■■^.si CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY FROM Date Due iua/2ji-=^ -^ -^4^ jiM»ii^ ^^OQQ Cornell University Library BV2110 .M16 Wr 3 1924 029 340 787 Cornell University Library The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924029340787 AND GENERAL EEADEES. This Series of Theological Manuals has been published with the aim of supplying Books concise, comprehensive, and accurate, convenient for the Student, and yet interesting to the general reader. THE NEW TESTAMENT. 1. HISTORY OF THE CANON OF THE NEW TES- TAMENT during the First Four Centuries. By Brooke Fobs West- COTT, M.A., late Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. Crown Svo. cloth. I2S. 6d. 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HISTORY OF THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER. With a Rationale of its Offices. By Francis Procter, M.A. Fifth Edition. 464 pp. (1S60). Crown 8vo. cloth. los. 6d. When the present series of Manuals was projected, it did not appear that any one of the existing volumes taken singly was available for the desired object. In the course of the last twenty years the whole question of LitiU"- gical knowledge has been reopened with great learning and accurate re- search, and it was mainly with the view of epitomizing the extensive pub- lications on the subject, and correcting by their help the errors and miscon- ceptions which had obtained currency, that the present volume was pub- lished. The rapid sale of Four Editions may be taken as a proof that this work has been found useful to students and general readers. "By far the best commentary extant. ..As a manual of extensive infor- mation, historical and ritual, imbued with sound Church principles, we are entirely satisfied with Mr Procter's important volume." — Christian Re- membrancer. By the same Author. ELEMENTARY HISTORY OF THE BOOK OF COM- MON PRAYER. For the Use of Schools and popular reading. 1 2mo. cloth. 2S. 6d. The Author having been frequently urged to give a popular abridgement of his larger work in a form which should be suited for use in Schools and general readers, has attempted in this book to trace the History of the Prayer-Book, and to supply to the English reader the general results which in the larger work are accompanied by elaborate discussions and references to authorities indispensable to the student. It is hoped that this book may form a useful manual to assist people generally to a more intelligent use of the Forms of our Common Prayer. A HISTORY CHEISTIAN MISSIONS. A HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN MISSIONS DURING €^& WXiiJsh %Qts. GEOEGE FKEDEKICK MACLEAE, M.A. FOEMEELY SCHOLAE OF TEmiTY COLLEGE, CAMBEIDGE, CLASSICAL MASTEE AT KING'S COLLEGE SCHOOL, LONDON, AN» ASSISTANT-MINISTEE AT CUKZON CHAPEL, MAYFAIE. ®amBritig;e anti Sontion. MACMILLAN AND CO. 1863. PEINTED BY C. J. CLAY, M.A. AT THE UNIVEEaTY PEESS. PEEFACE. The present Work in its original form obtained the Maitland Prize for the year 1861, when the following subject was proposed : " The several efforts made during the Middle Ages to propagate the ' Gospel, considered with reference to the external and internal condition of the Christian Church at the time." In deference to the wishes of the Examiners the pub- lication of the work has been postponed somewhat be- yond the usual period, in order that the numerous refer- ences might be verified and expanded. This I have endeavoured to do to the best of my power, amidst many other and more pressing duties, and have taken the opportunity also of amplifying details, especially in the xvi''' and xvii"' Chapters, which I was originally prevented by a severe illness from presenting otherwise than in a meagre outline. The quotations which occur from time to time in the notes, I have given, as far as possible, from the original authorities, and I trust I have carefully acknowledged my obligations to others, where I have been unable to consult the originals. Tl PREFACE. Although I cannot claim to have recorded manyfacts in these pages that may not be found in the larger Eccle- siastical Histories, yet I am not aware of any work, in the English language, in which the various efforts made during the Middle Ages to propagate the Gospel are grouped together and presented at one view. The Mediffival period, indeed, has been but little repre- sented in modern accounts of Christian missions, and yet it was fertile in noble and heroic men, who laid, always in self-denial and self-sacrifice, sometimes in martyrdom and blood, the foundations of many of the Churches of modern Europe. The age to which they belonged was not the age of the nineteenth century; their thoughts were not our thoughts, nor their ways our ways; but while there is much to blame, there is much to admire in their operations ; and the modern missionary in our numerous Colonial Dioceses will perhaps see a reflection of his own trials and difficulties, of his own hopes and aspirations, in the life and labours of the founder of the far-famed monastery of lona, of the monk of Nutescelle, of the Apostle of Denmark, or the enthusiastic Eay- mund Lull. CONTENTS. INTRODUCTION. PAGE Apostolic contact with pure barbarism : St Paul at Lystra and Malta 1-3 Limits of the Church during the first four centuries 4 Its vitahty in spite of persecution 5 Causes of the Church's triumph : (a) Indirect 6 (6) Direct :.... 7 Incoming of the new Kaces ,, Problem proposed to the Church 8 CHAPTER I. The Mission-Field of the Middle Ages. The new Races surveyed under three groups : (i) The Celt, \ (1) TheTeuton,> 9, 10' (3) The Slave ) i. The Celt: Early contact with Rome 11 Rehgious system ; the Druidic Order 12 TheOUamh; the Seanchaidhe 13 Celtic worship of the powers of nature 14 Features of the religious system 15 viii Contents. PAGE ii. The Teuton : Comprehensiveness of the term i6 Earlier Teutonic belief 17 Allfadir iS Subsequent declension : (i) Nature-worship 19 (ii) Hero-worship — Thor, Tyr, Freyr, Baldr, Frigga... 20-22 Adverse Powers, Loki ; Baldr's encounter with him 22-25 Teutonic temples; the Irminsaule 26, 27 Teutonic sacrifice, animal, human 28, 29 iii. TTiC Slave: Early settlements 30 Characteristics 31 Slavonic religion 32 Temple at Arcona ; image of Sviantovit 33 Sacred horses 34 Slavoni^"Titjial 35i36 CHAPTER II. Early efforts of the Church among the new Races. A.D. 340—508. Scantiness of early missionary records ^y Missionary efforts of Ulphilas • His early Life 38 Labours amongst the Goths .0 Translates the Scriptures Pleads for the Goths at the Court of Valens 41 Gothic colony in Mcesia .^ Zaal of St Chrysostom for promoting the Gothic Missions 43 Labours of early Anchorites : (a) Valentinus in Vindelicia 4= (5) Severinus, in Bavaria and Austria : Obscurity of his early life 4(5 His heroic zeal ... Influence with barbarian chiefs 48 Eebukes Gisa queen of the Eugii =0 His death ci Contents. ix ■ . PAGE Conversion of the Pranks ; Marriage of Clovis and Clotilda 52 Ineffectual efforts of Clotilda to convert her husband 53 Battle of Tolbiac; Clovis baptized 54 Importance of his conversion 55 Subsequent degeneracy of the Fraukish Church 57 New influence needed; supplied by the sister Churches of Ireland and Scotland 58 CHAPTER III. The Church of Ireland, and the Mission of St Patrick. A.D. 431—490. Uncertainty respecting the Origin of Christianity in Ireland 59 Mission of Palladius ; its failure 60 Mission of St Patrick ; His birth, true name, and early years 6i His captivity 62 His escape and travels 64 Lands in Ireland 65 Preaches at Tara 66 Opposition of the Druids 67 His mode of preaching 69 Letter to Coroticus 70 Missionary tours; Early Irish synods •ji, 3 Keflection on his work ; his death 74,5 CHAPTEE IV. St Columbia and the Conversion of the Picts. Labours of the successors of St Patrick 76 ^l^rish missionary zeal 77 St Columba : His birth— legends of his early years 78 His education 79 Legend respecting his ordination 80 Founds many monastic cells 81 Conflicting accounts of the origin of his mission to Scotland ... „ Contents. PAGE Legend of St Finnen'a Psalter 82, 3 St Columba sets out for Hy 84 Description of early Irisli monasteries 85 The Columbian Rule 86 His personal appearance 87 Conversion of the Picts 89 Council of Druimceatt ; regulations as to the Bardic Order 91 St Columba*s later years ; his death 93 Importance of the Irish missionaries 94 CHAPTER V. Mission 0/ St Augustine to England. A.D. 596 — 627. Gregory the Great : Sees the Anglo-Saxon boys in the Roman Forum ng Determines to undertake the English mission 08 Marriage of Ethelbert and Bertha .' ^^ Mission of Augustine ; Landing of the missionaries 100 Reply of Ethelbert loi Preaching of Augustine ; baptism of Ethelbert 102 Questions proposed to Gregory; his replies 104 Arrival of fresh missionaries 10^ Conference with the British clergy log Death of Augustine 107 Pagan reaction ; apostasy of Eadbald 108 Extension of the mission to Northumbria no Edwin's early life; attempted assassination m Zeal of Paulinus for his conversion 112 The conference; speech of Coifi 113 Destruction of the temple at Godmundingham 114 Baptism of Edwin ji CHAPTER VI. Progress of Missionary work in England. A.D. 627—689. The Northumbrian mission ; success of Paulinus 115 Conversion of EastAnglia ; arrival of bishop Felix 116 Contents. xi PAGB Edwin slain by Penda ; flight of Paulinua 117 Accession of Oswald ; he summons missionaries from loua 118 Aidan's missionary labours 119 Conversion of Wessex I'zo, i Missionary success in Meroia 122 Battle of Winw^d field 123 Conversion of Essex 124 Conflict between the Irish and Roman missionaries ; synod of Whitby 1 26 Arguments of Wilfrid; decision of Oswiu 128 Conversion of Sussex 129 Close of the missionary period in England 131 CHAPTEE VII. Celtic Missionaries in Southern Germany. A.D. 590—630. Story of G-oar and Wulflaioh 732, 3 Irish missionaries on the Continent 134 i, Columbanus : His birth and education 135 Pounds the monasteries of Anegray and Luxeuil 136 Severity of his Rule 137, 8 He writes to Gregory the Great and the Prankish synod 140, i Opposition of Thierri and Brunehaut 143 Columbanus banished ; his return ; retires to Zug 144 Pounds a monastery at Bregenz 145 Destruction of three images 146 Retires to Bobbio 148 ii. Labours of St Gall : Pounds the monastery which bears his name 151 iii. Labours of Pridolin, Magnoald, Trudpert, Kilian 153, 4 Celtic zeal rouses that of the Prankish Churches 155, 6 CHAPTER VIIL Missionary efforts in Friesland and parts adjacent. A.D. 628 — 719. Danger of the Prisian mission 157 Efforts of (i) Amandus iSSj 9 (2) Livinus , 159 xii Contents. PAGE (3) EUgiua 160 His sermons IO'2-S (4) Wilfrid 167 (5) Ecgbert "68 (6) Wiffibrord and Suidbert 169,170 „ in Fositesland I?') ^ (7) The brothers Ewald I73 (8) Adelbert and other missionaries i74 (9) Wulfram of Sens : His labours ; protests against human sacrifices 17s Badbod at the baptismal font 177 Curious legend 178-80 CHAPTER IX. St Boniface and the Conversion of Germany. A.D. 715—755- Partial character of past efforts 181 Labours of Winfrid, or Boniface, the "Apostle of Germany :" Birth and education ,, Pirst journey to Friesland 182 Visits Pome ; second journey to Friesland 183 Second tiait to Pome; consecrated regionary bishop; oath of obedience J85 Labours in Hesse and Thuringia 187 Destroys the Oak of Uiesmar 188 Appeals for aid to the English abbots 189 Third visit to Rome 192 Joined by Wunibald, Willibald, and others 193 Death of Charles Martel; revival of the synodal system 194, 5 Ecclesiastical discipline; Adelbert, Clemens, Virgiliua '97) 8 Gerold and Gewillieb 199,200 Foundation of the monastery of Fulda 2or Letter to Fuldrede 202 Martyidom of Boniface 304 Characteristics of his work 20c, 6 Contents. xiii CHAPTER X. 4 Efforts of the Disciples of St Boniface. PAQB A.D. 719—789. 1. Gregory of Utrecht : Hia first meetiag with Boniface 207 Beoomea a fellow- worker in the miasion-field 208 Preaidea over a miaaicnary College at TJtrecht 209 Hia character and death 210 2. Sturmi of Fulda : 1 Birth and education 211 Founds the monastery of Fulda 212 The Rule of Fulda 214 Evangelizes the pagan Saxons 216 His death 218 2. St Lebuin : Builds an oratory on the banks of the Ysell „ Boldly confronts the Saxon Council 219 His narrow escape from the anger of the chiefs 220 The spirit of his address the spirit of the times 221 Ineflfeotual protests of Alouin 222 4. Liudger : Early life 1 „ Located by Charlemagne near Groningen and Norden 223 Visits Fositesland 224 5. WiUehad: His labours near Groningen; narrow escape ; sacred lots 225 Located in "Wigmodia; consecrated bishop 226 Close of Charlemagne's wars against the Saxons 228 CHAPTER XI. Missionary efforts in Denmark and Sweden. A.D. 800—1011. Charlemagne and the Norsemep 229 Ravages of the Norsemen 230 Early miasionaiy efforts in Denmark , 231 Viait of Harold Klak to the court of Louis-le-D^onnaire 232 Baptism of Harold 233 xiv Contents. PAGE Anslrar the Apostle of the North: His birth and education ^34 Deeply affected by the news of Charlemagne's death , , Eesolves to undertake the Danish mission 235 Difficulties of the undertaking 236 Partial success in Denmark ; effijrts in Sweden 237 Advanced to the archiepiscopal dignity 238 Driven from Hamburg by a rising of the Northmen 2 39 Takes refuge in Holstein )» Constancy of Herigar, a native chief 241 Conflict of Christianity and Odinism 242 Eevival of the mission ; Anskar revisits Sweden 244 The reception of Christianity decided by the sacred lots 245 Permission given to preach at Birka 246 The work retrogrades in Denmark 247 Anskar's last efforts, and death 248 Efforts of his successor Eimbert 250 Harold "Blaatand;" story ofPoppo i^i Apostasy of Sweno 252 CHAPTER XII. The Conversion of Norway. / •-<. A. D. 900 — 1030. Condition of Norway till the ninth century 253 Reforms of Harold Haarfager 254 Consequent emigration of the Norsemen i. Hacon succeeds to the Norwegian throne 255 Resolves to put down heathenism Proposition made at the Thing ; opposition of the bonders 256 Dechnes to eat the sacred horseflesh 257 Vow of four chiefs 258 Hacon falls in battle 2jg Violent efforts of his successors to enforce Christianity „ ii. Accession of Olaf Tryggvason 260 His character ,, Encounters Thangbrand ; visits the SoUly Isles 261 Visits England and Ireland ,, Succeeds to the throne of Norway, and resolves to put down heathenism Vontents. xv PAGE Opposition of tlie bonders 262 Compulsory baptisms, and (leBtruction of heathen temples '26^ Great Thing at Nidaros 264 Destruction of the image of Thor at Mjere 265 Story of Eaud the Strong 166 Attempts to christianize Iceland ; Thangbrand's violence 267 Olaf falls in battle 268 Accession of Olaf Haraldeon : His efforts to put down heathenism 269 Story of Dale Gudbrand 270 The Thing summoned ; the image of Thor brought into the Thingfield 271 Destruction of the idol 273 Compulsory conversions in Greenland and the Orkneys 274 Olaf retires to Eussia ; returns; defeated and slain 275 Regarded as a Saint 276 Olafs history a sign of the times „ Gradual civilization of the Norsemen 277 CHAPTER XIII. Missions amotig the Slavic or Slavonic Races. A. D. 800 — 1000. Distribution of the Slavonian family 278 Missionary efforts in i. Bulgaria : Early encounters of the Eastern Emperors with Bulgaria 279 Bogoris and the monk Cupharas 280 Methodius, and his picture of the Last Judgment 281 In tervention of the Pope in the Bulgarian mission , , Letter of Nicolas to Bogoris 281, 2 Jealousy of the Eastern Church ,. 283 ii. Moravia : Early efforts of Charlemagne and Louis-le- D^bonnaire „ Appeal to Constantinople for teachers 284 Labours of Cyril and Methodius 285 Opposition of the German Clergy ,, Pope John VIII. and the Slavonic Liturgy 286 Moravia absorbed in the kingdom of Bohemia „ xvi Contents. PAOB iii. Bobemia : Visit of duke Borziwoi to the court of Swatopluk '287 His baptism ; efforts of the pious Ludmilla ^°o Diethmar, bishop of Prague ; efforts of his successor Adelbert 289 The Bohemian Church organized on the German model 290 iv. Russia : Legends respecting the origin of Christianity in Kussia „ Baptism of the princess Olga ^9' Her grandson Vladimir visited by various missionaries 292 Embassy to Constantinople ; effects of the Service 293 Vladimir lays siege to Cherson ; his baptism 294 The idol Peroun flung into the Dnieper 295 Subsequent organization of the Russian Church 296 CHAPTER XIV. The Conversion of Poland and Pomerania. A. D. 1000 — 1 127. i. Supremacy of Slavonic superstitions in Poland and Pomerania 297 Conversion of Mieoeslav I., the Polish duke 298 His efforts for the conversion of the country; his violence „ Polish bishopric at Posen ; Casimir I. elevated to the throne ... 299 ii. Subjugation by Poland of Eastern Pomerania 300 Boleslav essays the conversion of Pomerania 301 Efforts of bishop Bernard ; their futility 302 iii. He persuades Otho, bishop of Bamberg, to undertake the mission 303 (a) Otho's first journey to Pomerania 304 He reaches Pyritz ; opens his mission 306 Seven thousand baptized ; Otho's missionary sermon 307 Visits to Canomin and Julin, violent opposition at Julin ... 310 Sails to Stettin; baptism of two young chiefs 311 Destruction of four temples ; triple head of Triglav sent to Rome ^j2 Baptism of many at Stettin and Julin 373 (5) Otho's second journey to Pomerania 315 Diet of Usedom 316 Two of his clergy visit Wolgast ; stratagem of the heathen priests jiy Otho preaches at Wolgast ; conversion of Mizlav the governor 319 Ineffectual attempts to evangelize the island of Riigen 321 Reaction against the missionaries ; danger of Otho 322 His final efforts ; returns to Bamberg 324,5 Contents, xvii CHAPTER XV. Conversion of Wendland, Prussia, and Lithuania. PAGE A. D. 1050 — I4IO. i. Early missionary efforts amongst the Wends 326 Bishoprics established by the emperor Otho 1 327 Partial success ; rebellion of Gottsohalk 328 Heathen reaction ; death of John, the Iiiah bishop of Meck- lenburg : „ Ee-estabHshment of the Christian Wendish kingdom 329 ii. Labours of Vicelin 330 Achieves considerable success ; becomes bishop of Oldenberg ... 331 iii. Christianity introduced into the island of Eugen 532 Destruction of the temples at Arcona 333 iv. Missionary efforts in Livonia 334 Exertions of bishop Meinhard , Jealousy of the Lieflanders 335 Meinhard succeeded by Berthold, who calls in a crusading army 335 Arrival of Albert Von Apeldem 336 Introduction of the Knightly Order of the Sword 337 Miracle-play at Kiga „ V. Condition of Prussia 338 Organized polytheism ; Percunos, Potrimpos, PiouUos 339 Attempts of Adalbert, bishop of Prague, to introduce Christianity 340 His martyrdom 341 Efforts of Bruno and G-ottfried ,, Efforts of Bishop Christian ,, Introduction of the Teutonic Knights 342 Supremacy of the order ; ecclesiastical organization 343 vi. Pagan reaction in Lithuania 344 Partial conversion of that country 345 CHAPTEE XVL Missions to the Saracens and the Mongols. A. D. 1200 — 1400. Limitation of the Church by the Saracens 347 Effect of the Saracenic conquests on Christian missions 348 Growing spirit of intolerance towards the Saracens in Spain 349 Outbreak of the Crusades 351 Missionary zeal for the conversion of the Saracens „ xvlii Contents. PASS (i) St Francis of Assisi in the camp at Damietta 35^ He confronts the Snltan of Egypt 353 (2) Efforts of Eaymund Lull • 354 His birth, youth, and education 355 His conversion and resolve to undertake a mission to the Saracens 35^ The Sermon on the Festival of St Francis 357 Enters on the study of Arabic 35^ Composes the Ars Major sive Generalis -,■■- 359 First visit to Rome 3^° Repairs to Genoa ; determines to sail to Tunis , , Weakness and irresolution 361 Reaches Tunis ; method of his preaching 3^^ Persecution 3^3 Visit to Rome 3^4 Travels to Cyprus and Armenia „ Second visit to Northern Africa 3^5 Proposes the establishment of missionary Colleges 366 Third visit to Africa ; martyrdom at Bugia 368 Missions to the East owing to the Crusades 369 Nestorian Missions ,, Embassies to the Mongols : (i) Ascehn -. 370 (2) Johannes de Piano Carpini 371 (3) William de Rubruquis „ His interviews with the Khan 372, 3 (4) Marco Polo 375 (5) John de Monte Corvino 376, 7 CHAPTER XVII. Compulsory Conversion of the Jews and Moors. A. D. 1400 — 1520. Effect .of the Crusades on the Missionary spirit 0-8 Further causes of Fanaticism : (a) Rise of the sect of the Bogomiles or MassUian s 570 (b) Rise of the Waldenses or Vaudois (c) Albigensian Crusades -g^ ), Efforts to christianize the Jews ; Condition of the Jews under the Saracens Vg , Rise of persecution Contents. \ xix PAOE Dark stories circulated in Europe 382 Outbreak of popular fury „ Civil penalties '. 383 Proposals for the establishment of the Inquisition , , Interposition of Queen Isabella 384 Fanaticism of Torquemada 385 Expulsion of the Jews from Spain 386, 7 ii. Persecution of the Moslems : Eall of Granada 388 national efforts of Fernando de Talavera to convert the Moors „ Ximenes de Cianeros, archbishop of Toledo 389 His proselytizing zeal 39° Conflagration of Arabic works 39' Apostasy of many of the Moslems 392 Expulsion of the Moors from Spain 393 New field of Missionary Enterprise : Discovery of the New World 394 One-sided character of the Portuguese and Spanish Missions ... ,, Terrible effect of the system of repartimientos , 395 * CHAPTER XVIII. Retrospect and Reflections. Characteristics of the Mediaeval Period 397 Problems proposed to the Church 39^ i. Contrast between the Mediaeval and Apostolic Mission : Conversions during the latter, individual 399 Conversions during the former, national 400 Illustrated ' 4°! Reasons assigned 4°- Important results of royal marriages » ii. Immense influence of individuals : Illustrated during (i) the Teutonic 4°3) 4 (2) the Slavonic Missions 40S iii. Prominence of the monastic orders : Necessity for such agencies during the earlier portion of the Me- diaeval Period 4°5 (i) Condition of the Roman Provinces 407 (3) Disorganization during the barbarian irruption „ XX Contents. PAGB (3) EEFeots :■ towns and villages disappear 408 (4) Spread of Forests 4o8, 9 Who would penetrate these dark retreats ? 4^9 Else of Western Monasticism 4'° (i) Celtic missionaries 4i°> i' (2) Anglo-Saxon monasteries 4'^ Importance of such institution^ 4'3 iv. Episcopal superintendence ; Prominence of bishops in the Mediaeval missions 414 Keed of such an order ,, Duties of the bishops 415 Kerable on the Anglo-Saxon bishops 416 V. Diocesan and Provincial Synods ,, Their practical legislation „ Gradual abolition of slavery 417 One of the most important duties of MedisEval missionaries 419 Other civilizing measures ^ CHAPTER XIX. ^ Retrospect and Reflections. Features of the Mediaeval Missionary work 421 (1) Indiscriminate baptisms 422 Remarks on (ii) Method of Missionary instruction 423 Illustrated (i) by the preaching of {a) St Patrick 424 (5) Augustine (c) Oswiu 425 (d) Gallus 425 (ii) by the correspondence of (c) Daniel, bishop of Winchester, with Boniface 426 9 (/) The sermons of Boniface 429-43 fer) The advice of Alcuin (i) to Charlemagne 431 — 2 (2) to Arno 433 (iii) Absence of Vernacular translations of the Bible and the Li- turgy 434 Causes Uontents, xxi PAOB Exceptions 435 (i) in England 436 (2) on the Continent 437, 8 Gradual discouragement of such translations 439 Eise of "Miracle-Plays " and "Mysteries" 440, i (iv) The policy of the Mediaeval missionaries in respect to hea- thenism 442 They cannot be charged with accommodating their teaching to heathen errors „ Advice of Gregory the Great to Augustine 443 The Eeasons for his advice 444 Difficulty of eradicating old superstitions 445, 6 (v) Illegitimate methods of propagating the Gospel 447 Illustrated in (i) the campaigns of Clovis „ (2) the wars of Charlemagne against the Sazon 448 (3) the violence of the Norse jarls 449 (4) the Albigensian Crusades, and the rise of the In- quisition 450 Conclusion 451, 2 Index 453—467 INTRODUCTION. 'O/J^oia ^(TtIv 7} ^aaCKeia tccv ovpavcSv ^^firj. S. Matt. xiii. 33. On two occasions in the recorded' history of the Apostle i*'™oDnc- Paul, we behold him brought into contact with pure bar 1 . rm j^ i . f p .-.. , T , Apostolic con- barism. ihe lirst is that lamiliar one, when having: been tuciwunpure driven from the great towns of central Asia Minor, he had in company with Barnabas, penetrated into the region of Lystra and Derbe. The district here indicated was, as is st Paul at . . (1) Li/stra. known to all, inhabited by a rude population, amongst ' whom the civilization of imperial Rome had scarcely pene- trated. The natives of these two little towns situated amidst the bare and barren steppes of Lycaonia, spoke a dialect of their own, and were addicted to a rude and primitive superstition. Theirs was not the philosophical faith of the educated classes at Rome or Athens. It was r the superstition of simple pagan villagers on whom the Jewish synagogue had produced little or no impression. Under such circumstances, it is interesting to notice how the Christian message found an access to their hearts. Obviously the great Apostle could appeal neither to pro- phecies from their own Scriptures, as in the synagogues of Antioch and Iconium, nor to certain sayings of their own poets, as on Mars' Hill. But the Providence of God supplied a vehicle of communication. Amongst the groups which had gathered round the Apostle, and whom he was addressing with his wonted earnestness and zeal, was a man who had been a cripple 1 Acts xiv. 6. TION. Missionary History of the Middle Ages. iNTROBuc- from his birth. Perceiving; that he had faith to be healed, the Apostle bade him rise up and walk. Power accompanied the spoken word : he stood upright on his feet and was made whole. Such a cure, of such a man, in such a manner, could not fail to arouse astonishment and awaken interest. The news soon spread through the place, and the inhabit- ants not unmindful, it may be, of the well-kjiown traditions of the neighbourhood, rushed to the conclusion that super- natural powers were present among them, that their tutelary deities had come down in the likeness of men. What followed is a familiar tale. Bringing oxen and garlands to the temple before the town-gates, they would have offered sacrifice to the marvellous strangers, had they not been prevented by the AjDOstles, who straightway began to implore them to turn away from their dumb idols, and to serve the true God, the Creator of all things. But the impression made was on the surface only, and soon passed away. The inveterate enemies of the Apostles arrived, and persuaded the people that they were only the victims of diabolical magic, and the effect was instantaneous. The men, whom a moment before they had been on the point of worshipping, were driven ignominiously from the place. On the second occasion' the scene shifts to the island of Malta. The morning after the shipwreck has just begun to break, and St Paul, now a prisoner bound for Eome, has reached the shore with his companions. Here, too, the people he encountered were of a rude and simple character. But they showed no little kindness towards the drenched and shivering crew, and, as they kindled the welcome fire upon the sea-beach, the interest of the nar- rative again centres round the Apostle. Foremost, as al- ways, in seeking the general good he was actively engaged in gathering sticks for the fire, when a viper sprung from the heap and fastened on his hand. The first thought of o ' Acts xxviii. i. (ii) Malta. Introduction. 3 the islanders, as tliey telield the venomous creature, was inthoduc- that the Apostle was without doubt a murderer, who, — though he had escaped the sea, could not escape the divine Nemesis. But he had no sooner shaken off the creature, and felt no harm, than they regarded him as a god ; nor was their belief in his exalted character likely to be weakened by what subsequently took place — the cure of the father of the governor of the island, and of many others afflicted with divers maladies. These two instances of the earliest meeting of the Apostle Paul with simple paganism are deserving of more than a passing glance. They serve to introduce us to the consideration of the missionary efforts of the Mediasval i'« Me/Mim-es. Church, which also had to deal with rude and simple paganism. Much that we observe here we shall observe again and again ; features, incidents, traits of character will repeat themselves. Wherever we go we shall find that, as in those little villages amidst the dreary regions of Lycaonia, and that little island of the Mediterranean, men have never been able to exist without some form of religion ; that, however degraded, they have never got rid of the conviction, that beyond and above the powers of nature there is One who visits the earth, interposes in the affairs of men, and has in some mysterious way connected inextricably guilt and retribution, sin and pain. They may entertain very indistinct, very contradictory notions on these points, but in some form or other we shall find them lying at the bottom of their hearts, — the root and origin of all natural religion, and supplying the link be- tween the soul of man and the message of the Gospel. Wherever again our enquiries will lead us, we shall notice the weakness of this form of natural religion ; how, though it may have risen to the conception of the human attri- butes of deity, it too often recognises the divine presence only in the marvellous and mysterious, — when the cripple 1—2 INTBODITO- HON. Centuries. Missionary History of the Middle Ages. !. stands upon his feet, or the serpent falls off the Apostle's arm,— but forgets that the same power is ever present in common blessings,— the fertilizing rain, or the ripening harvest. Wherever our enquiries will lead us, we shall further notice the effect of this adoration only of the won- derful, in the superficial religious excitement, and the quick revulsion of thought and feeling, when no deep impression has been made upon the heart, which it was the painful lot even of an Apostle to experience, and which has often so sadly discouraged the work of the missionary in every age. Up to the period when our enquiries commence, the Christian Church had not, except in the extreme East, ex- tended her conquests far beyond the limits of the Eoman Limiisofihe Empire. Her territorial field may be said to have mainly Churcn- during ■*■ . SvlSi""'' included the countries around the Mediterranean Sea — Palestine, Asia Minor, Greece, Italy, Southern Gaul, Egypt, and Numidia — the very centre of the old world and its heathen culture. Within this area the kingdom of God had made its way silently and " without observation." Its going forth had not been proclaimed on the house-top or in the market-place. The Word had indeed been " running very swiftly," but it was the Word of Him whose earthly life had been spent in an obscure village of Palestine, and who had died the death of the malefactor and the slave. The " mustard seed," the " hidden leaven," had been true figures of its progress, overlooked by the world yet pene- trating the world with its secret and subduing force. ' There is a mystery, as has been often observed, about the planting of the Church in various places\ Who knows the origin of the congregation already at Damascus when the disciple of Gamaliel went thither breathing forth threatening and slaughter against those of "the way"? Who can recount the circumstances to which Timothy's mother and grandmother owed their knowledge of the 1 Blunt's First Three Centuries, p. 150. Introduction. 5 tiTitli? Who can throw light on the .planting of that introdu( Church in Rome to which the great Apostle addresses so '— many salutations ? Who, again, so first laboured in plant- ing the Church of Gaul, that in the second and third cen- turies a Pothinus and an Irenseus could enter into their labours ? Who, lastly, can throw any certain light on the origin of the early British Churches? But, though thus hidden, it was not long before the itsviiaiit,/ leaven began to vivify and pervade the whole mass of o/penecuHim society, before what had been the consolation of the slave, or the fugitive in the catacombs, became the creed of the statesman and the magistrate. In spite of contempt and outrage the Gospel message commended itself to the hearts of men. Philosophers might scoff at the first believers ; politicians might suspect them ; the populace might pursue them with ferocious yells ; a Nero might persecute them when goaded on by the malicious misrepresentations of the Jews ; a Hadrian and a Trajan, as deeming them guilty of insubordination and treason ; a Marcus Aurelius and a Decius, from horror at the public calamities of the empire ; a Diocletian, as recognising in the new and mys- terious society a formidable rival to be put down and crushed ; but there were at all times the few to whom the new faith spake " as never man spake;" there were always the children by whom its "wisdom was justified." The story of Justin Martyr, after trying everything else in vain, commended by the old man on the seashore to enquire into the " new philosophy," is, no doubt, the story of many'. And so the still small voice made itself heard, and the "weakness" of God proved itself "stronger than man." The symbol of the most degrading punishment the Roman could inflict on the malefactor and the slave became the symbol of an empire's creed, and was blazoned on the con- queror's banner. ' See Neander's Church, History, I. 44. INTEODUC- TION. Cauifes nf the Church's irimnph. 6 Missionary History of the Middle Ages. And what had been the weapons of the Church in - winning this signal triumph over a hostile religion and' a hostile government, powerful in all its material appli- ances, and the time-honoured prestige of its name? What had been the influences which had placed her progress in exact correspondence with the decline of so potent an adversary ? They had been direct and they had been in- direct. Among the latter we may include the utter dissa- tisfaction of men with the existing religious and philosophi- cal systems, and the insufficiency and decay of heathenism, which, broken up into an infinity of sects and persua- sions, had taken deep root neither in the intellect, the conscience, nor the affections of mankind'. Art and Lite- rature, Philosophy and Politics, had done their utmost, and yet man had not attained that which he felt he needed. His soul still thirsted, it had reached no fountain of " living water." After years of conflict and enquiry, he was still lost on the shoreless ocean of uncertainty. Self-convicted of his impotency to regenerate himself, he cried out with Seneca, that one would stretch out his hand'', and sighed for relief from the endless strife of discordant systems. And to this deep-felt want the Gros- pel, the message of glad tidings, responded, and thus exerted a direct, a divine, influence. It calmed the clash- ing creeds of heathenism by proclaiming Grod as One ; it attracted the hearts of men by its revelation of His true character as a Father ; it proclaimed the glad tidings, of His infinite Love as displayed in the incarnation of His Eternal Son ; it assuaged the sense of guilt, the craving for restoration, by pointing to the Sacrifice of the Cross ; it strengthened the power of hope by bringing to light 1 See De Pressense's lieUi/ions be- quis, est: cui nihil constat, nihil diii fore Christ, p. i88. Kurtz's Chunk placet. Sed quomodo, aut quando History, p. 57. Schanf, Apost. Hist. nos ab ea revellemua: Nemo per se P- 386. satis valet: oportet manum aliquis ^ Seneca, Ep. Hi. : " Stultitia, in- porrigat, aliquis educat." imroauction. / life and immortalitj, and the glory of the world to come, intbotiuc And while thus it proved its adaptation to the wants of men, it manifested its Divine Power sometimes in mira- cles and signs, the echoes of the Apostolic age, often in the constancy of martyrs under persecution, oftener in the upright walk, the holiness, and charity of its believers and teachers. Evangelists like Pantsenus and Frumentius proclaimed abroad its message from a God of Love, and adorned its doctrines by the sincerity and devotion of their lives ; and what they effected directly was carried forward indirectly by Christian captives, Christian colo- nists, Christian soldiers. Apolpgists, again, like Irenajus and Justin, Cyprian and Athenagoras, Origen and Ter- tuUian, justified its claims to be the " true philosophy ;" the Fathers of the East moulded its creeds ; the Empire of the West bequeathed to it its organization and its laws; with Constantine it was publicly recognised as the religion ©f the State ; with Gratian and Theodosius its supremacy was established. But when the Iron Kingdom had run its race, \\iq irmminq of o territorial field of the Church was to be widened, it was to spread Westward, and Northward, and Eastward ; and now a very different element was proposed to the energies of the Christian teachers. As the Roman Empire sank . beneath her feet, its last embers trampled out by Alaric, the Church found herself confronted with numberless hordes, that had long been gathering afar off in their native wilds, and were now to be precipitated over the entire face of Europe. Strange, indeed, in language and customs and mode of life, were the nations which now poured forth to fill the abyss of servitude and corruption in which the Roman Empire had disappeared, and to infuse new life-blood into an effete civilization. Celt and Teuton, Slave and Hun followed each other in quick succession, each presenting to the Church some new element to be ntw racts. 8 Missionary History of the Middle Ages. isTEODuc- controlled and broudit into subjection. She was now '- — called to allay these agitated elements of society, to in- troduce some degree of order, to teach the nations a higher faith than a savage form of nature worship, to purify and refine their recklessness, independence, and uncontrollable love of liberty, to fit them to become the members of an • enlightened Christendom. It is from this point then that we set out ; at this critical period we take our stand to watch and see, how when the foundations of the great deep seemed to be broken up, and chaos to have come back to earth, the Christian Church did not falter, but girded herself for her great mis- sion, and strove to win over to the fold of Christ the dark masses of heathendom that surrounded her. Mind- ful of the difficulties she had to encounter in making this effort, of the features of the times when it was made, of the interruptions, checks, vicissitudes, and delays which would be inevitably incident thereto, we shall learn not to expect too much from men who partook of the common infirmities of our nature, and the vices characteristic of their age. We shall rather rejoice to trace from time to time the fulfilment of the Divine Word, Behold I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world, and to see how in conformity therewith, the leaven destined , to pervade and quicken the whole mass of European society was never altogether inert, impassive, or ineffectual. CHAPTEE I. THE MISSION-FIELD OF THE MIDDLE AGES. Quum bai'baries penitus comniota gementem Irrueret Ehodopen, et mixto turliine gentis, Jaai deserta auas in noa tranafunderet Arctoa. — Claudian. In the present chapter we shall attempt to survey what chap. i. may he termed the mission-field of the Middle Ages, and to notice some of the more striking characteristics, social, moral, and religious, of the nations which established themselves upon the ruins of the Eoman Empire, and now awaited the missionary zeal of the Christian Church. As an outline is all that we can possibly attempt, we may, sinking minor divergences of race, and regarding them solely in their moral and religious aspects, arrange these nations under the several groups of Celts, Teutons, and Slaves.' With the first group indeed we shall be but partially i. tiu cat. concerned. The people it includes had already in a great measure, before the time when our enquiries commence, become amalgamated with their Roman conquerors, and shared their manners, institutions, and mode of life : still they formed that portion of the mission-field into which the Apostle of Ireland and his disciples first entered, and the members of the churches thus founded, were so pre- eminent for missionary zeal in England and the continent, that they cannot be wholly passed by. 1 Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. I. Witli the Teuton we shall be mainly concerned in' our rThc^Tmm. account of tlie propagation of the Gospel in our own island, and in Southern and Northern Germany. Under this generic term we shall include also the races, more developed perhaps, Lut for all purposes the same in moral character and religious belief, which peopled the Scandi- navian continent, and so long resisted the efforts of their own princes and Christian missionaries to induce them to lay aside their old Teutonic faith, iii. The Slave. The Slavonic group will arrest our attention when we describe the missionary exertions of the Eastern Church in Bulgaria, Bohemia, and Kussia, or of her Western rival in Pomerania, Prussia, and the neighbouring coun- tries. The well-known inaction of the Church of Con- stantinople in missionary work confines us mainly to the West, and to the triumphs of Latin Christianity'. At the extinction of paganism, the Eastern churches had almost ceased to be aggressive, or creative ; and with the exception of the missions of ITlphilas to the Goths, of Cyril and Methodius to Moscow, of the Nestorians in Persia, India, and perhaps to lands still further East, they present but little to detain us, and were, as it has been strikingly said, "but the temporary halting-place of the great spiritual migration, which from the day that Abra- ham turned his face away from the rising sun, has been stepping steadily westward^" Theoeu. 1. ^6 bcgiu then with the Celts. At a very early period in her history, as is known to all, Rome had en- countered the Cymry, or the Gael. The name of Brennus recals a scene in her history, when, in spite of the patriotic ^ Milman's Latin Christianity, I. it had already entered in the yth cen- 3. "Islamiam curtailed the Eastern tury upon the calm and protracted Church," remarks Hardwick, "on period of its decline." — Hardwick's all sides, but awoke not a primitive Church History, Middle Age, p. 3. devotion in its members, nor injected ' Stanley's Lectures on Bccksiasti- a fresh stock of energy and health: cal Eistm-y, p. 23. The Mission-Field of the Middle Ages. 11 contradictions of her own historians, she was vciy nearly chap. t. succumbing before those gigantic warriors, whose butchery of her senators in the capitol was handed down from generation to generation, in legend and in song. From this day forward, these half-naked tribes were a continual source of terror. They swarmed into Greece, attempted to sack Delphi, and founded kingdoms in Asia Minor. During the first Punic war the Roman legionary found them protecting Carthaginian cities in Sicily ; encountered them in the second serving, under the banner of Hannibal, on the bloody fields of Thrasymene and Canna?. The terrible reverse at Tolosa roused the wrath of the avenger Marius, and after two tremendous engagements at Pour- riferes and Vercelli, in which Rome had a foretaste of what was in store for her degenerate emperors, the terrible soldier of Arpinum succeeded in warding off the barbaric inroads, and was saluted as a third founder of Rome. But it was during the campaigns of Ceesar, which lasted upwards of fourteen years, and cost him two millions of men, that the Celtic nations became really known, being amalgamated with the fortunes and fate of the Italian capital. The commentaries of this great commander give us a vivid idea of the impression they made upon him ; and he has described with miimte accuracy their gigantic stature, fair complexions, enormous muscular strength, and love of personal decoration. Fond of war, hot in temper, but simple and void of malice, they knew little of that personal liberty which was the proud character- istic of the Teuton'. While the meanest Teuton was independent and free, the lower orders among the Celts were little better than in a state of slavery. All freedom and power centered in their chieftains. ' "Plebes psene seryorum habe- psychological features of the Teuton tur loco, quEB nihil audet perse, nuUo and the Celt, see Mallet's A^oriAei-ra adhibetur consilio." Caes. de B. 0. Antiquities, p. 23. VI. 13. On the physiological and CHAP. I. TAc Druids. 12 Missionary History of the Middle Ages. The same great commander has given us the fullest and clearest account of the Druids', the all-powerful re- ligious order of the Celtic tribes. Under their various divisions they were at once the ministers of a theocracy, and the judges and legislators of the people. Enjoying an immunity from service in the army and the obligation to pay taxes, they instructed the youth of the nation in the mysteries of learning, which they veiled in inviolable secrecy, and did not suffer to be committed to writing. The chief doctrine thus imparted was the immortality of the soul, or rather its transmigration into another body, an article of faith deemed of especial importance as an in- centive to heroic virtue. To this cardinal doctrine was added instruction in the nature and motion of the heavenly bodies, the nature of things, and the power and greatness of the immortal gods. It was the opinion of Csesar, who assures us that the religious belief of Graul and Britain were the same, that the latter was its birthplace, and that pilgrims from Gaul flocked thither as to an holy island. It is more probable that Druidism retained a more lasting hold over the colony than the mother country, traversed everywhere by the Roman legions. How powerful was its influence is at- tested by the constancy with which it was proscribed by successive Roman generals, and the fact that Suetonius Paulinus, convinced of the impossibility of subduing the Britons in any other way, penetrated into the sacred island of Mona, cutting down its sacred groves, and butchering its white-robed priests. But though the system thus re- ceived its death-blow in England, it lingered on for cen- turies in Ireland and the Scottish highlands. When we come to trace the missionary labours of the Apostle of • Ireland and his disciples, we shall find proof that it still retained a portion of its once undisputed supremacy in 1 Caesar, B. G. TI. 14. The Mission-Field of the Middle Ages. 13 matters civil as well as ecclesiastical. The invariable use chap. i. in the lives of the Irish saints of the word magus to ex- press the Druidic profession, sufSciently illustrates their functions. In the Book of Armagh the monarch of Ire- land is represented, at the arrival of St Patrick, as having in his service his soothsayers and magicians, his augurs and diviners' ; and a member of the same order withstands with much pertinacity the first preaching of the missionary from lona in the Scottish Highlands. Almost of equal rank with the Druids, and as vigorously proscribed in Britain by Roman policy was the Ollamh, the "bard," or " gleeman," and only a step lower stood the Seanch- aidhe, the "historian," or " story-teller ^" The person of the former is represented as inviolate; with the princes, and Druids, he takes part in the great national assemblies, . he ranks next in precedence to the monarch himself; he has a fixed tithe in the chieftain's tei-ritory, besides ample perquisites for himself and his attendants ; and by carrying or sending his wand to any person or place, he confers a temporary sanctuary from injury or arrest ^ The conqueror of Gaul has also traced the main lyceitic features of the Celtic religious belief. However modified it may have been by subsequent contact with Eoman or ' See Adamnan'sZi/e o/&Cofam- to deprive the men of Munster and la by Reeves, p. 74 n. In the Irish their cattle of water. O'Curry's Lec- MS. of St Paul's Epistles at Wurtz- twes on MS. Materials of Ancient burg the gloss on Jannes and Jam- Irish History, p. 271. A decree of bres (2 Tim. iii. 8) is duo DriddcB one of the Councils of St Patrick di- JSgyptiaci. In an ancient Hymn rects "Christianus... qui more gen ti- ascribed to St Columba (Miscel. Irish Hum ad aruspicem meaverit, per sin- Arcbseol. Soc. I. ^) we find the rather gula crimina anni poenitentiamagat." cuiious expression, "Christ the Son Spehnan's Condlia, p. 52. See also of God is my Druid." In the Book Patrick's Hymn in Petre'sTara-ffiK, of Leinster we find Dathi (a.d. 405), p. .S 7- the successor of Niall of the Nine ^ O'Curry's Lectures, p. 3. Hostages, asking the Druids to ascer- ' One of the questions discussed tain for him by their arts the events at the Council of Druim-ceatt in that were to happen to him during a.d. 575 was the expulsion of the the ensuing year ; and Cormac em- Bardic Order on account of their in- ploys the Druids, like the medicine- ordinate covetousness. men of the North American tribes, 14 Missionary History of the Middle Ages. oHAP^ I. Teutonic systems, it is clear that its original form was Sabasism, and the worship of the powers of nature. Highest in the great Pantheon was the sun, " the life of every- thing," "the source of all being," who shared the devotion . of his votaries with the moon and stars, with genii of the hills and the valley, of the grove and the spring'. The " sacred principle of fire" also received special adoration. The season of the vernal equinox was ushered in by the sacred festival of the Baal-tinne, or the day of the Baal Fire, and was celebrated with peculiar rites. The sacred fires which once, from every hill-top in Ireland and the , Scottish Highlands welcomed the return of the solar beams, and the banishment of winter's gloom, linger now in the fires of St John's Eve^ The forces of nature, now beneficent and now destruc- tive, have never been worshipped without suggesting the idea of mysterious antagonism, and reproducing more or less the dualism of the East, nor does the Celtic faith seem to have been an exception to the rule. But the rival votaries of the respective principles of fire and water could harmonise their differences by their doctrines, that the material world was doomed to an endless alternation of annihilation and reproduction, according as one or the other of these principles was in the ascendant'. The re- cords of Celtic missionary labour in Ireland and Scotland do not make any special mention of those numerous gods . whom Csesar mentions as adored in Gaul, and to whom he has transferred the attributes of the gods of Eome. The names do not occur in these records of Teutates or "^ For indications of well-worship credebat in illo fonte, sen verius ip- in tlie times of St Patrick, see Vita sum fontem Numen aliquod esse, et Trip. II. 70: " Venit S. Patricius ad hinc aquarum Eegem vocabat, et ut fontem in Campo Finn-Magh dicto, Deum colebat." See also YUa S. Oo- quem credulum vulgus Eegem Aqua- lumbal, II. ii., and Betham's Gael and rum vocabat, et nomen (Hibemicum) Cymry, p. 235. ex virtute quam inesse credebat ap- ^ SeePetrie'siJoMntiroMjers, p. 37. poneado, Slian, i.e. salutiferum, ap- 0' Conor^ s Rerum Hihem. Script.l.-x:^. pellabat. Imperitum namque vulgus ^ X)'6\&DgeT's Church History, n.ii. d. ne mission-Jfieia of Me Middla Ages. ] 5 Haasus, or Ceridwen, or Taranis ; but the Apostle of Ire- land is represented, in the earliest annals, as recalling his converts from the worship not only of spectres^ and genii, but of idols also, the greatest of which, the image of Crom-cruach^ stood on the plain of Magh Slecht, " the plain of Adoration," and was the chief object of primitive pagan worship till its destruction by St Patrick. As a rule, the original form of the Druidic ritual was of the simplest character. The shadow of the sacred grove, or the wide- spreading oak with its mystic mistletoe, was the Druid's temple; the hill-top, with its crom-lech or altar-stone, his nearest approach to architecture; while the triple procession round the sacred circle from east to west, the search for the sacred mistletoe on the sixth day of the moon, the sacrifice of the milk-white bull, and the usual methods of augury and divination constituted the chief portion of his religious rites. But at particular times, the instinct of expiation, the earnest craving to appease offended powers, or the dread of sudden danger, or the outbreak of the sudden pestilence, induced those inhuman sacrifices which Ctesar has described' as existing in his own day, and which long retained their gloomy ascendancy over their votaries. With this outline of Celtic superstitions we must now pass on. The Celtic races,, as we have already remark- ed, had, except in Ireland and Northern Britain, become amalgamated with the institutions, feelings, and social life of their Roman conquerors, and had learned to ascribe to their deities the attributes of the gods of Greece and Rome. We are therefore hardly concerned with their religious creed, except so far as they formed an advanced outpost amongst the western nations, and when evangelized by Christian ' See Annals of the Four Mas- ^ See O'Curry's Lectures, p. lo.^. ters, I. 155. Ecr. Hibern. Scnpt. I. Annals of the Four Masters, 1. 43 n. xxii. ^ B. G. VI. 16. CHAP. I. 16 Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. I. missionaries, became, in their turn, signally ardent and successful preachers of their newly adopted faith, ii. r/KjTmton. 2. The first wavc indeed of immigration had fluDg the Celt on the European continent, but he soon made way for the Teutonic and Slavic tribes, who next left their homes amidst the Asiatic steppes, and poured down upon the frontiers of the Roman Empire. The Slave came first, but the Teuton quickly followed, and long anticipated him in his contact with the empire, as he was also his superior in moral and social culture. Under the generic name of Teuton we include, as we have said, not only the inhabitants of that vast region which, bounded by the Baltic on the North, the Rhine on the West, the Vistula and Oder on the East, may be called, with tolerable accuracy, the European home of the Teutonic tribes; nor the Goths only who poured down from the Scandinavian peninsula, and under the name of Ostrogoth and Visigoth, rapidly established themselves in Southern and Eastern Germany; we include also those hardy Northmen, whose gaudy but terrible barks bore them, during the eighth and ninth centuries, from their homes in Denmark and Sweden, to be the scourge and teiTor of the European shores. Differ as these did, un- doubtedly, in minor points — in all the essentials of their moral and religious character they were similar, and for our purposes it will suffice to embrace them under a single head. And this we feel justified in doing. For it may be received as certain that the objects of worship among the Anglo-Saxons were, in the main, identical with those recog- nised by the wide-spread German race on the continent'. • "While the Scandinavian mytho- the plan is wholly wanted. But this logy, even as it has been transmitted plan we in a great measure possess to us, may be regarded as a connect- in the Northern Mythology, seeing ed whole, the isolated fragments of that many of these German ruins German mythology can be consider- are in perfect accordance with. it. ed only as the damaged ruins of a Hence we may confidently conclude structure, for the restoration of which that the German religion, had it been The Mission-Field of the Middle Ages. 17 To obtain however a clear conception of the Teutonic chap. i. religious system at this era, is not easy. Tacitus, our au- thority respecting the earliest German races, "has painted them," to quote the words of Guizot, " as Montaigne and Kousseau the savages, in a fit of ill humour against his country ;" and the missionaries of the Middle Ages seldom supply that accurate information regarding the religious faith of the pagan tribes, amongst whom they laboured, which we desire. Selecting then such points as appear to admit of least dispute, we may conclude that a distinc- tion must be drawn between that simpler and purer faith, which the Teuton brought with him from his home in the far distant East^, and that which afterwards, owing to settlement in strange lands, intermixture with other races, and such like causes, modified the original form.. The earliest Teutonic doctrine, then, appears to have F.arhi tcuimic recognised one Siipreme Being, whom it represents as *'*' Master of the Universe, whom all things obey^.. " Who is first and eldest of the gods?" it is asked in the Edda, and the answer is, " He is called AUfadir in our tongue 'J' banded down to us in equal integrity Northern is one of pure, action ; ac- with the Northern, would, on the cording to the first, the gods are to whole, have exhibited the same sys- be reconciled: by work of atonement, tern." M.xil\\&t, Altdentsche Religion, according to the second, by battle." quoted in Thorpe's Northern MytJio- Thorpe's Northern Myth. i. 135. lorjy, I. ■228. The principal German ^ " Such seems to have beea the writers appear to be divided as to sublime conception above, if not au- the existence or non-existence of a terior to, what may be called the German mythology distinct from the mythology of Teutonic religion." — Scandinavian. Simrock attributes Milman's Latin Christianity, i. 258. identity of lelief and worship to the ^ The Semnones, a tribe of tie Scandinavians and Germans. Grimm Suevi, claimed for their territory the attempts to construct specifically G«r- honour of being the original seat of man mythology. See Perry's Franks, the worship of AUfadir. See Perry's p. ■21. 'Kemble's Saxons in England, Franks, p. 22. Tacit. Germania, I. 330. Menzell's Germany, I. 51. cap. 39: " Vetustissimos se nobihs- ■^ " A comparison of the several simosque Suevorum Semnones me- myths, the Northern on the one side, moran fc. Fides antiquitatis religione and the Indian, Persian, and other confirmatur . . . Eo omnis superstitio kindred mythologies on the other, respicit, tanquam inde initia gentis, suggests many striking resemblances. ibi regnator omnium deus, cetera The Oriental is contemplative, the subjecta atque parentia." 