been l i t t le resis tance to co nv er sio n. . . .

Arianism w as und ers tandably s low to penetrate the elemental world of

pagan cult practice, long so m u c h a part of agrar ian life. . . . Ostrogothic

A rianism allowed them to be C hris t ians and he nce par t of the larger wo rld

29 "Trans fo rma t ions of Chris t iani ty ," in George R . Saun ders , ed ., Cul ture a n d Chris t iani ty:T h e Dialec t i cs o f Trans format ion , Con tr ibut ions to the Stud y of Anthropology, no . 2 (Westport,

Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1988), p. 186. Hans Mol, Identi ty and the Sacred (New York: Free

Press, 1976), suggests that a s imilar u t i l iza t ion of religious distinction to re inforce group ident i ty

w as func t iona l in the f i l ioque question: "Organizational exclusion reinforced group identity, but

often some latent reasons fo r schisms were hidden behind manifest doctrinal controversies . A

good example was the ideological disputes about th e addi t ion of f i l i oque (the Holy Spirit also

proceeding ' from the Son') to the Creed, which was the ostensible source of schism between the

Eas tern and Ro m an C hurch. M any scholars a re convinced tha t the cu l tura l d i f ferences be tween

Hel lenic Eas t and R o m a n W e s t was the mo re au then t i c r eason" (p . 74). A s representa t ive o f

th is opinion, Mol c i tes Richard H. Niebuhr , T h e S o c i a l S o u r c e s o f D e n o m i n a t i o n a l i s m (NewYo rk: M erid ian Press, 1957), p. 114.



142 T he Ger ma n i c T r ans f o r m a t ion o f C h r i st ian i t y

of Christianitas and R o m a n i t a s without asking them to forsa ke either Go thic

pride or their ancestors. That is why it is necessary to understand theirArianism as a tribal religion and not as some lingering form of an Alexan-

drian heresy.30

Some indicat ion of the moderate degree of the process of Christianization

that w as inspired b y Germanic Arianism m a y b e gleaned f rom th e contents

of Martin of Braga's catechetical guide, De correc t ione rus t i corum (c. 574),

which reveals ecclesiastical concerns regarding a considerable pagan sur-

vival and recidivism among the ind igenous rura l population of the Suevic

Germanic kingdom.31 In the terms of universa l and folk religions discussed

earlier, one may consider Germanic Arianism to cons t i tu te a thoroughly

ind igenous reinterpretation of a universal religion, a "Germanization of

Arian Christianity."32

The genera l opposition to R o m a n i z a t i o n that pro-

pelled Germanic Arian ism, was also expressed in poli t ical , cul tural , and

e duc a t i ona l affairs, a nd ma y have contributed toward the emergence o f

the proprietary church , or Eigenkirche .33

Pierre Rich e attributes a general

30A History of th e Ostrogoths, pp. 158-61. Bu rns also suggests tha t th e initial conversions

of some o f the Ostrogothic elite to Arian Christianity wh ile they l ived und er Hunn ic dom ination

may have been "a s ta tement of political independence" directed toward th e pagan Hun s (p. 150).His view tha t Ostrogothic A rianism perm itted the m aintena nce of Gothic trad it ion is am plified

by Hermann Josef Vogt, "Theological Discussions," in Jedin an d Dolan, eds., History of the

C h ur c h , vol. 2, who concludes th at "Catholic Ch ristian ity developed an individual denomina-

tional moral sense among th e newly converted Germ an peoples, w hereas Arian Christianitycont inued to be determined by the principles of the G e r ma n co m i ta tus" (p . 714). However,

Ku r t Aland, "Christianity Among the Germans at the Time of the Migrations," in A History o f

Christ ianity , vol. 1, trans. James L. Schaaf (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985) generally attri-

butes Germanic affiliation with both Arian and Ro m an Chris t iani ty to genuine re ligious com-

mitment .31

C. W. Barlow , ed., Mart in i episcopi Bra ca ren s i s Opera O m n i a , Papers and Monographsof the American Academy in Rome, no. 12 (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1950),pp. 183-203; English translation in J. N. Hillgarth, ed., Christ ianity and Paganism, 350-750:

The C o n v ers io n of Western E uro pe , (rev. ed. of The Convers ion o f Western Europe, 350-750)

(Philadelphia: U nivers ity of Penn sylva nia Press, 1986), pp. 57-64. Judi th H err in, T h e F o r m a t i o n

o f C h r i s ten d o m (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1987), notes that "subsequent

records suggest that Christianity was not deeply rooted" in the Suevic kingd om (p . 222).32

Piergiuseppe Scardigli, "L a conversione dei Goti al Cristianesimo," S e t t im a n e 14 (1967):47-86, has argued for the existence of a conscious intention on the part of Ulfila to develop anindigenous Germanic scripture and liturgy to advance Gothic cultural independence from

Rome, while P. D. King, Law and Society in the Visigothic K i n g d o m (Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press, 1972), views Arianism as contributing to a "national character of credalcleavage" (p. 4).

33 Ewig, "First Contacts," p. 229. In his inau gura l lecture delivered in 1894, Ulrich Stutz,

"The Proprietary Church as an Element of Medieval Germanic Ecclesiastical Law," in M ed iev a l

Ger m a n y (911-1250): Essays by G erm a n H is to r ia n s , trans. Geoffrey Barraclough, Studies inMediaeval History, vol. 11 (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1961), noted that "the private church wasan insti tution com mo n to all Ge rm anic peoples," and th at i t "must have permeated and outlived

th e ecclesiastical regime of the Arian per iod" (p . 44). Ad ditional discussion of th is topic may be

found in "Ar iani smus und G e r ma n i s mus , " in Ulrich Stutz , G esch ich te des kirch l ichen Benefizial-

wesens (Berlin: H. W. M iiller, 1895); and H a ns von Schuber t , S ta a t un d Kirche in den a r ia n i sch enKonigreichen und im R eich e Chlodwigs (Mun i c h : R. Old enb ourg , 1912). William A. Chaney, T h e



G e r m a n i z a t i o n a n d Chri s t ian i za t ion: 376 -6 78 143

"rejection of classical culture"34

by the Ar ian Germanic peoples primari ly

to dem ographic factors :

T he Barbarian aristocracy possessed i ts ow n cul ture, a cul ture to which itremained faithful. T he Barba r i an people fo rmed a minor i ty in the West

which, in order to preserve its strength, refused to integrate with the Ro-

m an population. The aristocracy w orke d to preserve its origina lity and to

give i ts ch i ld ren an education tha t conformed to G erma nic tradition.35

A n ins ight in to G erm anic at t i tudes toward R o m a n i t a s m a y b e provided by

an examinat ion , following Riche's exposit ion, of the at t i tude of the Ostro-

gothic king Theodoric, w h o w a s educated in Byzant ium and ruled the

Western Roman Empi re from 493 unt i l his death in 526.A s previously noted, it is l ikely tha t the ir s tatu s as an alien rul ing m i-

nori ty w ithin the bord ers of the em pire co ntr ibuted m ore to the isola-

t ionis t at t i tude of the Goths , Burgundians , an d Vandals than d id their

religious dissim ilarity. Ind eed , the con tem porary consensus appears to bethat their social s tatus and the dist inct iveness of thei r re l ig ion were

mutual ly re in forc ing . In apprais ing the nature of the relat ionship between

the Arian Germanic ar is tocracy and Roman cul ture , Riche advises : "W e

m us t insist on the dist inct ion between the protect ion which the princeswere able to provide scholars and the princes ' personal intel lectual for-

m ation. We re they sim ply, in sho rt , ado pting the role of a M aecenas, or

w ere they themselves m en of le t ters? H ad the B arba r ian ar is tocracy been

w on over to classical culture?"36

In Riche's view, the Ostrogothic k ing

Theodoric was "a genuine Maecenas."37

Despite a personal concern for

the mai n t enance of classical c ulture w hich w as encouraged by Cassiodorus,

Theodoric "never permit ted Goths to place thei r chi ldren in Roman

schools" as a part of "the gen eral policy of a B arb arian king who, as kingof Italy, accepted Roman culture for himself and for his family but refused

it to his people in order to preserve th eir identity."38

In sum m ary, according to R iche: "Ba rbar ian and G othic ar is tocrats

imi tated the R o m a n way of life, but as we have seen, they were not won

over to classical culture. Their ow n cul tu re and the Arian rel igion they

C u l t of Kingship in An gl o - S a x o n E n g l a n d : The Trans i t ion f rom P a g a n i s m to Chris t iani ty (Berkeley:

University of California Press, 1970), tracing th e or igins of the Eig e nk i rche in to th e pre-Chris t ian era, claims tha t " t h e Ge r m a n i c Eigentempel provides par t of the politico-religious

background—in parallel, if not or ig in—for th e Eigenkirche of the C hris t ian M iddle Ages, with

churches 'owned ' by the secular nobil i ty , and tem pora l power and control closely associated with

ecclesiastical fou nd ation s" (pp. 73-74).34

Pierre Riche, E d u c a t i o n a n d Cul ture i n the B a r b a r i a n West: Fr o m th e S ix th Through th e

Eighth Century, t rans. John J. Cont ren i , with a foreword by Richard E . Sullivan (Columbia :

University of So uth C aro lina Press, 1976), p. 64.35

Ibid .36

Riche , E d u c a t i o n a n d Cul ture , pp. 52-53.

37 Ibid., p. 56.38

Ibid., pp. 63-64,



144 T h e G e r m a n i c Trans format ion o f Chr is t ian i ty

professed help to explain their indifference."39

While i t has been asserted

tha t the Arianism of the Goths, Burgundians, and Vanda ls w as primarily

"a way of emphasiz ing their independence and sense of ident i ty , and a

safeguard against too rapid assimilation,"40 i t appears that i t was not onlysuccessful in this regard, but that, somewhat ironically, i t also may have

contr ibuted toward a degree of political weakn ess, since "their Arian fa i th

... depr ived th em of the support of the Church."41

A n A rian episcopacy existed am ong th e Visigoths u ntil the Third Coun-

cil of Toledo in 589. T his council was conv oked by King Recared two years

after his own conversion to Catholicism from Arianism.4 2

Following a dec-

lara t ion of faith by Recared, "eight bishops recanted their Arian belief ."43

Riche has commented :

The A rian h eresy, how ever , was a live issue in Spain. The kings w anted to

complement the political uni ty of the kingd om wi th re lig ious un i ty and

hoped that Catholic clerics would abjure. In 580, Leovigild called a confer-

ence at Toledo, where Cathol ic and Arian bishops opposed each other,

but he was not able to impose the heresy on the ent i re realm. Centra lSpain seems to hav e been the bas t ion of Arianism. U nfo r tuna te ly , even

though we can discern th e activities of Arian bishops and the cul ture of

Visigothic laym en, we c anno t pursue our research m uch far th er , s ince a llthe texts concerning A rianism have been des t royed.

44

Leovigild 's desire to c om plem ent polit ical un ity w ith religious un ity at this

t ime m ay have been provoked by concerns of sym pathy amo ng the Cath-

olic hierarchy and populace for the Byzantine Catholic invaders of south-

ern Spain.

Hillgarth has noted that Recared's conversion in 587 occurred af ter a

more successful a t tempt to impose Catholicism by Byzant ium.45

H is con-

version m ay therefore h ave been der ived from a desire to reap the socio-

political be ne fits of a single na tion al religio n, w heth er A rian or Catholic.46

O ne m ay recall Procopius 's report in his B e l l u m G o t h i c u m tha t the I ta l ian

39Ibid., pp. 218-19.

40Mussel, T he Ge rman ic Invasions, p. 184.

41J. B. Bury, History of th e L a te r R o m a n Empire , vol. 1 (1923; reprin t, N ew York: Dover,

1958), p. 347.42

The conciliar texts have been published in Concil ios Visigdticos e Hisp ano- Romanos , ed.

Jos6 V ives (Barcelona: Ins titut e En riqu e Florez, 1963), pp. 107-45.43 Herr in , T h e Fo r m a t i o n o f Chris tendom, pp. 228—29, referring to Concil ios , ed. Vives,

p. 123.44 Riche, Educat ion a n d Culture, pp. 274-75.45 Hillgarth, Christ ianity a n d Paganism, has concluded that: "The Vand al and Ostrogothic

kingdoms perished, at least in part, because of the religious division between th e Arian

barbarians and their Roman subjects . The Visigoths barely saved themselves from th e samedanger . It was after th e Byzantines had occupied th e Southeast of Spain (552) and exploited aCatholic pre tender to the t h r one (580-84) tha t King Recared became a Catholic in 587. In 507

th e Visigoths had already lost almost all Ga ul to the Franks, led by Clovis, a conver t from

paganism to Cathol ic ism" (p . 73).46 Musse t , T h e Ge rman ic Invasions, p. 43.



Ge rm an i za t ion a n d Chris t ian iza t ion: 376-678 145

cities of Narnia, Spoletium, Perugia, and others, as well as the region of

Rimini , voluntari ly had allied themselves earl ier with the Byzantine gen-

eral Belisarius against the Arian Goths.47

Furthermore, "in 538 the arch-

bishop of Milan and some other notables of that city begged Belisarius to

send them a small force with which they undertook to deliver Milan and

the whole of Liguria into his hands."48

While religious affiliation alone

cannot have accounted for such actions,49

it seems likely that, in fulfilling

its funct ion of preserving the cultural identi ty of its adherents, the Arian-

ism of the Ostrogoths and Visigoths also served to decrease th e level of

allegiance felt toward them by thei r native R om an subjects.

No t a ll of the Germanic peoples became affi l iated with A rian C hristian-

ity and not a l l rejected classical culture. Given their relative geographical

isolation in nor thern Germania dur ing the f if th-century expansion of Gothic

Arianism, the Franks, Frisians, Saxons, and the major i ty of the Thuringians

remained pagan. T he most significant developments for the study of the

attempted Christ ianizat ion of the Germanic peoples occurred among the

Franks, "a poli t ical amalgamation of m any small tribes which took place in

the first and second centuries A.D. in the lands between the Weser and the

Rhine."50

This Prankish confedera t ion then migrated westward over the

47See "The By zantine Conquest of I taly: Public Opinion," in Thompson, R o m a n s a n d

Barbar ians , p . 103, referr ing to Procopius, B e ll u m G o t h ic u m , 5.10.5 and 5.16.3.48

Ibid., referring to Procopius, B e ll u m G o t h ic u m , 6.7.38.49

However Bury, Invasion , claims that "although the Ostrogoths did not persecute, their

rule could never e stablish itself on a popular basis because the y were Arians; and it was the dif-ference in faith, keeping th e Goths and the I talians apa rt, and the rallying of the I talians to the

side of an orthodox conqueror, that conduced above all to the success of the imperialist arm ies

which reconquered I taly und er Ju stinian" (p. 215). Em phasizing instead the unde rlying cultural

disparity which Ostrogothic Arianism exem plified, Thompson, R o m a n s a n d Ba rba r ia n s , claimstha t : "It is hardly a problem to see why educated I talians rejected Ostrogothic rule in spite of all

th e generosity of Theodoric and his successors. The w ar was fought between barbarians on the

one side and civilized men on the other. The Italians chose civilization, and no one followed

them m ore h eartily than some sections of the O strogothic no bility" (pp. 108-9).50

Peter Lasko, T he K i n g d o m o f th e Franks: North-West E uro pe Before C h a r l e m a g n e (New

York: McGraw-Hill , 1971), p. 14. According to Hermann Kinder and Werner Hilgemann,A n c h o r A t la s o f World History, vol. 1, trans. Ernest A, Menze (Gard en City, N.Y.: D oubleday,1974), pp. 109, 111, and especially 120-21, th e four major tribes at this t im e were known as the

Usipetes, Tencteri, Sicambri, and Buctri . In the third century th e m ain groupings became known

as th e Salians, Ripuarian s, M oselle and Main Franks, and Chatti . The ethnogenesis of theFranks as well as other Germanic peoples is treated in detai l in Bruno Kriiger, ed., Von de n

Anfangen bis zum 2. Jahrhundert unserer Ze i t rech n un g , vol. 1 of Die G erm a n en : Gesch ich te un d

Kultur de r g e rman i schen S t a m m e in Mitteleuropa (Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1983). Sources fo r

the religious history of the Frank s include K ur t Dietrich Sc hm idt, "Die Franken," in D ie

kathol i sche Mission un ter den Westgermanen , vol. 2 of Die Bekeh run g der G e r m a n e n zum

Chris tentum; Albert Hauck, "Die frankische Lande skirche," book 2 of vol. 1 of Kirchengesch ich te

Deutsch lands , 4th ed. (1904; repr int, Be rlin: A kad em ie Verla g, 1954); Ha ns von Sch ubert, "Die

Anfange eines neuen germanisch-romischen Katholizismus," and "Die Bliitezeit der mero win -gischen Reichskirche bis Dagobert,"in G esch ich te der chris t l ichen Kirche im Fri ihmit te lal ter

(Tubingen: J. C. B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck), 1921); Edouard Salin, Les Croyances , vol. 4 of LaCivilisation m ero v in g ien n e d'apres le s sepultures et le laboratoire (Paris: Picard, 1959); J. M.



146 T h e G e r m a n i c T r ans f o r m a t i on o f Chris t iani ty

Rhine to become foederat i in northern Brabant (Belgium) in 358. In the

fif th century, l ed by the Salian Franks, they expanded fu r the r westward

into Gaul, conquering the city of Tournai in 446. Their f irst recorded

chief ta in was Childeric (d. 482), whose tomb was discovered in 1653. It

contained artifacts which reflect the "orientalizing tastes that can be traced

in upper layers of Late Roman society," and indicate that Childeric "saw

himself as a successor to the Roman rulers of Gaul, ready to absorb their

cultural aspirations," according to Peter Lasko.51

However, Lasko may be

extrapolating a bit too far. The apparent appeal of the prestige of the

Roman emperor to Childeric and later to his son, Clovis,52

should be

qual i f ied , lest it be considered evidence of a more general desire for the

assimilation of Roman culture. A more precise understanding of the atti-

tude of the Arian Germanic peoples and of the Franks toward Romanitas

is thus desirable,53

especially since it has recently been asserted by John

Moorhead that "conversion was a rite de p as s age for barbarians on the way

to becoming civilized, which meant that for barbarians anxious to become

and be seen as civilized it was a desirable thing."54

The concept of Romanization, like that of Christianization, requires

specificity when applied to the Germanic peoples, their culture, and their

Wallace-Hadrill, T he Long-Haired Kings, Medieval Academy Reprints fo r Teaching, no. 11

(1962; reprint, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1982); and idem, T h e Prank i sh Chu rch

(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1983). Im portant sociopolit ical bac kgrou nd inform ation is contained

in Andre Joris , "On the Edge of Two Worlds in the Hear t of the New Em pire: The Rom ance

Regions of Northern Gaul During th e Merovingian Period," in Studies in Medieval and

Renaissance History, vol.3, ed. William Bowsky (Lincoln: University of Nebraska, 1966),pp. 3-52, while th e interaction between Celtic, G reek, Ro m an, and Germanic influences in pre-

Merovingian Gaul is discussed in Anthony King, R o m a n G a u l a n d G e r m a n y , Exploring th e

Roman World, no. 3 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990). See also, John Drinkwateran d Hugh El ton, eds., F i f t h Century Gaul: A Crisis o f Identity? (Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press, 1992).51

K i n g d o m of th e Franks, p. 26.52

Gregory of Tours, Libri h is lor iarum, M GH S R M , ed. Bruno Krusch and Wilhelm

Levison, vol. 1, 2nd ed. (1937-51; reprint , Hanover: H ahn Verlag, 1961), 2.38, p. 89; translated

in Gregory of Tours, T h e History o f th e F rank s , trans, an d intro. by Lewis Thorpe (Harmonds-

worth: Pen gu in Books, 1974), p. 154. The authenticity of Gregory's depiction of Clovis dressing

an d beh avin g like a Rom an ruler follow ing his victory over the Visigoths at Vouill6 in 506, aswell his reception of the title of consul from th e Eastern Emperor Anastasius, is maintained by

Riche, Edu ca t ion and Culture, p. 220 n. 271. Clovis's transferral of the Prankish court fromTou rnai to the tradit ional residence of Rom an governors of Gaul in Paris may also be consideredconsistent w ith his desire to symbolically participate in R om an grand eur.

53Wh ile studies of Roman pagan and Christian att i tudes toward th e Germanic peoples

exist, Riche's discussion of Ge rm anic attitu de s toward R om an civilization, interspersed throu gh-

out Edu ca t ion and Cu l tu re i n t he B arb ar ian West, appears to be unique. A thorough treatment ofthe form er topic is contained in Gerha rt B. Ladner, "On R om an A tti tudes Toward Barb arians

in Late A ntiquity," Viator 1 (1976): 2-26.54

"Clovis' Motives fo r Becoming a Catholic C hrist ian," Jou rna l of Rel igious History 13:4

(1985): 339. Moorhead contends that "Clovis ' conversion was not prompted by a politically

motivated desire to look well in the eyes of the Gal lo-Romans , but r a t h e r by a culturallymotivated desire to be like th e G a l l o -R oma ns " (pp. 338-39).



G e r m a n i z a t i o n a n d Chr is t ian iza t lon: 376 -6 78 147

religion. A s in the case of Theodoric, a distinction between th e self-identi-

fication of some Frankish leaders w i th Rom an imperial tradi t ions and the

actual assimilat ion of Roman culture by Frankish society should be made.

It may be helpful to circumscribe the concept of Romanizat ion somewhat

by applying Riche's rigorous definition of Roman cu l tu re in the fifth cen-tury as prim ari ly l i terary and , as such, requiring the existence of an appro-

priate educational system in which th e essentials o f gram m ar, rhetor ic , and

dialectic could be transmitted.55

Employing such a precise description, Riche has noted that the Franks

initially had l it tle interest in assimilating R om an culture.

W h a t we can gather from th e texts and f rom archaeology does in factseem to indicate that the wes tern Germans were much more a t tached tothei r primitive wa y o f life t han the eastern Germans. Arr iving much lateron the borders of the Roman empire , still living as pagans, th e Frankswere much less interested in preserving antique civilization than were the

Go ths and the B urgun dians. A com parison between Salic law and the lawsof th e Burgund ians and Visigoths is quite instructive: Salic la w reflects asociety of warr iors and he rdsm en l i tt le interested in Roman cul ture. OnlyFrankish chiefs, leaders who had for a long time served the Empire fai th-fully, could perhaps comprehend the value of Roman cul ture. Childer ic , a

federate and Clovis ' father, had himself portrayed on the setting of hisring dressed as a Roman. Clovis followed his example.

56

Recall ing R iche's conclusion tha t the Visigothic, Ostrogothic, and Burgun-

dian aristocracy held a generally isolationist atti tude toward classical

culture,57

i t may appear confusing that Riche now impl ies that they were

more in teres ted than the Franks in "preserving antique civilization." Also,if the Vis igoths and the Burgundians appear to have been more favorably

disposed towa rd Rom an c ul ture than the Franks, one m ay w ond er w hy

they were not also more likely to accept the Roman Catholic rel igion. First

of all, one should bear in m ind the dist inct ion betwe en the "preservation"

and the "adoption" of a foreign culture. Secondly, it should be recalled

that Riche is referr ing here to Frankish at t i tudes in the late fif th and early

sixth centur ies . H e subsequently comments that "Frankish aris tocrats and

kings of the second hal f of the s ixth century were m ore open to R om anl i terature than the Goths , Burgundians , or even thei r Merovingian prede-

cessors."58

55 Riche , Educat ion a n d Culture, pp. 4-7. By the last centur ies of the empire , Rom anculture had become more exclusively literary. W h e n , following th e G erm anic invasions, th e poli-tical ra t ionale for the re tention of Rom an culture subsided, "the le ttered gave themselves up tointellectual pastimes and forgot the misfortunes of the times. . . . [w]hile the ir stud ies have the

air of decadence, they bea r witness to an astonishing fidelity to w h a t had been th e glory of Rome"

(p. 13). Riche later characterizes antiquity as "the civilization of the w ritten word" (p. 21). Am ore extensive discussion of the R om a n e duc a tiona lsystem is H e n r i I. M a r r ou , A His tory o f

Educat ion in Antiquity, t r ans . George Lamb (New York: Sheed and W ard , 1956).56 Riche, Educat ion a n d Culture, p. 211.57 See above, pp. 142-144.58 Riche, Educat ion a n d Culture, pp. 225-26.



148 T he G e r m a n i c Trans format ion of Chris t ian i ty

Although some degree of affinity for R o m a n grandeur undoubtedly

existed among th e Frankish elite, and although i t may be heuristicallyappealing to attribute the R o m a n Catholic affiliation of the Franks, as

Moorhead does, to a desire to embrace Roman culture, such a proposition

is no t substantially supported by extant sources. Rather, it appears that

Frankish Roman Cathol ic affiliation m a y b e more properly derived f rom

the coincidence of a th rea tened Catholic Gal lo-Roman episcopacy in the

midst of Arian Germanic kingdoms,59

and an adventuresome yet astute

young king in search of the means to effectively consolidate his dominion.

A study of the correspondence of St . Remigius, bishop of Reims, th e

evidence contained in the Libr i h i s tor iarum of Gregory of Tours, and an

analysis of the Arian threat to the Gallo-Roman episcopacy suggest tha t ,from the t ime of his accession in 481 as king of the Franks of the Tournai

region, Clovis w as recruited for the role of a champion of R o m a n Catholi-

cism.60

It seems reasonable to assume that , at the t ime of Clovis's accession in481, Remigius and his fellow Gallo-Rom an bishops were aware of theexpansion of the Toulousian Visigothic kingdom of K i ng Eur ic in to Aqui-

taine up to the southwestern border of the Roma n k i ngdom of Syagrius.

T he condit ions of the Catholic episcopacy under Euric's rule are notreported to have been good. Despite h is general tendency to exaggerate

anti-Catholic act ions taken by Arian Germanic leaders,61

Gregory of Tours's

59Albert Hau ck, "Die fran kisch e Landeskirche," book 2 of vol. 1 of Kirchengesch ich te

Deutschlands, states: "Vergegenwartigt man sich den Zustand des Abendlandes in der Zeit, als

Chlodowech zu regieren begann , so schien der Arianism us, nachd em er im romischen Reich derkatholischen Kirche unterlegen war, noch einm al eine groBe Zukunft vor sich zu haben. Fast in

alien abendlichen Provinzen herrsc hten arianische Fursten: in I talien, dem groBten Teilevon Gall-

ien, in Spanien und Afrika; die katholische Kirche war die Kirche der Unte rw orfen en" (p. 109).60Summarizing th e career of St. Remigius as presented in H in cmar of Reims, Vita S .

Remigi i , Sam uel Dill , R o m a n Society in G a ul in the Merovingian A ge (London: Macmillan, 1926),

states: "W e shall see a Catholic bishop, with no material force at his command , by strength of

will and sense of a lofty mission, mastering th e young im petuous chief of the pagan Franks, and ,

with th e gentle aid of the pious Queen, along with th e glamor of miracles, winning him from

paganism to be the cha m pion of the Ch urch" (p. 32). The auth entic ity of the conten ts of

Hincm ar's biography is defended in part 2 of "Archbishop Hincmar and the Authorship of Lex

Salica," in Wallace-Hadrill, T he Long-Haired Kings. The disappearance of an earlier Life o f

Re mig iu s which was a source fo r Gregory of Tours is most unfo r tunate , as it may have provided

additional details regarding Rem igius's relationsh ip with Clovis.61

Goffart, Narrators of Barbarian History, comments on the religiopolitical circumstances

at the t ime Gregory wrote his History o f th e Franks (573—594): "For more than a half-century,Arian kings had been cleared from all but a small part of Gaul and, fo r good measure, from Italy

and Africa as well. Gregory had resided since birth in a land safe fo r Catholicism, in which even

a memo ry of persecution at the hands of heretics would not easily have been come by, except inwrit ten form. . . . Arianism occasions what m a y b e Gregory's most credulous statement: th eOstrogothic princess Am alansuntha, to avenge her slave-lover, m urdered her m other by pouringpoison into th e communion chalice. . . . Gregory's forgetful audience w as reminded tha t th eCatholic Church of G au l had been fiercely assailed by Arian at tacks and had been saved by the

pagan convert Clovis. Wh atever othe r virtues th e M erovingians lacked, they had gotten wherethey had by God 's nur tu r ing , to preserve H is Church from end uring foes" (pp. 213-16).



G e r m a n i za t io n a n d Chris t ian iza t ion: 376-678 149

depiction of Euric's reign suggests that th e Gallo-Roman episcopacy feltthreatened: "Euric, King of the Goths, crossed the Spanish frontier andbegan a terrible persecution of the Christians in Gaul . Without more ado

he cut off the heads of all w ho w ould not subscribe to his heretical opin-ions, he imprisoned the priests, and the bishops he either drove into exileor had executed."

62At the t ime of Clovis's accession in 481, Euric's domin-

ion was "at the height of its terri torial power, and it seemed in these years,from 480 onwards , far the greatest and most promising state of westernEurope,"

63and as such, "the Goths seemed almost certain to be the ul-

t imate inheri tors of all Gaul."64

Also, a distinct possibility existed that th enew Frankish king Clovis himself might convert to Arianism since "one of

his sisters, Lenteildis, had received arian baptism, although she apparentlylived among the Franks."

65

Th e potential for A rian dom ination in G aul and subsequent Gallo-Roman episcopal displacement thus arose from tw o sources: the possibleaffiliation of Clovis w ith A rianism , and the possible conquest of Gaul bythe Arian Visigoths. Although Moorhead argues that the Gal lo-Romanaristocracy was no t particularly concerned about the religious affiliation oftheir ruler,

66given the social proxim ity of the secular aristocracy and the

episcopacy, it seems unlikely that ei ther would remain aloof to this issue.Patrick J . Geary has succinctly presented the relat ionship between theGallo-Roman episcopacy and aristocracy in a recent study of Merovingiansociety:

T he first church in Gaul had been the episcopal church, and i ts tradit ions

stretched back into th e most dis tant memory of the senatorial aristocracy.

62G regory of Tours, Libri his tor iarum, 2.25, Thorpe, p. 138.

63

Bury, Invas i on , pp. 212-13.64Ibid., p. 214.

65Ian N. Wood, "Gregory of To urs and C lovis," R B P H 63 (1985): 267, citing Av itus, h o r n .

31, in M G H A A , ed. Rudo lph Peiper, vol. 6, part 2 (Berlin: Weidm annsche Bu chha ndlu ng,

1883). The Arianism of Lenteildis is also acknowledged by Gregory of Tours, Libri his tor iarum,

2.31, T horpe, p. 145, according to wh om she was "converted at the sam e tim e" as her broth er. In

his revisionist account, Wood con tends th at Clovis was originally converted to Arianism.66 Moorhead, "Clovis' Motives for Becoming a Catholic Christian," in seeking to a t t r ibute

Clovis' baptism "to a genuine commitment to a new faith which he perceived as something

culturally desirable" (p . 330), attempts to minimize th e political concerns of the Gallo-Roman

episcopacy and aristocracy by asserting tha t G regory of Tours's account of Euric's persecutionof Cath olic priests and bishops "w as based on a misreading of a passage of Sidonius A pollinaris,in which we are simply told that numerous bishops had been deprived of their sees, whichremained vacant and suffered decay" (p. 331). Particularly when one considers th e observationof Patrick J. Geary, Before F rance and Germany: The Creat ion and Trans format ion of the Mero-

vingian World (New Y ork: O xford Un iversity Press, 1988), that "from th e fourth century on,

enormous amounts of land had been passing into th e hands of the church, and all this was con-trolled by the bishop," and his com men t that "the continued prosper i ty of the family de m a nde dthat it control b ishopric we alth, and after genera t ions of such dona t ions it is l i t tle wonder tha tfamilies came to view episcopal succession as a hereditary r ight w or th killing to de f e nd" (p . 126),

at tempts to trivialize th e potentia l threa t t ha t an Arian ru le r might pose to the Gal lo-Romanepiscopacy and aristocracy seem less reason able.



150 The Germanic Transformation of Christianity

In fact, its period of establishment, the late third century, corresponded to

the period of the provincial aristocracy; thus both were born together and

formed an inseparable institution.

The great majority of early Merovingian bishops were of aristocraticGallo-Roman background. This was only to be expected given the role the

episcopacy played in late Roman Gaul.. . .

... one can speak of "episcopal families" that controlled sees for gen-

erations. The most famous is that of the historian Gregory of Tours

Such complex family rivalries focused on the office of bishop because

it was a prize worth fighting for. Control of major bishoprics was the key

to the continued regional power of the kindred. It also provided great

wealth.67

It is against such a background that Remigius of Reims, who was the

metropolitan of the region which included Tournai, wrote encouragingly to

the fifteen-year-old Clovis upon his accession in 481: "You should defer to

your bishops and always have recourse to their advice. If you are on good

terms with them your province will be better able to stand firm."68

It

appears that throughout his career Clovis generally abided by Remigius's

counsel. Since the Gallo-Roman episcopacy was the last operative admin-

istrative remnant of Roman dominion in Gaul, one may assume thatClovis benefited from an amicable relationship with it, particularly follow-

ing his conquest of the Gallic kingdom of Syagrius in 486.

Clevis's relationship with the Gallo-Roman episcopacy was not the first

cooperative venture between Romans and Franks. Geary has demon-

strated the existence of a long tradition of Prankish exposure to Roman

material culture and Roman military tradition.69

If the Franks were more

predisposed to become affiliated with Roman Christianity than other

Germanic peoples, it may be due in some degree to a more gradual andless antagonistic relationship with the Romans, unlike that of the Visigoths

67Before F rance a n d Germany , pp. 123-26. The social status and background of the Gallo-

Rom an episcopacy is studied in M artin Heinzelm ann, "L'Aristocratie et les 6veche°s entre Loireet Rhin jusqu 'a la fin du VIP siecle," R ev ue d'histoire d e I'egtise d e Fra n c e 62 (1975): 75-90. A

more general study of the Ga llo-Rom an episcopacy may be found in idem, Bischofsherrschaft in

Gallien: Z ur Ko n t in u i td t ro m isch er Fiihrungsschichten vom 4. bis zum 7. Jahrhundert . S o z ia le ,

prosopographi sche u n d bildungsgeschicht l iche Aspekte , Beihefte der Francia, vol.5 (Munich:

Artemis Verlag, 1976).

68 Ep. 3, Epistolae Aus t ra s ica e , M G H Epistolae, ed. Wilhelm Gundlach, vol.3 (Berlin:Weidmannsche Buchhandlung, 1892): "E t sacerdotibus tuis debebis deferre et ad eorum

consilia semper recurre; quodsi tibi bene cum illis convenerit, provincia tua melius potest con-stare" (p. 113).Translation from Hillgarth, Christ ianity a n d P a g a n i sm , p. 76. Wallace-Hadrill,

T he Long-Haired Kings, comments: "The tone of the letter is patronizing: th e pagan barbarianwill wish to reflect on the advantage of having th e Gallo-Roman Church on his side. It is not, in

so many words, a wa rning against th e Arianism of the neighbo uring Visigoths and Burgundians ,

nor a direct appeal fo r conversion to Catholicism. It is rather a s tatement of fact: Belgica is Ro-man and is run by Ro m an bishops; and a pruden t re x will wish to take note of this, since m ost of

his subjects will be Romans. Clovis has crossed th e frontier and is welcomed in, on terms"

(p. 166).69Geary, Before France an d Germany , pp. 5-8, 20-23, 93.