2 18 Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. I. He lives from " all ages, and rules over his realm, and sways all things great and small. He made heaven and earth, and the lift, that is, the sky, and all that belongs to them, and what is most, he made man, and gave him a soul that shall live and never perish, though the body rot to mould, or burn to ashes'." In other places he is spoken of, as the " Author of every thing that exists," the " Eter- nal," the "Ancient," the "living and awful Being," the " Searcher into concealed things," the " Being that never changes." His is an infinite power, a boundless know- ledge, an incorruptible justice. He cannot be confined within the enclosure of walls, or represented by any likeness to the human figure^ He has neither sex nor palpable form, and can only be worshipped in the awful silence of the boundless forests, and the consecrated grove. Such appears to have been the primitive faith, more de- veloped subsequently in the Scandinavian Eddas, but resting on elemental ideas common to all the Germanic tribes. Allfadir would be a name natur^iUy dear to a people which as yet had hardly passed the limits of the patriarchal state, amongst whom every father of a family was at once a priest and king in his own house ^ But the idea of pure spirit was too refined to retain a lasting hold on the mind and conscience ; it lost its original dis- tinctness, and retired more and more into the back ground, surviving only as the feeble echo of an older and purer revelation. Just as the Aryan* in crossing the Hindti Alps, was spell-bound by the new and beauteous world 1 Dasent'g Norsemen in Iceland, pellant secretum illud quod sola re- p. 187. Oxford Essays, 1858. Comp. verentia videt." Tac. Germ. 9. also Milman'3 Latin Christianity, i. ^ Xaciti Oermania, 10: "Si pub- 25S; Thorpe, I. 229. lice consuletur, saoerdos civitatis, sin 2 "Neo cohibere pajietibus deos, privatim, ipse pater familise, preca- neque in uUam oris hiuuani speciem tus deos." Compare Grimra, J). assimulare, ex magnitudine cselesti- Myth. p. 80. um arbitrantur, lucosacnemoracon- * Hardwick's Christ and other secrant, deorumque nomimbus ap- Masters, II. p. 11, 12. The Mission-Field of the Middle Ages. 19 into which he was transplanted, so the Teutou in the chap. i. course of his migrations towards colder climes, bowed down before "the wild and overbearing powers of nature;" but nature-worship not sufficing, as it never has sufficed, there arose, secondly, an elaborate form of hero-worship, the adoration of the conquerors of nature, that is, of man him- self, his virtues, and his vices. i. First, we say, there was the worship of the ele- '• Natwe-Woi ments ; from the invisible One emanates, so thought the Teuton, an infinite number of inferior deities, whose temple is every part of the invisible world. Hence the veneration of nature; of nature in all her forms and manifestations; or the heavenly bodies, the sun, the moon, which was re- garded as of the male sex, the stars; the earth itself, the Herthus of Tacitus', with its trees and springs, its fountains and hills ; the sea, with its storm and calm ; the falling- snow, and the bristling ice. And since entire nature was but an organ or instrument of Deity, it, was of the utmost importance, to pay attention even to the most indiffisrent phenomena. Nothing was too trifling. The quivering leaf, the crackling flame, the falling thunderbolt, the flight or singing of birds, the neighing of horses", man's dreams and visions, even the movements of his pulse, all needed atten- ^ " The Herthus of Tacitus (ff«rm. ' Comp. Taciti (rermanm, cap. i o : c. 40) was, doubtless, Hertha the " Et illud quidem etiam hie notum, mother Earth, or impersonated na- avium voces volatusque interrogate: ture, of which he describes the wor- proprium geutis equorum quoque ship in language singularly coinci- prsesagia ao monitus experiri. Pub- dent with that of the Bereoynthian liofe aluntiu- iisdeta nemoribus ac goddess of Phrygia." Milman's ia*. luois caudidi et nullo mortah opere y, I. 260. TxLTneT'a Anglo- contacti; quos presses sacro curru Saxons, I. 217. Kemble's Saxons in sacerdos ac rex vel priuoeps civitatis England, 1. 337 — 344. DoUinger, 11. comitantur hinnitusque ac fremitus 15. The imula oceani, in which Ta- observant. Nee ulli auspicio ma- citus represents her worship to have its jor fides, non solum apud plebem, seat, has been identified by some wri- apud prooeres, apud sacerdotes : se terswiththeislandof Riigen, andthe enim ministros deorum, iUos con- district of Mecklenburg and Pomera- Boios pntant." On similar Slavonic nia ; by others vrith Zealand, or Oesel. customs see below. Latham's Tac. Germ. II. c. 40. 2-2 ship. 20 Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. I. tion, all might give some sign from the other •world. Hence amongst all the Teutonic nations, Gothic, Saxon, Scandinavian, the peculiar regard that was paid to oracles and divinations, to auspices, presages, and lots"; hence the functions of the prophetess and the sibyl, the enchanter, the interpreter of dreams, the diviner by offering cups, or the entrails of animals, or human sacrifices, the raisers of storms, the Eunic sticks, and all the usual instruments for exploring the secrets either of the past or future. Upsal was the Teutonic Delphi, as famous for its oracles, as for its sacrifices^ Here, as in other places, might be found diviners, both male and female, who could supply runes to secure victory in the battle, to preserve from poison, to heal bodily infirmities, to chase away melancholy, or to soften the heart of a cruel mistress. . Thus all nature had a voice for the imaginative Teuton, the skies, the woods, the waters, were his books, his oracles, his divinities. Again and again, , the records of missionary labour will disclose the worship of the spring and the well, the belief in spirits of the hill and of the lake. iiero-wor- Ji- But nature-worship does not satisfy. Man ceases to quail before her mighty powers, he learns to defy the wind and storm, the frost and cold, and nature-worship is blended with a complicated system of human gods. The first and eldest of the gods, we saw, was Allfadir, Odin, ^ The IndiadusSupmstilionmn and tuimus ut singulis annis unusquisque the lives of mediaeval missionaries episoopus parochiam auam sollicitfe aiford an insight into the various ciroumeat, populum confirmare, et kinds of Teutonic sorcery. We find plebem docere, et investigare, et pro- sortilerjl, diviners by lot ; incantatores, hihere paganas observatioues, divinos enchanters ; somnium conjectores, in- vel sm-tilegos, auguria, phylackria, terpreters of dreams ; cocklearii, di- incantationes, vel omnes spurcitias viners by the offering-cup ; hartis- gentilium." Ep. bdii. ed. Migne. pices, consulters of entrails ; imims- Compare also the Appendix to Kein- .lores tempestatum, raisers of storms. ble's Saxom in England, Vol. 1. Thorpe,iV.v¥.p.242. Bonifacewriting 2 Adami Bremensis Gcsta PP. to Cuthbert in 745, informs him that JUammaburg. Migne's Patrologia by a decree of a recent Council, "Sta- Latina, T. CXLVI. p. 642. TKe JiiissivrpTieia oj me Middle Ages, 21 or Wotan'. But this Monotheism quickly fades away. The Great Father is resolved Into his attributes, his power is divided amongst a number of inferior divinities, sprung from himself, to each of whom he imparts a portion of his greatness. Hence the twelve iEsIr, and the twelve Asynlar. And as in the Hindli mythology Brahm is almost forgotten before Vishnti, or the more terrible Siva and Kali, so Odin shares the worship of his votaries with Thor^, the Thunderer, the " chief of the gods in strengtli and might;" with T^r", the Teutonic Mars, the "bravest of all the gods, the giver of victory, and god of battle;" with Freyr*, the god of fertility, of seed-time and harvest, CIIAI'. I. ^ Woden, Norse Odinn, oldGerman Wuotan (whenceWodnes-dcEg, Odins- dagr, Wednesday^ ; to him the royal families of all the Teutonic races trac- ed their lineage, and he is identified by Tacitus {Germ. c. 9), though for what reason is not qiiite clear, with Mercury. ' ' Woden sane, quem ad- jecta litera Gwodan dixerunt, ipse est, qui apud Romanes Mercurius dicitur, et ab universis gentibus ut deus adoratur." Pauli Diac. i. 9. "Woden, id est, Fortior, bella regit hominumque ministrat virtutem con- tra inimicos." Adami Bremensis Gesta PP. Ilammahurg, :v. 16. On his worship among the Suevi on the Lake of Constance, see Jonje Vita S. Columhani, 11. 26. Kemble, Saxons, i. 343, remarks, "So com- mon in every part of England are names of places compounded with his name, that we must admit his worship to have been current through- out the island." ^ Thor=Donar, "qui prsesidet in acre, qui tonitus et fulmina, ventos imbresque serena et fruges guber- nat." Adam Bremensis, Gesta PP. Hammaburg, iv. 26. The prevalence of the worship of this deity (after whom cornea Dunres-daeg, Thunres- dsBg, dies Jovis) is attested by the Low German formula of renuncia- tion, "Eo forsaoho allum diaboles uuercum and uuordum thtmaer ende uuoden endeSaxnote ende allem them umholdum the hira genotas sint." Thorpe, N. Myth. i. 230 m. ^ Tyr =Tiu (whence Tiwes-dieg Tuesday) -— Ziu = Mars, the "Apris^po- To\oiyis, fiiai. M. 8 1, 2oS. Latham's Tao. Germ. p. 48, Akerraan, in his Pagan Saxondom, (p. xxi.) says the Irminsul was wor- 79- ^ See Turner's Anglo-Saxons, I. p. 224. ^ See Da/sent's Burnt Njal, 1. xx.-iix. Metcalfe's Oxonian in Iceland, Tp. 164. Mallei's iVorJ/iem Antiquities, p. log. I 28 Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. I. before the images of the gods, the heads were by pre- ference offered to them, and with the hides were fixed or ' hung on trees in the sacred groves'. The blood was caught in the blood-bowl and sprinkled with the blood- twig on the altar, the images, and the people, while the fat was used for anointing the images, which were then rubbed dry. The flesh was boiled down in caldrons, over fires placed along the whole length of the nave. Round these the worshippers took their seats, and ate the flesh, and partook of the broth, while the chief, to whom the temple belonged, blessed the cups of mead or beer in honour of Odin, Freyr, Thor, Freyja, and last, of departed friends. Then the rest in order took the cup, and each made his vow or offered his prayer, and so the feast went on, terminating too often in riot and drunkenness. Such Unman victims. Were the usual sacrifices. But human victims were also offered on great occasions, particularly slaves, criminals, and captives^ This custom was common to all the Ger- manic races, and answered to our public executions. But at Upsal, the ninth month of each year, and every ninth year appear to have been specially set apart for these mournful ceremonies^; and on such occasions the presence Snorro, I. 327. The horseflesh took place, would be mingled with branded by the Christian mission- the earth which filled the graves." aries was the flesh of the sacred Akerman's Pagan Saxondom, p. xvii. horses oflFered before the heathen al- Archaoloffia, XXXV. p. 379. tars, at the great feasts in honour of ^ Bartholini Antiq. DaniccB, 388— the gods. 396. Thorpe's N. Mylk. i. ■264. La- i Thoi-pe's Northern Antiq. i. 765. tham's Taciti Germ. p. 49. MUman, The discovery of bones, but especi- i. 760. There is distinct evidence of ally the teeth of ruminants, in our the practice of human sacrifice among pagan Saxon burial grounds may be the Goths, Frisians, Heruli, Thurin- accounted for by the practice (for- gians, Swedes, and Danes, bidden by Christian missionaries, see ^ "Keges et popuU, omnes et sin- Ep. Bonif. LXXI.) of placing the heads guli sua dona transmittunt ad Ubso- of animals slain in sacrifice on poles lam... Ex omni animante, quodnias- or stakes near the graves of the dead. culinum est, novem capita offeruntur, " Thus exposed to the effect of wind quorum sanguine decs placare mos and weather, the teeth would be- est. Corpora autem suspenduntur come detached and strewn upon the in luco, qui proximus est templo... ground, and as successive interments Ibi canes et equi pendent cum homi- Tlie Slavs. The Mission-Field of the Middle Ages. 29 of the king, together with that of all citizens of importance, chap. t. was deemed absolutely essential. Human victims appear to have served often as sacrifices of atonement, being offered either to the malign deities, or as propitiatory sacrifices to the dead in the nether world'. In seasons of more than ordinary calamity, the king himself might be required to lay down his life. Thus, on occasion of a great dearth, the first king of Vermaland, in Sweden, was burnt in honour of Odin ; the jarl Hakon offered up his son to procure the victory in the great sea-fight with the Joms- burg pirates ; and Aun, another king of Sweden, immo- lated, at the shrine of Odin, nine of his sons, in order that his own life might be prolonged^. 3. But it is now time to glance at that third group of m- nations, the Slavonic, which, as we have remarked, has an especial interest for ns, inasmuch as the conversion of these races was to the Church of Constantinople, what the conversion of the Teutonic family was to the Church of Eome. Though they became known to Western Eu- rope and the Byzantine writers only in the sixth century, they were not unknown to the Grreek father of history. He has told us of the Callipida3 and Alazones, and other Scythic tribes which have been identified with the Slavo- nians, and Pliny and Tacitus have mentioned them under the names of Venedi, Serbi, and Stavani. Without pausing, however, to investigate their origin and parentage, we may observe that gradually they became known to Western nibus, quorum corpora mixtim sua- in crowds, and offer to their gods pensa narravifc mihi aliquis Cliristia- ninety-nine men, as many horses, norum 72 vidisse." Adami Bremen- dogs, and cocks, with the certain Bis Gesta PP. Hammahurg, iv. 26. hope of appeasing the gods by these ^ Dithmar, bishop of Merseburg, victims." Mallet, p. 114. •writing in the nth century, says, ^ Compare Tac. Germ. c. 39. "There is in Zealand a place which "Deoruni maxime ■Mercurium co- is the capital of Denmark, named lunt, cui certis diebus humanis quo- Lederun( = Lethra). At this place, que hostiis litare fas habent." Yng- every nine years, in the month of ling, Sag. 29. Mallet's Northern January, the Danes flock together Antiquities, p. 11 2. 30 Missionary History of the Middle Ages. OHAP. r. Early Slavonic scttleiMHts, Europe after the Teutonic races had settled down in the Southern and Western provinces of the Roman Empire. They established themselves as a peaceful nomad race on the lands which previous immigrations left unoccupied, till at length they gave their name to that part of Europe which extends from the Elbe to the Don, and from the Baltic to the Adriatic Sea. On a map of Europe in the begin- ning of the sixth century, they are represented forming three principal branches or aggregates of tribes'. Towards the East, resting on the Enxine, and extending from the Dniester to the Dnieper and the Don, are the Antes, the progenitors of the great Russian people. The Western branch consisting of the Venedi, or Wends, rests upon the Baltic, and in process of time builds along its shores Lubeck, and Julin, and other seaport towns. Between the two intervene the Slavenes, a nomad race, blending some- times with the Eastern, sometimes with the Western branch. At a later period their settlements embraced on the North of the Carpathian mountains Pomerania and Brandenburg, Saxony and Silesia, Bohemia and Moravia, Poland and Russia; while on the South of the same range, they settled in Moldavia and Wallachia, and gradu- ally formed the kingdoms of Slavonia and Bosnia, Servia and Dalmatia, throwing offshoots even into Illyria and Carinthia^ Their first coming, we have said, was peace- ful. They occupied quietly such lands as their Teutonic brethren left them, and thence pushed forward, Eastward, and Southward, and Westward, building trading cities like Kioff and Novgorod and Arcona in Rugen, sinking mines in Germany, smelting and casting metals, preparing salt and planting fruit-trees, leading a quiet and contented life. Early writers uniformly speak of them in favourable ^ For their distribution in the times of Adam of Bi'emen, see his Hist. Ecclcs. II. 1 8. See also Dol- linger, in. ii. Gibbon, v. 167 n. ^ See Krasinski's Lectures cm Sla- Tonia, p. 4. The Mission-Field of the Middle Ages. 31 terms. Procopius describes them as free from malice and ohap. i fraud, generous and hospitable. Adam of Bremen' ex- tols their kindness and hospitality, and we shall find the biographer of an eminent missionary Bishop not only praising the same virtues in the Slavonians of Pomerania, simomccha- but stating that their objections to Christianity were based on the rapacity and immorality of its professors". But they became at an early period the victims of unparalleled oppressions, and the consequences were discernible in their national character'. Under the iron heel of the Germans on the North, the Turks on the South, and afterwards the Mongols on the East, their veracity and good faith were exchanged for duplicity and cunning. As they were first seen by Western Europe, they displayed all the simple and well-known characteristics of the pas- toral tribe. Living in huts of rough timber in the depth of forests, or along the banks of rivers, tending their numerous flocks of sheep and cattle, or sowing the millet which they ate mingled with mares' milk, defending themselves in time of war almost naked with nothing but a shield for a weapon of defence, and for offence, a bow ^ Hist. Eccles, II. 12. "Omnes perti, cistas'aut scrinia seratas non adhuc paganicis ritibus oberrant, ce- habeanfc. Nam seram vel clavem ibi terum moribus et iiospitalitate nulla non vidimus, sed ipsi admodum mi- gens honestior aut benignior poterit rati sunt, quod clitellas nostras et inveniri." See also Helmold, C'Arore. scrinia serata yiderunt. Testes suas, Slavorum, cap. 12. pecuniam et omnia preciosa sua in " Vita Oltonis, II. 40, Pertz, xil. cuppis et soliis suis simpliciter co- Soo. Boniface, writing to Ethelbald opertis recondunt, fraudem nullam (^. LXii. ed. Migne) in the year 745, metuentes, utpote inexperti." John says, " Winedi, quod est fadissimum de Piano Carpini mentions exactly et deijerrimum genus hominum, tarn the same thing of the Tartars, Hak- magno zelo matrimonii amorem mu- luyt's Voyages, I. 55. tuum servat, ut muKer, viro proprio ^ "The wild but plaintive spirit mortuo, vivere recuset, et laudabilis of the hereditary bondman yet lives mulier inter illas esse judicatur, quae in his national music, as it breaks propria manu sibi mortem intuKt, ut upon the ear, in the low, melanoho- in una strae pariter ardeat cum viro ly wail of the wind-inatruments suo." Speaking of the Pomeranians from the bands of Croat and Scla- the biographer of Otho says, " Tanta vonian regiments on the Glacis of vero est fides et sooietas inter eos, ut Vienna," Sheppai'd's Nationalities, furtorum et fraudum penitus inex- p. 147. 32 Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP, I. and a quiver of poisonous arrows ', or tlie lasso, they presented a ready object for oppression, and seemed to court it by their pastoral simplicity and inexperience. And centuries of oppression did their usual work. They became demoralized and debased ; submissive in adversity, they were tyrants in their hour of power, and obtained notoriety for cruelties practised only amongst the most savage nations. Th^mvonk Their reliaious system was of a much simpler cha- racter than that of the Teuton. " The Slavonians," says Procopius, " worship one god, the maker of the thunder, whom they hold to be the only Lord of the universe, and to whom they offer cattle and different kinds of victims. They do not believe in fate, or that it has any power over mortals. Whenever they are in danger of death, either from illness or from the enemy, they make vows to God to offer sacrifices if they should be saved. When the peril is over, they fulfi.1 their vows, and believe that it was this which saved them. They also worship rivers, nymphs, and some other deities, to whom they offer sacri- fices, making divinations at the same time^" This de- scription is applicable generally to the Slavonic tribes we shall notice in our record of missionary zeal. The " Lord of Thunder" appears under the name of Peroun at Kioff and Novgorod, and in Moravia his idol was of wood, with a head of silver. Triple and many-headed divinities, as Trigiav and Eadegast' the god of war, were peculiar to this group of nations, and as their system was dualistic, they had not only their good, but evil powers, their white and ^ Gibbon, v. 170, ed. Smith. num constructura est demonibus, " Procopius de hello Gothico, III. quorum princeps est Eedigas. Si- Krasinski, p. 14. mulacrum ejus auio, lectus ostro pa- ' " Medii ct potentissimi omnium ratus." AdamBrem. n. 18. Thiet- (Slavovum) sun t Eetharii, civitas eo- mar, Chronicon, VI. 17. Herbordi, rum vulgatissima Bethre (juxta vil- Vita S. Oltonis, 11. 29. Saxo Gram- lam Prillwitz prope Neu-Strelitz) se- matious, Sut. Danicce, cap. xiv. des idolatriffi. Templum ibi mag- The Mission-Field of the Middle Ages. 33 Mack divinities, Belbog and Zernatog'. The most famous chap, i idol, at least of the Baltic Slavonians, was Sviantovit, or Swantevits. His fane was at Arcona, the capital of the Tmpkat island of Rugen, and was not destroyed till the year 1168. A Danish historian^ who may have been present at its destruction, informs us that the temple which was of wood, beautifully constructed, rose from a level spot in the middle of the town^ It had two enclosures. The outer consisted of a wall with a roof painted red; the interior was hung with tapestry, and ornamented with paintings. The idol which stood in the sanctuary was of a gigantic imcuje qr size, with four heads, as many necks, two chests, and two backs, one turned to the right and another to the left. In his right hand he held a horn, made^ of various metals, which was once a year filled with mead by the attendant priest. His left arm was bent on his side in the form of a bow. He was arrayed in a long flowing robe reaching down to the feet. Around him were placed his bridle, and sword of a very large size with its beautiful silver hilt and scabbard. The worship of the idol was defrayed by an annual tax, payable by every inhabitant of the island, by a third of the spoils taken in war, and the numerous votive offerings sent to the temple by Sla- vonic and neighbouring chiefs. A regiment of three hun- dred chosen cavalry was especially dedicated to Sviantovit; 1 See Dollinger, IIT. 22. Blum- nensi cortinis quatuor, sed una ex hardt, Etahl. du Ohristiamsme, IV. 6. his, quK principalis erat, mirabili 2 Saxo Grammaticus, Mistoria Da- cultu et artificio constructa fuit, nicai, Lib. XIV. At Rugen were also interius et exterius sculpturas ha- the images of Porenut, the god of bens, de parietibus prominentes iina- the seasons, with four faces and a gines hominum et volucrum et besti- lifth on his breast, also of Ehugevit, arum, tam proprie suis habitudinibus the god of war, with seven faces, and expressas,utspirareputaresac vivere; seven swords suspended at his side, quodque rarum dixerim, oolorum and an eighth in his hand. imaginum extrinsecarum nulla tem- ' Ibid. p. 320. Similarly in the life pestate nivium vel imbrium fuscari of Otto, bishop of Bamberg, we find vel dilui poterant, id agente indus- the Slavonic temples at Stettin thus tria pictorum." Herbordi Vita Ol- described: " Erant in civitate Steti- tonis, 11. 31, Pertz, xii. 794. 3 34 The Missionary History of tlie Middle Ages. CHAP. I. Sacred horses. in his name they went forth to fight, and brought back the booty which the priest made up into different kinds of ornaments for the temple '. The god himself was believed to accompany his worshippers to the battle-field on a white horse which specially belonged to him. It was a sin to pull a hair from his tail or mane,- and the priest alone might feed or mount him : he also knew when he had been forth to battle, for in the morning he was found from time to time in his stable reeking with sweat and covered with mud^. This horse was especially consulted on going forth to war, for it could reveal the secrets of the future. When the tribe wished to declare war three rows of spears were laid down before the temple. Solemn prayers were then offered up, and the horse was led forth by the priest. If in passing over these spears he lifted his right foot first, then the war would be prosperous ; if the left, or both together, it was a fatal omen, and the ^ See for a like description of the votive ofieringa in the Slavonic temple of Stettin, Ottonis Vita, II. 31: " Crateres etiam aureos vel ar- genteos quibus augurari epulari et potare nobiles solebant ac potentes, in diebus solempnitatum quasi de sanctuario proferendos ibi collocave- runt. Cornua etiam grandia tauro- rum agrestium decorata et gemmis intexta, potibua apta, et comua cantibus apta, mucrones et cultros, niultamque supellectilera pretiosam, raram et visu pulchram, iu ornatum et honorem deorum suorum ibi con- servabant." * Ilislorice Danicce, Lib. xiv. The deKCfiption of the sacred horse in the temple of Stettin, which, however, was black instead of white, is given in very similar terms in Ottonis Vita, II. 32 ; " Habebant cabaUum mirse magnitudinis et pinguem, nigri co- loris et acrem valde. Iste toto anni tempore vacabat, tantseque f uit sanc- titatis, ut nullum dignaretur sesso- ri-in, habuitque unum de quatuor sacerdotibus templorum custodem diligentissimum. Quando ergo iti- nei'e terrestri contra hostes ant prse- datum ire cogitabant, eventum rei hoc modo per ilium solebant prae- discere : Hastse 9 disponebantur hu- mo, spatio unius cubiti ab invicem disjunctse. Strato ergo caballo at- que frenato, sacerdos, ad quern illius pertinebat custodia, tantum freno per jaoentes hastas in transversum ducebat ter atque reducebat. Quod si pedibus inoltensis hastisque in- disturbatis, equus transibat, signum habuere prosperitatis, et securi per- gebant ; sin aut^m minus, quiesce- bant." See also Thietmar, Chronicon, Lib. VI., who describes the same form of augury as existing among the Leuticians: "Equus, qui maximus inter alios habetur, et ut sacer ab iis veneratur, super fixas in terram du- orum hastilium inter se transmisso- rum cuspides, supplici obsequio du- cunt et preemissis sortibus, quihu.s id prius exploravere, per hunc quasi diviuum, denuo augurautur." The Mission-Field of ilie Middle Ages. 35 expedition was given up. The most solemn festival was chap. i. after harvest. On this occasion the people of Rugen as- sembled, offered sacrifices of cattle, and held a solemn feast. The priest, conspicuous for his long hair and beard, sim-omc prepared tor the ceremony by sweeping careiuUy tlie most holy place into which he alone might enter. In doing so he was obliged to liold his breath lest the divine presence should be defiled, and if he wished to respire he was obliged to go out into the open air^. On the morning of the festival he brought forth to the assembled people the sacred mead-cup taken from the idol's hand. If the mead had decreased therein, he announced the fact to the mul- titude, and bade -them beware of scarcity ; if it had in- creased, it was an omen of abundance. The old liquor was then poured forth as a libation at the foot of the idol, and the priest refilling it, engaged in solemn supplication for the people, praying for prosperity and victory in war. He then emptied the horn at a single draught, and re- filling it, placed it in the right hand of the- idol, where it remained till the next year. Eound cakes of flour and honey were then offered, and the priest concluded the ceremony by blessing the people in the name of the god, exhorting them to frequent sacrifice, and pj-omising them, as their reward, victory by sea and land. The rest of tlie day was spent in feasting on the remains of the offerings, and the people were taught that, on this occasion, intem- perance was a virtue, sobriety a sin^. Such is the account given by a contemporary writer of 1 Bist. Banicm, Lib. xiv. : "Ob- ed at Prill witz, on the banks of the servato ne intra a:dem halitum fun- lake Tollenz, in Mecklenburg, the deiet. Quo quoties capessendo rel supposed site of Ehetra ; they were emittendo opus habebat, toties ad dug up about the end of the 17th jiinuam procurrebat, ne videlicet dti century. Krasinski, p. 16, n. prsesentia mortalis spiritus contagio ^ " In quo epulo sobrietatem vio- poUueretur." The only genuine mo- lare pium aestimatum est, servare ne- numents of Slavonian idolatry which fas habitum." Hist. Daniccs, xiv. have come down to us were discover- 3—2 36 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. I. this celebrated Slavonic idol ; and it gives iis a very vivid ^a..u.aaa,u... ^^^^ of Skvonic worship as it was observed as late even as the middle of the twelfth century'. The characteristics of Slavonic heathenism are plain. It was marked, on the one hand, by the worship of the gladdening, fructifying powers of nature, and, on the other, by the deprecation of dark and sinister powers, who manifest their malignant arts by creating discord, sickness, and death. The first were symbolized byLada, the goddess of love and pleasure, Kupala, the god of the fruits of the earth, Koleda, the god of festivals, who delighted in offerings of the fruits of the earth and in songs and dances round lighted fires'". Of the others, the chief was Zernabog, the 131|ick Deity, whose name recalls the Matchi Manito of the Mexicans, and who, like the latter, was approaclied with fear and horror, and propiti-ated with human sacrifices and darker rites. The belief in fairies and sprites, in water-nymphs and wood- nymphs, in sorcery and magic, was as active amongst the Slavonians as amongst their Teutonic brethren, while the respect paid by them to their priests, who united civil and religious functions, was as submissive as that of the Celt to his Druid teacher. With this sketch of the religious systems of the three great groups of nations now presented to the energies of the Christian Church, we pass on to describe the lives and labours of those who now appeared to communicate to them the Word of Life. ^ The Sclavonic population of the gic and sorcery." DoUinger, m. 278. countries on the Baltic, Prussia, ^ Historice Danicce, Lib. XIV. As Courland, Livonia, Esthland, and Li- in Other countries, so in Poland and tbuania, and the mixed Lettic and Kussia, on the eve of St John the Sclavonic population of Prussia, con- Baptist (June 2 3) youths dance round tinned pagan till the [3th century. lighted fires in honour of SJoA».ff«- "The Lettic tribes added a god in jjoiu; the festival of .ffofeda is repeat- the form of a bird; they had their edinthatof Christmas, and Christmas sacred trees and groves, offered hu- is even called Koleda in some parts man sacrifices, and were, like the of the same countries. See Krasinski, rinlanders; skilled in the arts of ma- p. 15. Eanke's KeXrois. — Iben^us. When we proceed to enquire in what way a knowledge of chap, ir. Christianity was diffused among the nations which thus &«„/,/ mord> „f established themselves on the ruins of the Eoman Empire, qm™S"°" we find, at least at the outset, that ecclesiastical history SS.'^ can give us but scanty information. " We know as little in detail," remarks Schlegel, " of the circumstances under which Christianity became so universally spread in a short space of time among all the Gothic nations, as of the establishment, step by step, of their great kingdom on the Black Sea\" The rapid and universal diffusion, indeed, of the new faith, is a proof of their capacity f6r ctvilization, and of the national connection of the whole race; but where shall we find the details of their conversion ? We have not a record 'J, not even a legend, of the way in which the Visigoths in France, the Ostrogoths in Pannonia, the Suevians in Spain, the Gepidse, the Vandals, the followers ^ F. Schlegel's Lectures on Mo- of Christianity in Germany, see Fa- de™ History, p. 51. brioii, Salut, Lux Evangelii, pp. 417 — * Milman's Latin Christianity, I. 419. WUtsch's Geography of the ■269. Smitli's Gibbon, IV. 324. Dol- Church, I. 109. Eng. Transl. linger, II. 72. On the early traces 38 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. 11. of Odoacer, and the fiery Lombards, were converted 1^325^ ^^ t^e Christian faith. We may trace this, in part, to the terrible desolation which at this period reigned every- where, while nation warred against nation, and tribe against tribe ; we may trace it, still more, to the fact that every one of the tribes above mentioned was converted to tlie Arian form of Christianity, a sufficient reason in the eyes of Catholic historians for ignoring altogether the efforts of heretics to spread the knowledge of the faith. And till the close of the sixth and the opening of the seventh century, we must be content with the slenderest details, if we wish to know anything of the early diffusion of Christianity on the European continent. MUmnary The rccord, however, of one early missionary has 'vim%. "forced its way into the Catholic histories." In the reigns of Valerian and Gallienus, the Goths descending from the North and East, began from their new settlements on the Danube to threaten the safety of the southern provinces of the Empire. Establishing themselves in the Ukraine and on the shores of the Bosphorus, they spread teiTor throughout Pontus, Bithynia, and Cappadocia. In one of these inroads, they carried off from the latter country a multitude of captives, some belonging to the clergy, and located them in their settlements along the northyn bank of the Danube. Here the captives did not forget their Chris- tian dutieS towards their heathen masters, nor did the latter scorn to receive from them the gentle doctrines of Chris- tianity. The work, indeed, went on in silence, but from time to time, we have proofs that the seed had not been sown in vain. Among the 318 bishops at the Council of Nice, the light complexion of the Gothic bishop Theo- philus must have attracted notice, as contrasted " with the dark hair and tawny hue of almost all the rest\" But Theophilus was the predecessor and teacher of a still ' Stanley's Lectures on the Eastern Church, p. no, 2nd Edition. Ea7-hj Efforts of the Church amongst the New Races. 39 greater missionary. Among the involuntary slaves car- chap. tt. ried off in the reign of Gallienus were the parents or an- ZT. ^ ° ^1 A.D. 325. cestors of Ulphilas, who has won for himself the title of "Apostle of the Goths." Born, probably, in the year 318, he was, at a comparatively early age, sent on a mission to Constantinople, and there Constantino caused him to be consecrated bishop by his own chaplain, Eu- sebius of Nicomedia^. From this time he devoted him- self heart and soul to the conversion of his countrymen, and the Goths were the first of the barbarians, among whom we see Christianity advancing general civilization, as well as teaching a purer faith ^. But his lot was cast in troublous times : the threatened ad. 348-074. irruption of a barbarous horde, and the animosity of i\^& atowilt me heathen Goths, induced him to cross the Danube, where ''°"'''' the Emperor/ Constantine assigned to his flock a district of country ; and here he continued to labour with success. The influence he had already gained, and the natural sense of gratitude for the benefits he had bestowed upon the tribes by procuring for them a more peaceful settle- ment, rendered his efforts comparatively easy\ Rejoicing in the woodlands and pastures of their new home, where they could to advantage tend their numerous flocks and herds, and purchase corn and wine of the richer provinces around them, they listened obediently to the voice of their bishop, whom they likened to a second Moses. And the conduct of Ulphilas justified their confidence. With sin- gular wisdom he did not confine his efforts to the oral instruction of his people ; he sought to restore to them the art of writing, which probably had been lost, during their migration from the east to the north of Germany. Composing an alphabet of twenty-five letters, some of 1 See The Life of Ulphilas by one " See Mullet's Lectures on the Sci- of his pupils, bishop Anxentius, pub- ence of Language, p. 173. Ushed by Waitz of Kiel, 1840. ^ Smith's Gibbon, iv. 324. 40 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. II. which he was fain to invent, in order to give expression A.D. 34S-374. to sounds unknown to Greek and Latin pronunciation', he translated the Scriptures into the native language 'of his flock, omitting only the four books of Kings^ a pre- caution he adopted, from a fear that their contents might tend to rouse the martial ardour, and fierce spirit of a people, who, in this matter, to use the quaint language of the historian, " required the bit rather than the spur." After a while, he was constrained to act the part of mediator between the Visigothic nation and the Koman • Emperor Valens. In the year A.D. 374 the barbarous horde of the Huns burst upon the kingdom of the Ostro- goths, and having subdued it, turned their eyes to the lands and possessions of the Visigoths. Unable to defend the line of the Dniester, the latter fell back upon the Pruth, hoping for safety amidst the inaccessible defiles of the Carpathian mountains. But sensible that even here they were not secure, a considerable party began to long for an asylum within the Roman dominions, and it was agreed that ambassadors, with Ulphilas amongst their A.T>. 376. number, should repair to the court of Valens, and endea- Court of raie/is. vour to obtam a new settlement. Valens was an Arian and a controversialist. At this very time he was enforcing at Antioch, "by other weapons ^ " TJlphilas/' remarks Mliller, Byzantine empires, before a bishop "must have been a man of extraor- could have brought himself to trans- dinary power to conceive, for the first late the Bible into the Vulgar dialect time, the idea of translating the Bible of his barbarous countrymen." Lec- into the vulgar language of his peo- tures, p. 175. Gibbon, lY. 333, ed. pie. At his time, there existed in Smith. Europe but two languages which a ^ " For the Old Testament he use% Christian bishop would have thought the Septuagint ; for the New, the himself justified in employing, Greek Greek text ; but not exactly in that andLatin. All other languages were form in wbich we have it." Mliller's still considered as barbarous. It le- Lectures, p. 174. Gieseler, 11. 79. quired a prophetic sight, and a faith On the celebrated Codex Argen- in the destinies of those half-savage tens see Davidson's Biblical Cfiti- tribes, and a conviction also of the dam, p. 676. Wetstein, Prolegom. I. utter effeteness of the Bomau and 114. Early Efforts of the Church amongst the New Baces. 41 tlian those of reason and eloquence," a tellef in the Arian chap. ii. theologj; and when the poor bishop presented himself a.b. 376-388. and requested aid in the dire necessity of his people, the emperor is reported to have persecuted him with dis- cussions on the hypostatic union, and to have pressed upon him the necessity of repudiating the confession of Nice, and adopting that of Rimini. Ulphilas was in a great strait, but being a simple-minded man, and considering the question one of words, and involving only metaphysical subtleties, not worthy of consideration in comparison with the sufferings of his people, he assented to the emperor's proposal, and promised that the Gothic nation should adopt the Arian confession. The emperor, on his part, consented to give up certain lands in Moesia, but annexed to this concession two harsh and rigorous conditions ; that before they crossed the Danube, the Goths should give up their arms, and suifer their children to be taken from them as hostages for their own fidelity, with the prospect of being educated in the different provinces of Asia'. On these hard terms, instructions were issued to the g„imc colony military governors of the Thracian diocese, bidding them make preparations for the reception of the new settlers. But it was found no easy matter to transport across a river more than a mile in breadth, and swelled by in- cessant rains, upwards of a million of both sexes and of all ages. For days and nights they passed and repassed in boats and canoes, and before they landed, not a few . had been carried away and drowned by the violence of the current. But besides the disciples of Ulphilas, thousands of Goths crossed the river who still continued faithful to their own heathen priests and priestesses. Disguising, it is even said, their priests in the garb of Christian bishops and fictitious ascetics, they deceived 1 Smith's Gibbon, in. 320. DolUnger, II. i6. 42 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. II. the credulous Komans, and only when on the E,oman A.D. 376-388. side of the river did they throw off the mask, and make it clear that Valens was not easily to have his wish gratified, and see them converted. to Arianism. One of the hereditary chiefs, Fritigern, a disciple of Ulphilas, adopted the creed of the empire, the other, Athanaric, headed the numerous party which still continued devoted to the altars and rites of Woden. The latter faction placing their chief god on a lofty waggon, dragged it through the Gothic camp ; all who refused to bow down, they burned with their wives and children ; nor did they spare the rude Church they had erected, or the confused crowd of women and children who had fled to it for protection. But while the great bulk of the Gothic nation were involved in constant wars with the Roman armies, and under the two great divisions of Ostrogoths and Visigoths were gradually spreading themselves over Gaul, Italy, and Spain, Ulphilas continued, till the year 388, to superintend the temporal and spiritual necessities of the peaceful and populous colony of shepherds and herdsmen, which, as in another Goshen, he had formed on the slopes of Mount Hasmus, and to whom he had pre- sented the Gothic Bible in their own tongue^. The zeal he had displayed found an imitator in the ?. airysostom. great Chrysostom''. What was the measure of his success we have no means of judging, but it is certain that he A.D. 404. founded in Constantinople an institution in which Goths might be trained and qualified to preach the Gospel to their fellow-countrymen^. Even during ^he three years of his ^ "Thetranslationof Ulpliilas was /SuT^pous, koX SiaKorous, Kol Tois tA used by all the Gothic tribes when Osla V'ira.va.yivtbaKovTa.% \byi.cL Trpo- they advanced into Spain and Italy." ^aWdficvos fxiav ro^roii dvitfetfiev h- — Mailer's Lectures, p. 174. K\T\(Tlav, KaX Sii roirtav TroXXoi>s tudi ^ See Guericke's JtfareMoZ of Eocl. ir\avuiJ,ivoiv iBiipeuaev. — Theodoret, Antiq. p. gi. II. E. v. 30. ■J ' O/xoyXtirT-oys yhp ^Kehot^ -rp^tr- Early Efforts of the Church amongst the New Races. 43 banlsliment to the remote and wretched little town of chap, il Cucusus, among the ridges of Mount Taurus, amidst the ^,b. 404. want of provisions, frequent sicknesses without the possi- bility of obtaining medicines', and the ravages of Isaurian robbers, his active mind invigorated by misfortunes found relief not only in corresponding with Churches in all quarters, but in directing missionary operations in Phoe- nicia, Persia, and amongst the Goths ^. In several extant epistles we find him advising the dispatch of missionaries, one to this point, another to that, consoling some under persecution, animating all by the example of the great Apostle St Paul, and the hope of an eternal reward. And in. answer to his appeals, his friends at a distance supplied him with funds so ample, that he was enabled to support missions and redeem captives, and even had to beg of them that their abundant liberality might be di- rected into other channels. How far his exertions prevailed to win over any portion of the Gothic nation to the Catholic communion, we have no means of judging. Cer- tain it is that from the Western Goths, the Arlan form of Christianity extended to the Eastern Goths, to the Gepidse, the Alans, the Vandals, and the Suevi"; and, it has been justly remarked that we ought not to forget " that when Augustine, in his great work on the ' city of God,' celebrates the charity and clemency of Alaric during the sack of Kome, these Christian graces were entirely due to the teaching of Oriental misslojiaries, heretics though they were*." ^ S. Chrysost. Op. XII. Ep. xiv. gelizantes, hujus perfidise culturam ° Opera, Vol. xii. pp. 729, 747, edooentes omnem ubique lingiise 748, 749, 750, 799. Gibbon, iv. hujus nationem ad culturam hujus 157. 'Wili&aWs ChurcJi Geog.i. 187. sectse incitavere." Jomand. c. xxv. ^ "Sic quoque Visigothi a Ta- Gieaeler, 11. 80. DoUinger, 11. 16. lente Imperatore Ariani potiua quam ^ Stanley's Eastern Church, p. 291, Christiani effecti. De oaetero tarn end Edition. See Aug. de Civitate Ostrogothis, quam Gepidis parenti- JDei, Lib. iii. chap. 29 : " Galli qui- bus suis per affectionis gratiam evan- dem trucidaverunt senatum, quid- 44 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. II. ariy Ancho- N, Valpntinus. A.I). 440. But even during tlie present period of disorder, while ~ the different nations were moving forward, to take up their position on the ruins of the Eoman Empire, instances are not wanting, of men who were willing to leave their homes, to evangelize the heathen, or reclaim the Arian- ised tribes. Scanty, indeed, are the records of their labours which have come down to us, but as drops be- tokening the coming shower, as the "cloud no bigger than a man's hand," which told of " abundance of rain," their preparatory efforts must not be passed by. Of a few of these, we will first speak, before we recount the circum- stances that led to the baptism of Clovis, and the con- version of the Franks, events pregnant with the most important issues to the ecclesiastical history of Europe, and, not least, to the subsequent encouragement and pro- tection of missionary labour. One of the first of these early labourers, Valentinus', appeared in the year 440, in the neighbourhood of the modern Passau, then called Castra Batava, a town or rather fort in ^'indelicia, at the junction of the Inn and the Danube. Eagerly desirous to preach to the pagan inha- bitants, but reminded of the words of the Apostle Paul, " How shall they preach, unless they be sent," he is said to have betaken himself to Kome, and sought from Pope Leo authority to commence his labours. Successful in his petition, he returned to Passau, and commenced his work, but his efforts were ineffectual owing to the opposition of the Arians, and the tenacity with which the heathen ad- hered to their superstitions. Again, therefore, he repaired to Eome, and begged that he might be sent to some other quid ejus in urbe. . .reperire potuerunt ...Gotbi vero tarn multis senatoribus peperoerunt, ut magis mirum sit quod aliquos peremerunt." ■' In Surius, Acta SS. Aug. 4, we have a life of this missionary- based on an ancient record of his labours said to have been fouud, about the year 1 1 •20, beside his body under the church of Passau. It is described as written ' ' tabulft plum- bed, et ut vix posset intel]igi...tum vetustate, turn terrae putrefactione Early Efforts of the Church amongst the New Races. 45 quarter of the mission-tield, where he might behold some chap. ii. reward for his toil. Leo received him kindly, and urged ^ j, 440. him to make a final effort, empowering him if again unsuc- cessful, to seek some other sphere of labour, and ordaining him a regionary Bishop. For the third time he now re- paired to Passau, to find himself still unable to make any impression. The Arians, with whom he would hold no communication whatever, and not even eat or drink', re- sented his interference with cruelty, and he was forced to retire to the highlands of the Rhajtian Alps. Here he built himself a cell amidst the passes of the Tyrol, and lived the life of a solitary. His austerities speedily attract- ed the notice of the surrounding population, his retreat became the resort of numbers, who flocked to hear the word of life from his lips, and to receive baptism at his hands. With the assistance of a few others whom he had per- suaded to adopt an ascetic life, he constructed a Church, and devoted himself to prayer and contemplation, to read- ing and almsgiving; and while he was reaping the harvest denied him among the people of Passau, that neighbour- hood was visited by one, whose self-denying labours have won for him the title of the " Apostle of Noricum^" A curious mystery veils alike the birth-place, and the ■» o- 454—482. early years of Severinus. None could tell whence he came, ^- severmus. when, soon after the death of Attila, he made his appear- ance in the country now known as Bavaria and Austria. From his speech it might have been inferred that he was a Latin or a North African, but from his own lips nothing more could be learnt, than that in a distant province of the East, he had once encountered great danger, from which the Providence of God had delivered him. But he never revealed the particulars of his early life, and men scarcely 1 "Versutias hsereticorum toto municare vellet." Vita S. Valcn- studio decliiiabat, ita ut nee audire tini. eos, nee in eibo, potu, aut qualibet ^ Vita S. Severini, Acta SS. Bel- amicitise conjunotione cum eis com- land. Jan. 8. CHAP. II. A.D. 454-482- 46 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. dared to ask him. On one occasion, wlien every one else hung back, a certain presbyter, by name Pirmenius", had the courage to put the question, and to him the saint re- plied in a playful strain, " What ! do you take me for some runaway slave? Provide then a ransom which you may pay for me, if I am inquired for." And then he con- tinued in a more serious tone, " What advantage can it be for a servant of God to specify his country or his descent, when, by keeping silence, he can so much better avoid all boasting ? Notwithstanding be assured that the same God who ordained that thou shouldest be a priest, bade me come to the assistance of the suffering people of this country." On another occasion, however, he went so far as to hint, that from a wish for close communion with God and the unseen world, he had fled in early life to an Eastern desert : but in his retreat, he perpetually seemed to hear voices, which bade him show forth his love to Christ in a more practical way, and labour for the welfare of the hea- then tribes on the distant Danube. m< mi-simary Hc had comc, therefore, to the province of Pannonia, uouia. and found the country a scene of the wildest confusion. Law and order had fled ; tribe after tribe crowding upon one another, passed through the land wasting and destroy- ing ; the people afilicted by alternate war and famine, saw themselves stripped of their possessions, and sold into slavery. In spite of scenes like these the good man did not despair; he would comfort the hearts of the afflicted people; he would live amongst them a life of absolute self-denial; he would spend and be spent in their behalf; and by his own example he would teach them how they might bear their trials. Accordingly he took up his abode in the neighbourhood of Vienna, and here and near Passau 1 "Pirmenius quidam, presbyter s-nder'a Memorials of Ohnstian Life, Italife, nobilis et totiua auctorita- p. 333. Dollinger, 11, 74. tis." Vita S. Sevenni, Cap. 4. Ne- Early Efforts of the CJmrch amongst the New Races. 47 he Ibuilt for himself a cell, and shortly afterwards a mo- chap. ii. nasterj, where he trained a few faithful followers to become a.d 454—432" preachers in Pannonia and Noricum. Nothing daunted his heroic courage. Though a native nu Jwoic : of the East, he contrived to inure himself to every hard- ship, so that in time he could travel barefoot in the midst of winter ' over frozen rivers, in order to collect from the different tribes food and clothing for the naked and the hungry, or means whereby to ransom those who had been sold into slavery. Though merciful to others he never spared himself, but consented to submit to the greatest hardships, if he could thereby minister to the wants of his flock. His fame spread far and wide ; his cell was visited by multitudes who regarded him as a propliet and a teacher from a higher world. His advice was asked and acted upon, without question or doubting. On one occa- sion, his exhortation to Christian charity sank so deep into the hearts of his hearers, that they made their way in the depth of winter, over mountains, and through track- less forests, amid snow and ice, to bring clothes and food to their poorer brethren. On another occasion, he received from some merchants a quantity of olive oil, then very scarce and precious. Assembling his people in Churcli, and returning thanks to God, he there distributed to eacli a due proportion, counselling some, at the same time, to fly to the fortified towns for protection, and exhorting all to thank .God for His great mercies, and amid the con- stant and devastating wars which had driven them from their homes, to put their full trust and confidence in Him, and to believe that He was doing all things well. His love was comprehensive. In barbarians, whether ortho- dox or Arian, he recognised brethren needing aid, and ' " Caloeamento nullo penitus in- dis pedibus semper ambiilare oonten- dutus, ita media hyerae,' quae in illis tua, aingulare patientise dabat exem- regionibus sieviore gelu torpesoit, nu- plum." — Eugippii Vita, cap. 2. 48 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. II. drove none away. The Arlan chief of the Eugii^ sought A.D- 454-482. his advice ; in the spirit of the Apostle of the Gentiles he received him, "but not unto doubtful disputations," and gave him good counsel in his necessities. All were won by the attractive power of his love, by the sincerity and devotion of his life. The sick in their afflictions, the penitent in their remorse, rough soldiers in times of danger, sought his counsel ; some he healed, others he advised, all he comforted. His influence Such was his influence, that barbarian chiefs consented, over barbarous ' ' '^'"^'- at his instance, to spare beleaguered towns, to restore cap- tives, and to refrain from cruelty. Even the garrisons of Eoman fortresses implored his presence among them, be- lieving that thus they were protected from harm. On one occasion, the king of the fierce Alemanni approached the town of Passau, threatening to besiege it. In their alarm, the inhabitants sought the aid of Severinus, whose cell was close by the confluence of the Inn and the Danube. He went forth to meet the king, with whom he was not altogether unacquainted. The reverence of the latter for the man of God was so great, that he not only did not dare to attack the town, but abstained from laying waste the neighbouring territory, and restored the captives he had taken. The courage, moreover, that Severinus exem- plified himself, he could inspire in others. The city of Vienna was once besieged by a barbarian horde, who carried off the flocks and herds of the inhabitants, and wasted their lands to the very walls. "Hast thou no soldiers to pursue these marauders?" said Severinus to the commander of the garrison. " With my small force ■■^ "Eugiorumrex...liaben9Gotlios annecUrd, magis me de vitce perpe- ex inferiore Pannonia vehementer tuitate debuisti consiUere; aed quia infensos,..beatissimum Severinum in tantum de prassenti salute sollicUm, suis periculis consulebat. Tunc ergo quae nobia est communis, interro- a viro Dei hoc responsum prsedictua gas, iustruendus ausculta." Eugip- aocepit: si nos una Catholica Ides uii Vita. c. i. Early Efforts of the Church amongst the New Races. 49 I dare not venture," replied the other, "to attack such a chap. ii. multitude ; but if thou biddest me go, I will go, trusting ^^ 454-482" to conquer, not by force of arms, but by thy prayers." " Go forth," said the holy man, " and put thy trust in God. Take weapons from the foe, and arm thy troops with them. The merciful God goes before thee, and the w^eak shall become strong; but slay not thy captives, bring them all to me unharmed." The commander went and conquered; the captives were brought to Severinus, who caused them to be refreshed with meat and drink, and then sent them back to their countrymen with- a warning not to venture there again for the sake of plun- der, as they would assuredly not escape the wrath of God who fought for his people. No wonder that by a grateful and admiring people -^^ Bumuuv- such a man was regarded as a prophet and a worker of miracles. Yet he himself did not seek notoriety : some- times he enjoined silence, always he bade his hearers ascribe the praise to God, " who doth wonders in heaven and on earth, quickening the lost to salvation, and calling back the dead to life." No wonder also that the rough soldier chiefs attracted by the heroism of his life invoked his aid in times of danger, or when undertaking a new enterprise. Thus Odoacer, who had led a wandering life among the barbarians of Noricum, having made up his mind to the desperate adventure of seeking a kingdom in Italy, solicited the approbation and blessing of the saint. The lowness of his cell would not admit the lofty stature of the chief, but Odoacer stooped, and received the encou- ragement he desired^ " Proceed," he was told, " to Italy ; ^ "Odoaoer ... vilissimo tunc ha- 'Yade,' inquit, 'adltaliam, vade,vi- bitu, juvenis statura procerus adve- lissiinis nunc pellibua coopertus, aed nerat. Qui dum se, Jie humile tec- multis cito plurima largiturus.' " — tHita cellulae suo vertice contingeret, VitaS. Severini, cap. 2. Gibbon, TV. inclinasset, a viro Dei gloriosum se 299. fore cognovit. Cui etiam'valedioenti, 50 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. II. though 'clothed now with a coarse garment of skins thou A.B. 454-482. ^il^ ^^^^ *^^®* i* away, and bestow wealth on many." In behalf of his people, Severinus never failed to stand up and protest against oppression or cnxelty threatened them by any of the barbaric chiefs. On one occasion, he heard that Gisa, queen of the Kugii, had taken some So- man captives, and had condemned them to cruel slave labour. The man of God interposed and petitioned ear- nestly for their release. This the queen stoutly refused, and bade him keep to his cell and his prayers, and leave her to treat her slaves as she pleased. "I trust in my Lord Jesus Christ," replied the other, " that what she will not do willingly, she may be compelled to do even against her will." His prayer was before long fulfilled. In a narrow cell some goldsmiths were condemned to labour beyond their strength in fashioning royal orna- ments. Hither one day the queen's little child ran in sport ; the prisoners seized it, and swore if they were not released they would first kill the child and then them- selves. The queen in this dilemma relented, gave the prisoners their freedom, sent a messenger with all speed to Severinus to acknowledge her fault and implore his pardon, and at the same time sent back the Eoman captives. His Deain. At length the man of God lay on his deathbed. For thirty years he had continued to labour amongst his peo- ple, to bear the burden of their sorrows, and to animate them to sustain their numerous trials ; declining the honour of the episcopate, he had preferred to go on as he had begun, and now his wor}5 was ended. But even on his deathbed he did not cease to reprove and exhort the bar- barian chiefs. Sending for the king and queen of the Rugii, he reasoned with them long and earnestly of "right- eousness, and temperance, and judgment to come." At last stretching forth his hand, and pointing to the king's heart, Early Efforts of the Church amongst the New Races. 51 " GIsa," he asked, "which, tell me, lovest thou most, this chap. ii. soul, or gold and silver?" And when she replied that ^^^ 454-432 she loved her husband more than all the treasures of the world, "Beware," he continued, "of oppressing the inno- cent, lest their affliction bring your power to destruction ; oftentimes you stand in the way of the king's clemency, and therefore I on the brink of the eternal world implore you for the last time to desist from all such evil deeds, and adorn your life with good works." The king and queen retired, and shortly afterwards' the man of God em- braced his brethren who had continued stedfast amidst all his dangers, and bade them farewell ; he received the holy sacrament, and when they for sorrow could not sing the psalm that he desired, he began himself to sing, and with the words "let everything that hath breath praise the Lord" upon his lips, he expired on New Year's Day, A.D. 482. A.D. 482. Such are a few of the many instances recorded by his biographer of the way in which this eminent missionary ministered to the wants, spiritual and bodily, of the tribes near the Danube, amidst the ravages and desolation of this period. Nor were the impressions made by his sojourn lost on the different chiefs. Many a deed of mercy and unexpected kindness was owing to his intrepid expostu- lations, and those of other solitaries who, braving the dangers and difficulties incident to such a calling, settled down with true missionary zeal amongst the wild and law- less tribes, and awed them into obedience by the austere holiness of their lives. But fourteen years after the death of Severinus, the co™er«no/ chief of a tribe', which had settled along the Eastern bank of the E,hine, from its mouth to its junction with the Maine, espoused the Catholic Faith, and his conversion and that of ' On conversion of the Burgun- Ozanam, Civilisation chez les Francs, dians, see Socrates, Eccl. Hist. Yii. 30. p- 5 1- 4—2 52 Tlie Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. II. his subjects demands our attention, not only as illustrating A.D. 481. many of the secondary agencies which extended Chris- tianity among the different nations at this period, but as exerting in its remote and its immediate consequences no little influence on the ultimate civilization of Europe. In the year 481, Clovis or Chlodwig succeeded to the chieftaincy of the Salian Franks. He was only fifteen years of age, and the extent of his territory and the num- ' ber of his subjects were extremely small, but the unusual daring and energy of his character speedily shewed that A.D. 486. he was destined to effect great results. He had no sooner reached the verge of manhood than he entered on that career of conquest which eventually laid at his feet a wider kingdom than that of modern France. His first campaign brought him face to face with Syagrius, anni- hilated the shadow of the old Roman dominion, gave him possession of Soissons, Rheims, and other Roman towns, and extended his borders to the Loire, the limit of the Visigoths. Ten years of comparative repose elapsed before his next victory over the Alemanni in a great battle near Ziilpich, and in the meantime he had A.D. 493. married Clotilda, the daughter of Chilperic, king of Burgundy. The family history of this princess illustrates the tur- bulence of the times, and proves how little as yet Chris- tianity had allayed the ferocity of the barbarians. She had seen her father, mother, and two brothers all murdered 'by her uncle Gundebald, who, as though this was not enough, besieged his own brother in his castle, and burnt him alive. Though brought up in an Arian court, she had, through what influence is unknown, been educated in the Catholic faith. On her marriage with Clovis, she was permitted to conform to her own religion, and it naturally became her earnest desire to see her husband lay aside his idols, and adore with her the same God. But Clovis CtmU fX7id ClUilda. Early Efforts of the Church amongst the JSfew Races. 53 was little disposed to yield to her suggestions, and re- chap. ir. mained profoundly indifferent to her entreaties. In time ^^"4937 she gave birth to a child, and with Teutonic indifference the Salian chief permitted it to be baptized. The cere- mony was performed with no little pomp, the Church, where she worshipped, was hung with curtains and tapestry, and the queen hoped that the spectacle of the splendour with which the sacred rite was performed might effect what her own arguments had proved unequal to accomplish \ Bat the child died, and this event served only to prejudice her lord still more, who saw in it the manifest resentment of his gods. Another child, however, was soon after bom, and with the same strange indifference, he allowed the dangerous experiment to be repeated. The child, was brought to the font, and when it began to sicken, the king prophesied tliat it too was doomed to die. The honour of her God amongst the heathen was now at stake, and the queen prayed earnestly that the child's life might be spared, and her prayer was heard. Gregory of Tours tells us, that this made a profound impression on the warrior's mind. But it was not by these gentle influences that the omnipotence of the Christian's God was established to his satisfaction. In vain the queen recounted to him the miracles wrought at the tomb of St Martin at Tours, how the blind received their sight, and the dumb spake, and the deaf heard, and the lame walked ; how perjurers were constrained to confess their sins, or were struck down by divine judgments ; how dust from the saint's grave, or fragments of the wax tapers that burnt before his shrine, or of the curtains that concealed it, were possessed of resistless efficacy. The warrior listened with the same careless indifference. 1 "Adomari ecolesiam prasoipit tur ad credendum, qui flecti prsdi- (sc. regina) velis atque cortiovdia, quo catione non poterat." — Greg.Tuvon. faciliua vel hoc mystez-io provocare- n. 29. 54 The iHssiouary lliMor>i of the MhhlJo Ages. pu\T. II. Tlicse wove not tlio " cviiliMicos" to Imvc mm'li wciu'lit with in. 496. liim. At long'th, on tlio bnttlc-ricld of TdlbiMc, liia iiicri-- tm"''''"-^ dulily t'Mmci to nn end. Tlio fii'vcc and diviidtul AlriiiMuni, fresh fmin tlicir nalivo fdn-sts, h;id burst upon tlic kingdom of his Ripuariim allies; Olovis with liis {''ranks ii;id rushed to tlio rescue, and tho twn iiereest nations of (lermnny were to decide between them the suiirennuy of (Janl. 'I'lie battle was long and bloody, the Franks ai'ter nn obstinate struggle wavered, and seemed on tlie jioint of Hying, and in vain (^iovis im]ilored tlui aid of his own deities. At lencth he bethoun'ht him of the vannteil oinniiioteiu'e of Clotilda's Cod, and lie vowed tliat if vii'torioiis he would ab- jure his ]iagan creecl, and bo ba])tized as a Christian. There- upon tlie tide of battle turned; the last king u\im, quom lliiiiiif,niiM prip- ItiipliHivi of CoiiRtrititiiio ^mvimi in di(!ai^, ayqiii piu-iiti hiuiiuh."- Clrt'g. Sliinloy'H Kasiivii Vhirclt, p. 316. Turon. 11. j 1 . But buu I 'w-ry'B Franh, Early Efforts of the Church amongst the New Races. 55 thousand lights, while odours of incense, " like airs of ohap. it. paradise," in the words of the excited chronicler, " filled ^ j, 492^ the place." The new Constantine, as he entered, was struck with awe. " Is this the heaven thou didst promise me?" said he to the bishop. "Not heaven itself, but the beginning of the way thither," replied the bishop. The service proceeded. As he knelt before the font to wash away the leprosy of his heathenism, " Sicambrian," said Kemigius, " gently bow thy neck, burn that thou didst adore, adore that which thou didst burn'." Thus together with three thousand of his followers, Clovis espoused Clotilda's creed, and became the single sovereign of the west, who adhered to the confession of Nicsea. Every- where else Arianism was triumphant. The Ostrogoth Theodoric in Italy, the successors of Euric in Visigothic France, the king of Burgundy, the Suevian princes in Spain, the Vandal in Africa, all were Arians. The conversion of Clovis, like that of Constantine, is open to much discussion. It certainly had no effect upon his moral character. The same "untutored savage" he was, the same he remained. But the services he ren- dered to Catholicism were great, and they were appreciated. " God daily prostrated his enemies before him, because he walked before Him with an upright heart, and did what was pleasing in His eyes." In these words Gregory of Tours expresses the feelings of thfe Gallic clergy, who rallied round Clovis to a man, and excused all faults in one who could wield the sword so strenuously in be- half of the orthodox faith*. His subsequent career was a succession of triumphs : Gundebald the Burgundian king felt the vengeance of Clotilda's lord on the bloody field 1 The words are variously given. Vita Remigii the words are, "Mitis In the Jlisioriem de la France, T. III. depone coUa Sicamber; adora quod p. 9, we have, "Mitis Sicamber, de- inoendisti, incende quod adorasti." pone oolla, idola varia crema, cultum ^ Vervy's Franks, p. 77. Sir J. venerare divinum," In Hincmar's Stephen's Lectwes, I. p. 60. 5G The MissMiary History of the Middle Ages. oiiAP. II. of Dijon on the Ousclie, and tlie cities on tlie Saone and A-oVsovT the Ehone were added to the Frankish kingdom. A Vicinries of few morc years, and the Visigothic kingdom in the South felt the same iron hand. The orthodox preLitcs did not disguise the fact that this was a religious war, and that the supremacy of the Arian or Catholic Creed in Western Europe was now to be decided \ Clevis himself entered fully into the spirit of the crusade; on approaching Tours he made death the penalty of injuring tiie territory of the holy St Martin ; in the church of the saint he publicly performed his devotions, and listened to the voices of tlie priests as they chaunted the 18th Psalm, Tliou hast cjtnJtd me, Lord, with strength unto the halth: ; thou hast sub- dued unto me those which rose up against me. Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies, that I might destroy them that hate me". Whether he understood the words or not, they seemed prophetic of the subsequent career of the new champion of Catholicism. The orthodox histori- ans exhaust the treasury of legends to adorn his progress. A " hind of wonderful magnitude'" guided him through tiie swollen waters of the river Viennc ; a pillar of fire blazed forth from the cathedral as he drew nigh Poitiers, to assure him of success. At last, the bloody plains of VouglcS witnessed the utter defeat of the Arian Goths, and Alaric their king was mingled with the crowd of fugitives. Bor- deaux, Auvergne, IWvergne, Toulouse, Angoul6rae, suc- cessively fell into the hands of the Frankish king, and then before the shrine of St Martin the " eldest son of the Church" was invested with the titles of Roman Patricius and Consul, conferred by the Greek Emperor Anastasius*. We have thus sketched the rise of the Frankish mon- archy because it has an important connection with the ' Hallam's Middle Ages, I. 3. Greg. Turon. II. 37. ° Milman'sia(i»CAris(«ini(y, Vol. *' Porry's T^ronis, p. 88. Halloiu's I. ■279. Middle Aijei, Supplemontal Notea, ^ Miohelet's.ff»'8iorjo/i'rance,i.5i. p. 7. Early Efforts oftlie Church amongst the New Races. 57 history of Christian missions. Orthodoxy advanced side chap. n. by side with the Frankish domination. The rude war- 7Z, riors of Clovis, once beyond the local boundaries of their ancestral faith, found themselves in the presence of a Church which was the only stable institution in the coun- try, and bowed before a creed, which, while it offered infi- nitely more to the soul and intellect than their own super- stitions, presented everything that could excite the fancy or captivate the sense. Willingly, therefore, did they follow the example of their king, and for one that embraced the faith from genuine, a thousand adopted it from lower mo- tives. And while they had their reward, the Frankish bishops had theirs too, in constant gifts of land for the foundation of churches and monasteries, and in a speedy admission to wealth and power. But the Frankish Church was not destined to evan- j)e„er>.„-„c'.ofihe gelize the rude nations of Europe. The internal dissen- -P'™""" '■'""* sions, and constant wars of the successors of Clovis, were not favourable to the development of Christian civilization at home, or its propagation abroad. Avitus of Vienne, Csesarius of Aries, and Faustus of Riez proved what might be done by energy and self- devotion \ But the rapid ac- cession of wealth more and more tempted the Frankish bishops and abbots to live as mere laymen, and so the clergy degenerated, and the light of the Frankish Church grew dim. Not only were the masses of heathendom lying outside her territory neglected, but within it she saw her own members tainted with the old leaven of heathenism, and relapsing, in some instances, into the old idolatries'''. A new influence, therefore, was required, if the light of the Frankish Church was to be rekindled, and the Ger- manic tribes evangelized. And this new influence was at • hand. But to trace its origin, we must leave the scenes ^ Neander, v. 4. ^ Perry's Franks, p. 488. 58 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. II. of the labours of Ulphllas and Severinus, for two sister isles high up In the Northern Sea almost forgotten amidst the desolating contest, which was breaking up the Roman world. We must glance first at the origin of the Celtic Church in Ireland and the Scottish highlands, whose hum- ble oratories of timber and rude domes of rough stone' might, indeed, contrast unfavourably with the prouder structures of the West, but wliose missionary zeal burnt with a far steadier flame. We must, then, turn to the shores of Kent, where tlie story of Clovis and Clotilda was to be rc-cnaetcd, and a Teutonic Church was destined to arise, and send forth, in its turn, missionary heroes amongst their kindred on the continent, not more zealous, perhaps, or more loving, but more practical and more judicious than their Celtic forerunners. 1 Yetrie^n Round Towr.n,l. 158 — Mainland and ]\'t:st<:nt Islands of i(;3, and Mr Mure's CliamrUriatlm Scotland, p. 18 (. of Old Church Architecture in the CHAPTER III.- THE CHURCH OP lEELAND, AND THE MISSION OP ST PATEICK. A.D. 431—490. Sed Dens vicit in me et restitit illia omnibus, ut ego venirem ad Hibemas geutes evangelium prffidioare. — S. Pateicii Confess. It is not our intention to enter upon tlie vexed and diffi- chap. hi. cult question how far Christianitj had spread in Ireland during the first four centuries of our era. Without press- ing the boast of Tertullian that parts of the British islands never visited by the Romans had received the faith ; or the authorities collected by Archbishop Ussher\ which would make us believe that the introduction of Christianity into the island was due to the labours of Apostles, we may accept it as certain that at a very early period Christian communities were established here, and that their intro- duction originated in the commercial relations which we know from Tacitus^ obtained in the earliest times between Ireland and the continent of Graul. Whatever uncertainty, however, hangs over the dawn Mimon nf of Irish Christianity, begins to disappear about the middle of the fifth century. From the Chronicles of Prosper we learn that in the year A.D. 431, the attention of Pope Cc-a.b. 431. lestine was drawn to the wants of this distant island, and ^Tertullian, Lib. adv. Jvdceos, 'i^6.Xia,mga,n'sEccl. Hist, of Ireland, c. vn. Euseb. Dem. Evang. ill. 7. I. 2. Nioeph. Hist. Lib. in. i. Ussher'a ^ Vita Agricola, c. 34 £rit. Eccl. Antiq. 0. XVI. Works, VI. A.D. 431. 60 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. III. that he dispatched hither a bishop named Palladius. But 'the words of the chronicler do not explain the precise object of his mission. " To the Scots believing in Christ," he writes, " Palladius ordained by Pope Celestine is sent as the first bishop'." These words are ambiguous, and have excited considerable discussion, on which we need not enter. Whether the purpose of the coming of Pal- ladius was to preside over already existing Churches, or to check, as some have supposed, the inroads of the Pe- lagian heresy, it appears certain that he landed with twelve companions on the confines of Wicklow, and after some opposition, owing to the hostility of one of the Irish princes, succeeded in baptizing a few converts, and erect- ing three wooden churches^. But his stay was of no long duration ; from some unexplained cause his work did not prosper, and he retired to Scotland with the intention of proceeding to Eome, but died some little time after at Fordun in Kincardineshire ^ St Patrick. But witliiu a year he was followed by another mis- sionary, who was destined to produce very different results. The form of the great " Apostle of Ireland " is almost lost in a halo of extravagant and miraculous legends. By some*, in consequence, his very existence has been doubted; and to extract the truth from the mass of fable with which his life and labours have beeii well-nigh buried, is a work of considerable difficulty. In the following sketch we shall 1 "Ad Scotos in Christum ere- Arta. At Cell-Fliine he left Ms dentes ordinatus a Papa Celestino books, and a shrine with the relics Palladius primus Episcopus mitti- of Paul and Peter, and many mar- tur." Prosper. Chron. A.D. 431. tyrs besides. He left these four in Bede, H. E. I. 13. Jaffe's Regesta these churches: Augustinus, Bene- Pont. Bom. p. 52. Innes' Civil and dictus, Silvester, and Solinus." An- Ecdesiasiical History of Scotland, i. nals of the Four Masters, i. 129. i'i. ^ Nennius, Hist. £rit., GaJe; ^ "Nathi, sonofGarchu, refused Script, xv. p. 94. Lanigan, I. 39. to admit him; but, however, he Innes,p. 65. Hussey n.inBede,!. 13. baptized a few persons in Ireland, * See Schoell. de Eccledasti/:a Bri- and three wooden churches were tonum Scotorvmqwe HistorimfantSmi, erected by him, [namely] Cell-Phine, pp. 61 — 6ij. Teach-na-Eomhan, and Domnach- Tlie Church of Ireland and the Mission of 8t Patrick. 69 tegotten Son, Jesus Christ, who had become man, had chap. in. conquered death, and ascended into heaven, where He sat [^~^, far above all principality and power, and whence He would hereafter come to judge both the quick and the dead, and reward every man according to his deeds." "Those" he declared "who believed in Him would rise again in the glory of the true Sun, that is, in the glory of Jesus Christ, being by redemption sons of God and joint-heirs with Christ, of Whom, and by Whom, and to Whom are all things. Through Him shall we reign ; for the sun, which we see, rises at His bidding, for our sakes, day by day; but his splendour will never last or continue, and all his wor- shippers will suffer terrible punishment. We believe in and adore the true Sun, Jesus Christ. He will never wane or set, nor will any perish who do His will, but they shall live for ever, even as He liveth for ever, with God the Father Almighty, and the Holy Spirit, world without end." Such we may believe, from his Confession, was the Gospel he preached, and his words, confirmed and illus- trated by his own intrepid zeal, ardent love, and sincere and devoted life, made a deep impression on the minds of the Celtic chiefs. With the religious enthusiasm deeply seated in the primitive' Celtic character', their hearts were touched, and they welcomed the missionary, as, many years before, the people of Galatia had welcomed the Apostle of the Gentiles, and believed the word that he preached^. In the year A.D. 439 the labours of St Patrick were a.d. 439. lightened by the arrival of the bishops Secundinus, Auxi- S^LSS-'- lius, and Isserninus, whom he had sent either to Gaul or aSi^'^ ' See Goldwin Smith's Irish Sis- sisted by one of the bards converted tory and Irish Character, pp. 26, 27. to Christianity, may have laid the ' The Annals of Ulster record, at foundation, revising such of the Pa- the year 438, the composition of the gan laws and usages of the country Chronicon Magnum, or Seanehus as were inconsistent with the doc- Mor, a body of laws, of which it is trines of the Gospel." Petrie's An- highly probable that St Patrick, as- tiquUies of Tara Sill, pp. 47—54. CHAP. III. A.D. 387? lILi capHvitt/. A.J,. 403 t 62 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. His parents, as we have said atove, were Christians, and from his Confession it would appear that the Gos- pel had been published and received to some extent in the neighbourhood of his father's home. Whatever amount, however, of instruction he may have received was rudely interrupted when he was sixteen years of age. The coasts of Scotland were at this time peculiarly exposed to the predatory excursions of Irish chieftains, who landed in their swift barks, ravaged the country, and having carried off as many as they could of the inhabitants, consigned them to slavery. In one of these expeditions the house of Calphurnius was attacked, and the future missionary with two of his sisters, and many hundreds of his countrymen, was carried away from his home, and conveyed to the North of Ireland. Here he was purchased as a slave by a chief named Milcho, who inhabited that part of Dalaradia', which corresponds to the present county of Antrim. The work assigned him was that of tending his master's flocks and herds, and in his Confession he has drawn an affecting picture of the hardships to which at this period he was^ exposed. As he wandered over the bleak mountains he" was often drenched with rains, often numbed with the frosts. And being thus thrown back upon himself, he could find alleviation only in frequent prayer and medita- tion. The good seed sown in early years now sprang up, and the religious emotions he afterwards so eminently dis- played began to stir within him. His period of servitude lasted six years, and dui-ing this time he would seem to have made himself acquainted with the language of the native tribes, and to have learnt their habits and modes of ^ On Dalaradia consult Reeves' EcclesiasticaJ' Antiquities, p. 339, and the note there from the JPour Mas- ters. In the latter annals we read, "A.D.388 Milchuo, son of HuaBuain, king of North Dalaradia." "This was the master," says lieeyes, "un- der whom St Patrick served ; he is called in the Tripartite Life ' Miloho Buani filius Princeps Dalaradia.'" Tr.ni.p. 119. The Church of Ireland, and the Mission of St Patrick. 63 life. At length eithfer through the operation of an old law' chap. hi. which gave freedom to domestic slaves in the seventh year, i.D, nQt or, according to his own account, in consequence of a dream warning him to prepare for his return, he succeeded in effecting his escape to the seaside ; there he took ship and after a tempestuous passage regained his father's house. His stay, however, was hut brief. In a second predatory excursion he again was taken captive, and again after a short interval made his escape. Had he listened to his parents he would now have set- MedUata me tied down amongst them : but other ideas had filled his /rcS"" " mind, and he heard voices bidding him "leave his own country and his father's house." " The divine response," he writes, " frequently admonished me to consider whence I derived this wisdom which was not in me, who neither knew the number of my days nor was acquainted with God ; whence I obtained afterwards so great and salutary a gift as to know or to love God." During the weary hours, moreover, of his captivity he had often reflected how blessed it would be, if he, to whom it had been given to know the true God and His Son Jesus Christ, could carry the Glad Tidings he himself had heard in early years, to his master's people and the land of his exile. And now by dreams and visions the old desire was awakened afresh. "One night," to borrow his own words, "he had a dream, in which he thought he saw a man coming from Ireland, whose name was Victoricius, with a great number of letters. One of these he gave him to read, and in the beginning occurred the words, "the Voice of the Irish." While he was reading this letter, he thought he heard the voice of the people who lived hard by the wood of Foch-ladh, that is, of Hy-Amalgaidh now Tirawley, crying to him with one voice across the Western Sea, " We intreat thee, holy youth, to come and walk among us." ' Lanigan, I. chap. 4,. note 43. Todd's Irish Nennius, 202 n. 64 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. III. A.D. 418? llis travels. Obedient, therefore, to what he deemed a voice from ' heaven, and resisting the arguments and entreaties of his relatives and friends, who seem to have regarded his en- thusiasm with little favour, he set out for the monasteries of Southern Gaul, there to prepare himself for the great work of preaching the Gospel in the land of his captivity. Amidst the conflicting legends which now follow him at every step, it seems certain that he repaired to the monas- tery of St Martin bishop of Tours, and submitted himself for some time to the strict discipline of that famous seminary'; that afterwards he studied with Germanus at Auxerre", and thence betook himself to one of the " islands of the Tuscan Sea," probably Lerins', where Hilary of Aries, and Lupus of Troyes had been educated. Returning thence to Auxerre, it is not improbable that he was actively em- ployed for some little time in pastoral duties, having been successively ordained deacon and priest during his sojourn amongst the Gallic monasteries. There is a tradition that in the year 429 he visited Britain in company with Germanus and Lupus, and assist- ed them in eradicating the Pelagian heresy*, and on his re- turn, he is represented by some writers as having been sent by Germanus to Celestine, together with Segetius, a priest, who bore letters recommending him to the Pope. That the attention of the Pope had been directed to the wants of the Irish Church is manifest from the mission of Palla- dius in 431. But the fact that he consecrated St Patrick bishop for the work of evangelizing the Lish is not to be met with in any lives, as Lanigan admits, except Jocelin's and the Tripartite^ It is not admitted even by the Bol- ' Lanigan, I. 156. Innes, p. 37. ^ "Patrick went to the south to study, and he read the Canons with German {Germanus of Auxerre)." Nenniua, Sistoria Britonum, edited by Dr Todd, Dublin, 1S48. ^ Lanigan, I. 174, Acta SS. Mart, 17. Innes, p. 37. ^ Lanigan, i. iSo. " Lanigan, I. 192. See also Giese- ler, II. 81 n. The Church of Ireland and the Mission of St Patrick. 65 landists or Colgan,,and tlie absence of any allusion in the chap. m. saint's Confessions to a consecration by Celestine, where he ^0^432 could hardly have passed it over, is no slight argument against its veracity. In the year 432, however, he would appear on good authority to have been ordained bishop in Gaul, and on hearing of the failure of the mission of Pal- ladius^, to have sailed for Ireland with Isserninus, Auxi- lius, and a few other fellow-labourers. Landing, in the same year, somewhere on the coast of the lanfy in irc- present county of Wicklow, he and his companions were, at first, received with hostility, and were obliged to return to their boat, and seek a more favourable spot. Sailing north- wards along the coast, they put in at Holm-patrick, where they stayed some time. After gathering a few converts in this neighbourhood, St Patrick repaired to the Bay of Dun- drum, and landing with his companions advanced some little way into the interior. They had not gone far before they encountered a native chieftain named Dichu at the head of a band of men, who, mistaking their leader for the chief of one of the many pirate crews which then often appeared upon the coast, was on the point of putting him to death. But struck by the reverend appearance of the missionary, and seeing that he and his companions were unarmed, he stayed his hand, and hospitably received them at his house. In frequent interviews he now heard the doctrines of the faith, and was baptized with his whole family. He also bestowed upon his instructor the ground, on which his barn was erected; and here arose the celebrated church called Sabhall Padruic, " the barn of Patrick," the ruins of which may still be traced at Saul, in the county of Down. The ^ In the Booh of J rmagJi we Te3,d, death." Sir W. Betham, i2^se«rc^es, " The death of Palladius among the p. 306. " It is more than probable Britons was soon heard of, for his that it was at Bray, Patrick landed." disciples, i. e. Augustinus, Benedic- O'Donovan, note in Annals of the tus and the rest, returning, related Four Masters, I. 1 30. in Ebmoria, the circumstances of his 66 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. in. same chief became tenceforth St Patrick's constant friend, ^ ^ 433_ and the spot, where he obtained a site for his first church, was always a favourite resort of the saint. 7/B .v,>,„-OT(jrj/ Leaving; Saul, the missionary proceeded northward to I'lMi-s ill Data- ° ' •' ^ radia. Clancbois in Dalaradia, hoping to convert his old master Milcho. In this he was disappointed. Nothing would induce the old chief to receive the man who had been once his slave, or to forsake the paganism of his forefathers. His obstinate refusal has been exaggerated in the legends, and he is represented as having burnt himself, at the ap- proach of the missionary, on a funeral pile, together with his family and his goods. His journey thus inefTectual, St Patrick once more took ship, and, returning to the dis- trict where Dichu resided, preached with success for some time in that neighbourhood. Thence sailing southward, riyiAVsjrforeffielie determined to visit the famous hill of Tara, where chu/s at Tara. ^ ' King Leogaire was about to hold a great religious festival, in the presence of all his tributary princes, his chieftains, and Druids. Accompanied by his favourite disciple, the boy Benignus, whom he had lately baptized, the saint went on his way thither, intending in this stronghold of Druidisra to celebrate the approaching festival of Easter, and to preach the Gospel to the assembled chiefs. It was Easter- Eve when he reached the neighbourhood of Tara, and having erected a tent, he made preparations for spending the night with his companions, and kindled a fire, either, according to some legends, as a part of the Paschal solem- nities, or simply for the purpose of preparing food. As the smoke curled upwards in the evening air, it was observed by the Druids in the king's tents, and caused the greatest consternation. To kindle any fire, during the solemn assembly of the chiefs, before the king had lighted the sacred fire in the palace of Tara, was a sin of the greatest enormity ; and the Druids did not scruple to warn the king, "if that fire be not extinguished this night, The Church of Ireland and the Mission of St Patrich. 67 unto him, whose fire it shall be, shall belong the sove- chap. hi. reignty of Ireland for ever\" ad~433 It is possible that the Magi had heard of the strange opposiuon of me doctrines which were now gaming ground m the British islands, and they hoped thus to alienate the monarch's mind against any preachers of the same. However this may have been, messengers were sent to discover the authors of the sacrilege, and to order them to appear before the king. When they presented themselves, instead of being put to death, their fearlessness won for them the attention of the king and his nobles. On the following day St Patrick again addressed the chiefs, and proclaimed the doctrines of the faith. Leogaire himself, indeed, did not profess to be a convert, but he gave permission to the man of God to preach the word on condition that he did not disturb the peace of the kingdom^. During the ensuing week, there- fore, when the great public games were celebrated at Tail- ten, the missionary and his companions addressed them- selves to the brothers of the king, and by one at least were so favourably received, that he professed himself a believer, received baptism, and is said to have given up the site of his own castle for a church. The impression thus made upon the chiefs was soon Tours -in can- shared by their subjects, and though it is utterly impossible "'"' ^'*'<-'''- to arrange with accuracy the subsequent missionary tours of the saint, it is certain that in Westmeath, in Connaught, Mayo, and Ulster, whither he successively went, his labours were blessed with signal success. Once or twice", indeed, 1 From theiif« ofStPatricTc in the Donovan, "-will find that the Pagan Lealhar Breac. Todd'8 Life, p. 1 84. Irish made several attempts at mur- ^ Lanigan, I. 233. Vita THparl. dering Patrick, and that he had fre- II. 8. It was on this occasion, when quently but a narrow escape. He brought before the king, that he is wiU be also convinced that our mo- said to have composed the hymn dern popular writers have been called St Patrick's Armour. See guilty of great dishonesty in repre- Petrie's Tara Sill, p. 67. senting the labours of Patrick as * "Whoever will read the Tri- not attended with much difficulty." partite Life of St Patrich," saya 0'- Annals of the Pour Masters, i. 131. 5—2 68 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. III. A.D. 434. Subject of his preacking. he was nearly being put to deatli through the opposition of the Druids, but the protection of the native princes stayed their intentions, and he was suffered to continue his work. Having destroyed the great idol Crom-Cruach', on the plain of Magh Slecht, he set out for Connaught, the scene of his greatest triumphs. At Tir-Amhalgaidh, in Mayo, he was met by the seven sons of the king, and in a full assembly before them and their people he proclaimed the message of the GospeP. The young princes were on this occasion so affected by his earnestness and zeal, that they speedily submitted to baptism, and their example was followed by several thousands of their subjects ^ So far as we can judge, it was not a merely nominal conversion of the people through their chiefs that he sought. He strove to plant deep the foundations of the Church. Instant in season and out of season, he repaired with his disciples and assistants wherever an opportunity of preach- ing the word presented itself, collected assemblies in the open air, read the Scriptures, and explained their contents. To the worshippers of the powers of nature, and especially the sun and other heavenly bodies, he proclaimed that the great luminary which "ruled the day" had no self-origi- nated existence, but was created by One whom he taught them to call " God the Father." " Beside Him," said the missionary, "there is no other God, nor ever was, nor will be. He was in the beginning, before all things, unbegot- ten, and from Him all things take their beginning, both visible and invisible*." He told them next " of His only- ^ O'Curry's Lcct. p. 103. 2 O'Donovan's Tribes and Cus- toms of Hy-Flachrach, p. 310 m. and Addenda. TJssher's Primordia, p. 864. Annals of the Four Masters, i. 141 n. * 3 "This conversion is mentioned in most of the Uvea of St Patrick, ■with more or less circumstances, and has been recorded by Nennius and other writers." Lanigau, I. ■253. DoUinger, ir. 23. " Duode- cim milUa hominum, in unS regione Connatia ad fidem Chiisti convertit, et baptizavit : etseptem reges {=A- nialgaidi filios) in uno die baptizavit.'' Nennius. '' S. Patricii Confessio, O'Connor, Script. Mibern. i. pp. cviii, cxvii. The Church of Ireland and the Mission of St Patrick. 69 tegotten Son, Jesus Christ, who had become man, had c hap, iti. conquered death, and ascended into heaven, where He sat ^^ 435, far above all principality and power, and whence He would hereafter come to judge both the quick and the dead, and reward every man according to his deeds." "Those" he declared "who believed in Him would rise again in the glory of the true Sun, that is, in the glory of Jesus Christ, being by redemption sons of God and joint-heirs with Christ, of Whom, and by Whom, and to Whom are all things. Through Him shall we reign ; for the sun, which we see, rises at His bidding, for our sakes, day by day; but his splendour will never last or continue, and all his wor- shippers will suffer tenible punishment. We believe in and adore the true Sun, Jesus Christ. He will never wane or set, nor will any perish who do His will, but they shall live for ever, even as He liveth for ever, with God the Father Almighty, and the Holy Spirit, world without end." Such we may believe, from his Confession, was the Gospel he preached, and his words, confirmed and illus- trated by his own intrepid zeal, ardent love, and sincere and devoted life, made a deep impression on the minds of the Celtic chiefs. With the religious enthusiasm deeply seated in the primitive' Celtic character^ their hearts were touched, and they welcomed the missionary, as, many years before, the people of Galatia had welcomed the Apostle of the Gentiles, and believed the word that he preached ^ In the year A.D. 439 the labours of St Patrick were a.d. 439. lightened by the arrival of the bishops Secundinus, Ausi- f^lfLSsS- lius, and Isserninus, whom he had E'en! either to Gaul or luxtiiZ'^ ' See Goldwin Smith's Ii-Uh His- sisted by one of the bards converted tory and Irish Character, pp. 26, 27. to Christianity, may have laid the ' The Annals of Ulster record, at foundation, revising such of the Pa- the year 438, the composition of the gan laws and usages of the country Chnmicon Magnum, or St:an^hits as were inconsistent with the doc- Mor, a body of laws, of which it is trines of the Gospel." Petrie's An' highly probable that St Patrick, as- iiguUies of Tara Hill, pp. 47 — 54. A.D. 445. 70 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. HI, Britain to receive consecration. Their coming enabled him to extend the sphere of his operations, and he now un- dertook missionary tours in Ulster, Leinster, and Cashel. These continued for several years, and were spent in preach- ing, baptizing new converts, and erecting churches. Know- ing well how much his own acquaintance with the native language^ had contributed to his success, he laboured dili- gently to establish a native ministry wherever he went. Cautiously selecting from the higher classes, those whose piety and intelligence seemed to fit them for the work of the ministry, he established seminaries and monastic schools, where they were trained for this high employment. To these schools the young of both sexes flocked with extraor- dinary eagerness, and here they learnt the alphabet the missionary had invented for their instruction. It was probably while labouring somewhere in the south-eastern part of Munster, that the incident occurred which drew forth the letter, which has come down to us, wherein we see him endeavouring to check the nefarious system of piracy and slave-dealing from which he himself letter to coro- had Suffered so bitterly^. A native prince, named Coroti- cus, though apparently professing Christianity', had set out either from Wales or Cornwall, and descending on the Irish coast, with a band of armed followers, had mur- dered several of the natives, and carried off a considerable number with the intention of disposing of them as slaves. This outrage was perpetrated in one of the districts where St Patrick had been baptizing, and on the very day after* the neophytes arrayed in white baptismal robes had re- 1 "EtsiLatinamlinguamdumGal- Villanueva, p. 2-24. Ham et Italiam incoluit, didicit, as- = O'Conor'sScrsp^.ffiJmi.i.cxvii. sidue tamen Ibernis populis patril, 3 gjj. ^_ Betham's Anii^itia, linguEt in concionibus et hortatibus p. 276. loquutus est, turn et Ibemice scrip- i " Postera die qua chrismati neo- sit Proverbiorum librum, grande phyti in veste Candida, dum fides opus de Ibeiniffi antiquitatibus, epia- flagrabat in fronte ipsorum, crude- tolas, et alia opuscula, quffi tempo- liter trucidati atque mactati aunt." rum injuria et olades absumpsit." Ep. ad, Corolimm, O'Conor,!. cxvii. ticus. The Church of Ireland and the Mission of St Patrick. 71 ceived the chrism, and the rite of confirmation. Indignant chap. hi. at this cruelty, St Patrick wrote a letter', which he sent a.d. 44[,— ib2- by one of his companions, requesting Coroticus to restore the baptized captives, and some portion of the booty. But his request being treated with contempt and scorn, he composed another circular epistle, in which, as "a bishop established iu Ireland," he inveighs in the strongest terms against the cruelty of the marauding tribe and its chief. He contrasts his conduct with that of the Roman and Gallic Christians, who were in the habit of sending priests with large sums of money to ransom Christian captives from the power of the Franks, and concludes by threatening him and his followers with excommunication unless he make restitution, and desist in future from his marauding habits. What indeed was the result of this circular epistle is not known, but it is to be feared that the efforts of the Saint were not very successful. His lot was ' cast in troublous times, and it, was easier to induce the various tribes to accept a nominal profession of Christianity, than to resist the temptation to trade in slaves ; at any rate this inhu- man traffic was in full activity in the tenth Century, between England and the sister Isle, and the port of Bristol was one of its principal centres. Meanwhile, after a sojourn of two vears in the district Purihfr mix- •' *' swnart/ tourg. of Louth, and parts of Ulster, St Patrick reached the dis^ trict of Macha, a small territory, but containing the royal city of Emania, the residence of the kings of Ulster^ Here he was heartily welcomed by Daire, a wealthy chief, who made over to him a pleasant piece of ground on an eminence called Druim-sailech, or the " Hill of the Wil- ^ "Misi Epistolam cum sancto Coroticum, Lanigan, i. 296. presbytero, quern ego ex infantia ^ "The remains of its earthen dooui cum clericis, ut nobis ahquid embankment exist under the name indulgeretur de praeda vel de captivis of the Navan, about two .miles west baptizatis quos ceperant ; sed ca- of Armagh." Vita S. C'olumiw by chinnos fecerunt de illis." JSp. ad Adamnan, Ed. Eeeves, p. 287 n. 72 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. III. lows'." The spot pleased St Patrick, and he determined i „ 452. to erect here a church, and a cloister for the clergy and the many ardent candidates for the monastic life who flocked to him from all sides, and of both sexes ^. The foundations of the church were accordingly laid, and round it rose by degrees, the city of Armagh, the eccle- siastical metropolis of Ireland, and here its founder spent the remainder of his life, only leaving it now and then to visit his favourite retreat at Saul, round which clustered the memories of his earliest labours, and of his first con- vert Dichu. ^a''?; wsA Here, too, when the see was established, having called to his aid the bishops Auxilius and Isserninus, who next i.D.456. ^^ himself were best qualified for the work by age and long experience, he proceeded to hold several synods, and to make regulations for the general government of the Irish churches. The canons of two of these have been preserved; one of which is called simply the Synod of St Patricic, and the other the Synod of Bishops, that is, Patrick, Auxilius, and Isserninus. " Under the head of the former," says Dr Lanigan^, "are some canons, which seem to have been enacted at a later period, or perhaps in some other country; but among the canons of the latter, with one or two exceptions, we meet with nothing to make us doubt that it was really held in Ireland, and by those bishops." They give us the idea of a church which had attained considerable maturity, they mention not only bishops, priests, and deacons, abbots, monks, and nuns, but inferior orders, such as the ostiarii and lectores. In reference to the discipline of the clergy they are very ' " The Annals of Ulster refer the plaoitum sibi, et jedificavit in eo mo- foundation of Armagh to 444." O'- nasteria et habitationes religiosorum Donovan in Annals of Four Masters, virorum ; in quo loco jam civitas est p. 143. The Annals of the Four Ardmach nominata sedes et episco- Masters to 457. patus et regiminis Hibernise." Pro- ^ "Accepit ergo ab eo (Daire) bus, ill. 7. Lanigan, i. 314. S. Patricias prtedium optatum et ^ Ibid. i. 331. The Church of Ireland and the Mission of St Patrick. 73 strict'. A clerk must not wander about from place to chap. hi. place ; in a strange diocese lie must not baptize, nor offer ^j,. 456—460. the Eucharist, nor discharge any spiritual function. A bishop, in like manner, must not presume to ordain in a diocese not his own, without the permission of its dio- cesan, but on the Lord's day he may assist in the offering of the Eucharist ; a priest who has been excommunicated, may be again admitted to the communion, but can never recover his degree ; if he come from Britain, he cannot be allowed to officiate without a letter of recommendation ; if he receive another who has been excommunicated, both must suffer the same punishment. The sixth Canon directs the wife of a priest, when abroad, to appear veiled^; in the eighth we trace signs of the ancient combat of the " trial of truth ;" " if a clerk," it enacts, " become surety for a heathen, and be deceived, he shall pay the debt ; if he enter into the lists with him, he shall be put out of the pale of the Church'." The sixteenth lays a penance on those, who fall into any heathen practice, or from a desire to search into future events, have recourse to soothsaying, or the inspection of the entrails of beasts. Another ex- pressly forbids any alms offered by pagans being received into the Church. These canons indicate a certain amount of progress in the Church for which they are designed, and shew that the work of the missionary had begun to take root. This work he still continued ; even in his retirement at Armagh, and Saul, he was still content to spend and be spent in behalf of the Church he had founded and loved so well, and which, though solicited again and again, nothing, not even the ' Spelman's Concilia Orbis Bri- tur, etab ecclesiaseparentur." Spel- tannici, pp. 52, £3, Reeves' Eocle- man, p. 52, Todd's /WsA Church, p. siastical Antiquities, f. I iT, sjaAn. 33. Ware, p. 19. ^ "Quicunijue Clerious...si non ^ " Cleric us si pro gentili homine more Romano capilli ejus tonsi sint, fidei jussor fuerit...si armis compug- et nxcr ^us si non yelato oapite am- naverit cum illo, merito extra ecde- bulaverit, pariter a laicis contemnen- aiam computetur," Spelman, p. 52. 74 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. III. wish to see his relatives, could induce him to leave. In Zd. 46G-465. ^is Confession, written when now advanced in years, and expecting "the time of his departure," he touchingly de- scribes how he had often been requested to revisit his kins- men according to the flesh, but how a sense of the spiritual bond to the flock he had begotten in Christ, ever retained him in Ireland. He wrote this treatise, he declares, for the sake of these his kinsfolk, that they, especially those who had opposed his advancement to the episcopate, might know how the Lord had prospered his work in the land of his captivity; he reviews his labours, and calls God to wit- ness how he had sought the spiritual advancement of his people. And, indeed, making all due allowance for the circumstances of the times, his work had been no trivial one. He and his associates had made for themselves by the labour of their own hands, civilized dwellings amid the tangled forests, and the dreary morass. At a time when clan-feuds and bloodshed were rife and common, and kings rose and fell suddenly from their thrones, and all else was stormy and changeful, they had covered the island with monasteries, where very soon the Scriptures began to be studied, ancient books collected and read, and missionaries were trained for their own country, and, as we shall see, for the rest of Europe. Every monastic establishment was an outpost of civilization amidst the surrounding heathenism ; and to reclaim the tribes from their superstitions, to revise their old laws and usages, was a work in which the Lisli monks engaged, as the one object of their lives. His death. The Apostlc of Ireland lived to a good old age, and the sunset of his life was calm and peaceful. It was whUe he was in retirement at Saul that he was seized with his last illness. Perceiving that his end drew nigh, and de- siring that Armagh should be the resting-place of his re- mains, he set out thither, but was unable to continue the journey. Increasing weakness, and, as it seemed to him, The Church of Ireland and the Mission of St Patrick. 75 the voice of an angel, iDade him return to the Church of his chap. hi. first convert, and there, after a short interval', the patron- ad 460—465. saint of Ireland departed this life, Reaving behind him the visible memorials of a^ noble work nobly done in a Church, which was for a long time the light of the West, being protected by native chiefs^, and superintended by a numerous native clergy. ^ On the vexed question of the date rally received date is March 17> 493' of St Patrick's death, see the argu- ^ On the gradual spread of Chris- luents in Lanigan, I. pp. 355 — 363. tianity among the native chiefs, see He decides for 4.D. 465, the gene- Lanigan, I, 394. CHAPTEE IV. ST COLUJIBA AND THE CONVERSION OF THE PICTS. A.D. 480—597. " Insula Pictorum quaedam monstratur in oris Fluctivago suspensa salo, cognominis Eo, Qua sanctus Domini requiescit carne Columba." CHAP. lY. J^UT " though dead," the Apostle of Ireland still continued A.D. 465-490. to speak in the unremitting energy of his successors. Be- nignus, the next metropolitan of Armagh, who had been in early youth attracted by the winning influence of St Pa- trick, and had been his most constant companion during the entire period of his mission, preached the Gospel in those AUeofirUh parts of the country which his predecessor had not visited'. With a view to the further consolidation of the Church he set the example, which his successors Jarlath, Cormac, and Dubtach studiously followed, of increasing the number of schools and monastic foundations throughout the coun- try ^ Amongst these may be mentioned the schools of Armagh, of Fiech at Sletty, of Mel at Ardagh, of Moctha in Louth, of Olcan at Derkan, of Finnian at Clonard, of Comgall at Bangor, in the county of Down, all which were founded at various periods during the fifth and sixth cen- turies. Nor was provision wanting for such women as wished to give themselves up to a monastic life. Societies were formed, of which that of St Brigid at Kildare was the ^ Lanigan, I. 374. a Lanigan, i. 402, 403, and 464. tichooU. St Columha and the Conversion of the Fiats. 77 most celebrated'. Into these were admitted all who were chap. ir. approved, and they spent such time as was not devoted to a d 480— 52i7 prayer and psalmody, in visiting the sick and relieving the poor. Their clothing was coarse, their food of the sim- plest kind, and each member was bound by vows of celibacy which could not be violated on pain of excommunication. The foundress, sprung of an illustrious family, had fixed her convent at Kildare, or the " Cell of the Oak," at the earnest request of the men of Leinster, and the extraordi- nary veneration in which she was held attracted such a crowd of pilgrims, penitents and beggars to her cell, that a town rapidly rose up, and became the seat of a bishop, who presided over all the churches and communities be- longing to her order, which spread on every side throughout the land. Such establishments were in keeping with the spirit of i"''^ Mission- J^ o i ari/ zeal. the age, and the strictness of the monastic rule had charms not to be resisted. The system which had found ardent votaries in the Roman capital, had peopled the desolate Thebaid, and filled Jerome's cells at Bethlehem with de- voted inmates, found equal favour with the enthusiastic Celts. Many even of the Irish bishops ordained, at this period, in unusual numbers''', undertook the superintendence of a conventual house in addition to their own more peculiar duties. Thus the monastic organization was more extended than the parochial, and the abbot-bishop, who at first gather- ed around him a society, and erected his monastery amidst the woods and morasses, and cultivated the soil with his own hands, saw, before long, towns and cities spring up around his cell or church, and he was fain to undertake the spiritual government of the adjacent district^ And as they 1 Cogitosi Vita S. Sriffid. cap. Antiquities, p. 1-25. XXXV, Colgan's Tr, Th. p. 523. " Todd's History of the Irish ^ Innes' Oivil and Ecclesiastical Church, p. 34. "Most of the an- nistory of Scotland, p. 84, and Ap- cient sees of Ireland appear to have peudix A in Eeeves' Ecclesiastical had a moDastic origin, the founders 78 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. IV. A.D. 521. St Columba. AD. 521. T.rnflnt^s of his ci.ri'/ yiars. Ills Baptism. were the heads of missionary outposts in their own country, they soon originated other centres of civilization, and the charity which began at home reflected its influence all the more abroad. The piety of the Irish monasteries did not stagnate in an unworthy unselfishness, but with a surprising steadfastness they copied the noble example of Ireland's Apostle, and sent forth many an ardent labourer into dis- tant fields now " white unto the harvest." Amongst those who thus went forth, few occupy a more prominent place in missionary annals than the founder of the far-famed monastery of Hy or lona. Columba, or according to his Irish name, Colum, was born at Grartan, among the wildest of the Donegal mountains, in the year A.D. 521. His father Fedhlimidh was one of the clan, which occupied and gave name to the country round Gar- tan, and belonged to the royal families of Ireland and Dal- riada. His mother Eithne was sprung from a Leinster family, which also claimed acquaintance with a powerful provincial chief. Enthusiastic biogi'aphers have related, how before his birth, his mother saw in a vision, a beau- tiful robe placed in her hands by an angel adorned with pictures of flowers of every hue, which after a while he took from her, and sufiered to float in mid air ; and as it floated, it grew more and more, till at length it covered all the mountains and country round, and there came a voice, saying, "Be not sorrowful, woman, for thou shalt have a son who shall be as one of the prophets of God, and is foreordained by God to be the guide of innumerable souls to their heavenly home." At his baptism by the presbyter Cruithnechan, the hoy received the name of " Colum" to which was added after- being either bishops, or presbyters who associated bishops with them in the government of their houses. But in such cases the memory of the founder was revered more as tlie father or first abbot than aa bishop, and hence it was that the term Coworha, which was applied to a snc- ce?sor in the government of the in- stitution, had reference to his abba- tial, not episcopal office." Keeves Eccl, Antiq. p. 136. St Coluniba and the Conversion of the Ftcts. 79 wards " cille" or " of the cliurcli," from his devotion to chap. iv. the " cell" where he first Sojourned^ From Doire-Eithne, \ 521—540 or " the Oak-forest of Eithne," a hamlet in Donegal, he was removed at an earlj age to the famous school of St Finnian of Moville^. Here his diligence won for him the approba- tion of his instructor, and he was promoted to the office of deacon'. Leaving the monastery of Finnian, he repaired to Leinster, and placed himself under an eminent Christian hard named Gemman. We next find him at the famous nis instructors. monastic seminary of Clonard, over which another Finnian presided*. The early years of his new teacher had been spent in Britain, in the society of the Welch saints David, Gildas, and Cadoc''; shortly after his return he established his monastic school at Clonard, which soon acquired an extraordinary celebrity, and was the resort of numbers of ardent students. An old writer, quoted in Colgan's Acta Sanctorum, has described St Finnian " as a scribe most learned to teach the law of God's commandments. He was most merciful and compassionate, and sincerely sympa- thized with the infirmities of the sick, and the sorrows of the afflicted." " In every work of mercy," he continues, " he was most ready with his assistance, and healed with mildness the mental and bodily ills of all who came to him. He exercised towards himself the strictest discipline, to leave others a good example, and abhorred all carnal and mental vices. His ordinary food was bread and herbs, his drink water; but on the festivals of the Church, he ate bread made of corn, and drank a cup of ale, or whey. His bed was not a soft and easy couch, but the bare ground, with a stone for his pillow. In a word, he was full of com- , ^ Dr Eeeves' edition of Adam- tirocinio, et sapientije studius, inte- jis,n' a Life of Oolumha, Pref. p. Ixx. n. gritatem corporis. ..custodiens." Vit. ^ In Down. See Reeves' £cde- Adam. p. 9. siastical Antiquities of Down, Connor, * Vita S. Colunib. n. 25, and and Dromore, p. 151. Keeves' note. 2 "Etapuero Christiano deditus ' Lanigan, I. 464. 80 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. IV. passion towards all other men, but of strictness and severity AD. 521-540. towards himself." iits ordination. With the concurrence of several prelates, the pupil of Finnian was sent to Etchen, an anchorite bishop of Clonfad in Westmeath, to be raised to the episcopal order^ Ac- cording to an old legend, he was ploughing in the field when Columba came to his cell, and, on hearing the name of his visitor, gave him a hearty welcome, and a promise that the purpose of his errand should be granted. But by a mistake, not easy to understand, Etchen fixed on the wrong office, and instead of consecrating him a bishop, admitted him only to the order of the priesthood. He offered, the legend continues, on discovering his mistake, to rectify it, but this Columba declined, believing that it was a provi- dential interposition. rmmih various Whether this was so, or whether the story is only a monasteries. «. n ^ •••ii~lii fiction of a later age, certain it is that Columba never rose higher than the order of the priesthood. After the period of study and contemplation was over, he was desirous him- self of emulating the example of his instructor, and laid the foundations of a monastery, on a hill covered with oaks near Lough-Foyle. The site was given him by one of his rela- tives, a prince of the county, and here rose in process of time the city of Deny. This, however, was only the first of many cells and churches of which he was the founder. The most celebrated next to Deny was that of Dair-magh, or Durrow, in the diocese of Meath, of which Bede has made special mention''. In the foundation of this and his 1 Vita S. Finnian, Colgan's Act. episcopua in necessitate ab uro .SS. p. 397, quoted in Todd's His- episcopo consecratur ; et non est de tory of the Irish Gliurch, p. 31. episcopi essentia, quod a tribus ordi- = Colgan's Tr. yA. p. 397. Lani- netur," quoted in Usslier, Works, \i. gun, II. 126. Todd's Obits of Christ. p. 2 12. Bingham, Book II. ch. x. 6, 7. Vkurcli, p. liv. On consecration by 3 Bede, III. 4. " Fecerat autera .1 single bishop see Eeeves'_ Adam- priasquam Britanniam veniret, mo- iian, p. 349. Johannes Major says nasteriuin nobile in Hibernia, quod of the consecration of Servanus a copia roborum Dearmach lingua by Palladius, "Ex. isto patet quod Seottorum, hoc est. Campus roho- St Columba and the Conversion of the Picts. 