Germani za t ion and Chns t ian iza t ion : 376-678 151

and Ostrogoths w ho established their kingdom s quite suddenly within theborders of the empire. Instead of being a conquering m inori ty without anative homeland, anxious to maintain cultural and political integrity in asociety with an attractive, sophisticated culture, as were the Arian Goths,the Franks retained a native homeland region known as Toxandria on thenorthwestern bank of the Rhine, and gradually, and for the most part

peacefully, expanded into areas in northern Gau l wh ich Gallo-Rom an land-

lords had abandoned. This abandonment appears to have been related to adecline in the degree of mili tary protection which could be afforded tofrontier regions of the empire while the city of Rom e itself was threatened

with invasion. In re turn for the terri tory on w hich they settled, the Franks

provided m ilitary assistance to the Romans in the defense of Gaul. Such asymbiotic relationship m ust have had religious im plications.

Here, as in the case of the Visigoths vis-a-vis th e Romans , the conceptof group identity m ay provide an insight into religious orientation andtransformation. Whereas the Visigoths had been treated oppressively bythe Eastern Romans prior to their init ial encounter with Christianity, theoverall relationship between Franks and R o m a n s in the century precedingthe baptism of Clovis in 496

70was one of relative harmony. Contributing

to this relationship was the military alignment of the Salian Franks withthe R o m a n s in several conflicts. These included joint opposition to theHu nnic invasion of Gaul in 451 and allegiance asfoederat i under Childeric

in the battle of Orleans against the Visigoths in 464. Within this context,Clovis's v ictory at Soissons in 486 over S yagrius, the R om an ruler of mu ch

of northern G aul , should not be viewed as a hostile exception, inasmuch as"Syagrius ruled independently of the Empire."71

In fact, i t may be arguedthat

theFranks perceived their gre atest potential m ilitary thre at

ascoming

from neighboring Germanic peoples, rather than from the Romans.

Consequently, the relative harmony between the Franks and the R o m a nEmpire , as compared with the inte rm itten t hostili ties between the Franks

and neighboring Arian Germanic peoples,72

m ay have contr ibuted to theaffiliation of Clovis and his re t inue with Catholic Ch ristianity.

Also co ntributing to this affiliation may have been Clovis's perception

of the authority of the Catholic episcopate among the Gallo-Romans at a

time when the imperial administrative system within Gaul was deterio-rating . Essentially by secular default, Catholic bishops, most of whom w ere

70The date of Clovis's baptism hasbeen contested for the past century , and has been placed

by some as late as 506. Discussions are found in Hauck, "Ort und Zeit der Taufe Chlodowechs,"

appendix 1, Kirchengesch ich te Deutsch lands , pp. 595-99; Wilhelm Levison, Aus rhe in i scher und

f rank ischer Fr i ih ze i t (Diisseldorf: Verlag L Schwann, 1948), pp. 202-28; and more recently in

Georges Tessier, "L a Convers ion de Clovis et la christ ianisat ion des Francs," in S e t l i m a n e 14

(1967): 149-89; and Knut Schaferdiek , "Ein neues Bi ld der Geschichte Chlodwigs?" Z K G 84

(1973): 270-77.

71 Wallace-Hadri l l , T h e Long-Haired Kings, p. 160.72

These included the Thur ingians , Alamanni , and Visigoths.



152 T he G e r m a n i c Trans format ion o f Chris t iani ty

descended f rom aristocratic Gallo-Roman families, emerged as the pre-eminent local administrators. However, historians differ widely on the degree

to which Clovis's baptism m a y b e ascribed to political motivation. Empha-

sizing religiocultural factors, Moorhead has m inimized both the oppositionof the Gallo-Roman episcopacy toward Arian rulers and consequently

their desire for a non-Arian champion,73

whereas Bury had suggested that

Clovis deliberately sought a Catholic wife so as to ingratiate himself with

an an t i-Ar ian episcopate which might provide fu ture support.74

It may be surmised that the Gallo-Roman episcopacy was a pastoral

and adm inis tra t ive network in search of a champion, while Clovis was, as

already stated, an adventuresome yet astute young king in search of the

means of effectively expanding his dominion. That th e episcopacy w as

attun ed to Clovis's polit ical am bitions is indicated in a letter w rit ten to himon the occasion of his baptism by Bishop Avitus, the metropolitan of

Vienne, who reassured Clovis that the military effectiveness of the Chris-

t ian baptismal charism would exceed that associated with the charism or

Heil of his royal lineage.75

The far-reaching signif icance of Clovis's affilia-

t ion w ith Ro m an Cathol ic ism h as been noted by Hil lgar th:

The conversion o f Clovis is a great tu rn in g point. I t mad e possible the shiftfrom a Medi ter ranean-centered Chr is t iani ty to one whose capital w as

situated by 800 a t Aachen and whose spir i tual centers were in England,

Nor th France (as Gaul was becoming) , and Germany. This shift greatly

accentuated the cu l tu ra l—as yet no t formal ecclesiastical—break with the

Byzant ine East, still centered at C on stantinople.76

However, the religious and metaphysical aspects of this major shift in

the history of Christianity remain difficult to isolate. It is generally agreed

tha t the c ircumstances surrounding Chr is t ianizat ion ef for ts among theGermanic peoples in the fifth through seventh centuries could result only

in a superf icial or no m inal C hristianity in wh ich elements of pre-Christian

G erm anic religiosity persisted. A lthou gh these paga n survivals indicate a73

"Clovis' Motives for Becoming a Catholic Christian."74

Invas ion , p . 241. Bury elaborates: "If I am right in this conjecture the policy and

conversion of Clovis appear in a new light. H e still he sitated to become a Christ ian himself , but

appreciating the power of the Church, he saw w hat an enormo us help i t wo uld be to have a

Cathol ic wife; he saw of what use she could be in negotiat ions with th e ecclesiastics. ... It [his

marriage to a Catholic] was deliberately intended as a substi tute for becoming a Christ ianhimself, and it ma de clear wh at form of Christ ianity he would em brace, if he ever embraced any.

B ut why did h e hesi tate? Here is the point wh ere there conies in an oth er influen ce, which has so

often prevailed over statesmanship—the influence of supers tition. Clovis had not the smallest

doubt of the God of the Christians, but, believing in the existence of his own gods too, the

question w as, wh ich was the most po we rful?" (pp. 241-42).75

Ep. 46 , Alc im i Ecdic i i Avi t i, M G H A A , ed. Rudolf Peiper, vol. 6, part 2 (Berlin:

Weidmannsche Buchhandlung, 1883): "Faciet, sicut creditis, regum florentissime, faciet inqu ami n d u m e n t o r u m ista mollities, ut vobis de inceps plus va lea t r igor a rm oru m ; et quicquid felicitas

u s q u e hie praest i terat , addet hie sancti tas" (pp. 75-76).76

"Christ ianity in a No n-Ro man Wor ld ," pa rt 2 of Hi l lga r th , Chris t iani ty a n d P a g a n i s m ,350-750: T h e C o n v er s i o n o f Western Europe, p. 85.



Gertnanization and Christianization: 376-678 153

resistance of the Germanic ethos and world-view to Christianity, they do

not of themselves substantiate a thoroughgoing Germanization of Chris-

tianity.77

A summary evaluation of the religious status of Clovis and the

Merovingians has been provided by David Harry Miller:

Baptism aside, Clovis was almost certainly not a Christian in any signifi-

cant sense. That his act nonetheless committed the Merovingians to the

church cannot be doubted.. . . The conversion of the Merovingians, how-

ever, did not entail the conversion of the Prankish people,whether Clovis'

immediate retinue followed his example or not. Court schools appear to

have promoted the spread of Christianity among the younger nobility. De-

crees were issued condemning pagan practices among the people; similar

conciliar decrees were given the status of public law; and an occasional

temple was destroyed. Some missionary enterprises were given at least a

modicum of royal support, primarily in the Rhineland where ecclesiastical

leaders were anxious to regain once-Christian territories lost during the

chaos of the f if th century. But the Merovingians did not really enforce their

laws in respect of the matter of paganism, even at court, and the behavior

of the dynasty, as opposed to its rhetoric, was plainly tolerant of contin-

uing paganism. As a consequence, the Franks, as well as elements of the

Gallo-Roman population, remained largely pagan.

78

Hillgarth has observed that the Frankish support which the Church

gained as a result of Clovis's baptism was accompanied by a relationship in

which the Merovingian ruler "was liable to interfere in its internal affairs"79

and, as exemplified by the precedent of Clovis's convocation of the Council

of Orleans in 511, by a relationship in which the bishops became increas-

ingly dependent upon the Merovingian ruler for the implementation of their

objectives. This reliance was eventually to prove disastrous for the Christian-

ization process as the initially Gallo-Roman episcopacy became increasingly

77Ha n s Ku h n , "DasFortleben des germanischen Heidentums nach der Christianisierung,"

S e t t i m a n e 14 (1967): 743-57, m inimizes the extent of pre-Christ ian G erma nic rel igious survival,

conceding only a short-lived pagan-Christian syncretism, and rejecting the notion of a

Germanization of Christianity. This view, which presumes the exclusion of ethical and popular

religious elem ents from consideration, has been termed "minimalist" by Robert A. M arkus, T h e

En d of A n c i e n t Chris t iani ty (Cambridge: Cam bridge Un iversity Press, 1990), since "the implicit

assumption on which it is based minimises wh at is included in the scope of conversion: baptism,

certainly, renunciation of overt idol-worship, and very little else" (pp. 9-10).78 "Sacral Kingship, Biblical Kingship, and the Elevation of Pepin th e Short," in Thomas

F. X. Noble and John J. Contreni , ed., Religion, Culture, a n d Socie ty in the Early Midd le A g e s :

Studies i n H o n o r of Ri chard E. Sul l ivan , Studies in M edieval Cu lture, no. 23 (Kalamazoo, M ich.:

Medieval Institute Publications [Western Michigan University], 1987), pp. 135-36. A discussion

of M eroving ian and Carolingian antipagan legislation m ay be found in Jean Im bert, "L'influence

du christianisme sur la legislation des peuples francs et germains," S e t t i m a n e 14 (1967): 365-96,

while a comprehensive survey of the M erov ingian councils, with valuable religiopolitical analysis,has recently been published in Odette Pontal , Histo ire d es c a n d l e s mfroving iens (Paris: Cerf,

1989), wh ere, in a section en titled "La S urviva nce du pag anism e," pp. 292-95, it is asserted: "Les

Chret iens qui a b a n d o n n e n t les r i tes paiens trouvent un succedane dan s le culte des saints et le

culte des reliques. L es saints se subst i tuent aux divini tes de la mythologie" (p . 294).79

Hi l lga r th , Chris t iani ty a n d P a g a n i s m , p . 75 .




populated with Merovingian political appointees, and as the Merovingian

monarchy declined in strength and respectability.80

From the death of

Clovis in 511 until th e arrival of the Ir ish missionary monk Columbanus inGaul about 590, the progress of Christianization among the Germanic peo-

ples, aside from the Merovingian court, was negligible.81

As Georges Tessier

has remarked, "La conversion de Clovis est une chose, la christianisation

des Francs en est une autre."82

Ewig has observed that "there was no c om -

pulsory conversion of pagans; only th e sanctification of Sundays and holy

days w as imposed under penalty at the end of the sixth century — a sign of the

cultic and ritua l view of Christianity."83There were, however, tw o important

religiopolitical developments which spread in this era: the E igenk i rchen-

s y s t em, or "proprietary church system,"84 and t heE igenk los te r sys tem, or "pro-

prietary m onastery system."85

O f these developments, Ewig has concluded:

"Like th e proprietary church system, th e monastic system of the new kind

could not but lead, in the chaos of the late Merovingian epoch, to a far -

reaching dissolution of the ecclesiastical organization."86

With the exception of Dagober t I (d. 639), and, to a lesser extent,Gun t r a m (d. 593), the Merovingian kings appear to have expressed little

interest in sponsoring religious education and reform among those already

baptized. Neither does the Merovingian ar istocracy in general appear to

80Th om as Leslie Am os, "The O rigin and Nature of the Ca rolingian Sermon," (Ph.D. diss.,

Michigan State U niversity, 1983), pp. 58-59.81

K urt Aland, "The Church in the Kingdom of the Franks after Clovis," section in History

o f Christ ianity , vol. 1, trans. James L. Sch aaf (Philadelphia : Fortress Press, 1985), p. 237.82 "L a Conversion de Clovis et la christianisation des Francs," S e t t i m a n e 14 (1967): 169.83

Eugen Ewig, "The C onversion of the Franks and the Bu rgun dians: Origin and O rgani-zation of the M erovingian Nationa l Church," in Jedin and Dolan, eds., History of the C h u r c h ,

vol. 2, p. 538.84 Ibid., p. 533. Ew ig ponders: "W hether this process m us t be understood as a germaniza-

tion of the ecclesiastical constitution is uncertain. It is certainly not to be evaluated only nega-tively, since th e many proprietary churches, despite their defects, also promoted th e christiani-zation of the rural areas" (ibid.). Uta-Renate Blumenthal, T h e Investi ture Controversy: C h u r c ha n d M o n a r c h y f rom the Ninth to the T w e l f t h Century (Philadelphia: Un iversity of PennsylvaniaPress, 1988), notes: "We now know that this form of ow nership also existed in non-Germanicareas of the former Rom an Empire and in similar guise amon g th e Slavs and the Iri sh " (pp. 4-5).This does not weaken th e association of the EigenMrchensystem and the Eigenklostersystem with

th e Germanization of Ch ristianity. Indeed, Friedrich K em pf, "Co nstitution of the Church: 700 to1050," in Jedin, ed., History of th e C h ur c h , vol. 3, states tha t in the West "the Germanic peoples

were undoubtedly th e propelling element" in the development of the Eigenkirche (p. 259). TheIndo-Eu ropean origins of the Eigenkirche are considered in Rob ert H oslinger, "Die 'alt-arische'

Wurzel des Eigenkirchenrechts in ethnologischer Sicht," Osterreichisches Arch i v f u r Kirchenrech t

3 (1952): 267-73.85

The first major Eigenkloster may be attr ibuted to St. Radegunde, wife of Clovis's so n

Ch lotar I , who founded th e Convent of the Holy Cross at Poitiers in 547. H er biography, which

includes a description of her convent, has recently been translated in Jo Ann McNamara andJohn E. Halborg, with E. Gordon Whatley, Sainted W o m e n of the Dark Ages (Durham, N.C.:D u k e University Press, 1992).

86Eugen Ewig, "The Conversion of the Franks and the Burgundians : Or ig in and

Organization of the Merovingian National Church," in Jedin and Dolan, eds. , History of theC h ur c h , vol. 2, p. 535.



G e r m a n i z a t i o n a nd Chris t ian iza t ion: 376-678 155

have been overly concerned w ith th e religious b eliefs of the ir subjects. T he

M erovingians d id, however, perceive the potential for sociopolitical cohe-sion which could be achieved through Christ ianization efforts and thussought to reestablish bishoprics in the north-east Rhineland area which

had been w on from th e Alamann i by Clovis.87 To a significant degree, th e

aristocracy appears to hav e viewed ecclesiastical offices, churches, and mo-

nast ic foundat ions from a pre-Christian Germanic perspective, as sourcesof sacral charism and legitimation. Instead of at tempting to impose doctri-nal orthodoxy, they appear, in keeping with the rel igious culture of theirmilieu, to have been m ore concerned abou t "orthopraxy,"

88tha t is, adher-

ence to the cultic and ri tual observances of Christianity.In a chapter on "Castes, Estates, Classes and Religion," M ax Weber

briefly compares th e development of early and m edieval C hris tiani ty , and

provides ins ights w hich m ay contr ibute to an und ers tanding of the M ero-vingian aristocracy's at t i tude tow ard C hrist ianity:

Actually, early C hrist ianity was an urb an religion, and as Harnack decisively

dem on strated, i ts impo rtance in any particular ci ty was in direct proportion

to the size of the urban com muni ty . In the Middle Ages too, fidelity to the

church , as well as sectar ian movements in religion, characteristically devel-

oped in the cities. It is highly unlikely that an organ ized congregational

religion, such as early Ch rist ianity becam e, could have d eveloped as it did

apart from the comm uni ty life of a c i ty . . . . The specif ic qual it ies of Chr is-

t ianity as an ethical rel igion of salvation and as personal piety found their

real nature in the urban environment; and i t i s there that they constant ly

set in motion new stimuli in contras t to the ritualistic, magical or formal -

istic re-interpretation favored by the do m inan t feud al powers.

A s a rule, th e class of wa r r io r nobles, and indeed feu da l powers gen-

erally, have not readily becom e th e carriers of a rationalistic religious ethic.T he life pattern of a war r ior has very little affinity with th e notion of abenef icent providence, or wi th the sys temat ic e thical demands of a t ran-

scend ental god. C oncepts l ike sin, salvation, and religious humili ty have not

only seemed remote from all elite political classes, particu larly the w arrio r

nobles, but have indeed appeared reprehensible to its sense of honor . T o

accept a religion th at wo rks with such conceptions and to genuflect before

the prophet o r priest would appear plebian an d dishonorable to any m a r -

tial hero or noble person, e.g., the Ro m an nobi li ty of the age of Tacitus, or

the Confucian mandarins. I t is an everyday psychological event for thew arr ior to face death an d the i r ra t ional i ties of hu m an dest iny. Indeed, the

chances and adventures of mundane exis tence fill his life to such an extent

tha t he does no t require of his religion (and accepts only reluctantly)

anything beyond protection against evil magic or such ceremonial r i tes as

87Am os, "The Origin and N ature of the Carolingian Serm on," pp. 64-65.

88T he distinction be tween o r thodoxy and orthopraxy has been advanced by Janet Nelson,

"Society, T heodicy and the Origins of Heresy: Tow ards a Reassessment of the M edieval Evidence,"

in Derek J. Bak er, ed., S c h i s m , Heresy a n d Religious Protest, SCH, vol. 9 (Cambr idge : Cambr idgeUniversi ty Press, 1972), pp. 65-77.



156 T he G e r m a n i c Trans format ion of Chr is t ian i ty

are congruent with his caste, such as priestly prayers fo r victory or for a

blissful death leading directly into the hero's heaven.89

In addit ion to a possible inherent attract ion toward i t inerant Irish

monks by the rural Celtic rem nant in Gaul,90 the heroic self-discipline and

asceticism of Irish monasticism m ay have appealed to the Germanic war-

rior spirit, and perhaps the structure of the Irish peni tent ia ls may have

corresponded with that of the system of wergild embodied in the Germanic

law codes.91

Whatever th e sources of at tract ion were, Columbanus and his

followers succeeded in establishing a network of monasteries, free from

local episcopal control, on the properly of the nor thern Frankish aristo-

crats. In fact, all the leading Frankish families "had one or more memberswho w ere strongly at t racted to this new monasticism and either visited orentered Luxeuil as monks."

92Friedrich Prinz has proposed t ha t these

monaster ies , which became associated with aristocratic families, together

89T h e Sociology of Religion, pp. 84-85.

90A precise dem ographic view of Celtic G aul in the sixth throu gh eight century is difficult

to establish. O wing to their comm on Indo-Eu ropean heritage, pre-Christian C eltic and German-

ic religiosities are gen erally considered quite sim ilar. Wallace-Hadrill, T h e P ra n k i sh C h urch ,

conjectures: "It is jus t possible,... that some Franks had found th e Romano-Celtic gods so liketheir ow n tha t they had accepted Rom an-Celtic n am es for their ow n gods while keeping their

attributes. It could have been as easy for the Franks to absorb Celtic gods as it had un dou btedly

been for the Celts to absorb R om an g o d s . . . . This com ing together of Celt and German would

explain much, as, for instance, why a huge statue of Diana sh ould have been w orshipped by the

Franks on the hills of Yvois" (pp. 17-19). Discussing th e resemblance between th e religiosities

of the Germanic and Celtic peoples from the perspective of their com mo n Indo -Eu ropean

heritage, H. R. Ellis Davidson, Myths an d Symbols in Pagan E uro pe (Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse

University Press, 1988), concludes: "I t might be argued that such parallels are simply due to a

similar way of life, a constant background of warrior activity con tinuing alongside farming an d

herding at ho me, so tha t heroic tradit ions and close l inks with the natural world influenced therites and imag ery of religion. But m uch of the resemblance seems to go deeper tha n this; it

indicates an accepted framework, with an emphasis on certain symbols and m otifs which may betraced beyond Ireland and Iceland to w hat we know of the C eltic and Ge rma nic peoples in

earlier times. ... It is accepted that Celts and Germans were once closely associated, hard to

distinguish from one another in the Roman period except by their difference in language,

and at an earlier period still having one language in comm on. The idea of thei r common

ancestry is s t rengthened by the type of parallels found in their religious symbols and practices"

(pp. 218-19).91

C. H. Lawrence, Medieval Monas t ic i sm: F o r m s of Religious Life in Western E uro pe in the

Middle Ages (New York: Longm an, 1984), notes th at "for C olumban us, the life of the monk wasa heroic and u nrem it t ing warfare to conquer his own self-will and sensuality" (pp. 40-41), and

cites his statement taken from th e S a n c t i C o l u m b a n i Opera, ed. G. S. M. Walker (Dublin: Insti-

tute fo r Advanced S tudies, 1957), "if you remove th e battle, you remove th e crown as well" (p. 142).Implicitly applying a comparative Indo-European approach, D. A. Binchy, "A Pre-ChristianSurvival in Medieval Irish Hagiography," in Dorothy Whitelock, Rosamond McKitterick, and

David Du m villr , eds., Ireland in Early Medieval Europe: S tudies in M e m ory of Kathleen H ugh es(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982), pp. 165-78, makes th e following observation:"I n fo rm—and to a large degree in subs tance— the Ir ish Heiligensage is based on the Irish Helden-

sage. Each saint is depicted as a conquering hero w ho never loses a bat t le but t r ium phs over all

his ene m ies, especially th e dru ids w ho oppose his miss ion" (p . 167).92

Binchy, "A Pre-Chris t ian Survival ," p. 172.



G e r m a n i z a t i o n a n d C hr i s t ian i za t ion : 37 6 -6 78 157

with the eventual hagiographical commemoration of family members , m ay

have fulfilled a desire among the Frankish nobility for the sacral reinforce-

ment and legitimation of their social status, analogous to that which had

been imparted to Clovis through his baptism.93 Prinz relates the aristo-

cratic desire fo r Christian religiopolitical legitimation to the decline of the

pre-Christ ian Germanic notion of inherited sacral character, or Gebluts -

heiligkeit , among th e Franks.94

According to the W eberian interpretation which Prinz applies, "groups

in a position of political responsibility are peculiarly sensitive, not only to

the amount of power they command, in the strictly 'realistic' sense of this

term, but to the basis of leg i t imat ion of the use of this power, which is in

the longer run a primary factor in the extent of power itself."95 Herein is

located a major source of the "political religiosity" that was to permeate

medieval Christ ianity. A n addit ional "key factor in Merovingian religious

93"Die 'Selbstheiligung' des frankischen Adels in der Hagiographie," section in the chap-

ter "Der geistige und gesellschaftliche W andel des M onchtum s zwischen Spatan tike und M ittel-

alter," in Friihes M d n c h t u m im Frankenreich: Kultur un d Gesellschaft in Gal l en , den R h e i n l a n d e n

un d Bayern am Beispiel de r m onas t i sche n Entwicklung (4. bis 8. Jahrhundert) (Munich: R. Olden-

bourg Verlag, 1965), pp. 489-93. A second edition was published in 1988 by the Wissenschaft-liche Buchgesellschaft in Darmstad t . O f related interest is Jacques Fontaine, "King Sisebut's

Vita Desiderii and the Political Function of Visigothic Hagiography," in Edward James, ed. ,Visigothic Spain: New Appr o a c h es (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1980), pp. 93-129.

94Prinz, Friihes M d n c h t u m , notes: "Die germ anische Adelsherrschaft, einst religios in

ihrer politisch-charisma tischen Funktion sa nktioniert, durch ihre 'Gebliitsheiligkeit ' herausge-

hoben aus der Gesellschaftspyramide, verier ja mil der Christianisierung einen Gutteil der reli-giosen Sa nktion ihres H errschaftsanspruches. . . . Im 7. Jahrhu nde rt , ents teht dem Adel durch

die Heiligen aus seinen Reihen eine neue, jetzt jedoch christliche Sanktionierung seiner

Herrschaft, die zahlreichen Klostergrund unge n dieser Epoche sind Ausdruck und zugleich

Festigung der inneren Verbindung des Adels mit dem neuen Gott und daher die Heiligen ausden R eihen dieses Adels zugleich die neuen christlichen G aran ten der alien A delherrsch aft.

Hier ka nn man gleichsam in statu nascendi beo bach ten, was man d ie 'politische Religiosita't' des

Mittelalters genannt hat, und zwar in einem sehr ko nkreten Sinn: als neue religiose Leg itim ier-

ung der Herrschaft" (p. 492). For a further discussion of this G erm anic notion, Prinz refers to

Karl Hauck, "Gebliitsheiligkeit," in Bernhard Bischoff, ed. , Liber Floridus: Mittel lateinische

Studien (Paul L e h m a n n z u m 6 5 . Geburtstag a m 1 3 . M i 1949 gewidmet) (St. Ottilien: Eos Verlag

der Erzabtei St. Ottilien, 1950), pp. 187-240, especially pp. 194-95. Gen erally speaking, just as

th e development of the Eigenkloster and the Adelsheilige hagiographies funct ioned to legitimate

th e social status of the M erovingian nobility, so did association with th e Anglo-Saxon m ission-

aries and the papal auth ority which they re presented, function to legitimate th e rising sta tus ofth e Carolingians, whose role in Germaniza t ion and Christianization will be studied in thefollowing chapter.

95Talcott Parsons, introdu ction to Max Weber, T h e Sociology of Religion, trans. Ephraim

Fischoff (Boston: Beacon Press, 1963), pp. 84-85. Regarding th e legi t imation of Prankishpower, Prinz, Friihes M d n c h t u m , p. 493, n. 126, ref ers to "D om estikation der B eherrschten," a

section in Max Weber, Wirtschaft un d Gesellschaft: Grundriss der verstehenden Soziologie, ed .

Johannes Win ckelm ann (Tubinge n: J. C. B. Mo hr (Paul Siebeck), 1956); and K arl Bosl, "Diegermanische Kontinuitat im deutschen M ittelalter: Adel, K onig, Kirche," in Ant ike un d Orient

im Mittelalter, vol. 1 of Miscel lanea Mediaeval ia: Veroffentlichungen des Thomas -Ins t i t u t s an der

Universitat Koln , Paul Wilpert and Willehad Paul Eckert, eds. (Be rlin: W alter de G ru yte r, 1962),pp. 1-25.




life" which m ay have been associated with the establishment of religiopoli-

tical legitimacy was the construction of monasteries, shrines, and churches

over the tom bs of deceased nobles by their famil ies.96

Paul Fouracre regards

these constructions as "cult-centres" and views Merovingian Christianityitself as a " 'cult' religion,"

97wh ile G eary has concluded that "the family

tom b was also a center of spiritual power and prestige for its members."98

A further examination of the structure of Ir ish monast icism and the

missionaries it inspired should contribute to an appreciation of their influ-

ence among the Germanic peoples. In Ireland the government of a monas-

tery w as closely associated with that of the kingdom in which it existed.

Geary has succinctly described the folk-centered structure of Irish monas-

t icism : "Lacking the tradit ion of R om an ci t ies and provincial o rganizat ion,

Ireland w as hardly an ideal area for the development of an episcopal church,and in the sixth ce ntury the I r ish church became a federat ion of monastic

communi t ie s , each corresponding roughly to a t r ibe and each u nd er the juris-

diction of the 'heir' of the founding saint of the region."99

Given the rural

Irish environment , the pres t ige and author i ty of the bishop was subordi -

nated to t ha t of the abbot . This non-Roman Cel t ic s t ructure was a good

m odel for a s im ilarly rural G erm anic society. How ever, the prior existence

of a Gallic episcopal structure, coupled with th e disregard expressed by

Colum banus and h is Iro-Frankish fol low ers for its au tho ri ty, often resulted

in antagonism s which diminished the effect iveness of thei r C hris tianizat ion

efforts. Also, upon the death of thei r typically char ismat ic fou nd ing abbots,

the Iro-Frankish m ona steries u sually declined in significance as foci fo r

C hrist ianizat ion in the regions w here they were located.100

Despite the general ly apoli t ical at t i tude of the Iro-Frankish mission-

aries themselves, their potential fo r adv anc ing social cohesion and politicaljur isdiction through Chris t ianizat ion was no t lost on Meroving ian rulers.

Thomas Les l ie Amos has noted that Dagober t I, "the last Merovingian

king to exercise direct rule over the ent i re Prankish realm (629-39) . . .

took a s trong interest in the C hrist ianiza t ion of the lands on his borders,

and offered the district of Utrech t to the bishop of Cologne if he would

evangelize it."101

Member s o f Dagobert 's court w ho became i t inerant mis-sionary bishops in no rthern G aul included El ig ius of Noyon and Audoenus

of Rouen . Rem ark ing on the M eroving ian encouragement of Iro-FrankishChris t ianizat ion activities, Gea ry has stated:

96 Paul Fouracre, "The W ork of Audoenus of R oue n and Eligius of Noyon in Extending

Episcopal Influence from th e Town to the Country in Seventh-Century Neustria," in T h e C h u r c h

in Tow n and Countryside, ed . Derek B aker , SCH, no. 16 (Oxford: Blackwell, 1979), p. 81.97

Ibid.98

Geary , Before France a n d Germany , p. 174.99

Ibid ., p. 169.100

Hauck, Kirchengeschichte Deutschlands, vol. 1, p. 347.10 1 Am os, "The Origin and Nature of the Carolingian Sermon," pp . 68-69.




The more active involvement of the northern Frankish aristocracy as well

as that of w and ering Irish m onk s such as Co lumbanu s began to introduce

Christian observance and cult into the countryside. Religious cult and

political power were understood as inseparable, whether at the level ofDagobert or at the local level of Frankish aristocrats w ho sought to intro-

duce uniformity in cult in their areas of power. Thus i t was in the interest

of aristocracy to assist in the implantation of Christianity.102

The growth of commercial activity in Frisia during this period provided

an additional impetus for Christianization efforts along the northern bor-

der of Gaul and in areas east of the Rhine. It is f rom a predominantly

pagan village in the vicinity of Noyon that one of the few Germanic re-

sponses to Christianization efforts has been preserved. While preaching

against pagan celebrations, Eligius was interrupted by community leaders

who angrily exclaimed: "Roman that you are, although you are always both-

ering us, you will never uproot our customs, but we will go on with our rites

as we have always done, and we will go on doing so always and forever.

There will never exist the man who will be able to stop us holding our time-

honoured and most dear games."103

In a structural sense, Columbanus may be viewed as a catalyst for the

Germanization of Merovingian monastic organization, since he introduced

monastic concepts which contributed to the development of the Eigen-

k los ter sys tem .1 0 4

In a religious sense, however, Columbanus may be viewed

as a genuinely Christianizing force in whose in s t ruc t iones one encounters a

prototype of the Carolingian reform of the ninth century which, in the

following chapter, is described as the "second phase" of Christianization.

B y this it is meant that, instead of having focused on the power of the

Christian God to fulfill the worldly concerns of the Germanic peoples, as

did Remigius and Avitus in their communications with Clovis, Columbanus

appears to have focused more upon the attainment of "moral perfec-

tion."105

J. M. Wallace-Hadrill describes the novel ethical orientation of

Columbanus as follows:

It is in his sermons and letters rath er than in the better-know n penitentials

and Rules that he can best be seen. W hat im m ediately strikes th e reader isthe gulf between the piety of the Prankish Ch urch, centred u pon relics an d

th e patronage of local holy men, and the piety of Columbanus, focused

upon God and the re la t ionship of God with man. It was indeed a gust offresh air. Columbanus ' inf luence w as personal, not institutional. H is

sermons or in s t ruc t iones are about God, not about saints. The first in the

10 2Geary, Before F rance and Ger m a n y , p. 177.

10 3Vita Eligii episcopi Noviomagens i s , M GH SRM, ed. Bruno Krusch, vol.4, book 2, ch. 20,

pp. 711-12; translated in Fouracre, "TheWork of Audoenus," p. 82.10 4

J . M. Wallace-Hadrill , T h e Frank ish C h ur c h (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1983), notesthat "a s much as any Frank or Burgundian, he propagated th e idea of monaster ies as local

centres of aristocratic cultus, such as he had known in Ireland" (p . 65).105

Ibid., p. 64.



160 T h e Germanic T r a n s f o r m a t i o n o f C hr i s t ian i t y

dossier of thir teen is about faith. . . . He does not deny that the inter-

cession of the saints will help; for like all great spiritual teachers he is

haunted by the problem of access to God. . . . The seventh sermon is on

poverty; not on the need to give as the Frankish Church taught it, but onth e need to have nothing to give. . . . The eleventh sermon, on remorse ,

ends with a m agnif icent med i ta t ion on love. There is a sharp contrast here

with contemporary Frankish th inking, in so far as we know it.106

Despite the zeal of Columbanus and the Iro-Frankish missionaries, as

Merovingian strength and prestige declined af ter the death of Dagobert I

in 639,107

the progress of Christianization effor ts likewise declined.108

That

this decline was not a steady one, however, is attested to by the activities

of Queen Balthildis, the wife of Dagobert's son Clovis II (d. 657), who

af ter her husband's death founded the monastery of Corbie and the n u n -

nery of Chelles.

In pondering the effects of Columbanus's mission, Wallace-Hadrill

queries: "What could survive of a mission so immensely personal?"109

Although private penance may have existed on the continent before Col-

umbanus, his work and the popularization of his ethical teachings among

his Iro-Frankish successors certainly contributed to the development of a

mentality according to which f r e q u e n t private confession provided a means

of assuaging feelings of guilt.110

It also may be noted that the types of sin

which were emphasized in Columbanus's Penitentials dif fered f rom those

most commonly associated wi th Merovingian Gaul. For example, whereas

Columbanus emphasizes personal, internal sins such as the desire "to kill

a m a n , or to commit fornication, or to steal, or to feas t in secret and be

106

Ibid., pp. 63-64.10 7Geary, "Me rovingian O bsolescence," in Before F rance a n d G e r m a n y , explains tha t the re-

peated failure of M erovingian kings to leave adult heirs con tributed to destabilizing aristocratic

in-fighting. "However," he n otes, "it is insufficient to explain completely wh at ha ppen ed . . . . The

loss of Merovingian power was part of a much more complex transform ation of the Frankish

world in the seventh and early eighth centuries. While these transformations grew out of the

political, social, economic, and religious trad itions already forming in the reign of Chlotar II and

Dagobert, they were not such as to inevitably lead to the obsolescence of M erovingian kingship,

but combined with th e series of m inorities, they proved fatal" (p . 181).10 8

Gustav Schniirer, "The Activity of the Irish Missionaries—Decline of the Frankish

Church," in C h u r c h a n d Culture in the Middle Ages , vol. 1, trans. George J. Undreiner (Paterson,N.J.: St. An thon y Gu ild Press, 1956), pp. 325-35.

10 9Wallace-Hadrill, T h e Fra n k i sh C h urch , p. 67.