81 other cells Columba was diligently employed till the year chap. iv. A.D. 561 , when he left Ireland on his famous mission to ^^^TseT the highlands of Scotland. The precise occasion of his departure is involved In much obscurity. Later writers, whose single object was to extol the virtues of the saint, saw in it only the result of an ardent missionary spirit. But very early Irish traditions refuse to regard it in this light. They represent his withdrawal from his own country as a sort of penance imposed upon him, with his own consent, in consequence of a feud, which led to the battle of Cooldrevny, and which " is mentioned," remarks Dr Reeves', "by Adam- nan in two instances, as a kind of Hegira in the saint's life." According to one tradition, this feud arose out of causes too quaint and characteristic of the times to be en- tirely passed by. It would seem that on one occasion" Columba paid a Lfnmri of si Visit to bt linnian at JJrom iHnn m Ulster, and borrowed his copy of the Psalter °. Anxious to retain a copy of the book, and yet afraid that Finnian would not suffer him if he made the request, he resorted to stratagem to effect his purpose. Every day he repaired to Finnian's church, and remained there till the people had all left, when he sat down and made a hurried transcription of the volume. The circumstance did not escape the notice of Finnian, but he resolved to saj-- nothing about the matter till Columba had concluded his labours, when he sent to him and demanded the book, reminding him that as the original was his, so also was the copy which had been made without his per- mission*. Columba was very indignant, and refused out- rum, cognominatur." Reeves' 4 (f am- the Four Masters, i. 194. nan, lib. m. 15. Lanigan, II. 118. ^ Reeves' Adamnan, p. •249. 1 Beeves' Adamnan, p. 248. Ap- ^ Colgaii'a 7V. U'h. p. 409. "Cau- pendix B. See also Oriijinales Pa- sa utrinque audita Eex, seu partium rochialea Scoticc, Vol. 11. p. 285. rationes male pensans, seu in alteram Innes' Civil and Ecclesiastical His- privato afFectu magis propendens iory of Scotland, p. 149. pro Fin'neno sententiam pronuntiat' '^ O'Curry's Lectures, p. 328. 0'- et sententiam ipse Hil.ernico versu Donovan's Notes on the Annals of abinde in tunc usque diem inter 6 King Diarmaid. 82 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. IV. riglit to comply. After some words, it was agreed to refer ~^_ the dispute to Diarmaid, the king of Ireland. Accordingly the rivals repaired to Tara, and were admitted to an audi- ence with the king. After hearing the case, Diarmaid gave the remarkable judgment which to this day is a proverb in rrcinmaf Ireland: " le aach hoin a boinin," said he, that is, "to every cow belongeth her little cow, or call, and so to every book belongeth its son-book or copy; therefore the book you wrote, Colum, belongs by right to Finnian. " That is an unjust decision, Diarmaid," was Colum's reply, " and I will avenge it on you\" At this very time it so happened that the son of the king's steward and the son of the king of Connaught, who was a hostage of Diarmaid, were playing a game of hurling on the green before the king's palace. A dispute arose between them, in the midst of which the royal hostage struck his antagonist with his hurley, and killed him. Thereupon the young prince fled for sanctuary to Colum, who was still in the king's presence. But the latter ordered him to be dragged away, and he was put to death for having desecrated the precincts of the palace against the ancient law and usage. At this insult Columba was still more in- dignant, and having with difEculty escaped from the court, made his way to the mountains of his native Donegal. Here he was in the midst of relatives and friends, who took up his quarrel, and with the men of Tyrone and the king of Connaught, marched to Cooldrevny, between Sligo and Dromcliff, where a battle was fought, and Diarmaid was discomfited. After a while, however, he succeeded in Hibemos famoso in huno modum known as the Ca^Aac/t, (=" the Book expressit : Le gach hoin a hoinin, o£ Battle,") and was preserved for acus le gach leabhar a leabhran, id ages in the family of O'Donneli : it est, Buculus est matris, libri suus is now in the Museum of the Eoyal esto libellus." O'Curry's Lectures, Irish Academy. Reeves' Adanman, p. 328. Pour Masters, I. 193. p. 249. Annals of the Four Masters, ' The MS. Psalter was returned 1. 193. Sir W. Betham's Antvjyta,- to Columba, and was ever after Han Researches, i. 109. B.iinc of CjulSi-evn. St Columba and the Conversion of the Picts. 83 making peace witli Columba and his friends. But the chap. it. saint's conscience would not forgive him for having been ^ j, 5gi_ the cause of so much bloodshed, and he himself became the subject of ecclesiastical censure. A synod was summoned at Teltown, in Meath, and it was agreed that Columba, as " a man of blood," and the author of so great slaughter, ought to quit his country, and win over from the heathen to Christ as many souls as perished in the battle \ In this sentence, according to the legend, all present concurred ex- cept Brendan of Birr, who protested against it, and Finnian of Moville, the old instructor of Columba, who expressed his veneration for his former pupiP. Whether this account has any substratum of truth, or MaHiaipro- peumicsof is only to be regarded as the legendary creation of a later ■sf coiimwa. age, it is difficult to determine. The monastic biographers of the saint have naturally said little about the matter. Dr Reeves, the learned editor oi Adamnan, admits "the martial propensities " of the great missionary of lona, but he bids us remember the "complexion of the times in which he was born, and the peculiar condition of society in his day, which required even women to enter battle, and justi- fied ecclesiastics in the occasional exercise of warfare." He admits also that " primitive Irish ecclesiastics, and especi- ally the superior class, commonly known as saints, were very impatient of contradiction, and very resentful of in- jury;" and he even thinks it possible that some current stories of the saint's warlike temperament may have sug- gested the somewhat guarded and qualified manner in which Bede speaks of him^, and may have given a tinge 1 "Post hseo in Synodo sanoto- Jleeves' Adamnan, p.^s,!. For no- rum Hibei-ni« gravis querela contra tice of other battles in whicli Co- Sanctum Columbam, tanquam au- lumba is said to have been engarged thorem tarn multi sanguinis effusi, see Ibid. p. 258. instituta est. TJnde communi de- ^ lieeves' Adamnan, Friet.lxxvii. creto censuerunt ipsum debere tot See also O'Donovan's Four Masters, animas, agentilitateconversas, Chris- i. 193 ». to lucrari, quot in isto praelio inter- ^ " Qualiscunque fvsrit ipse, uos ierunt." Colgan's Acta SS. 645. hoc de illo certum tenemus, quia 6—2 84 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. IV. A.D. 563. Pptsontfar Scotland. to some of the legends concerning his personal appearance. " On whichever side the truth lies, certain it is that in the year 563 St Columba, now in his forty-second year, having collected twelve companions', took leave of his country, and in a wicker boat covered with skins made for the western coast of Scotland. It is possible that the provincial king of Kintyre and Argyle may have invited him to his kingdom, for he was allied to him by blood, and it was not a strange country to which he now retired. About sixty years before, a portion of the family of Eire, chief of the Irish Dalriada, had passed over with a considerable body of followers to the nearest part of Argyleshire, where they had settled, and founded the kingdom of British Scotia, or Dabiada^. As yet the colony had not acquired much strength, or pushed its do- minions far beyond its original boundaries, and Bruide, the chief of the Picts, was a prince of considerable power, and could bring a formidable force to engage in the constant wars of which Scotland was at this time the theatre. These wars gave the people but little leisure for agricultural pur- suits, and their chief occupation consisted in pasturing their flocks and herds. Numbering, it has been thought^, scarcely more than twenty thousand, or about half the present popu- lation of Glasgow, they were scattered at distant intervals over the country, the central district of which consisted of one vast forest, called the " Caledonian wood," abound- ing in enormous wild boars and formidable packs of wolves. The rest of the country was bare and mountainous, and reliquit auccessores magna continen- tia ac divino amore regularique insti- tutione insignes." S. E. ill. 4. ^ Their names are given in Dr Reeves' Adavman, pp. 245 and 299, and the Orig. Paroch. Scotia, Vol. II. 285. ^ See the Dean of Lismore's Booh of Ancient Gaelic Poeti^y, p. xxiv. and Orig. Paroch. Scotice, Vol. 11. Parti. " The territory occupied by this settlement consisted of the dis- tricts of Cowall, Kintyre, Knapdale, Argyll-proper, Lorn, and probably part of Morvern with the islands of Isia, lona, AiTan, and the small islands adjacent." ' Cunningham's Scotland, I. 47. See Gibbon, lU. 266. 8t Columba and the Conversion of the Picts. 85 covered to a great extent with impassable fens, through chap. iv. which even the natives could with difificulty force their way. ^.d. 563. For the coast, then, of Argyle St Columba shaped his Amws at iiy. course, and on Pentecost Eve cast anchor in one of the rocky bays of lona', an island about three miles long, and a mile broad, and separated by a narrow strait from the Eoss of MulP. Situated on the confines of thePictish and Scottish kingdoms, and subject in a measure to the chiefs of both, it seemed to afford a convenient basis of missionary operations among both people. The Scots, indeed, were Christians in name, but the Northern Picts were still sunk in paganism, and their conversion became the grand object of the missionary's ambition. His first care, therefore, was to obtain a grant of the Emts a monas- island, and when this was freely conceded by ConalP, the chief of British Dalriada, he proceeded to erect a monastery on the model, doubtless, of that which had already been raised by his hands under the oaks of Derry. It was of the simplest character, consisting of a number of small wattle-built huts, surrounding a green court. It included, as we gather from incidental notices m Adamnan, a chape], a dwelling-house for the abbot and his monks, another for the entertainment of strangers, a refectory, and kitchen, and outside the trench a rampart*, a byre for the cows, a barn and storehouse for the grain, and other outbuildings. All these were constructed of timber or wattles. Over this little establishment Columba presided. He was the abbot^, the " father" of the society, and his autho- rity extended to all such similar societies as he either had 1 OHginesParochialesScoticB, Vol. the monastic vallum (called a cashel) II. p. 285. of St Cuthbert's little monastery in ^ See the Topographia Hyensis in Fame. See also Vita S. Cuthberfi, Reeves' Adamnan, p. 413. cap. 17. f* I '^ Innes' Civil and Ecclesiastical ^ Abbot, ahbas, or pater, or sane- History, p. 151. Orig. Paroch. 11. tua pater, or sanctus senior, and in 299. the founder's case patronus. Adam- * Bede, H. E. iv. 28, describes ru A.D. 563—574. Jiulc. 86 The Missionary/ History of the Middle Ages. chap.it. founded in Ireland, or might found in the country of his "adoption. In ecclesiastical rank he was a presbyter, he ofificiated at the altar in the little chapel, and pronounced the benediction, but did not usurp the functions of a bishop'. The rest of the community were his "family," his "chil- dren;" at first, as we have seen, they were twelve in num- ber, and his companions from Ireland, but before long they received numerous accessions, and included Britons and Saxons. Living together under a common rule, they were to cultivate the virtues of obedience, humility, and chastity, to regard one another as fellow-soldiers of Jesus Christ, and their life as a continual warfare in Christ's cause^. TheCoiumUan Their Rulc" required of them that morning and evening they should repair to the oratory, and join in the sacred services. Every Wednesday and Friday, except in the interval between Easter and Whitsunday was a fast-day, and no food was taken till the nona, except on the occa- sion of the arrival of a stranger, when the rule was relaxed that they might indulge their national hospitality. The intei-vals of devotion were employed in reading, writing, and labour. Diligence was inculcated by the exhortations and life of the founder, of whom his biographer says that he allowed no hour to pass during which he was not engaged in prayer, or reading, or writing, or some other employment. "Reading" included chiefly the study of Holy Scripture, especially the Psalter, which was diligently 1 "Qui non episcopus, sed pres- tenance of the Church." Keeves' hyter exstitit et monachus." Bede, Adamnan, p. 341. H. E. III. 4. "But there were at all " Reeves, p. 339. Conventual life times bishops connected with the so- was with tliem a "militia Christi," ciety resident at Hy or some depend- they themselves were ChHstijnilUes; ent church, who were subject to the each one professed his willingness to abbot's jurisdiction, and were assign- enter the world only as an athleta ed their stations, or called in to or- CArisi?' in the propagation of the Go- dain, very much as the bishops of spel. Bede, III. 3. the Unitas Fratrwm of the present ' St Columba's rule is published day, being looked upon as essential to by Dr Reeves in Colton'.s Yisitaiion thep7'o^a^a(tow rather than the main- of Deri'y^ p. 109. St Columha and the Conversion of the Picts. 87 committed to memory; and besides this, that of books in chap. iv. the Greeic and Latin languages', and the lives of some of ^^j, 503—574 the saints. Writing was the subject of especial attention. St Columba was distinguished for his devotion to this occu- pation, and the Books of Kells and Durrow are wonderful specimens of the perfection which his followers acquired in the arts of transcribing and illuminating service-books and manuscripts. Active labour was also required of every member of the little community ; he learnt' to till the ground, to sow the corn, to store the grain, to milk the cows, to guide the skiff or coracle on the stormy sea. In each and all these employments the abbot set an pemmiaiap- eminent example to the society which he had formed on caiumbl °^ " the sea-girt isle. He had many natural gifts which fitted him for his arduous work. Tall of stature, of a vigorous and athletic frame, of a ruddy and joyous countenance, which, as Adamnan has it, made all who saw him glad, he attracted the hearts of all. He was celebrated also for the powers of his voice, which could be heard, according to his biographer, at an amazing distance^, and for a prac- tical turn, which enabled him to render aid when required ^ "Of Classical MSS. belonging tlie ecclesiastical learning of the day." to the Irish school, it wiU suffice," Beeves' Adamnan, p. 353. As to says Dr Reeves, " to mention two ; writing, Giraldus Cambrensis says the one of Horace, Codex Bernensis of the Book of Kells, "Hsec equidem N. 363, 4to, sffic. viii. exeuntis, vel quanto frequentius et diligentius in- ix. ineuntis, Scottice scriptus: anti- tueor, semper quasi novis obatupeo quissimus omnium quotquot adhuc eemperque magis ac magis admiranda innotuerunt, et ordine carminum a conspicio." Topog. Hibemice, II. c. 38. reliquis mire discrepans." Orellius, ^ "Aliquando per quatuor stadia, Horatii 0pp. Prsf. The other is hoc est quingentos passus, aliquando Priscian : "Grammatica Prisciani vero per octo, hoc est, mille passus, Scottici scripta. Codex eximius ordi- incomparabili elevata modo audie- nateque soriptus, qui ob notas inter- batur." Vita S. Oolumbce, I. 37. lineares et marginales idiomate et In this respect the abbot was not un- characteribus Scotticis in Europ^ like the celebrated Edward Irving, sine dubio celebre nomen obtinebit." of whom it is similarly said that "his Zeuss, Gram. Celt. Prsef. p. xix. voice could be heard half a mile off, "Adamnan's two remaining Latin and his sentences could be followed works give proofs of his classical at- atthedistanoeof aquarterof amile." tainments, and Cummian'.s Paschal See Mrs Oliphaut's Life of Edward Epistle ifi a remarkable specimen of Irving. 88 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. IV. in any emergency. He could bale the boat, grindthe com 563-574. ^"^ ^^® quern or liandmill, administer medicine to the sick, and superintend the labours of the farm. When we add to this, that he was of a princely family, Success of the we ccasc to wouder at the influence he rapidly gained over Conall and the other Dalriadic chiefs. Having laid the foundations of his monastic establishment, he set out for the mainland, and sought an interview with the Pictish chief. The latter lived at this time not far from the river Ness, at a spot now identified with Craig Phadrick, about two miles south-west of Inverness^. Like the pagan master of the Apostle of Ireland, Bruide was exceedingly loath to encounter the missionary, and closed his gates against him. But Columba and his companions Comgall and Cainnech made their way to the king's residence, a humble log-hut, in all probability, with a rampart of uncemented stones; and the sign of the cross had no sooner been made by Columba than, according to his biographer^, the gate flew open of its own accord, and admitted the missionary into the presence of the king. Alarmed at this unexpected oc- currence, the Pictish chief received his visitor with due reverence, and in spite of all the influence of the Druids to put down the new comer, he agreed to befriend him and aid him in his work, by uniting with Conall in consenting that the island of Hy should be made over to Columba and his companions as the site of a monastic institution, whence his missionary operations might be securely carried forward. 1 Eeeves' Adamnan, p. 151 n. duced it, with Christianity, among "Venit (S. Columba) Britanniam the Cruinthne ; where, however, the regnante Pictis Bridio filio Meilo- native dialect must have received chon, rege potentissimo, none anno some cultivation, as we find that he regni hujus." Bede, H. B. in. 4. was opposed by Magi, which implies 2 Adamnan, 11. 35. "The Irish a literary class among the Pagan written language was brought over Cruintline." Dean of Lismore'sBook, to Scotland in the sixth century by p. xxvi. Columba and his clergy, who intro- 8t Columba and the Conversion of the Picts. 89 Thus successful, Columba returned to the island, and chap. iv. the monastic buildings rose in security, and continued to ^^ 663-574. be his head-quarters for a space of thirty-four years. No spot could be more suited than the island for his missionary tours; from it he could easily either make his way himself to the mainland, or direct the numerous bands of labourers who left their wattled cells to preach the word amongst the fastnesses of Pictland\ It is to be wished that his biographer Adamnan had convmim o/ described these tours with greater precision, and had been at more pains to describe the actual missionary work of the saint, than to record the numerous miracles which have been ascribed to him. From the hints, however, scattered up and down his work we gather that Columba frequently visited the institutions he had founded North of the Gram- pians^, that aided by devoted followers he preached the word wherever he could find an ear to listen, erected the humble chm-ch, left one or more of his own band to carry on the work, and so passed on sowing the seed'. But not content witli penetrating Scotland from sea to sea, he and his com- panions courted new dangers and yet greater hardships. Committing themselves to their boats of skin, they braved the Northern Seas, and carried the Cross into the distant Hebrides and Orkney isles. A monastery was founded at Hymba*, over which Columba placed his maternal uncle Ernan; another in Ethica^; a third arose at Elena, or Elach- nave, "the holy island;" at Skye also he spent some time, ^ Thus Macharius or Mochonna points to a diversity of Gaelic and was sent by Columba with twelve Pictish : on other occasions, ii. 14, companions to the Picts. "Plurima 33, 34, he needed no such assistance, exinde monasteria per discipulos ejus ^ JHymha. See Reeves' notes on (sc. Columbse) et in Britannia et in Adamnan, I. 45, 11. 24, in. 5, 17. Hibernia propagata sunt." Bede, One of his chief monasteries among S. E. III. 4. thePictswasatAbernethyin Strath- ^ See Oi-ig. Paroch. Scotia, 11. 286. erne. Innes' Civil and Eccl. His- ' Sometimes we read of his preach- tory, 189. ing the word^c?" interpretatorem, as ^ Ethica, Lanigan, 11. 168. Adam- in Adamnan, 1. 33, 11. 33, which nan, 1. 19, n. 18. 90 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. IV. and erected a monastery and a churcli, and memorials of A,D. 563-574. l^is visits Still remain in the bay of Locli Columkille, and the isle called Eilean ColumkilU^. Wherever his disciples went, they carried the fame of their great teacher, and, like bees from a hive, spread forth far and wide, opening up everywhere a fresh centre of missionary enterprise and of civilization amidst the surrounding heathenism. Nor while labouring on the Scottish mainland and amongst the many Western Isles, the " Polynesia" of the missions of that day, did the abbot forget the communities he had established amongst the oaks of Derry and Durrough. His thoughtful anxieties were often occupied with the welfare of the sister churches, and visitors frequently crossed over to lona, and while there entertained with peculiar hospi- tality, discussed with the saint the affairs of the chm'ches, and received from him advice and instruction. A proof of the ascendancy he had gained over the chiefs was afforded on the death of Conall the Dalriadian king, in A.D. 574. the year A.D. 574. He was succeeded by his cousin Aidan, jjru.im-dau. and the new king selected Columba to perform the cere- mony of inauguration, which took place in the monastery A.D. 575. of lona^. In the following year, he accompanied the newly- elected chief to the Council of Druimceatt in Ireland. Two important points were here to be discussed. The first concerned a dispute between Aidan and the sovereign of Ireland respecting the right of possession to the territory of Dal-aradia, or portions of the county of Antrim. Aidan claimed the territory as an hereditary right, on the ground of his descent from Caibre Riada. The Irish monarch as- serted his authority over the whole island, and resented the '^ See Reeves' Adamnan, p. 139. sima omnium, quas inter legendum Oriff. Paroch. Vol. il. 354. mihi reperire liouit, ea est quae a 2 Adamnan, iii. 5. Martene Columba abbate Hyensi facta est treating "de solemni Eegum bene- ju3su angeli in Aidamim Sootorum dictione," has the following obser- regem." De AiUiq. Eccl. RiliJ>.ll.io. vation on this incident; "Antiquis- jS'^ Columha and the Conversion of the Fids. 91 idea that a foreign prince should enjoy sovereignty in any chap. it. part of his dominions. The second cause of discussion ^ ^ g^g arose from the overgrown power and degeneracy of the bardic order. How influential this order was we have already seen. The people never tired of listening to -their praises of the national valour, or the heroic deeds of some national hero. And the bardic order, strong in their own Ji'cvM'm.j ' o reajiych nil the numbers and the popular affection, did not scruple to de- '""•'*'■<•■ '""'^''■• fame and lampoon all that gave them any cause of annoy- ance, or failed to seek their goodwill by costly presents. The consequence was, that many of the influential chiefs, stung by their satirical verses, clamoured for the suppres- sion of the order, and their banishment from the kingdom. Both these points were, therefore, referred for settlement to the Council of Druimceatt. And first the matter in dis- pute between the two kings was submitted for arbitration to Columba, who declined to give an opinion himself, and referred the assembled chiefs to Colman, an ecclesiastic famed for his legal knowledge. He gave his decision in favour of the Irish monarch, and asserted his right to exact tribute from the Dalriadic province. This, settled to the satisfaction of all, the question of suppressing the bardic order was submitted to the council. And here the great influence of Columba was used in mediating between the exasperated chiefs and the offending bards. ISIot only fond of poetry, but a poet himself, he ventured to intercede in their behalf, and pointed out the difficulty of exterminating an order so strongly supported by national feeling. He proposed instead that their number should be lessened, and that they should be placed under strict restraints, and so for the future controlled. After some dispute this pro- posal was carried, and the bardic order was preserved. When the council had broken up, Columba repaired to the monasteries he had founded before his departure foi' Scotland. His stay appears to have extended over a con^ 92 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. IV. A.D. 580. St Cottimba's later years. siderable period, which, he employed in inquiring into the "" welfare of the various religious houses, and arranging mat- ters of discipline and ritual. After the year 580, when the saint became involved in a dispute with St Comgall of Bangor about jurisdiction, and which resulted in the battle of Coleraine between their respective kinsmen, the details of his life are involved in considerable obscurity. It seems probable that he returned to Hy, but revisited Ireland at some period subsequent to the year 585 ; this last voyage back to his island-home was not unattended with danger. His boat was caught in the eddies of " Brecau's Cauldron," off the coast of Antrim, and he was near meeting the fate of the grandson of Niall of the Nine Hostages, who gave his name to this "gulp of the sea," as the natives called it. Safe once more in Hy, he busied himself with super- intending the labours of his monastic brethren till the year 593, when a sudden .sickness, or, as his biographer states, a heavenly mission, warned him that his life was drawing to a close. Four years more, however, were allowed him, and were devoted to reading, study, and prayer. At length the day came when he must quit his little band of labom-ers for ever. For some time he had had presentiments of its approach, and had conversed on the subject with one of his most intimate friends amongst the brethren, and now he looked forward to his speedy release with the conscious- ness of one who felt that he had " finished his course," and " kept the faith," and might look humbly for his crown. One Saturday he had gone with one of the brethren to the barn where the corn had been stored, and thanked God that He had provided for the wants of the brotherhood, and that for this year at least there would be no lack of food, though he himself would not share it with them'. Then, perceiving the sorrow of his companion, he con- tinued, " This day is in the sacred Scriptures called 8ah- ^ Adamnan, in. 23. St Columba and the Conversion of the Picts. 93 latum, or Rest. And truly -will it be a day of Rest to chap. it. me, for this day I shall bid farewell to the toils of my life, ^^^~^_ and enter into the rest of heaven. For now my Lord Jesus Christ deigns to invite me, and to Him shall I at midnight depart." Together the two then ascended a little hill, ffisifea(*. ■which stood above the monastery, and there lifting up both his hands to heaven, the saint bestowed upon it his last blessing. Descending, they entered the little wattled hut, and the saint began to transcribe the thirty-fom-th Psalm'; but on coming to the words in the eleventh verse, " They who seek the Lord shall want no manner of thing that is good" he remarked that he had come to the end of a page, and to a place where he might well stop. " The next words," said he, ' Gome, ye children, hearken unto me,' belong rather to my successor than to me." Then, rising, he went to vespers, and when they were ended, returned to his cell, and sent his last exhortation by his friend to his disciples, urging them to mutual love and good will, and expressing his hope of meeting them hereafter. The night wore on, and on the turn of midnight, as the bell rang for matins, he rose and went to the chapel, and knelt down before the altar in prayer. The lights had not as yet been brought in, but he was supported by his faithful disciple till the rest of the brethren entered, who no sooner saw what was rapidly drawing nigh, than they set up a bitter cry, and bm-st forth into lamentation. But Columba looked upon them with cheerfulness, and tried to raise his right hand, as if to bless them. His voice failing, he could only make the accustomed sign, and with his hand lifted up in blessing, he breathed his last, on the morning of ^ The thirty-tliird in the Tulgate. s'!e Lanigan, E. S. Ii. ?-47, n. 225. Ps. xxxiii. 10, or xxxiv. 11. In Similarly, in the same chapter, A- Adamnan, it is cited thus, "Inqui- damnan cites Prov. xv. 13, thus, rentes autem Dominum non deficient " Corde Icetante mdius Jloretf^' which in omui bono." On Adamnan's use of the Vulgate runs "Cor the Anti-Hieronymian Latin text, kilarat facieni." tit Columha and the Conversion of the Picts. 95 Christianity in Saxon England and Roman Germany, chap. it. quickening the flame of Christian civilization in North- ^^ ^T^ ern France, and reproducing the monasteries of Hy and Lindisfarne at Luxeuil and Bobhio; we shall see them welcomed in the palace of Charlemagne, and we shall come upon their track even in the distant and ungenial Iceland. Thus when Koman civilization had sunk in an abyss of decrepitude, and while as yet the great Teutonic ' movement was in its infancy, the Providence of Him who is with His Church "even unto the end of the world," raised up men to fill up the gap and to hand on the torch of truth. CHAPTEE V. MISSION OP ST AUGUSTINE TO ENGLAND. A.D. 596—607. " Pervenit ad DOS Anglorum gentem ad fidem Christianam, Deo mise- rante, desiderantes velle eonverti, sed aacerdotes e vicinio negligere, et desi- deria eorum cessare sua adhorfcatione suocendere." — Gkeqoeii MAGlfl Epist. CHAP. V. A.B. 580. Jmlo-Saxon mission. While the Celtic Church in Ireland and Scotland was thus consolidating her conquests at home, and preparing for her missionary labours on the continent, efforts were made in a very different quarter to reclaim to Christianity and civilization the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England. About twenty years before the death of the great abbot of lona, a well-known incident had taken place in the forum of Kome. We need not repeat a tale familiar to every child. Who has not heard of the fair-haired York- shire boys exposed there for sale by the Jewish slave-mer- chant, and. of the large-hearted monk of the monastery of St Andrew on the Cajlian Hill, who, as he passed by, asked their name and country ? It was a casual meeting, indeed, but the sight of those children led to events fraught with important consequences to their remote and barbarous home. Barbarous, in truth, it was at this period. Thick darkness had again settled over the island which *the arms of Cajsar had revealed to his countrymen, and England seemed again to have become a savage nation, shut out from the rest of the world. The traces, indeed, of the Eoman conqueror still remained in the great works, the Mission of St Augustine to England. 97 roads, the "bridges, the towns, the baths, the temples, which chap. y. ever marked the advance of the Iron kingdom ; and in the ^^ ggY_ hill-countries of Wales and Cornwall, and the highlands of Scotland, still lingered the disciples of that e^rly British Church whose origin has been variously ascribed to St Peter or St Paul, to St James or Simon Zelotes, to Aristo- bulus or Joseph of Arimathffia. Hither as to a last resting-place they had fled from the Tiiesaxon in- Teutonic invader, who had come from the dark forests of Northern Germany and the shores of the Baltic, where the sound of the Gospel had never yet been heard. Slowly and surely he had made his way; and amidst the long years of implacable hostility between the conquering and the conquered races, it is not surprising that present suf- fering and perhaps the antipathies of race deterred the British Christian from enlightening the paganism of his invader. This work was reserved for the monk of St Andrew, Gngonj the whom we have just now mentioned. He had conceived the idea of undertaking it in person, and had actually accomplished three days' journey towards this distant land, when he was overtaken by the messengers, whom a furious mob had compelled the Pontiff to send and recall him to their city. From that day he was not suffered to return to his monastery. His energy and knowledge of human nature had marked him out as no ordinary man. En- trusted with a political mission to Constantinople, he learnt to reconcile Emperors, and disputed with Eutychius, Bishop of Constantinople. Abbot, ambassador, controversialist, he returned to 'Rome to be raised by the voice of an enthusi- astic people, in a season of pestilence and famine, to the ^'p- ^■ . . A.D. 590. Pontifical chair'. But he had never forgotten that moving sight in the Eoman slave-market, or the country of those fair-haired 1 MUman's Latin Christianity, I. 438. Ed. i. 7 98 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. V. boys; and five years after his elevation to the Pope- ^ „ 595 dom he found an opportunity of carrying out his de- signs. Mm-rianeof- In the year 568 Ethelbert, a prince of the bouse of the JilMhert and •' '■ litrtha. (Escings, succeeded to the kingdom of Kent, and before long took up a high position among the princes of the island. The proximity of Kent to the continent had been favourable to the maintenance of the old connection be- tween Britain and Gaul; and about the year 570 Ethelbert married a Christian princess, Bertha, daughter of Chari- bert, king of Paris. It had been agreed, as a condition of the marriage, that the queen should be allowed to enjoy the free exercise of her religion, and she had been attended to the Kentish court by a French bishop, named Luidhard. It is a proof of Ethelbert's tolerant spirit that he allowed her chaplain to celebrate the worship of the Christian's God in the little church of St Martin, a relic of Roman- British times, outside the walls of Canterbury; and it is only probable that Bertha, who must often have heard what a Clotilda had been able to effect with a Eemigius by her side, should have endeavoured, during a union of twenty years, to influence her husband even more strongly in favour of the Gospel. When such were the feelings of the court, it is not surprising that many of the people of Kent, whose own heathen hierarchy had sunk into insigni- ficance, would be anxious to receive some instruction in the religion of their queen. That they made application to the Prankish bishops for missionaries, is a fact we learn from Gregory's letters', and it was, probably, intelligence of this, which determined him in the year 596 to make another attempt to carry out the work which he had been prevented executing in person. ' See Greg. Epp. vi. 58. " Per- dotes e Ticinio negligere, et desideria venit ad nos Anglorum gentem ad eorum cessare sua adhortatione sue- fidem Christianam Deo miseraute cendere." Lappenberg, 1. 131. Kem- desideranter telle converti, sed saoer- ble's Saxont in England, n. 356. Mission of St Augustine to England, 99 Accordingly lie wrote to the presbyter Candidus \ ad- chap. v. ministrator of the patrimony of St Peter in Gaul, directing ^^ ggg him to buy up English youths of seventeen or twenty years Later to can- of age, that they might be trained in different monasteries and become missionaries in their native land ; and in the following year he sent forth a band of forty monks from his own monastery on the Caalian hill, headed by their Prior Augustine, to commence a direct mission in Eng- land. In the summer, therefore, of 596, Augustine and his Mission of au- companions set out, and crossing the Gallic Alps, reached the neighbourhood of Aix in Provence. Here, like John Mark, when confronted with the " perils of robbers " and "perils of rivers" in the interior of Asia Minor, the little band began to repent of their enterprise, and to sigh for the security of their cells on the Cajlian hill. The accounts they received of the savage character of the Saxons filled them with alarm, and they prevailed on Augustine, who had been already marked out as the bishop of the future English Church, to return to Eome, and obtain for himself and his companions a release from their arduous task^. But Augustine had to deal with a man who lived up to the stern rule of the Benedictine order, who had learnt to crush all human weakness, and to recognise no call but that of duty. He was forthwith sent back with the often- quoted letter to " the timid servants of the Lord," wherein they were urged to accomplish what by God's help they had undertaken, to suffer neither the toils of the journey nor the tongues of evil-speaking men to deter them, but to remember that the more arduous the labour, the greater would be the eternal reward. Thus urged by an authority they could not resist, zandimtofthe Missionarisi, 1 See Greg. Epp. VI. 7- Lin- gustinum, quern eia episcopum ordi- gard's Anglo-Saxon Church, i. 2i. nandum si ah Anglis susdperentur 'Bade, 1.23. "Nee mora, Au- dispoBuerat, domum remittunt." ' 7—2 A.D. 597. 100 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. V. after the lapse of a year, the missionaries slowly bent their " steps from Aix to Aries, from Aries to Vienne, thence to Tours, and so through Anjou to the sea-coast. Then, having provided themselves with interpreters from amongst the Franks, they set sail and landed at Ebbe's Fleet, in the Isle of Thanet. Once safe on what was then a real island, they sent messengers to Etlielbert to announce that they had come from Rome, that they were the bearers of joyful tidings, and could promise him glory in heaven, and a never-ending kingdom with the living and true God. covdyctof The king, as we have seen, must often have heard of Ethelbert. . ... the doctrines of Christianity from his queen and her chap- lain\ and his predisposition towards the new religion had, in some measure, induced Gregory to send the missionaries who had just landed. But he still hesitated; and with characteristic caution, while he announced his readiness to receive them, he begged they would for the present remain on the other side of the Stour, and would abstain from entering Canterbury, and stipulated further that their first interview should not take place under a roof, but in the open air, for fear of the magical arts, the charms and spells he fancied they might exercise upon him. cm/ercnce Mfft Accordingly the Saxon king repaired to the island, and there under an ancient oak awaited the coming of the strange preacher from the famous city of the West. To make a deeper impression on the monarch's mind, Augus- tine, following probably the example of his master, Gregory, advanced in solemn procession, preceded by a verger carry- ing a silver cross; then followed one bearing aloft on a board, painted and gilded, a representation of the Saviour. Then came the rest of the brethren, and the choir headed by Laurence and the deacon Peter, who chanted a solemn Litany for their own, as also for the eternal welfare of the people amongst whom they had come. Arrived in the 1 From Pagi, in Baron. X. 619, we gather that Luidhard was now dead. Mission of 8t Augustine to England. 101 king's presence, the latter bade them seat themselves on chap. v. the ground 1; he himself could not understand Latin, and ^^^97 Augustine could not speak Anglo-Saxon; so the Frankish priests interpreted, while the missionary explained the meaning of the picture which was borne aloft, and told the king how the merciful One there depicted had left His throne in heaven, died for the sins of a guilty world, and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers. Ethelbert listened attentively, and then, in a manner at iiisrepiij. once politic and courteous, replied that the promises of the strangers were fair, but the tidings they announced new and full of a meaning he did not understand. Pie promised them kindness and hospitality, and liberty to celebrate their services, and undertook that none of his subjects, who might be so disposed, should be prohibited from espousing their religion. Thus successful beyond their most sanguine expectations, Augustine and his com- panions again formed a procession, and crossing the ferry to Richborough, advanced to the rude wooden city of Can- terbury, then "embosomed in thickets," chanting as they went along one of the solemn Litanies which they had learnt from Gregory, and took up their abode in the " Stable-gate^," till the king should finally make up his mind. It is a natural wish that further details had come down PreacMngof to us of this memorable interview, and of the way in which the missionary preached "the word of Life" to the royal worshipper of Odin and Thor". If we may believe a tradition recorded by ^Ifric, and expanded by Grocelin, Augustine, taking his text from the picture that was borne aloft, proclaimed " The One true God by whom are all ^ " Residentibus eia jussu regis, Smith'snoteinBede, i. 25. Stanley's Augustinus primus ore intonat evan- Memorials of Canterbury, p. 29. gelioo." Gooelin. Migne, i'a*/. ia*. ' " Verbumei Vitae praedicarent" VII. 61. is the very general expression of ^ "In ea urbis parte quse Stable- Bede. Bede, I. 2j. gate dicta est, ut W. Thorn tradit," CHAP. V. A.D, 597. Baptism of Jithelbert. Baptism of the peoptc. 102 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. things, and the Almighty Son of the Father, who so loved his creatures that, -without ceasing to be God, He stooped to become man, and by his death had given to men the power to become the sons of God." He told them next of such events in His wondrous life on earth as were likely to impress his hearers, how at His birth a star appeared in the East, how He walked upon the sea, how at Hig death the sun withdrew his shining, how at His Eesur- rection the earth trembled and the rocks were rent. How having been looked for as the Great Deliverer from the beginning of the world, and having sealed His mission as Divine, He ascended up on high, and was now worshipped by all the world as the One Saviour of mankind^. Whatever was the precise form in which the message of the Gospel was proclaimed to the king, it was not belied by the lives of the missionaries. They gave themselves up, Bede tells us, to prayer and fasting; re- commended the word by their own self-devotion and pure and chaste living. This won for them greater ac- ceptance, and they were now allowed to worship with the queen in the church of St Martin, and devoted them- selves to the work with renewed zeal. At last the king avowed himself a Christian, and to the great joy, we cannot doubt, of Bertha, was baptized, in all probability at St Martin's church'', on the 2nd of June, being the Feast of Whitsunday, in the year A.D. 597. The conversion of a king was, as we have already, and as we shall see again and again, in these days the signal for the baptism of the nation also. Accordingly, at the next assembly of the Witan' the matter was formally referred to the authorities of the kingdom, and they de- cided in favour of the missionaries. In a letter of Gregory* ^ Tita S. Augmtini, Migne, Pa- trologia, Sseo. vir. 6i. 2 Stanley, p. 21, and note. ' Kemble'a Samns in England, 11. 205. * Epp. Lib. Tin. 30. Ed. Ben. JafK'a Jkgest. Pont. Horn. p. 12$. Mission of St Augustine to England. 103 to the distant patriarch of Alexandria, we are told that on chap. t. the 25th of December upwards of ten thousand of the ~^^~^~ people followed the example of their king, and in the waters of the Swale, as we learn from other sources, sealed their acceptance of the new faith'. Meanwhile Augustine had repaired to Gaul, and, ac- cording to the plans of Gregory, received consecration to the episcopal office at the hands of the Archbishop of Aries. On his return he took up his abode in the wooden palace of the king, who retired to Keculver, and this, with an old British" or Roman church hard by, became the nucleus of his Cathedral. Now also Laurence and Peter were entrusted with the task of returning to Gregory with an account of the success of their mission. They were to recount to him how the country of the fair-haired slaves he had pitied in the Forum had received the faith, how Augustine himself had been raised to the episcopate, and they were to beg for answers to certain important questions respecting the conduct of the mission, which caused the new bishop no little anxiety'. They were principally concerned with the ^^o,"" '" establishment of the revenues of the Church of Canterbury, the provision for the married clergy, and the introduction of rites and ceremonies ; advice was also requested as to the punishment which ought to be meted out to robbers of churches, within what degrees marriage might be con- tracted; whether in case of distance a bishop might be consecrated by a single one of the same order ; and other ' Stanley's Memorials of Oanter- accounted for. Pearson's Early and lury, p. ■22 n, "The legend repre- Middle Ages of England, p. 6in. sents the crowd as miraculously de- ^ Shrouded in a grove of oaks, livered from drowning, and the bap- Ethelbert had converted it into a tism as performed by two and two temple in which to worship his Saxon upon each other, at the command, gods. This Augustine did not de- though not by the act, of Augustine." stroy, but dedicated it to St Pancras, If the Anglo-Saxons in the Kentish thus recalling the monastery on the kingdom had intermarried with their Cailian hill. Stanley, p. ii.. Pauh'a British subjects the suddenness of the Pictures of Old England, p. 1 1 . change of religion would be partially ' Bede, I. 27. 104 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. V. points respecting ceremonial pollution which It is not ^ „ ggi necessary to specify. tiregan/s reply. The messcngcrs went their way, and executed their commission. After the lapse of four years, Gregory replied at length to the questions which Augustine had submitted to him'. As to the revenues of the Church, he directed that, according to the Roman custom, they should be di- Tided Into four portions, one of which was to be assigned to the bishop and his household for the purpose of hospi- tality; another to the clergy; another to the poor; the remainder to the maintenance of the church fabric. But Augustine having been trained in the monastic rule, must live in the society of his clergy, and imitate the custom of the members of the early Church, who called nothing their own, and had everything In common. Clerks not In orders might marry if they were so disposed, and could claim to be maintained. As to the crime of sacrilege, the motive ought to be made the subject of diligent Inquiry ; if poverty dic- tated the crime, the culprit might be let off with a light punishment. If It was done from a worse motive, a heavier penalty must be awarded, but care should be taken that In no case the Church made a profit by the fines Imposed. As to the differences between the Eoman and Gallic liturgies, Augustine was directed, with a moderation beyond that of . the age, to select from either, whatever appeared to him "pious, religious, and right," to collect It into a volume, and establish It as the liturgy of the Anglo-Saxon Church, ever remembering as a guiding principle " that things are not to be loved on account of places, but places on account of good thIngs^" Marriage with a step-mother could not possibly be allowed, it was distinctly forbidden in Holy Writ, and experience shewed the inexpediency of man-Iages with first and second cousins. As to the line of conduct ^ Bede, i. 27. sed pro bonis rebus loca amanda ''Ibid. "Non enim pro locia res, sunt." MaskeWs Anc. Liturg.Mn. Mission of St Augustine to England. 105 the missionary should assume towards the Gallic and Bri- chap. v. tish bishops, he was told that it was no part of his duty to j^„ goi_ interfere with the former, or to rebuke and judge, but, " as a man passing through his neighbour's cornfield, though he might not put in the sickle, yet might pluck and eat a few ears," so if occasion required, Augustine might ven- ture to use the language of gentle admonition. As to the British bishops, they were all entrusted to his brotherly care, " that the unlearned might be instructed, the weak strengthened by persuasion, the perverse corrected by au- thority." With the bearer of these directions there came over Arrimt of/resh missionaries. fresh labourers as a reinforcement to the mission, amongst these were Mellitus, Justus, and Paulinus. They brought ecclesiastical vestments, sacred vessels, some relics of apostles and martyrs, a present of books, including a Bible in two volumes, two Psalters, two copies of the Gospels, expositions of certain Epistles, and some apocryphal lives of apostles and martyrs. They also brought with them the pall of a metropolitan for Augustine himself, which made him independent of the bishops of France, and with it a letter explaining the course which the archbishop was to take in developing his work. London was to be his metropolitan see, and he was to consecrate twelve bishops under him, and whenever Christianity had ex- tended to York, he was to place there also a metropolitan with a like number of suffragans. These instructions for the spiritual conquest of the country were further supple- mented by directions respecting the way in which he was to deal with the monuments of heathenism. Gregory had written to Ethelbert, requesting him to destroy the heathen temples in his dominions. But he was not satisfied as to the expediency of such a course, and now, after much consideration, wrote to Augustine, directing him not to destroy the temples, but only the idols that were 106 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. T. therein; as to the structures themselves, if well built, they j^^ ggj were to be purified with holy water and converted into Christian churches, and hallowed by the presence of re- lics. The heathen festivals might in a similar way, instead of being rudely abolished, be devoted to Christianity and the celebration of the birthdays of the Saints '. covfa-ence with The course he was to pursue being thus defined, Au- Christians. (justme was enabled to take further steps for the consolida- A.D. 603. *^ • • 1 T> • • 1 tion of the mission. His first step was to invite the isritish clergy to a conference at a spot called after him, " Augus- tine's oakl" Prepared to make considerable concessions, he yet felt that three points did not admit of being sacri- ficed; he proposed that the British Church should conform to the Roman usage in the celebration of Easter, and the rite of baptism^, and that they should aid him in evange- lizing the Saxons. To settle the point, he proposed that the divine judgment should be appealed to; a blind Saxon was introduced, whom the British Christians were unable to cure; Augustine supplicated the divine aid, which was, we are told, vouchsafed. Convinced, but unwilling to give up their old customs, the vanquished party proposed another meeting. Seven bishops assembled on this occa- sion, together with Dinoth, abbot of the monastery of Ban- gor Is-y-Coed, in Flintshire. Before the synod met, they proposed to ask the advice of an aged hermit, whether they ought to concede the traditions of their fathers. " If he be a man of God, follow him," was the oracular reply. "How are we to ascertain this?" they asked. " The Lord saith," was the old man's answer, " ' Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly :' now if Augustine 1 Bede, i. 29. The subject is re- ' Either (i) completing it by ad- viewed at greater length in a subse- ministering the rite of confirmation quent chapter. (Lingard, A. S.C. I. 69), or (2) bap- 2 "Auffustinces ac, ...in confinio tizing with trine immersion, Arch- Huiociorum et Ooeidentalium Saxo- deacon Churton's Early Eriglish num." Bede, n. 2. Church, p. 44. CHAP. T. Mission of 8t Augustine to England. 107 is meek and lowly, be assured that he beareth the yoke of Christ." "And how are we to know this?" they asked Z; , -J A.D. bUO. again. "If he rises to meet you when ye approach, hear and follow him; but if he despise you, and fails to rise from his place, let him also be despised by you." The synod met, and Augustine remained seated. It was a sign that he had not the spirit of Christ, and no efforts of the arch- bishop could induce the independent bishops to yield one of his demands. " If he will not so much as rise up to greet us," said his opposers, " how much more will he con- temn us if we submit ourselves to him." Thereupon Augustine broke up the conference with an angry threat, that if the British Christians would not accept peace with British chru- their brethren, they must look for war with their foes, and if they would not proclaim the way of life to the Anglo-Saxons, they would suffer deadly vengeance at their hands'." Thus unsuccessful in winning over the British clergy to that obedience which Gregory had told him he had a right to demand, Augustine returned to Canterbury. And now, as all Kent had espoused the faith, Justus was conse- a.d. 604. secrated to the see of Rochester, and, at the same time, through the connexion of Ethelbert with the king of Essex, that kingdom was opened to ecclesiastical super- vision, and Mellitus was advanced to the bishopric of Lon- don^. This was the limit of the archbishop's success. It veath of Augus- fell, indeed, far short of Gregory's design, but that design had been formed on a very imperfect acquaintance with the true condition of the island, and the relations which sub- sisted between the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. /In the follow- a.d. 605. ing year Augustine died, having already consecrated Lau- rence as his successor, and was buried in the Abbey, as yet unfinished, of St Peter and St Paul, outside the city-walls. ' Bede, II. 2. Where also he tells the story of the fulfilment of this prediction. 2 Bede, il. 3. Stanley, p. 28 n. CHAP. T. i.D. 605. A.D. 616. Apostasy of Jiaabatd. 108 The Missionary History/ of the Middle Ages. The new primate not only laboured to spread the faith among the heathen Saxons, but tried, like his predece'ssor, to win over the Britons and Scots to a conformity as regards the observance of Easter. But he was equally unsuccess- ful ; and in the refusal of Dagan\ an Irish bishop, even to eat with the Eoman missionaries, he learnt how far a dis- pute about things indifferent could embitter the professed disciples of a common Lord. But worse things were in store for the infant Church over which he himself presided. On the death of Ethelbert in 616, "it appeared," says Fuller^, "as though much of the Kentish Christianity was buried in his grave." His son Eadbald not only refused to walk in the way of his father, and to adopt the Christian faith, but even espoused his father's wife ; and, at the same time, the three sons of Sebert, king of Essex, made their father's death the signal for an open denial of the faith he had adopted. The occasion of this outbreak is illustrative of the precarious tenure which the new religion had as yet gained over the Anglo-Saxon mind. One day the tliree princes saw Mellitus celebrating mass with the wonted solemnities : " Give us," said they, " of that white bread, even as thou wast wont to do to our father, and as thou dost now to the people." " If ye are minded to be baptized with the baptism wherewith your father was baptized," replied the bishop, "ye may also partake of the holy bread whereof he partook ; but if ye despise the Laver of Life, ye cannot partake of the Bread of Life." Enraged at his re- fusal, and protesting that they had no need of such bap- tism, "if thou hast no mind," said they, " to yield to us in so trifling a matter, thou canst no longer stay in our kingdom," and they drove him forth^. ^ Bede, n. 4. Dagan was abbot of Inverdaoile in the county of Wexford, and was promoted to the episcopacy about A.D. 600. Lani- gan, 11. 365, and notes. ^ Fulltr's Church History, I. 175. * Bede, 11. 5. Mission of St Augustine to England. 109 Thus expelled, Mellitus with Justus repaired to Can- chap. v. terbury, and consulted with Laurence on the aspect of ZZ affairs. It was agreed that they should retire to France, and await the course of events ; and Laurence was on the point of following them, when, in the church of St Peter and St Paul, where he had ordered his bed to be placed', he was solemnly warned in a dream by the prince of the Apostles, not to leave the flock over which he had been appointed overseer; and as a proof of this divine inter- ference, he displayed to Eadbald in the morning his back scarred and lacerated with the stripes which the indig- nant Apostle had inflicted upon him for his cowardice^. Whether superstition or artifice suggested the story, it had the effect of thoroughly affrighting the superstitious son of Bertha. Filled with alarm, he put away his unlawful wife, and his newly adopted gods, recalled Mellitus and Justus, reinstated the latter in his see of Rochester, and would liave used all his influence to restore the former to his see of London, but the East Saxons were resolute in their adherence to their native faith, and would not have the bishop to rule over them 5. While the infant Church was thus struggling even for existence, all hope of its extension was cut off, and it is not till after an interval of eight years, when Justus had ^.d. 624. succeeded to the Archbishopric of Canterbury, that the Kentish mission was able to advance the faith in the powerful kingdom of Northumbria. Again the same story meets us. A Christian auten Extmsion of tne ^ "^ - , . « . Mission to and an energetic bishop are once more the chief mstru- Nonhumbria. ments in bringing about the change of faith. The daughter ^ Bede, li. 6. etiam nolentibus ao contradicentibus ^ See Lappenberg, I. 143 n, paganis antistitem suse posset eccle- ' "Mellitum vero Lundonienses siae reddere." Bede, II. 6. "Lon- episcopum recipere noliierunt, idola- don then, was even London then, as iris magis p&ntijicihus servire gau- ■ weak in the infancy, as now way- dentes. Nou enim tanta erat ei, ward in the old age thereof." Ful- qiianta patri ipsius regni poteatas, ut ler, I. 178. life. 110 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. V. of Ethelbert married Edwin the king of Northumbria, and AD. 625. in her case, as in that of her mother, the same stipulation was made for the free exercise of her religion'. Accom- panied by Paulinus, who was ordained a missionary bishop by Justus, Ethelburga travelled to her husband's kingdom, and zealously seconded the efforts of the bishop to win over the pagan Northumbrians, and most of all her hus- band, to the Christian faith ^. Edwin's early Edwin's life had been chequered by strange vicissitudes. When only three years old, his inheritance had been seized by his brother-in-law Ethelfrith, and he had been com- mitted to the care of Cadvan, king of Gwynedd, and had been educated by the British clergy till he reached man's estate'. Unsuccessful in a battle with Ethelfrith, where- in he had been aided by his guardian, he fled to Mercia, and finding no safety there, had at last taken refuge with Eedwald in East Anglia. - Twice his unrelenting perse- cutor demanded that he should be given up to him, or put to death, and twice Redwald refused. A third time the emissaries of Ethelfrith made their demand, and the large sum which accompanied it tempted the Bretwalda to comply, and he promised to surrender his ward. The next night a faithful friend informed Edwin of the king's design, and offered him a secure retreat. This was declined; and while he was sitting on a stone before the palace, sad and disconsolate, not knowing whither to bend his steps, lie was suddenly accosted by a stranger, who not only promised to plead his cause with Redwald, but hinted darkly at his future elevation to the throne, and asked, " If he who has promised such benefits, should impart to you doctrines of life and salvation, better and more efficacious than any of your relatives has ever heard, would you obey ' "Neque abnegavit se etiam niri." Bede, li. 9. eandem subiturum esse religionem; * Bede, 11. 9. si tamen examinata a prudentibus ' Lappenberg, I. 145. eanctior ac Deo dignior posset inve- Mission of 8t Augustine to England. Ill him, and listen to his admonitions?" Edwin promised, chap. v. The stranger therefore laid his hand on his head, saying, 'ZTc. " When this sign shall be repeated, remember this hour, this discourse, and your promise;" and with these words vanished from his sight'. Followed as this strange occurrence was by a battle on Rmmd to hu the banks of the Idle, in which Redwald conquered his '"* ""' enemy Ethelfrith, and restored him to his paternal king- dom, it could not fail to make a deep impression on his mind, and was no doubt the theme now of frequent con- versations with his young queen. By her we may be sure it was communicated to Paulinus, who did not fail to make use of it when an opportunity offered. The year after his marriage, the life of the king was a.d. 626. unsuccessfully attempted by an assassin sent by Cwichelm, king of Wessex. A faithful thane received the blow in- tended for his master, and died in the struggle. It was the first day of Easter. The same night the queen was safely delivered of a daughter, and when Edwin returned thanks for this blessing to his gods in the presence of the bishop, the latter told him that he ought rather to return thanks to the Lord Christ, to whom was due his own pre- servation as well as the blessing of a child. " If your God," replied Edwin, overjoyed, " will give me victory over this king of Wessex, I will renounce my idols and worsliip him;" and as a pledge of his sincerity, he entrusted his daughter to Paulinus, by whom she was baptized on the ' Whitsunday following, with eleven others of the king's household'^. Before long, Edwin's wound was healed, and collecting an army he marched against the king of Wessex, and gained the day, all those who had conspired against him being either slain or taken prisoners. Though he had thus been successful, he did not immediately fulfil his pro- ^ See Bede, il. 12. Lappenberg, I. 148 n. " Bade, n. 9. 112 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. V. mise. He ceased, indeed, to worship idols, tut hung back A.D. 626. from an open acceptance of Christianity. He held frequent conversations with the bishop respecting the nature of the new faith, and with his chiefs respecting the course he ought to pursue'. While he was thus hesitating, there came letters and presents for himself and his queen from Eome, where Boniface the Fifth took a deep interest in the progress of the Anglo-Saxon mission. But still Edwin did not make up his mind, and deferred a positive decision. At this juncture Paulinas, who had been long watching him, determined to take advantage of the romantic adven- ture of his youth, which he had no doubt learnt from the queen. Approaching him one day, he laid his right hand upon his head, and asked him if he did not remember that sign. Edwin trembled^, and in reply to the bishop's ex- hortations promised to submit the question of the new faith to the decision of his council. Tlie Witan was accordingly- assembled, and each thane was asked his opinion. The first to reply to the solemn question which religion ought to coifi-s speech, be adopted, was Coifi, the chief priest. No one, he de- clared, had applied to the worship of the gods of their fathers with greater zeal and fidelity than himself, but in no respect had he been the gainer ; his religion had won for him neither temporal prosperity, nor the sunshine of royal favour^. He was ready, therefore, for his part, to give up such ungrateful gods, and to try whether the God whom Paulinus preached could not reward him better. Among the nobles, however, there was one, less bent on measuring the value of a religion by its temporal ad- vantages. He struck a deeper chord, and suggested a truer 1 In Bede's graphic words, "et " Bede, II. 12. ipse cum esset vir natura sagacissi- ^ Bede, 11. 13. "Et nihilominua inus, saspe diu solus residens, ac multi sunt qui ampliora a te beneficia quidem tacito, sed in intimis cordis quam ego, et majores accipiitnt dig- multa secum conloquens, quid sibi nitates, magisque prosperantur in esset faciendum, qufe religio servanda omnibus quEe agenda vel adquirenda tractabat." Bede, n. 9. dispouunt." Mission of St Augustine to England. 113 reason why the advocates of the new doctrine should be chap, t. consulted. " The present life of man, King," said he, ^ ^ 627. " may be likened to what often happens when thou art tm mane's • • -111 111- paraUe. sittmg at supper with thy thanes and nobles in winter- time ; a fire blazes on the hearth, and warms the chamber; outside rages a storm of wind and snow ; a sparrow flies in at one door of thy hall, and quickly pass3s out at the other. For a moment, while it is within, it is unharmed by the wintry blast, but this brief period of happiness over, to the wintry blast whence it came it returns, and vanishes from thy sight. Such is the brief life of man ; we know not what went before it, and we are utterly ignorant as to what shall follow it. If, therefore, this new doctrine con- tain anything more certain, it justly deserves to be fol- lowed." The speaker expressed the feelings of many in the council, and, at the suggestion of the high-priest, Paulinus was introduced, that he might explain more fully the faith he sought to establish. His address has not been pre- served, but when it was ended, the high-priest broke out again, " Long since had I known that what w,e have been wont to worship is nothing, and the more diligently I sought after truth therein, the less I found it. Now, however, I openly confess that in the doctrines we have listened to, such truth is clear and manifest as can confer on us life, salvation, and eternal happiness. I advise, therefore, king, that we instantly abjure, and set on fire those temples where we have so long worshipped in vain, and without reaping any advantage." The zeal of the new convert powerfully affected the zeai o/ coifi- king, and he professed his readiness to adopt the new faith. But who would dare to profane the idol temples and altars still standing, and still regarded with superstitious awe ? The high-priest declared his readiness to undertake this dangerous duty, and thus prove his sincerity in the most 8 114 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. V. signal manner. The chief temple of the Northumbrian A.D. 627. kingdom was in the town of Godmundingham, near Mar- ket Weighton, in the East Eiding of Yorkshire. Here, if any where, Odin and Thor ought to vindicate their insulted majesty, and prove their power and might. Hither then the high-priest declared he was ready to proceed, re- marking that it became none more than himself to destroy what, now, through the wisdom given him by the true God, he knew he had worshipped foolishly. He there- fore requested the king to lend him his armour and war- horse, that thus accoutred he might proceed to the de- struction of the idol. The multitude thought that Coifi, who, as chief-priest, was forbidden by the laws to carry arms, or to ride anything but a mare, was mad. But he, undeterred, with the king's sword girded on his thigh, mounted the charger, and led the way. Arrived on the spot, he flung a javelin at the temple, and fixed it fast in the wall, and then, with much joy at this proof of the im- potency of the old deities, he bade his retinue destroy the heathen structure, and burn it with all its sacred precincts, l^dJ'iT "''' When the high-priest of the old faith thus polluted and destroyed the very altars he had himself dedicated,, the king could no longer "halt between tvi^o opinions." While he was instructed* and prepared for the holy rite, a wooden church was quickly built, and there he himself, with many of his family and nobles, was baptized on the 12th of April, 627. ' "In ecclesia sancti Petri Apos- dum baptiama imbueretur, citato toll, quam ibidem ipse de ligno cum opere construxit." Bede, II. 14. catechizaretur atquu ad percipien- CHAPTER VI. -PHOGEESS OP MISSION AKY WORK IN ENGLAND. A.D. 627—689. " Perhos aanctissimos Tiros Episcopos Aidanum, rinanum, Colmann am, sive i' per se, sive per alios quos ipsi consecrates Anglis dederant Episcopos et saoerdotes, regna quatuor, duo Northumbrorum, Merciorum, Midilang- lorum, et media pavsregni Saxonum Orientalium usque Thamesis psene ripam ad Chrioti conversa sunt." — Fokddh, Scoti-Chron. Thus, at last, the Kentish missionaries reaped the fruit of chap. fi. their labours. Accompanied by the zealous Paulinus, the ^ d. 627. newly-baptized kinp- travelled from town to town through- Noramvj.rian out his dominions, and aided by all the weight of his in- fluence the propagation of the faith. Arrived at any con- venient spot, it was the custom of the bishop to set up a cross ; by his side would stand the king, and the deacon Jacob; one of the chants that Gregory had taught his monks on the Caslian Hill was then begun, and by its sweet and novel tones attracted a crowd prepared to hear the bishop when he began to speak. The labours of ■'^."c<-c»so/PaM- Paulinus were crowned with ample success; at Yeverin in Glendale, at Catterick on the Swale, at Donafield near Doncaster, he baptized many converts. At the first of the above-mentioned places he was incessantly occupied for six-and-thirty consecutive days, from early morn until night-fall, in instructing the people, and when they were duly prepared, in baptizing them by immersion in the little river Glen, Crossing the Humber he accompanied the king and queen as far as Southwell in Nottinghamshire^ 8-2 CHAP. VI. A.D. 627. CoJii'ersion of Kast Anglia. A.D. 630. 116 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. and baptized gi-eat numbers of converts in the river Trent ; and there were those in Bede's time who had seen and conversed with some that had received baptism from this energetic bishop, and who remembered how he was a man tall of stature, a little stooping, with dark hair, meagre visage, aquiline nose, and a venerable and majestic aspect'. Not satisfied with the care of his own subjects, Edwin next extended his religious zeal to the kingdom of the East Angles, where he had spent so many unhappy years. Eedwald the father of the reigning king Eorpwald had declared himself a convert to Christianity, daring a visit to the court of Ethelbert, king of Kent. But on his re- turn, importuned by his wife and friends, he had, to satisfy both parties, erected an altar to Christ and to his heathen gods, in one and the same temple. But Edwin succeeded in thoroughly converting Eorpwald, who, however, was before long murdered by a pagan assassin. East Anglia was now plunged into strife and discord, but the good king of Northumbria lived long enough to hear of the restoration of Christianity, after a lapse of three years. In the j^ear 630 Sigebert, who had been baptized while an exile in Graul, took possession of the throne conjointly with his brother Ecgric, and he was powerfully assisted in his efforts to evangelize his subjects by Felix, a Bur- gundian bishop, whom Honorius, the archbishop of Can- terbury, sent to labour in East Anglia. He went about the province preaching, baptizing, and erecting schools on the plan of those existing in Gaul, and on the foundation of the see of Danwich, was appointed the first bishop'. To this same kingdom came also Fursseus, a monk from 1 Bede, II. i6. ^ "Instituit scholam in qua pueri Uteris erudirentur ; jiivante se epis- copo Felice queni de Cantia acce- perat, eisque psedagogos ao magis- trosjuxta morem Cantuariorum prse- bente." Beds, n. 1 5 ; in. 18. "Scbo- las opportunis loois instituena, barba- riem gentis sensim comitate Latina iuformabat." Malmes. de GestisPoni. II. Lappenberg, I. i54«. Progress of Missionary Work in England, 117 Ireland, who was heartily welcomed by Sigebert, and by chap. vi. Ills lite and doctrine contributed much to the spread of the ZoTess! ' Gospel'. His missionary tours, which extended over a period of fifteen years, were productive of immense benefits, alike to the heathen and the Christians of East Anglia, and Bede has drawn a glowing picture of his sanctity and zeal. In the kingdom, however, of Northumbria, a B&di vecime of me 1 ,-,-p.^-p-,,. ,- . , Northumbrian change was at hand. xSeiore Jbdwin could receive the Mission. letters addressed to him by the Pope Honorius I., inform- ing him that he had sent palls to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, he had perished in the battle of Hatfield fighting against the savage Penda, who, at the head of a formidable British confederacy, invaded North- umbria, spreading everywhere ruin and desolation, and sparing neither age nor sex. Paulinus, who must have perceived that the times were ripe neither for such a government as that of Edwin, or such a religion as he had introduced, fled with the widowed queen and her children into Kent, and received from the Archbishop of Canterbury the vacant see of Rochester. The only member of the mission left in York was Jacob the deacon, who must have grieved sorely for the dark and troublous times which had now set in for North- umbria. Both Eanfrith prince of Bernicia and Osric prince of Deira relapsed into heathenism, and the land groaned under the savage rule of C£edwalla^ At length, in 635, ad. 635. Oswald a younger son of ^thelfrith, raising a small force, omfX" " and erecting a cross, round which he commanded his followers to kneel and pray for aid to the God of battles, 1 On the Milesian Scot, Furssus, from whose combination the Divina who in his cell at Burgh Castle Commedia rose," see Palgrave's Nor- "kindled the spark which, trans- mandy and England, 1. 164. Lani- mitted to the inharmonious Dante gan, :i. 44S— 460. of a barbarous age, occasioned the •-' Bede, ill. i. Lappenberg, I. first of the metrical compositions 157. Mimtinnfirics from lojta. 118 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. Ti. burst upon tlie armies of Caedwalla at Hefenfeld near \^ g35_ Ilexliam, and utterly routed the last hero of the old British race. Uniting in himself the sovereignty of Ber- nicia and Deira he was saluted as the sixth Bretwalda, and under him the land had rest many days '. Like Edwin he had in his earlier years been an exile, and had received instruction from the Scottish missionaries ; and now that he had obtained the throne he was deter- mined to do all in his power to carry on the good work which Paulinus had begun, but which had been inter- rupted by the invasion of Penda. Instead,- however, of sending to Canterbury for labourers in the mission-field, he sent messengers to Segienus, Abbot of Hy, requesting aid in the instruction of his subjects. In compliance with his wish, the Abbot sent him a monk named Gorman^, who, after preaching the word some time with little suc- cess, returned in disgust to his seagirt home. He could effect nothing, he declared, to the assembled brethren, owing to the ungovernable and barbarous temper of the Saxons. These tidings were received with sorrow, and the assembly was in anxious discussion as to the best course to be taken, when a voice was heard saying, " It seems to me, brother, thou hast been harsher than was fitting towards thy ignorant hearers, and thou hast not, in accord- ance with Apostolic usage, first offered them the milk of simple teaching, till by degrees being nourished with the divine word, they might be enabled to receive the more perfect and to keep the higher precepts of God." Thereupon the eyes of all were fixed upon the speaker, and it was unanimously agreed that no other was more fit to undertake the duty of evangelizing these wild North- Aidan. umbrians. This was Aidan', a monk of lona, of whom, 1 Lappenberg, i. 157. s Bede, in. 5. In the Chronicon ■^ Bede, ni. 5. Hect. Eoethius, Hyense, drawn up by Dr Eeeves, I'ib. IX. prinoipaUy from the Irish Annals,- Progress of Missionary Worh in England, 119 though a disciple of the Irish school, even Bede speaks in chap. vi. the highest terms, as a man eminent for meekness, piety, ^ „ 6^5. and good works. Having been consecrated bishop, he immediately set out for Northumbria, and fixed his see at Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, which the king willingly granted him, to be an English lona. Hence he went forth '■' on . his missionary tours, wherein he was always assisted by Oswald, who, while as yet the bishop was not master of the English language, himself acted as interpreter, and made his instruction intelligible to his chiefs and courtiers. Nor did Aidan fail to justify the confidence that had been reposed in him. Active in the propagation of the faith, a!^''iX^^'"'">- }ie was at once severe towards himself and humble and beneficent towards the poor and lowly. '• He neither sought the things of this life nor cared for them. What- ever presents he received from the king or wealthy persons, he rejoiced to distribute forthwith among the poor that fell in his way. In his journeys through his diocese, he was wont to travel not on horseback, but on foot, except in case of great necessity, in order that, as he went along, he might address those whom he happened to meet, whether rich or poor, and exhort them, if not already Christians, to em- brace the faith, and if Christians, to shew forth their faith by almsgiving and good works'." Like the founder of Icolmkill, he was devoted to reading, and the study of the Scriptures ; and of all that accompanied' him, he exacted the same diligence, requiring that they must learn the Psalms, or read the Bible, wherever they might be, and as a daily duty. If, as very rarely occuried, he was in- vited to the king's table, one or two only of his clergy ac- companied him, and after a slight refreshment, he hurried we find sub ann. 635, "Ab insula and of the same lineage as StBrigid Hii ad provinclam Anglorum insti- and other distinguished saints. See tuendam in Christo missus est j^dan, Tieeves' Adamnan, p. 374. Lani- accepto gradii episcopatus." He gan, 11. 417. was the syn of Lugair, son of Ernin,. ^ Bede, in. 5, A.D. 635, 120 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. VI. back witli all speed to study and devotion. He set the ex- ample adopted by religious persons of both sexes, of fasting until three in the afternoon every Wednesday and Friday in the year, except between Easter and Whitsunday. Towards the poor he bore himself with humility, towards the rich with faithfulness, neither cringing nor flattering. Whatever money he receive'd from them, he expended either in works of charity or in redeeming slaves, many of whom lie trained and educated, and even raised to the priesthood. Foundation of To Lindisfarne, where, according to the Irish custom, lli^' Monastery ' • 1 1 i of Lindisfarne. Aidan had founded a monastery, and united the monastic duties with those of the bishop, flocked numbers of auxi- liaries, chiefly monks from lona, who with great zeal preached the word throughout Northumbria. Churches were built in divers places, and monasteries were endowed with grants of land, where the Saxon youth were instructed by their Celtic teachers'". Nor was it only in Northumbria that the effect of this mission from lona was felt. In the same year that Aidan came to Lindisfarne, Oswald repaired to the court of Cynegils, king of Wessex, to ask the hand of his daugh- ter in marriage. A year before, Cynegils had been visited by Birinus, who is said to have been bred up as a monk in the monastery of Gregory at Eome, and who had un- dertaken by the advice of Pope Honorius' to penetrate into the innermost parts of the country for the purpose of propagating the Christian faith. Raised to the episcopate Conversion of Wessex. ^ Bede, Vita, S. CutJiberti, o. i6. "Aidan quippe, qui primus ejusdem loci episoopus fuit, monachus erat et monachioam cum suis omnibus vi- tam semper agere solebat." Cf. also Bede, m. 3. 2 *' Exin ccepere plures per dies de Scottorum regione venire Britan- iiiam atque illis Anglorum provin- ciis quibus regnavit Oswald, magna devotione verbum fidei prsedioare, et credentibus gratiam baptism! qui- cunque aaoerdotali erant gradu prse- diti, ministrare...Const.ruebantur eo- cleai8e...donabantur munere regie possesaiones, et territoria ad insti- tuenda monasteria." Bede, in. 3. ' " Promittens quidem se (Hono- rio) prsesente in intimis ultra Anglo- rum partibus quo nuUus doctor prse- cessisset, sanctse fidei semina esse aparsurum." Bede, ill. 7. . Progress of Missionary WorJe in England. 121 by Asterius, bishop of Genoa, at the command of Honorlus chap. vi. he had come to the island, and finding himself on his ^^ ggg landing surrounded by the darkest paganism, he had de- termined to remain where he was rather than advance further. His preaching had now so far influenced the king, that he had consented to submit to baptism, and, on stepping forth from the font, was received by Oswald, who gladly became at once his godfather and son-in-law. By the two kings Dorchester was assigned to Birinus BMrms, buhop •' . 1 J T. ^ ^- J r X- 0/ Dorchester. as an episcopal see, and here ne contmued tor some time preaching the word, building churches, and gathering many into the Christian fold. On the death of Cynegils, in a.d. 643. 643, his son Cenwealh refused baptism, put away his wife, who was the sister of Penda, and contracted another alliance. War ensued, and he was driven from his kingdom. For three years he lived in exile at the court of Anna the pious king of East Anglia, and there learnt to adopt the Christian faith. On his restoration to his kingdom, he was visited by a certain priest named Agilbert, who was of French extraction, but had been spending some time in Ireland for the sake of studying the Scriptures. He was invited by the king to stay and accept the bishopric, and complied with his request. But at last Cenwealh, who knew nothing but Saxon', growing weary of the bishop's foreign dialect, secretly introduced into the new see of Win- chester an Anglo-Saxon, who could speak his own language, named Wini, who also had been ordained in France. This, and the division of his diocese, grievously offended Agil- bert, and straightway leaving the country, he accepted the a.d. 649. bishopric of Paris, where he lived to a good old age. Meanwhile the good Oswald, whose amiable character Death of -i - c 1 T> • T_ Oswald. had won for him even among his foes, the Britons, the ' " Tandem rex, qui Saxonum provmciam alium mai lingua epis- tantum linguam noverat, pertcem» copum vooabulo Vini, et ipsuni in ha/rbara loguelw, subintroduxit in Gallia ordinatum." Bede, III. 7. l22 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. VI. A.D, 653. Musionarij .ti'ccciis in Mercia. surname of perished had Lamngwin," " the fair or free of hand, in battle against his restless foe the savage Penda, who, with pagan ferocity, ordered his head and arms to be severed from the trunk and fixed upon poles. On his death a division of the kingdom took place. Oswiu be- came king of Bernicia, and, after a lapse of two years, Oswin, son of Osric, of Deira. But the reign of the latter was brief, and he was murdered by the command of Oswiu, The new king strove to live on peaceable terms with the champion of paganism, the terrible Penda, and thinking thereby to strengthen his cause, accepted for his son the hand of Penda's daughter, and gave his own daughter to Peada, the son of the great chief, and ealdorman of the Middle Angles. This prince did not refuse to comply with the conditions which his father-in-law annexed to their union, and together with all his thanes and followers was baptized by Finan, the successor of Aidan in the see of Lindisfarne. After receiving the rite, Peada returned into Mercia with four missionaries to evangelize the Mercian people. These were Cedd, Adda, Betti, and Diuma ^ ; they preached the Word with much success, and many both high and low re- nounced their idolatry, and were received into the Church. Even Penda did not oppose their work. He had no objec- tion, he said, to their preaching, he only hated and despised those who professed the faith of Christ without his works, and thought they were miserable creatures who were above obeying the God in whom they professed to be- lieved His own devotion to the "Grod'of Battles " was at least sincere. Though his son had married the daughter of Oswiu, he still continued his inroads into the Northum- brian territory, till at last the king gave him one of his ' AiiIrishinan,seeLanigaii, 11.438. hendifc, dicens eontemnendos ease * " Quin potius odio tabebat, et eos et miseros qui Deo suo in quern despiciebat eos, quos fide Christi im- crederent obedire contemnereut," butps, opera fidei npn habere depre- Bede, ill. 21, Progress of Missionary Work in England. 123 sons as a hostage, and promised innumerable royal orna- chap, ri, ments and other presents, if he would only withdraw his ^^ gss- devastating bands. But all was in vain. The old pagan king summoned his allies, the king of East Anglia, the king of Deira, and the king of Gwynedd, and marched against him, determined to gain the sovereignty of the whole island. Oswiu on his side prepared for the battle, and bade his little band put their trust in Christ. " Since the heathen," Defiat^ or Pmda he cried, "refuses to receive our presents, let us offer them "' ^''"''^^■''''•^■ to Him who. will, the Lord our GrodV and he vowed, if victorious, to give twelve estates for the erection of mo- nasteries, and to devote his daughter to perpetual virginity and a cloister life. The battle began, and terminated in the complete rout of the pagans. The king of East Anglia, Penda himself, and nearly all his thirty auxiliary chiefs, were slain. The king of Gwynedd escaped under the veil of night, and the swollen stream of the Aire''' swept away jnultitudes of the rest. Oswiu fulfilled his vows. His daughter was devoted to perpetual celibacy, twelve estates were given up to the foundation of monasteries, and the new faith was firmly established in Mercia. Diuma, one of the missionaries who had accompanied Peada from Oswiu's court, was consecrated by Finan, the first bishop of the Middle Angles and the Mercians, the paucity of eccle- siastics making it necessary to place the two people under a single bishop. Diuma laboured with success, but dying before long at Eeppington was succeeded by Ceollach, who also was an Irish-Scot". He likewise held the see for but a brief period, and retired to the monastery of lona, leaving in his place an Anglo-Saxon named^ Trum- •^ " Si paganua nescit accipere no3- fromHy. Bede, in. ■21,24. Lanigan, tra donaria offeramus ei qui Dovit, 11. 428, Eeeves' Chronicon Hyense, Domino Deo noatro." Bede, in. 24. p. 375. ^ At Winw.^d field near Leeds. * He had been instructed and or- ^ Or Cellacli, a .Scot or Irishman dained by the Irish. Bede, in. 21. 124 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages, CHAP. VI. A.D. 655. Cm-version of Essix. A.D. 664, here, who was a monk, but ordained bishop by the Irish- Scots. Essex also felt the influence of Oswiu's supremacy. Its king Sigebert was a friend of the king of Northumbria, and made frequent visits to his kingdom. During these the subject of the new faith was often discussed between them, and at length, moved by the earnest remonstrances of his friend, Sigebert abjured idolatry, was baptized by Finan, together with a number of his courtiers, and re- turned to Essex with Cedd, who was, after proof of suc- cessful labour, consecrated by Finan, bishop of the East Saxons \ Not many years before, on the death of Pau- llnus, Ithamar, an Anglo-Saxon of the province of Can- terbury, was consecrated by Honorius bishop of Rochester, the first example of an Anglo-Saxon being raised to the episcopate; the same archbishop also nominated Thomas, from the province of the Gyrwas, to the bishopric of Dun- wich, on the death of Felix, and on his own death, in 653, he was, after an interval of a year and six months, succeeded by an Anglo-Saxon, Deusdedit, of Wessex, who received his consecration at the hands of the Kentish bishop Itha- mar, and lived to consecrate Damianus, a south Saxon, to the see of Rochester". This rapid growth of a native episcopate was a sign that the first stage in the missionary work was reached, and that a national English Church would be formed before long. As yet, however, there was one considerable obstacle to complete union between the different dio- ceses. Two rival bands had hitherto been employed in the evangelization of England ; the Roman, assisted by theii ^ "Ubi cum omnia peranabulan- tes multam Domino ecclesiam oon- gregasset, . . . contigit redire domum ac pervenire ad ecclesiam Lindis- faronensem, propter colloquium Fi- nani episcopi ; qui ubi prosperaium ei opus evangelii comperit, fecit eua episcopum in gentem orientaliun Saxonum, vocatis ad se in miniate rium ordinationis alils duobus epis copis." Bede, in. 22. ^ B^de, m. 20. Progress of Missionary WorJc in England. 125 converts and some teachers from France, and tlie Irish, chap, vi who were plainly the larger body. Between the two i.„. 664. there were the old differences respecting the time of keen- covjucthetwan ^ ' Wilfrid ill Uie might be allowed to deliver their common sentiments, cmiwd. The latter then detailed how he had seen the festival of Easter celebrated at Eome, " where the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul lived, taught, suffered, and were buried," and throughout Gaul and Italy wJiere he had himself travelled, The same custom he declared obtained through- out Africa, Asia, Egypt, Greece, indeed the whole world, save and except only that obscure corner where dwelt the Picts and Scots. The controversy now waxed warm, and was carried on on both sides with skill and acuteness. How it would have ended it is impossible to say, had not Wilfrid adduced in support of the Eoman customs the often quoted words of the Lord, " Thou art Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it; and to thee will I give the keys of the kingdom of heaven." Thereupon the king turned to Colman 2, and inquired whether these words were really ^ " Atverocumsanotus \Vilfridu3 'Tranamarinus de Anglorum gents spoliatus, et pariter ad palmara mar- ex Britannia.' Itemmque dixerunt : tyrii intrepidiia staret ; Duces inter- 'Parcite illi, et nolite tangere eutn,'" rogaverunt dicentes : ' Quia est iste Eddius, c. 7. juvenis formosna, qui se prasparat 2 Bede, III. 2$. ad mortem ! ' Dictumque est iUis : i28 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. VI. ..D. 664. Conversion of Sussex. addressed to the Apostle Peter? "They were, without doubt," was the reply. And can you bring forward any- thing like such high authority for your Columba? con- tinued the king. " None," said the bishop. " And are ye both, without controversy," rejoined Oswiu, " agreed on this, that it was especially to Peter that these words were spoken, and that to him the keys of the kingdom of heaven were given by the Lord?" " We are," said they. "Then," said the king, "I too declare to you, since he is the doorkeeper, I will not oppose him ; but as far as I can, I will follow his commands and precepts, lest perchance, when I come to the gates of heaven, there be no one to open to me, if he turn his back upon me, who is proved to hold the keys." The king's jest was received with applause by those present. Whatever their motives were, superstitious fear, or a wish to side with the king, they concurred in his decision, and the council closed. Colman in disgust retired to Scotland; Cedd returned to his diocese, and complied with the Eoman custom ; Tuda, the last of the Scottish succession, succeeded to Colman's see, and like- wise observed the Roman practice. Thus through the political predopiinance of Wessex, the influence of Wilfrid, and doubtless the prestige which the Eoman see had bor- rowed from the Eoman empire, the Eoman party gained a victory in England over their Irish rivals. One kingdom only now remained where the work of the missionary was needed. This was Sussex, which though in their own neighbourhood had been strangely neglected by the Kentish clergy. It is true that Dicul, one of the com- panions of Furs83us, whom we have seen labouring with success in East Anglia, had visited the district, and erected an insignificant cell at Bosham, where, surrounded by woods and the sea, he had with five or six brethren, "served the Lord in humility and poverty." But his efi'orts had been of little avail amongst the pagan population. The Progress of Missionary Work in England. 129 king, indeed, had received baptism in the Mercian kingdom chap. yr. together with his queen, but they had done little for the ^ „, gsi. evangelization of their subjects \ The work was reserved for the coadjutor of Agilbert at the council of Whitby. Oil his return from France, where he received consecration as bishop of York, Wilfrid had been thrown on the Sussex coast, and had narrowly escaped death from the heathen wreckers ^ Since then he had experienced strange vicissitudes. Driven from his diocese, hated by the new king of Northumbria, and finding no security in Wessex or Mercia, he had after his escape from prison, sought refuge amongst the heathen tribes in the wilds of Sussex, and was enabled to complete Mii/rid luboim what the small Irish mission had begun and the Kentish mission had left undone. Ethelwalch the king received him with pleasure, and Wilfrid, wlio had already had experience in missionary work on the barbarous shores of Friesland', undertook their conversion with alacrity. His visit was most opportune. Separated from the rest of England by forests and jungles, the wretched people had for three years suffered from drought, followed by a famine so severe, that in the depth of their despair they linked themselves hand in hand by forties and fifties, leaped from the rocks, and were dashed in pieces or drowned*. Moreover, thougli occupying a long line of sea-coast, they were but little acquainted with the art of fishing, and tlius had the greatest difiSculty in getting a livelihood''. Wilfrid, therefore, and those who were with him, saw that their mission was to civilize and feed the people of Sussex as well as preach the gospel to them. They therefore began by teacliing them the art of fishing. Collecting all the nets they could find, he and his followers went out to sea, shared with the 1 "Wulfhere, the Mercian king, had IV. 13. rewarded him for his change of faith ^ See Eddius, c. 1^, 16. with the grant of the Isle of "Wight. ^ jjede, IV. 13, and below chap. Bede, iv. 13. His queen had been viii. baptized in her own country. Bede, * Bede, 17. 13. 9 130 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. yi. poor creatures the proceeds of their success, and showed A.D. 381-686. them how to provide for themselves. This, and the mis- sionary's acquaintance with their own tongue, speedily won the hearts of his famine-stricken flock. Wilfrid himself baptized the chiefs and their warlike retinue, while the four priests who accompanied him admuiistered the rite to the people. And on the very day of the baptism, as Bede tells the tale, the windows of heaven were opened, the refreshing shower descended, the parched land grew green, and the bodies as well as the souls of the people felt the blessing of the bishop's presence*. The king presented him with lands at Selsey, on which to build a monastery, and for five years Wilfrid performed the work of a missio- nary bishop among the people of Sussex, and reclaimed them from their heathenism. uoLdSmrch. Already, before this last remnant of a heathen people had been gathered into the fold of Christ, the various efforts of the different missions throughout the island had been in a great measure consolidated, and the cluster of missionary stations had begun to be converted into an laiaursof established Church. The man suited for this important work had come, not from Rome, or Gaul, or the Celtic monasteries of the North, but from Tarsus, "a city of Ci- A.D. 663-689, licia." Nominated by Pope Vitalian in place of Wighard, and accompanied by the African Hadrian, the new arch- bishop brought to this island the Roman love of order and organization. As soon as he arrived he visited the several Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, and succeeded in obliterating all traces of the peculiar customs of the missionaries from lona. Summoning a synod at Hertford^, he introduced canons for regulating the power of the bishops, defined the rites of monasteries, enacted laws respecting divorce, unlawful marriages, and other points, which liave always been a source of difficulty to missionaries and infant churches, and 1 Eede, IV. 13. ^ Spelman's Concilia, p. 152. Progress of Missionary TVorJc in England. 131 further, with Hadrian's aid, he converted many of the mo- chap. vi. nasterles into seminaries of useful learning, where from the ^^ 638-389^ lips of teachers familiar with Greek and Latin, the Anglo- Saxon youth could learn prosody, astronomy, and ecclesi- astical arithmetic'. t Thus within a space of less than ninety years, tlic cioscofthe work of evangelization in this island had been accom- j",'""' "» plished. The Anglo-Saxons, once notorious for their lierceness and barbarity, had so far been softened by Christian influences that in no country was the new faith more manifestly the parent of civilization. Inter- course with the metropolis of the West rapidly introduced various arts and sciences, replaced the wooden straw- thatched church of the Celtic missionary by structures fashioned after the model of the basilicas of the West, roofed them with lead, and filled them' with glass, and im- proved the music by bringing into universal use the Gre- gorian chant''. The same influences before long affected also the laws ; they regulated the time for bringing the Saxon child to the font, denounced a penalty if it died unbaptized, declared the spiritual relationship there con- tracted to be on a par with natural afiinity, forbade servile work on Sundays, regulated the treatment of the slave, forbade all heathen practices, such as- sorcery, necromancy, and divining'. Thus at last the vision of Gregory was realized, and the land of the fair-haired Saxon boys took its place among the Christian kingdoms, destined, in its turn, by the hands of devoted men, to transmit the light it had itself received to kindred Teutonic tribes in the Germanic forests. 1 Bede, iv. 2. Licgard's A. S. C. I. 78. ^ Lappenberg, I. 172. Bede, IT. 1. ^ Spelman's Concilia, p. 155. Kemble, II. 490 — 493. 9—2 CHAPTEE VII. CELTIC MISSIONAEIES IN SOUTHERN GEEMANT. A.D. 590—630. " On becoming Christians one would suppose that the Celtic nations would have been softened into union and fellow-feeling. This was not the case. The Celtic Church partook of the nature of the clan. At first fecund and ardent, it seemed to take the West by storm." — MiOHELET. CHAP. vii. And now having -svatched the rise of the Celtic and Anglo- Saxon Churches, we shall see how they poured back with interest the gifts of civilization and of the Gospel upon the Roman Empire, how from this "ultima Thule" of remote barbarism, as it was once regarded, there rolled back a tide of missionary enterprize to restore vitality to the Erankish Churches, and to lead the way in converting the masses of continental heathendom. It is not meant to assert that, during the wild scenes of confusion which at- tended the consolidation of the Frankish kingdom none were found on the continent itself to devote themselves to the missionary work, and to tread in the steps of men like Severinus. The names of Goar^ and Wultlaich are per- haps the representatives of many who have passed away ^ Goar, towards the close oft'the necklace round the neck of the pass- sixth century, built a hut beneath ing stranger, with the inquiry, 'whe- the frightful rocks of the Lurlei, in ther he would be baptized » ith wa- the narrowest part of the Rhine, in ter or with wine ?' If with water, he order to save the shipwrecked, and was well besprinkled ; if with wine, to feed the starving wanderer. "The he was offered a full golden goblet, little town of St Goar retained," which he emptied to the health of says Menzel, "in memory of the the emperor, and in return placed hospitality of this saint, even to our his alms in the poor's box." Menzel's times, the custom of placing a brass Germany, i. iig. Celtic Missionaries in Southern Oermany. 133 unhonoured and unknown, but whose labours in contrast chap, vii. with the general degeneracy were equally earnest and self- ^ „_ ggo_ denying. The story of Wulflaich is characteristic of the wuijiakh. times. He was a native of Lombardy', and in early youth having heard of the fame of St Martin, he undertook a pil- grimage to his Church, and, after due preparation in a mo- nastic establishment, settled down in the district of Triers, in the valley of the Moselle. Here he found a statue of Diana'' to which the people offered worship, and which they regarded with the utmost veneration. Eager to turn them away from their idolatry, he erected a column at no great distance from the idol, on which he stood from morn- ing till night, in imitation of the famous Simeon Stylites, partaking only of a little bread, oil, and a small quantity of water. The singularity of his mode .of life attracted crowds to witness his austerities, and he embraced the op- portunity of proclaiming to them that the deity they wor- shipped was a vain thing, and their sacred rites useless. The impression thus made was not lost. A portion of the people were persuaded of the impotency of their goddess, ropes were fastened to her image, and it was dragged to the ground, and broken to pieces. But his pillar austeri- ties found little favour with the neighbouring prelates. " Thy mode of life," said they, "is not fair; it is useless for thee, unknown and ignoble, to vie with the holy Simeon of Antioch. Our climate does not admit of such austerities as these, descend from thy pillar, and mingle freely with the brethren thou hast gathered unto thee." Moved by their representations he one day consented to descend, and one of the bishops, availing himself of the opportunity, decoyed him some distance from his favourite spot, and in ^ See Acta SS. July 7. Greg. cila of Lateran (402), Aries (452) pro- Tur. vm. 15. Kurtz's History of hibit the worship of atones, trees, the Christian Church, p. 304. and other idols. 2 Greg. Tur. vni. 15. The Coun- 134 27*6 Missionary History of the Middle Ages. VII. ,560. his absence, put an end to his austerities bj cutting down his pillar. From this time he lived in communion with his brethren, and laboured no less effectually and certainly more sensibly, for the spiritual welfare of the heathen tribes around. But whatever such anchorites were enabled to accom- plish, their labom-s were speedily eclipsed by those of ardent enthusiastic missionaries from Ireland, at this time, in the glowing language of contemporary writers, a " Gar- den of Eden" and an "Island of Saints." We have already observed the fervid zeal which characterized the followers of St Patrick and Columba, and in the monas- tery of lona, have seen one of the many spiritual fortresses they erected in the midst of barbarian hordes, whence the monastic colony^ went forth on its labour of love. Blending the ardour of Christian zeal with a love of travelling and adventure, they now began to leave their quiet homes in search of more rugged fields of labour, amongst the nume- rous ba'^'hanan tribes of the continent'. One of the earliest and most eminent of these was Co- lumbanus. Born in Leinster of noble parents, he left his home at a very early age to place himself under the vene- rable Senile, abbot of Cluain-inis in Lough-Erne. Under this able master, his studies embraced, besides the Holy Scriptures, grammar, rhetoric and geometry, and his rapid progress was attested by a commentary on the ^ The outward appearance of these Irish anchorites was very striking. Their outfit was (i) a cambuta, or short pastoral staff (.Jonae Vita S. Columbani, o. 30. Reeves' Adam- nan, p. 324), {2) a leathern water- bottle, (we have a utrem lactarium, Vita S. Columbm, 11. 38), {3) a wallet (EeevBs' A damnan, p. 116), (4) a leathern case for the service- books (**libros in pelliceo reconditos sacculo habebat," Adamn. Vita S. Colunibce, n. 8, where see in note Reeves' account of the leather cover of the Book of Armagh), (5) a case containing relics, in the Ulster Journal of Archa3ologi/, Vol. VII. p. 303, it is said that "the Irish an- chorites were in the habit of painting their eyelids," which reminds us of the painted Britons. "Stigmata, signa, pictura in corpore, quale.? Scoti piiigunt in palpebiis." Hat- teuer's DenJcmdler, I, 227, 237. Celtic Missionaries in Southern Germany. 135 Psalms, -wliich lie composed at an early age, and other chap. vii. religious works. Resolved on embracing the monastic ^ ^ 550. state, he left Cluain-inis for the monastery of Banchor, on the coast of Ulster, and submitted to the discipline of the eminent abbot St Comgall\ But he was before long seized with the craving for foreign travel which distin- guished so many of his countrymen^, and a desire to preach the Gospel to the pagan tribes on the continent. In vain his abbot endeavoured to dissuade him from his intention, and to quench the fire of zeal which had been kindled within his breast. He had no sooner reached the age of Lands in France. thirty, than selecting twelve companions he bade farewell a.d. 589. to his brethren ^ and after barely touching on the shores of pagan Britain, landed in Gaul. . In Burgundy he was welcomed by Guntram, the least blameworthy of the grandsons of Clevis, and he might there have found a secure retreat, and a sphere of useful labour. But his ascetic spirit longed for a sterner mission- field. The words of Christ, " Whosoever will be my dis- ciple, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me," constantly sounded in his ears, and he resolved to seek a country where he could practise such self-denial, and be His disciple indeed. On the confines of the king- dom of Austrasia and Burgundy rose the wild and desolate range of the Vosges, and tribes of pagan Suevians roamed over districts once colonized by the Roman legionaries. Hither he determinea to retire, and with his twelve follow- ers first settled amidst the ruins of the small town of Ane- ^ Bom in 517, died in 602. His naturam conversa est." Vita S. great monastery of Beannchar in Galli, Pertz, Mem. Germ. 11. 47. Altitud'me Ultorum, "Bangor in the ^ Their names, thougli there ia Ards of Ulster," was founded in 558. considerable variation in the ao- It dwindled away after the invasion counts, were Gallus, Deicola, Sigis- of the Danes. See Beeves' Adam- bertus, Columbanus the younger, nan, p. 213 ». Ecd. Aniiq. 334 — Cummin, Eunoc, Eooonan (=Ac- 342. quon), Domitialis, Kilian, Neemias, 2 " Katio Scotorum, quibus con- Lua, Florentius. Lanigan, H. 264 n, Buetudo peregiinandi jam psene in 136 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. VII. gray. Here, and at Luxeull, were charms for the severest i,B. 590. ascetic. Over a range of sixty leagues, and a breadth of ten nSf"oT^x °^ fifteen, nothing was to be seen but parallel chains of in- 'BiFoSE. accessible defiles, divided by endless forests', "whose brist- ling pinewoods descended from the peaks of the highest mountains to the banks of the rapid streams of the Doubs, Dessoubre, and Loue," War and devastation had wellnigh effaced the traces of Eoman colonization ; what Eoman in- dustry had cultivated, the sword of the barbarous invader, and especially of Attila, had restored to solitude, and made once more the haunts of the bear and the wolf^ No spot could have been found more suited to the spirit of Colum- banus : nowhere could he and his companions better learn self-denial and mortification, or inure themselves to severer labours. Strange stories have come down to us of the hardships which from time to time these colonizers of the desert were fain to endure, how they supported them- selves on the bark of trees and wild herbs, and in seasons of extreme need, experienced unforeseen, and, as they deemed, miraculous aid. At length a monastery arose amidst the waste, formed on the model of those which Co- lumba raised under the oaks of Deny or in sea-girt Hy'. At Anegray and Luxenil the boundaries of the monastic polony were duly marked out, and the forest cleared. Within these rose the humble cells of thatch and wattles, and, conspicuously, the church, beside which was often the round tower or steeple, which served as a place of lefuge in times of need*. In fields reclaimed from desola- ^ Montalembert'a Monks of the ^ On the similarity of the orato- Westj II. 404. ''Luxovium ibi ima- ries erected abroad by the Irish ec- ginum lapidearum densitas vicini clesiastics to those in their native saltus densabat, quaa cultu miserabili country, see Petrie's Bound Towers, rituque profano vetusta paganorum pp. 347, 418. tempora honorabant." Acta SS. * See an interesting accoutit of Bened. 11. 13. the Irish monasteries in Germany " "At nunc solieillic ferffibelluffi, by Dr Wattenbach (Die Kongrega- nrsi, bubali, lupi frequenter vise- tion der Schotten KWster in Dcuisch- tantur." Jon^ Vita Columb. c. 17. land), translated in the Ulster Jour- Celtic Missionaries in Southern Germany. 137 tion the seed was sown, and before long the brethren chap. vii. reaped the waving corn. Nor did their mysterious life fail TT^go! to move the hearts of men around. Hundreds flocked to listen to their religious instructions, hundreds more, en- couraged by their labours in clearing and tilling the land, took to copying their example ; at Anegray, at Luxeuil, at Fontaines, they beheld forests cleared, trees felled, and the land ploughed or reaped by the same assiduous hands, all obedient to one head, who sometimes mingled in, and always encouraged their useful labours. A Eule, probably derived from the Irish Bangor, and |™£'S' Sum- severer than that of Benedict, bound every member of '""■ these fraternities. Incessant labour either in the field, or in copying manuscripts, the punctilious observance of repeated devotional services, three by day and three by night, the severest discipline extending to every motion of the body, regulating even the tone of the voice, these and other methods were employed by the ardent abbot to mould to implicit obedience those who courted admission into his cloisters. " Obedience " is the heading of the first canon in his rule, and the question, " What are the limits of obedience?" is answered, "Even unto death; for unto death Christ submitted Himself to the Father for ms\" The perfection of the monk is thus described : " Let the monk live under the discipline of one father, and in the society of many, that from the one he may learn humility, from the other patience, from the one silence, from the other «aZ o/jlrc/tcEoZojrj/, July, Aug. 1859. On the Round Tower, see Petrie, Aa at lona, so here we read of the p. 374, where there is a curious quo- ccsnobium, the eccleda, the refecto- tation fromMabillon's /te7-(?e)-mani- rium, the horreum, the vallum, the cum, respecting a beacon-tower at eellarium, of plaustra, B,nd jiimenta. the monastery of Luxeuil, as also The brethren "sarculis terrain ex- some remarks, p. 39 T, on a Kound colunt, et jaciendo semini arva prse- Tower belfry at Bobbio. parant," (Jonas, cap. 17) ; or "sege- ' S. Columiani Beg. Ccenol. cap. i. turn oopia in horrea conditur" — Migne, Scnpt, Eccl. Minores, Ssec, whilethe abbot himself "cum reliquis VII. p. iio. medius preecidit segetes," (cap. 13.) CHAP. VII. A.D. 590. BequlaHons respeclintf discipline. 138 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. gentleness ; let him never gratify his own wishes ; let him eat what he is bidden ; let him possess only what he receives ; let him perform his allotted task ; only when wearied let him retire to bed : let him learn to sleep as he walks, and be compelled to rise before he has slept suffi- ciently ; when he is injured let him hold his peace ; the head of the monastery let him fear as a master, and love as a father ; let him believe that whatever he orders is for his good, nor question the opinion of his elders, seeing that it is his duty to obey, and to fulfil all that is right. Let his fare be homely and sparing', sufficient to support life without weighing down the spirit, a little bread, vege- tables, pulse, or flom' mixed with water ; let this be his diet, as becometh one who professes to seek an eternal crown ■*. Such was to be the daily life. Meanwhile all offences of the hand, the eye, the foot, the voice, were punished sometimes with penance, or long periods of silence, or lowly postures, and sometimes with blows. The tenth chapter of the Rule regulates the number of the latter with the utmost minuteness according to the nature of the offence. Six blows were awarded to the brother who failed to say grace before a meal, or to join in the "Amen " after the abbot's blessing, or said anything was his own, or neglected to sign his cup with the cross, or talked too loud, or coughed during the psalmody, or stared about him during the service. Acts of insubordination, answering when reprimanded, indulging unchaste thoughts, called down heavier punish- ments, even, in some cases, upwards of two hundred blows, though more than twenty-five might not be inflicted at one time. Puerile as many of these regulations may appear, ^ Reg. Cosnol). cap. p. Montalem- bert, II. 405. ^ The monastic duties are thus summed up ; " quotidie jejimandum est, sicut quotidie orandum est, quo- tidie laborandum, quotidie est legeu- ''■"" " Reg. Can. cap. 3. dum.' Celtic Missionaries in Southern Germany. 139 Colum'banus was yet far from teaching his brethren that chap. tii. the essence of piety consisted in externals. Again and ^.d. 590. again he reminds them that true religion consists not in humility of the body, but of the heart, and bids them con- sider these punctilious observances not as ends but as means. He himself ever set them a worthy example. He united practical energy with a disposition for contempla- tion. It was his delight to penetrate into the deepest recesses of the forest, and there to read and meditate on the Scriptures, which he always carried with him. On Sundays and high festivals he abstracted himself yet more from outward things. Seeking a cave or some other se- cluded spot, he would devote himself entirely to prayer and meditation, and so prepare for celebrating the services of the day without distraction. If he demanded incessant self-denial of his followers, he himself fell not short of his own requirements. "Whosoever overcomes himself," he was wont to say, " treads the world underfoot ; no one, who spares himself, can truly hate the world. If Christ be in us we cannot live to ourselves, if we have conquered ourselves we have conquered all things ; if the Creator of all things died for us while yet in our sins, ought not we to die to sin ? Let us die unto ourselves. Let us live in Christ, that Christ may live in us." These quotations, and others to the same effect might J«m/o/ be multiplied, express the innermost leelmgs ot las heart, I'levm. and the principles however exaggerated which he sought to instil into the order he had founded, in superintending which and directing the civilizing efforts of his monastic colony, he found constant occupation for twelve years. But he was not without his anxieties. The severity of his life, and his zeal for monastic discipline, excited the preju- dices of the Frankish clergy, whose own lethargy and , worldliness were strangely out of harmony with his life- long self-denial. The pertinacity with which he clung to 140 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. VII. the customs he had learnt from his teachers in Ireland, and A.D. B02. especially the time for the observance of Easter, did not mend matters. Already, as early as the year 599, this Len,-rio Gregory latter subicct is the burdcn of a letter he addressed to Gre- iiLt Great. J gory I., in which while expressing all due respect for his exalted position he asserts his independence, and refuses to correct what he deemed to be right. After alluding to two reformers of the paschal cycles, Anatolius, bishop of Lao- dicea, and Victorius, presbyter of Limoges, and declaring that he rejected the calculations of the latter, as novel and unauthorised, though supported by the Koman see, he thus addresses the Pope ; " Either, then, excuse or condemn your Victorius ; but know that should you approve him, the matter of the faith will lie between you and Jerome, who without doubt commended Anatolius though disagree- ing with Victorius, so that whoever follows the one cannot receive the other. Take care, therefore, that in approving the faith of the two aforesaid authors, thus disagreeing with one another, there be no discordance between you and Jerome in the decision you give, lest we be perplexed on every side, and compelled to take part either with you or him. In this matter spare the weak, lest you lay bare the scandal of a disagreement. For I plainly acknowledge to you, that any one who ventures to dissent from the authority of Jerome will be regarded as a heretic, and one to be re- jected in the Churches of the West, for to him they ac- commodate their faith in the divine Scriptures in all things without hesitation^." Before long, his adherence to his Irish customs induced several Frankish bishops to convene a synod and deliberate how they should act towards the intrepid abbot. Accord- 1 Epist. I. Migne, p, 263. "Legi opus esse fateor; mihi idcirco tua librum tuuni,'' he continues, '*Pas- sitienti largire, precor, opuscula quae torale regimen continentem stylo in Ezeohielemmiro, utaudivi, elabo- lirevem, doctrina prolixum, myste- rasti ingenio." Todd's Irish Church, riis refertum, melle duloiufl egenti p. 57, Celtic Missionaries in Southern Germany. 