11 0Regarding Frankish society, Wallace-Hadrill , T h e F r a n k i s h C h u r c h , speculates in a

psychohistorical vein: "A society burdened with a sense of guilt required th e remedy of readily

accessible reassurance; and not only accessible but repeatable. Confession and penance becamea part of daily life, because the sense of sin was" (p. 65). B ut from where did this internal sense

of sin and guilt arise in a shame-oriented society, if Columbanus was the first major advocate of

th e concepts of sin and repentance? Perhaps these concepts did not become widespread unt i lth e second phase of Christianization efforts in the ninth century. See also Heinz Rupp, "Leid

und Su n d e im H el ia n d und in Otfr ids Evangel ienbuch ," Beitrage zur G esch ich te d er d eu t sch enSprache und Litera tur , par t 1: 78 (1956): 421-69; and par t 2: 79 (1957): 336-79.



Ge r m a n i za t lo n a n d Ch r i s t i a n i za t io n : 3 76- 678 161

d runke n , or indeed to strike someone,"111

the sins which appear to have

been most c o m m o n prior to his arrival are those wh ich involved offenses

against cult and ritual, such as the observance of S und a y and holy days and

disrespect for the cults of various saints , part icularly S t. Martin.112

It is difficult to gauge the effect of the Chris t ianizat ion effor ts of Col-

u m b a n u s and h i s Iro-Frankish followers on the i r audience, which repre-

sented all w a lks o f Prankish l ife . U nfor tun a te ly , there appears to exist no

adequate analysis of the evolution of the concepts of sin, repentance, and

salvation in Frankish society in the ear ly Middle Ages. Jacques L e Go f f

does, however, urge that "it should be stressed t ha t it was the monasteries

which made Chris t iani ty and the values it conveyed penetrate slowly intothe countrys ide , which hi ther to h ad been little affected by the new reli-

gion."113

In his s tudy T h e Birth o f Purgatory , L e Goff has provided an

excerpt f rom Columbanus's n in th Ins t ruc t io , which appears to place h im

with in an August inian eschatological t radi t ion which includes Gregory th e

Great and Caesar ius of Aries:

Here i s the way the hu m an be ing 's m iserable life runs : f rom the ea r th , on

th e ea r th , in the ea r th , from the ear th in to th e fire, from th e fire to j udge -

men t , from j udgem en t e ithe r to G e h e n n a or to life (everlasting). Y ou havebeen created from th e ear th , you t read the ear th , you will be laid to rest in

th e ear th , you will rise in the ea r th , you will be tr ied in fire, you will await

the j udgemen t , and then e i ther to r ture or the k ingdom o f heaven will be

y ou r s forever.114

L e Goff also cites a sermon of Eligius of Noyon, whose eschatological and

soteriological orientation appears to paral le l that o f Columbanus.115

Acknowledging " the difficulty o f ident i fy ing th e t r ue 'barbarian' legacy,"116

L e Goff prof fe rs a brief explanat ion of the Cel to -Germanic in f luence inthe deve lopment of the idea o f Purgatory:

Even m ore , perhaps , tha n th e Celtic, th e G e r m a n i c i m a g i n a ti o n of the here -

after, by the t ime it becom es accessible to us, a l ready seem s to hav e been sub-

jected to s t rong inf luence from the high cul ture of Latin C hris t iani ty

Doubtless th e most im por tant chan ge w as t ha t th e r a t h e r cheerful o the r

wor lds of primitive Celtic and G e r m a n mytho logy tu rn ed somb er , subter ran-

ean, and inferna l u n d e r Chris t ian influence. At the m o m e n t of Purgatory 's

ni '"j-hg Penitential of St. Columbanus," par . 2, in Hi l lgar th , Chris t ian i ty a n d P a g a n i s m ,

350-750: T h e C o n v er s io n o f Western E u r o pe , p. 131.112

R a y m o n d V an D a m , L ea d er s h ip a n d C o m m u n i t y in Late Antique G a u l (Berkeley : Uni-

versity of California Press, 1985), pp. 260-69, provides several examples complemented by a

socioreligious analysis.11 3

Medieva l C iv i l i za t ion: 400-1500, t rans . Ju l ia Barrow (Oxford: Basi l Blackwel l , 1988),

p. 120.114

T h e Birth o f Purgatory, t r a n s . A r t h u r G o l d h a m m e r ( C h i c a g o : U n i v e r s i t y of Chicago

Press, 1984), p. 101. The or ig ina l quo ta t ion may be f o u n d in PL, vol . 80, col. 246-47.

115 Ibid. , p. 101.116

Ibid. , p. 109.



162 T h e Germanic T r a n s f o r m a t i o n o f Chr is t ian i ty

inception, w e shall see how the optim istic Celtic (and perhaps G ermanic)

conception of a place of waiting and purification gave way to the image of

Purgatory as cruel, for a time, as Hell, an image that came from oriental

apocalyptic so urces and from official Christian tradition. The old concep-tion did not disappear completely but was rather absorbed into visions of

Paradise. These ambivalent other wo rlds of "folklore" w ere fo rced to gravi-

tate tow ard either the positive or the negative pole, w hile Purgatory lingered

fo r a time, o ccupying the middle ground.11 7

As the Middle Ages progressed, the Celto-Germanic attitude toward

death and an afterlife was increasingly replaced by a Christian one, causing

Le Goff to remark elsewhere that "if we do not keep the obsession with

salvation and the fear of hell which inspired medieval men in the forefrontof our minds we shall never understand their outlook on life."

118Perhaps

equally significant to an understanding of the medieval world-view, but

more elusive, is the process by which the Christian ideological matrix of

sin-repentance-salvationgained ascendancyover Celto-Germanic notionsof

fate and destiny, a process which may be identified with Christianization.

However, the ideological movement toward Christianization was one which

regularly encountered unyielding elements of pre-Christian Germanic ide-

ology. To the extent that the Christian ideological matrix of sin-repentance-salvation advanced among the Germanic peoples in the early Middle Ages,

it may be said that they were Christianized, while to the extent that Chris-

tianity accommodated the religiopolitical and magicoreligious orientation

of pre-Christian Germanic religiosity during this period, it may be said to

have been Germanized.

Discussing analogous developments in the Celtic world, Joseph Camp-

bell has commented:

A culture histo rian today su rely has the r ight to ask the me a n ing of such amass conversion as takes place wh en a pagan king submits to baptism and

all h is people fo l low. . . .Surely it is permissible to ask: How, exactly, w as this Levantine institu-

tion with it s support ing myth received and unders tood by the recentlypagan, hyperborean populat ion, to whose well-being in the yonder w or ld

117Ibid., p. 110. The Germanic perception of an afterl ife is discussed in detail by Hilda

Roderick Ellis, T h e R o a d to Hel: A Study o f the C o n c e p t i o n o f the D e a d i n O l d Norse L i tera ture

(1943; reprint, NewYork: Greenwood Press, 1968), who concludes that "the Norse mind , in the

l i terature as we have it , does not readi ly tu rn to develop imaginative and spiri tual conceptions of

life af ter death. Perhaps it is the reali ty of the present life, and its importance in the eyes of the

creators of that l i terature which served to keep them from indulging in elaborate andenthusiastic speculation about the future one" (p. 147). E. O. G. Turville-Petre, Myth and

Rel ig ion o f t h e N o r th : T h e R e l ig io n o f Ancient S c a n d in a v ia (1964; reprint, Westport, Conn.:

Greenwood Press, 1975), has concluded that, according to Norse sources, "death is the greatest

evil know n to m a n , but yet i t can be overcome. Live well and die bravely and your repute will live

after you . Fate will decide the m om ent and m anne r of your death , but fa te will not decide how

you will face it. A brave dea th will be rewarded, not with pork and mead as in Valholl , bu t with

the esteem of your friends, kinsmen and even your enemies . They will tel l how you lived and

how you died. Your s tory will l ive , as has tha t of m any a nor th ern hero" (p. 274).118

M ed ieva l C ivi l iz a t i o n , p. 187.



G e r m a n i z a t i o n and C hr i s t i an i z a t i on : 37 6 -6 7 8 163

its magic now was to be applied.O ne im portant c lue may be seen in the heresy of two I r ishm en, con-

temporaries of Patrick, Pelagius and his chief disciple C aelestius. In their

essentially Stoic doctrine of free will and the innate goodness of nature ,which is not corrupted but only modified by sin, they opposed diam etric-ally thei r great antagonis t August ine, for w h o m (as for the Church) ,nature, though created good, was so corrupted by the sin of Adam tha tvirtue is impossible w ithout grace

A second clue to the t emper of the north ma y be seen in the Irish Neo-platonic philosopher ... Joha nne s Scotus Erigena (c. 815-c. 877 A.D.) . ..

[according to w h o m ] sin is the misdirected will and is punished by the find-

in g t ha t its misjudgements are vain. H ell is but the inne r state of a s inning

will.119

One m a n n e r in which a Christian consciousness of sin and a consequent

desire for salvation was advanced in Germanic society was t h rough the

Anglo-Saxon m issionary policy of accommodat ion. An example of the m a n -

ner in w hich this policy w as implemented m a y b e f ound in the deliberate

semant ic t ransformat ion of the Old Engl ish root *ha i lagaz f rom connoting

societal prosperity, to connot ing individual hol iness and salvation.120

Al-

though semant ic t r ansformat ion will be discussed in greater detail in the

following chapter, it may be noted here tha t "in the Germanic languages,

the term sa lva t ion very explicitly conn otes not only a heal ing of man's soul

but a more genera l heal ing (heilen, Helen)."1 21

11 9Oc c i d e n t a l Mythology, vol. 3 of T h e M a s k s o f G od (Harmondswor th : Pengu in Books,

1964), pp. 464-66. Philosophical resistance to the Chris t ian not ion of eternal damnation , per-

haps grounded in a more monis t ic , immanent , and pantheistic Celto-Germanic world-view, may

have played a role in the eschatological speculation of Erigena, De d i v i s i o n e n a t ur a e , PL ,

vol. 122, col. 441-1022, which has been summarized by Etienne Gilson , History o f C h r i s t i a n

Phi lo sophy in the Middle A g e s (New York: Rand om House, 1955): "In a universe where matter

shall be dissolved into its intelligible elements, there is no place for a material hell. Like Origen,Erigena considers the notion of a m ater ia l Gehenna to be a r e m n a n t of pagan superstition thatthe real Christians should get rid of (p. 127). Tha t proto-Pelagian notio ns, particularly w ith

regard to the m onastic life, m ay have been t ra nsm it ted to I re land v ia the m onast ic comm unity a t

L6rins, wh ich later becam e associated with sem i-Pelagianism, is possible, if one traces the path of

th e Eastern mo nast ic t radi t ion to Ireland through Le'rins, as does Geary , Before F r a n c e a n d G e r -

m a n y , p. 169. Co ntrary to Campbell's assumption of Pelagius's Irish origin, a recent reappraisal

by B. R. Rees, Pelagius: A R e l u c t a n t Heretic (Woodbridge: Boydell & Brewer, 1988), asserts that

"Britain is by far the strongest candidate for the honor, if such it be, of providing him with a

birthplace, even if all efforts to pinpoin t it s precise location ha ve been characterised by ingenuity

rather than conviction" (p. xiii). Rees also notes "evidence of the existence of the Pelagiancom m entary in three l ib rar ies on the cont inent , a ll of them connected with the I r ish m ission and

one of them b eing St. Ga llen," and concludes that "the later [late eig hth- and e arly ninth-

century] Irish Church certainly reveals a considerable respect for the Pelagian commentary"(p. 122). N. P. W illiam s, T h e G r a c e o f G o d (1930; reprin t , Hodder & Stoughton , 1966),

pp. 77-83, traces adherence to semi-Pelagianism from Cassian through Peter Lombard , the

medieval Franciscan schoolmen Alexander of Hales and Bonaventure, and the la ter nominal is ts

Du ns Scotus, W il liam of Occam, and G abriel B iel to the s ixteenth- and seventeenth-century

Jesuit schools of Molina and Suarez.120

B a e t k e , A u f n a h m e , p.52.

12 1 An toine Vergote , "The Consciousness of Evil and the La byrin th of C ulpabil i ty ," part 2of Gui l t a n d Desire: Rel ig ious At t i tudes a n d Thei r P a t h o l o g i c a lDerivat ives , t rans . M . H . Wood



164 T he Germanic T ra n s f o rm a t i o n of Chr is t iani ty

O f Columbanus and his Iro-Frankish successors, it may be observed

that those who were encouraged in their missionary endeavors by Dago-

bert I appear to have diverged in the degree to which they emphasized

various aspects of Christianity. When they addressed audiences in south-

ern, western, or central Gaul that had already been baptized, a moderate,

moralizing, "secondary-phase" approach appears to have been preferred.

However, on those occasions when Columbanus or Amand approached

Germanic peoples along the northern and eastern borders of Gaul, such as

the Alamanni, whose previous exposure to Christianity had been minimal,

these Iro-Frankish missionaries usually relied on "primary phase" dramatic

magicorel igious confrontations with pagan cult objects an d practices in or-

der to convince their audiences of the superior power of the Christian God.

For example, while preaching in the northern county o f Beauvais, Amand

instructed a blind woman who had venerated a tree dedicated to an idol to

"take an axe and cut down this abominable tree by which you have lost

your bodily sight and your soul's salvation," after which her sight w as

restored.122

In comparing the Christianizationefforts of the Iro-Frankish and Anglo-

Saxon missionaries, one apparent distinction is the emphasis among the

latter upon imposing a Rome-oriented canonica rectitude in ecclesiastical

discipline, custom, and organization.123

A less obvious distinction lies in the

(New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1988), p. 43. Vergote notes further: "It is theparadox of Christianity that in proclaiming freedom from sin and deliverance from the law it

accentuates th e demands of the law and sh arpens the sense of sin. Thus th e call to salvation alsoinvokes a call to conversion" (ibid.).O f related interest is the hypothesis of Elaine Pagels, Adam

an d Eve and the Serpent (New York: Random House, 1988): "Many people need to find reasonsfo r their sufferings. Had Augustine's theory not met such a need—were i t not that people often

would rather feel guilty t han helpless— I suspect that th e idea of original sin would not havesurvived the f i f t h century, much less become th e basis of Christian doctrine for 1600 years"(p . 146). For a historical discussion of the notions of sin and salvation in various religious

cultures, see Dictionary of th e History of Ideas, s.v. "Sin an d Salvation," by S. G. F. Brandon.See

also Frederick S. Paxton, Christ ianizaing Death: T h e Creat ion of a Ritua l Process in Early

Medieval Europe (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1990); and Jean Delumeau, S in a n d

Fear: T h e Emergence of a Western Guil t Culture, 13th-18thCenturies, trans. Eric Nicholson (New

York: St. Martin 's Press, 1990).12 2

Vita S . Amandi, episcopi et confessoris, M GH S R M , ed. Bruno Krusch, vol. 5 (Hanover:H ah n Verlag, 1910), pp. 447-48; translated in Hillgarth, Christianity a n d Pa ga n i s m , pp. 147-48.

Addit ional examples of Iro-Frankish intolerance fo r pagan rites include th e destruction byColumbanus of a cask of beer which was being offered to Wotan by the Swabians, reported in

Jonas, Vitae C o l o m b a n i abbatis discipulorumque eius libri duo,M GH S R M , ed. Ernst Dummler,vol. 4, (Hanover: Hahn Verlag, 1902), Vita I, p. 102, translated in Edward Peters, ed., Mo n ks ,

Bishops and Pagans: Christ ian Cul ture in Gaul a n d Italy, 500-700, with an introduction by

Edward Peters (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1975), p. 108; and thedestruction of metal idols belonging to the Alamanni by SS. Columbanus and Gall, reported inWalafrid Strabo, Vita Galli, M GH S R M , ed. Bruno Krusch, vol. 4, pp. 290-91.

12 3Timothy Reuter, "Saint Boniface and Europe," in idem, ed., T h e Greatest Eng l i shman:

Essays on S t . Boniface and the C h ur c h a t Crediton (Exeter: Paternoster Press, 1980), p. 80. Paul

Willem Finsterwalder, "Wege und Ziele der irischen und angelsachsischen Mission im f rank-ischen Reich," Z K G 47 (1928): 203-26, introduces an in ternal-external dichotomy in discussing



G e r m a n i z a t i o n a n d Chr is t ian iza t ion: 376-678 165

relatively personal , s traightforw ard , and apolit ical approach of the Iro-

Frankish missionaries as compared with that of their Anglo-Saxon succes-

sors. A n exam ple w hich i llustrates this s traigh tforw ard and apolit ical Iro-

Frankish approach may be found in Columbanus 's response to the appeal

of a companion who suggested that he pray for the victory of Theudebert

I I of A ust ras ia over Theuder ic I I of Burgund y. The la t ter k ing had offended

C olum ba nus m ore gr ievously than the form er . W hereas Rem igius andAvitus , Gallo-Roman bishops in search of a champion agains t Arianism,

associated mili tary victory wi th C hris tian affiliation in their correspondence

with Clovis , Columbanus responded to his companion in an apoli t ical ,

world-rejecting, and eschatological manner. According to Columbanus 's

Vita: "His a t tend ant said w i th rash presum ption: 'M y fa ther , a id Theudebert

with you r prayers , so tha t he may de feat the com m on enemy, Theud er ich. '

Columban answered: 'Your advice is foolish and irreligious, fo r God, w ho

c o m m a n d e d us to pray for our enem ies, has not so w i lled. The jus t Judge

has a lready de te rm ined w hat He w ills conc erning them . ' "12 4

T he extent to which the in f luence of the Iro-Frankish m iss ion dim in-

ished as the M erovingian dy nas ty declined is difficult to determine . In the

in t roduc t ion to his tran slat ion of the co rrespond ence of St . Bo niface, C . H.

Talbot makes the following observation:

T he missionary efforts of the Frank ish C hurch were sm al l, unsus ta ined , and

to o fitful to cope with the eno rmous difficulties to be faced . T he Irish, un der

C olu m b a n u s , were ear l ier in the field and a t first enjoyed unprecedented

success. From Luxeu il, wh ere their m onas te ry was si tuated, they spread their

influence far and wide , bu t the i r s ingular views on the observance of Eas-

ter and the form of the tonsure , the i r independence of local bishops and

Columbanus 's outspoken denuncia t ions of the m ora ls a t cour t , m ade the i r

pos i t ion untenable and they were forced to depar t . Round the lake of

Constance, where th e Abbey of St. Gal l still s tands as a r eminde r of their

activities, and a t Bobbio, in no r thern I ta ly , wh ere the i r learn ing shone w i th

th e spiritual and mora l concerns of the Irish m issionaries and the organizat ional and disciplinary

concerns of the Anglo-Saxon missionaries. From a Protestant perspective, Otto Wissig, Iro-

scho t t e n i tnd Boni fat ius in Deut s c h l a n d : E i n e k i r c h en ges c h i c h t li c h - ur kun d l i c h e Untersuchung

(Giitersloh: C. Bertelsmann, 1932), argues that the Scotts-Irish mission had performed the act-

ual work of Chris t ian ization in Ge rm any, and that Boniface 's role had prim ari ly been that of a

"Romanizer."A thorough presentat ion of both missions is contained in Heinrich Timerding, ed. ,D ie chris t l iche Fri ihzei t D eu ts c h la n d s i n d er Ber i c h t en uber d ie Bekeh r er (Jena: Eugen Diederichs

Verlag , 1929), vol. 1, "Die irisch-frankische Mission," and vol. 2, "Die angelsachsische Mission."

S ee also Friedrich Prinz, "Peregrinatio, Monchtum und Mission," in K i r c h e n g e s c h i c h t e a ls

Miss ionsgesch ich te , first half of vol. 2 of Die Kirche d es fr i iheren Mittelalters, pp. 445-65; H. B.

Clarke and M . Brenn an, eds ., C o l u m b a n u s a n d Merov ingian M o n a s t i c i s m , Brit ish Archaeological

Reports, series 113 (Oxfo rd: B ritish Archaeological Reports, 1981); and Proinseas Ni Ch a th a m

and Michael Richter , Ir land u n d Europa: D ie Kirche im Friihmit tela l ter (Stu t tgart : Klet t -Cotta ,1984).

12 4Jonas , Vitae C o l um ba n i a bba t i s d i s c i pu l o r um que e i us libri d u o , M G H S R M , ed. E rn s t

D u m m l e r , vol. 4, Vita C o l u m b a n i I, ch. 57; t rans la ted in Peters, ed., M o n k s , B i s h o p s a n d Pagans ,p. 111.



166 T he G e r m a n i c Trans format ion o f Christ ianity

undimmed lustre throughout the Middle Ages, their labours were of a

more enduring character; but, on the whole, their practice of consecrating

bishops with no fixed responsibilities, no jurisdiction,no ties and no superi-

ors, except the abbot of the monastery to which they were attached, was

not conducive to the establishment of Christianity on a lasting basis among

the pagan population. Lofty ascetic ideals and burning missionary zeal were

not enough. Too much depended upon the personal character of the preach-

er, so that when the first enthusiasm had spent its force the itinerant mis-

sionary too often left his converts to fend for themselves.. . . Thus by the

time the Anglo-Saxon missionaries arrived on the scene the work of

conversion in most parts had to be begun afresh. The memory of the early

Irish saints was still alive, but the f ru i t s of their labours had either disap-

peared or been interwovenwith pagan practices and superstitions.125

According to Talbot and Derek Baker, i t was the establishment of a Rome-

directed episcopal organization by Boniface in the latter half of his career

tha t provided the foundat ion fo r sustained Christianization activities.126

To the extent that Chris t iani ty d id spread among the Germanic peo-

ples, one is led, in the tradi t ion of Latouret te , to question: "What was the

form of the Christ ianity which spread?"127

From the perspective of the

current inquiry, this question may be focused more sharply by asking:"Was th e form of C hrist ianity w hich spread a Germanized one, and if so,

how did i t become Germanized?" To answer this question, i t may behelpful to recall that in previous chapters it has been asserted that pre-

Christian Germanic religiosity and social s t ructure were fundamental ly

interrelated, and that pre-Christ ian Germanic rel igiosity and social struc-ture tended to exhibit the basic characteristics of Indo-European societiesin their early, more authentic stages. These characteristics consisted of a

social structure with high group solidarity, an associated world-accepting12 5

T h e A n g l o - S a x o n Missionaries in Ger m a n y (New York: Sheed and Ward, 1954),

pp. viii-ix.12 6

Ibid., pp. ix, xiv-xv. Derek Ba ker, "Sowing th e Seeds of Faith: Theory and Practice in

th e Mission Field," in idem, ed.,Miscel lanea Historiae Ecclesiast icae, vol. 3 (Louvain: Publica-

t ions Universitaires de Louvain, 1970), states: "However th e m issionary enterprise might begin,

wh ether in the planned expedition of a Gregory th e Great or the individual initiative of a Nikon[apostle of Crete, d. 998], it had to progress quickly from th e confused compromise of the early

stages of conversion towards th e 'greater perfection' which all the missionaries desired. The

alternative w as that Christian paganism which Boniface encountered in Germany and noted inRome, and which was to be found throughout Chr istendom. Its eradication, and the establish-ment of a gen uinely Ch ristian practice and belief, was the life's w ork of men like Columbanus

and Cuthbert, but there w as more to Christianization than individual labour and personal exam-

ple. ... A stable ecclesiastical order had to be created to give permanence to these personalachievements. Initially this meant th e establishment of m onastic centres of teaching and exam-

ple ... bu t in time these centres had to be incorporated in the diocesan organization particularly

associated with th e names of Theodore of Tarsus and Boniface" (p. 105). For a recent discus-sion of the Prank ish episcopacy prior to and during Boniface's reform, se e Wilfried Ha r tm a nn ,"Die Synoden des Bonifatius," in Die Synoden der Karolingerzeit im Frankenreich und in ftalien

(Paderborn: Ferdina nd Scho ningh , 1989).12 7

See Latouret te 's first ques tion, above, p. 15.




folk religion which w as predominantly religiopolitical and magicoreligious,

as opposed to being pre-dom inantly doctrinal and ethical, and a pro m inentwarrior-band or c o m i t a t u s inst i tu t ion. A nother important Germ anic socio-religious characteristic wh ich has b een associated with Indo-European soci-

eties is tha t of "sacral kingship."12 8

Insofar as these and other characteristicsof pre-C hristian G ermanic religiosity were inculturated by early medieval

Christianity, i t m ay be considered to have been German ized .Th ree caveats should be bo rne in mind du ring this discussion. First , the

effects on various aspects of Christianity as a result of its encounter withthe Germanic peoples are not claimed to be unique; they m ay have also

occurred in other c ircumstances thrpugh ou t th e history of Christianity. For

exam ple, devo tion to the saints and their relics existed prior to the Ger-manic encounter with Christianity, but it was as a result of th is encountertha t this devotion rose to a level of prominence in early medieval WesternChristianity. Second, those aspects of C hristianity which are asserted to

have been G erman ized are not asserted to have endu red in their G erm an-

ized form unti l the present era . T hird, s ince wo rld-view transfo rm ation is aslow process, some effects of Germaniza t ion did not fully m ateria lize unt i l

centuries following the in i t ia l enco unter of Christ iani ty with the German icpeoples. A n im portant instance of this form of gradual world-view t ransfor-mation may be found in Carl Erdm ann 's explanat ion of the development of

the Crusade ideology:

The entrance of the G erm ans into Chris tian his tory had created an ent i rely

new situation. W ar was the life-style of the G erm anic peoples who increas-

ingly form ed the m ost im portant e lem ent in the ch urch 's consti tuency. T he

moral precepts that accompanied them from their pagan past were com-

pletely oriented to war, focusing on hero ism, fam ous deeds on the par t o f

the leader, loyalty on the part of the followers, reveng e for those killed,

courage unto death, contempt for a comfortable life a t home. For them,

war as such was a form of moral act ion, a high er type of life t h a n peace.

A ll this stood at the opposite pole from Ch rist ian m oral ity, w hich is based

on love and readiness for peace and can discuss w ar only wi th re ference to

aims and duties. The acceptance of Ch ristianity could n ot possibly cau se

the o ld Germ anic mode of th inking to lose its power ov ernigh t. This m e n -

tality took centur ies to overcome, and still has some appeal today. Char-

acteristically, the stories of the conversion of the Frank Clovis and of theLombard Romuald represent God's guidance of the for tunes of battle asthe decis ive eleme nt in the turnin g to Ch rist iani ty. M oreover ethics andreligion were separate in Germanic paganism, so that the supplant ing of

the pagan by the Christian cult did not s imultaneously imply a change in

the realm o f ethics.The church was therefo re confronted with a massive barr ier of pagan

ways, which fo r centur ies were beyon d its power to m a s t e r . . . .

128 Jan de Vries , A l t g e r m a n i s c h e Rel ig ionsgesch ich te , vol. 1 (Berl in : Walter de G ru y te r ,1956), p. 397.



168 T h e G e r m a n i c T r ans f o r m a t i on o f Chris t iani ty

Nevertheless, the German mentality also exercised a positive influence

upon the development of the ecclesiastical morality of war. W h e n thechurch

encountered pagan elements that it could not suppress , it t e n d e d to give them

a C h r i s t i a n dimension, thereby a s s i m i l a t i n g them. This happened to the

ethics of heroism. The whole crusading movement may justifiably be seen

f rom this perspective; Christian knighthood cannot otherwise be understood.

This evolution began in earnest only around the year 1000,.. . but prefig-

urations of it do, of course, appear earlier. To some extent, the development

of the Christian cult of the archangel Michael symbolizes the process.129

Another example of the developmental process associated with the Ger-

manization of Christianitymay be f o u n d in the increasing attribution of

mili tary virtues and noble origins to saints, known as Adelshei l ige, whoseLives were written in the seventh and eighth centuries.

130Franz Irsigler's

12 9Carl Erdmann, T he Origin of the Idea of Crusade, trans. Marshall W. Baldwin an d

Walter Goffart, with a foreword by Marshall W. Baldw in (Princeton, N.J.:Princeton University

Press, 1977), pp. 19-20 (emphasis added). John Gilchrist, "The Erdmann Thesis and the CanonLaw, 1083-1141," in Peter W. Edbury, ed.,Crusade and Se t t lem en t (Cardiff: University CollegeCardiff Press, 1985), pp. 37-45, has questioned Erdmann's assertion that th e canonists of the

Crusade period approved of the Crusade ideology, and suggests that they expressed an older

and more temperate Au gustinian doctrine of the he l ium ju s tum ; but Gilchrist has not sought torefute Erdmann's a t tr ibution of the Crusade ideology to Germanic influences. In fact, after

stating that "the essence of [Erdmann's] thesis was that, in the eleventh century, the Churchturned warfare on its behalf into an ethical activity," Gilchrist acknowledges that "in recentyears Erdm ann's thesis has been highly praised" (p. 37).Ad ditional contributions to the study of

th e evolution of Christian attitudes toward warfare may be found in R. A. Markus, "SaintAugustine's Views on the 'Just War,' " in W. J. Sheils, ed., T h e C h u r c h a n d W a r , SCH, no. 20

(Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1983), pp. 1-14, who notes that "Augustine's thought on the 'just wa r'has suffered more perhaps than any other idea from th e uprooting to which it has beensubjected by medieval lawyers an d theologians in search of auctoritates and by historians in

search of a homogeneous doctrinal tradition" (p. 11). Another relevant article in this volume isJanet L. Nelson, "The Church's Military Service in the Ninth Century: A ContemporaryComparative View?" pp. 31-46, who, suggesting that this service m igh t constitute a phase in theevolution of the Crusade ideology, concludes that by the ninth century "warhad become a fact

of ecclesiastical life" and that "the institutionalized warfare of the Church was not just permis-

sible but necessary: in practical term s because it sustained th e Carolingian state, in ideologicalterms because it transcended the opposition between apostolicity and landed wealth. The

solution was zeitbedingt in both senses of that useful word: it was needed by churchmen at aparticular time and i t required th e conditions of that time. . . . The liturgy of knighthood hasninth-century West Frankish roots (I am thinking of the benediction super militantes in the

Leofric Missal), and the earliest d ubb ing rituals should be linked with th e warrior-households ofparticular bishops, that is , with th e fami l iae of particular saints. Can we believe that any widegulf separates these mil i tes from, on the one hand, those warriors of Carolingian bishops and

abbots and abbesses w ho went to war behind their banners and kept their mail-shirts in holyplaces, and on the other, th e m il it ia sanc t i Petri and the soldiers of Christ?" (pp. 28-29). See

also, E. O. Blake, "The Formation of the 'Crusade Idea,' " JE H 21 (1970): 11-31; and OvidoCapitani, "Sondaggio sulla terminologia militare in Urbano II," S t ud i Medievali, 3rd ser.,

31 (1990): 1-25.13 0

In the previous chapter, pp . 124-25, military motifs in t e n th - and eleventh-century hagio-graphies were discussed. According to Wallace-Hadrill , T h e F r a n k is h C h u r c h , th e Adelsheilige

included Arnulf of Metz, Eligius of Noyon, Aud oenus of Rouen, an d Wandr i l leof Fontenelle, aswell as "a separate but related group, stretching farthe r back, of those of royal blood," which




article, "On the Aristocratic Character of Early Frankish Society," docu-

ment s this adaptation,and also aff i rms the usefulness of the study of hagio-

graphical literature for the analysis of world-view t ransformat ion:

The new works by Graus and Prinz have shown what value hagiographic

sources have, once one penetrates beyond the mere establishing of the

presence of topoi [standard themes] and looks at changes in their use and

the occurrence of individual traits, which can themselves become common-

places. Such changes are without a doubt to be ascribed to the influence of

social structure and society's scale of values. Wemust a l so remember that in

view o f t he conservat ive nature o f h a g i o g r a p h i c s o ur c e s , n ew charac ter i s t i c s ,

especially in the descr ip t ion of the qual i t i es a n d t h e w a y o f l i f e o f a saint,

wo ul d on ly become es tabl i shed after a cer ta in time lag.

The basic change in the ideal of sanctity and the hagiographic surround

[ s i c ] of the saint in the course of the seventhand eighth centuries and its extra-

ordinary importance for the understanding of social changes in the early

middle ages has already been intensively studied in recent research. What

Graus calls, from a Marxist historian's standpoint, a "feudalization of hagiog-

raphy" in the Carolingian period has been described by Prinz as a develop-

ment f rom the strictly ascetic and monastic ideal of late Roman Gaul to

the type of the "noble saint" of the seventh and eighth centuries, a man

who generally comes f rom the highest stratum of society, and, however much

he may observe the traditional ideal of asceticism, remains a saintly abbot

or bishop tied to his own class and to its scale of values.

Particularly i l lum inating is the judgement of Merovingian hagiographers

on the various signs of a noble life-style, since these were most typically ele-

ments of the vita secu lar i s and thus stood insharp contrast to true asceticism.

Just howhighly skillinh a n d l i n g weapons, courage, and sheer machismo were

valued in the sources of the Merovingian period can clearly be seen from

m a n y of the quotations in the course of this study.131

included Sigismund, Radegunde, and Dagobert II and III (p. 89). See also Karl Bosl, "Der

'Adelsheilige': Idealtypus und Wirklichkeit , Gesellschaft u nd Kultur im merowingerzeitlichen

Bayern des 7. und 8. Jahrhunderts," in S pec u lu m Histor ia le: G es c h ic h te im Spiegel vo n G es c h ic h t s -

schre ibung und Gesch ich tsdeutung. Festschrift fu r J o h a n n e s Sp or l a u s Anlassseines 60. Geburts tages ,

ed. Clemens Bauer, Laetitia Boehm, and Max Miil le r (Munich: Verlag Karl Alber, 1965),

pp. 167-87.131

"On the Aristocratic Character of Early Frankish Society," trans. Timothy Reuter, in

idem, ed., T h e Medieval Nobil i ty: S tud ies on the R u l in g Clas ses o f France and G e r m a n y f r o m th eSix th t o the Twelfth Century , Europe in the Middle Ages, vol. 14 (Amsterdam: North-Holland,

1978), pp. 118-19 (emphasis added). It may be recalled from chapter 3 above, pp. 58-59, that

the Indo-Europeans tended to impose anaristocraticfeudal-l ike social structure in the territories

which they conquered. The references madeby Irsigler are to Frantisek Graus, "Die Gewalt bei

den Anfangen des Feudalismus und die 'Gefangenenbefreiungen ' der merowingischen Hagiog-

raphie," Jahrbuch fu r Wir t s cha f t sgeschkh te 1 (1961): 64; idem, Volk, Herrscher u n d Heiliger im

R e i c h d er Merowinger : S tu d ien zur Hagiographie d er Merowingerzei t (Prague: Nakladatelstvi

Ceskoslovenskd Akademie Ved, 1965), pp . 206-7; and Friedrich Prinz, "Heiligenkult und

Adelsherrschaf t im Spiegel merowingischer Hagiographie,"His tor i sche Zeitschrif t 204 (1967):

530-31; idem, "Zur geistigenKul tu r des M o n c h t u m s im spatant iken G al l ien und im Merowinger -reich," Zeitschrif t fu r bayer ische Landesgesch ich te 26 (1963): 76ff. I am indebted to Patrick J.



170 T he G e r m a n i c Trans format ion o f Chr i s t i an i t y

I t m ay be worthwhile to note here that not only did saints' Lives reflect

social and ideological developments, but as Jaroslav Pelikan has observed,

"in [Albert] Schweitzer's words, it has been characteristic of each age of

history to depict Jesus in accordance with i ts own character."132 While

Pelikan does not treat the Germanic "Jesus as Hero" theme extensively,

he does mention that "one of the greatest early poems in the English lan-

guage, T h e D r e a m o f th e R o o d , has the tree of the cross describe the 'young

Hero' w ho would ascend it for his combat with death and, succumbing in

the combat, would nevertheless prevail." He also mentions the medieval

fondness for the metaphors of "the victory-granting cross" and "the won-

drous battle," and the popularity of the theme of Chr i s tus Victor, exemplified

in the Pange l i ngua of Venant ius Fortunatus.133

Ge ary for prov iding an advance copy of "Saints, Scholars, and Society: The Elusive G oal," which

is to appear in a collection of his essays entitled Living with th e Dead (Ithaca, N.Y.: CornellUniversity Press, forthcom ing). Geary cautions against generalized assumptions when seeking to

derive social values from hagiographies, stressing that "hagiographical man uscripts were created

through a wide variety of manners that suggest a spectrum of uses and purposes as well as

modes of production." In Before France a n d Germany , Geary observes that "the author of the

life of Arnulf of Metz even praises Arnulf s extraordina ry skill with arms," and asserts that

M erovingian hagiography w as "essentially a form of propaganda, and these accounts of noblesaints were pa rt of a program , developing both at court, and , increasingly, in the pow er centers

of the northern aristocracy, to celebrate, justify, and promo te the form ation of a self-conscious

Christian Prankish elite" (p. 176). Ra ym ond Van Dam , "Images of Saint Ma rtin in Late Rom an

and Early Merovingian Gaul," Viator 19 (1988), has noted that, "although Sulpicius and later

writers had once tried to make M artin into a civilian saint by deem phasizing his long m ilitary

service, the early Cluniacs regarded Saint M artin as the for eru nn er of the chiva lrous knigh t, and

by the time of the Crusades Saint Martin had reemerged as one prototype of the Christian

soldier" (p. 26). See also Barbara Rosenwein, "St. Odo's St. Mart in : The Uses of a Model,"

Journal of Medieval History 4 (1978): 317-31. Recent discussions of the sociohistorical signifi-

cance of medieval hagiographical literature may be found in "The Sources," in Susan J. Ridyard,T he Royal Sa i n t s o f A n g l o - S a x o n England: A Study o f West S a x o n a n d Eas t Ang l i an Cults

(Cam bridge: Cam bridge U niversity Press, 1988); Th om as J. Heffernan , Sacred Biography: Sa i n t s

an d Their Biographers in the Middle Ages (New York: Ox ford Un iversity Press, 1988); Thomas

Head, Hagiography and the Cult of the Saints: The Diocese of Orleans , 800-1 200, Cambridge

Studies in Medieval Life and Thought, no. 4 (Cam bridge: Cam bridge University Press, 1990);

McNamara and Halborg, with Whatley, Sainted W o m e n of th e D a r k Ages; and Julia M. H. Smith,

"Early Medieval Hagiography in the Late Twentieth Century," Early Medieval Europ e 1:1(1992): 69-76.

13 2Jesus Through th e Centuries: His Place in the History o f Culture (New York: Harper &

Row, 1985), p. 2. Just prior to this quotation, Pelikan provides a more complete reference toSchweitzer's position: "Would we not find it more accurate to substitute for the first centuryformula ' the sam e yesterday and today and forever' the tw entieth-century wo rds of A lbert

Schweitzer? 'Each successive epoch,' Schweitzer said, 'found its own thoughts in Jesus, which

was, indeed, the only way in which it could make him live'; fo r typically, one 'created him inaccordance with one's ow n character. ' 'There is,' he concluded, 'no historical task which soreveals someone's true self as the writing of a Life of Jesus.' " Pelikan isproviding here his own

revised translation of Albert Schweitzer, T h e Quest of the Historical Jesus, trans. William

Montgomery (New York: M acm illan, 1961), p. 4.13 3

Pelikan, Jesus, pp. 99—102. The complete text is: "Pange, lingua, gloriosi proelium

certaminis et super crucis tropaeo die t r iumphum nobilem, qual i ter redemptor orbis imm olatusvincerit." O f related interest is a suggestion of Pelikan 's: "The ecclesiastical system of satisfac-




Having thus documented hagiographical and Christological examples

of the Germanization process, and having previously attributed the devel-opment of the Eigenk irchensys tem and Eigenklostersystem to the process ofGermanization, this inquiry will now focus on the less obvious ideologicaldialectics which contributed toward this process. O n e m a y begin with th e

fundamenta l socio-politico-religious synergy that characterizes pre-Chris-tian Germanic religiosity, and which may be a function of the high level of

group solidarity present in early medieval Germanic society. In this so-

ciety, religious cults and rituals expressed and advanced sociopoliticalcohesion.

Walter Baetke has stressed the prevailing sociopolitical character of

Indo-European religiosity in general:

For the Indogermanic [Indo-European] peoples, the fundamental alliance

between state and religion is attested to by history.... T he oldest political

order of Rome is grounded entirely in a sacred context. T he cult of the

gods w as bound to the community. Similarly, w e also find with th e Ger-

m a n s that political unity is founded upon the cult of a particular deity. For

the Greeks, Romans, and the Germanic peoples, th e veneration of the

gods was an absolute duty, th e neglect of which constituted a crime against

the state. This association between state and religion is considered to benormal and organic.134

tion, moreover, m ay have contained echoes of civil law as well, in which, according to the ancient

Germanic requirement of wergild, one was obliged to make good for a crime in accordance with

th e standing of the injured party in society. Since in this case God was the injured party, only a

wergild paid by one who wasboth God and man would have been adequate" (p. 108). The heroic

Christ is discussed in greater detail in G. Ronald Murphy, T h e Saxon Sav ior : T h e Germanic

Trans format ion o f th e Gospe l in the Nin th-Century Hel iand (New York: Oxford University Press,

1989), w ho concludes that th e author of the Hel iand "remained fai thful to the orthodoxChristian teaching of the Gospel, and yet in his contemplation of that Gospel imagined an

almost unthinkably new and different form of Christianity, thereby transforming th e Gospel

into the traditional religious imagery and values of his people" (ibid., p. ix). The extent to which

the Hel iand , despite its Germanized setting, expresses the world-rejecting ethos of early Chris-

t ianity, particularly in its treatment of the Beatitudes, has led Baetke, A u f n a h m e , pp. 27-36, and

J. Knight Bostock, Handbook o n O l d High German Litera ture , 2nd ed., rev. by K. C. King and

D. R. McLintock (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1976), pp. 148-52, to reject it as an example of the

German iza t ion of Christianity. However, despite its author's scrupulous attention to doctrinal

and ethical orthodoxy, it is likely that to a doctrinally unsophisticated audience, th e Heliand's

thoroughly Germanized form and setting spoke louder than it s orthodox content. If such wereth e case, the net effect m ay have been an assumption by its audience that Christian and

Germanic world-views and value systems were compatible, if not identical.134 "Der Gemeinschaftcharakter der Religion," sect. 8 of "Das Phanomen desHeiligen: Eine

religionswissenschaftliche Grundlegung," part 1 of Das Heilige im Germanischen (Tubingen:

J. C. B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck), 1942), pp. 32-33 (my translation). Baetke also acknowledges a

close relationship between the religious and political spheres of the ancient Egyptian and

Babylonian cultures. Such a relationship in Hellenic Greece has been discussed by H. D. F.

Kitto, T h e Greeks (Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1957), pp . 75-79, w ho remarks: "How

in t imately religious and 'political' th inking were connected we can best see f rom th e Ores te ia of

Aeschylus. ... It is the concern of the Olympian gods to defend Order; they are particularly the

gods of the Polis" (p. 76). See also, Angela Delia Volpe, "On Indo-European Ceremonial and



172 The GermanicTransformation of Christianity

The reception of Christianity in the Mediterranean world might have been

much the same as in the Germanic world, had it not been for the anomic,

folk-dissolving effects of the Hellenistic transformation, which disrupted

the intimate and stabilizing relationship between sociopolitical and reli-

gious spheres that had existed in the Greek polis and the Roman gens.135

The consequential social destabilization and alienation enhanced the appeal

of an alternative Christian community in which the criteria for member-

ship were belief and behavior, rather than ethnocultural identity. Baetke

has contrasted the Hellenistic and Germanic religiosities which Christianity

encountered:

It is not generally understood that Germanic religion had a totally differentnature and structure than the Hellenistic gnosis. It was not a philosophical

religion, but a national cult-religion, and as such, was what Augustine in

his City of God termed a "political" religion, with a national way of life

belonging to it, in contrast to a "mythical" or "natural" (or "philosophical")

religion. . . . The Germanic gods were neither nature deities nor ethical

ideals, but national gods like those of the Romans and the gods of the

Greek polis. Germanic religion was a concern of the political community

and was intimately associated with the legal, political, and social life.... It

was from this religious perspective that the Germanic peoples came to

terms with Christianity.136

The socio-politico-religious synergy within Germanic societies at the

time of their encounter with Christianity, as just described by Baetke, is

epitomized by the king's role in pre-Christian Germanic society.137

Empha-

sizing this unity, William A. Chancy introduces a survey of Germanic

kingship by stating that "the most fundamental concept in Germanic king-

ship is the indissolubility of its religious and political functions."138

An

Socio-Political Elements Underlying the Origin of Formal Boundaries," JIES 20:1/2 (1992):71-122.

13 5Baetke, A u j h a h m e , clarifies this: "Dort [among th e Greeks] batten die Mysterienkulte

und die hellenistische Philosophic dem Chris tentum den Weg bereitet. Etwas Entsprechendes

gab es in der ge rm anische n Welt nicht" (p. 24).13 6

Baetke, A u j h a h m e , pp. 41-42 (m y translation). Baetke fur ther asserts: "The politicalperception of Christianity has been th e primary reason for the alliance of the state with th e

Church. There exists a con tinuum from the Arian national churches and the Prankish imperial

church, throu gh the Christian Em pire of the M iddle Ages, to the Lu theran national, state, andregional churches. That is the Ge rma nic constan t in chu rch history" (p. 51, my translation).

13 7Introd uction s to this subject include J. M. W allace-Had rill,Early G e r m a n i c Kingship in

England a n d o n th e C o n t i n e n t (Ox ford: O xford U niversity Press, 1971); and Henry A . Myers andHerwig Wolfram, Medieval Kingship (Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 1982).

13 8T h e Cult o f Kingship in A n g l o - S a x o n England: T he Transi t ion f r o m P a g a n i s m to

Christ ianity (Berkeley: U niv ersity of C aliforn ia Press, 1970), p. 11. The cha rism atic, sacraldimensions of Germanic kingship are the focus of Otto Hofler , "Der Sakralcharacter des

germanischen Konigtums," in The Sacra l Kingship: Contribut ions to the Central T h e m e of the

Vlllth Internat ional Congress for the History of Religions (Rome, 1955), Studies in the History of

Religions, no. 4 (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1959), pp. 664-701; Jan de Vries, "Das Konigtum bei denG erman en , " S a e c u l um 1 (1956): 289-309; Peter H. Sawyer and Ian N. Wood, eds. , Early Medie-



G e r m a n i z a t i o n a n d C hr i s t ian i za t ion : 37 6 -6 78 173

appreciation of the nature and development of the insti tution of Germanic

kingship is critical for an understanding of the reciprocal processes ofGermanizat ion and Christ ianization which occurred between 376 and 754,

especially given th e centrality of the Frankish kings in these processes.

Prior to the Volkerwanderungszei t (A.D. 375-568), it appears that the

"Germanic peoples had two sorts of kings, one essentially religious, theother military."

139Writing in A.D. 98, Tacitus wrote in chapter 7 of his

G e r m a n i a : "They choose their kings [reges] for their noble bir th , their com-

manders [duces] fo r their valor."140

This distinction, reminiscent of the

bipolar tension attributed by Dumezi l to the religious and political elements

of the first func tion of Indo-European sovereignty,141

has contributed to the

hypothesis advanced by Jan de Vries and generally accepted by others tha t

the sacral qualities of the re ge s— or in Gothic, th e t h i u d a n s—were ass imi-

lated by the d u c e s— or in Celto-Germanic, the reiks—because of the need fo r

highly organized w ar confederat ions during the Volke rwande rungsze i t .1 42

This social development w as accompanied by a rel igious one. T het h iudans , w ho "was apparently chosen from a royal family, tha t is a family

with which the ethnic, historical, an d cultural tradit ions of the t r ibe were

mos t c lose ly iden t i f i ed , . . . w as closely associated to the Germanic (in fact,

Indo-European) god Tiwaz, who was the protector of a stable social order

and guaran tor of laws, fertility , and peace."143

Henry A . Myers and Herwig

va l Kingship (Leeds: The School of H istory, Unive rsity of Leeds, 1977); and recently and most

relevant to the current inquiry, M iller, "Sacral Kingsh ip, Biblical Kingsh ip, and the Elevation of

Pepin the Short." Appreciation is extended to David Harry Miller for providing a copy of thelecture notes for his course on the Franks, as well as an extensive current bibliography. One of

the earliest records alluding to sacral leadership am ong the Ge rman ic peoples is found in a

description of the Gothic victory over the R om ans du ring the reign of Dom itian (A.D. 81-96),

recorded in Jordanes, Get ica , 78: " turn G o th i . . . magn aque pot i ti per loca victoria iam proceressuos, quorum quasi fortuna vincebant, non puros homines, sed semideos id est Ansis vocave-

runt." This passage is reproduced in Goffart, "Jordanes and His Three Histories," in Narrators

of Barbar ian History, p. 76 n. 273, and is discussed there on pp. 76-79.13 9

Geary, Before France a nd Germany , p. 55.14 0

Cornelius Tacitus, T h e Agricola a n d th e G e r m a n i a , trans, with intro. by H. Mattingly,

rev. by S. A. Ha nd ford (New Yo rk: Penguin Book s, 1970), p. 107; o rigin al in C orne lius Tacitus,

"D e origine et s i tu Germanorum," ed. M. Winterbo t tom, in Opera m i n o r a , Oxford Classical

Texts (O xford: O xford U nive rsity Press, 1975), par. 7: "Reges ex nob ilitate, duces ex virtu te

sumunt."141 See above, pp. 114,116.14 2

Jan de Vries, "Das Konigtum bei den Germanen," pp. 296—300, whose view is generallyaccepted by Chancy, T h e Cul t of Kingship in A ng lo - Saxon England, who notes: "However close to

historical reality this ingenious hypothesis may be, i t mu s t lie indeed in the realm of pre-historical conjecture; nonetheless, when th e l ight of history and tradition falls on Germanic

kingship of the age of migrations, th e king is leader of the war-hosts but also th e charismatic

m ediator w ith the divine, the sacral holder of the tribal ' luck' " (p. 14). Meyers and Wolfram,

Medieval Kingship, pp. 2-6, and Geary, Before F rance a n d Germany , pp. 55-56, 61-62, alsoappear in genera l agreem ent with de Vries 's hypothesis.

14 3Geary , Before France a nd Germany , p. 55. The association of Tiwaz with fertility

appears somewhat tenuous, at least from a Dumezil ian perspective, according to wh ich Tiwaz, orTyr in Old Norse (not to be confused with th e wa rrior-god Thor) , and O din w ere respectively




Wolfram have fu rth er described the socio-politico-religious function of the

t h i u da n s :

T he ear ly G ermanic t h i u d a n s personified th e tribe in a very real way. H is

tribe saw in him the best man to please the gods of war and nature be-

cause of his Heil, tha t certain som ething about h im the ancient deities

liked. H is tr ibe entrusted him w ith their ve ry identity: the divine liking for

him mean t a greater prob abili ty of victory or survival in the face of calamity

than t ribesmen could h ope for on their merits.... Th e im m ersion of t ribal

identity in such a m a n resulted in assurance that these vir tues permeated

th e total tribal personality. In his possession of Hell, th e t h i u d a n s swayed

fate on the tr ibe's behalf , and as the living embod imen t of the tribe in a

single royal personage, he gave his people an end ur ing uni ty which was, ofcourse, transm itted by blood th roug h a royal house or dyn asty.

The royal role of personif ier did not disappear when t r ibes becameCh rist ian, mu ch larger , or both.

144

T he reiks, or "m ili tary king," in turn beca m e a devotee of O din, w ho in o ne

of his aspects was the god of war.145

The m il itary kings and their t r ibes

looked to O din "as the giver of victory, and throug h victory, a new sort o f

religious justification fo r their position."146

During the Volkerwanderungs-

zeit , as the reiks type of king ship eclipsed the t h i u d a n s type, the f o r m e rapparently incorporated the hereditary and charismatic quali t ies of the

latter.147

A n individual exam ple of this development m ay be found in the

Visigothic kin g A laric (d. 410), who seems to have begun his career "as a

reiks, or as an elected w arr ior k ing by one nam e or the other," but "devel-

oped his posit ion into that of a t h i u d a n s , or permanent t r ibal k ing, beforehis career was over."

148

Regard ing the amalgamat ion of the two fo rms of Germanic kingship,

M eyers and Wolfram have com m ented on the "auspiciousness" of the O stro-gothic king Theodoric's name: " 'Theodoric' was only what Greeks and

R o m a n s m a d e out of Thiuda-re iks , thus 'nat ion-king ' and 'warrior-chief in

one person. T he all-around luster of his n a m e and descent [supposedly thesixteenth k ing of the A m al dynasty] w as enoug h to at tract a substantial

Germanic following, not o riginal ly l im ited to O strogoths, w ho soon took

divine representatives of the juridical and magicoreligious aspects of the function of sovereignty(Georges Dumezil, Mitra-Varuna, t rans. Derek Coltman [New York: Zone Books, 1988],

pp. 113-28). Edgar C. Polom6, Encyclopedia o f Religions, s.v. "Germ anic Religion," has proposedthat during th e migration and postmigrat ion periods, th e fertility function w as represented byFreyja an d forms of *Ingw[az].

14 4Medieval Kingship, pp. 348-49.

14 5 This and other aspects of Od in's complex character are discussed in de Vries ,Al tgerman-

i sche Rel igionsgesc hichte, vol. 2, pp. 27-107; and E. O. G. Turville-Petre, Myth a nd Religion of th e

North (1964; repri nt, We stport, Co nn.: G reenw ood Press, 1975), pp. 35-74.146

Geary, Before France and Germany , p. 61.14 7

Meyers and Wolfram, Medieval Kingship, pp. 5-6.14 8Ibid., p. 66.




on an Ostrogothic identity."149

Also contributing to the religious prestige

of the Germanic king may have been the apparent absence of an organized

priesthood.150

A confluence of ascribed sacral attributes and achieved

military attributes occurred not only within the Arian Germanic kingdoms,

but also with the pagan Frankish kings, who considered themselves to be

Wotanic war-kings of divine descent.151 The pre-Christian religious sym-

bolism surrounding Clovis, Theodoric's Merovingian counterpart, has been

discussed by Miller:

The Frankish Merovingian kings were Wotanic kings. The tomb of the

Prankish king Childerich, at Tournai, contained a relic of surpassing inter-

est, a large sculptured bull's head, covered in gold, and bearing between

its horns a golden solar disk. The obvious implication is that Childerich

was a devotee of a solar deity who had some cultic associations with the

bull as a prime religious symbol. Wotan was,among other things, the All-

Father figure in Germanic mythology, which means that he was the solar

deity as well. . . . Thus, when Bishop Avitus of Vienne wrote to Clovis

upon his baptism, congratulating him for having abandoned a claim to a

false divine descent for a simple nobility, he was not merely engaging in

rhetoric.152

The religiopolitical complementarity within Germanic societies, as ex-

pressed in the kingship function, endured throughout the Middle Ages.153

It may be considered the most significant long-term factor in the German-

Nation of early medieval Christianity.154

149Ibid., p. 70.

150After discussing the role of druids in Celtic society, Davidson, Myths a n d Symbols in

Pagan E uro pe , notes: "Much less is known about the Germanic and Scandinavian priesthood,which seems never to have been as efficiently organised as were the druids. Julius Caesar em-

phasises this difference, and indicated that the priests and seers among the Germans had lesspolitical influence. ... In Iceland th e chiefs undertook certain priestly duties, organising th ereligious feasts and sometimes taking responsibility for shrines of the gods, although these

might be under th e guardianship of particular fam ilies. The term g o d i used for a chief in Iceland

who represented his district at the Thing seem s likely origina lly to have been a priestly title"

(pp. 157-58). See also the discussion of the existence of a priestly class in Germanic an d Indo-

European societies in de Vries ,Al tgermanische Religionsgeschichte, vol. 1, pp. 397-400.151

Miller, "Sacral Kingship," pp. 133-34.152

Ibid.15 3

The ideological tr an sfor m ation of the kingship function into that of emperor is dis-

cussed in David Harry Miller, "TheRoman Revolution of the Eighth Century," MediaevalStudies 36 (1974): 79-133. See especially the conclusion, pp. 132-33.

154Meyers and Wolfram, Medieval Kingship, note: "Theconversion of Clovis to Trinitarian

Christianity proved historically to be of tremen dous influen ce in m aking the Franks preem inentin western Europe fo r centuries to come. Gregory's story of the event underscores at once avariety of notions concerning kingship. On one hand, it sanctions th e idea that th e faith of the

king decides the faith of the people, a principle w hich was to live on after many transformationsinto th e seventeenth century as C u i u s regio eius religio. Simultaneously it affirms the Old Testa-men t and early Christian idea th at th e faith of the king determines how God is going to t reat th e

people. In the M iddle Ages it became m ore ne arly axiomatic than ever th at a king strong in the

right faith m eant victory and prosperity, while a religiously deviant k ing m ean t d isaster" (p. 83).For a fur ther discussion of the complementari ty of religious and political elements as they




In a metaphysical sense, th e predominantly world-accepting, folk-cen-

tered world-view of the Germanic peoples m a y b e viewed as antithetical to

the predominantly world-rejecting, individualist , and soteriological world-

view of early Christianity. It is not surprising to discover that th e religiosityof a rural, agricultural-pastoral, world-accepting folk society was deeply

at tuned to the cycles of nature . In the resistance of such a society to the

l inear Christian temporality that is integral to salvation history, the deeper

metaphysical disparity between th e world-view of early Christianity and

tha t of the Germanic peoples becomes apparent. Carol J. Greenhouse has

summarized th e views of Oscar Cullmann and Jacques L e Goff on this

subject:

The expansion of Chr is tianity in to Europe brou ght wi th it two ideas about

t ime that had long roots in Jewish and autochthonous Christ ian tradit ion:

first, th e or igin of t ime in Creation, and second, the end of t ime in a Day

of Judgement . T he linearity of time d erives simply from th e geometr ic con-

nection between these tw o endpo ints. These arr ived as new ideas to Europe,

and it is difficult to know how they affected ordina ry people as they encoun-

tered them in the long process of Europe's conversion to Christianity.155

Appraising the impact of these new Christian temporal ideas on indigen-

ous pre-Christian temporal ideas, L e Goff has suggested that throughout

the M iddle Ages the Christian sense of t ime remained subordinate to the

cyclical rhythm of "natura l time." H e notes that "not only d id most of the

great religious feasts succeed to pag an feasts w hich them selves were in di-

rect relation to the natural cycle of the year , but more especially the liturgi-

cal year was in agreement with the na tura l rhythm of agricultural tasks."156

A n even greater pre-Christian impact is perceived by Peter Brown,

w ho has noted that , in areas of Gaul, "the process of Christianization w asbrought to a standstil l by the si lent determinat ion of human groups w ho

would not a l ter the im m em oria l pat terns of the ir working life to pay rever-

ence to the saints, or to bend their habi ts to please yet another class of

d o m i n i . "1 57

Brown concludes his study of the cult of the saints in late

developed in medieval kingship, see Ern st H. K antorowicz, T h e King's T w o B odi e s : A Study in

Mediaeva l Pol i t i ca l Theology (Princeton, N.J . : Princeton University Press, 1957).15 5

"Just in Time: T em porali ty and the Cultura l L egi t im at ion of Law," Yale La w J o u r n a l 98

(March 1989): 1634. See also Augustine, De dvi ta te Dei , 12.14; Jacques Le Goff , "Merchant'sTime and Church's Time in the Middle Ages," in T i m e , W o r k a n d Cul ture i n the Middle A g e s ,

t rans . Arthur Goldhammer (Chicago: Univers i ty of Chicago Press, 1980), pp. 29-42; Oscar

Cullmann, Chr i s t a n d T i m e : T h e P ri m i t ive C hr i s t i an C onc e p t ion o f T i m e a n d History, trans. F. V.

Filson (London: SCM Press, 1951); Gerha r t B . Ladner, T h e Idea o f Reform : I t s Impact on

Chr is t ian Thou g h t and A c t i on i n t he A g e o f t he Father s (New York: Harper & Row, 1967),

pp. 10-16, 203-12, 222-38, 451-54; and idem, "The Impact of Christianity," in Lyn n W hite, ed.,

T h e Trans format ion o f the R o m a n Wor l d: Gibbon's Problem after T wo C e n t u r i e s (Berkeley:

Universi ty of California Press, 1966), pp. 88-90.156

Le G o f f , Medieval Civi l i za t ion , p. 181.15 7

T h e C u l t of th e Sa in t s : Its Rise a n d F u nc t i on in Lat in Chris t iani ty (Chicago: U nivers i ty ofChicago Press, 1981), p. 122.



G e r m a n i z a t i o n a n d Chr is t ian iza t ion: 376 -6 78 177

ant iqui ty by rem arking upon the fu nda m ental dispari ty between pre-

C hristian and C hristian world-views:

It seems to me tha t the most marked fea ture of the rise of the Christianchurch in western Europe was the imposition of hu m an adm inistrat ive s truc-tures and of an ideal po ten t ia l inke d to invisible hu m an beings and to their

visible h um an representatives, th e bishops of the towns, at the expense of

the landscape itself . Saint M artin attacked those points at which the natural

and the divine w ere held to meet : he cut down the sacred trees, and he

broke up the processions that followed the imm em orial l ines between th e

arable and the n onarab le. H is successors fulminated against trees and foun-tains, and against forms of divination that gained access to the future

th rough th e close observation of the vagaries of a n i m a l and vegetable life.They imposed rhythm s of work and leisure th at ignored th e slow tu rning of

th e sun, th e moon , and the planets throug h the heavens, and that reflected,

instead a purely hu m an time, l inked to the deaths of outs tanding individuals .

W h a t is at stake behind the t ired repetit ions of ant ipagan polemic and the

admoni t ions of the councils in sixth-century Gau l and Spain is noth ing less

than a conflict of views on the relation between man and nature.158

A lthough phrased in terms differing from the w orld-reject ing versus w orld-

accepting parad igm of R obert Be llah, B row n's analysis of the effect of Chris-t ianizat ion efforts i l lustrates th e same fun da m enta l dis tinction, that is , t ha t

"the most marked feature of the r i se of the Chris t ian church in westernEurope" is essentially its w orld-rejecting wo rld-view w hich in terrupts the

na tu r a l cyclic co nt inuum w ith the not ion of God acting in human his tory

through prophets , in revelation, and in sending his Son as a redeemer to

effect the salvation of the fai thful before Judgement Day. This "salvat ion

history" m ental i ty runs direct ly cou nter to the tra dit ion al Indo-E uropean

and G erm anic wo rld-accepting, folk-centered wo rld-view.The dispari ty between G erm anic and early C hristian conceptions of

t im e has been discussed in de tail by Paul B auschatz, w hose c entral thesis is

that "Germanic cul ture w as dominated by its conception of i ts own

past."159

When representat ives from an eschatological , otherwo rldly, future -

or iented, Chris t ian society confronted members o f a past-oriented, this-worldly Germanic society, offering salvation from a world f rom which the

G erm anic peoples did not desire to be saved, fund am enta l problems were

inevitable. B auschatz has considered the substantial conceptual difficultieswhich m ay have arisen from the a t t empt by the Germanic peoples to re-solve the novelty and disparity of C hrist ian tem porali ty w ith the tradit ional

G erman ic tem porali ty :

Th e temporal reor ientation toward the future , w hich the Chris tian concep-

tion stresses so strongly, involve d a 180-degree wrench away from the pastt oward a fu tu re t ha t did not even exist prior to Chris t ianizat ion. T he doctr ine

158Ibid., pp. 124-25.

159 T h e Well and the Tree: World and T ime in Early Ge rman ic Culture (Amhers t : Universityof Massachusetts Press, 1982), p. ix.




of salvation and the idea of a closed, fixed eternity must also have been

difficult. Sin, repentance, and absolution m ust have seemed very strange atfirst. R epentan ce and absolution involve a m om ent in wh ich the sins of the

past are confronted, repented of, and, in effect, washed away. The absolvedindividual at this moment enters a state of grace; the past disappears, and

he is born anew. How the Germanic peoples must have struggled with th e

idea that th e past could ever disappear!... Finally, wyrd, the term for the

power of the past upon the present, l ingers on long after Christianization. It

alone of early G erm anic concepts seems to have been so firmly rooted in the

consciousness and language of the people that the religious and temporal

reo rientatio n did not su pplant it quick ly or easily.160

Bauschatz thus makes clear the existence of deep-rooted and complexproblems associated with the attempted Christ ianizat ion of the Germanic

peoples.T he dispari ty betw een G erm anic and early C hristian wo rld-views is also

reflected in their conceptions of history. This may be observed more clearlyif one momentar i ly moves beyond the Merowingerzei t to the thir teenth

century to com pare the al legorical and mo ralis t ic orientat ion of Au gustin-

ian salvation history as epitomized by D e dv i ta te D e i , with the far more

objective G erm anic depict ion of historical events in the Nibelungenl ied andthe Icelandic sagas. In these lat ter works, which represent the epic litera-

ture of societies in w hich C hrist ianity appears to h ave been G erma nized, i t

seems th at nei ther the Ch rist ian historical vision of the Creation and Last

Judgment as historical endpoints bisected by the Resurrect ion, nor thenot ion of a providential force act ing in secular history, w as substantially

incorporated. As Frederick P. Pickering has observed: "These 13th cent,

w orks recognize no pattern of history other than tha t inh eren t in the events

they t reat . . . . No C ity ('civitas') of this wo rld or the next arises f rom thedevastat ion, there is no promise of a better future. . . . The sagas reflect a

conception of history in which a fall, original sin or guil t , redem ption and

salvation play no role."161

Similarly, of Beowulf, the Nibelungenl ied, and the

C h a n s o n d e R o l a n d , John Simpson has concluded that "the actions of

the warr iors in the poems, of those of them with ethical integri ty, are

predicated upon the ethical com m itm ents of the Indo-European, and m orespecifically, Germ anic hero ic w ar r io r . . .. [T]he ethic of the heroic warrior

is the fundamen t a l and pervasive motif and the most vi tal unifying

16 0 Ibid., p. 154. Bausch atz's criteria for Ch ristian izatio n are e vide ntly less rig orou s thanthose a pplied herein.

16 1"Historical Tho ugh t and M oral Codes in M edieval Epic," in H arald S choller, ed., T h e

Epic in Medieval Society, pp. 8-9. Pickerin g locates th e reemergence of salvation history in the

High Middle Ages, with one of its first exponents being Joachim of Fiore (d . 1202), whose

millennarist and reformist writings gained w idespread po pularity and ignited sub stantial contro-

versy in the thir teenth century, particularly in re la t ion to their adaptat ion by elements of theSpiritual Franciscans. Add it ional in formation on the Joachimi te phenom enon and associated

forms of salvation history may be found in Bernard McGinn , "Apocalypticism in the M iddle Ages:An Historiographical Approach," Mediaeval Studies 37 (1975): 252-86.



G e r m a n i z a t i o n a n d Chr is t ian iza t ion: 376 -6 78 179

theme."162

Just as the Christ ian Church was a novelty in the classical and

Germanic worlds, and not a replacement for an indigenous institution, so

the C hristian w orld-view of sin, redemption, and salvation history was not

merely a slight modification of an existing belief system, but a totally new

way of perceiving reality from an otherworldly perspective.163

Because of the complexity of the Christianization process, referencesto Christianization within this inquiry will continue to be qualif ied as

"attempted." To use the w ord "Christianization" un qua lified ly w ould imply

tha t the substantial conceptual problems discussed above were resolved by

the t ime a people was described as Christianized, but this was usually not

the case. A more rigorist usage of the words "Christianization" and "Chris-

tian" in historical studies is not common, although it might be helpful in

delineating m ore precisely the nature of the religious tran sform ation w hich

occurred as a result of the encounter of non-Christ ian peoples with Chris-

tianity. Part of the com plexity is du e to the fact that C hrist iani ty w as m ore

than just a new cult . If i t had been merely a new cult , Christ ianizat ion

would have involved only the transferral of allegiance and devotion to a

new deity. Indeed this is w ha t is l ikely to have been the ini t ial response of

those among the Germanic peoples who viewed Christ as a powerful new

god to be incorporated in to thei r pantheon . But this cannot be consideredChristianization in the proper sense. Instead, it constitutes a fundamen t a l

folk-religious reinterpretation of Christ ianity, and may more properly be

described as a syncretic development.16 4

A s no ted in chapter 3, our ow n locus within a C hristian religious m ilieu

m ay cause us to w rongly assum e that "all fo rm s of religion have o ne com-

mon structure; so a person's shift of allegiance toward Christianity need

16 2

John Simpson, "Com parative S tructural An alysis of Three Ethical Questions in Beowulf,th e Nibelungenl ied, and the C h a n s o n d e Roland," JIES 3 (1975): 253.

16 3G erha rt B. Ladner, "The Im pact of Ch ristianity," asserts tha t Gib bon , "great historian

though he was, did not fully understand the new dimensions tha t th e concepts of t ime and

history had received in Ch rist ian thou ght through the coming of Christ and the phenomenon of

th e C hurc h," (p. 67), and states tha t "the Christian view of tim e . .. was not only a n o v u m in theworld into which Ch ristianity entered, but also continued to be of great importance for the

civilization shaped by the C hristian religion, and qu ite especially fo r we stern civilization" (p. 88).

A detailed discussion of the notions of t ime and history in non-Chr is t ian and pre-Christiansocieties may be found in M ircea Eliade, T h e Myth of th e Eternal Return o r, C o s m o s a n d History,

trans. Willard R. Trask (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1954), who notes that"Christianity t ransla tes th e periodic rege neration of the world into a regeneration of the h u m a n

individual" (p. 129). One area in which cyclical t ime m ay have re ta ined an influence is theliturgical year , as is indica ted ibid., p. 130, and as implied in ch. 1, "Cosmic Time an d H u m a n

Life," in Adolf Adam, The Liturgical Year: Its History and Its Mea n i n g a f t e r th e Reform of the

Liturgy, t r ans . Mat thew J. O'Connell (New York: Pueblo, 1981).164 Given th e imprecision and disparaging conno tation associated with th e t e r m , th e exer-

cise of some caution is appropriate when describing a re l igious development as "syncretic." T h e

Encyclopedia of Religion, s.v. "Sy ncretism ," by Ca rsten Colpe, t rans. Matthew J. O'Connell, pro-

vides an important detailed analysis of the many uses of the term and describes it as "always a

t ransi t ional phase." Further discussion of the na tu r e of the t ransformation of Christianity whichoccurred as a result of its encounte r with th e Germanic peoples will follow in the Conclusion.




have involved only th e exchange of one theology or theodicy or liturgy or

system of mo rals for some other tha t w as seen as preferable," or we m ay

just as wron gly assume tha t "religion m eans doctrine."165

However, as a

universal, prophetic religion, Christianity requires more from its converts

than intercessory appeals fo r solutions to worldly problems. It de m a nds

ethical conformity and doctrinal belief, tw o dimensions which are largely

absent from most folk religions. In his discussion of Karl Kerenyi's ap-

proach to Greek and Roman religion, Johannes Kleinstuck observes that:

Religion [in the R om an sense] is first and foremost a set of rules observed

by h um an beings whe n d ealing with the divine; i t implies activity, a way to

be ha ve — cu lt . . . . I t i s probably due to a long t radi tion of Chr is t ian th ink-in g that som e people assum e belief to be the essence of all religions, includ ing

th e pagan o nes. This, however, is a mistake, and again philolo gy conies in to

correct it. Christian belief is pis t i s or f ides, "faith," implying trust; it con-

sists in the soul's t rustful sur render to the will of God who is t rue and

therefore t rus twor thy, who i s indeed , truth 's very self . Bo th faith and trust

are cont inual ly exposed to the dan ger of being und erm ined by doubt , an d

doubt may slip off into despair , which can only be overcome by the grace

of G o d . N o pagan Greek or Roman ever held that k ind of blind belief.16 6

Neither did the pre-Christian Germanic peoples.