141 ingly, lie addressed them a letter, wherein after expressing chap. vii. his thankfulness that they had met on his account, and his ^^ ggg wish that they met oftener, as the canons require, and re- msietierto lerring them on the Easter question to his correspondence ^i"""*- with Gregory', he assures them with pathetic dignity that he was not the author of this difference : " I came as a stranger amongst you in behalf of our common Lord and Master Jesus Christ. In His name, I beseech you, let me live in peace and quiet, as I have lived for twelve years in these woods beside the bones of my seventeen departed brethren. Let Gaul receive into her bosom all who, if they deserve it, will meet in one heaven. For we have one kingdom promised us, and one hope of our calling in Christ, with whom we shall reign together, if first we suffer with Him here on earth. Choose ye which rule respecting Easter ye prefer to follow, remembering the words of the Apostle, Prove all things, hold fast that which is good. But let us not quarrel one with another, lest our enemies, the Jews, the heretics, and pagan Gentiles, rejoice in our contention." And he concludes, " Pray for us, my fathers, even as we, humble as we are, pray for you. Eegard us not as strangers, for we are members together of one body, whether we be Gauls, or Britons, or Iberians, or to whatever nation we belong. Therefore let us all rejoice in the knowledge of the faith, and the revejation of the Son of God, and let us strive earnestly to attain together unto the perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Chrisf, in com- munion with whom let us learn to love one another, and praise one another, and correct one another, and pray for one another, that with Him we may together reign for evermore." ^ Epist. 1. "Quid quidem illi fratri vestro Arigio brevi libello hoc Eentiunt de Pascba sive papee per idem scribere prjEsumpsi." tres tomos innotui, et adhuc sancto ^ Eph. iv. 13. Oi'positwn of jbjunehauL 142 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. Tii. Thus with mingled firmness and pathos does the abbot ^jj g^g_ plead with the Frankish bishops. But he was soon called to engage in a nobler strife, and to protest against the vices of the Burgundian court, at this time ruled by the noto- rious Brunehaut, who fleeing from the palace of Theo- debert of Austrasia, had taken up her abode with her younger son Thierri. The king, who had forgotten the old Teutonic virtues of his sires, had given himself up to the unbridled indulgence of his lusts, and the unscrupu- lous Brunehaut, conniving at his licentiousness, sought to gain a complete ascendancy in his kingdom, and to rule him through his vices. The fame of the abbot of Luxeuil attracted Thierri, and he often visited his retreat. Tiie abbot did not neglect the opportunity thus afforded him. "His life was lightning, he could make his words thunder." Sternly he rebuked the king for his incontinence, and bade him leave his countless mistresses for the society of a queen, who might bring him a legitimate heir. The volup- tuous Thierri quailed before the saint, and promised amend- ment. But this was easier said than done. Brunehaut saw in a legitimate queen a death-blow to her influence, and her rage against the abbot knew no bounds. His saintly character and the reverence with which he was regarded saved him from the fate of Uidier, bishop ' of Vienne, who had paid with his life for bold rebuke of Thierri's incontinence. Whether at her solicitation, or of his own accord, the abbot one day visited the palace, and the queen-mother implored his blessing on the king's two illegitimate sons. " These bastards born in sin," was the uncompromising reply, " shall never wield the royal scep- tre." Brunehaut, furious, bade the children retire, and from that day forward commenced a series of petty perse- cutions. She cut off supplies from his monasteries, stirred up jealousy between them and neighbouring convents. Thereupon the abbot determined once more to repair to the Celtic Missionaries in Southern Germany. 143 court, and to remonstrate with the queen. It was sunset chap. vii. when he appeared before the palace, and on his arrival T^Teio! being announced the king ordered a sumptuous supper to be prepared and sent out to him. " It is written," said the saint, " that the Most High abhors the offerings of the wicked : the mouth of the servants of God must not be polluted with food given by one who persecutes them and wickedly excludes them not only from their own, but from the habitation of others." Tiiereupon, according to his biographer, the dishes miraculously brake in pieces, and the wine and other viands were spilt upon the earth. The king, alarmed at this intelligence, promised amend- ment, and the abbot withdrew to Luxeuil, whence he in- dited a letter full of the severest rebukes, and threatening the king with excommunication if he did not repent of his adulteries. It was Brunehaut's turn now. She inflamed the mind of the king against the stern monitor, she roused the nobles and courtiers, and appealing to the bishops strove to rouse their jealousy against the stranger monk and his strange rule. At last Thierri, stung to the quick, repaired to Luxeuil, and demanded a free entrance for his Courtiers to the monastery. Columbanus replied with awful denunciations. The king attempted to enter the refectory, but dared not go further, so terrible was the language of the abbot. " Thou think^st," he said with a sneer, " I shall confer on thee a martyr's crown ; I am not so utterly foolish as to gratify thy pride, but thou shalt go hence by the way by which thou earnest." The abbot refused to stir from his celP. At length force was used, and the uncom- coiumhamis ^ . ' hauislh'd in promising monk was carried away to Besancjon. But he ^«<"'f'"'- managed to elude his guards, and made his way back to Luxeuil. Again he was taken, and with two or three of his disciples hurried off to Auxerre, and thence to Nevers, where he was placed in a boat and conveyed to Orleans. ' Jonse Yita S. Oolumlani, capp. 15, 20. 144 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. VII. Here he was forbidden to enter any of the churches, and ^„ 610. ^^^ removed to Tours, and so to Nantes, where he was put on board a vessel bound for Ireland \ But the miracles, which had attended him at every stage of his journey by land, did not fail him now. A storm arose, and the vessel was cast back and left high and dry on the coast of Neu- stria ; nor till the abbot and all belonging to him had been piit on shore did the waters return and float the ship to sea. He was now in the kingdom of Clothaire II. who besought him to remain with him, and hallow his realm with his presence. Columbanus could only be persuaded to stay a few days at the court, and after giving the king advice in some political matters, requested a safe conduct to the court of the Austrasian Theodebert. His request was granted, and he reached his destination in safety. Theodebert received him with delight, but could not prevail upon him to remain more than a brief space in his dominions. Xepairs to zuff. Many of the brethren from Luxeuil had now flocked around the abbot, and he pined for the solitude which had been so long denied him''. With a few followers therefore he repaired to Mentz, whence they embarked on the Rhine, and making their way to the mouth of the Limmat, reached the shores of the lake of Zurich, halting finally at Tugium, the modern Zug, where Columban resolved to stay awhile and preach to the pagan Suevians. His labours might have been attended with success, had the means he em- ployed been more calculated to win the affections of the people. But the abbot of Luxeuil and his companions preferred wielding the M'capons o"f a Boanerges to trying 1 " Eeperta ergo navi, quae Sco- vium Lindimacum (hodie Limmat), forum commercia vexerat, omnein quern sequendo adierunt castellum Bupellectilem coinitesque suscepit." Turegum vocatum, (Zurich). Inde Jonas, Vita Columbani. c. 1^. etenim adierunt viUam vulgovocatam ,2 " Igitur optio ei a rege dabatur, Tucconia, (Tuggen) qus' in capite si alicubi aptum locum experiretur ; ipsius Tureginensis est sita." Vita in qua inquisitione venerunt ad flu- h. Galli, Pertz, Mon. Germ. II. p. 6. Celtic Missionaries in Southern Germany. 145 the gentler efforts of the Apostle of Love. The Suevians chap. vii. are described as cruel and impious, offering sacrifice to 171 idols, and addicted to augury and divination'. Gallus, one of his companions, set fire to their W(^oden temples, and flung their idols into the lake. Columbanus himself, on one occasion, according to his biographer, came upon a number of the people as they were about to offer sacrifice, and make libations to Woden from a huge vat of beer. Discovering their purpose, the abbot breathed over the vat, which forthwith burst, and scattered its contents in all directions. The heathen Suevians arose in. wrath, and re- solved to drive the interfering missionaries" from their country. Thereupon the latter were obliged to fly, and the Abbot of Luxeuil, after shaking off the dust from his feet, left them with awful maledictions, devoting them and their children to misery in this world, and perdition in the world to come. Leaving Zug, Columbanus and his companions shaped a.d. 611. their course to Arbon, on the lake of Constance, where they found a priest named Willimar, and were received with great cordiality. Seven days were spent in harmonious intercourse, and in reply to the inquiries of his visitors, Willimar pointed out Bregenz, on the south-eastern side Founiis a wmas- of the lake, as well adapted for the site of a monastery, and for being the centre of missionary activity. A boat wiis manned by the friendly priest, and Columbanus and his companions made for the spot, and found it well suited 1 " Homines ibidem commanentes properium, ut, qus improbe exoogi- cruiMea erant et impii, simulacra tant servis tiiis, sentiant in oapitibus colentes, idola sacrificiis venerautc-s, suis. Fiant nati eormn in interitum ; obsdrvantes auguria et divinationes, ergo cum ad mediam setatem perve- et multa quae contraria sunt cultui niant, stupor ac dementia eos appje- divino, superstitiosa sectantes." Wa- hendant, ita ut alieno are oppressi lafrid Strabo, Vita S. Columbani, ignominiani suain agnoscant con- cap. A. versi ; impleaturque in eis propbetia * "Sauctua autem Columbanus psalmographi dioentis, conmrtatur lisec audiens orabat: Deus rector poli, dolor ejus in caput ejus, et in verticem in cujus arbitrio totus mundus de- ipsiiis iniquitas ejm descendaC Vita currit, fac generationem istam in im- S. Galli, Pertz, II. 7. 10 146 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. oiiAi'. VII. for their purpose. On landing they discovered a church, '^'^^_ originally dedicated to St Aurelia, and in the immediate neighbourhood they built a monastery. A closer examina- tion revealed the fact that in this church were three images of brass' gilded, fixed to the wall, which the people were wont to worship as the presiding deities of th< place, and to invoke as their protectors. These " strange Datructimof gods" Columbanus determined to remove, and availing ""'"'"'"'"■ himself of a festival when great numbers flocked to the spot, he directed G-allus, who was acquainted with the native language, to address the people on the foolishness of their idolatry, and to persuade them to embrace the true faiths Gallus complied with the request of his superior, and in the presence of a vast multitude who had flocked together to celebrate the festival and to catch a sight of the strangers, reasoned with them on the absurdities of their heathen errors, and proclaimed the One Living and True God and His Son Jesus Christ. Then taking the idols, he broke them in pieces and flung them into the lake, while Columbanus sprinkled the church with holy water, and re- stored it to its former honour. The people were divided. Some approved the boldness of the abbot, and were con- verted to the faith, others went away filled with anger and bent on revenge. Here, however, he remained for three years. A monastery' was erected, a portion of the forest ^ "Eepererunt autem in templo (now Coileach), was another Irish tres imagines aereas deauratas, pari- disciple, he was of Leinster extrac- eti affixas, quas populus, dimisso al- tion, being of the same race as St taris sacri cultu, adorabat, et oblatis Brigid. The practice of Latinizing the saciificiis, dicere consuevit, Isti sunt Irish names of these anchorites was dii veteres, et antiqui hujus loci tu- very common, thMaPergal was called tores, quorum solatio et nos et nos- Virgilius, Siadhail Sedulius, Oathac tra peidurant in prssens." Wal. Ca.tiMas, Donncliudh DonSitus, Com- Strabo, cap. 6. Pertz, ii. 7. gall Faustus, &c. See note in Ulster 2 " Vir Dei jussit Gallo ad popu- Arclueol. Journal, vii. p. -242. lum recitare sermonem, quia ille ^ Where, according to the life of inter alios eminebat lepore latinita- Gallus preserved in Pertz, the bre- tis, necnon et idiomate illius gen- thren " in morem parvissimae matris tis." Pertz, II. 7. Gallus, or Calleck iipcs ingeuium exercebaut in artibus Celtic Missionaries in Southern Germany. 147 was cleared, the land cultivated, and while some of the chap. vii. brethren laid out gardens and planted fruit-trees, Gallus ^.^ gii. husied himself with making nets and fishing on the lake, and thus supplied the wants of his brethren. The success of the missionaries at Bregenz may be accounted for by the fact that the country had formerly been Christian, and many of the inhabitants had been baptized, though in con- sequence of the incursions of the Alemanni they had sub- sequently, as in the instance above, lapsed into idolatry. That the native deities did not regard the exertions of the missionaries with complacency, is attested by the following story, which the biographer of Gallus records with undoubt- ing faith. The holy man was one night engaged in fishing on the quiet waters of the lake, when he overheard the Spirit of the Mountain call to the Spirit of the Waters, " Arise and come to my assistance ! Behold, strangers have come and driven me from my temple ! Haste to the rescue, and help me to expel them from the land!" To whom re- plied the Spirit of the Waters, " Lo ! one of them is even now busied on my surface, but injure him I cannot. Often have I wished to break his nets, but as often have I been baffled, for the invocation of an all-prevailing Name never fails to cross his lips ; thus defended and ever vigilant he always despises my snares'." Gallus shuddered at this unearthly dialogue, but quickly crossing himself addressed the spirits, " I adjure you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that ye depart from this place, and never dare to injure any one any more." He then hastily made for the shore, and recounted to the abbot what he had heard, who rejoiced at this manifest proof that " the spirits were sub- ject" unto the brethren. Human hostility, however, they diversis." This Walafrid Strabo ex- quam fratribus defuiasent." The lake plains thus : " Alii hortum laborave- abounds in fish at the present day, runt, alii arbores pomiteras excolue- and more than 25 species have been runt: beatusvero Gallus texebatretia, enumerated. et miserioordia Dei cooperante, Ian- ' Vita S. Galli, Pertz, II. 8. Ozap. tam pisdum copiam cepit, ut nun- nam, p. 122. 10—2 A.D. 612. Hel bio. 1 ^ .tm- ■148 Tlie Missionary'' History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. VII. could not so easily overcome, and the machinations of the heathen party, who prejudiced against them one of the native chieftains, as also the fact that his friend Theodo- hert had been defeated by Theodoric, induced Columbamis ires to Bob- to leave the neighbourhood. His first intention was to labour amongst the Slavonians, but changing his mind he crossed the Alps with several of the brethren, and repaired to the court of Agilulf king of the Lombards, who with his queen Theodelinda welcomed him with the utmost cordi- ality. Here he settled, and founded the monastery of Bobbio\ Declining the invitation of Clotaire II. who sent Eustasius, one of the brethren, to request his return to Luxeuil, he spent the few remaining years of his life in literary labours^ in his new monastery, and died at the ripe age of seventy-two, a. d. 615. Meanwhile his companion Gallus, prevented by a severe attack of fever from accompanying his master across the Alps, remained behind at Bregenz. On his recovery he sought out his old friend Willimar at Arbon, and in his society, and that of two of the Luxeuil brethren, Magnoald and Theodore, found ample employment for his boat and nets on the waters of the lake. But soon yearning, like his master, for profounder soli- tudes, he determined to seek a retreat in the midst of the surrounding forests. On communicating his design to Hildebald, a deacon under Willimar, who was intimately AD. 615. Lahours of St Gail. AD. 612. 1 The same abbatial presidency prevailed at Bobbio as at Hy and Lindisfarne. "Episcopus, quern pa- ter monasterii, vel tota coTigregatio invitaverit ad missarum solemnia celebranda, aut consecrationes Pres- by terorum sen Diaconorum . . . ipse habeat facultatem in idem monaste- r;um ingrediendi, tantum ad pii opus monasterii peragendum. Nullam potcstatem habere permittat Episco- pos in eodem monasterio, neque in rebus, neque in ordinandia personis, ni.^i eum, quern cuncta Congregatio regulariter elegerit." Messingham, Florileg. 248 b. Beeves' Adamnan, p. ,^41 n. ^ The monastery of Bobbio existed as late even as the year 1803. Its valuable library preserved not only Cicero's de RepMica, but an Irish Antiphonarium of the eighth cen- tury, and an Irish Missal. The name of its founder still survives in St Columbano, near Lodi. Celtic Missionaries in Southern Germani/. 149 acquainted, with tlie woods, the latter tried to dissuade him, cuap. vii. by describing the perils of the forest and the multitude ^ „ ^^2. of wild beasts^. "If God be with us," replied Grallus, " who can be against us? all things work together for good to them that love God." Thus overruled the deacon per- suaded him at least to take some bread .and a fishing net, and after prayer the two set out on their journey. They had travelled till nearly three in the afternoon, when the deacon proposed that they should stop and refresh them- selves before proceeding further. But Gallus, true to the rule of his master, bade the deacon do as he pleased, but declared that for himself he was resolved to taste nothing rte sa-iu amUm- till God should point out the site of their retreat. Evening- was closing on a long summer-day as they reached a stream falling down from a rock, where they succeeded in taking a few fish, which the deacon proceeded to broil over a fire, while the other in the meantime retired to seek a quiet spot, where he might engage in prayer. He had not gone far when his foot caught in some bushes, and he fell down. The deacon hastened to raise him up, but Gallus declined his aid, saying, " Let me alone, this is my resting-place for life, here will I dwell." Then rising up he made a cross of hazel boughs and planted it in the ground, and suspending from it his casket of relics, continued for some time engaged in prayer that God would enable him to erect a monastery on this spot. Their devotions ended, the two partook of supper, and while the deacon pretended to be asleep, Gallus engaged in conflict with a bear, which, however, his biographer tells us, in obedience to the words of so holy a man, condescended to lay aside his usual ferocity, and to leave them unharmed. In the morning the '" Pater, solitude aquis est in- et innoouorum greges animalium, fusa frequentibus, asperitate terri- ursos gignit pluiimos, aproa iimume- bilis, moDtibus plena percelsis, an- rabiles, lupos numerum exeedentes, gustia vallibua flexuosa, bestiis pos- rabie singulares." Vita S. Galli, cap. aeaaa aaevissimis. Nam prseter cervos, 9, Pertz, il. 8*, CHAP. VII. A.D. 613—14. The daughter of Guiizo. 150 The, Missionary History of the Middle Ages. deacon repaired to the stream of the Steinach, and while fishing beheld two dajmoiis in the form of women, who pelted him with stones, and imprecated curses on the head of his master'. He returned to Gallus, and the demons were found as obedient to his word as the bear had been on the preceding night, and forsook the stream. With a present of fish they now made their way back to Willimar, and recounted all that had befallen them. Shortly after- wards, according to a story which rests on somewhat doubt- ful authority, a message from Gunzo the pagan chieftain who had been instrumental in expelling Columbanus from the country, summoned Gallus to cure his daughter, who was possessed with a daimon. The spirit recognised the voice of him who had spoken words of power on the lake, the maiden recovered, and on her arrival at the court of the king of Austrasia^, to whom she was espoused, re- counted all that had befallen her, and secretly took the veil, a step which had been suggested by the missionary, and was not resented by the king. The valuable presents, which were bestowed upon him in acknowledgment of the benefit he had conferred, Gallus distributed among the poor of Arbon. Among them was a silver cup, which one of his disciples begged him to keep for the service of the altar : " Silver and gold have I none," replied the other ; " vessels of brass sufiiced my master for the celebration of the Sacred Feast, and they shall be sufficient for me. Let it be given to the poor^" He then retired permanently to his retreat in the forest, where he was joined by a deacon named John and twelve other monks, with whose assistance he cleared the waste, ' Vita S. Gain, Pertz, ii. 9. ^ From whom St Gall received the grant of the land on which he found- ed his monastery. " Rex vero jussit scribere epistolam firmitatis, ut per regiam auctoritatem deinceps oliti- nuisset vir Dei cellulam suam, quae vero Deo transmittebatur cum dua- bus libris auri, et binis taleutis ar- gent!." Pertz, II. II. ^ See Vita S. Magni, cap. 9. Vita S. GaUi, Pertz, 11. 12. Lanigan, 11.. 433- Celtic Missionaries in Southern German^/. 151 and erected the famous monastery wliicli now bears liis cdap. vii. name'. The see of Constance falling vacant, he repaired ^^ g^g thither with the deacons John and Magnoald on the invi- Founds tu ^ iiwnai'en/ of tation of the duke Gunzo, and there met the bishops of *"'''"'"■ Autun, Spires and Verdun, and a larj^e body of clergy and laity assembled to elect a successor. After some delibera- tion Gunzo addressed them, and exhorted them to choose a proper bishop according to the Canons, and one who would rule his see with diligence. The eyes of all were fixed upon Gallus, and all agreed that no other was so fitted for the high office. But the missionary declined the proffered honour, remarking that the Canons, except in the most urgent cases, did not permit strangers to be ordained bishops of districts of which they were not natives'. " But," f/llZ!a^«^ he added, " I have a deacon of your own people who is well fitted to fill the office, and I propose him for your accept- ance." Thereupon the deacon John, who during their de- liberations had retired to the church of St Stephen, was brought forth with acclamations by the jDeople, presented to the bishops, and forthwith consecrated. Mass was then ms sermon. celebrated, and after reading the Gospel, Gallus was re- quested to preach to the assembled multitude. Accordingly he commenced his sermon, which the newly elected bishop interpreted. The discourse' was little more than an abridged history of religion, and of the chief events from the Crea- tion to the preaching of the Apostles. The Origin of the world, the Fall of our first parents, the Flood, the Call of Abraham, the miracles of Moses, the kingly period of ' Vita S. Oalli, apud Pertz, cap. 3. suorum civium merentur, testimonio Wal. Strabo, capp. ■2 2 — 25. preponantur : ne novum quoddam * See Vita S. Galli, Pertz, 11. 9. de quo ep'soopi fiaut, institutum vi- In the ind Epistle of Pope Celeatine deatur collegium." to the bishops of Vienne and Narbon " It is given in full in Canisius, we find it laid down : "Neo emeritis Antiq.Lect. 1. 784, and the .4 c*a iSd. mens, alios patibulis appendens, aliis Bened. saec. III. I. 344. 176 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. Two Children saved from death. CHAP. Tin. age, were selected after casting lots for sacrifice to the gods. A.D. 695—719. -^ stake was erected on the sea-shore, to which the boys were fastened, and they were left to the mercy of the rising tide, in a spot where two seas met. As the tide crept nearer, the elder of the two children tried by supporting the other on his shoulders to save him for a time from his too certain doom. Amidst the vast crowd that had flocked to the shore to witness the cruel spectacle one heart alone was touched. The bishop went boldly into the presence of Radbod, and begged the life of the children, declaring it iniquitous that beings made in the image of God should be exposed to the sport of dfemons. " If your God Christ," Kadbod replied, " will deliver them from their present peril, you may have them for your own." There- upon the bishop prayed mightily to God, and, as the story runs, the waves seemed suddenly to gather into a heap and leave the spot where the children stood, so that it became as dry land. Then the bishop flung himself into the waves, and seizing one of the children in his right hand and the other in his left, conveyed them safe to land and restored them to their mother. They were afterwards baptized, together with a considerable number of the Frisians'. It is easy to imagine that incidents like these would make a strong impression upon the people ; and it is not surprising that the missionary's expostulations won the respect of many who must in their inmost hearts have revolted from such cruel scenes. Even Eadbod's son con- sented, as we have already said, to receive baptism", and that cruel chief himself at one period entertained serious thoughts of following his example. He even approached the baptismal font, but stopped on the way to ask the Fffect on the Jrisians. ^ Vita S. Wulframmi, Ada SS. JBened. saac. ni. i. 344, 5. ' For other indications of Ead- bod's better feelings, especially dur- ing the last days of his life, see Vita S. Liudgeri, Pertz, 11. 405. Missionary Efforts in Friesland cmd parts adjacent. 177 Lishop, " adjuring him to tell the truth," whether if he chap. viii. received the rite, he might hope to meet in heaven his ~~^q Frisian ancestors, or whether they were in that place of Radbodatm torment of which he had been told . Do not deceive thyself," was the prelate's uncompromising reply; "in the presence of God assuredly is the ordained number of his elect ; as for thy ancestors the chiefs of Frisia who have departed this life without baptism, it is certain that they have received the just sentence of damnation." Thereupon E.adbod drew back from the font, and declined to receive the rite, preferring, he said, to join his own people, where- ever they might be, rather than sit down in the kingdom of heaven with a handful of beggars^: and as yet he could not assent to these new doctrines, and preferred to remain constant to the belief of his own people. The obstinacy of the chief perplexed the bishop not a little. A last effort to overcome his scruples appears to have been made while Kadbod was confined to his bed by the disease which eventually terminated in his death. But this also was frus- trated by an incident which is too curiously illustrative pi the ideas of the times to be omitted. " One day," writes the biographer of Wulfram, " while Eadbod was lying sick, the Evil One, who is sometimes permitted to transform ^ "Juramentis eum per nomen doctrine. The oirouinstance is men- Dominiastringens." Neander (v. 60) tioned in the Annates Xantenses as remarks, "that this characteristic occurring in the year 718, as also incident, thougli the chronicle cannot Radbod's death in the next year 719. be entirely depended on, may never- Pertz, II. 221. theless be true...The barbarous chief, '^ "Hseo audiens Dux incredulus, was, doubtless, only seeking a pre- nam ad fontem processerat, infeUx text to reject, in a half faltering way, pedem a fonte retraxit, dioens non the proposal that he should embrace se carere posse consortio prEedecesso- Ghristianity ; still this incident may rum suorum Principum Fresionum, serve to illustrate how the spread of et cum parvo numero pauperum re- Christianity was hindered and check- sidere in illo c{Klesti regno : quin po- ed by the narrow and tangled views tius non facile posse nobis dictis ad- of its doctrines which had grown up sensum pra;bere, sed potius perman- out of the ordinances of the Church." surum se in his quse multo tempore Rettberg and Ozanam consider the cum omni Fresionnm gt'nte servave- whole story an invention devised in rat." Vita S. Wulframmi, c. 9. behalf of the rigid predestinarian 12 CHAP. Till. ..B.719. 178 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. himself into an angel of light, appeared to him, crowned ' with a golden diadem, studded with brilliant gems, and arrayed in a robe spangled with gold'. While the chief trembled with astonishment, his visitor asked him reproach- fully, 'Tell me, who has so seduced thee, that thou wishest to give up the worship of thy gods, and the religion of thy ancestors ? be not deceived, continue constant to the faith thou hast been taught, and thou shalt assuredly sit down in the golden mansions of bliss, which I have ap- pointed for thee in the world to come. And now that thou mayest know the truth of my words, go to-morrow to that Bishop Wulfram, and ask of him where is that mansion of eternal splendour which he promises thee if thou wilt receive the Christian faith ; and when he fails to show it thee, then let two messengers, one of each faith, be sent, and I will lead the way, and show them the mansion of eternal glory, which I am about to give to thee hereafter.' In the morning, Eadbod did as he was bid, and told Wulfram of the vision. But the latter was not to be duped : ' This is an illusion of the devil,' said he, ' who wishes all men to perish, and none to be saved. But be not thou deceived, hasten to the font, believe in Christ, and receive the remission of thy sins. As for the golden mansions which thy visitor has promised thee, believe him not, for he it is that seduceth the whole world ; by his pride he fell from his place in heaven, and from a bene- ficent angel became the enemy of mankind.' Eadbod replied that he was willing to be baptized, but he should like first to see the mansion which his own deity had pro- mised him. Thereupon Wulfram sent the messenger, his own deacon, and a heathen Frisian. They had not gone ^ Radbod's illness is alsomentioned pitqiie refi^mim ejus deficere, regnum in the 7ita yS. iJMrfjreW, Pertz, 11.405, quoque Francorum augmentaudo "sex annis continuis ante diem mor- proiioere." tis sua paulatim ti'axit dolorem, coe- Missionary Efforts in Friesland and parts adjacent. 179 far before they met one in human form, who said to them, chap. vm. ' Make haste, for I am about to show you the glorious ^i „. 719. abode which his god has prepared for prince Radbod.' The messengers followed their guide, and after a long journey they came to a street paved with different kinds of marble, at the end of which was a golden house of marvellous beauty and splendour ; entering it, they beheld a throne of immense size, and their guide addressing them, said, ' This is the mansion, and glorious palace, which his god has promised to bestow on prince Radbod after his death.' 'The deacon, astonished at the sight, made the sign of the Cross, and replied, ' If these things have been made by Almighty God, they will remain for ever, but if they be the work of the devil, they will speedily vanish.' He had no sooner spoken these words, than their guide was instantly changed into the form of the Prince of darkness, and the golden palace into mud ; and the messengers found themselves in the midst of a huge morass, filled with reeds and rushes. A tedious journey of three days brought them back to Wulfram, and they recounted what had befallen them." But they returned too late for their intelligence to be of any avail to the pagan chief, by assuring him that he had been deceived by the Prince of darkness. Before their arrival he had paid the debt of nature without receiving- baptism, because, in the words of Wulfram's biographer, "he was not of the sheep of Christ, nor ordained unto eternal life." But the news of this marvellous occurrence made a deep impression on the Frisians. Multitudes of them agreed to receive the rite which their chief had scorned, and gladdened the heart of Wulfram by, at least, a nominal profession of Christianity, before his death in the following year\ On the death of Radbod, Charles Martel a.d. 720. 1 This is the year given by Ma- (Pertz, II. ■221): others say that he billon and in the Annales Xantenses lived till 741. 12—2 180 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. VIII. once more reduced the Frisians to a state of nominal sub- A.D. 720. jection, and Willibrord was enabled to push forward his missionary operations with greater hope of permanent success. But he had been already joined by a still more eminent fellow-labourer, whose success speedily eclipsed his own, and who wOn for himself the name of the "Apostle of Germany." His labours must form the subject of our next Chapter. attained. hiUicrto CHAPTEE IX. ST BONIFACE AND THE CONVERSION OP GERMANY. A.D. 715—755. *'E stirpe natus regia Bonifacius, Britanniam ultro deserens, Auotoritate pontificis summi, fuit Apostolus Germaniae." Up to this time the propagation of Christianity in Ger- <^ha^- i^- many had been effected not so much by general organized Partial cun- ... . . racUr of Ihe plans, as by the voluntary activity of individuals. Between ""ff" ?** the various missionaries, whether Irish or Anglo-Saxon, there had been little union or concert, nor had anything like a general supervision of the different fields of labour been possible^ The vast Teutonic pagan world had as yet ijcen but partially assailed. Enthusiastic monks from Ireland had erected many outposts of civilization on its borders, and Wilfrid and Willibrord had shown what might be effected when Teutons were Apostles of Teutons. But no one had yet appeared to conduct the great work on one definite plan, to consolidate the various missionary bodies, to lead them forth under one banner, and to encoun- ter German idolatry in its strongholds. This work was re- served for an Anglo-Saxon, the well-known Winfrid, or, as he was afterwards called, Boniface^, " the father of Christian civilization in Germany." ^ Gieseler, II. 214. "'Bonifacio' sive Winfrido dignissi- 2 This name was probably asaum- moDeipresbytero." ^p. III. Migne, ed when he became a monk. Bugga, Script. Eccles. ssec. viii. p. 6go. Lin- writing to him in 720, calls him gard'a A. S. C. 11. 338., 182 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. IX. Born at Crediton, or Kirton, in Devonshire, about tlie ^ ^ e8(,_ year 680, of an old and noble family, he was designed by winfrid, or his parents for a secular career. But at an early period the Brrald£^«-visit of some monks quickened the desire to embrace the ''""■'"'• monastic life. The opposition of his father was diverted by the alarm of a dangerous illness, and the boy was re- moved, when only seven years of age, to a conventual house at Exeter [Adestancastre] under Abbot Wolfayd, and thence to Nutescelle in Hampshire, a monastery in the diocese of Winchester, afterwards destroyed by the Danes. Here, under abbot Winberct, he became eminent for his diligence and devotion, for his deep acquaintance with the Scriptures, and skill in preaching. At the age of thirty he received ordination, and his well-known talents procured for him on several occasions high ecclesiastical employ- ments. King Ina honoured him with his confidence, and the united recommendations of his brethren led to his being sent, on more than one occasion, on a confidential mission to archbishop Bertchtwald. He might, therefore, have risen to an honourable position in his native land, but at an A.D. 715. early period he had conceived an earnest desire to join the noble band headed by Willibrord, for the success of whose labours in Frisia many a prayer was doubtless put up in the English monasteries. He communicated to his abbot the earnest desire he felt to preach the Grospel to " his kinsmen after the flesh," and though the latter would have dissuaded him from his intention, he repaired to London', and thence, with three of the brethren whom he had persuaded to accompany him, crossed the sea to Doerstadt^. inefTKiuai effort He had hopcd to labour successfully in Eriesland, but the in Friesiand. . /> i • ■ ••-r-»TiT time 01 his coming was unpropitious. Kadbod was at war ^ "Pervenit ad locum ubi erat ^ " Then a flouriRhing emporium, forum rerum venalium, et usque ho- now almost obliterated from the map, die antiquo Anglorum Saxonumque nay even from historical memory." vooabulo appellatur Lvjndenwich." Palgrave's Normandy, i. 257. Yita S. JBonifacii, Pertz, 11. 338. 8t Boniface and the Conversion of Oermany. 183 with Charles Martel, a fierce persecution of the Cliristians chap. ix. had broken out, and Winfrid was fain to return to his ^ „ 7^5 cloister at Nutescelle. During the ensuing winter the abbot died, and, had Winfrid listened to the solicitations of his brethren, he might have been welcomed as his successor. But the old missionary ardour still burnt fiercely, and with the return of spring he had made up his mind to make another effort in Frisia. Daniel bisiiop of Winchester favoured his design, and gave him commendatory letters to the Pope, whose consent and patronage he determined to secure before entering on his second enterprize. Accordingly the year ^ ^ ^jg 718 saw him again in London, whence he embarked, ^"i^^ jom-rmjUiniiim. quickly reached the coast of Normandy. In the autumn he set out, in company with a large body of pilgrims, through France, offering up fervent prayers in all the most celebrated churches that he might have a successful journey across the Alps, and escape the many dangers to which it was incident. Reaching Rome in safety, he de- livered to the Pope, Gregory II., the commendatory letters of his diocesan, and unfolded his design. Gregory gave the ardent monk a hearty welcome, and during the winter discussed with him in frequent interviews the prospects of the mission, and finally gave him a letter authorizing him ^ j, 719^ to preach the Gospel in Germany wherever he might find ■'^^^• an opportunity. In the following spring, therefore, armed with this com- mission, and an ample supply of relics, he set out to make a second effort to propagate the faith. Thuringia was the scene of his earliest labours. Here and in the district already partially evangelized by Rupert of Worms, he endeavoured to induce the clergy to adopt a more rigid form of celibacy, and to reclaim the people who had re- lapsed in too many instances into idolatry. While thus g^„„^ „.„.( ,^ employed, he received intelligence of the death of Radbod, ■^™"'" A.D. 722. 184 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. IX. and immediately repaired to the country of that chieftain. The recent successes of Charles Martel had opened a way for the Gospel into the Frisian kingdom, and for three years Winfrid united himself with the missionary band under Willibrord at Utrecht, and in the destruction of many heathen temples, and the rise of Christian churches, saw many encouraging fruits of his labours. Willibrord now feeling the advance of age, was extremely anxious that the energetic monk of Nutescelle should be his successor in the see of Utrecht. But Winfrid firmly declined the honour. In vain the other pleaded and intreated. Winfrid declared that he was not fifty years old, the canonical age for a bishop. When that objection was overruled, he fell back upon his commission from the Pope. It directed him to preach the Grospel in Germany, and to Germany he would go. Willibrord was, therefore, constrained to give way, and Winfrid left him to plunge into the wilds of Hessia. Two native chiefs were attracted by his preaching, and were baptized. A monastery arose at Amoneburg on the Ohun, and the missionary found that the protection of the converted chiefs, and his own acquaintance with the native language, gained for him an access to the hearts of many in Hessia and Saxony. Multitudes followed the example of their chiefs, and accepted baptism. A faithful brother, named Binna, was deputed to announce to Gregory these gratifying results, and the Pope, who could not fail to foresee what might be expected from the labours of so energetic a missionary, summoned him to Rome. nccondvMito Thither Winfrid obediently repaired, escorted bv a A.D. 723, numerous retmue ot Franks and Burgundians, and, in ■'"P- reply to the Pope's questions respecting the faith which he preached, handed in a copy of his Creed. It was duly examined, and after an interval of five days he was ao-ain admitted to an audience, and was informed by Gregory that he was completely satisfied, and, in consideration of 8t Boniface and the Conversion of Oefmany. 185 the success he had already acliieved, was ready to confer onAP. ix. upon him the episcopal dignity. Accordingly on the feast ^„ 733. of St Andrew, 723, he was consecrated regionary bishop, comecraied jr- No particular diocese was, of course, assigned him, but he was entrusted with a general jurisdiction over all whom he might win over from parganism to the Christian fold. G-regory further supplied him with a book of Canons to aid him in the general government of his mission \ and a Synodal containing instructions for his. own personal con- duct. At the same time, to cement still closer the bond of union between them, he exacted from the susceptible and conscientious Anglo-Saxon, over the grave of St Peter, the oath which had long been required of bishops within the patriarchate of Rome'', whereby he solemnly pledged himself to render all ecclesiastical obedience to the Holy See. " I vow to thee," it ran, " the first of the The oath of ou- '' ' _ dience to Vie Jlolt/ Apostles, to thy vicar. Pope Gregory, and his successors, *'^- that, with God's help, I will continue in the unity of the Catholic faith, and in no wise will consent to aught which is contrary to the unity of the same, but will, in all ways, persevere in keeping my pure faith, in communion with thee, and in close adherence to the usages of thy Church, which has received from God the power to bind and to loose ; and so I promise to thy Vicar and his successors. And if I at any time learn that the conduct of any minis- ters of the Church is opposed to the ancient ordinances of the fathers, I will hold no intercourse or communion with them, but will rather hinder their proceedings to the best of my power, and wherever I cannot restrain them, ^ SeeM'tgne'sPatrologiaySsecYni. celebrating baptism (non nisi in Pas- p. 502. The rules have regard (i) chali Festivitate et Penteooste..,ex- to the quaUfioations of those Boni- ceptis iis quibus mortis urgente peri- face was to admit to holy orders, culo, ne in setemum pereant, .talibns (2) the times of administering or- oportet remediis subvenire), (4) the , ders (non nisi quarti, septimi, et de- income of the Church, cimimensisjejuniis, sedetiningressu " Migne, ssec. vill. p. 498. Giese- quadragesimali), (3) the seasons for ler, II. 115. Neander, v. 66. 186 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. IX. will give information thereof to the Pope." It has been 7.^ 723. pointed out by Guizot, that the political circumstances of the times would naturally render Gregory anxious to obtain such a vow of allegiance from one in whose hands there was a prospect of the development of a great Germanic Church'; and we shall see, again and again, how scru- pulously conscientious Winfrid, now to be known by the name of Boniface, was in carrying out his instructions. Thus elevated to the episcopal dignity, with letters of com- mendation to the Mayor of the Frankish palace, to the bishops of Bavaria and Alemannia, and the native chiefs of the countries where he was about to labour, the mission- 'liaS^. '" ary recrossed the Alps, exhibited his instructions to Charles Martel, and with his permission and full protection recom- menced operations in Hessia. A.D. 724. He found that matters had not improved during his teX™"""^ absence. Some of his converts had remained firm in the faith they had been taught by him, but the majority, still fascinated by the spell of their old superstitions, had blended the new and the old creed in a wild confusion. They still worshipped groves and fountains, still consulted augurs and cast lots, still offered sacrifice on the old altars". Boniface saw that he must take strenuous measures to con- vince them of the vanity of their old belief. A letter he received about this time from his old friend the bishop of Winchester would have suggested caution in dealing with the primitive superstitions. That prelate, now blind and far advanced in years, had not forgotten the energetic monk he had known in the cloister of Nutscelle, and he now offered him some advice on the way he ought to promote the knowledge of the Gospel. Writing to one ^ Guizot's History of Civllkat' on, eacrifioabant. Alii aruspicia et di- ll. 174, 330. (E. T.) vinationes, prseatigia atque incanta- ^ Vita S. Honifacii, aap. S. "Alii tionea occulte, alii manifeete exerce- lignis et fontibua aAii autem aperte bant." St Boniface and the Conversion of Germany. 187 labouring in the Teutonic mission-field, and doubtless him- chap. ix. self well knowing the glamour of Teutonic superstitions, ^_^_ 724. he inculcates delicacy in dealing with the idolatries of !;*.■*«■« o''^™"' their mutual kinsmen. He would have the missionary '''"^*''- scrupulously avoid all contemptuous and violent language, he would have him try above all things to cultivate a spirit of patience and moderation. In preference to open controversy, he suggestes that Boniface should put such questions, from time to time, as would tend to suggest the contradictions which the old Teutonic creed involved, especially on the subject of the genealogy of the gods. Useful and wise as was such advice in reference to his general conduct, Boniface deemed that the present juncture required sterner and more uncompromising measures. Near Giesmar, in upper Hesse, stood an ancient oak, The samd oak sacred for ages to Donar or Thor, the God of Thunder. By the people of Hesse it was regarded with peculiar reverence, as the rallying-point of the " tings " or assem- blies of the whole tribe. Again and again had Boniface declaimed against such gross veneration for " the stock of a tree;" but his sermons had fallen dead on the ears of his hearers. He determined, therefore, to strike a blow at the object of so much superstition, and to remove a constant stumblingblock from the midst of his converts. One day, accompanied by all his clergy, he advanced, axe in hand, to cut down the offending monarch of the forest. The peo- ple assembled in thousands to witness the great controversy between the new and the old belief, many enraged at the interference of the strange preacher, many more confi- dent, like the people of Fositesland, that an instant judg- ment would strike down so daring an offender. But scarcely had the missionary begun to ply his axe than it was apparent that Thor could not defend his own. If he was a god, he was, certainly, either " gone on a jour- ney," or " was asleep and needed awaking ;" for in vain 188 The Missionary History of the Middle AgeS. CHAP. IX. his votaries supplicated his vengeance. After a few blows ^^ ^23. °^ ^^^ ^^6 ^ crashing was heard in the topmost boughs, a mighty rushing wind, says the Chronicler, seemed to shake every branch, and then the leafy idol came down to the ground, and split into four quarters. " The Lord He is the God!" the people shouted, acknowledging the superior might of the new faith, nor did they interfere, when Boni- face, as a testimony to the completeness of his victory, directed that an oratory, in honour of St Peter, should be constructed out of the remains of their old divinity. The work now proceeded with vigour, and was prosecuted by the bishop with unflagging energy for a space of ten years. Numbers in Hesse and Thuringia were baptized, heathen temples disappeared, humble churches rose amid the waste forest-lands overspread with oaks ; monastic cells sprung up wherever salubrity of soil, and especially the presence of running water, suggested a healthy site; the land was cleared and brought under the plough ; the sound of prayer and praise awoke unwonted echoes in the forest-glades, and the simple lives of Boniface's little band of missionaries won the hearts of the rude but hardy tribes. A.D. 723-730. " The harvest truly was plenteous, but the labourers were few." Boniface determined to invite assistance from his native land'. In a circular letter, therefore, which he addressed about this time to the bishops, clergy, and prin- cipal abbots in England, he painted in lively colours the AidfmmEng- wants of his German converts. "We beseech you," he land. . T .,, . J J writes, " that ye will remember us in your prayers, that we may be delivered from the snares of Satan, and from the crafts of wicked men, and that the word of God may have free course and be glorified. Pray for us, and pray to God and our Lord Jesus Christ, who would have all men be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth, that He will vouchsafe to convert to the true faith the hearts ^ Ep. XXXVI. Migne, Patrologia, ssec. viii. p. 755. St Boniface and the Conversion of Germany. 189 of the pagan Saxons, that they may be delivered from chap. is. those bonds of the Evil One, wherewith they are held cap- ^^ 723—730. tive. Have compassion on them, brethren. They often gay, ' We are of one blood with our brothers in England.' Have pity on them, your kinsmen according to the flesh, and remember that the time for working is short, for the end of all things is at hand, and death cannot praise Grod, nor can any give Him thanks in the pit. Aid us, then, while yet it is day." The appeal was not ineffec- tual'. Not a few flocked from England to rally round the devoted missionary, and even devout women were found willing to sacrifice the pleasures and comforts of their homes in their native land, and go forth to found or fill the convents which Boniface soon began to inaugurate. " As iron sharpeneth iron," so the countenances of friends from the old country refreshed and invigorated the spirits of the good bishop. By their united efforts a great impres- sion was made amongst the people of Saxony and Thurin- gia, and numbers were added to the Church. In such results much was doubtless superficial ; still the day of small things is never to be despised, least of all in estimat- ing the issues of missionary labour. The suppression, wherever practicable, of idolatrous worship, the destruction with unsparing vigour of its outward monuments, must at least have tended to loosen the hold of old superstitions on the native mind. To believe in the power of Thor or Woden, when their most sacred oaks were suffered to fall with impunity, was hardly possible, especially while the ' Amongst those who thus came sonum ae Saxonum," and that "nos- forth, besides others mentioned be- ter archiepiscopus Bonifaciua, cum low, was Wigberct, who left the mo- adventum nostrum audiisset, per se- nastery of Glastonbury to join Boni- metipsum dignatus est longS. via in face at some period between the obviam nos venire ac suscipere valde years 733 and 738. Amongst the benigne." £p. LXX. ed. Migne. He letters of Boniface is preserved one was stationed at Fritzlar, where he from Wigberct to the brethren at educated the abbot Sturmi. MabO- Glastonbury announcing his safe ar- Ion, Acta SS, Ben, in. 625. rival "in confinio paganorum Haes- Charles Martel. 190 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CDAP. IX. victories of Charles Martel were opening np, day by day, A„.^723^M. more and more of the old pagan territory to the light of ni'lfj. €„..., Christian civilization. Whatever others may have done after him, Boniface may claim the merit of having abstained from employing the assistance of the Mayor of the Palace, in compelling the people to resort to baptism. Without that assistance, as he himself allows', his work would have been wellnigh impossible, but it was confined within strictly legitimate limits. It enabled the bishop to correct the irregularities of his own clergy, to put down the cele- bration of heathen rites, at least in piiblic ; it legalized the establishment of Christian forms of worship ; it protected the monasteries as they rose in the forest wastes ; but be- yond this it can scarcely with fairness be said to have extended. Boniface knew of other and more effectual wea- pons for winning over the hearts of the people to the Christian faith, than those which a system of compulsory conversion would have dictated. His monasteries were not only seminaries of sound learning, but industrial and agricultural schools, where the rude native of Thuringia or Saxony could learn many of the primary and most useful arts of life. The native missionaries, whom the bishop sent forth from these establishments, when duly trained and educated, may not have learnt much beyond the most elementary truths, still what they knew they endeavoured to practise. They had been taught themselves to repeat in the native tongue the form of renunciation at baptism and the confession of sins ; they could explain to the people, at least in some measure, the nature of the rite, and were directed to suffer none to act as godfather or godmother but such as could repeat the Creed and the Lord's Prayer''. In ^ "Sine patrocinio principis Fran- idolomm in Germania, sine illius corum nee populum regere, nee pres- mandate et tinaore, prohibere valeo." byteros vel diaconos, monachos vel Ep. XII. Migne, p. 702. anciUas Dei defendere possum, nee ' See Neander, v. 73. ipsos paganonun ritus et sacrilegia St Boniface and the Conversion of Germany. 191 the bishop himself they learnt to respect one who was an chap, ix, ardent student of the Scriptures, and indefatigable in ex- ^.d. 723—730. pounding them to the people. In the correspondence he kept up with many old friends in England, we find him begging again and again for copies of different portions of the Divine Word. Thus to the abbess Eadburga he writes, to request her to send him the Epistles of St Peter inscribed in gilded letters, that he might use them in preaching ; to Cuthbert he writes for copies written in a good clear hand suitable for his weak eyes, as also for commentaries, among which he particularly specifies that of the Venerable Bede^. Thus by his own unwearied exertions, aided by devoted disciples, a new empire was won to the Christian faith, and he went on not despising the day of small things, but quietly availing himself of every opportunity to carry out the great object of his life. Meanwhile news arrived of the death of Gregory 'S\. Death ojoregory. Still anxious to maintain his connection with the Holy See, a.d. 731. Boniface wrote to Gregory's successor, and besought his blessing on his labours, and in the pall of a metropolitan received a marked recognition of his work. Not content with a distant correspondence", he once more crossed the Alps in Bmi/ace-s mra visit to Borne, ^ See especially Epp. xix. xxxvil. XL. " For this correspondence see Migne, saec. viil. p. 576. Gregory III. 1. Congratulates the bishop on the success of his missionary efforts. 2. Sends him the pall ("Dum missarum solemnia agis, vel episcopum te contigerit con- secrare, illo tantummodo tem- pore eo utaris"). 3. Empowers him to consecrate bishops ("ubi multitudo ex- crevit fidelium pia tamen contemplatione ut non viles- cat dignitas episcopatus"). 4. Directs (amongst other things) (a) "Quos a paganis baptiza- tos esse asseruisti (Odinic baptism?) si ita habetur, ut denuo baptizes in no- mine sanctseTrinitatis man- damus." (S) "Inter cetera agrestem caballum aliquantos come- dere adjunxisti, plerosque et domesticum. Hocnequa- quam fieri deinceps sines, sed quibus potueris Christo juvante modis per omnia compesoe, et dignam eis impone pcenitentiam : im- mimdum est enim atque exc- crabile." (c) As to prayers for the dead, "uonnisi pro mortuis ca- 192 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. IX. the year 738, with a numerous retinue of Franks, Burgun- ^ ^ 73g_ dians, and Anglo-Saxons, and sought a personal interview with Gregory III. The latter received him with more than ordinary respect. He invested him with plenary powers as legate of the Apostolic See, and authorized him to visit and organize the Bavarian Church. With letters accrediting him in his new capacity, Boniface returned in the following spring, and, after a short stay at Ticina with Luitprand king of the Lombards, commenced a thorough visitation of the diocese of Bavaria, and, with the consent of Odilo, added to the solitary see of Passau those of Salz- burg, Freisingen, and Ratisbon*. While at Eome the archbishop had learnt that his wmfbaid. kinsman Wunibald^ had come thither from England, and iravibaid. that another kinsman, Willibald, had returned from the Holy Land, and entered the monastery of Monte Cassino. From the former he had exacted a promise to follow him into the great Teutonic mission-field, and had requested Gregory to induce the latter to leave his monastic retreat, and come out to him on the same errand. The two brothers A.D. 740-746. accordingly joined him in the year 740, and Boniface re- joiced in the addition of such welcome aid. Wunibald was consecrated priest, and received the care of seven churches in the newly-converted Thuringia. Willibald" was sta- tioned at Eichstadt, then a waste forest-land, which Count Suiger of Hirsberg had bestowed upon the Church. One humble church only existed in the wild and woody dis- trict, but the newly-returned pilgrim from Jerusalem en- tholicia memoriam faciat infidelibus ad immolan- presbyter et intercedat." diim paganis sua venundent (d) " Sebaptizari jubet eos, qui mancipia." 'apresbyterojovimactante ^ On the work in Bavaria see et carnes immolatitias ves- above, p. 156 n. cente' baptizati sint." " MabiUon, Act. SS. ill. Part II. (c) "De parrioidarum poenia 176. addit, in quorum numero ^ MabiUon, nt. Part II. 367. vult eos quoque haberi qui St Boniface and the Conversion of Germany. 193 tered with ardour on his work, and proved himself no ohap. ix. unworthy coadjutor of his great relative \ But before long 4„ 740—746 from Wimburn Minster in Dorsetshire came forth another relative of the bishop, and the little family circle of -de- voted missionaries was complete. Boniface had written to Tetta, abbess of Wimburn, requesting that Walpurga^, Wunibald's sister, as well as any other of his country- women as should be willing, might be sent out to share the work in Germany. Walpurga did not shrink from the waipmga. perils of the enterprise. With thirty companions, amongst whom were Lioba and Thecla, she crossed the sea, and after a joyful meeting with the archbishop, proceeded to join her brother Wunibald in Thuringia, and settled for a time in a convent beside him there. Afterwards she accom- panied him to Heidenheim in the wilds of Suevia, where they built a cliurch, and after much difficulty, a double monastery for monks and nuns. The companions also of Walpurga before long presided over similar sisterhoods. Thus Lioba® was stationed at Bischofsheim on the Tuber, uoba. Thecla at Kitzingen in Franconia, Chunlchild, another Tkecia. devout sister, in Thuringia, and Chunitrude in Bavaria. chmtcMid. it was not always easy to reconcile the natives to the erection of these outposts of civilization in their midst. Many deemed it a profanation of the majestic silence of the old oak-groves, and an insult to the elves and fairies who for untold ages had haunted the primjeval solitudes. Many more regarded with much suspicion this intrusion on the old hunting-grounds, and would have preferred that the peace of the wolf and bear should not be disturbed. ' Boniface ordained him priest, 261. She died in 779 or ;8o. and shortly afterwards bishop of ' Or Lioba, see Surius, Sept. 28. Eichstadt, which see he held for up- MaBlllon, Act. SS. Ben. iii. 11. 221. wards of forty years, till AD. 786. She was afterwards the friend of One of the lives of St Boniface is B il legard, consort of Charlemagne, ascribed to him. who owed much to her conTersation ' Mabillon, Act. SS. Bm. in. 11. and example. 13 194 The Missionary Aistory of the Middle Ages. CHAP. IX. But as years rolled on, the peaceful lives of the mysterious i.B. 740-746. strangers won their respect, and the sight of waving corn- fields reconciled them tQ the change. ' A.D.741. But we are anticipating events. In the year 741 aa^Aarki Charles Maitel died, and Boniface now saw further oppor- tunities opened up for carrying on and consolidating the labours of the various missionary hands. It is true that the great Mayor of the Palace never thwarted his opera- tions, or declined to recognise his authority, but he tole- rated many of the clergy whose lives by no means cori'e- sponded with their sacred profession, and the gratitude due to the conqueror at Poictiers was somewhat marred by his practice of occasionally pillaging churches and mo- nasteries when he wanted money for his numerous wars. Now that he was dead, the way was clear. Exerting un- bounded influence over Carloman and Pepin, Boniface could, without let or hindrance, develop his plans for organizing the German Church. He began by founding four new bishoprics in Hesse and Thuringia, Wiirzburg, Eichstadt, Bamberg, and Erfurt, and in the following year, proceeded to revive the decayed Synodal system, by calling a council composed of ecclesiastics and the national estates, to make provision for the moral and spiritual superintendence of the newly-formed churches. Eighty years had elapsed since a synod had been summoned, at least in Austrasian France; it was now resolved that they should meet every year. Revival of iiie Boniface, as legate of the Pope, was entrusted with plenary S " *** power, but the decrees of the Councils were set forth bv the Frankish kings in their own name. In the Council of 74.3 many regulations were passed for the better government, not only of the new Germanic Churches, but of the Frankish Church also\ The jurisdic- tion of Boniface over the other bishops was duly confirmed • ^ One of the decrees of this Coun- history of the rise of the Papal power, oil (a.d. 742) maa-ks an era in the "Pelagius II." remarks Hallain at Boniface and the Conversion of Germany, 195 the clergy were enjoined to observe strict celibacy, and chap. ix. forbidden to carry arms, to serve in war, to hunt, or to ^ n. 741 hawk ; they were directed to render all due obedience to i^effutaMmt , , . . . . passed «« thg the bishop of their respective dioceses, to receive him with ^''"<"'- due homage at his visitation, and to render a faithful ac- count of the welfare of their several parishes; in co-opera- tion with their bishops they were further directed to use every means in their power to suppress all heathen and superstitious practices, such as sacrifices of men or animals at funerals, impure festivals in honour of heathen deities, worshipping of groves, trees, and springs, all recourse to amulets, incantations, soothsaying, all endeavours to pene- trate the secrets of the past or the future by auguries froqi birds, or horses, or oxen, or casting lots. Besides legislating thus generally for the welfare ofA.». 745. the Church, the archbishop was now able to deal more aS^S."^^ directly with ecclesiastics whose views or practices incur- red his suspicion. Some of these belonged to the Scotch and Irish Churches, scattered up and down the country, whose peculiar views as to the limitation of episcopal rights, the celibacy of the clergy, and the supremacy of the Great bishop of the West, were naturally obnoxious to the archbishop. Others, again, were men whose lives were directly contrary to their profession. Like wolves in sheep's clothing they made the faith a cloak for licentious- ness, and sometimes went so far as to join the natives in their heathen sacrifices. To such we are well content the archbishop should have given place "no not for an hour;" (Middle Ages, 1.522), "had, about of tlieir willing mfgectUm to the see of 560, sent a pallium to the bishop of RomCj all metropolitans should re- Aries, perpetual vicar of the Roman quest tlie pallium at the ha'nds of the Bee in Gaul, and Gregory I. had Poye, and obey his lawful command.s. made a similar present to other nie- This was construed by the Popes to tropolitans. But it never was sufi- mean a promise of obedience before posed that they were obliged to wait receiving the pall, which was chang- for this favour before they received ed. in after times by Gregory VII. consecration until this Council iuto an oath of fealty." See £p. Son, It was here enacted, that, as a token Zachariae, LX2V. 13-2 196 The Missionary ^ History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. IX. they, if any, would te sure to undermine his work, and TT^^sl to cause the Christian name to be disgraced among the heathen. While Charles Martel was alive, Boniface had hardly known how to conduct himself towards such un- worthy members of the sacred order, when he encountered them in the royal palace. Mindful of his oath of fealty to the Pope, he had at an early period consulted his friend Daniel, bishop of Win- chester, on the subject. The latter suggested caution, and, if necessary, a little prudent dissimulation. This did not satisfy the conscientious missionary. He opened his heart to Gregory II. and sought from him a resolution of his doubts. The successor of St Peter suggested that he should sharply rebuke such clergy as openly disgraced the dignity of their profession, but counselled caution before proceeding to extremities, and hinted that severity often failed of its object, while kindness and patient ex- postulation were more likely to succeed. Now, however, he could take higher ground, and could resort to severer discipline. The names of three ecclesiastics have been more especially preserved to us, who for erroneous teaching rather than scandalous lives were made to feel the autho- Aikibert. rity of the Papal legate. One of these', Adelbert, was of Frankish descent ; his errors formed the subject of much correspondence between the archbishop and Pope Zacharias. To define exactly in what they consisted at this distance of time is not easy^ According to the allegations of Boni- ^ Boniface, Ep-p. tvii. Neander, tyrum ecclesias consecrare, impro- V. 78. Kurtz, 506. peianB hominibua etiaiu cur tanto- " "Domos multoium penetravit," pere studerent sanctorum apoatolo- %vritea the archbishop, ..."multitudi- rum limina visitare. Postea, quod uem rusticoruui seduxit, dicentium absurdum est, in proprii nominis ho- quod ipse esset vir apoatolicse sancti- nore dedicarit oratoria ; vel, ut ve* tatis et signa atque prodigia faceret :" rius dicam, sordidavit. Fecit quoque and he continues, " designatur in cruciculas et oratoiiola in campis, et alieujus hoiiore apostolorum vel mar- ad fontes, vel ubicunque sibi visum St Boniface and the Conversion of Germany. 197 face, he had put himself at the head of some fanatical chap. ix. partizans who regarded him as a man of Apostolic holiness 7T~745. and a worker of miracles. Puffed up with pride, he com- pared himself with the Apostles of Christ, erected oratories in honour of his own name, and placed crosses and little chapels by the side of wells and in open fields, where the merits of "holy Adelbert" were invoked, to the great scandal of true Saints. Moreover, he had suffered parings of his nails, and locks of his hair, to be carried about as of equal honour with the relics of St Peter; and when the people flung themselves at his feet to confess their sins, he replied, " I know all your sins, for all secrets are revealed to me ; ye need not confess them, they are forgiven, return to your homes in peace." The other ecclesiastic was Cle- cimem. mens, an Irishman by birth\ who incurred the archbishop's suspicions on account of his loose opinions respecting the unity of the Catholic Church, his very partial reverence for the decisions of the Fathers, his refusal to acknowledge the vows of celibacy, and his novel opinions as to the doctrine of predestination and the Saviour's descent into Hades". Whatever may be the merits of the controversy, Clemens and Adelbert felt the weight of Synodal censure, though it does not appear to have diminished their popularity. The third troubler of the peace of Boniface was the famous Feargil, or Virgilius', "the Geometer," who with on^ Feargu m- rh- Sidonius was labouring in Bavaria. He offended the arch- *' ""' bishop by refusing to rebaptize certain persons, as the latter fuit, et jus.sit ibi publioas orationes tores Dei simuletcultoresidolorum." celebrari donee maltitudines populo- Ep. LVII. rum, spretis oseteris episeopig, et di- ^ Vit. Mabillon, Acta SS. Ben. ill. missis antiquis ecclesiis, in talibiis -280. Lanigan's Church History of loois conventus oelebrarent dicentes: Jreland, III. 179. He had been ab- Merita sanoti Adelberti adjuvabunt bot of Aghabo in Ireland: he ar- nos." Ep. Lvir. rived in France in 746, and won the ^ "G-enere Scotus e.st." Ibid. peculiar esteem of Pepin. Other 2 " Dicens quod Ciiristus Pilius Irish missionaries in Germany at this Dei, descendens ad inferos, omneg time were Doida, placed as a bishop quos inferni career detinuit inde libe- at Chiem in Upper Bavaria by duke ravit, credulos et inoredulos, lauda- Odilo (Lanigan, iii. 188); 4fto, who AD. 745. 198 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. IX. directed, because the ofBciating priest, who was utterly ignorant of Latin, had used instead of the proper formula the words, " Baptizo te in nomine Patria, Filia, et Spiriiu Sancta." But Zacharias, on the appeal of Virgilius, pro- nounced the baptism perfectly valid, inasmuch as the mistake arose not from heretical pravity but from mere ' ignorance of grammar. Three years afterwards when Vir- gilius was nominated to the see of Salzburg, Boniface again wrote to the Pope to complain that the bishop-designate perversely taught " that there was another world, and other men below the earth, with a sun and moon of its .own." Whether the archbishop's opposition arose from horror at the idea of the antipodes, or because he understood Vir- gilius to teach the existence of a distinct race of mankind, not descended from Adam, is uncertain. Zacharias sum- moned the bishop-designate to Eome, where he not only cleared himself of any heretical imputation, but as bishop of Salzburg lived to carry the Gospel with much success into the wilds of Carinthia. letter of Boni- But wc must not misuuderstaud the simple-minded )Mw. Boniface. He could rebuke not only obscure ecclesiastics, but, when occasion demanded, even the Vicar of Christ himself. In a letter', couched in no truckling terms, he rebukes Pope Zacharias for allowing the honour of the pall to be purchased with money, and for suffering numerous scandals to good and pious pilgrims to exist in the city of Rome. His rude German disciples told him strange tales of the superstitious practices which were enacted, even under the shadow of St Peter, on the first of January; how the women hung amulets round their arms, and bought and sold them openly in the shops. Of what avail was it for arrived in Bavaria about 743) and gen, Sidonhis (Latinized from Sed- founded the monastery consecrated na), a companion of "Virgilius. Lani- l)y Boniface, of Allmun^ter (Act. SS. gan, III. l8i. Ben. ad. ann. 743); DerfosM, amission- ^ £fi. XLix, ary in Bavaria, who died at Frisen- 8t Boniface and the Conversion of German^/. 199 Boniface to preach against lieathen superstitions in Ger- chap. ix. many if they were permitted at Rome? In his reply the ^^ 745^ Pontiff promised an examination of these causes of com- plaint, and the suppression of the abuses. To retui-n, however, to his own sphere of labour, the death of the bishop of Cologne in the year 744, suggested to Boniface the idea of elevating that place to be his Metro- politan See, especially as it might be made the basis of more extended missions in Friesland, where, since the death of Willibrord in 739, the work had somewhat retro- graded. While corresponding on the subject with the Holy See, an event occurred which gave an entirely different turn to the negotiations, and illustrates one of the flagrant abuses of the clerical office, against which he had been endeavouring; to legislate. In the year 744 Gerold, bishop Gmidana 01 Mentz, was slam in a warlike expedition against the Saxons*. To console his son Gewillieb for the loss of his father he was consecrated as his successor, though until now he had been only a layman in Carloman's court, and had displayed more than ordinary fondness for the chase. In the following year Carloman headed another expedition against the Saxons, and Gewillieb followed -in liis train. The armies encamped on either side of the river Wiseraha, and, unmindful of his sacred office, Gewillieb sent a page to inquire the name of the chief who had slain his father. On discovering it, he sent the same messenger a second time to request the chief to meet him in friendly conference in the midst of the stream. The latter complied, and the two rode into the water, and, during the conference, the bishop stabbed the Saxon to the heart. This act of treachery was the signal for a general en- gagement, in which Carloman gained a decisive victory over the Saxons. Gewillieb returned to his diocese as 1 Othloni Vita Bonif. cap. xxxvii. 200 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CTTAP. IX. though nothing had occurred. But Boniface could not ITT allow so flagrant an infraction of the Canons enacted in A.D. 745. o the recent Synod to pass unrebuked. In the Council, therefore, of the following year, he made a formal charge against the blood-stained bishop, and demanded his deposi- tion^ Gewillieb found himself iinable to struggle against the authority of the archbishop ; the see of Mentz was declared vacant, and became the seat of Boniface as Metro- politan, whence he exercised jurisdiction over the dioceses of Mentz, Worms, Spires, Tongres, Cologne, Utrecht, as well as the nations he had won over to the Christian faiths SzSariS I^^ the letter wherein Boniface communicated to the femr'^'^""' Popc this alteration in his plans, he made a request more nearly related to himself. He was now verging on three- score years and ten, and his long and incessant labours had begun to tell upon his constitution. Weighed down with "the care of all the churches" of Germany, he longed for repose, or at least for some diminution of the burden which pressed upon him. He had already requested that he might be allowed to nominate and ordain his successor in the archiepiscopal office. This the Pope had assured him could not be, but he conceded to his age and in- firmities the unusual permission to select a priest as his special assistant, who might share a portion of his episco- pal duties, and, if he proved himself worthy of confidence, might be nominated as his successor. Increasing infirmi- ties now induced him to reiterate his request. The Pope in reply urged" him not to leave his see at Mentz, and re- minded him of the words of the Saviour, " He that perse- vereth unto the end, the same shall be saved;" but in con- sideration of his long and laborious life, he agreed that if ^ ''Ad hsec objiciens propriis ocu- c. xxxvii. lis se perspexisse ilium cum avibus ^ Ef, xiv. ZachariEe. Migne, p. canibusque jocantem, quod episcopo 954. A.D. 75 1 . Jafffe. nuUateuua liceret." Otliloni Vita, ^ Ep. xi. Migne. A.D. 748. Jafffe. St Boniface and the Conversion of Germany. 201 the archbishop could find amongst his clergy one in whom chap. is. he could place implicit confidence as fit to be intrusted ^ ^_ ,j^g_ with the office, he might elevate him thereto, and receive his assistance as his colleague and representative. Suc- cessful in obtaining this welcome concession, Boniface nominated his fellow-countryman and disciple Lull as arch- bishop of Mentz. For himself, he proposed to retire to a monastery which was now rising in the midst of the *•■>■ 75i. vast forest of Buchow ^, on the banks of the river Fulda. Of the origin of this celebrated monastery we shall speak Bomfaadtsim m ttie lollowmg chapter, buince it to say here, that it «''&•• was one of the most important of the many similar insti- tutions which had risen under the archbishop's eye. It occupied a central position in reference to missionary opera- tions. Bound it the four nations to whom he had preached the word for so many years seemed to be grouped to- gether^, and here the aged prelate could employ the autumn of his life in directing the labours of the brethren, and watching the beneficial and civilizing results of their exer- tions amidst the surrounding country. But while thus form- ing his plans for promoting the good work in the land of his adoption, he was not forgetful of old friends in Eng- land. Pleasant memories af Crediton and Nutescelle still lay near his heart, and though his arduous duties forbade a visit to these familiar scenes, he yet maintained a constant correspondence with friends in the old country, and re- joiced to receive tidings of the welfare of the Anglo-Saxon Churches, just as he was pained to the heart when he heard of any moral declension. On such occasions he deemed it his duty to write to the ofifenders, and exhort them to amend their lives. Thus hearing that Ethelbald ^ Founded in 744, under the eye dignoscuntur. Quibus cum vestra of Boniface. interceasione, qiianidiu vivo vel sa- ^ "Quatuor enim popnli, quihu3 pio, utilia esse possum." £p. Bon, verbum Christ! per gratiam Dei dix- Lxxv. imus, in circuitu hujus loci habitare A.B. 751. 202 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. IX. king of Mercia lived in the practice of gross immorality, he wrote to him in stirring and earnest termsS and remon- strated with him on the had example he was setting his subjects, and endeavoured to shame him into a more con- sistent life by contrasting his conduct with that of the still pagan Saxons around him in the Teutonic forests, who, though " they had not the law " of Christianity, yet " did by nature the things contained in the law," and testified by severe punishments their abhorrence of unchastity. He also wrote to Archbishop Cuthbert^, informed him of the canons and regulations he had inaugurated in the recent Synods, and urged him to use all possible means to pro- mote the vitality of the Church of their native land. cteTOE/"'* Thus amidst increasing infirmities and many causes for anxiety he yet found time to remember old scenes and old friends. But as years rolled on, the conviction was deep- ened in his own mind that the day could not be far off when he must leave the Churches he had founded. Lull had, indeed, been ordained, conformably to the Pope's per- mission, as his coadjutor in the see of Mentz, but his ap- pointment had not as yet received the royal recognition, and till this was secured, Boniface could not feel free from anxiety for the welfare of his flock. One of his last letters, i.D. 752. therefore, was addressed to Fuldrede, chamberlain of the Frankish court, soliciting his protection and that of his royal master in behalf of his clergy and his many ecclesi- astical foundations. In this very year he had been called upon to restore upwards of thirty churches in his extensive diocese, which had been swept away in an invasion of the heathen Frisians, and it was with gloomy forebodings that he contemplated the fate of the German Church, if it was not shielded by royal protection. "Nearly all my com- panions," he writes to Fuldrede, "are strangers in this land ; some are priests, distributed in various places to 1 Ep. LXII. A.D. 745. ' Ep. LXIII. A.D. 745. St Boniface and the Conversion of Germany. 203 celebrate the offices of the Church and minister to the chap. ix. people ; some are monks, living in their different monas- a.d. 752. teries, employed in teaching the young ; some are aged utter to Fui- men, who have long borne witli me the burden and heat of the day. For these I am full of anxiety, lest after my death they should be scattered as sheep having no shep- herd. Let them have a share of your countenance and protection, that they may not be dispersed abroad, and that the people dwelling on the heathen borders may not lose the law of Christ. Suffer also my son and brother in the ministry, the Archbishop Lull, to preside over the Churches, that both priests and people may find in him a teacher and a guide. And may God grant that he may be a true pastor to his people, a true director to the monastic brethren. I have many reasons for making this request. My clergy on the heathen borders are in deep poverty. Bread they can obtain for themselves, but clothing they cannot find here, unless they receive aid from some other quarter, to enable them to persevere and endure their daily liardships. Let me know either by the bearers of this letter, or under thine own hand, whether thou canst pro- mise the granting of my request, that, whether I live or die, I may have some assurance for the future'." The royal permission recognising Lull as his successor arrived, and now he could look forward to his end in peace. If ever he had wished to close his life in the peaceful seclusion of his new monastery at Fulda, that was not his desire now. Though upwards of seventy-four years of age, he deter- ^.p. 754. mined to make one last effort to win over the still pagan pf/^^l'"' portion of Friesland, and to accomplish what Willibrord and Wilfrid had begun. Bidding, therefore, the new arch- bishop a solemn farewell, he ordered preparations to be made for the journey. Something told him he should never return, and, therefore, he desired that with his books, ' Ep. Lixn. Migne, p. 779. AD. 755. 204 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. IX, amongst which was a treatise of Ambrose on The Advan- tage of Death, might be packed not only the relics which were his constant companions, but also his shroud. Then with a small retinue of three priests, three deacons, four monks and forty-one laymen, he embarked on board a vessel, and sailed along the banks of the Khine till he iriatmd reached the shore of the Zuyder Zee. In Friesland he was joined by Eoban, an old pupil, whom he had advanced to the see of Utrecht. Together they penetrated into East- Friesland, and commenced their labours. For a time all went well. The missionaries were welcomed by some of the tribes, and were enabled to lay the foundations of several churches \ Grladdened by the accession of many converts, they at length reached the banks of the river Bordau, not far from the modern Dockingen. It was the month of June, and the festival of Whitsunday drew near. Boniface had dismissed many who had been admitted to baptism, bidding them return on the vigil of Whitsunday to receive the further rite of confirmation. On the morning of the appointed day, the fifth of June, the archbishop could hear the noise of the advancing multitude. But when he looked out from his tent, the brandishing of spears and the clang of arms told only too plainly that they were coming for a very different purpose' than that for which he Marti/rdomof had summoncd them. The heathen tribes, enraged at the Bom/ace. ... ' o success of the daring missionary, had selected this day for a complete revenge. Some of the archbishop's retinue counselled resistance, and were already preparing to defend themselves, when he stepped forth from his tent and gave orders that no weapon should be uplifted, but - that all should await the crown of martyrdom. " Let us not return evil for evil," said he: "the long-expected day has come, and the time of our departure is at hand. Strengthen ye yourselves in the Lord, and He will redeem your souls. 1 Vita S. Bomfacii, Pertz, ir. 349. Migne, Patrologia, seec. Vlll. 662. 8t Boniface and the Conversion of Germany. 205 Be not afraid of those who can only kill the body, but put chap. ix. your trust in God, who will speedily give you His eternal ^ ^^ ,^55 reward, and an entrance into His heavenly kingdom." Calmed by his words, his followers bravely awaited the onset of their enemies. They were not long kept in sus- ])ense. Naturally embittered against the opponents of their ancestral faith, the heathens rushed upon them, and quickly dispatched the little company, whom their leader had forbidden to lift a weapon in self-defence. Boniface, according to a tradition' preserved by a priest of Utrecht, when he saw that his hour was come, took a volume of the Gospels, and makmg it a pillow for his head, stretched forth his neck for the fatal blow, and in a few moments received his release. The heathens speedily ransacked the tents of the missionaries, but instead of the treasures they expected, found only the book-cases which Boniface had brought with him ; these they rifled, scattering some of the volumes over the plain, and hiding others amongst the marshes, where they remained till they were recovered by the Christians, and removed to the monastery of Fulda, together with the remains of the great missionary. Thus at the ripe age of seventy-five^ died the father of charadmsucs German Christian civilization. A Teuton by language * """^ and kindred, he had been the Apostle of Teutons, and his work had not been in vain. The Church, in which he had been trained, was not like those of Ireland, Gaul, or Spain, the sister and equal of that of Rome". It looked back to the day when forty monks, with Augustine at their head, landed on the shores of Kent, and no Church regarded with more filial aflfection the source of her light and life*. What Mecca is to the Arabian pilgrim, that to the Anglo-Saxon was the city where the fair-haired Saxon boys were first seen 1 Vita Bonifacii, Pertz, II. 351 n. Vita S. Startnii, Pertz, 11. 372. ' On the date of Boniface's death ' Michelet's History of France, 1. see Mabillon, Act. SS. Ben. ad ann. 73. Guizot's Civilisation,, 11. 174. 755. On the removal of his remains, * See^^.xi. Zaohariae.Migne, 943. 206 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. IX. by the large-hearted monk of St Andrew. And nowhere ^ „, 755_ do we find a more signal instance of the reverential feelings with which his countrymen regarded the great Bishop of the West than in the life of the native of Crediton. Com- bining singular conscientiousness with earnest piety, daunt- less zeal with practical energy, he had been enabled to consolidate the work of earlier Irish and Anglo-Saxon missionaries ; he had revived the decaying energies of the Frankish Church ; he had restored to her the long dormant activity of the Ecclesiastical Council ; he had covered Cen- tral and Western Germany with the first necessary elements of civilisation. Monastic seminaries, as Amoneburg and Ohrdruf, Fritzlar and Fulda, had risen amidst the Teutonic forests. The sees of Salzburg and Freisingen, of Regens- burg and Passau testified to his care of the Church of Ba- varia ; the see of Erfurt told of labours in Thuringia, that of Buraburg, in Hesse, that of Wurzburg, in Franconia, while his metropolitan see at Mentz, having jurisdiction over Worms and Spires, Tongres, Cologne, and Utrecht, was a sign that even before his death the German Church had already advanced beyond its first missionary stage. Well may Germany look back with gratitude to the holy Bene- dictine, and tell with joy the story of the monk of Nute- scelle. The roll of missionary heroes, since the days of the Apostles, can point to few more glorious names, to none, perhaps, that has added to the dominion of the Gospel, regions of greater extent or value, or that has exerted a more powerful influence on the history of the human race. In the monastery of Fulda was exposed for ages, to hosts of pilgrims, the blood-stained copy of St Ambrose on the Advantage of Death, which the archbishop had brought with his shroud, to the shore of the Zuyder Zee, and the long-continued labours of many of his loving pupils and associates will prove that in his case, as always, " The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church." CHAPTEE X. EFFORTS OF THE DISCIPLES OF ST BONIFACE. A.D. 719—789. " Itaque Willehadus et Liudgerus contemplativae vitsa operam dabant, ad- prime orantes pro gente Saxonum, ne jactum in eia semen verbi Dei iniraicua homo zizaniis oppleret, impletumque in eig easet, quod Scrip- tura dicit, Multum valet depreccUio jusii assidua." — Adamhs Bremensis. DuEiNG one of his earlier missionary journeys in Thu- chap. x. ringia and Hessia', Boniface an-ived on one occasion, in 7^"^ the year A.d. 719, at a nunnery near the city of Triers, on mmipies of the banks of the Moselle, presided over by the Abbess Ad- dula. After service, the abbess and her guest repaired to the common hall, and, as was usually the case, a portion of Scripture was read during meal-time. The reader was Gregory, nephew of the abbess, a lad of fifteen who had lately returned from school. Boniface was pleased i. Gregm-i; of with the way in which the boy read his Latin Vulgate, and proceeded to inquire whether he understood the pas- sage he had read. The boy, misunderstanding his ques- tion, read it a second time. " No, my son," replied the missionary, " that is not what I meant. I know you can read well enough, but can you render the passage into your own mother-tongue?" The boy confessed his in- ability, and thereupon Boniface himself translated it into 1 See Acta SS. BoUand. Aug. 25. 208 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. X. AD. 719. Discourse of of Boniface. Grefjorif at- tiiches himself to Boniface. German, and then made the passage the ground of a few words of exhortation to the whole company. "We know neither what the passage was, nor what the missionary said, but we do know what was uppermost in his mind, and can easily imagine that he did not lose the op- portunity of exhorting the inmates of the safe and secluded cloister, to prize the blessing they enjoyed in the know- ledge of a Saviour's love, and told them of the many thousands in the forests of Northern and Western Germany, bone of their bone, and flesh of their flesh, who knew not the truth, and to whom it was his privilege to proclaim the word of life. We know, also, what was the effect of his earnest words. So deep was the impression made on the mind of the listening youth, that he was seized with an unconquerable desire to accompany the preacher in his arduous journeys. In vain the abbess tried to dis- suade him from entrusting himself to an entire stranger. Nothing daunted, the boy persisted in his request, till at length the abbess was fain to consent. Supplying him, therefore, with horses and attendants, she suffered him to depart and accompany his new-found friend. That friend he never forsook. He shared with him all his trials and dangers, and, in spite of poverty' and privations of the most discouraging character, he continued his constant companion wherever he went. He was with him when he went to Eoiae to obtain the approbation of the Pope as a missionary''in Thuringia, and brought back from the Holy City many copies of the Scriptures^, in which, as his master's chief assistant, he taught the ' " In fame, et nuditate, et labori- bus muHis. In tanta paupertate invenerunt populum ilium, ut vix ibi uUus haberet unde viveret, nisi de longinquo parum quid coUigeret, ut ad modicum tempua suatentaret pe- nuriajn suam." Acta SS. Aug. 25. ^ "Plura volumina aanotarum Scripturarum, largiente Domino, illic acquisivit, et secum inde ad proteotum proprium, discipuiorum- que suorum, non medico labore ad- vexit domum. Et pueros duos, cum consensu maglstri, in discipulatum suum, Marchelmum videlicet, et Marciunum germanos de gente An- glorum, secum iude adduxit." Acta SS. Efforts of the Disciples of St Boniface. 209 numerous candidates for the ministry whom Boniface had chap. x. in training in his different monasteries. He was with him ^ „ 755. also during his last journey to Friesland, and on the death of Bishop Eoban, determined to take upon himself the direction of the mission in that country. As abbot of a monastery at Utrecht (for he did not aspire to the vacant bishopric), he received much encouragement in his noble designs from pope Stephen III. and king Pepin. Under his superintendence the monastery at Utrecht became a missionary college, where assembled youths from England, Missionary France, Friesland, Saxony, Suabia, and Bavaria', whom utreciu. the abbot sought to send forth, after a suitable training, to emulate the zeal of his deceased master in the wilds of Frisia. In preparing them for their high duties, he was instant in season and out of season. He grudged no toil,., he spared no pains. Early in the morning he might be found sitting in his cell waiting for such of his pupils as sought counsel or encouragement. One by one they would come to him, and received suitable advice according to their individual wants and peculiarities. While thus he himself superintended his missionary school, the want of a bishop was supplied by a friend and fellow-labourer, Alubert, who had come over from England, and whom he persuaded to return thither to receive episcopal consecra- tion. Alubert crossed over to his native land, accompa- nied by Sigibodus and Liudger, two other pupils of Gre- gory; and during the year they spent in England they enjoyed the society and instruction of the celebrated Alcuin, who was superintending his school at York^. Thence they ^ " Quidam eoi-ura erant de nobili Vita S. Gregorii. Acta SS. Aug. 23. stirpe Francorum, quidam et de re- Vita S. Liudgeri, Pertz, ir. 407, ligiosa gente Anglorum ; quidam et ^ Vita S. Liudgeri, Pertz, 11. 407. de novella Dei plantatione diebug One of the assistants of Gregory in nostris inchoata, Fresonum et Say- the missionary work in the neigh- onum ; quidam autem et de Bava- bourhood of Utrecht was " quidam riis et Suevla, vel de quacunque na- presbiter sanotus de genere Anglo- tione et gente misisset eos Deus." rum nomine Liafwinus;" he had 14 210 The Missionanj History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. X. returned, and the new bishop continued to assist Gregory ^^ 755. in preparing suitable missionaries amongst the Frisians, and ordained them when prepared to that high office. Sto^w ™t- -^ pleasing instance of the way in which the abbot was '"^'" enabled to adorn the doctrine of a Merciful and Crucified Redeemer amongst the heathen population is recorded by his biographer. Two of Gregory's brothers were journey- ing into Gaul when they were waylaid by robbers and murdered. A pursuit of the murderers was set on foot, and on their capture they were dragged into the presence of Gregory, and it was thought likely to soothe the pang of sorrow at the loss of those so dear to him, if he should be allowed to select the kind of death the murderers should die. But the abbot persuaded the captors to suffer the banditti tb be released, and having caused them to be furnished with clothes and food, dismissed them with a suitable admonition. In labours of love like these, teach- ing and preaching, he persevered till he had reached his seventieth year. He was then seized with a paralysis of the left side, which continued for three years. During this time he still strove to exhort and advise his scholars, dividing amongst them presents of books, one of which, the Enchiridion of St Augustine, his biographer Liudger affectionately records as having been bestowed upon him- self, and bidding all, amidst the toils and privations of their daily life, to think of those encouraging words of the Apostle, " Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive the things that God hath prepared for them that love Him." At last his sufferings became so severe he could bear up no longer. Having saluted his successor, Albric, he ordered that he should be carried to the church, and placed at the door, come to Gregory announcing " sibi nio Franoorum atque Saxonum plebi a Domino terribiliter trina admoni- in doctrina prodesse deberet." tioue fuisse prseoeptum, ut in confi- Efforts of the Disciples of 8t Boniface. 211 in front and full view of tlie altar. There lie prayed, and chap. x. having received the holy Supper, died in the midst of his ^^^Ttsiu ' disciples, who had gathered round his hed, uttering as his last words, " To-day I have my release." Another eminent disciple of the great Apostle of Ger- sturmiof]?uida. many was the Abbot Sturmi. He had been committed to the care of that eminent missionary by his parents, who were of noble descent, and natives of Bavaria, at the period -io- 736—8. that he was engaged in organizing the Church in that country. Boniface accepted the boy with joy, and on his arrival at Fritzlar, placed him in a monastery there, under the care of the abbot, Wigbert\ The latter undertook his education with alacrity, "taught him to repeat by heart the Psalms, then opened up to him the four Gospels, and bade him commit to memory large portions of the rest of the New, and also of the Old Testament^." The period of in- struction completed, Sturmi was consecrated priest, and for three years continued to assist Boniface in missionary work. Then with that intense desire to penetrate the profoundest solitudes which we have already so often noticed as pecu- liar to the missionaries of the Middle Ages, he longed to discover a more lonely retreat, and to found a monastery in the awful forest of Buchonia (Burchwald), which then covered a great portion of Hessia. Such a desire was no sooner communicated to Boniface than it met with his most cordial approval, and he saw that an opening was now possible towards converting that impassable forest into a cultivated country, and establishing another of his nu- merous monastic colonies in its midst. Two companions ^ Msibinon, Acta SS. Ben. III. 62^. spirituali intelligere sensu, quatuor ^ The following course of instruo- evangeliorum Chriatl mysteria sta- tion as preparatory to missionary diosissime curavit addiaeere, Novum work at this period is interesting : quoque ao Vetus Testamentum, in "Psalmis tenaci memorise traditis, quantum sufficiebat, leotionis assi- lectionibusque quam plurimis per- duitate in cordis sui thesaurum re- enni commemoratione firniatis, sa- oondsre curavit." Vita S, Sturmi cram coepit Christi puer scripturam Abbatis, Pertz, 11. 366. 14—2 212 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. X. were assigned to Sturmi, and before the three set out, ji p, 744. Boniface solemnly commended them to the Lord', bidding them "go forth in His name, and seek a suitable habi- tation for His servants in the wilderness." Thefmndaiion After wandering on for three days they at length uryofi-uUi„. reached a spot, now called Hersfelt, which seemed adapted to their purpose. A portion of ground was cleared, a few small huts were constructed of the bark of trees, and their new abode was consecrated with fasting and prayer. Sturmi, after a short stay, determined to return, and recount to the archbishop all that had befallen them. He told him exactly every particular respecting the situation, soil, watershed, and salubrity of their new abode ^ The prudent Boniface would not immediately discourage his zealous disciple by telling him the spot was not suitable. He bade him stay with him and refresh himself awhile, and cheered his spirits by reminding him of the consolatory promises of Scripture, and the great cause they both had so much at heart. At length he told him plainly the situation was not advan- tageous ; it was too near the pagan Saxons, and might suffer from their wild incursions; he bade him, therefore, persevere and renew the search for a locality more remote and more secure. Again, therefore, Sturmi set forth, rejoined his asso- ciates at Hersfelt, informed them of the decision of Boniface, and persuaded them to renew the search. A second journey amidst the trackless forest was scarcely more successful. In a boat the little band sailed up the ^ We have a specimen of the if Thmi ordainest me to establish my- tenor of the prayer offered on such self in this solitude, make it known an occasion in Vita S. Seqitani, to me, and lead to a good issue the quoted in Montalembert's Monks of beginning which Thou hast already t/ie West, II, 323 : '*Lord, who hast granted to my devotion." made heaven and earth, who hearest ^ *' Eique et loci positionem et the prayers of him that comes to terrae qualitatem, et aquae decursum, Thee, from whom every good thing et fontes et vaUes, et omnia quas ad proceeds, and without whom all the locum pertinebant, per ordinem ex- efforts of human weakness are vain, posuit." Pertz, 11. 367, Efforts of the Disciples of 8t Boniface. 213 river Fulda, and observed several spots whicli seemed chap. x. adapted to their purpose, but none presented the precise 77^44^ qualifications which Boniface required. Returning to Hersfelt they found a messenger from the archbishop, summoning Sturmi to meet him at Fritzlar. The faithful monk straightway obeyed, and recounted to him the boot- less result of the second expedition. But Boniface still encouraged him to make another attempt. "A place," said he, with the air of a prophet, "is prepared for us in the forest : whensoever it be the will of Christ, He will shew it to His servants ; therefore desist not from thy inquiries, be assured that without doubt thou wilt discover it there'." After a short interval of refreshment and repose, Sturmi, Bisemery of me not doubting but what the bishop said would come to pass, saddled his ass, and again, undeterred by previous failures, determined to prosecute the search. This time he went alone. Against the wild beasts he protected himself in the day-time by chanting hymns and prayers, and in the night- time he cut down with a sword branches from the trees, signed himself with the sign of the Cross, and commended himself to the divine protection. Thus secure he made his way under the huge oak-groves, where the foot of man had never trod, till on the fourth day, guided by a forester, he i-eached a spot on the banks of the Fulda which seemed to combine all the advantages of situation, salubrity, and seclusion which Boniface required^. Carefully he examined and re-examined the situation : every hill, every valley, every spring was duly noted, and then he returned, and after 1 Vita S. Stwrmi, Pertz, ii. 368. latius gradiebatur, tanto ampliua 2 ' ' Avidua looorum explorator gratulabatur. Cumque ibi loci pul- ubtque sagaci obtutu montuosa atque chritudine delectatus, non modicum plina perlustrans loca, montes quo- diei spatium gyrando et explorando que et collea valleaque aspiciens, exegisset, benedicto loco et diligenter fontes et torrentes atque fluvios aignato, gaudens inde profectua est." considerana, pergebat." On disco- Vita S. Stwrmi, Pertz, II. 369. vering the apot, " quanto longiua et 214 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. A.D. 744. i.D. 744. CHAP. X. communicating the joyful news to the brethren who were praying for his success at Hersfelt, he passed on and sought out the archbishop, to whom he recounted the circumstances of his third expedition, and his own belief that the long de- sired locality had at last been found. Boniface, overjoyed, listened eagerly to every detail, and at last announced that stBmifaceiegs\iQ was Satisfied. Shortly afterwards he repaired to the the site of Car- •' ^ ^ ^ lomm. court of Carloman, and prevailed upon him to grant him the spot with a demesne extending four miles each way^. Sturmi, with the grant thus ratified, was directed to take with him seven brethren, and commence the foundations of the monastery. Thither also Boniface himself repaired with several of the brethren, and watched the felling of the trees, and the clearing of the ground, with the same feeling of interest and delight which many of our Colonial Bishops have described at seeing the walls of some church rising in the backwoods of Canada or the valleys of New Zea- land. Thus was founded the monastery of Fulda. No other of his many conventual houses did Boniface regard with such deep afi'ection. Not only did he obtain the site from Carloman, but he exempted it from the spiritual supervision of the bishops, and subjected it solely to the Pope. Appointing Sturmi its first abbot, he dispatched him into Italy to inspect all the monastic houses, especially that of the Benedictines at Monte Cassino, that they might be reproduced at Fulda. By the wish, however, of the founder, the rule of Fulda was made more rigid even than that of St Benedict ^ It was directed that the bre- thren should never eat flesh, that their strongest drink should be a thin beer, that they should have no serfs, but The. Rule of Fulda. ^ Pertz, rr. 370. ^ "Consensu omnium deoretum est, ut apud illos nulla potio fortis qusB inebriare posait, sed tenuis cere- visia biberetur." Vita S. Sturmi, Pertz, II. 371. "Viros strictsB abs- tinentise, absque carne et vino, absque sicera et servis, proprio ma- nuum suarum labore contentos." Ep. Bon. Lxxv. For the accurate description of the site of Fulda, see Bonifacii Ep. ixvi. Efforts of the Disciples of 8t Boniface. 215 sliouldsul)sIstentirely''bytlie labour of their own hands. So chap x. popular did the new monastery become, especially after the ^ „ 744-768. remains of the great Apostle of Germany had been trans- ferred thither, that numbers even more than it could con- tain sought to be received within its walls. Sturmi is said to have directed the labours of upwards of four thousand monks, who gladly submitted to his paternal rule, and employed themselves in clearing the land, and reducing the wilderness to cultivation, or preparing themselves for mis- sionary labour amongst their Teutonic brethren. The life of the good abbot was not without its troubles. The ex- emption Boniface had procured for his favourite institution from episcopal supervision provoked the jealousy of his successor archbishop Lull, and brought about the banish- ment of Sturmi from the monastery, and his temporary dis- grace at the court of Pepin. But the clouds cleared away ; Sturmi was restored, and he lived to a good old age, super- intending the labours of his numerous brethren, erecting churches, and adorning and beautifying his favourite retreat. With the accession of Charlemagne he was constrained Aceesnm of , ., IIP'- 111 Charlemagne. to take part m other methods 01 winning over the heathen Saxons' to the Christian faith than those which his own conscience approved, or the spirit of his creed sanctioned. In the year 772, memorable for the destruction of the Irmin- a.d. 772. Saule, commenced the first of the many wars of Charlemagne against the Saxon race". Conscious that on their subjuga- Warswim the tion depended not only his own security', but that of Europe ' In the year a.d. 77^, Charle- ' "The Saxon race now occupied magne took Eresburg, a strong for- the whole North of Germany, from tress on the Drimel, and thence ad- the Baltic along the whole Eastern vanoed to " a kind of religious ca- frontier of the Frankish kingdom, pital, either of the whole Saxon na- and were divided into three leading tion, or at least of the more consi- tribes, the Ostphalians, the West- derable tribes," near the source of phalians, and the Angarians." Mil- the Lippe, where was the celebrated man's Latin Christianity, ii. 281. idol, the Irmin-Saule, which Char- '^ i. The ancient antipathy of the lemagne destroyed. Milman's Latin race, 2. the growing tendency to "' ■ ' ',11. 283. civilized habits among the Franks, 216 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. X. also, that monarch determined at all risks to break their ^^ 772. spirit, to roll back the tide of barbarian aggression, to penetrate their bleak and unknown world, to seek them out amidst their endless forests, and wide heaths, and trackless swamps, and to erect there the Christian Church and the monastic seminary. Strange methods were now resorted to for the purpose of winning over the ferocious i B. 776. Saxon to the new faith. On one occasion the abbot of Fulda was summoned to join the emperor, who, anxious to conquer the wild race, and to force them to accept the yoke of civilization, after consulting his clergy, had assem- bled a great army, and invoking the name of Christ, set out for Saxony', " attended," says the biographer of Sturmi, " by a numerous retinue of priests, abbots, and orthodox adherents of the true faith, in order to induce a nation, which from the beginning of the world had been tied and bound with the chains of daemons, to believe the sacred doctrines and submit to the light and easy yoke of Christ. And on his arrival in their country, partly by war, partly by persuasion, partly by gifts, he won over the race to the faith, and dividing their land into dioceses, handed over the population to the spiritual instructions of his clergy." Sturmi now found fall employment for all his energies. The greater portion of the conquered race, who had felt the edge of Charlemagne's sword, and witnessed the de- were, according to Michelet, the rian's only method of combining- chief causes of these wars. Hallam liberty with possession of land." considers the last cause quite suffi- No wonder also they hated the ec- cient to account for the conflict. clesiastical system of the conqueror, "It was that which makes the Red for "with the Church came churches, Indian perceive an enemy in the andforchurchesthere must be towns, Anglo-American, and the Austra- and for towns a magistracy, and for lian savage in the Enghshman. The magistracy law ' and the means of Saxons, in their deep forests and enforcing it." Hallam's Middle scantily-cultivated plains, could not Age», Suppl. notes, p. 25. Michelet, bear fixed boundaries of land. Their i. 78. gau was indefinite ; the mansus was 1 Vita S. Sturmi, Pertz, 11. 376. certain ; it annihilated the barba- Efforts of the Disciples of 8t Boniface. 217 sJTUction of the great object of their adoration, the Irmin- chap. x. Saule, were committed to his care. Aided by the numerous JT^tb! brethren of Fulda he girded himself for the difficult task, proclaimed the futility of their idolatrous worship, exhorted them to destroy their temples, to cut down their groves, and to embrace the faith. His exertions were rewarded with partial success. Many of the vanquished Saxong, making a virtue of necessity, accepted the ritual of their conquerors, and were, with but little discrimination, immersed in, or sprinkled with the regenerating waters. But a rebellion broke out in 778. The Saxons burst in numbers into the ad. 778. territory of Fulda, determined to burn the monastery with ^"fc^."" fire, and destroy the enemies of their national faith'. The abbot was informed of their design, and determined to seek safety in flight. The coffin of the Apostle of Germany was hastily exhumed, and the brethren set forth from their retreat. They had not proceeded far when they heard that the tide had turned, and the Saxons been driven back. Charlemagne had flown to the rescue, and advanced his a.b. 779. forces as far as the Weser. But Sturmi, who had been far from well when obliged to fly, sickened rapidly after his return to the monastery. In vain the emperor sent hira his own physician Wintar. A mistake was made in his siurmvt death. prescriptions, and the sufferings of his patient were only in- creased. Perceiving that his end was nigh, the abbot bade all the bells to be rung, and the brethren to assemble round his bed". They came, and he begged them all to forgive him if any had aught against him, and declared that he for his part forgave all, even his old enemy archbishop Lull. The next day he sunk rapidly, and as the brethren stood round his bed, "Father," said one, "we doubt not thou art about to depart hence and to be with the Lord, we be- ' Vila S. Sturmi, Pertz, il. 376. pariter moveri imperavit, et fratri- 3 " Currere citius ad ecclesiam bus congregatis obitum suum nun- jubet, omQes gloggas (campaaas) tiare prsecepit." Pertz, n. 377. 218 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. X, seech thee, therefore, that in the kingdom of heaven thou ^j, 77g_ wilt remember us, and pray unto the Lord in behalf of thy servants, for sure we are that the prayers of such an advo- cate will avail us much." " Shew yourselves worthy," was the answer of the dying abbot, " that I should pray for you, and I will do as ye require." With these words he expired on the 17th of December, 779. Effect of Vu! While the abbot was thus peacefully breathing forth 'the Missionarij his life in the monastery of Fulda, the storm of war was spirit. . . J ' raging without through the length and breadth of the Saxon territory. In 779 the great Carl chased his inde- fatigable enemies to the Weser, in the following year he advanced as far as the Elbe. In the midst of the constant din of arms, the marching and countermarching of troops, the burning of monasteries and churches, it is not surpris- ing that even missionaries were tempted to forget that "the weapons of their warfare" were "not carnal," and at times appealed to other feelings than those of faith and SI ujmin. love. One of these, Lebuin', a man of intrepid zeal, had come over from England, and built him an oratory on the banks of the Tsell. Here, encouraged by the advice and countenance of Gregory the abbot of Utrecht, he con- tinued to exhort the pagan Saxons to forsake their idolatry, and by the ruggedness of his life he charmed many even of the martial chiefs. But the anger of the tribes was excited, they rose in arms and burnt his oratory to the ground. A.-D. 776. Nothing daunted, he determined to go forth and confront the whole nation at their approaching assembly'' on the Weser. Arraying himself in his full clerical dress, with an uplifted Cross in one hand, and a volume of the Gospels ' See Vita 8. Lebuini, Pertz, ii. seram, et locum, Marklo nuncu- 3"i- patum, exercebant generale conoi- 2 "Statuto tempore annisemel lium, traotantes, sanoientes, et pro- ex singulis pagis, atque ex iisdem palantes communis commoda utUi- ordinibus tripartitis, singiUatim viri tatis, juxta placitum a se statute duodecim eleoti, et in unum collecli, legis." Vita S. Lebuini, .Pertz, il. in media Saxonia secus flumen Wi- 362. Efforts of the Disciples of St Boniface. 219 in the other, he presented himself to the astonished Saxons, chap. x. as they were engaged in solemn sacrifice to their national I^Tttb! gods. "Hearken unto me," he thundered forth, "and not indeed to me, but unto Him that speaketh by me. I declare unto you the commands of Him whom all things serve and obey." Struck dumb with astonishment the Huioidnddras warriors listened, as he went on', " Hearken, all ye, and cJi^u!"^ know that God is the Creatoir of heaven and earth, the sea, and all things that there are therein. He is the one only and true God. He made us, and not we ourselves, nor is there any other than He. The images, which ye call a.d. 772-776. gods, and which, beguiled by the devil, ye worship, what are they but gold, or silver, or brass, or stone, or wood ? They neither live, nor move, nor feel ; they are but the work of men's hands, they can neither help themselves nor any one else. God the only good and righteous Being, whose mercy and truth remain for ever, moved with pity that ye should be thus seduced by the errors of deemons, has charged me as His ambassador to beseech you to lay aside your old errors, and to turn with sincere and true faith to Him by whose goodness ye were created, and in whom we live and move and have our being. If ye will acknowledge Him, and repent, and be baptized, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and will keep His commandments, then will He preserve you from all evil, He will vouchsafe unto you the blessings of peace, and in the world to come, life everlasting. But if ye de- spise and reject His counsels, and persist in your present errors, know that ye will suffer terrible punishment for scorning His merciful warning; Behold, I, His am- bassador, declare unto you the sentence which has gone forth from His mouth, and which cannot change. If ye do not obey His commands, then will sudden destruction come upon you. For the King of kings and Lord of lords 1 Vita S. Lehuini, Pertz, rr. ^St. * A.D. 776. 