Th e init ial result of attractin g m em bers of a folk religion to Christiani-

ty is of ten the re interpre ta t ion of Chris t iani ty as a folk religion which

focuses on the same wo rldly needs and desires which had previously been

addressed by the su perna tural forces associated w ith the pre-Christian folk

religion. A liturgical example of such a Germanic folk-religious reinter-

pretation of C hristianity was the popu larization of supplemen tary M asses

offered fo r personal intent ions, known as "private" or "votive" Masses.Architectural evidence of their growth in popularity m a y be derived from

the increase in the n u m b e r of "side altars" w hich were constructed in

churches as the Middle Ages progressed. Commenting upon th e views of

Cyrille Vogel toward th e medieval popularity of the private M ass, William

G . Storey and Niels Krogh Rasmussen have noted: "For Vogel in partic-

ular , this 'sacerdotalization' of the en tire mass is due to a basic changeover

in religious and l i turgical psychology— radically different f rom t ha t of the

early church. T he mass has become a good work, 'which takes it s placeamong the other ascetical exercises through which the religious sanctify

themselves.' "16 7 Storey and Rasmussen no te fur the r : "It is undeniable that

there is a dif ference in the theology of Church, Orders , and Eucharist

165See above, p. 48, citing M acMu llen, Chr i s t ian i z ing the Roman E m p i re , p. 8.

166 "Ker^nyi's Humanistic Approach to Ancient Religion," in Edgar C. Polome, Essays in

M e m o r y o f Karl Kerenyi , JIES Monograph Series , no. 4 (W ashin gton , D.C.: In sti tute for the

Study of Man, 1984), pp. 70-71.167

Medieva l Liturgy: A n I n t rodu c t i on t o t he Sou rce s , t rans , and rev. Will iam Storey andNiels Rasmussen (W ash ing ton , D. C.: Pastoral Press, 1986), p. 156.



G e r m a n i z a t i o n a n d Chris t ian iza t ion: 376-678 181

between that of the early Church and t ha t of the medieval Church. . . .

Without such a change in Eucharist ic understanding the actual practice of

the ear ly M iddle Ages wou ld be un thinka ble— the pil ing up of m asses and

th e 'offering of the sacrifice for" so m a n y reasons."168

A conjectural account o f the reinterpretive process by w hich C hristian-

ity acqu ired folk-religious characterist ics has been proposed by C. E. Stan-

cliffe in an article on the Christ ianization of the Touraine dur ing th e fifth

throu gh seventh centuries. A fter discussing the fu nd am en tal differenc es be-

tween natural and prophetic religions generally, and between "indigenous

Gallic paganism" and Christianity particularly, Stancliffe succinctly de-

scribes th e choices w hich co nfro nte d Christian m issionaries:To a farm er who was accustomed, for ins tance, to carrying images of the

gods around his very ow n fields in o r de r to ensure th e success of his crops,

Christianity could all too easily have appeared distant and irrelevant. O ne

might characterize the si tuation by saying there w as, at best, a certain lack

of coincidence between a pagan peasant 's expectations of religion on the

one h a n d , and Christ ianity on the other.

Given this si tuation, there seem to me to be theoretically two ap-

proaches to the task of converting the countrys ide. O n e option would b eto continue to preach the gospel as a prophetic religion; to insist that

Christ ianity is essentially about entering into a rela tionship with G od, and

that becoming a Christ ian necessitates making an absolute break with

one's pagan past.... T h e al ternat ive to th is for th r ight proclam at ion of the

gospel would be to try and build a bridge between religion as a pagan

unders tood it, and Christ ianity. Here th e Christian G od would be presented

as the t ru e source of the heal th and prosper ity fo r wh ich the peasant had

former ly looked to pagan dei t ies . In such ways one would t ry and widen

the church's reach to embrace everyone, on the grounds tha t once theyhad become members of the church , there wou ld be greater opportunit ies

for educat ing them gradual ly in the t rue nature of Christianity.169

It appears that from the "lack of coincidence" betw een the this-worldly

concerns of the pagans and the otherworldly C hris tian prom ise of salvation,

there em erged a C hris t ianizat ion m ethodology of accomm odat ion and

gradual ism. This m ethodology is exemplif ied in the miracle stories about

St. Mar t in of Tours, writ ten or edited by Gregory of Tours, which address

the m ost comm on pagan concerns: the res torat ion of personal he al th andthe avoidance of adverse w eathe r conditions.

170In short , "the church tried

168I b i d . , p. 158.

16 9"From T own to Country: The Christianisation of the Toura ine , 370-600," in T h e C h u r c h

in Town a nd Countryside, ed. Derek Baker, SCH, no. 16 (O xfo rd: B lackwe ll, 1979), pp. 54-55.

O f related interest in the same volume is I. N. Wood, "Ear ly M erovingian Devotion in Town

an d Co untry," pp. 61-76.170 These stories are collected in Gregory's Libri d e virtutibus S . Mart in i episcopi, ed.

Wilhelm A r n d t and B r u n o Krusch, M G H S R M , vol. 1, par t 2 (H ano ver: H ahn Verlag, 1885). A nimpor tant comparative study of the varying images of St. Mart in from th e four th t h r ough sixth




to f i t Christ ianity to the sort of rel igious demands which peasants would

make on it: i t stressed the efficacy of Christ ian saints and their rel ics to

achieve those results fo r which peasants had formerly looked to their

pagan gods."171 T he results of this policy were "far from ideal."172 A s

Stancliffe concludes: "The point is, tha t if one seeks to embrace everyone

within the church, and does not demand too great a reorientat ion of life

and at t itude s of those w ho come seeking bapt ism , then one m ust a t tem pt

to teach them gradually the t rue meaning of the re l ig ious commitment

they have taken upon themselves; otherwise, there is l i t t le point in pre-

t end ing they are C hristians. I t w as here tha t the M erovingian church fai led

so dismal ly . O ne searches throu gh the sixth-century synods in vain for de-m a n d s that priests should teach the people about Christianity."173

U n f o r -

tunate ly, from th e perspective of establishing a doctrinal ly and ethically

orthodo x C hrist ianity, the ca techum enate system of religious instruct ion,

which m ight have facil ita ted a gradual reor ientation of the G erm anic w orld-

view toward a Ch ris tian w orld-view , no longer funct ioned in the Mer o w i n -

gerzeit . Even if it had, one wonder s how successful it would have been,

given the vitality of the G ermanic wor ld-v iew.

centuries, as portrayed in the successive works of Sulpicius Severus, Paulinus of Pe'rigueux,

Fortunatus , and Gregory of Tours, is Ra y m o n d V an Dam, "Images of Sain t Mart in in Late

Ro m a n and Early Merovingian Gaul." Additional recent research on St. Martin includes idem,

Leadership a n d C o m m u n i t y in L a t e An t i que Ga ul (Berkeley: University of California Press,

1985), and C. E, Stancliffe, S t. Mart in and His Hagiographer: History a n d M i r a c l e in Sulp ic ius

Severus (Oxford: Oxford Univers i ty Press, 1983).171

Stancliffe, "From Town to Coun t ry ," p. 58.

172 Ib id.173

Ibid., pp. 58-59.



Germanizat ion and Christianization:

678-754

As in the preceding chapter, th e purpose here is to examine those develop-m ents which seem to m ost clearly reveal the operation of the processes of

Germanization and Christianization. It is during this period of the Anglo-Saxon missions, from St. Wilfrid's visit to Frisia in 678 through St. Boniface'smartyrdom there in 754, that the conversion of the Germanic peoples is

often thought to have been completed. However, it will be shown that theform of Christianity which emerges from this period is a substantiallyGe rman ized one. Some of the factors which contributed to this result werethe developm ent of a missionary policy of accom m odation and gradualism,the decline of the catech um ena te system of religious fo rm atio n, the vitalityof pre-Christian Germanic religiosity, and the papacy's growing depend-ence upon Prankish military power.

The Anglo-Saxon missionary "school," of which St. Boniface is the

most prom inent mem ber, m ay trace its origins to Pope Gregory th e Great.It w as he w ho initiated A nglo-Saxon Ch ristianization efforts when he sentSt. A ugustine of Canterbury, the abbot of St. And rew's monastery in Rom e,and several fellow monks

1to Britain in 596. In fact, th e notion of "mission,"

as currently understood, is prim arily derived from its "Gregorian" imple-m entation . Prior to G regory, Ch ristianity expanded primarily by a gradua lprocess of diffusion throughout th e Ro m an Empire. This diffusion occurred

1

St. Andrew's monastery had formerly been Gregory's family mansion. He himself hadbeen a monk there for several years. Although it was asserted by Alfons M. Zimmermann,

K a kn d a r iu m B en ed ic tu m, vol. 1 (Metten: Verlag der Abtei Metten, 1933), 53ff., cited in Gerhart

B . Ladner, T h e I d ea o f Reform : I t s I mpa c t o n C h r i s t i a n T h o u g h t a n d Action in the Age o f the

Fathers (New York: Harper & Row, 1959), p. 400 n. 60, that Augustine of Canterbury was a

Benedictine monk, Ladner suggests that "it is at least equally probable" that the way of life at St.

Andrew's was that of the Roman basilicas." It is significant that Gregory chose monks for this

endeavor, since they were to predominate in the missionary efforts of the next two centuries.

Augustine's mission w as not, however, th e first instance of monks pursuing missionary activities.

St. Columbanus founded th e monasteries of Luxeui l in Gall and Bobbio in I taly, and was active

in evangelization efforts in Gall in 591.

183

7




through Jewish and Hellenist ic communit ies , through public at tention tothe acts of the m artyrs , through m erchants and t ravelers , and through the

"underprivileged of the Greco-Roman world to whom th e C hrist ian m essage

of salvation for all without dist inct ion of race, condit ion, or sex wouldcarry conviction."

2

A prim ary reason that no missionary efforts had been m a d e to the nor th-

ern provinces of the empire prior to Gregory w as the generally negativeat t i tude of the Romans toward the Germanic peoples. This at t i tude pre-

vailed even among Roman Christ ian apologists unti l the pontificate of

Gregory the Great , w ho was probably "the first am ong great Ro m an leaders

w ho greatly appreciated barbarians as human beings."3

It is l ikely that

Gregory's m issionary ini t iat ive w as also at least partially motivated by an

apocalyptic vision of his era. G regory appears to have perceived the polit i-

cal calamit ies of his age as eschatological indicators. Time w as runn ing out

for people to b e saved, and thus a rat ionale for ad m inistering baptism w ith-

out prior catechetical formation m ay have b een im plici t ly established. In a

letter to King ^thelbert of Kent, Gregory writes: "W e would also have

Your M ajes ty know wh a t w e have learned from the words of Almighty G odin holy Scripture, that the end of this present world is at h a n d and the

everlasting kingdom of the Saints is approaching. When the end of the

world is nea r, unpreced ented things occur. . . . Not all these things wil lhappen dur ing our own l i fe t imes , but will ensue in due course. ... I have

m entioned these m atters in this short let ter , m y i l lustr ious son,in the hope

tha t as the Christ ian faith grows m ore strong in your k ingdom , our correspon-

dence with you may become more f requen t . S o m y pleasure in addressing

you will keep pace with the joy in m y hear t at the glad new s of the complete

conversion of your people."4

2W. H. C. Frend, "The Missions of the Early Church: 180-700 A.D.," in Derek Baker,

ed., M isce llanea His to r iae Ecc les ia s t icae , vol. 3 (Louvain: Publications U niversitaires de Louvain,

1970), p. 6. Frend notes (p. 3) tha t Kar l Hol l felt tha t "the early Church lacked a specific calling

of missionary," and tha t Holl, in his G e s a m m e l t e Aufsatze z u r K i r c h e n g e s c h k h te , vol. 3 (1928;

reprint, Darmstadt: Wissenschaftl iche Buchgesellschaft , 1965), pp. 121-22, had concluded that

"the early Church conducted no obvious or planned propagation of the word." A more extensive

analysis of Christian expansion until th e death of Gregory th e G r e a t is contained in Frend, T h e

Ri se of Chr is t iani ty (London: Dar ton , Longman and Todd, 1984).3

Gerha r t B. Ladner, "On Roman Att i tudes Toward Barbar ians in Late Antiquity,"Viator 7 (1976): 25. Ladner notes that Gregory was "the most effec t ive t ransmit te r to the new

peoples of the West of the theological heritage of the Fathers and of the monastic tradit ion, in

th e forms which they had received from Saint Augus t ine and Saint Benedict" (ibid.). T he

Augus t inian not ion of predestination, with it s corollary that th e "elect" m ay include Anglo-

Saxons among the i r numbers , m ay have contributed toward Gregory's missionary plans.4 Beda Venerabilis, Histor ia E cck s i as t i ca , PL, vol. 95, book 1, ch. 32, subsequently

referred to as Bede, H E; th e English translation is taken from Bede, A History o f t he E ng l i sh

C h u r c h a n d People , t rans , and in t ro . Leo Sher ley-Price , rev. R. E. Latham (1955; H a r m o n d s -

worth: Penguin Books Ltd., 1968), p. 90, subsequent ly referred to as Sherley-Price. While

Sherley-Price believes that this eschatological comment refers to "the current expecta t ion tha tthe end of the wo rld would come in the year A.D. 1000" (p . 340),G. R. Evans , T h e T h o u g h t o f




Since Boniface shared in the Gregorian missionary tradition, it is valu-

able to note Gregory's ow n thoughts on the methodology of Christianiza-

tion. Fortunately, the contents of Gregory's letters of advice to Augustineand his associate, Abbot Mellitus, as well as to King jEthelbert, have been

preserved by Bede in his History of the English C h u r c h a n d People .5

A n

apparent contradiction exists between the Christianization methodology

contained inGregory's letter to Jithelbert6

and that in his letter to Mellitus.7

In his letter to /Ethelbert, Gregory urges him to "press on with the task of

extending the Christian Faith among the people committed to your charge,"and to "make their conversion your first concern; suppress the worship of

idols, and destroy their shr ines [ fanorum aedificia everta]."8

In an apparentlysubsequent letter to Mellitus,who was in Gaul en route to Britain, Gregory

requested:

When by God's help you reach our most reverend brother, Bishop Augus-

t ine , we wish you to inform him that we have been giving careful thought to

th e a f f a i r s o f the Engl i sh , and have come to the conclusion that th e temples

of th e idols among the people should o n n o account be destroyed [fana

i do l o r u m destrui in e ad e m ge n te minime debeant] . T he idols are to be de-

stroyed, but the temples themselves are to be aspersed with holy water,

altars set up in them, and relics deposited there. For if these temples arewell-built, they must be purified from th e worship of demons and dedi-

cated to the service of the true God. In this way, w e hope that the people,

seeing that their temples are not destroyed, m ay abandon their error and,f locking more readily to their accustomed resorts, m ay come to know and

adore the true God. A nd since they have a custom of sacrificing many

oxen to demons, le t some other solemnity be substituted in its place, such

Gregory th e Grea t (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986), in her discussion ofGregory's attitude toward prophecy, has stated: "When Gregory became Pope he expected the

end of the world to come at any time. When he answered letters or gave advice, he did so on that

assumption. .. . The imminence of the end seemed to him a reason, not to relax, but to strive

harder on behalf of the Church in her hour of glory. ... The world is in crisis, but the Church,

paradoxically, is coming to her highest triumph in the Last Judgement This new strong sense of

an end to all things coming close governs his thinking in all his work fo r church and state" (p . 43).5

A more complete version of Gregory's correspondence than that contained in HE, may

be found in Gregori i I papae R e g i s t r u m E p i s t o l a r u m , 11.9, ed. Paul Ewald and Ludwig M .

Hartmann, MGH Epis tolae , vols. 1 and 2 (Berlin: Weidmannsche Buchhandlung, 1899), herein-

af ter referred to as Gregory, Epis tolae . Discussions of the authenticity of the Anglo-Saxon corre-

spondence, particularly Gregory's detailed reply to Augustine's inquiries contained in HE, 1.27(Epistolae, 11.56

a) are found in Suso Brechter, Die Quel len zu r A n g e l s a c h s e n m i s s i o n Gregors des

Groflen (Munster: Aschendorff, 1941), w ho rejects it s authenticity, and in Paul Grosjean and

Margaret Deanesley, "The Canterbury Edition of the Answers of Pope Gregory I to St. Augus-

tine," JEH 10 (1959): 1-̂ 19, R. A. Markus, "The Chronology of the Gregorian Mission to

England: Bede's Narrative and Gregory's Correspondence," JEH 14 (1963): 16-30, and J. M.

Wallace-Hadrill, "Rome and the Early English Church: Some Questions of Transmission," in

Early Medieva l History (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1975), w ho generallyaff i rm it s authenticity.6 Bede, HE, 1.30.7 Bede, HE, 1.32.8

Bede, HE, 1. 32;Sherley-Price, p. 89 (emphasis added).




as a day of Dedication or the Festivals of the holy martyrs whose relics are

enshrined there. They are no longer to sacrifice beasts to the Devil, but

they m ay kill them for food to the praise of God,and give thanks to the

Giver of all gifts for the worldly plenty they enjoy. If the people are allowedsome worldly pleasures in this way, they will more readily come to desire

th e joys of the spirit. For it is certainly impossible to eradicate all errors

from obstinate minds at one stroke, and whoever wishes to climb to a moun-

ta in to p climbs gradually step by s tep, a n d n o t i n o n e leap. It was in this w ay

that the Lord revealed Himself to the Israelite people in Egypt, permittingth e sacrifices formerly offered to the Devil to be offered thenceforward to

Himself instead. So He bade them sacrifice beasts to Him,so that, once

they b e c a m e enlightened, they m i g h t abandon o n e element o f sacrifice a n d

retain another.For, while they were to offer th e same beasts as before, they

were to offer them t o God instead of to idols, so that they would no longer

be offering the same sacrifices. O f your kindness, you are to inform our

brother Augustine of this policy, so that he may consider how he may best

implem ent i t on the spot.9

From a recent comparative examination of these letters, R. A. Markushas determined that, although Gregory's letter to Mellitus (urging templepreservation) precedes his letter to King /Ethelbert (urging temple destruc-tion) in Bede's History, "it [the letter to Mellitus] w as written almost exactlya month after the letter to the king."10 In his earlier June letter to /Ethel-

bert, Gregory is probably responding to initial reports of Augustine'ssuc-

cess in Britain and is seeking to encourage greater support from ^thelbert

fo r missionary activities. Gregory's advocacy of the destruction of pagan

9 Bede, HE, 1. 30; Sherley-Price, pp. 86-87 (emphases added). The interpolated Latin

text is taken f rom Bertram Colgrave and R. A. B. Mynors, eds., Bede 's Ecc les ia s t ica l History o f

th e Engl i sh People (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969), p. 106. As to the implementation of thispolicy, Gale R . Owen, Rites a n d Religions o f th e A n g l o - S a x o n s (New York: Dorset Press, 1985),

p. 131, has suggested that the church of St. Pancras in Canterbury was built on the site of a

pagan temple belonging to /Ethelbert and that this site was rededicated by Augustine. While

noting that "the ritual sacrifice of oxen is a feature of Anglo-Saxon paganism evidenced repeat-

edly by archaeology," she mentions that "in the early fourteenth century ox-heads were found at

the south side of St. Paul's Cathedral in London" (p. 45).The general reluctance of Christians in

pre-Gregorian times to transform pagan temples into Christian churches is discussed in Richard

P. C. Hanson, "The Transformation of Pagan Temples into Christian Churches in the EarlyChristian Centuries," in idem, ed., Studies in Chr is t ian Antiquity (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark,

1985), pp. 347-58, where he states: "It is apriori unlikely that in the first flush of their triumphover paganism the Christians should have taken over and merely reconsecrated with few altera-

tions pagan temples wholesale, for they regarded these temples as the abodes of filthy devils,

inveterate enemies of Christianity. Christians would naturally avoid such places. . . . That the

first impulse of Christians was to pull down and destroy pagan temples, and that this was the

earliest policy followed toward them, there can be no doubt" (pp. 347-48). However, Hanson

acknowledges that "the original temenosarea might be preserved" (ibid.). See also F. W. Deich-

Inst i tuts 54 (1939): 105-36.10

R. A. Markus, "Gregory the Great and a Papal Missionary Strategy," in G. J. Cuming,

ed., T h e M i s s i o n o f th e Church a n d th e Propagat ion o f the Fai th , SCH, vol.6 (Cambridge: Cam-bridge University Press, 1970), p. 35.

mann, "Fruhchristliche Kirchen in an tiken Heiligtumern," Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archao logischen



G e r m a n i z a t i o n a n d Chri s t ian i za t ion: 678-754 187

temples is consistent with his general policy toward pagans elsewhere—a

policy according to which "coercion by the available authorities was an

unquestioned prop of the Gospel, and the prototype was ready to hand in

the image of Constantine and the establishment of the Christian RomanEmpire."

11 Markus conjectures that during th e next few weeks Gregory be-

c a m e more aware of the "entrenched strength of English paganism" and

began to empathize with ^Ethelbert's reluctance to proceed too quickly.12

The results of this reflection are noted in the more conciliatory tone and

contents of Gregory's later July letter to Mellitus, asking him to tell

Augus t ine not to destroy the pagan temples but to adapt them to Christianworship.

Gregory's letter to Mellitus marks "a real turning point in the develop-ment of papal missionary strategy."

13Whereas there had previously been

an "almost unquestioned policy of reliance on coercion by the secular au-thorities,"

14 there now existed a policy of accommodation, backed up by

less overt political pressure. Although Markus views this as a strategy re-

placing coercion, it might also be viewed as an additional tactic in an overallmissionary strategy which did not exclude coercion in circumstances where

i t w as deemed appropriate.15

T he general missionary policy of Gregory, and

later Boniface, m ay be summarized as "that which cannot be supplanted bypreaching or coercion, m a y b e accommodated."

16

11Ibid., p. 34.

12 Ibid., p. 36.13 Ibid., p. 37. J. N. Hillgarth, Chris t iani ty a n d Paganism, 350-750: T h e C o n v e r s i o n o f

Western E u r o p e (rev. ed. of T h e Convers ion o f Western E u r o p e , 350-750) (Philadelphia:

University of Pennsylvania Press, 1986), notes: "Gregory's advice that pagan temples should be

turned into churches—though not always followed in England, where many temples were

destroyed—canonized general practice. But the way Gregory in Rome could envisage conditionsin England is remarkable" (p. 150).

14 Markus, "Gregory the Great and a Papal Missionary Strategy," p. 37.15

It would be difficult to document papal displeasure at the implementation of coercive

Christianization tactics toward pagans by Christian secular leaders. Christian missionaries often

viewed Prankish mili tary victories as opportunities fo r evangelization. Conversely, victims of

Prankish expansionism, particularly the Saxons, often associated Christianity with Prankish poli-

tical domination. A n extreme example of papal approval fo r Prankish expansion is cited by J. M .

Wallace-Hadrill, T h e Barbarian West , 400-1000: T h e E a r f y Middle Ages (New York: Harper &

Row, 1962), where he recalls that following Charlemagne's victory over the Saxons at Verden in

782 and his massacre of 4500 pagan Saxon prisoners, he received a letter f rom Pope Hadrian Iannounc ing "three days of thanksgiving fo r this great Christian victory" (p . 103).

16 This is suggested by the observation of David Keep, "Cultural Conflicts in the Missions

of St. Boniface," in Stuart Mews, ed., Religion a n d National Identi ty, SCH, no. 18 (Oxford: Basil

Blackwell, 1982): "Many of our modern Christmas customs have their origin in local pre-christian

midwin te r festivities. T he church w as unable to suppress them, so f ound it more expedient to

blend them subtly into its cult" (p. 50). The same observation was made by Carl Erdmann, The

Origin of the Idea o f Crusade , and is cited in the previous chapter, pp . 167-68, regarding th e

Church's view of the moral i ty of war: "The German mentality also exercised a positive influence

upon th e development of the ecclesiastical moralityof war. When th e church encountered pagan

elements that it could no t suppress, it tended to give them a Christian dimension, thereby assimi-lat ing them. This happened to the ethics o f heroism."




A s G regory indicated, concessions tow ard pagan pract ice w ere intendedto be only of a t emporary na tu re , so t ha t "once they [the newly baptized

Anglo-Saxons] became enl ightened, they might abandon one element of

sacrifice and retain another."17 Comment ing on this stipulation , D. H. Greennotes: "Such an at t i tude of pruden t accomm odation is of course far removed

from actual approval . When Gregory advises Mell i tus not to forbid out-

right the pagan pract ice of sacrificing oxen and of r i tual feast ing, this is

clearly not because he has any respect fo r the ce rem ony in w hich the pagan

celebrants offered their cattle as sacrifice to the gods, but simply becausehe hopes to conv ert this old-established practice to new ends (i.e. a feas t in

praise of God as the giver of all gifts) and even eventually to abandon it

altogether."18 However, with such a s t ra tegy of tempo rary accom m odat ion

there is always a danger of long-term syncret ism . This is part icularly l ikely

in cases such as that of the Germanic peoples in the seventh and eighth

centuries , where a thorough and ongoing catechetical correct ive to the

accommodated form of C hris tiani ty w as not provided.19

As stated at the

close of the previous chapter, g iven the vi tal i ty of G erm anic rel igiosi ty at

this t i me , one m a y only speculate w he ther post-baptisma l catechesis wo uld

have produced s ignif icant resul ts— or m ight even have proved coun ter-

productive by al ienating those who had no interest in the soteriological-

eschatological core of C hris tiani ty . Ins tead, a Germanic in terpretat ion ofChrist ianity w as grad ual ly syncretized with Christ ian concepts of sin and

salvation over the succeeding centur ies . The gradual nature of th is pro-

cess co ntributed tow ard i ts gen eral im perce ptibi l ity w ithin early m edieval

society.

Gregory's letter to Mellitus is also significant in i t s Old Tes tament

analogy. The redirect ion of sacrifice from idols to God is descriptive of the

effect th at G regory's m issiona ry policy had upon the Anglo-Saxons and

upon thei r cont inental Germanic brethren. T he w orldly, m agicorel igious,

heroic, folk rel igiosi ty of the pre-Christ ian Germanic peoples was trans-

ferred from O din, Tiwaz, Tho r , and Freyja, and the shrines and amule t s

dedicated to them, to Christus Victor, his loyal saints , and their shrines

and re lics . W hether G regory in tend ed th is t ransferral of devotion as a first

step toward a fuller ethical and doctrinal acceptance of Chris t iani ty in its

t rad it iona l soteriological form, or whet he r he felt that th is t ransferral ofdevotion was a l l tha t could reasonably be hoped fo r given the circumstances,

17 Bede, HE, 1.30; Sherley-Price, p. 87.18

T h e C a r o l i n i a n L o r d : S e m a n t i c S t u d ie s o n F o u r O ld H i g h G e r m a n Words : Balder , F r o ,

Truh t in , Metro (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1965), p. 320.19

After c la iming that the medieval era "contented itself too easily with religious usage

and paid too l i t t le attention to the religious formation of the m ind, knowledge and the under-

s tanding ," and hence contr ibuted to the success of the R eform ation , Josef A. Jungm ann , H a n d -

in g o n t h e Fa i t h : A M a n u a l o f Cateche t ic s , t rans . A. N . Fuerst (Freiburg: Herder and Herder,

1959), p. 19, suggests tha t the real catechetical in struc tion of the Eu ropea n populace cameabout as a result of the R e f o r m a t i o n and Co u n te r - Re fo rm a t io n .



G e r m a n i z a t i o n a n d C hr i s t ian i za t ion : 6 7 8 -7 54 189

is not explicitly stated in this letter or in his other correspondence. How-

ever, given the depth to which a worldly, heroic, magicoreligious religiosity

w as rooted within the world-accepting, folk-centered Germanic world-

view, th e general result of this policy of accommodation or "inculturation,"

whether intended or not,20

was the emergence of a worldly, heroic, magico-

religious, folk-centered Christianity. The magicoreligious reinterpretation

of Christianity m ay be considered th e most immediate and salient effect ofits Germanization,

21while the folk-centered religiopolitical reinterpreta-

tion of Christianity may be considered it s most enduring effect .22

This

20In her comprehensive study T h e Ri se o f Magic in E a r f y Medieval Europ e (Princeton,

N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1991), Valerie I. J. Flint argues that "some, at least, of thewiser spirits w ithin th e early medieval Christian Church were alerted to the benefi ts of the

emotional charge certain sorts of magic offered and tried hard to nourish and encourage this

form of energy; and they were alerted (again perhaps to a greater degree tha n some of theirsuccessors) to the ad vantag es the accom mo dation o f non -Ch ristian magical practices afforded in

the m atte r of the peaceful penetration of societies very different than their ow n" (p. 4). See also

Pamela Berger, T h e Goddess Obscured: Transformation o f the Grain Protectress f rom Goddess to

Sa in t (Boston: Beacon Press, 1985), which discusses the transferral of magicoreligious attributes

to Saints Radegunde, M acrina, Wa lpurga, M ilburga, and Brigid.21

This is not a claim of exclusivity. Ch ristian m issionary efforts among non-Germanic

peoples h ave also resulted in local m agicoreligious and religiopolitical reinte rpretatio ns of Chris-tianity. However, Germanic religiopolitical influence in Rome in the tenth and eleventh cen-

turies contributed significantly toward causing this and other aspects of Germanization to even-

tually spread throughout the Western Church.22

The religiopolitical reinterpretation of Christianity has been discussed by Henry A .

Myers and Herwig Wolfram, Medieval Kingship (Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 1982), who state that:

"The Frank s were given their first official designation as the people of God (populus Dei) in a

docum ent of Pippin the Short's b rother, Karlom ann, in 742. The phrase stuck: i ts m eaning wasto become that of a people who had replaced th e Hebrews as the chosen people" (p. 124). Thedocument referred to by Myers and Wolfram is the "Ka rlm ann i Principis Capitulare, 742. April.

21," issued at the conclusion of the C o n c i li u m G e rm a n i c u m , which was presided over by Bo ni-face. It may found in the Capitularia R e g u m F r a n c o r u m , M GH Legum Sec t i o II vol. 1, part 1,ed. Alfred Boretius (Hanover: Hahn Verlag, 1881), pp. 24-26: th e phrase p op u l us Dei is used in

th e f i f t h decree, while th e phrase p op u l us Chris t ianas is used in the preface. Walter Ullmann

discusses the development an d significance of this concept in T he Carol ing ian R e n a i s s a n c e an d

th e Idea o f Kingship (London: Methuen, 1969), pp. 17-25, where he states that "there was no

conceptual distinction between a Carolingian State and a Carolingian Church, nor anything

approaching a pluralistic society" (p. 17). In "The Prankish Ethos After Charlemagne," in T h e

Growth of Papal G o v e r n m e n t in the Middle Ages: A Study in the Ideological Rel a t i on o f Clerical

to La y Power, 3rd ed. (London: M ethu en, 1970), U llm an n refer s to the second Prologue to the

LexSa l i ca (LexSa l i ca , 1 00 Titel-Text, Ge rm anenre chte N.F., ed. Karl August Eckhardt [Weimar:Hermann Bohlaus , 1953], p. 88), which is believed to have been composed in the mid-eighthcentury, and according to which "the Franks alone were th e chosen Christian people: 'Vivat quiFrancos diligit Christus' " (p. 62). This affirmation is translated in Hillgarth, Christianity a n d

Pa ga n i s m , as "Long live Christ who loves the Franks," while the Prologue as a whole, accordingto Hillgarth, portrays Christ as "almost a national God" (p. 90). Hillgarth also documents th eVisigothic contribution to wh at he terms "the beginning of the long growth of the great m yths of

religious nat ional ism" (p . 90), with English translations of King Recared's condemnation of

Arianism befo re th e Third C ouncil of Toledo in 589 (pp. 90-93; original in PL 84, col. 342-45),

and of excerpts from th e Ordo q u a n d o rex cum exercitu a d prel ium egreditur, a seventh-century

rite of blessing th e weapons of a king before b attle (pp. 93-95; original in Le "Liber O r d i n u m , "ed. M. Ferotin, M o n u m e n t a Ecclesiae Liturgica, vol. 5 [Paris: Firm in-Did ot, 1904], col. 149-53).



190 T h e Germanic T r a n s f o r m a t i o n o f C h r i s t i a n i t y

religiopolitical reinterpretation is significant for its contribution to the

development of the Crusade ideology as well as to a Eurocentric particu-

larization of Christianity epitomized by the concept of Christendom.23

The form and function of pagan temples in pre-Christian Germanic

and Celtic society is relevant not only from the perspective of the imple-

mentation of Gregory's missionary policy, but also from the perspective of

the insights which may be provided regarding the nature of pre-Christian

Germanic religious devotion and its impact on Christian worship and

piety. In her discussion "Holy Places," H. R. Ellis Davidson remarks:

While so far there is little definite evidence for early shrines among th e

Germanic peoples, the wooden stave churches built in Norway betweenthe eleventh and thirteenth centuries m ay provide a possible clue as to

what kind of sacred buildings were set up there in pre-Chr is t ian t imes . . . .

It is clear that sacred bu ilding s in various parts of Celtic and Germanic

territory developed in different ways according to outside influences and

the building materials and skills available. They were raised to house

figures of the gods and cult objects, for the making of private offering s and

consultation of the supernatura l powers, not for congregational services and

large assemblies. They would be visited by the faithful, and the proces-

sional w ay round th e building wo uld m ake it possible for visitors to view

sacred objects w itho ut enterin g the sanctuary. Th e treasures stored in the

tem ple som etim es necessitated a wall or a fence to enclose it, and this also

served to ma rk off sacred space. C om m unal feasts and r i tuals in which th e

neighbourhood took part , however, would normally be held out of doors

or in suitably large buildings w here feasts could be prepared, as in the hall

of th e king or local landowner. In spite of occasional encirc ling walls, it is

essential to see the sacred place as something not set apar t from the ordi-

nary secular world, but ra the r as providing a vital centre for the needs ofthe c ommuni ty and for the maintenance of a kingdom. It offered a me a ns

of com m unication with the O ther W orld, and was regarded as a source of

power, inspiration, healing and hidden knowledge.24

Hillgarth believes Visigothic Spain played a "mediating role ... in the in t roduct ion of the idea of

th e Divine Chris tian ruler into barbarian Western Europe," as i t was t ransmit ted f rom Byzant-

iu m to the Visigothic rulers, and through Spain to Charlemagne and h is Ottonian successors

(p. 89). See also J. M. Wallace-Hadrill, The P r a n k i s h C h u r c h (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1983),pp . 186-87, for a discussion of the notions o fpo pu lu s c h r i s t i a n u s and imper iu tn c h r i s t i a n u m.

23Paul Johnson, A History o f Chris t iani ty (New York: Atheneum, 1979), has remarked

tha t "there was a price to be paid for the Prankish experiment in creating a Christian social

s t ruc ture and culture. It gave to the western Church a wo nderfu l sense of uni ty and coherence; it

gave to western society great dyn am ism , which l ies at the source of the European impact on the

world. But i t involved a degree of doctrinal, l i turgical and a t bottom, cul tura l and racial

intolerance, which made an ecumenical Church impossible. Unity in depth w as bought at the

expense of un ity in brea dt h" (p. 185).24

"The Enclosed San ctuary ," section in the chapter "Holy Places," in H. R. Ellis Davidson,

Myt hs a n d S y m b o l s in P a g a n E u r o p e : Early S c a n d in a v ia n a n d Celt ic R el ig io n s (Syracuse, N.Y.:Syracuse University Press), pp . 34-35.



Germani za t ion and Chris t ianizat ion: 678-754 191

This description evokes consideration of the G erm anic im pact on early me-dieval Ch ristian liturgical developm ents as described by Josef A . Jungmannand others,

25such as the greater physical and spiritual distance between

the celebrant and a less participatory faithful, the increased focus of atten-tion on sacred objects such as shrines and relics, w hich w ere accompaniedby processions and feasts when they were transferred, and the generallym agicoreligious character of the relationship between th e Germanic peoplesand Christ and his saints. According to this "magicoreligious character" itwas expected that Christ and his saints would intervene in the affairs ofindividuals and g roups in direct response to specific prayers o r rituals.

26

A m agicoreligious acceptance of Christianity by a society m ay not be as

permanent as a soteriological acceptance, and, from th e perspective of anearly Christ ian model of Christianity, neither is it a full and authentic

25The m ajor features of the Germ anized liturgy were its allegorical, dram atic, and histori-

cal orien tation, which deviated from th e predom inantly soteriological focus of the apostolic and

patristic eras— a focus which Jungm ann sought to restore. This contrast is discussed in detail in

Josef Jungmann, T h e M ass of th e R o m a n Rite: Its Origin and Development (Missarum S o l k m n i a ) ,

trans. Francis A. B run ne i , vol. 1 (New York: Benziger Brothers, 1951), pp. 74-103. Furtherbackground on the Germanization of liturgical forms in general may be found in Theodor

Klauser, "Die liturgischen A ustausch beziehu ngen zwischen der romischen und der frankisch-deutschen Kirche vom 8. bis zum 11. Jahrhunderts," Historisches Jahrbuch der GorresgeseUschaft

53 (1933): 169-89, as well as in Anton L. Mayer, "Altchristliche Liturgie und G erma nentu m ,"JL 5 (1925): 80-96; idem, "Die Liturgie und der Geist der Gotik,"/Z, 6 (1926): 68-97; and Odo

Casel, "Das Mysteriengedachtnis der MeBliturgie im Lichte der Tradition," JL 6 (1926): 113-

204, especially 185-93. The critical role of Alcuin of Yo rk and his votive Masses is presented by

Gerard Ellard, Master Akuin, Liturgist (Chicago: Loyola University Press, 1956), while an

important analysis of liturgical dramatization is contained in Christine Catharina Schnusenberg,

T h e Relat ionship Between th e Chu rch and the Theatre: Exemplified by Selected Writings of the

C h u r c h Fathers and by Liturgical Texts Until A m a l a r i u s of Metz: 775-852 A.D. (Lanham, Md.:

University Press of America, 1988). A valuable ethnocultural approach to the general develop-m e n t of early medieval religious culture is advanced by lldefons Herwegen, Kirche un d Seele

(Minister: Aschendorff, 1926); and idem, A n t ik e , G e r m a n e n t u m un d Chris tentum (Salzburg:

Verlag Anton Pustet, 1932). See also, Theodor Klauser,/! Shor t History o f th e Western Liturgy,

2nd ed., trans. John Halliburton (New York: Oxford University Press, 1979).26

In his discussion "Christianity and Folk Religions," Mennonite missionary and anthro-

pologist Paul G . Hieber t , Anthropologica l Insights fo r Missionaries (Grand Rapids, Mich.: BakerBook House, 1985), notes: "Folk religions deal with the problems of everyday life, not withultim ate realities Christians have given m any answ ers fo r everyday problems. R oman Catho-

lics have often turned to the doctrine of saints as intermediaries between God and h u m a n s .. . .

It is no coincidence that many of the most successful missions have provided some form ofChristian answer to these questions. In dealing with Christian responses to problems of every-day life, however, we must guard against syncretism. O ne danger is to make Christianity a newkind of magic in which we seek to use fo rmu las to m anipulate G od into doing o ur will. . . . Thedifference between magic and worship is not in form, but in attitude.. . . The gospel does dealwith God's care and provision in the everyday lives of people, but its central focus is on their

salvation and eternal destiny" (pp. 222-24). For the medieval scenario, see Flint, T h e Ri se o f

Magic in Early Medieval Europe; G. Ronald Murphy, "Magic in the Heliand," Monatshefte 83:4(1991): 386-97; and the illustrated studies of Teresa Paroli, "Santi e demoni nelle letteraturegermaniche nell'alto Medievo," Se t t imane 36 (1989): 411-90,with subsequent discussion, 491-98;

an d Victor H . Elbern, "Heilige, Damonen und Magie an Reliquiaren des friihen Mittelalters,"Se t t imane 36 (1989): 951-80.




acceptance of C hristianity. W hen devotion to Christ, a saint, or a relic does

not produce the desired result, the magicoreligious basis for Christianaffiliation may be weakened. Also, as scientific explanations for natural

pheno m ena become m ore widely accepted, they m ay undermine religiousaffiliation tha t is based prim arily on m agicoreligious ground s. Conversely,affiliation based primarily on soteriological, ethical, and doctrinal premises

m ay not be challenged as much by advances in science and medicine, andhence m ay prove to be more permanent. However, adherents of folk

religions are likely to consider such premises as alien to their world-view,and m ay thus be prone to reject the new religion altogether. Herein lies alarge part of the problem of historical Christianization efforts among the

G erm anic peoples, as well as contemporary efforts among other folk-relig-

ious peoples. A s Paul G . Hiebert notes, "young Christians m ay turn tot radi t ional folk religions if they are given no Christian answers for their

everyday problems."27

I t may be of interest to note that , at least in the liturgical realm, Ger-

manization was the unintentional result of Germanic leaders who soughtto accomplish the exact opposite. Discussing the desire of Pepin the Shortand Charlemagne to Romanize the Prankish liturgy, Cyrille Vogel hascom m ented that "even S t. Boniface, m i ss u s s a n c t i Petri, apostle of G erm anyand re former of the Prankish church, did not seem anxious to impose theR om an li turgy no rth o f the A lps, d espite his insistence on total subjectio toth e Apostolic See." However, Pepin and Charlemagne were highly m oti-

vated to impose liturgical uniformity, since "besides the real venerationfelt by Pepin and Ch arlemagn e for all things Ro m an, th ere w ere excellentpolitical reasons in favor of Romanization. Liturgical unification would

both foster unity within the kingdom and help consolidate the alliancebetween the Holy See and the Prankish monarchy, the protector of theiustitia san ct i Petr i ."

28

In reviewing St. Boniface's missionary career, one may wonder howdirectly his methodology had been influenced by Gregory the Great.

Evidence of a conscious desire by St. B oniface to be appraised of Gregory's

missionary strategy may be found in his letter to Nothelm, the bishop ofCanterbury, in 735,requesting a copy of G regory's response

29to questions

of Ch urch custom and discipline which had been raised by A ugustine of Can-terbury.30 Whether or not Boniface ever received a copy of this document

27Hiebert, Anthropologica l Insights, p. 223 fig. 29.

28Medieval Liturgy: An In troduct ion to the Sources , trans, and rev. William Storey and

Niels Rasmussen (Washington, D. C.: Pastoral Press, 1986), pp. 148-50.29

HE, I. 27; Gregory, Epistolae, XI. 56a.

30S . Bonifatii et Lulli epistolae, ed , Michael Tangl, Die Briefs des Heiligen Bonifatius und

Lullus, M G H E p. sel.(Berlin: Weidma nnsche Buchhandlung, 1916), Ep. 33, pp. 56-58, herein-after refer red to as Boniface, Epistolae. English translations are taken from T h e Let ters o f S a i n t

Boniface, trans, and intro. Ephraim Emerton (New York: Columbia University Press, 1940),hereinafter referred to as Emerton, LS B; this excerpt is found on pp. 62-63.




is not known. From the contents of a letter from Cardinal Gemmulus in

743,31

it appears that Boniface had requested copies of some of Gregory's

letterswhich had not yet been sent to him. However, in a subsequent letter

to Archbishop Egbert of York in 746 or 747, Boniface indicated that he

had received copies of many of Gregory's letters, which were "obtained

from the archives of the Roman Church."32

Unfortunately, the dates of

Boniface's letters are too late to substantiate his familiarity with Gregory's

letters during the height of his missionary activity, that is, between 719 and

732. However, it is safe to conclude that, given Boniface's thorough intel-

lectual and ecclesiastical formation,33

he was generally aware of Gregory's

missionary policy by this time.34

Furthermore, in a letter from Bishop

Daniel of Winchester, which Boniface is likely to have received in 723,35

he

was advised to utilize techniques of accommodation. Daniel urges Boniface

to adopt a moderate and somewhat captious approach when discussing the

superiority of Christianitywith pagans:

These and many similar things which it would take long to enumerate you

ought to put before them, not offensively or so as to anger them, but c a l m l y

and with g r e a t moderation. At intervals you should compare their super-

stitions with our Christian doctrines, touching upon them from the flank, as

it were, so that the pagans, thrown into confusion rather than angered,

may be ashamed of their absurd ideas and may understand that their in-

famous ceremonies and fables are well known to us.

This point is also to be made: i f the gods are al l -power fu l , beneficent,

31Boniface, Epistolae, 54, pp. 96-97;Emerton, LSB, pp. 90-91.

32Boniface, Epistolae, 91, pp. 206-8;Emerton, LSB, pp. 167-69.

33Chs. 2 and 3 of Vita Bonifatii auc tore Willibaldo, in Vitae S a n c t i Bonifatii M GH S S r G , ed.

Wilhelm Levison (Hanover: H arm Verlag, 1905), attest to Bon iface's intellectual prowess. Future

references to this wo rk will be to Vita Bonifatii. English translations are taken from Willibald,T he Life o f S a i n t Boniface, trans. George W. Robinson (Cambridge: Harvard University Press,

1916), here inafter referred to as Robinson, Life. George Greenway, "Saint Boniface as a Man of

Letters," in Timothy Reuter, T h e Greatest Eng l i shman: Essays on S t . Boniface and the C h u r c h a t

Credi ton (Exeter: Paternoster Press, 1980), notes: "A closer and more potent stim ulus [than that

of the Northumbrian religious culture of Bede] during his cloister life at Nursling was provided

by Aldhelm, abbot of M almesbury and later bishop of Sherbome, the presiding genius of W est-

Saxon learning, and indeed the most learned man of his age, next after Bede" (p.34).34

After concluding that Boniface had not personally seen Bede's HE, or any other form

of Gregory's letters before the conclusion of the central missionary phase of his career in 735,

Suso Brechter, "Das Apostolat des heiligen Bonifatius und Gregors des Grossen Missions-Instruktionen fu r England," in S a n k t Bonifatius: Gedenkausgabe zum zwolfhundertsten Todestag

(Fulda: Parzeller, 1954), nonetheless concludes: "Die Wirksamkeit der Sendungstat Gregorswar so stark, daB die ganze missionarische Tradition der englischen Kirche von ihr gepragt

wurde. Romged anke und Heimatliebe sind die beiden verpflichtenden Bind ung en und tragendenSaulen, auf denen das Missionswerk des hi. Bonifatius aufruht . Daraus erwuchs seine Berufung ,

das bestimm te auch seine M ethode, und so wu rde Bonifatius, ohne die romischen Instruktionenfur die Angelsachsenbekehrung zu kennen, auf dem Kont inen t ein getreuer Vollstrecker der

dynamischen M issionsgedanken Papst G regors des GroBe n" (p. 33).35

In an article devoted to a discussion of Daniel's letter, Derek Bak er, "Sowing the Seeds

of Faith: Theory and Practice in the M ission Field," in Baker, ed., Miscel lanea Historiae Ecclesias-t icae, vol. 3, pp. 92-106,this date is proposed on p. 92 n. 4.



194 T he G e r m a n i c Trans format ion of Christ iani ty

and just, they not only reward their worshipers but punish those who reject

them. If, then, they do this in temporal matters, how is it that they spare us

Christians who are turning almost the whole earth away from their wor-

ship and overthrowing their idols? And while these, that is, the Christians,possess lands rich in oil and wine and abounding in other resources, they

have left to those, that is, the pagans, lands stiff with cold where their gods,

driven out of the world, are falsely supposed to rule.36

Markus views this as an indication that Gregory's policy of accommodation

was transmitted to Boniface via Daniel.37

It is at least clear here that Daniel

is urging Boniface to present Christianity in terms familiar to his Germanic

audience, appealing to their temporal concerns.

Assuming that he generally followed th e suggestions of his mentor,38 it

36Emerton, L S B , pp. 49-50 (emphases added); Boniface, Epistolae, 23, p. 40: "Haec et his

similia multa alia, quae n unc enum erate longum est, n o n quas i i n su l tan do ve l inr i tando e o s , sed

plac ide ac m a g n a obicere modera t ione debes. Et per intervalla nostris, id est christianis, huius-cemodi conparandae [ s i c ] sunt dogmatibus superstitiones et quasi e latere tangende, quatenus

magis confuse qu am exasperate pagani erubescant pro tarn absurdis opinionibu s et ne nos latere

ipsorum nefarios r itus ac fabulas estimant. H oc quoque inferendum: S i omnipo ten tes sun t d ii etbenefici et iusti, non solum suos rem un eran t cultores, verum etiam pu niu nt contemptores. Et si

hec utraque temporaliter faciunt, cur ergo parcunt christianis totum pene orbem ab eorum cul-tura avertentibus idolaque evertentibus? Et cum ipsi, id est Christian!, fertiles terras viniqu e et

olei feraces ceterisque opibus habundantes possident provincias, ipsis autem, id est paganis,frigore semper rigentes terras cum eorum diis reliquerunt, in quibis ia m t a m e n toto orbe pulsi

falso regnare putatur" (emphases added).37

M arkus, "Gregory th e Great and a Papal Missionary Strategy," p. 37. For a generalhistorical survey of the implementation of m issionary policies of accommodation, see Alfons

Vath, Da s Bild der W eltkirche: A k k o m o d a t i o n un d E w o p a i s m u s im Wandel der Jahrhunderte und

in d e r n e u e n Z e i t (Hanover: Verlag Joseph Giesel, 1932). A discussion of Gregory and Boniface'sCh ristianization methodologies within this context may be found in ch. 3, "Christliche Antike

und Germanentum im Fruhmittelalter," pp. 26-29.38Richard E. Sullivan, "Carolingian M issionary Theories," Catho l ic Historical Revi ew 42:3

(1956): 273-95, has described Daniel's letter as "the most explicit example of the thinking on

the problem of persuad ing a pagan to surren der to C hristianity" (p. 276). But Theodor Schieffer,

Winfrid-Bonifatius und die Christ l iche Grundlegung Europas (1954; reprint with updated bib-

liography, Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliches Buchgesellschaft, 1972; reprint with corrections,1980), pp. 147-48, an d John Cyril Sladden, Boniface o f Devon: Ap o s t le o f G e r m a n y (Exeter:

Paternoster Press, 1980), pp. 69-70, suggest that Boniface rejected Daniel's advice as tooacademic and thus impractical for his audience. Instead, Schieffer and Sladden believe thatBoniface followed his instincts and decided that a dramatization of the power of the Christian

God would be a m ore effective stim ulus tha n dialectical discussions. The apotheosis of such adramatization occurred when Boniface fell th e Sacred Oak of Geismar, which had been dedi-cated to Thor, and used the fallen timber to construct a church dedicated to St. Peter on the

same location where the oak had stood (Vita Bonifatii, ch. 6, p. 31; R obinson, Life, pp. 63-64).

However, if one defines accommo dation m ore broadly, Schieffer and Sladden's interpretation

need not significantly detract from the assertion that Boniface advanced Gregory's policy ofaccommodation. I t may be argued that in his actions at Geismar, Boniface accommodated a f un -damenta l premise of Germanic religion, that is , tha t th e most powerful god should be wor-shiped. The act of constructing a church at the site of the Thor Oak, and using its very timb er asconstruction material, further supports th e assertion that Boniface pursued a Gregorian mis-

sionary policy acco rding to which accommodation, w hen likely to succeed, w as readily employed.While Boniface m ay have avoided th e details of Da niel's d ialectical suggestions, he did not fail




is likely that Boniface emphasized the temporal as well as eternal rewards

which might accrue to those who were baptized. Among the temporalrewards, the one which was likely to have been prized most highly by his

audience w as victory in battle. In his letter of October 745 to the Frankishclergy, nobility, and laity, urging them to support th e reforms of Boniface,Pope Zachary himself enunciates both temporal and eternal rewards,

probably in the order of their presumed appeal to the secular elements of

his audience: "If your priests are pure and clean of all unchastity andblood-guiltiness, as the sacred canons teach and as our brother Boniface

preaches in our stead, and if you are in all things obedient to him, nopeople can stand befo re yo u, but all pagans shall fall before your face and

you shall remain victors. And more, for your well-doing you shall inherit

eternal life."39

Unfortunately there appears to exist no extan t record of the actual con-

tents of Boniface's sermons. A recent attempt to reconstruct their contents

has been m a d e by Thom as Leslie Am os in his study "The O rigin and Natureof the Carolingian Sermon." N oting the failure of the Frankish m issionary

Wulframm to convert the Frisian du ke R adbod after straightforw ardly tell-in g him that his pagan ancestors w ere dam ned,

40Am os discerns a differenc e

in th e "Anglo-Saxon approach to missionary preaching," which "concen-

trated on stressing the pow er of the C hristian divinity and the positive

virtues of Christianity."41 H e then proceeds to compare the approach of

Willibrord and other Anglo-Saxon m issionaries w ith that of Wulf ramm:

Although their sermons refuted pagan ideas and practices with verbal con-

frontations based on scriptural knowledge, they were sufficiently flexible to

avoid such problems as Wulframm fell into with Radbod. Alcuin inserted a

to abide by Daniel's gen eral them e of accommodating, at least tem porarily, th e Germ anic world-

view. Further discussion of Daniel's advice to Boniface may be found in Franz Flaskamp, Die

Mi s s i o n s m e t h o d e des hl . Bonifatius (Hildesheim: Franz Borgmeyer, 1929), pp. 37-38; JosefLortz, "Untersuchungen zur Missionsmethode und zur Frommigkeit des hi. Bo nifatius nachseinem Briefen," in Nikolaus Goetzinger, ed., W llibrord us : Echtem ac her Festschrift zur XII.

Jahrhundertfeier des Todes des heiligen Willibrord (Luxembou rg: Verlag der St. Paulus-Druckerei,

1940), pp. 257-58; and Heinz Lowe, "Missionsmethode," sect. 3 in "Pirm in, W illibrord undBonifatius: Ihre Bed eutun g fur die M issionsgeschichte ihrer Zeit," in K nu t Schaferdiek, ed., Die

Kirche des friiheren Mittelalters, first half of vol. 2 of Kirchengesch ich te a ls Miss ionsgesch ich te

(Mu nich: C hr. K aiser Verlag, 1978), pp. 219- 20.39

Emer ton, L S B , p. 112; Boniface, Epistolae, 61, p. 126: "Nam si m undos et castos abo m n i foraicatione et hom ocidio liberos hab ue ritis sacerdotes, ut sacri precipiu nt canones etnostra vice predicat pre fatu s Bo nifatius frater noster, et ei in om nin us oboedientes exstiteritis,

nulla gens ante vestrum conspectum stabit, sed correunt ante faciem vestram omnes paganegentes et ert is victores; insuper et bene agentes vitam possidebitis aeternam ."

40Vita Vulframni episcopi Senonic i , M GH SUM, ed. Wilhelm Levison, vol. 5, p. 668.

Radbod expressed th e Germanic ideal of group solidarity in his response to Wulframm by

stating his preference for the company of his ancestors in hell over etern al life in heaven w i thoutthem (ibid.).

41 "The O rigin and N ature of the C arolingian Sermon" (Ph.D. diss. , Michigan StateUniversity, 1983), p. 109.



196 T he GermanicTrans format ion o f Chr is t ian i ty

sermon in the Vita Wlllibrordi which, if not actually spoken by Willibrord,

reflected th e style of preaching he used.

In this sermon purportedly given to Duke Radbod, Willibrord told the

Duke that he must give up worshipping idols, believe in Christ and acceptbaptism which would wash away his sins and allow him to possess eternal

glory at the end of his life on earth. In this particular instance Willibrord

avoided any discussion of Radbod's ancestors, th e topic which had caused

such difficulty for Wu lf r a mm. T he Anglo-Saxon missionary preachers always

accentuated the positive, emphasizing the power of God and Christ to do

things for the faithful in this life and to reward them in the next.42

Despite Boniface's skill in preaching, it is clear from his correspon-

dence that he considered secular support to be an essential component ofhis Christianization strategy. After an unsuccessful missionary campaign to

th e Frisians in 716, during which he appears to have relied primarily onth e efficacy of his preaching, Boniface realized th e need for papal endorse-

ment which could assist in obtaining local protection and coercive author-

ity. In a letter to Daniel of Winchester, dated between 742 and 746, heconcedes that "without the support of the Frankish prince [Charles Martel]

I can neither govern the members of the Church nor defend the priests,

clerks, monks and maids of God; nor can I , without orders from him andthe fear inspired by him, prevent the pagan rites and the sacrilegious wor-ship of idols in Germany."

43

T he relationship between Boniface and Charles Martel was a mutually

beneficial one. Geary has concluded that "through their support of the

missionary bishop, th e Carolingians had gained control of a well-disciplined,

effective instrument of central control."44

A s challengers of the Merovin-gian sacral kingship, th e emergent Carolingians also viewed th e Church as

an alternative source of sacral legitimation since, despite their decline inactual political authority, the Merovingians retained their claim to the

stirps regia and its associated sacral aspects. In order for the Carolingians

to overcome this obstacle, they needed to realign the sacral prestige and

power traditionally associated with th e Merovingian line. A s Boniface w as

in search of a protector and the Church was in search of a defender againstthe Lombards,

45the relationship between the emergent Carolingian dynasty

42

Ibid. Further discussion of Willibrord's career may be found in Henry C . Hoeben,"Frisia and the Frisiansat the Time of St. Willibrord" (Ph.D. diss., Fordham University, 1967).

43Emerton, LSB, pp. 115-16; Boniface, Epistolae, 63, p. 130: "Sine patrocinio principis

Francorum nec populum ecclesiae regere nec presbiteros vel clericos, monachos vel ancillasDeidefendere possum nec ipsos paganorum ritus est sacrilegia idolorum in Germania sine illius

mandato et timore prohibere valeo."44

Patrick Geary, Before F rance a n d Germany: T h e Creat ion a n d Trans format ion of the

Merovingian World (New York: Oxford University Press, 1988), p. 217.45

The papacy's political realignment from Byzantium to the Franks and its significancefor Christianization efforts is discussed in Thomas F. X. Noble, The Republic of St . Peter: T h e

Birth of th e Papal State, 680-825(Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1984), pp. 15-98;and David Harry Miller, "The Ro man Revolution of the Eighth Century: A Study of the Ideo-




and the Church had important political as well as religious ramifications.46

This relationship reached a climax in 751with the recognition of Pepin the

Short by Pope Zachary as the king of the Franks. In July of 754—one

month af te r Boniface's death, and three months after Pepin promised to

defend the Church, the pope, and the papal territories—he was anointed

and consecrated by Pope Stephen II, who also "invested Pepin and his

sons with the title Patr i c iu s Romanorum."47

Thus the Anglo-Saxon missionary campaign among the Germanic peo-

ples relied upon papal endorsement as well as local political support, and

upon dramatic acts of confrontation with pagan icons as well as preaching.

Richard E. Sullivan has summarized early medieval missionary method-

ologies in the West as follows:

T he western m issionary m ade very li tt le attem pt to instruct h is pagan audi-

ence in Ch ristian dogm a. We stern m issionary sources contain v ery li tt le evi-

dence bearing on matters of theology and its presentation to pagans... .

T he technique m ost comm only used in the West was one of offering th e

pagans d ram atic proof of the superiority of C hristianity, such dem onstra-

tions often b eing staged so as to have th e maxim um em otional effect on the

pagans

Behind this picture of w estern m issionaries seeking to shock the paganwo rld into acceptance of Christianity l ies the k ey to the w estern m etho d ofpresenting C hristianity.T he m issionaries ben t every effort to fit their religion

to the pattern of religious behavior and thinking which w as already familiar

to thepagans....

It is this aspect of w estern m issionary method tha t savors so strongly of

the barb arization o f Ch ristianity. The w estern m issionary would have denied

such anaccusation. His imm ediate goal was to convince the pagan to accept a

new deity on the pagan's ow n grounds, which end was achieved when th epagan w as baptized. Th e corrective for the new convert's ignorance of C hris-

tianity had still to be applied. Western missionary method envisaged a long

period of education for the convert dur ing which there was to be imposed on

him a complete change of conduct designed to please the newGod.48

logical Background of the Papal Separation from Byzantium and Alliance with th e Franks,"

Mediaeval Studies 36 (1974): 79-133.46

Patrick Geary, Before F rance a n d Germany , sum m arizes this relationship: "Boniface's

genuine concern for his mission and his treme ndo us o rganizational skills proved fruitful. H eestablished Benedictine monasteries as points of acculturation and bishoprics as centers ofecclesiastical control in Hesse, Th uringia , and Fran co ni a . . . . The extent to which this organiza-

tional activity ben efited Charles and his successors w as considerable. By 742 it was possible tocall a council of all the bishops of the Au strasian regions under the authority of Charles's so nCarlomann . T his council, which m et to establish a strict hierarchical order w ithin the c hurc h, setthe style for future church assemblies" (pp. 216-17).

47 Noble, T he Republic of S t. Peter, p. 87. See also pp. 71-86 for the immedia te backgroundof these events, as well as chs. 8 and 9 for an analysis of their significance.

48 "Early Medieval Missionary Activity: A Comparative Study of Eastern and Western

Methods," Chu rch History 23 (1954): 28-30. Compared with weste rn missionary m e thods ,Sullivan notes that eastern missionary m e thods benefited from th e active involvement of the




However, a comprehensive program of postbaptismal religious educationnever materialized. The catechumenate had declined and Chris t ian forma-

tion did not usually extend beyond a superficial level. Jungmann has sum-

marized the status of the preparation fo r Christian initiation in the MiddleAges: "After the 6th century, because adult baptism had become a rarity,

the traditional rites of the catechumenate were used fo r infants with only

superficial adjustment. The scrutinies, now transferred to weekdays, served

as a substitute for catechesis, which was no longer possible.... There was

no longer a catechumenate in the M iddle Ages. The traditional forms were

no longer used either upon the conversion of the Germans or when the

Slavs entered the Church."49

Given these circumstances, it is not surprising

that the Germanic perception of Christianity as primarily a magicorelig-ious cult of a powerful deity

50endured at least through the eighth century.

51

whole spectrum of Byzantine society: "Lay society, and especially the imperial government,accepted this duty, calling upon the Greek church only to complete the formal process of

conversion" (p. 18). However, such a degree of official support did not exist for the westernmissionary, "who did not have his prospective converts prepared for him by other agencies of

society. Such political aid as he might receive and the impression which th e heathen might gain

of western c ulture were both th e results of the missionary him self. Fo r that reason neither w aslikely to be as decisive as was the case in the East" (p. 20).49

New Catho l ic Encyclopedia, s.v. "Catechumenate." Jungmann also notes that "althoughGregory th e Great still demanded a preparation of 40 days, th e Apostle of the Suevians, Martin

of Brag a, insisted on only 20 days; however even this policy was often not followed in the case of

mass baptism " (ibid.). A further discussion of the decline of the catechumenate may be found in

"Christian Initiation in Gaul and G ermany from the Seven th to the Twelfth Century," in J. D. C.Fisher, Christ ian Init iat ion: Bapt i sm in the Medieval West: A Study in the Disintegrat ion of the

Primitive Rite of Init iat ion, A lcuin Club Collections, no. 47 (London: S.P.C.K., 1965); L. Kilger,

"Zur Entwicklung der Kateehumenatspraxis vom 5. bis 18. Jahrhundert," Zeitschrift fu r M i s -

sionswissenschaf t 15 (1925): 166-82; and A . Dondeyne, "L a Discipline des scrutins dans l'6gliselatine avant C harlemagne," Rev ue d'histoire eccUsiastique 28 (1932): 533,751-87.

50Schieffer, Winfrid-Bonifatius und d ie Christ l iche Grundlegung Europas , states: "Die

Anna hm e des Ch ristentum s vollzog sich demnach als ein Wechsel des offiziellen Stammeskultesund war insofern auch eine politische Entscheidun g, zu der in manchen Fallen— von den Angel-

sachsen haben w ir solche Nachrichten— die Konige m it Zustimm ung ihrer GroBen das Signal

gaben. Sie entsprang nicht etwa der Einsicht, dafi der Glaube an den bisherigen Gott eineirreale Vo rstellung sei, sondern der U berzeugung, daB sich Christu s als der starkere G ott

erwiesen habe" (p. 39). H an ns Ruckert, Die Christ ianisierung d er Ge rmane n: Ein Bei t ragzu ihrem

Verstdndnis un d ihrer Beurtei lung, 2n d rev. ed . (Tubingen: J. C. B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck), 1934),

concludes: "Die vorherrschende Stimmung, aus der heraus der Germane den Ubertritt vollzog,kleidet sich in unseren Quellen imm er wieder in den ganz einfach en Satz: Der Gott des Christen-

tums is t machtiger als die alien Gotter" (p. 16). Despite th e preeminence of Christ as the mostpowerful god, that he did not always completely supplant th e traditional pagan deities is indi-cated in HE, 2.13; Sherley-Price, p. 130, wh ere Bede notes t ha t Kin g Re dw ald of the E ast Ang les"had in the same temple an altar for the holy Sacrifice of Christ side by side with an altar on

which victims w ere offered to devils."51

"Tacit complicity with pagan survivals is noted for a much later period in France,"

observes J. N. H illgarth, "Popular Religion in Visigothic S pain," in Edw ard James, ed., yis igothic

Spain: Ne w Approaches (Oxford: C larendo n Press, 1980), p. 55 n. 1 , referring to M . Vovelle, "L e

Monde alpin et rhodanien," Rev ue r e " g i o n a l e d'ethnologie 5 (1977): 7-32. Hillgarth continues: "Inthis valua ble article V ovelle sees th e vital change in popular religion in the four teenth-sixteenth




The observations of Gregory Dix on this situation are instructive: "The

barbarians followed their chiefs subm issively in to th e fold of the church,...

[b]ut that did not in fact make them responsible Christians. Their mass-movements in to Christianity or from Arianism to orthodoxy did not be-token any sort of change of h e a r t . . . . But again one must remember thatth e church's ow n resources for giving instruction had been immensely de-

creased."52 C ontemporaneous w ith the decline of the catechumenate was a

decline in general familiarity w ith Scripture. Rob ert E . M cNally has notedthat "Holy Scripture ... as a direct, vital force in the spiritual life of the

faithful gradual ly fell into deep shadow as new religious forms, less biblical

but more popular , arose to take its place.... The B ible could not, there-fore, have played a direct and immediate role in the format ion of Chris-

tian piety."53

This does not mean that there was no ideological movement toward aChrist ian world-view among th e Germanic peoples. However, since no

official system of postbaptismal instruction had been devised, th e newlybaptized individual 's religious training depended largely on the level ofinterest of the local prince, bishop, o r abbot, and the likelihood that a

missionary preacher m ight pass by. O ne such preache r w as the V isigothicBenedictine abbot and bishop Pirmin (d. 753), whose extant sermon De

s ingul is libris c a n o n i c i s scarapsus5* w as addressed to the recently baptized.

It is considered by A m os to hav e had "a w ide influence for bo th the eighth-century m issionaries and the C arolingian reformers."

55Su llivan provides a

detailed analysis of this significant document :

Pirmin devoted the first section... to a summaryof the history of mankind

with special emphasis on man's fal l and God's provision for his salvation... .

Post-baptismal instruction ought to begin by a thorough review of the mater-ial that should have been learned before baptism.

Pirmin then came to the real point of his tract. "A Christian who has

centuries, w hen there is perceptible th e first real at tem pt to Christianize th e rur al w orld, largelywith fear of damnat ion, and to combat th e existing m elange of Christian and pagan customs."

This is consonant with the views of Delumeau, Thom as, Ginzburg, an d Strauss, as noted above,

p. 37.52

T h e Shap e of th e Liturgy, additional notes by Paul V. M arshall (1945; reprint , New York:Seabury Press, 1982), pp. 595-96.

53 T h e Unreformed Chu rch (New Y ork: Sheed an d W ard , 1965), p. 70. See also R obert E.McNally, T h e Bible in the Early Middle Ages , Woodstock Papers, no. 4 (1959; reprint, Atlanta:Scholars Press, 1986); and Beryl Smalley, T h e Bible in the Early Middle, A g e s (Oxford: Oxford

University Press, 1952).54

De s ingulis libris canon ic i s scarapsus, PL, vol. 89, col. 1029-50. After not ing tha t "a lackof valid sources complicates any attempt to discuss the content of missionary preaching designedto win converts," Sullivan, "The Carolingian M issionary and the Pagan," Speculum 28 (1953),

describes this docum ent as "perhaps th e best example of the content of . . . an explanation of theChristian version of history," and a tract "compiled as a kind of handbook to be used by prieststo instruct Alamannians whose faith was shaky and whose knowledge of Christianity was ex-

tremely vague and confused" (pp. 715-16).55

"TheOrigin and Nat u re of the Carolingian Sermon," p. 112.



200 T h e GermanicT r ans f o r m a t i on o f Chr i s t ian i t y

the name but does not do the deeds will not be glorified by Christ. He is a

Christian who imitates and follows Christ in all things. . . ." The author

listed and explained in detail the chief sins through which Christians trans-

gress God's commands, and attempted to elucidate the nature of certain

general and abstract sins, like cupidity, vainglory, and pride.... He placed

an unusually heavy emphasis on the sinfulness of engaging in pagan prac-

tices. This preoccupation with sin suggests that the Carolingian missionary

theorists felt that an explanation of the nature of sin must be given an im-

portant place in the education of new converts.

... Pirmin closed with a discourse on the glories of the celestial king-

dom and the terrors of hell.... Here , as throughout the t rac t , Pirmin revea led

a n undercurrent o f anx ie ty that h is audience h a d n o t y e t f u l l y grasped th e

o therwor ld ly point o f view whichh e c o n s i de r e d vi tal to Christian life. H e wanted

to make cer ta in that this concept be made part o f th e outlook o f h is c h a r g e s .56

The contents of the S c a ra p su s are valuable because they document both

the predominantly "this-worldly" view of its audience, and what may be

described as the second phase of the Christianization process. Rosamond

McKitterick has similarly observed that "the encouragement to come to be

baptized, the swearing of the baptismal vows and the f i rm establishment of

the church in every part of the Frankish lands, both in the missionary areasto the east and the regions where churches had long existed, were all really

the first stage in the process of conversion, while it is the teaching of a

Christian way of life and thought which constitutes the second stage."57

Af te r pagan audiences were convinced of the greater power of the Chris-

tian God and baptized, depending on their location, some were urged to

modi fy their behavior, attitudes, and values, and to accept a rudimentary

Christian belief system.

Herein lies a f u n d a m e n t a l problem. For the Christianization of a folk-religious people to occur in accordance with the terms of the current

inqui ry , it is necessary that their ethos and world-view be directed away

f rom a world-accepting, folk-centered, magicoreligious orientation toward

a world-rejecting, individual-centered, soteriological orientation. However,

the prebaptismal accommodations of Christianity to a Germanic world-

view were likely to have obscured the inherent disparity between Germanic

and Christian world-views. Since the missionaries do not appear to have

elicited an informed assent to their contrary world-view before they

56"Carolingian Missionary Theories," pp. 287-88 (emphases added).

57The Frankish C h urch and t he Carolingian Reforms, 789-895 (London: Royal Historical

Society, 1977), p. 156. Commenting on the degree of "conversion" among the Germanic peo-

ples from the reign of Clovis unti l the mission of Boniface, Wilhelm Levison, England and the

Cont inent in the Eighth Century (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946), notes: "The conversion of achieftain or king in these centuries, as often today in primitive tribes, meant th e 'conversion' of

many of his followers also, superficial as the simultaneous baptism of hundreds or thousandsmus t have been; th e real religious education remained to be given after th e acceptance of

th e Christian belief. . . . Pagan practice was mixed up with Christian custom everywhere"(pp. 47-48).




baptized people,58

it is not surprising that their postbaptisinal efforts to

impose Christian ethics and doctrines met with resistance, and that signifi-

cant compromises with Germanic religiosity occurred. Amos has described

the response of ninth-century Carolingian sermon authors to this situation:

Authors of Carolingian sermons showed a close familiarity with the survi-

ving forms of pagan religious practices, and they worked constantly to root

out such practices among their parishioners. Sermons forbade such things

as worship of or at the sacred springs, stones and trees which had been

holy sites in both classical and Germanic religions. The preachers also at-

tacked pagan magicians and magical practices, from divination to healing

th e sick with charms and incantations. Most of these pagan practices were

only survivals of what had once been organized religions with temples,

priests and priestesses. They survived in part because they m et certain

spiritual and practical needs which Christianity either could no t answer or

had not yet begun to answer....

Where sermon authors did not or could no t supply rational explana-

tions of natural events in terms of God's laws, they still stressed that such

events were caused by God, and that if people propitiated Him, th e events

could have fo r tuna te outcomes.... The sermon authors helped to desacralize

the natural world whichhad played such a large part in the W el t a n s ch a u u n gof pagan religions. This desacralization helped to open th e forest areas for

exploitation and helped put an end to the surviving pagan cults.

Just as Martin of Braga advised th e members of his f lock to use the

sign of the Cross to protect themselves against th e host of demons facing

them, so too the Carolingian preachers told their flocks to take advantage

of Christian magic. If sickness struck a household, it s members should avoid

pagan magicians and divinersand go instead to the church where the sick

58 Practically speaking, it is quite understandable that they did not seek such an assent,

since, as in the case of Radbod, the more the disparity of Christian and Germanic world-views

became apparent to potential converts, the less likely it appears that they were willing to be

baptized. Without attempting to impose contemporary standards of freedom of religion on early

medieval society, it may be of interest to consider the prerequisites for adult baptism in mission

countries as presented in Bernard Leeming, Principles o f S a c r a m e n t a l Theo logy (Westminster,

Md.: Newman Press, 1956): "The catechumenate in mission countries lasts sometimes for

several years. Does the Church, therefore, believe that the catechumens must remain without re-

mission of original, and perhaps actual, sin for all that time? Surely not, for the catechumens are

taught how to make an act of contrition, so that they may attain the state of grace even beforeBaptism. The practice of the long catechumenate looks to making a member of the Church, as

well as to the conferring of invisible grace; and looks to stability in Christianity after baptism. A

similar principle holds in baptizing infants; unless there is reasonable prospect of a Christian

education and life, the Church does not confer the sacrament, except in danger of death. The

very significance of the sacrament demands postponement, or even refusal of Baptism, in cases

where a Christian life may not follow reception of the sacrament; for one fundamental sym-

bolism is that of death to the old life and rebirth into a new, which does, normally, remit sin and

confer grace, but which looks first to living in the Christian society. Thus, there is ample

theological justification for the practice of a long catechumenate in mission countries, and for

refusal of Baptism without security of a Christian education; hasty Baptisms are not justified bytheological reasons" (pp. 357-58).



202 T he G e r m a n i c Transformat ion of Chris t iani ty

person could be anointed with holy oil which would not only cure th e sick-

ness but remit sins.59

Appraising the methods employed by the Frankish Church to advancea Christian ethical system, McKitterick describes the fundamental problemof Germ anic unawareness of the scope of world-view transfo rm ation w hichth e C hurch associated w ith the reception of baptism: "The essential point

is that with th e acceptance of Christianity and the new god in the whole ofthe Frankish lands, East and West, the 'newly born' Christian had torecognize, learn, and attem pt to l ive by a whole new code of m oral values.How aware were th e Franks that this w as incumbent upon them?"

60Given

th e absence of an ethical dimension in Germanic religiosity,61 as is gener-

ally th e case with Indo-European and other folk religiosities, and given amissionary policy wh ich accomm odated the pre-Ch ristian G erm anic religi-osity to a significant degree, it is likely that the Fran ks and oth er G erm anicpeoples were generally unaware that the acceptance of Christian baptismimplicitly com m itted them to the t ransform ation of their t radi t ional valuesystems.

This lack of awareness has led Walter Baetke to conclude that, whilekings and nobles may have been attracted to Christianity for polit ical orcultural reasons, for man y of their subjects th e reception of baptism w asnot the result of a conscious decision to reject their Germanic religiosity,but rathe r the result of a misund erstanding of the extent to w hich Chris-t ianity represented a radical break w ith their traditiona l th inking , feelings,and ethical behavior.

62Since C hristianity w as not initially presented to the

G erm anic peoples as requiring a radical break w ith their trad itional ethosand world-view, i t is not surprising that, fo r them, baptism did not implysuch a t ransform ation. R obert A . M arkus has observed:

T he early history of G erm anic Chris t iani ty is dominated by the paradox that

mass conversion required some considerable continuity. The new religion

had to be seen to m eet existing needs, and not to overtax the courage its

converts would need to break w ith the religion of their ancestors. B ut, once

converted, they needed to def ine their new identity: they had to create dis-

continuities wh ich w ould draw a line between their C hristian present andtheir pagan past. The realignment of these societies w as necessarily slow,their central value-system s resistant to change. Gregory of Tours and Bede

59"The Origin and Nature of the Carolingian Sermon," pp. 323-28 passim. On the gener-

al problem of the encounter of Christianity with folk religions, see above, pp. 191-92,191 n. 26.

See also "The M agic Tha t W as Needed: Rescued Means of Magical Intervention " and "Encour-aged Magic: The Process of Rehabil i ta t ion" in Flint, T he Rise of Magic.

60Frank i sh C h ur c h , p. 156.

61 As Green, T h e Carol ing ian Lord, p. 302, has observed, Germanic ethical ideals werederived from comi ta tu s and kinsh ip relationships. These ideals were discussed in the previoustw o chapters.

62Walter Baetke, Die A u fnahme d es Chris ten tums durch d ie Ge rmane n: Eln Beitrag zur

Frage der Germanis ierung des Chr is ten tums , special ed. (Darmstad t : Wissenschaftliche B uc h-gesellschaft, 1962), p. 8.



G e r m a n i z a t i o n and C hr i s t i an i z a t i on : 678-754 203

both knew that the conversion of their peoples to Christ ianity had done

something to the religion to which they were converted.... They were also

aware of an even deeper change in the texture of Christianity: it had

become th e religion of a w arrior nobili ty whose values and culture it hadnecessarily to absorb in the process of Christianizing them.

63

The extent to which Anglo-Saxon Christianization effor t s among the

Germanic peoples in the first half of the eighth century succeeded is diffi -

cult, if not impossible, to assess. What can be said is that these effor t s

provided a basis for the "second-phase" work of the Prankish Church

through the ninth century, which focused on ethical modification. As

McKitterick concludes regarding the content of contemporary ethical trea-

tises, or florilegia, "it is above all a consciousness of sin that is to be in-

culcated, the acknowledgement of the comparatively miserable and short

nature of human life and the possibility of greater meaning being lent it by

Christianity and faith."64

This inculcation of "a consciousness of sin" and

the consequent desire for salvation has led Hans-Joachim Schoeps to

remark:

Originally th e Teutonic tribes scarcely manifested any profound grasp of the

doctrines of the new religion. They m isunderstood a great deal. Apparently,

very few among them noticed that they were expected to shift to a newconcept of reality. W alter Baetke has rightly observed: "It is perve rting therelationship of Christianity to the Teutonic religion to regard it as a con-summ ation or perfecting of elements already present in the pagan faith.

Christ ianity did no t answer ques t ions t h a t th e early T e u t o n s h a d already

p o s e d . . . . R ather , Chris t iani ty had first to m a k e t h e m desire sa lva t ion in

order to bring salvat ion to t h e m . The Teutonic religion provided no base on

which Ch ristian m issionaries could b uild this aspect of their doctrine."

It might be said tha t, on the co ntrary, a certain Te utonization of C hris-tianity took place, fo r Teutonic thoug ht , forms of public w orship and ways of

life influen ced Ch ristian liturg y, art, ecclesiastical custom s and even cano n

law.65

63"From Rome to the Barbar ian Kingdoms (330-700)," in John M cM anners, ed., T h e

O x f o r d Illustrated History o f Christ ianity (Oxford: Oxford U niversity Press, 1990), p. 89. Atten-tion is also called to the facing illustration on p. 88 of "Christ as the Divinity of a Germanic

W arrior Aristocracy." A similar view regarding the tenacity of pre-Christian values and attitudes

among the Anglo-Saxons is expressed by Patrick W ormald, "Bede, Beowulf , and the Conversionof th e An glo-Saxon Aristocracy," in Rober t T. Farrell, ed., Bede an d A ng lo - Saxon England,British Archaeological Reports, no. 46 (Oxford: British Archaeological Reports, 1978),

pp. 65-69, w ho notes that "although the Ang lo-Saxon aristocracy w as willing to accept a newGod, it was n o t prepared to jettison th e m e m or y or the example of those who had worshippedthe old. Aristocracies in these circumstances very rarely are. As anthropological stud y ofsocieties not dissimilar from th e Anglo-Saxons has shown, mem ories of the past and cultural

values are often inseparable" (p. 67).64 Frankish C h ur c h , p. 183. See also p. 202: "The sinfulness of man and the necessity fo r

his redemption, were th e most constant themes of the Carolingian instruction of the people. The

em phasis on sin is also eviden t."65

T h e Religions o f M a n k i n d : Their Origin a n d Development , t rans. Richard and Clara




A s is custo m ary in homo geneou s, folk-religiou s societies, especially

during a heroic age, the standards of ethical conduct among the Germanic

peoples appear to have been ultimately derived from a sociobiological

drive for grou p survival thro ugh in-group altruism . Ethical m isconduct thus

consisted primarily in violating th e code of honor of one's kindred or one's

comi ta tus . Punishment for these violations included execution, banish-

m ent, or the payment of a fine or wergild. It wa s the responsibility of one's

kin, or the fellow m embers of one's c o m i t a t u s , to assist in avenging dis-

honorable behavior. The motivation which compelled compliance with

these codes of honor w as derived from the desire to avoid shame tooneself and to one's kin or c o m i t a t u s . Sim ilarly, the m otivation for exem-

plary heroic behavior stemm ed from the foreknowledge that such behavior

would bring glory to oneself du ring one's l ifetime and would be shared by

one's kin and descendants. If one's deeds were truly extraordinary and

benefited one's entire people, they might be memorialized forever in

heroic legends. As Jan de Vries has surmised: "The hero, then, lives inorder to win eternal fame. ... In those days people were very sensitive to

fame and blame. The former enhanced the value of life, the latter de-

stroyed it."

66

H ow then could m issionaries instill a desire for salvation from sin in a

society where Christian concepts of sin and guilt were alien? The high

degree of disparity between Ch ristian and Germ anic world-views and

ethics appears to have prompted the Anglo-Saxon Church and its mis-

sionaries to pursue a course of world-view and ethical reorientation through

semantic transformation. An appreciation for the problem of translating

the fun da m ental concepts of C hristianity from the Latin language of R om an

culture into the languages of the Germanic peoples contributes to anunderstanding of how this process of semantic transformation unfolded.

67

Winston (Gard en City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1968), pp. 113-14 (emphasis added). Schoeps's trans-lation of Baetke is from A u fnahme , p. 39. Schoeps excludes by ellipses from this quotation the

following excerpt, which is relevant to the current discussion: "Questions regarding th e meaning

of death, the hereafter, the fate of the soul after death, and notions of sin, redemption, and

judgement—all of this was alien to their religion and was introduced to them throughChristianity. Therefore, not only in the answers, but in the questions as well, lay the novelty of

Christianity" (m y translation).66"The Hero and the Heroic Age," in Heroic S o n g a n d Heroic Legend, trans. B. J. T immer

(1963; reprint, Salem, N.H.: Ayer, 1988), p. 183. de Vries elaborates: "Honour an d fame wereth e pivots of man's life—of th e hero's life first and foremost; through these he could be h u r t

most severely M an was not yet the individual then that he became later. He w as a member

of th e family, the temporary link in an eternal chain. Fame and blame were transm itted tochildren and grandchildren, or reached back to the ancestors. The man who failed in his honorwas a weak link in the chain; it could snap. ... The worst horror w as that the m an who did notbehave in accordance with the code of honour which his l ineage dem anded of him cast a blemish

on his family, a blemish th at could not be erased" (pp. 186—87).67

That an analogous problem has confronted Christian missionaries in Africa is attestedto by M atthew Schoffeleers, "Folk Christology in Africa: The Dialectics of the Nganga Paradigm,"



G e r m a n i z a ti o n a n d Chr is t ian iza t ion: 678-754 205

Heinz Rupp has proposed that German l i terature or ig inated as an interim

learning aid for young German monks s tudying Chris t ian Lat in texts .

Explanations of foreign concepts w ere wri t ten in the marg ins of these texts

using famil iar German terms, wi th the reciprocal result that eventually

"the content of native expressions was reshaped."68

At the same t ime,

spoken German was the object of "an attempt ... to embed these new

concepts to be expressed w ith o ld w ords in a context from which thei r new

sense w ou ld only slow ly becom e apparent."69

One of the primary concepts

which w as "contextualized" in this fashion w as tha t of s in.70

Other related

concepts w hich w ere treated sim ilarly w ere those of salvation, holiness,

and lord.In the previous chapter the religiopolitical significance of the Germanic

concept of sacral kingship w as discussed. The im portance of the sacral

king's Heil or charism a w as no ted. A s a result of the C hrist ianizat ion efforts

of the Anglo-Saxon missionaries and their German compatriots , however,

the noun Heil and its associated adjective heilig becam e imbued w i th Chr is -

t ian connotat ions of salvation and holiness. Baetke has summarized th is

cri t ical semantic t ransformation as follows: "The real Christ ian turning-

point in the conversion process was achieved in the concept of salvation. Itis th e t r ans format ion of the connotat ion of Heil from political w ell-being,

the soundness of the kingdom and the nat ion, to the salvation of the

individual soul."71

W hile Ch ristianity w as perceived by Clovis and his

w arriors as a source of poli tical and m il itary salvation, the second phase o f

Christ ianizat ion sought to in t roduce and advance Christ ian ethical values

and a w orld-view centered abou t ind ividu al salvation. T his was to be accom-

plished through the semant ic t ransformat ion of Germanic concepts , the

incorporat ion of Germanic imagery, and the metaphorical in terpretat ionof those G erman ic elem ents w hich were deem ed beyond th e pale of

Journal of Religion in Africa 19:2 (1989): 157-83. Further comparisons may be found in PeterMunz , "Early European History and African Anthropology," Ne w Z e a land Journa l o f History

10 (1976): 37-50.68

Heinz Rupp, "The Adoption of Chris t ian Ideas into G erm an, with Reference to the

Heliand and to Otfrid 's Evangelienbuch," Parergon 21 (1978): 33-41. This process is discussedfurther in Werner Betz, "Lehnworter and Lehnpragungen im Vor- und Fruhdeutschen," in

vol. 1 of Deutsche Wortgeschichte, 3rd rev. ed., ed. Friedrich Maurer and Heinz R upp, rev. HeinzRupp (Berlin: W alter de G ruy ter, 1974), pp. 135-60. See also H einz R upp, "Leid und Siinde imHeliand und in Otfrids Evangelienbuch," Beitrage zur Geschichte der deutschen Sprache un d

Literatur, part 1: 78 (1956): 421-69; an d part 2: 79 (1957): 336-79.69

Rupp, "The Adoption of Christ ian Ideas into German," p. 36. See also Stephen E.Flowers, "Toward an Archaic Germanic Psychology," in JIES 11:1/2 (1983): 117-37, andespecially pp. 124-25 for a discussion of the semantic t ransformat ion of the ancient G erm anic*gaist from denoting inner emotional arousal to the OHG geist den oting spiri t in a Chris t ian

context.70

For a discussion of the optimal missionary approach to indigenous cultures, see "Criti-

ca l Contextualization," in Hiebert ,Anthropologica l Insights, pp. 171-92.71

A u fnahme , p. 52 (my translation).



206 T he G e r m a n i c Trans format ion of Christ iani ty

accommodat ion. O ld High German l i terary examples of this approach m ay

be fo und in the ear ly n inth-century Hel iand epic and especially in the Liber

Evange l io rum , composed by Otfrid of W eissenburg between 860 and 870.72

These sem antic t ransform ations were consonant w ith the general Anglo-

Saxon m issionary strategy of implem enting a policy of accomm odation w here

pre-Christ ian ideals or practices were too deeply ingrained to be modi f ied

by a straightforw ard exposit ion of C hrist ianity or by coercion.73

In discuss-

in g why the Anglo-Saxon m issionaries did not choose the more numinous

O ld English (OE) root *wihaz over th e more political *ha i lagaz to connote

salvation and holiness, as Ulfila had done in his t ranslat ion of the Bible,

Baetke argues that while Ulfila deliberately sought to avoid the strongpagan connotations of *hai lagaz, the Anglo-Saxon missionaries deliberately

translated s a n c t u s as ha i lag so as to exploit , accommodate, and eventually

t ransform the strong inherent Germanic associat ion of Heil w ith m agical,

charismatic power.74

Hailag was not the only O E word to have undergone such a t ransfor-

mat ion. More recent ly , D. H. Green has applied Baetke's methodology to

the OE term for the leader of the c o m i t a t u s , dryhten, selected by the Anglo-

Saxons to represent the Latin term fo r Christ, d o m i n u s .75

Green suspectsthat "the christianisation of th is word and of the other terms from th esphere of the c o m i t a t u s was no more than a tact ical move by the Anglo-

Saxon church, the result of a realis tic assessm ent of long-term advantages

72Primary sources fo r these w orks are Otto Behaghel, ed., Heliand un d Genesis , 9th ed.,

rev. Burkha rd Taeger (Tubingen: M ax Niemeyer Verlag, 1984); and Oskar Erdmann, ed. ,

O t f r i d s Evangelienbuch (Tubingen: M ax N iem eyer Verlag, 1973). The Heliand an d particularlyth e Liber Evangeliorum are discussed from th e perspective of religious and ethical education by

McKitterick, Frankish C h ur c h , pp. 196-204. See also Rupp, "The Adoption of Christian Ideas

into G erm an"; idem , "Leid und Sunde"; and H ulda Gohler, "Das C hristusbild in Otfrids Evan-

gelienbuch und im Heliand," Zeitschrift fu r deutsche Philologie 59 (1935): 1-52. A n annotated

English translation of the Heliand has recently been completed by G. Ronald Murphy, T he

Heliand: T h e S a x o n Gospel: A Translat ion a n d C o m m en t a r y (New York: Oxford University

Press, 1992).73

Fo r contem porary linguistical insights into th e modification of such deeply ingrained

ideals an d practices, see "The Primacy of Deep Structure," in the chapter "Theological an d

Religious Pluralism," in Irene Lawrence, Linguist ics and Theology: T he Significance o f N o a m

C h o m s ky fo r Theological Cons truc t ion , Am erican Theological L ibrary Association M onographSeries, no. 16 (M etuchen , N.J.: A m erican Theological Lib rary Association, 1980), pp. 109-17.

Also of interest is Rudolf Bul tmann, Faith a n d Understanding, ed. Robert W . Funk (New York:Harper & Ro w , 1966), w ho states: "E very theolog ical exposition of the saving event and of theChristian's existence is constructed with contem porary conceptions" (p. 279).

74Da s Heilige im Ge rman i sche n (Tubingen: J. C. B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck), 1942),

pp. 220-26. Baetke specifically relates this process of deliberate semantic accommodation toG regory's m issionary policy, a policy which differed from that of Ulfila, who se more direct, lessaccommodating—and ultimately less effective policy—may have caused him to exclude the Book

of Kings from his translation of the Bible lest it reinforce the w arrior ethic of the Goths.

75 See "The Military Origins of Truhtin," and "The D issociation of Truhtin from th e Sphereof W arfare," chs. 9 and 10 in Green, T he Carol ingian Lo rd .




and of possible disadvantages."76

A n obvious benefit from th e utilization

of the c o m i t a t u s terminology lies in the fact that it already had an estab-lished base of positive connotation within Germanic society. Also, since

th e c o m i t a t u s was a primary source of ethical values, Green feels that by

utilizing it s terminology th e Church might "bridge the gap"between cultic

religious observations and ethical obligations that had existed in Germanic

religion.77

The less obvious dang er lay in the possibility that, after G erm anic

terms were semantically associated with Christian concepts, the mission-

aries' efforts to Christ ianize them might not be sufficiently intensive or

sustained to prevent a reciprocal Germanization of the Christian concepts

themselves.While it is clear that a G erman ic term inology w as uti l ized, the extent

to which this process of accommodation resulted in a general semantic

t ransformat ion and a genu ine C hristianization of the G erm anic w orld-view

and value system is more difficult to determine. From the persistence of

Germanic at t i tudes and values in secular Germanic l i terature, and the

Germanizat ion of liturgical practices and hagiographic canons, it appears

that the success of such a world-view transformation effort was l imited.

This may be attributed to the general stability of societal w orld-views, therelatively high level of solidarity w ithin G erm anic societies, and the vitality

of G erm anic religiosity d uring this period.78 To the extent that Chris t ian

76Green, T he Carol ing ian Lord, p. 322. See ch. 6, "TheVocabulary of the C o m i t a t u s , " fo r

a detailed discussion of other Germanic terms associated with th e c o m i t a t u s which Green

believes were Christianized, that is , t r iuwa, trdst, huldi , milt i , and era. Matthew Schoffeleer 's

article "Folk Christology in Africa: The Dialectics of the N ganga Paradigm ," describes a sim ilar

process currently underway among those involved with Christianization efforts in Africa: "W e

are regularly told by missiologists, social scientists and African writers that Africans find it

difficult to integrate the person of Jesus Christ in their belief system, either because he isautomatically associated with the west and the colonial past, or because his very essence is sup-

posed to be incompatible with autochthonous religious conceptions. That view seems implicitly

confirmed by African Theology, which has remained rem arkably silent about this pivotal symbol

of th e Christian faith. At one time it has even been autho ritatively stated tha t in traditional

African cultures christological conceptions are no n- ex iste nt .... A lthough several christological

studies have appeared since, a feeling of crisis persists because those involved in christological

research appear una ble to reach even a m odicu m of consensus with regard to a suitable para-

digm fo r Christ. Some prefer to cast him as Victor or Chief; others as Ancestor, without any

party being able to establish a convincing cl ai m ... . At the level of folk theology, there exists atleast one christological paradigm w hich is m a de use of over large areas of sub-Saharan A frica.The paradigm referred to is that of the medicine-person, known in many Bantu languages by the

noun nganga or one of its cognates" (pp. 157-58).77

Green, T h e Carol ing ian Lord, p. 303.An additional, m ore direct rationale for the attr i-

bution of dryhten to Christ may be tha t th e lordship of the c o m i t a t u s was probably th e socialfunction most admired by Carolingian society. Green believes that the Church did not seek to

assimilate the terminology of kinship, th e other major source of ethical values in Germanic

society, because of its close association with the obligation of revenge embodied in the bloodfeud (pp. 308-11).

78

Sum marizing the view of Christianity expressed in the only extant eighth-century Prank-ish historical text, Richard Gerberding, The Rise o f the Carot ing ians a n d t h e "Liber Historiae




notions of s in and salvat ion were assimilated by the Germanic peoples

dur ing the early M iddle Ages, they may be said to have been Ch rist ianized;

to the extent that Christ ianity became more rel igiopoli t ical and magico-

religious during this period, it may be said to have been G ermanized.

F r a n c o r u m " (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1987), states: "For the L H F - a u t h o r , Christianity, its

God, and its Church are the source of holy cla irvoyant men, magic relics, r i tual , and patron

sa ints—all offering aid, advice, or protection and then usually for the pursuits o f battle.... For

the LHF-author there was no dichotomy between m il i tary ideals and Chris t ian i ty . . . .When

describing the founding of Sain t Peter's Ch urch in Paris by Clovis and C lothild, he put the

following words in Cloth ild 's m ou th—w ords all the more s ignif icant because he d id not findthem in Gregory [Gregory of Tours' Histor ia Francorum}:'... le t us bui ld a church in honour of

the most blessed Peter, prince of the apostles, in order that he may be your helper in battle' "

(pp. 160-61). Also, Lynn White, Jr., "The Life of the Silent Majority," in Robert S. Hoyt, ed.,

Life a n d T h o u g h t in the Early Middle A g e s (Minneapolis: University of M inneapolis Press, 1967),

has observed: "Even w hen there w as external co nfo rm ity w ith the new faith, the essence of

popular religion long remained lit t le affected. Merovingian archaeology reveals horr i fyingly

primitive religious atti tudes. Scholars have not yet examined in adequate detail one of the most

s ignificant chapters in European h is tory : th e gradua l sp read of the parish system out of the t iny

cities in to the rude countrys ide. Not u nt i l church towers rose above c u l t ivated fields [about the

ten th cen tu ry ] did the new religion begin to modify the m i n d s and emot ions of most men"(pp. 98-99).



Conclusion

Throughout th is inquiry , a number of religious, historical, social, political,and linguistical developm ents have been associated with the Germanizat ionof early m edieval C hristianity. Some of the m ore notable developm entsdiscussed in previous chapters were th e growth of the Eigenkirchensystem

and Eigenklostersystem, th e development of Adelsheil ige hagiographiccanon s, the legitim ation of the concepts o f sacral kingship and crusade, the

advance of religiopolitical com pleme ntarity, th e development of a dramatic-

representational liturgical form, and generally, th e emergence of a heroic,

folk-centered, magicoreligious reinterpretation of Christianity. Not only

have th e effects of Germanizat ion and Christianization been identified,but an effort has been made to understand the process of religious

t ransformation which occurred.

It has been argued that the degree of inheren t disparity between Ger-manic and early Christian social structures and world-views led Christianmissionaries to employ a policy of init ial accommodation. They assumed

that more rigorous ethical and doctrinal form ation would soon follow andeliminate incompatible Germanic ideological elements. However, thedecline of the catechumenate , combined with th e vitality of German ic folk-

religiosity, resulted in the adherence of the G erm anic peoples to a Germanicfolk-religious reinterpretation of Christianity. A s a consequence of the

religiopolitical influence of the Ottonian emperors in Rome du r ing thetenth and eleventh centuries, this Germanic reinterpretation eventuallybecame n orm ative througho ut western Christendom .

1

1K. J, Leyser, "Sacral Kingship," part 3 of R u l e a n d Conf l ic t i n a n Ear ly M ed ieva l Soc ie ty :

Ot t o n i a n S a x o n y (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1989), notes that the Ottonian Emperors "made t hem-

selves thoroughly at home in the Reichsk irche and were really it s centre giving it what solidari ty

it possessed. ... It is thought by a formidable body o f scholars tha t they [manifes ta t ions o f

medieval kingship] coexisted wi th th e much older , archetypal and magical components of sacral-

ity. This kind of kingship, or at least elements of it, were not dissolved by Christ ianity; on the

contrary, they lived on to contaminate and to compromise the new religion" (p . 80).

209



210 C o n c l u s i o n

Derek Baker has summarized the process bywhich the Christ ianizat ion

efforts of the early M iddle A ges bore Germanized frui ts :

Indeed, when the composite character of the Christian message that was

preached is examined, it becomes difficult to see wha t opposition could h ave

been aroused to it, except from th e vested interests of priestly or bardic

castes, for the Church w as seeking to incorporate m uch that w as pagan

into C hristian li fe .. . . I t w as perhaps the corruption of Ch ristians by paganpract ice rather than the cont inuing paganism within Chris tendom which

menaced the faith more.. . . Pagan magic had to be countered by Chris-

t ian, as Columba demonstrated in his contest with the Pictish magician

Briochan, and w h e n the Chris t ian G od seemed to fail, m en re turned to

the old ways. . . . Christianity had,in fact, been established on the samefooting as the cults that it sought to displace

Europe m ay have seemed C hris tian in the year 1000,but i t was only

"the shado w of the C hristian sym bol" which had been cast.2

T he relative absence of ethical instruction and the greater absence of

doctrinal inculcat ion and theological speculation among the Germanic

peoples between the four th and eighth centuries w as countered by theom nipresence of religiopolitical un ity and m agicoreligious piety. T he religio-

political effects of the G erm anizat ion of Christ ianity appear to have en duredlongest, embodied in the European ideal o f Christendom. Even after the

official political disengagement of most European nations from Chris-

t ianity, the Euro-Christ ian rel igiocultural fusion w hich had developed over

a m illennium rema ined s trong within Western Christianity. Opposition to

this fusion, especially as it m ight in terfere w i th not ions of universalism and

ecumenism, was expressed in several of the documents of the Second

Vatican Council.3

Opposition to a magicorel igious interpretat ion of

Christianity, particularly to the ex tent that i t m ay obscure a full appreciationof the soteriological and eschatological mysteries of Redemption, was also

expressed by the Council.4

Nevertheless, Eurocentric religiocultural senti-

ment remains s t rong among Cathol ic t radi t ional is ts , and some of the

magicoreligious effects of the Germaniza t ion of C hristianity, such as Masses

2"The Shadow of the Christian Symbol," in G. J . C u m i n g , ed., T h e M i s s i o n of th e C h u r c h

a n d th e Propagat ion o f t he F a i t h , SCH, vol. 6 (Cam bridge: Cambridge U niversity Press, 1970),

pp. 25-28. For a detailed discussion of both pagan survivals and new adaptations, see Valerie I.J. Flint, T h e R i s e of M a g i c in Early Medieva l E u r o p e (Princeton, N.J.:Princeton University Press,

1991), especially pp. 68-84.3

These Council documents include L u m e n G e n t i u m (Dogmatic Cons t i tu t ion on the

Church) , G a u d i u m e t Spes (Pastoral Consti tution on the Church in the Modern World), Unitat is

Red in tegra t io (Decree on Ecumenism), and Ad G e nt e s (Decree on the Church's Missionary

Activity). The apotheosis of the Roman Catholic Church's dissociation from its European

her i tage came on October 28, 1974when th e Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship offi-

cially forbad e the ce lebra t ion of the T r ident ine La t in Mass . This ac t was resc inded by Pope John

Paul II on July 2 , 1988, two days after Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre consecrated three t radi t ion-

alist bishops.4

See S a c r o s a n c t u m C o n c i l i u m (Cons t i tu t ion on the Sacred L i turgy) .



Conc lus ion 211

offered at the shrines of saints for special intentions, remain formidableelem ents of con tem porary C atholic religiosity.

Some reflection on the nature of the missionary policy of accommoda-

tion is in order. The term "accommodation" itself is far too benign for theradical m odification of beliefs, attitudes, values, and behavior (BAVB) tha tthis policy encom passed. It almost implies that th e missionaries were doingthe Germanic peoples a favor by modifying Christianity to conform totheir w orld-view. Y et th is is hard ly w ha t the m issionaries inten ded . Tacit

compromises with the existing G erm anic world-view w ere ex pected toconstitute only the first temporary step in a gradual process of radicalB A V B modification. Whereas straightforward preaching often resulted inthe rejection of an alien world-view and coercion usually provokedresentm ent toward the new religion, by obscuring the substantial inh erentdisparity between Ch ristian and G erma nic world-views, th e policy of accom-modation allowed the missionaries to make inroads into the Germanicethos and w orld-view. This d eliberate m isrepresentation of Christianity in

G erm anic term s, followed by a program of gradu al, barely perceptible B A V B

modification m ight have com pletely transfo rm ed G ermanic religiosity intoa replica of early Christianity had it not been for the contemporaneousdecline of the catechum enate, and the vitality of the G erm anic ethos an dworld-view.

The Christian effort to modify th e Germanic B A V B construct did notend w ith the early M iddle Ages. A fter the influence of the O ttonian em per-ors and their successors in Rome during the tenth and eleventh centuries

helped to make a Germanized form of C hris tianity normative throughoutWestern Europe, Christianization efforts continued as movements of re-

form and renewal. To restore the ideal of the ecclesia pr imi t iva was thegoal of the Gregorian, Cistercian, and Franciscan reform movements ofthe later M iddle Ages, as well as the Protes tant Reformation and theSecond Vatican Council. Implicit (and sometimes explicit) in this goal hasbeen the de-emphasis, if not the repudiat ion, of the early medieval Ger-manic influence on Christianity. The recently accelerated, and hence moreperceptible dissociation of the Ro m an Catholic and other C hristian churchesfrom their European heritage may have contributed toward a reciprocal

dissociation of m any Chris tians of European descent from these churches,and possibly from C hristian ity altogether. A lienation appears m ost likelyto occur among those Euro-Christians for whom religiosity and culturalidentity are closely related.

5

sA study of the institutions, if any, to which these alienated Euro-Christians t ransfer

their allegiance would be of interest. C. J. T. Talar, "Dieu, est-il anti-semite? The French

Catholic Right," C o n t in u u m 1:1 (1990): 63-77, provides an overview of the si tuation in France

where it appears that such indiv iduals o f a Catholic background are likely to be attracted to

Catholic traditionalist churches and/or nationalist political movements. Perhaps th e increasing

popularity of neopagan organizations m ay also be derived from a reaction against th e cul turalself-criticism engaged in by many Christ ian churches in Europe and Nor th America.



212 Conclusion

At the end of Part I, an outline of a model of religious transformation

fo r encounters between folk-religious societies and universal religions was

presented. In Part II, this model has been applied to the encounter of the

Germanic peoples with Christianity. A summary of the conclusions from

this application is presented below:

1. The prevailing social structure f rom which early Christianity emerged

w as urban, heterogeneous, and anomic, with a sizable underclass,

whereas the prevailing social structure within Germanic societies f rom

the fo u r th through the eighth centuries was rural and homogeneous,

with a high level of group solidarity and a warrior aristocracy.

2. The world-viewof early Christianity w as predominantly world-reject-

in g and soteriological, whereas the world-view of Germanic societies

dur ing the early middle ages was predominantly world-accepting and

sociobiological.

3. To advance the process of Christianization among the Germanic peo-

ples, its advocates sought to accommodate the religiopolitical and

magicoreligious elements of Germanic religiosity.

4. In attempting to demonstrate the superior power and reliabilityof theChristian God, and in employing terms derived from the comitatus

institution to convey Christian concepts, advocates of Christianization

were implicitly reinterpreting Christianity in accordance with the

world-view of the Germanic peoples.

5. The continued reliance of the Church upon Frankish political and

mili tary force—from the Gallo-Roman episcopacy in the fifth century

to St. Boniface and the papacy in the eighth century—contributed

toward the adaptation of Christianity to Germanic political and mili-

ta ry ideals.

6. The world-accepting Indo-European and Germanic tradition of religio-

political complementaritywas manifested in the attempt by the Goths

and other Germanic peoples to preserve their ethnocultural identity

in the midst of the Roman Empire by adhering to Arianism. Religio-

political complementarity is also evident in the early medieval

Germano-Christian development of the Eigenki rchensys tem and Eigen-k los te rsys tem, as well as in the concept of Geblutshei l igkei t , and in the

Adelshei l ige hagiographies.

7. Advocates of Christianization were unable to accomplish more than a

"superficial" or "nominal" Christianization of the Germanic peoples,

at least prior to the reign of Charlemagne (768-814), for the followingreasons:

a. the decline of the catechumenate and a shortage o f other qual i f ied

personnel;



C o n c l u s i o n 213

b. a sense of eschatological u rgency w hich priori t ized the qu an ti ty of

those baptized over the degree of their Christ ianizat ion;

c. the substan tial inherent disparity between C hrist ian and German i c

religiosity;

d. the vitality of indigenous Germanic religiosity.

8. Gallo-Roman bishops , I r i sh monks , and Anglo-Saxon missionaries

accomplished all tha t w as possible, given th e socioreligious environ-m e n t in w hich they o perated. H ad they not adopted a methodology of

accom m odation, and instead foc used on direct ly resolving the funda-

m ental dis tinctions between t radi t ion al G erman ic and t radi tional

C hrist ian wo rld-views, they wo uld probably have m ad e no permanentinroads at all.

9. Although the decline of the catechumenate ser ious ly impeded th e

process of Ch rist ianizat ion , the acco m m odation of Ge rm anic religi-

osity provided a founda t i on fo r later efforts wh ich sought to advance

C hristian doctrine a nd ethics.

10. In thei r im plem entat ion of a policy of accomm odat ing C hris tiani ty to

G erm anic rel igiosi ty, C hrist ian m issionaries general ly m isrepresentedthe high degree o f inhe rent dispari ty tha t existed between G erm anic

religiosity and Christ ianity. T he missionaries also tended to withhold

the extent of e thos , w orld-view, and behavior m od if icat ion w hich they

ultimately hoped to achieve.

11. A result of the implementation of this policy of accommodation was a

perception among the German i c peoples tha t one became a Christ ian

merely by including Chris t and his saints in one's pantheon , and by

relat ing to them in a Germanic magicorel ig ious and religiopoliticalfashion, w ithou t subs tant ia l e th ical or d oct r inal requireme nts .

12. Some add i t ion a l fac tors which affected the expansion of Christ ianity

a m o n g the G erm anic peoples d ur in g th is per iod were:

a . the association of C hris t iani ty by non -Frankish G erm anic peoples

with the political aim s of the Franks;

b . a historical ly inaccurate causal associat ion of C hris tiani ty wi th

Rom an g randeu r ;c. the coincide ntal similarity between cer ta in G erm anic myths , r ituals ,

and symbols and certain Christ ian rel igious bel iefs , r i tuals , and

symbols.

Throughout th i s inqui ry , the term "Christ ianizat ion," when applied to

the ear ly medieval Germanic peoples , has been qual i f ied by the word"at tempted." I t is now appropr ia te to cons ider wh ether , by the t i m e of St .

Boniface's de ath in 754, the G erm anic peoples had indeed b een C hris-

tianized. Given the rigorous, objectivist definition of Christianization



214 C o n c l u s i o n

adopted at the outset of this inquiry, with it s requirement of a consciousacceptance of the soteriological essence of Christianity,

6it is concluded

that the Germanic peoples had not been Christianized by the middle of

the eighth century. If, instead, a relativist or subjectivist definition ofChristianity is adopted, in which th e essence of Christianity is not consid-ered immutable, or in w hich religious affiliation is determined pr im ari ly by

self-identification, i t m ay be argued that the Germ anic peoples were Chris-tianized by this time . But it would be necessary to specify that th e form ofChristianity with which they became affiliated was a Germanized one.

6See above, pp. 34-35. Clebsch's view of a "variety of Christianities," although held in

abeyance earlier, appears quite valid in view of the evidence developed in this inquiry. Also, it

seems that th e concept of religious universality itself m ay benef i t f rom a re-evaluation, given th e

wi de diversity in BAVB constructs among cultures and the fundamental nexus between rel igiosi tyand culture.



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Index

Accom modation, missionary policy of, 4,

7, 38,43,121,131,163,181,187,189,

206, 211, 213Acculturation, 12

Adams, Rober t M ., 128

Adelsheilige, 168

hagiographic canons of, 209,212

Aesir and Vanir, 111

/Ethelbert of Kent (king), 184-86

Aland, Kurt, 73

Alaric (Visigothic k ing), 137

Alcuin (abbot and liturgist), 44

Alexander th e Great, 50,59,63,70, 84 ,100

Alienation, 4,78, 211

and Hellenistic my stery cults, 67

cultural, 11Altruism, in-group, 53,69, 204

Amalar of M etz (liturgist), 44Am and (missionary), 164

Amos, Thomas Leslie, 158,195,199, 201

Angus, Sam uel, 63

Anomie, 4 ,6 , 20-22, 66,91,131

an d wo rld-rejecting religiosity, 57

in Hellenistic society, 63

in the Roman Empire, 97

An toninian Constitution, 72Apocalypticism, Jewish, 75

Arianism, G ermanic. S ee Christianity:

Arian: Germanic

Asoka (Indian emperor), 50

Astrology, 69A than aric (Visigothic chieftain), attitude

toward Christianity, 136Athaulf (Visigothic king), 137-38

Audoenus of Rouen (bishop), 158Aug ust ine of Ca nterbury (missionary),

183,185-86,192

Augustine of Hippo (bishop), 163Augustus (emperor) , 71Avitus of Vienne (bishop), 152,159,165,

175

Baetke, Walter, 171-72, 202-6

Baker, Derek, 166,210

Balthildis (Frankish queen), 160Baptism, 36

temporal rewards for, 195

Barker, Eileen, 93

Batiffol, Pierre, 89

Baus, Karl, 6 7,74Bauscha tz, Paul, 177

BAVB

definition of, 13modification of, 12,211

Bede (English historian), 185Belisarius (Byzan tine general), 145

Bellah, Robert, 19,49-51, 53,177

Bernard of Clairvaux (abbot), 40

Bible, 199,206

Biological solidarity, 66Bloch, Marc, 130Blood feud, Germ anic institution of, 122

Bomer, Franz, 88

Boniface (Anglo-Saxon missionary), 7,122,132,135,166,183,185,187,

192-94,196, 212

and Gregory's m issionary policy,

192-93

and secular support, 196Brandon, S. G. F., 76

Branley, Brendan , 19Brown, Peter, 31,91,176-77

review of Dodds's "Age of Anxiety", 92

Buddhism, 19,46,50

Burgundians , 135Bu rkert, Walter, 14, 68 ,71Burns, Thomas, 141

Bury, J. B., 64,127,135,152

Caesar, G aius Julius, 108,114

Caesarius of Aries (bishop), 16 1Campbell , Joseph, 162Caracalla (emperor) , 72

Cassiodorus, 14 3

249



250 Index

Catechetical instruction, 131

post-baptismal, 188

med ieval s ta tus of, 198, 211

Catechumenate , dec l ine of, 211

Catholic tradit ionalis ts , viii, 210

Chaney, William A ., 172

Charlemagne (emperor) , 192

Charles M arte l (Frankish ruler) , 196

Ch ilder ic ( fa ther of Clovis), 146-47,

175

Chivalry, 6,18

Chr i s t endom

concept of, 190

European idea l of, 210Chr is t ian i ta s , 133

Chris t iani ty , 46

and anom ic condi tions , 94

and civic cohesion, 88

and Germanic polit ical ideals , 212

and H ellenistic m ystery cults , 67

and magic , 201

and natu ra l k inship s t ruc ture , 81

and politics, 135

and R o m a n c u l tu r e , 135and sociobiological relationships, 81

and th e accommodation of Germanic

religiocultural att i tudes, 40

appeal of, 89

and sa lva t ion, 100

and socialization, 100

Arian, Germanic , 7,42,134,137-40,

142,149, 212

and e thnocul tura l ident i ty , 50

and group solidarity, 141and R o m a n i z a t i o n , 142

as a national religion, 141

as a deviant subcul ture , 86

as a European folk religion, 39

as a salvation religion, 6 ,7 6

Cathol ic , Frankish, 134

compared with Hellenistic religiosity, 73

compromises with Germanic religiosity,

201

con tempora ry a t t itude toward G ermanicin f luence, 21 1

defini t ion of, 33, 35

belief in individual redemption, 35

disparity between Ge rma nic re l ig ios ity

and , 213

dissolution of the family un i t and , 88

early, 52

appeal of as an a l t e rna t ive communi ty ,

90-91, 93,102

eschatological o r i en ta t ion of, 82

Indo-European Greek inf luence on,

62

messianic and apocalyptic

expectations of, 91

organic relation to the declining

R o m a n Empire, 102

social solidarity in , 89

social structure of, 155

sociopolitical environment of, 98

socioreligious and sociopsychological

environment of , 91

ear ly Ch ris tian m odel of, 191

egalitarian re-socialization and, 88

e lement of belief, 180essence of, 33, 35

Eurocentric particularization of, 190

European, vii

expansion of, 50,60,89,133

factors affecting success of, 97,100-1

folk-religious re interpre ta t ion of , 135,

180

Germanic , vii, 131

Germanic re interpre ta t ion of, 188, 209,

212Greek and Roman in f luences on, 133

Hellenistic heritage of, 76

heroic reinterpretation o f, 6

Indo-Europeaniza t ion of, 59,133

pre-Germanic , 61

Judaic heritage of, 76

m agicoreligious aspects of, 162,164

magicoreligious reinterpretatio n of, 6,

154,189,191, 208, 209, 210

mass conversion to, 136Merovingian , as a " 'cult* religion", 158

misrepresenta t ion of, 23,101, 202,211,

213

misunde rs tand ing o f , 202, 203

not ion of Redemption in , 52

not ion of the Incarnat ion in , 52

objectivist def init ion of, 132

original Judeo-Hellenistic socioculturale n v i r o n m e n t of, 10 1

pagan survivals in, 152relativist approach to, 214

religiopolitical aspects of, 157

religiopolit ical reinterpretation of, 154,

189,190, 208, 209

R o m a n , and social coh esion, 50

soteriological essence of, 36,214

world-reject ing orie n ta tio n of, 77

Chr is t ianiza t ion, 3, 6, 26, 36,132,134,

162, 212-13

"superf icial" or "nomina l" , 212



Index 251

an d city size, 86

and ethics, 202and ethnic heterogeneity, 86

and social cohesion, 158an d temporal rewards , 195

and the repu tation o f "brotherly love",

88

and warfa re , 40

Anglo-Saxon approach, 183

and Iro-Frankish approach

compared, 164

appeal to power, 212

at tempted, 179

concept of, 31defini t ion of, 36

examples of, 16-24

Africa, 16

evaluated , 24-25

Hawaii , 22

Japan,19

Jews fo r Jesus, 22

South Korea, 21

Greco-Roman, 4

in Gaul , 176in Roman Empi re , 183

Iro-Frankish approach, 158

and Ang lo-Saxon approach

compared , 164

mass m o d e of, 135

Merovingians and, 154

metaphysical aspects of, 177

objectivist definit ion of, 213

of Egypt , 80

of the G erm anic peoples , 46 ,123,132of the Touraine, 181

policies of, 39

primary-phase approach, 164

process of, 13

disparity between in classical and

Germanic societies, 98

secondary phase, 200approach of, 16 4

Columbanus and, 159

sociopsychological factors, 80through semant ic t ransformation , 163

Christ ians

an d unw orldly equal ity, 89

as a disruptive social phenom enon,81

as a threat to the R om an system, 82as an artificial kin group, 91

earlysocial solidarity a mong , 89

social status of, 84

Chris tus Victor, 170

Civilizational dynamics, 98

Clawsey, M ary Crawford , 118,121-22,

131Clebsch, W illiam A., 34

Clement of Alexandria (theolog ian), 133

Clovis (Frankish king), 17,146-48,

150-53,159,165,175, 205

baptism of, 151conversion of, 33

Clovis II (Frankish king), 160

Cluny, 124

Coercion, m issionary policy of, 211

Cognitive dissonance, 88Coh esion, sociocultural, 24

Columbanus (Irish m issionary), 154,

156,158-61,164-65

Penitentials of, 160

C o m i t a t u s , 7,117-19,128,167, 204, 206

an d honor , 119

an d kinship bonds , 121

and vassalage, 129compared with genera! Rom an

social structure, 119in Indo-European society and

mythology, 117

Com m ercial Revo lut ion, 44

Comm odus (emperor) , 72

Co ngar, Y ves M.-J., 13

Constantine (emperor), 50

Constant ius II (emperor),136

Conversion, 13,26-27,135

ambiguity of the t e rm, 27

and al ienat ion, 84an d anxiety, 87

and cognitive dissonanc e, 84

an d loneliness, 87

and religious belief, 29

and repentance, 27

an d status inconsistency, 83-84

individual, 27

and radical personal ch ange, 28

mass, 202

resocialization of, 81societal, 28, 31

Copleston, Frederick, 61

Cosmopolitanism, 64

Council of C onstantinople (381), 140Council of Orleans (511), 153Crusade ideology, 6,167-68,190,

20 9Cul lmann , Oscar, 176Cum ont , Franz , 69

Cyrus (Persian king), 50



252 Index

Dagobert I (Frankish king), 154,158,160,

164

Danie l of Winchester (bishop), 196

adviceto

Boniface,193-94

Davidson, H. R. Ellis, 190

Daw son, Christopher, 15,31

De Bel la Gal l ico , 10 8

De correctione ru s t i coru m , 142

De laude no vae m i li tiae , 40

De singulis t ibr is can on ic i s scarapsus, 199

de Vries, Jan, 173, 204

de-Europeanization, viii

de-Indo-Europeanization, 6,58,76

Dead Sea Scrolls, 77Death, a t t i tude toward, 162

Decadence, defini t ion of , 12 8

Delaruelle, Etienne, 36

Delumeau, Jean, 37Dickinson, G . Lowes, 65

Dirksen, Aloys, 26

Dix, Gregory, 19 9

Dodds, E. R., 91

Dr ea m of th e R o o d , T h e , 24 ,170

Drew, Katherine Fischer, 43,128Duby, Georges, 132Dum ezil, Georges, 59,98,107,173

methodology of, 111, 114

on Indo-European ideology, 112

on Indo-Eu ropean paral lels, 113

on Indo -Eu ropean social structure and

mythology, 113

on the Aesir and Vanir myth, 111

a n t h e c o m i t a t u s , 117

on the tr ipart i te structure of Ind o-European ideology, 114

on the warrior function, 117

Durkheim , Emile, 20,131

Ecclesia p r imi t i va , 21 1

Ecumenism, 21 0Eddas , 110

Eigenk i rche , 6,18,142

Eigenkirchensys tem, 154,171,209, 212

Eigenklostersys tem, 154,159,171, 209Eliade, Mircea , 85,90,100,125

Eligius of No yon (bishop), 158-59,161

Erdmann, Car l , 167-68

Erigena, Johannes Scotus (philosopher),

163

Essenes, 77

Ethical reorientat ion, 204

Ethnocu l tu ra l destabil izat ion, 88

E t h o s

at tempts to t ransform, 13

change in, 100

classical and Germ anic compared, 99

Germanic, 42,121

vitality of, 122

late R o m a n , 100

of t h e c o m i t a t u s , 117,132

warr ior

in hagiographies, 125

sublimation of, 124

world-accepting, 103

Euric (Visigothic king), 148-49

Euro -Christ ian religiocultural fusion, 210

Euro-Christians, al ienation am ong

contemporary, 211Euro centric rel igiocultural sentiment, 210

Ewig, Eugen, 136,154

Fate, Celto-Germanic notions of, 162

Ferguson, John , 89

Feudalism, 6

Fleckenstein, Josef, 130

Flint,Valerie I. J., 32

Florilegia, 20 3

Folk religion. See Religion: folkFolk religiosity. S ee Religiosity: folk

Folk-religious societies, 3,46,108

Fouracre, Paul, 158

Fox, Robin L ane, 88-89

Franks. S ee Germanic peoples: Franks

Frit igern (Visigothic com m ander), 140

Gallo-Roman aristocracy, 149

G allo-Rom an episcopacy, 7,148-52,212

Arian threa t to , 148Merovingian appointees to, 153

Geary, Patrick J., 33,149-50,158,196

Gebliitsheiligkeit, 157

G enetic factors, in rel igious at t i tudes, 14

Gens, 100

Germania , 108

Germ anic e thos. S e e Ethos, GermanicGerm anic kingship, 152,172-74

Germanic law codes, 43

Germanic peoplesaccomm odation of rel igiocultural

at t i tudes by Christ ianity, 40affinity for Roman grandeur , 148

and Roman culture, 146

Arianism of, 144Ostrogoths, 145

Visigoths, 14 5

at t i tude of the Rom ans toward , 184

at t i tude toward Rom an cul ture , 143,147

cohesive social structure of, 102



Index 253

doctrinal inculcation of, 210

ethical instruction of, 210

ethical standards of, 204

first contact with Christianity, 134Franks

and Roman culture, 147,150

and Romans, 151

early history of, 151

paganism of, 153

Indo-European heritage of, 102,118

laws of, 147

Lombards, 196-97

Ostrogoths, 175

paganism of, 145religious affiliation of, 138

Alamann i , 164

Ostrogoths, 141

sources for, 108

Tervingi Goths, 135

theological speculation among,210

Visigoths

"mass conversion" of, 136

and Romans, 134,151

encounter with Christianity, 135group identity of, 151

Germanic religiosity

centrality of power in, 7

sources for, 110

vitality of, 4,7,188,207

Germanicworld-view. See World-view:

Germanic

Germanization, 43,134,207

ideological aspects of, 209

of Arian Christianity, 142of Christian religious culture, 131

of Christianity, 3-4,16,38-39,44,46,

51,123,131,133,153,162,167,171

approach to the study of,5

and the Crusade ideology, 167

and the E ig en t t r c h en s y s t em, 154,171

and the Eigenklos tersys tem, 154

effects on hagiography, 125,168

effects on the liturgy, 41-43,192

factors contributing toward, 183

magicoreligious effects of, 210

normative for the West, 4

religiopolitical effects, 210

of medieval religious culture, 41

of th e Roman army, 127

process of, 124

Glock, Charles Y., and Rodney Stark, on

conversion, 28

Gnost ic ism, 78,79

versus Indo-European religiosity, 78

Gradualism, missionary policy of, 188,211

Green, D. H., 188,206

Greenhouse, Carol J., 176

Gregory of Tours (bishop), 148,181Gregory the Great (pope), 161,183

apocalyptic vision of, 184

correspondence of, 193

missionary policy of, 183,186-88,192

Group solidarity, 4,6,167,171, 212

an d concepts of immortality, 65- 66

and Germanic Arianism,141

and in-group altruism, 69

and world-rejecting religiosity, 57

Germanic, 126,128-30compared to late Roman, 126

contrasted with early Christian, 131

versus individualism,100

G r u n d m a n n , Herbert, 36

Guil t feelings, 160

G u n t r a m (Frankish king), 154

Guthrie, W. K. C., 59

Hagiography, medieval, 125,157,168-69

Harnack, Adolf von, 47,155H a v a m a l , 121

Heather, Peter, 135-36,140

Hechter, Michael, 126

Heil, concept of, 205-6

Hel iand , 23,206

Hellenic culture, 63

Hellenic rationalism, 133

Hellenistic mystery cults, 67,71, 84

Hellenistic philosophical schools, 68

Hellenistic religiosity. See Religiosity,Hellenistic

Hellenistic transformation, 62,76,172

and de-Hellenization of native Greek

culture, 85

and loss of cultural identity, 85

demographics of, 84

effects of, 64

ideological, 72

on Indo-European religiosity, 72

heterogenization and, 86

religious syncretism and, 86

role of immigration in, 85

Herwegen, Ildefons, 99

Heterogenization, social, 6,20, 66, 84,86

Hiebert, Paul G., 17,132,192

Higgins, George, 22

Hillgarth, J. N., 144,152-53

History o f th e Engl i sh C h u r c h and People ,

185

Hollander, Lee M., 121



254 Index

Holmes, Urban T., 43

Homogeneity, social, 60

Honor

Christian notion of, 120-21

Germanic contrasted with Christian,124

Germanic notion of, 120

Howe, John McDonald, 125

Huns, 134,138,151

Button, Ronald, 32

Ideological transformation, 204

Imperial expansion

and universalist religions, 67

destabilization following, 66Inculturation, 39,121

Individual ism, 69

Indo-European religiosity. S ee Religiosity:Indo-European

Indo-Europeanization of Christianity, 133

Indo-Europeans

religiosity of, 115

social structure of, 114

uniqueness of, 116

warr io r ethos among, 118Industr ia l Revolution, 44

Irish monasticism, folk-centered structure

of, 158

Irish monks, 156

as missionaries, 159

Irish penitentials, 156

Irsigler, Franz, 168

I s lam, 46,50

Jesus, and the Essene community, 77Jones, George Fenwick, 119,121-22

Germanic parody of the Beatitudes, 120

Jordanes (Gothic historian), 138

Jul ian (emperor), 12

Jul ianism, definition of, 12

J u n g m a n n , Josef A.,4,39,42,191,198

Kahl, Hans-Dietrich, 32

Kamehameha II (Hawaiian chief), 22

K a pu s , 22Katz, Solomon, 72

Kee, Howard Clark, 87

Kelly, J. N. D., 78

Kerfoyi, Karl, 180Kerr, Hugh T., and John M. Mulder, on

conversion, 28

Kiev, Ari, 95

Kingship , Germanic, 152,172-74

Kinship, 7,121

Kit to , H. D. F., 65

K le in g o ten , 138

Kleinstuck, Johannes, 180

Knights Templars, 40

K o ku ta i , 19

Krailsheimer, A. J., on conversion, 28

La Piana, George, 86

Lanternari, Vittorio, 76,79

Lasko, Peter, 146

Latourette, Kenneth Scott, 15,89, 97,166

Le Bras, Gabriel, 37

Le Goff , Jacques, 37,44,161-62,176

Lea, Henry Charles, 128

Leclercq, Jean, 36Lefebvre, Marcel (archbishop), vii

Lenski, Gerhard E., 83

Lenteildis (sister of Clovis), 149

Leovigild (Visigothic king), 144

Liber E v a n g e l io r u m, 206

Life after death, 64

Littleton, C. Scott

on the centrality of the warrior figure in

Indo-European ideology, 117

on the Indo-European tradition in theMidd le Ages, 118

on the uniqueness o f Indo-European

tripartition, 116

Liturgical uni formi ty , benefits of, 192

Lombards. See Germanic peoples:

Lombards

Lonnroth, Lars, 123

Lord-man relationship, 129

Loyalty to one's lord, versus individual

salvation, 121Luckmann , Joan, and Karen Creason

Sorensen, 96

Luxeuil , 156

M a c M u l l e n , Ramsay, 29-30, 32-33,

47-48, 98

Magic, 69

Magicoreligious reinterpretation of

Christianity. S ee Christianity: magico-

religious reinterpretation ofM a r k u s , Robert A., 32,186-S7, 202

Martin of Braga (bishop), 142, 201

Mart in of Tours (bishop), 177,181

Mayr-Hart ing , Henry, 32

McKitterick, Rosamond, 200,202-3

McNally, Robert E., 199

Meeks, Wayne A., 81,83-84, 87

Mell i tus (missionary), 185-88

Mensch ing , Gustav, 49 , 51

Messian ism, Jewish, 76



Index 255

M e t a n o i a , 26-27

Miller, David Harry, 153,175

Missionary methodologies (See al so

Accommodation; Gradualism;

Coercion)

Anglo-Saxon, 7,163,183,195,206

appeal to temporal concerns, 194

Iro-Frankish, 158,160,164-65

summarized, 197.

Moorhead, John, 146,148-49,152

Moral values, 202

M u h a m m a d , 56

Munz, Peter, 32

Murphy, G. Ronald, on the Heliand,23-24,171,191

M u r r a y , Gilbert, 64, 90

Myers , Henry A., and Herwig Wolfram,

174

Mystery cults, 70

Cybele, 46, 71

Dionysus , 46

Eleusis, 46

Isis, 46,71

Mith ras , 46opposed by the Roman Senate, 71

Sarapis, 46, 71-72

Mythologem, 107,112

Nagy, Gregory, 66

N a k a m u ra , Hajime, 54

Neoplatonism, 62

N ew religious movements, parallels with

the early Christian Church, 93

Njal's S a g a , 122Nock, Arthur Darby, defini t ions of

adhesion and conversion, 29, 30

Nordal, Sigurdur, 110

Nothelm of Canterbury (bishop), 192

Novu s O r d o M i s s a e , v ii

O'Dea, Thomas, 20, 22,79,131

Odo of Cluny (abbot), 124

O i k o u m e n e , 64

Origen, on conversion, 27Ostrogoths. SeeGermanic peoples:

Ostrogoths

Otfrid of Weissenburg, 20 6

Otto, Rudolf, 48

Ottonian emperors, 4,209,211

Pagan religious practices, 109,201

Pagan temples, 185,187,190

Pagels, Elaine, 78, 82

Paul (apostle), 70

Pelagius, 163

Pelikan, Jaroslav, 170

Peloponnesian Wars, 63, 84

Pepin the Short (Frankish king), 192,197

Pericles (Athenian statesman), 65

Persian Empire, 63

Philosophy of history, 98

Pickering, Frederick P.,178

Piggott, Stuart, 116

Pirmin (missionary), 199-200

Polis, 64, 65,85

Political religiosity, 157

Poloing, Edgar, on Indo-European social

structure and religion, 114-16Powell, Elwin H., 97

Prinz, Friedrich, 156-57

Procopius (Byzantine historian), 144

Protestant Reformation, 211

Proto-Indo-Europeans, 113

Punic Wars, 71

Purgatory, idea of, 161

Quigley, Carroll, 98

Radbod (Frisian duke), 195

Rambo, Lewis R., on conversion, 27

Recared (Visigothic king), 144

Reform movements, 211

Relics, 6

Religion (See also Religiosity)

and group identity, 82,140

archaic, 51

Arianism, Germanic. S ee Christianity:

Arian: Germanicas a response to social stress, 94-95

Bu d d h i s m , 54-55

Catholicism, Frankish, 134

Chinese, ethnic component in , 19

Christianity. S ee main entry

Confucianism, 55

doctrinal beliefs, 48

folk, 45,192

and universal compared, 47-48

ethnocultural aspects of, 48sacraliry of the community in , 48

s tructure of, 108

Germanic, 27,47

Greek, Hellenic, 59, 63

Hellenism, 58,76

Indo-European, 37,46

Is lam, 55,56

Japanese, ethnic component in , 19Juda i sm, 49, 76

Pales t in ian, 58, 75-76



256 Index

Religion (con t inued)

na t iona l

Germanic Arianism, 141

sociopolitical benefits of, 144primitive, 50

Roman

Hellenization of, 74

Republican, 60

Shintoism,55

Unification Church, 93

universal, 3, 24,45-^6,51,102

folk-religious reinterpretation of, 50

in a folk-religious society, 103

indigenous reinterpretation of, 142structure of, 108

and folk compared, 47-48,

urban , Christianity as, 155

use of the term, 108

world-accepting, 50

Zoroastrianism, early, 49

Religiopolitical complementarity, 175,

209, 21 2

Religiopolitical reinterpretation of Chris-

t ianity. S ee Christianity: religiopoliticalreinterpretation of

Religiosity (See also Religion)

and stress, 96

disparity between Christian and

Germanic, 213

dualis t , 51

folk, 51,188

Germanic, 111-12

ethics and, 202

socio-politico-religious synergyof,171

structure of, 108

vitality of, 7,188, 207,209

Greek, 58

Hellenic, 64

Hellenistic, 64,74

acceptance in Roman Republic, 70

fo rms of by class, 70

influence on Christianity, 73,75

im m a n e n t , 52Indo-European, 5,102,115

ancestor worship,63

decline of, 75

religiopolitical unity of, 60

sociopolitical character of, 171

traditional, 60

magicoreligious, 189

messianic, 51

t ranscenden ta l , 51

universa l , 50-51

use of the term, 107

world-accepting, 49,51

def ined, 52

world-rejecting, 49-51and anomie,57

def ined, 52

factors contributing to, 80

Religious attitudes, and genetic factors,14

Religious evolution, 49

Religious instruction. S ee Catechetical

instruction

Religious sects, and a feeling of belonging,

95

Religious transformationassociated with de-Hellenization, 85

genera l model of, 3,45-46

fundamenta l postulates, 102

of folk-religious societies, 48

of universal religions, 48

prel iminary model of, 24

principles of, 96

proto-Christian, 45

societal, 132

sociopsychological aspects of, 81Remig ius of Reims (bishop), 148,150,

159,165

Repentance, and conversion, 27

Riche, Pierre, 142-44,147

Robinson, James M., 78

Roman Empire, viii

anomie in , 97

ascendancy of "un-Roman" elements in ,

98

foreign groups in , 86from rationalism to religious enthusiasm

in , 72

heterogeneity of, 98

organic relation to early Christianity of,

102

social stress in, 94

u r b a n centers, dissolution of, 100

R o m a n Republic

Hellenistic religiosity in, 70

R o m a n i t a s , 133

Romanization, 146

Rose, H. J., 60

Rupp, Heinz, 205

Russell, Jeffrey Burton, 34

Sacral kingship, 167,205,209

in the Merovingian-Carolingian contest,

196

Saints, lives of, 6

Salvation, 50-52,76,100



Index 257

and early Christianity, 4

appeal of

and predisposition to a universal

religion, 102related to level of group solidarity,

102

Christian message of, 79

group, Judaic, 76

individual, 49,63-64, 66,68,121,162,

204-5, 208

and mystery cults, 64

concept of in Frankish society, 161

desire for, 203

Hellenistic quest for, 71in Christianity, 73

in Hellenism, 73

versus loyalty to one's lord, 121

universal, Christian, 76

Salvation history, 178

Salvation religions. S ee Religion: universal

Saunders, George R., 141

Schmitt, Jean-Claude, 37

Schoeps, Hans-Joachim, 203

Schweitzer, Albert, 170Scripture, status of, 199

Second Vatican Council, vii, 210-11

Semantic transformation, 204-5

Shintoism, 19

Simpson, John, 178

Sin, concept of, 27,161-62,188, 203, 205,

208

Smart, Ninian, 55-56

Smith , Noel W., 80

Snorri Sturluson (Icelandic author), 110Social destabilization, 6,66,78,88,95

of th e Mediterranean region, 84

Social dominance, religious rationalization

of, 63

Social status

of the Arian Germanic peoples, 143

of th e early Christians, 84

Social structure

and ideological structure, 102

an d mythology according to Dum&zil, 13conduciveness to Christ ianity of

in Germanic societies, 79

in th e declining Roman Empire, 102

contemporary and Hellenistic

compared, 93

disparity between classical and

G e rm a n ic , 98

dispari ty between early Chris t ian and

G e r m a n i c , 209, 212

early Christian, 4

family structure, Roman and modern,

126

general Indo-European, 4

Germanic, 4,102,167Germanic kinship, 126

heterogeneous, 212

homogeneous, 212

Indo-European, 58-59,114

non-urban, 101

of early Christianity, 155

and urban environment of, 86

of Germanic peoples, and rural

environment of, 86

Socialization, and early Christianity, 4Society of Saint Pius X, vii

Sociobiological relationships, 128

Sociobiology, 53,69, 204

Soteriology, Christian, 76

Sparta, 66

Spengler, Oswald, 66

Stancliffe, C. E., 32,181-82

Stark, Rodney, 86

Status inconsistency, 83-84,87-88

and stress, 83,96Stephen II (pope), 197

Stoicism, 69,85

Storey, William G., and Niels Krogh

Rasmussen, 180

Strauss, Gerald, 37

Stress

social effects of, 96

and religious attitudes, 96

and religious behavior, 6

and status inconsistency, 83,96and urbanization, 89,96

present in the Roman Empire, 97

Sullivan, Richard E., 31,197,199

Syagrius (Gallic ruler), 148,150-51

Syncretism, 11,85

Christo-Germanic, 18

T'ang dynasty,50

Tacitus, Cornelius, 108,173

description of the comitatus, 118-19

Tarn, W. W., 70

Tessier, Georges, 154

Theodoric (Ostrogothic king), 143,147,

174

Theodosius the Great (emperor), 140

Thomas, Keith, 37

Thompson, Claiborne W., 122-23

Thompson, E. A., 136,138-39

Thucydides (Athenian historian), 65

Tim e, Chris tian and Germ anic senses of ,

176-77



258 Index

Tippett, Alan , 25

Toynbee, Arnold , 57

Tripar ti t ion, Indo-European, 114,116

Troeltsch, Erns t , 51

Ulfila (Arian bishop), 135,206

Ullmann, Walter , 128

Umayyad Dynas ty , 50

Unif ica t ion Church, 93

Universa l bro therhood, not ion of , 69

Universal religions. See Religion:

universal

Universa l ism, 69,210

Urban iza t ion , 6, 87-88,95and stress, 96

socioreligious dyna m ics of, 86

Valens (emperor), 135,140

Valen t inian (emperor), 128

Value systems , t ransfo rm at ion of , 202

Values

dispar ity be tween G erm anic and

Chris t ian , 120

Germanic , 124Chris t ian redef ini t ion of, 121

Van Engen, John, 36, 44

Vassa lage , 130

Ven ant ius For tu na tus (bishop of Poi tie rs) ,

170

Vengeance , G erm anic concept of, 122

Visigothic missionaries ("Kleingoten") , 138

Visigoths. S ee Germanic peoples :

Visigoths

Vita S a n c t i Geraldi , 124

Voegelin, Eric, 78-79

Vogel, Cyrille, 41,180,192

Volkerwanderungszei t , 130,173-74

Votive Masses, 180

Vridu. (bond of kinship) , du ties associated

with , 121

Wallace-Hadril l , J. M., 40,159-60

Warrior(s )

aristocracy of, 212

ethic of, 118

ethos of, 155-56

in Indo-European id eology, 117

Weber, Max, 131,155

Wergild, 20 4

Wilfrid (Anglo-Saxon missionary), 183

Wilken, Robert L., 82

Willibrord (Anglo-Saxon missionary), 195

Wolfram, H erwig, 140

World-view(s), 4 ,132

at tempts to trans fo rm , 13Chris t ian , 131,199

soteriological-eschatological, 36

dispari ty between C hris t ian and

Germanic , 131,176,178, 200, 204,

211,213

disparity between pre-Chris tian and

Chris t ian , 177

dua l i sm , 76 ,8 0

early Christian, 4 ,58

factor in missiological approach, 24folk-rel igious, 50,192

Germanic , 4,42,121,131,189, 211

vitality of, 4,122,182, 211

Greek, Hellenic, 80

Indo-European , 4,58,133

wa rrior ideology, 59

Judeo-Hellenistic , 133

t r ans format ion of, 132, 167, 200, 202,

207

world-accepting, 4, 76,103, 212world-rejecting, 4, 63, 73,76, 89,133,

212

Wul f r amm (Prankish miss ionary) , 195,

196

Zachary (pope), 195,197

Zoroas t r ianism, 50

Germanization 3

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