220 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. X. hath appointed a trave, prudent, and terrible prince, who is not afar off, but nigh at hand. He, like a swift and roaring torrent, will burst upon you, and subdue the fero- city of your hearts, and crush your stiffiiecked obstinacy. He shall invade your land with a mighty host, and ravage it with fire and sword, desolation, and destruction. As the avenging wrath of that God, whom ye have ever provoked, he shall slay some of you with the sword, some he shall cause to waste away in poverty and want, some he shall lead into perpetual captivity ; your wives and children he shall sell into slavery, and the residue of you he will reduce to ignominious subjection, that in you may justly be fulfilled what has long since been predicted, " They were made a handful and scattered, and tormented with the tribulation and anguish of the wicked'." Narrow escape The effect of thcsc last words can easily be imagined. of the Mis- . . • i i limarn. The warriors, who had listened at first with awe-struck reverence, were seized with ungovernable fury. " Here is that seducer," they cried with one voice, " that enemy of our sacred rites, and our country ; away with him from the earth, and let him suffer the just punishment of his crimes." The whole assembly was in a ferment. Stakes were cut from the adjoining thickets, stones were taken up, and the dauntless missionary would have atoned for his temerity with his life, had it not been for the intervention of an aged chief, named Buto, who, standing on an eminence, addressed the excited throng : " Men and heroes all, listen unto my words. Many a time have ambassadors come to us from the Normans, the Slaves, and the Prisons ; as is our custom, we have listened diligently to their words, received them in peace, and dismissed them to their homes loaded with suitable presents. But now an ambassador of 1 "XJt de vobis jamdudum jure tione malorwm et dolore." Pertz, prasdiotum videri possit: El pauci ii. 363. facti sunt, et vexati sunt a trilmla- Efforts of the Disciples of St Boniface. 221 God Supreme, wlio has announced to us words of life and chap. x. eternal salvation, hath not only been despised, but struck ^^ ^^g^ and stoned, and almost deprived of life. That the God who sent him hither is great and powerful is plain from the fact that He has delivered His servant out of our hands. Be assured, then, that what He hath threatened will cer- tainly come to pass, and those judgments He has de- nounced will come upon us from a God whom we see to be so great and powerful." With these words the old man calmed the storm, and rne spirit of m^ so Lebuin escaped, nor did any seek his life. The spirit, o/thetimei. however, which breathes through his address to the heathen warriors, — and for this reason we bring it forward at this point, — illustrates the spirit of the Emperor, the spirit of a.d. 780—785. the times. The Saxons were looked upon as barbarians and heathens, with whom no treaties could be maintained. The exigencies of the age made Charlemagne a Maho- metan Apostle of the Gospel'. While his soldiers fought against their idolatrous foes, threw down their temples, cut down their groves, the priests followed in the wake of the armies. The reception of baptism was the symbol of peace ; refusal of the rite the symptom of disaffection, and the signal of war. In vain men like Alcuin protested against the Pmiesttof 11-* 1 ^ Alcuin. monarch s plan for securing at once the subjection and the conversion of the Saxons ; in vain he exhorted him to call to mind the example of the Apostles and their Divine Mas- ter in the propagation of the Gospel. " No man putteth new wine into old bottles," says he in one of his letters, quoting the words of Christ ; " you might hence be led to consider whether it was well done to impose on a rude people at their first conversion the yoke of tithes. Did the Apostles, who were sent out to preach by the Lord Himself, require tithes, or anywhere prescribe that they 1 Sje Hallam's Middle Ages, l. 9. Milman's Latin. Christianity, 11. 180. His protests inejfecluat. 222 The Missionary Mtstonj of the Middle Ages. CHAP. X. sKould be exacted?" Again, in another letter to Arno, AD. 780-785. archbishop of Salzburg, he asks, " Of what use is baptism without faith ? The Apostle says, ' without faith it is im- possible to please God.' It is because they have never had the principle of faith in their hearts that the wretched people of Saxony have so often abused the sacrament of baptism. Faith, as St Augustine says, is a matter of free- will, and not of compulsion. How can a man be forced to believe what he does not believe ? A man may, indeed, be forced to baptism, but not to faith." His protests, however, did not receive the attention they deserved. Charlemagne persisted in his policy. Death was denounced as the penalty for neglecting baptism, or resorting to secret idolatry ; the same penalty was threat- ened against burning churches, neglecting fasts, burning the dead according to heathen customs, or offering human sacrifices. Still side by side with this short-sighted policy, which could not fail to promote the commingling of Christian and heathen elements, other and better agencies were at work. The disciples whom Boniface had trained did not fail to walk in the steps of their master, and la- boured not only to uproot idolatry, but to plant the truth which should absorb heathen error, building schools and monasteries, erecting churches, and thus laying the best and surest foundations for the future. The abbey of Utrecht, under the presidency of the de- voted Gregory, had sent forth many noble labourers into the mission-field, and many more had come over from England to take their share in the good work, and to spread the knowledge of the truth. One of the most eminent of these, and to whom allusion has already been made, was Liudger, the grandson of Wursing, a Frisian chief, and firm friend of Willibrord'. The seeds of early piety had been quickened within him in the school of Utrecht, ' See above, Chapter vni. p. 173 n. Si Liudger. Efforts of the Disciples of St Boniface. 223 and his knowledge had been still further extended in chap. x. that of Alcuin at York, whither Gregory, as we have ^7fio-785. seen\ had sent him with his coadjutor Alubert. He returned after an interval of three years and six months ; well supplied with books, and well instructed, he com- menced his missionary labours in the region where Boniface had met with his death, assisting Albric, the successor of Gregory, who was consecrated bishop of Cologne. His exertions, however, had not continued more than seven years, when thay were rudely cut short by a rebellion of the Saxons, who rose in 780, under their leader Wittekind, and ravaged the country from Cologne to Coblentz. Albric died, and from the sight of burning churches and exiled clergy Liudger betook himself with two companions to Rome, and thence to the abbey of Monte Cassino, to study the monastic rule of St Benedict. Returning in 785 he a.d. 785- found that peace had been restored, and tliat the Saxon chief Wittekind had submitted to baptism. His arrival wiikkind. - becoming known to the emperor, the latter assigned him a sphere of labour among the Frisians in the neighbour- hood of Groningen and Norden''. Not content with the area marked out for him, Liudger fSoSS *" extended his anxieties to Fositesland, famous, as we have seen, in the life Willibrord'. His biographer tells us that, as he sailed ^to the island, holding the Cross in his hand, a dark mist appeared to the sailors to roll off the shore, followed by a bright calm. Interpreting this as an omen of good success, Liudger landed, preached the Word, and destroyed the temples, erecting churches in their stead. Many listened to his message and were baptized ^ The occasion of his return is naverunt egredi de regione Anglo- thus related: "Egredientibuscivibus rum, timentes iram propinquorum illis ad bellum contra inimicoa suos, interfecti juveuis." Vita S. Liud- (i. e. at York), contigit, ut, per rixam geri, cap. 1 1. interficeretur filius cujusdam comitis ^ Vila S. Liudgeri, Pertz, n. 410. ipsius provincise a Fresone quddam ^ See Chapter II. p. 172. negotiatore, et idciroo Freaones feati- 224 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. A D. 785. midebold. CHAP. X. in the waters of the very fountain in which Willibrotd, at so much risk, had baptized three of the islanders on a former occasion. A son also of one of the chiefs embraced the faith, was baptized, and became a teacher of the Fri- sians, and the founder of a monastery. After the com- plete subjugation of the Saxons, Liudger was directed by the emperor to repair to the district of Munster. Here he erected a monastery, travelled over the district with unflagging energy, instructed the barbarous tribes, and appointed priests to take charge of them. After many refusals he was at last induced by Hildebold, archbishop of Cologne, to accept the episcopal dignity; but he did not cease to carry on as strenuously as ever his missionary work, and even longed to undertake a mission to the wild Normans; this, however, the emperor would not allow, and he was fain to remain in his own diocese, where he did not cease to labour till the day of his death, in 809. On this day, after preaching to two different congregations in the morning at Cosfeld, and celebrating the sacrament of the Lord's Supper in the afternoon at Billerbeck, he bade farewell to the sheep for whom he had so long laboured, and entered into his rest'. Another eminent missionary, and during part of his life a contemporary of Liudger, was Willehad, a native of Northumbrian, who was induced, to leave his country and join the band of missionaries, commencing,' like Liudger, in the district where Boniface suffered. Remov- ing thence to the district of Groningen, he found himself in the midst of a population still fanatically addicted to paganism. Undeterred by the enmity he was too likely A.B. 809 Willehad. A.D. 779 ^ " Ipse vero die dominico, cuni in subsequeati nocte de hoc mundo esset iturus ad Dominum, quasi vale- fa'";''«r"T'''- take me Damsn court, Anskar calmly but resolutely announced his willing- Mission. ness to go ; in dreams and visions he had heard, he said, the voice of Christ Himself bidding him preach the Word to the heathen tribes, and nothing should induce him to shrink from the plain path of duty. In vain, therefore, on his return to his monastery, the brethren, learning that he was about to resign all his hopes and prospects to preach amongst heathens and barbarians, warned, protested, and even mocked at him for his madness. Immovable in his resolution to brave all risks, he began to prepare himself for his great enterprise, by prayer and the study of the Scriptures in the solitude of a neighbouring vineyard. So joined i,y Aut- deep was the impression made by his devotion, that Aut- bert steward of the monastery, and a man of noble birth, when every one else hung back, declared that he could not find it in his heart to desert his friend, and was resolved to become his companion. A foretaste of the difficulties that awaited them was experienced at the outset. No one could possibly be pre- vailed on to accompany them as an attendant. The abbot himself shrunk from interposing his authority, and "they were fain to set out alone. Before starting they had an ' Eistoria Translationis S. Viti, Pertz, II. 579. Paschasii Badberti Vita S. Adelkardi, Pertz, 11. 531. CHAP. XI. A.D. 826. Accompanies Harold to Denmark. Difficulties of the under- taking. 236 The Missionary' History of the Middle Ages. audience of the Emperor, and received from him everything they were likely to need for the undertaking, in the shape of church-vessels, tents, and books, together with much exhortation to keep a watchful eye upon Harold and his retinue. From that Danish prince, however, they met with but little encouragement ; neither he nor his nobles cared much for their company ; and it was not till they arrived at Cologne, whence they were to pass by the Ehine to Holland, and so to Denmark, and where bishop Ha- delbald bestowed upon them a ship with two cabins, that he evinced any desire to have much of their society. The better accommodation, however, promised by the use of a cabin, induced him to share the same vessel with Ans- kar, and the engaging manners of the missionary gradu- ally won his respect, and inspired him with an interest in his undertaking. On landing, Anskar fixed his head- quarters at Schleswig, and commenced the foundation of a school, purchasing or receiving from Harold Danish boys whom he hoped to train, so. as to form the nucleus of a native ministry. Two years thus passed away, and some impression seemed to be made upon the people by the earnest self-devotion of the missionaries, when Autbert sickened, and was obliged to return to Corbey, where he died. Meanwhile the conversion of Harold, and still more his destruction of the native temples, was regarded by his subjects with the bitterest resentment \ A rebellion broke out, and the king was obliged to fly for refuge to the fief of Eustringia, within the ancient Frisick terri- tory, which had been conceded to him by Louis ; while Anskar also found it necessary to leave Schleswig, consoled by an unexpected opportunity of commencing a similar work under happier auspices in Sweden. 1 Saxo Grammaticus, lib. IX. "De- lubra diruit, vietimarios proscripsit, flaminiuiu abrogavit, atque inconditae patriae Christianismi sacra primua intulit." Missionary Efforts in Denmark and Sweden. 237 In the year 829 ambassadors from the latter country chap. xi. presented themselves at the court of Louis, and, after ^ „ 329. arranging the political object of their mission, announced Mismmmi p/- , PI* t* -^^^^ *" Sweden. that many 01 their countrymen were favourably disposed towards Christianity \ The commerce carried on, at this period, between Sweden and the port of Doerstadt, com- bined with the teaching of Christian captives, whom the Swedes had carried off in their piratical excursions, had predisposed a considerable number towards lending a fa- vourable ear to Christian teachers. The Emperor gladly embraced the opportunity, Anskar was summoned to the palace', and, after an interview with Louis, declared his entire willingness to undertake the enterprise. A monk, named Gislema, was, therefore, left with Harold, and Anskar having found a new companion in Amkar saus Witmar, a brother-monk of Corbey, set out in the year 831 with presents from Louis for the king of Sweden, a.d. 831. But the voyage was most disastrous. The missionaries had not proceeded far, when they were attacked by pirates ; a fierce battle ensued, and their crew, though at first vic- torious, were overpowered in a second engagement, and barely escaped to land. The pirates plundered them of everything ; the presents for the king, their own books, and ecclesiastical vestments, all were lost. In this for- lorn and destitute condition they reached Birka, a haven and village on the Malar lake, not far from the ancient capital Sigtuna, where rich merchants resided, and where was the centre of the Northern trade. Here they were hospitably welcomed by the king, Biorn "of the Hill," and received free permission to preach and baptize. The nucleus of a Church was found already existing in the persons of many Christian captives, who had long been deprived of the consolation of Christian ordinances. The work therefore commenced under fair auspices, and before ' Vita S. Anskarii, cap. ix. * Ibid. 238 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XI. long, Herigar the king's counsellor, announced himself a ^ ^_ g3^ convert, and erected a church on his estate'. After an in- terval of a year and a half, Anskar returned to the court of Louis, with a letter from the king of Sweden, and an- nounced all that had befallen him. Thereupon the Em-' peror resolved without further delay to give effect to the ecclesiastical plans formed by his father, and to make Ham- burg an archiepiscopal see, and a centre of operations for the Northern missions^. Anskar was accordingly elevated to the archiepiscopal dignity, and was consecrated at Ingel- hiem, by Drogo of Mayence, and other prelates. At the same time, because of the poverty of the diocese, and the dangers to which the mission would be inevitably exposed, the monastery of Turholt in Flanders, between Bruges and Ypres, was assigned to him as a place of refuge, and a source of revenue. Then he was directed to repair to Amhar visits Kome, whcrc he received the pall from Gregory IV., and Rome, llecewcs ' ,., ^ -iiA^i, Gr^w^'iT' ^*® regularly authorized to preach the (jrospel to the Northern nations'". AD. 834. These arrangements made, Anskar returned from Rome. Ebbo, who had been associated with him in the commission to evangelise the North, deputed his missionary office to 'trmi'dLm ^^^ nephew Gauzbert, who was raised to the episcopal dignity, and as coadjutor to Anskar was entrusted spe- cially with the Swedish mission*. Thither, accordingly, Gauzbert, who had received the name of Simon, set out, received a hearty welcome from Biorn and his people, and laid the foundation of a church at Sigtuna. Meanwhile i"jjZlurf''' -Anskar had gone to Hamburg, and in pursuance of his 1 Vita S. A mharii, cap. xi. scopes sive presbyteros, in illas partes 2 "In ultima Saxonise regione pro Christi nomine destinandos." trans Alliam in civitate Hamma- RteS. ^nsA-aj-w, cap. xii. Latham's burg sedem constituit archiepiscopa- Taciti Germania, c. xii. lem, cui subjaceret universa North- 3 Jaflf^'s Megesta Pont. Rom. p. albingorum ecclesia, et ad quam per- 228. Adam. Brem. i. iS. tineret omnium regienum aquilona- ■> Vita S. Anskariij c»-g. xiv. lium potestas ad coustltuendos epi- Uic Swedish Mission. Missionary Efforts in Denmarh and Sweden. 239 former plan, bought or redeemed from slavery a number chap. xt. of Danish and Slavonic youths, whom he either educated ^7^34^ himself, or sent for that purpose to the monastery of Turholt. But the times were hardly ripe for successful operations. Three years had barely elapsed, when an enormous army a.d. 837. of Northmen, led by Eric, king of Jutland, attacked Ham- '^^^l^"" burg, and, before relief could arrive, sacked and burned it, together with the church and monastery which Anskar had erected with great trouble. He himself had barely time to save the sacred relics, and before the sun went down, saw every external memorial of his mission reduced to ashes'. " The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taJcen away, and blessed be the name of the Lord" was the pious exclamation of the archbishop, as he surveyed the scene of desolation. Driven from Hamburg, he wan- dered for a long time over his devastated diocese, followed by a few of his clergy and scholars, and at length sought refuge at Bremen;' but the envious bishop Leutbert refusing to receive him, he was fain to avail himself of the hos- pitality of a noble lady in the district of Holstein. And, aSJ,"" " as if this was not enough, he now received intelligence that, owing to similar risings of the Northmen, the hopes of the Swedish mission were utterly crushed ^ The pagan ' party had conspired against the bishop Gauzbert, expelled <""* Gauzun. him from the country, and murdered his nephew Nithard. But divine vengeance, we are assured, did not fail to pursue the conspirators. One of them had carried home some of the property of the missionaries. Before long he died together with his mother and sister, and his father found his goods wasting away from day to day. Alarmed at this sudden reverse of fortune, he began to consider what god he could have offended to bring all these trou- 1 Adam. Erem. I. 23. Palgrave's Normandy and England, I. 441. 2 Ibid. i.D. 837- 240 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XI. bles on his house. Unable to settle the difBculty himself, he had recourse to a soothsayer. The lots were cast, and it was found that none of the native deities bore him any ill-will. At length the soothsayer explained the difficulty. " It is the God of the Christians," said he, " that is the author of thy ruin; there is something dedicated to Him concealed in thy house, and therefore all these evils have come upon thee, nor canst thou escape so long as that sacred thing remains unrestored\" After vainly trying, for some time, to comprehend what this could mean, the other suddenly recollected the day when his son had brought home from the spoil of the Christians' dwellings, one of their sacred books. Stricken with alarm, he immediately called together the inhabitants of the town, told them all that had occurred, and prayed their advice in the emergency. Every one declined to receive the terrible relic, and at last, fearful of further vengeance if he retained it in his house, the man covered it carefully and then fastened it to a stake on the public road, with a notice that any one who wished might take it down, and that for the crime he had unwittingly been guilty of against the Christians' God, he was ready to offer any satisfaction that might be required. One of the native Christians took it down, and the man's terrors were appeased. Anskar, meanwhile, was still wandering over his deso- lated diocese. Even the monastery of Turholt, which Louis had bestowed upon him for the very purpose of being a covert from storms like these, was closed against him, having been bestowed upon a layman by Charles the Bald. Most men would have sunk under such accumu- lated disappointments, but Anskar waited patiently in hope of some change, and comforted himself with the ^ Vita S. AnsJcarii, cap. xriii. domo tua manet reconditum, inve- "Chriatus," inquit, "sic te habet nerunt te omnia mala hseo quje per- perditum ; et quia quodlibet illorum, pessus es, nee poteris ab his iiberari, quod illi conseeratum fuerat, in donee illud in domo tua manserit." Anshar's pulii^rice. Missionary Efforts in Denmark and Sweden. 241 words of arclibishop Ebbo shortly before his death ; " Be chap. xr. assured, brother," said that prelate, "that what we have ^ „ 342. striven to accomplish for the glory of Christ will bring- forth fruit in the Lord. For it is my firm and settled belief, nay, I know of a surety, that though what we have undertaken amongst these nations is subject, for a time, to obstacles and difficulties, on account of our sins, yet it will not be lost or perish altogether, but will, by God's grace, thrive and prosper, until the name of the Lord is made known to the furthest ends of the earth'." And, before long, events occurred which seemed to promise that the clouds would roll away, and a brighter epoch be in- augurated to cheer the heart of the Apostle of the North. Mindful of the converted chief Herigar, he had sent ad. 844. Ardgar, an anchoret in holy orders, to Sigtuna, with direc- fo"^"*^ ''*"'" tions to see how he fared, and to strengthen him against falling back into heathenism. Thither, therefore, Ardgar set out, and was rejoiced to find Herigan still remaining faithful to the religion he had embraced. The recollection of the divine vengeance, which had attended the previous outbreak, protected the missionary from injury, and the new king who had succeeded Biorn was persuaded by Herigar to permit Ardgar to preach the Gospel without fear of molestation. That chief was no half-hearted be- HmnarScon- stancy. liever, and openly confronted the malice of the pagan party. On one occasion, as they were boasting of the power of their gods, and of the many blessings they had received by remaining faithful to their worship, and were reviling him as a traitor and an apostate, he bade them put the matter to an open and decisive proof. " If there be so much doubt," said he, "concerning the superior might of our respective gods, let us decide by miracles whose power is greatest, whether that of the many ye call gods, or of my one Omnipotent Lord, Jesus Christ. Lo, 1 VUa S. Anskarii, cap. xxxir. 16 242 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XI. the season of rain is at hand. Do ye call upon the name ConfJid of Vhri. 1 ^^ Christianity Olaf to a banquet, set before him the presents sent by the 'f^^^^'JlJ''" king of Jutland, and announced the object of his visit. Olaf, for his part, was not indisposed to make the conces- sions he desired, but, as former missionaries had been ex- pelled from the country, and there was danger of a revulsion of feeling, he suggested that it would be well to submit the affair once for all to the solemn decisions of the sacred lots, and consult in open council the feelings of the people. Anskar agreed, and a day was fixed for deciding the mo- mentous question. First the council of the chiefs were for- mally asked their opinion. They craved the casting of the lots. This omen was taken, and was favourable to the admission of the archbishop and his retinue. This was announced to Anskar by one of the chiefs, who bade him be of good courage and play the man, for God plainly favoured his undertaking. Then the general assembly of the people of Birka was convened, and, at the command of the king, a herald proclaimed aloud the purport of the arch- bishop's visit. This was the signal for a great tumult, in the midst of which an aged chief arose, and, in the true spirit of Coifi. the Northumbrian priest, thus addressed the assembly; " Hear me, king and people. The god, whom spmho/one we are invited to worship, is not unknown to us, nor the ™ atsmii!/- aid he can render to those that put their trust in him. Many of us have already proved this by experience, and have felt his assistance in many perils and especially on the Permission (liven U) preach at Liirka. 246 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XI. sea\ Why, then, reject what we know to be useful and ne- ~^ ggQ_ cessary for us ? Not long ago some of us went to Dorstede, and believing that this new religion could profit us much, willingly professed ourselves its disciples. Now the voyage thither is beset with dangers, and pirates abound on every shore. Why, then, reject a religion thus brought to our very doors, which we went a long way before to seek? Why not permit the servants of a god, whose protecting aid we have already experienced, to abide amongst us? Listen to my counsel, then, king and people, and reject not what is plainly for our advantage. We see our own deities failing us, and unable to aid us in time of danger; surely it is a good thing to enjoy the favour of a god who always and at all times can and will aid those that call upon him^." His words found favour with the people, and it was unanimously resolved that the archbishop should be per- mitted to take up his abode amongst them, and should not be hindered in disseminating the Christian faith. This resolution was announced to Anskar by the king in per- son, who further conceded a grant of land for building a church, and welcomed Erimbert, a colleague of the arch- bishop, whom the latter presented as the new director of the Swedish mission. Though the resolution of the as- sembly bound only the immediate neighbourhood of Birka, yet in other parts of the country a similar leaning in favour of the new faith was manifested, and the worship of Christ was allowed as a powerful Deity in war, and a tried Pro- tector in all dangers'. ' In Mallet's North. Antiquities asked him." (p. •257), we find it recorded that on ^ Tita S. Anskarii, cap. xxvii. the voyage to Greenland the crew of ^ We have a striking illustration a Norse vessel found a stranded of this in the expedition of Olaf whale — thereupon their leader ex- against Courland, in S6i. (Vita S. Claimed, "The redbeard Thor has Anskarii, cap. xxx.) For nine days been more helpsome to us than your he fruitlessly attacked Pilten, and Christ.. Seldom has my protector made no Impression on the 15,000 refused me anything that I have warriors it sheltered. Eecourse was Missionary Efforts in Denmark and Sweden. 247 Meanwhile matters had retrograded in Denmark. Eric chap. xi. the Red, though not professedly a Christian, had, as we ~^^ have seen, aided the archbishop in the introduction of Chris- tianity. His apostasy provoked the inveterate hostility of the Northmen. The sea-kings determined to avenge the insults offered to their laws, their institutions, their national gods. Rallying from all quarters under the banner of Guthrun, the nephew of Eric, they attacked the apostate king near Flensburgh in Jutland. The battle raged for three days, and at its close Eric and Guthrun', with "a cohort of Kings and Jarls," lay dead on the field; and so tremendous had been the slaughter that all the Viking nobility seemed to have been utterly exterminated. The new king, Eric II., easily persuaded by one of the pagan chiefs that the recent reverses were owing to the apostasy of his predecessor, ordered one of the churches to be closed, and forbade all further missionary operations. After a while, however, he was induced to change his policy, and Anskar, on his return from Sweden, was reinstated in the royal favour, and received a grant of land for the erection of a second church at Ripa, in Jutland, over which he placed Rimbert, a native priest, charging him to win the hearts of his barbarous flock by the sincerity and devotion of his life. The new king further evinced the change in had to the lots, but no heathen deity pidi vellent accedere. 'Quid,' in- was found willing to aid them. Then quiunt, 'nunc vobis formidandum, "qnidam negotiatorum, memores quidne pavendum est ? Christus est dootrinae institutionis domini Epi- nobiscum ; pugnemus, et viriliter r scopi, suggerereeisoceperunt: 'Deus/ agamu!; ; nihil nobis obstare potent, inquiunt, ' Chriatianorum multotieg nee deerit nobis certa victoria, quia ad ee clamantibus auxiliatur, etpo- potentissimum Deorum nostri adju- tentissimus est in adjuvando. Quae- torem habemus.'" The town fortu- ramua an ille nobiscum esse velit, nately capitulated, et vota ei placita libenti animo spon- ^ " Tanta csede utrique mactati deamus.' Omnium itaque rogatu sunt, ut vulgus omne oaderet, de supplici missa est sors, et inventum, stirpe autem regia nemo omnium quod Christus eis veUet auxiliari. remaneret, praeter puerum unum, Quod cum publics denunciatum nomine Horicum." Adam. Brem. cunotis innotuisset, omnium oorda I. 30. Vita S. A nskarii, cap. xxxi. ita subito roborata sunt, ut oonfes- Palgrave's Normandy and England, tim ad urbem expugnandam intre- I. 449. 248 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XI. his sentiments by permitting, what had hitherto been strictly ;^_^Z^ forbidden through fear of enchantment, the suspension of a bell in the church of Schleswig^ Anskar now returned to Hamburg, and devoted him- Amkar-s ef- sclf to the administration of his diocese. One of the last {fcilwj."'^ acts of his life was a noble effort to check the infamous practice of the slave-trade, which recalls the similar efforts of the Apostle of Ireland with the chief Coroticus. A number of native Christians had been carried off by the Northern pirates, and reduced to slavery. Effecting their escape, they sought refuge in the territory of North Albin- gia. Instead of sheltering the fugitives, some of the chiefs captured them again, and while they retained some as their own slaves, sold others to pagan and even professedly Christian tribes around. News of this reached Anskar, and, at the risk of his life, he determined to confront the guilty chiefs in person, and rebuke them for their cruelty. A vision of Christ, he declared, had prompted him to this resolve, and he carried his point. Sternly and dauntlessly he rebuked the chiefs, and succeeded in inducing them to set the captives once more free, and to ransom as many as possible from the bondage into which they had sold them^. Close of hu This noble act formed an appropriate conclusion to his A D 865. ^^^^* ^^ ^^^ ^'^^ more than sixty-four years of age, and during more than half that period had laboured unremit- tingly in the arduous mission-field of the North. His biographer expatiates eloquently on his character, as ex- hibiting the perfect model of ascetic perfection. Even when elevated to the episcopal dignity he never exempted himself from the rigid discipline of the cloister. He was robed in a hair-cloth shirt by night as well as by day ; he measured out, at least in earlier youth, his food and drink ' Yita S. Amkarii, cap. xxxii. Adam. Brem. I. 31. "Insuper etiam quod antea nefan- 2 yUa S. Anska/rii, cap. xxxviii. dum paganis videbatur, ut clocca in Adam. Brem. I. 31. eadem haberetur eooleaia, consensit." Missionary Efforts in Denmarlc and Sweden. 249 by an exact rule ; he chanted a fixed number of Psalms chap. xi. when he rose in the mornina', and when he retired to sleep at night. His charity was unbounded. A hospital ins character. at Bremen testified to his care of the sick and needy, and not only did he distribute a tenth of his income to the poor, and divide amongst them any presents he might receive, but every five years he tithed his income afresh that he might be sure the poor had their proper share. Whenever he went on a visitation tour of his diocese, he made a practice of never sitting down to dinner in any place without first ordering some of the poor to be brought in, and he himself, sometimes, would wash their feet and distribute amongst them bread and meat. Such a practical exhibition of Chris- tian love could not fail to have a gradual influence even on the rough pirates of the North, and they testified their sense of the power he wielded over them by ascribing to him many miraculous cures. But he was not one to seek a questionable distinction of this kind. " One miracle," he once said to a friend, " I would, if worthy, ask the Lord to grant me, and that is that by His grace He would make me a good man." One source, however, of disquietude troubled his last hours. In vision he believed it had been intimated to him that he was destined to win the martyr's crown^. Wliat sin of his had deprived him of this honour? In vain one of his most intimate pupils pointed out that it had not been distinctly intimated by what death he was to die, by the flame, or the sword, or shipwreck. In vain he recalled the hardships the archbishop had undergone,. and the perils which had made his life a continual martyr- dom. At length, his biographer informs rrs, another and a last vision assured him that his fears were groundless, that no sin of his had robbed him of the wished-for crown. ^ In the vision related, so his bio- bidden him, " Go, return hither, grapher says, in the very words of crowned with martyrdom." Vita Anskar himself, he declares that a S. Anskarii, il. 3. voice from the liighest heavens had OWAP. XI, 865. His deaili. T)itJ'cvlUes of Ids successor Uimheri. A.D. 865— 888 934. Ilnrold Blaa- tititit. 250 The Missionary/ History of the Middle Ages. Thus comforted, he busied himself with aiTanging the affairs of his diocese, and after dictating a letter, in which he earnestly commended the Northern mission to the care of the Emperor, calmly expired on the 3rd of February, 865. That Anskar's success was partial, and confined to narrow limits, was the natural result of the times in which he lived. The whole North was in confusion. His suc- cessor Eimbert contrived to keep the flickering spark alive, but was sadly impeded by incursions of Northmen and Slaves ; nor could any permanent impression be made on the great mass of heathen barbarism till Henry I. esta- blished, in the year 934, the Mark of Schleswig as a pro- tection for Germany from the constant inroads of the Northmen. When the work commenced so nobly by Ans- kar was resumed, its effect was limited, to a great extent, to the Danish mainland, while the islanders long persisted in their old rites, and still continued, in some places, to offer human sacrifices. In many places the princes con- tinued pagan, and, when they did profess a change of senti- ments in religious matters, there was no telling how long the change might last, originating,- as it too often did, in low motives, and based on the temporal advantages afforded by the rival faiths. Thus Henry I. extorted from king Gorm a promise not to molest the Christians, and arch- bishop Unni repaired to the new Christian colony in Schleswig, hoping to produce some effect on the Danish chief. But all his efforts were of no more avail than those of Willibrord or Boniface on Eadbod. The influence of his mother, the sagacious and renowned Thyra, over the mind of her grim-visaged son Harold, surnamed " Blaatand" or " Black-Tooth," enabled the archbishop to obtain from that prince, when associated in the government with his father, permission to travel in every part of Denmark, and extend a knowledge of Christianity'. But it was not 1 On Harold Blaatand, see Palgrave's A'brmancZy and England, ii. 277. Snorro Sturleson, i. 393. Missionary Efforts in Denmark and Sweden. 251 till the year 972, that, after an unsuccessful war with the chap, xi. Emperor Otho I., Harold consented to be baptized. The I^^^iillggo. presence of Otho graced his reception into the Christian Church, but the circumstances which had won his respect for the Christian faith as contrasted with his old national gods, did not augur well for his fidelity. According to story of Powo. an old tradition he was once visited by a priest, named Poppo, from North Friesland. At a banquet, where Poppo was a guest, the conversation turned on the then much debated question of the superiority of the old and the new religions. The Danes asserted that " the White Christ " was indeed a mighty God, but their deities were mightier, and could perform more wonderful works. Thereupon Poppo declared that Christ was the only true God, and declaimed against the deities of the country as no better than evil spirits. Harold quietly asked the missionary if he was willing in his own person to put the question to the test. PoppQ declared his perfect readiness, and was kept in ward till the morrow. Harold, meanwhile, ordered a mass of iron to be heated red-hot, and then bade the champion of the new faith take it up and carry it. Poppo, we are assured, complied with the suggestion with undaunted resolution; and the astonished king, perceiving that his hand suffered no harm, and convinced thenceforward of the superiority of the Christians' God, ordered due honour to be paid to His ministers, and declared the national deities unworthy to be compared with Him'. From this time he continued to regard Christianity with more or ^ The story is related in Widu- the monarch's attention, "liqnentes kind, III. 6.S, (Pertz, V. 463), also in flammaa tam patienter sustinuit, ut Thietmar, Chronicon, II. 8, and a veste prorsus comhusta et in favil- similar story, though, as it seems, of lam redaota hilari et jocundo vultu a different Poppo, is told in Adam. nee fumum incendii se sensisse tes- Brem. 11. 33 ; where see Dahlmann's tatus est." On the question of the note. In* the latter case, however, credibility of these conflicting tradi- it was the Christian's brave en- tions, see Neander, v. 397. A bi- durance rather than a miraculous shop Poppo is mentioned as instruot- exemption from pain which won ing king Harold in Snorro, I. 393. Apostasy of Sweno. i.D. 991-1014. 252 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XI. less favour ; but the rough methods he adopted, in the spi- AT) 941—990.^^* °^ Peter the Great, to check the rude passions of his people, can scarcely be said to have aided Adaldag, arch- bishop of Hamburg and Bremen, in his eiForts to spread the faith. • He succeeded, however, in consecrating several Danish bishops, and thus hoped to open up other centres of missionary activity'. But the battle between heathenism and Christendom was not yet ended. Harold's own son, Sweno, headed the rebellious heathen faction, and the grim-visaged king perished in the unnatural contest. Seated on the throne, Sweno commenced a crusade against the professors of the faith in which he himself had been edu- cated, expelled the Christian priests, and re-established the pagan party. But his eye was fixed on the fair lands of England, where his atrocities exceeded all that ever before had been committed by the Northmen. Wasted fields, plundered churches, blazing villages, pillaged mo- nasteries, marked his progress, and the final close of the great migration of nations which, as Lappenberg remarks", these Danish invasions may be regarded, was signalised His death in ^J atrocitics to which history affords few parallels. Un- der circumstances like these it is no matter of surprise that the results of missionary labour in the North* were scanty, and its very footing precarious. Little that was permanent can be said to have been effected before the reign of Canute ; and in the meantime it will be well to turn to the kingdom of Norway, before we touch upon the religious reforms of that great monarch. 1 Adam. Brem. II. 15, sq. the latter, Sigfrid, archdeacon of 2 Lappenberg, 11. 181. York, carried on missionary work 3 For seventy years after the death for many years, and was consecrated of Anskar Sweden was scarcely visit- to the see of Wexio. But reactions ed by the Christian missionary, and constantly occurred, nor was Chris- until the reign of Olaf the Lap-king tianityfirmlyestablishedtillthe reign (1015— 1024) little was effected to- of King Inge in 1075. Robertson's wards the propagation of Christian- Church History, 11. 446. Gieseler II. ity. He introduced several German 451. ' ' clergy, and many from England ; of England. A.D. 1018. CHAPTER XII. THE CONVEESION OF NORWAY. A.D. 900—1030. " Transeuntibus insulas Danorum alter mnndus aperitur in Sveoniam vel Normanniam, quEe sunt duo latissima aquilonia regna, et nostro orbi fere incognita." — Adamus Bkemensis. Until the nintli century Norway was divided into nu- chap. xii. merous petty principalities, and was little known to the cmMUon of c J r r 11. . Norway till the rest of Europe, except as the hive whence issued num- "'"iitceniur!/. berless hordes of pirates who devastated her shores. Up to the same period the political power in the country had been shared by a host of petty princes, who, true to the motto of the Norsemen, " a man for himself," gratified their love of war by constant contentions with one another. But about the year 860 there arose a king who had very ad. 860—333. different ideas respecting royal power than those he had re- ceived from his fathers. Harold son of Halfdan ' ' the Black ' ' se/orms of ua- having conquered many of the petty kings of the country, " ""' '^"'' sought, we are told, the hand of Gyda, most beautiful of all the maidens in Norway*. But his suit was rejected with scorn. Gyda would never marry the lord of a few thinly-peopled kingdoms. He who had the courage and power to win for himself the mastery over the whole coun- try, he, and he alone, should gain her hand. Harold heard ^ .Snorro Sturleson's Heimskringla, translated by Laing, I. 273. 254 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XII. lier reply, and swore lie would never comb his beautiful ~ 860—933. ^^''' ^^^ ^^ ^^^ become absolute monarcb, like Eric of Sweden, or Gorm of Denmark. Assembling a crowd of youtbful warriors.be quickly fougbt bis way with bis terrible sword, and wherever he went, broke up the little separate clans, abolished the allodial laws of inheritance, and made every land a fief to be held directly from himself. Furthermore, he insisted that all rents should be paid in kind, that the Northman should be his, not only in time of war, but at all times, that he should submit to the jarl appointed by the king, and do him the same suit and service that the Franks rendered to the great counts set over them by Charle- magne. It was a long struggle, but his undaunted coui-age and perseverence carried him through, and then, mindful of his vow, he cut and combed his hair, and exchanged his name Harold Lufa, or Harold "of the horrid hair," for Haarfager or " Faiv-hair," and sent for and married Gyda, by whom he had one daughter and four sons. comequmi emi- But the change was utterly repugnant to his sturdy "imanen. and independent subjects, and he saw them leave the land in numbers, to colonise the Orkneys, the Hebrides, the Faroes, and Iceland, to invade Russia and Normandy, and become the terror of the coasts of England, Ireland, and Spain^. He retained, however, his supremacy till the year A D. 933-957. 9.33, when he resigned in favour of his son Eric Blodoxe. The new king became involved in perpetual wars with his surviving brothers, and the people, groaning under his rule, began to sigh for a deliverer. The deliverer came, and his accession to the throne was the signal for a long contest between Christianity and Odinism in its last strong- hold. News of Eric's cruelties reached the court of our Anglo- ^ Snorro, I. p. 288. Worsae's Banes and Northmen, p. 35, Lappen- berg, II. 104. The Conversion of Norway. 255 Saxon king Athelstan, w.here Hacon\ the youngest son chap. xit. of Harold was, at this time, residing. His protector had a.d. 933—957- taken care that the young prince should be baptized and w^™ "''''« " brought up in the right faith, and in good habits, and """■ all sorts of exercises," and now strongly favoured his de- sign of offering himself to his countrymen as their de- liverer. Furnished with ships and men Hacon sailed to Drontheim, and was straightway joined by Sigurd, Earl of Lade, who espoused his cause, and recommended him to the Thing. The people welcomed their deliverer with shouts of applause, and listened with delight while he promised to secure to the bonders their full udal rights, and restore the old customs. One by one the jarls gave in their adhesion to his cause, and, when Eric, convinced ^^ 957— gei. of the disaffection of his people, left the country ^ they *'!««<■* (0 (/« . ^ . / Norwegian gladly made Hacon sole king in his stead. ""'""'• During; his residence in England the new king; had, as Be;c™i»« lo we have said, been baptized, and he now determined to "'"'""'■ expel the native heathenism, and plant in its stead his newly adopted faith. Such a design, however, was fraught with peril, and Hacon could not fail to foresee the storm of opposition he would encounter. Eesolved to proceed by degrees, he contented himself, for the present, with a secret conformity to his new creed, and kept holy the Sundays and the Friday-fasts'. As a first step, how- ever, in the proposed direction, he contrived to persuade his people to keep the great festival of Yule* at the same 1 Snorro, i. 309. Lappenberg, n. countries of Scandinavia. Yule 105, 106, who gives the evidence on bonfires blazed to scare witches and both sides. wizards ; oflferings were made to the ^ Eric came over to England, and gods; the boar dedicated to Ereyr held Northumberland as a fief from was placed on the table, and over king Athelstan, submitting to bap- it the warriors vowed to perform tiam with his wife, children, and great deeds. Pork, mead, and ale retinue. Snorro, i. 316. abounded, and Yuletide passed mer- ^ Snorro, I. 325. Geijer, p. 43». rily away with games, gymnastics, Neander, v. 404. and mirth of all kinds." Worsae's ■* " Yule, or the midwinter feast, Danes and Northmen, p. 83. was the greatest festival in the 256 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XII. time that Christian people celebrated the Saviour's nati- A.B. 957—981. ■^ity- His next step was to entice over to the new faith such of the courtiers as were dearest to him, and sending to J>igland for a bishop and priests, he persuaded some of them to receive baptism, and lay a.side their heathen rites. He even succeeded in building a few churches in the Drontheim district, and, at last, determined to pro- pose to the people, at the next Froste-Thing, that all, great and small, should be baptized, " believe in one God, and Chri.at the son of ^fary, abstain from all heathen sacrifices, keep holy the seventh day, and refrain from all work thereon." fiiuJ^^A^ The Thing, accordingly, was summoned, and after the ^"^' u.=ual solemn sacrifices, and great feastihgs, Hacon made his formal proposition. It was received with universal surprise. The masters were entirely opposed to such a frequent cfissation from labour, the slaves were equally opposed to the imposition of repeated fast.s. and the heathen faction mustered so strong that the king's proposition was rejected with general indignation. " We bonders," said one. speaking for the rest, " do not know whether we have really got back our freedom, or whether thou wishest to make \assal3 of us again by this extraordinary proposal that we .should abandon the ancient faith, which our fathers and forefathers have held from the oldest times, in the days when the dead were burned, as well as since they were laid under mounds, and which, though they were braver than the people of our days, has served us as a faith to the ^.hfj^i^ present time. Thou, king, must use some moderation to- wards us, and only require from us such things as we can obey thee in, and are not impossible for us. If, however, thou wilt take up this matter with a high hand, and wilt try thy power and strength against us, we bonders have resolved, among ourselves, to part with thee, and to take to ourselves some other chisf, who will so conduct himself The Conversion of Norway. 257 towards us, that we can freely and safely enjoy that faith chap. xii. which suits our own inclinations'." a^96^ Great applause followed this independent speech, and Earl Sigurd, who presided over the sacrifices, was fain to intimate to the people the king's acquiescence with their wishes, and to advise him to postpone his religious reforms to a more convenient season. But the suspicions of the people were now excited, and Earl Sigurd's promises did not satisfy them. At the next harvest festival, therefore, they demanded that Hacon should openly avow his attach- ment to the national faith by drinking, as heretofore, in honour of the gods. Earl Sigurd promised that he should natm biiUm m do so, and persuaded the king, who had hitherto been thm auiomt. wont on such occasions to take his meals in a little house by himself, to present himself on his throne before his people, and quiet their suspicions. The first goblet went round, and was blessed in Odin's name". The Earl drank first, and then handed it to Hacon, who took it, and made the sign of the Cross over it. " What does the king mean by doing so ?" said one of the bonders; " will he not sacri- fice?" "He is blessing the goblet in honour of Thor," replied the earl, "by making the sign of his hammer over it when he drinks it." This quieted the people. But, on the next day, they resolved to put Hacon's sincerity to a severer test, and therefore pressed him to eat of the horseflesh slain in the sacrifices. This was one o{ nedaHnato , , . T t* 1 1 • 1 1 eat the gacred the distmguishmg marks or heathenism, and, as we have *«•'«*'*• seen, had been solemnly forbidden by the Chujrch ever since the days of Archbishop Boniface*. Hacon, therefore, posi- tively refused to comply with the demand. Thereupon the bonders offered him the broth, and when he also declined this, they declared he should at least taste the gravy, and 1 Snorro, I. 329. ' See the correspondence of Gre- 2 On the sacred toasts of the gory III. with Boniface, above, p. ■ Scandinavians, see Snorro, I. 327, 191. Dasent's Swmt Njal, I. xli. 17 CHAP. XII. 258 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. when lie refused this too, thej were going to lay hands on ^"gg^ him, when Earl Sigurd interposed, and so far prevailed with the king that he consented, to hold his mouth over " the handle of the kettle, upon which the fat smoke of the boiled horseflesh had settled itself; and the king first laid a linen cloth over the handle, and then gaped over it, and returned to the throne; but neither party was satisfied with this'." In the following winter the popular feeling expressed itself still more plainly against Hacon's religious reforms. rowoffmr J'our chicfs bound themselves by an oath to root out Chris- tianity in Norway, while four others resolved to force the king to ofi'er sacrifice to the gods. Three churches were burnt and three priests killed at Msere, and when Hacon came thither with Earl Sigurd to hold the Yule Feast, the bonders insisted that the king should ofi'er sacrifice. The tumult could only be appeased by some show of compli- ance, and at Earl Sigurd's intercession, Hacon consented at last, to taste some of the horse-liver, and to empty such goblets as the bonders filled for him. This determined opposition to his plans roused the king's anger, and he was meditating a violent revenge, when the news arrived of the invasion of his kingdom by the sons of his brother Eric. A battle ensued, and the invaders were forced to retire. 'Henceforth Hacon is said to have become more tolerant of heathen rites, and finding it impossible to stem the torrent of opposition, consented to forego his designs. A.». 963. In the year 963 his kingdom was again invaded by his nephews, and in a great battle he himself was mortally wounded. Perceiving that his end drew near, he called together his friends, and after arranging the aiFairs of his kingdom, began to feel the pangs of remorse on account of nacon falls in his guiltv concession at the Drontheim Feast. "If fate," battle. ° ^ said he, " should prolong my life, I will at any rate leave ^ Snorro, i. 331, The Conversion of Norway, 259 this country, and go to a Christian land, and do penance chap. xii. for what I have done against God; but should I die in ^^^ ggg^ a heathen land, give me any burial you may think fit." Shortly afterwards he expired, and was buried "under a great mound in North Hordaland, in full armour, and in his best clothes." Though he had incurred much enmity from his determination to impose Christianity on his peo- ple, all was now forgotten ; friends and enemies alike be- wailed his death, and solaced themselves for his apostasy, by believing that because he had spared the temples of Odin he had now found a place in Valhalla, " in the blessed abodes of the bright gods\" On the death of Hacon, the sons of Eric^ of whom rtoimt (fforu Harold was the eldest, assumed the supreme authoritv, and to introduce , .^. _,.,-,., *' Christianity. having been baptized in England, thought it their duty to pull down the heathen temples, and forbid the sacrifices in all places where they had the power. Great opposition was roused, which was not appeased by the badness of the seasons during their reign, and the harshness they dis- played towards the bonders. " In Halogaland," says the Saga, "there was the greatest famine and distress; for scarcely any corn grew, and even snow was lying, and the cattle were bound in the byres all over the country, until Midsummer*." In the midst of the commotions that now ensued, Harold Blaatand, king of Denmark, conquered the country, and placed over his new territory the jarl Hacon as his viceroy. Hacon allied himself with the heathen ad. 977. party, and did all in his power to re-establish paganism, in direct contravention of the wishes of Harold Blaatand^, who, Avostasy of the on the occasion of his baptism, had given him priests and " other learned men," and commanded him "to make all ^ See translation of Eyvind Skal- ^ Snorro, I. 365. daspiUar's poem on the death of ' Saxo-Grammatious, Lib. X. p. Hacon, and how he was received 183. Snorro, I, 413. into Valhalla, Laiag's Snorro, i. 346. 17—2 CHAP. XII. A.B. 977. AD. 995. Olaf Tryggva- son. Thangbrand's shield. 260 The Missionary/ Eistory of the Middle Ages. the people in Norway te baptized'." Hacon's crowning act of apostasy was the sacrifice of one of his sons in honour of Thor, in the great battle with the Jomsburg pirates. His rule was offensive and unpopular^ and he was de- posed in 995 by Olaf, the son of Tryggve, a petty prince, whom the oppressed Norsemen welcomed as their deliverer. The -history of the new king is a remarkable illustra- tion of the times in which he lived, as the transition period between Odinism and Christianity. He is represented in the Sagas as one of the handsomest of men', excelling in all bodily exercises. He was, withal, a great traveller, and had visited not only England and the Hebrides, but Northern Germany, Greece, Kussia, and Constantinople. In Germany he had become acquainted with a certain ec- clesiastic of Bremen, named Thangbrand, a son of Wille- bald, count of Saxony. Thangbrand is described "as a tall man and strong, skilful of speech, a good clerk, and a good warrior, albeit a teacher of the faith ; not provoking others, but once angered, and he would yield to no man in deeds or in words*." Olaf was attracted by a large shield which the martial ecclesiastic was wont to carry. On it was embossed in gold the figure of Christ on the Cross. Olaf asked the meaning of the symbol, and was told the story of Christ and of His death. Observing how greatly he was taken with it, Thangbrand offered him the shield as a present, which was gratefully accepted, and preserved with diligent care. The rude Viking carried it about with him wherever he went, and ascribed to it his deliverance from many dangers both by sea and land. During one of his many piratical voyages, Olaf touched ' Snorro, I. 394. ° The great cause of his misfor- tunes, according to the Saga (Snorro, 1. 424) was "that the time was come when heathen sacrifices and idola- trous worship were doomed to fal], and the holy faith and good customs to come in their place." ' Snorro, i. 397. * See Dasent's Burnt Njal, n. 64. Metcalfe's Oxonian in Iceland, p. 77, Snorro, I. 441, The, Conversion of Norway. ^6l at the Scilly Islands', where he heard of the fame of a chap. xii. great seer. Having made trial of his skill, he repaired to 7Z"995! his cell, and asked him who he was, and whence he h&Aoiafmtne ^ ScUlij Mai this knowledge of the future. The man told him he was a hermit, and that the Christian's God revealed to him the secrets of the future. Thereupon Olaf resolved to be bap- tized with all his followers, and going thence to England, was confirmed by Elphege, bishop of Winchester, in the a.d. 994. presence of the Saxon king Ethelred. Repairing afterwards to Dublin ^, he married Gryda, sister of king Olaf Kvaran, and during his stay in Ireland received a visit from one of the Northern Vikings, who persuaded him to revisit his native land, and assured him that one of Harold Haarfager's Islands. race would be welcomed by the people. Adopting his ** '" ^'"'' advice, Olaf sailed to Norway, where he was welcomed as a deliverer from the oppressive cruelty of Hacon the Bad, and at a general Thing held at Drontheim was unani- mously chosen to be king over the whole country, as Harold Haarfager had been. No sooner had Olaf strengthened himself on the throne Proclaimed kino than he resolved on the extermination of heathenism^. His long abode with his brother-in-law, king Olaf Kvaran, in Dublin, where he had been in constant intercourse with the Irish Christians, could not fail to have strengthened ^ SnoiTo, I. 397. Lappenberg, II. Ireland, were soon converted from 158. Dasent's Burnt Njal, 11. 360. heathenism by Irish monks and Worsae's Danes and Northmen, p. priests, and through these converts, .3.S3> '^^o however holds that the Christianity was communicated to Isles where Olaf landed were " not many of their Scandinavian fellow- the Scilly Isles near England, but countrymen. the Skellig Isles on the S. W. coast ' His own fidehty to Christianity of Ireland, on one of which there was, however, dubious enough, if was at that time a celebrated ab- we may believe Adam of Bremen : bey." " Narrant quidam ilium Christi- ^ Dublin was the central point anum fuisse, quidam Christian itatis of the real Norwegian power in desertorem ; omnes autem affirmant Ireland, though the Ost-men also peritum auguriorum, servatorem sor- settled in considerable numbers at tium, et in avium prognosticis om- Waterford, Limerick, Wexford, and nem spem suam posuisse. Quare Cork. Worsae's Danes, p. 315. The etiam cognomen aooepit, ut Olaph Norwegians and Danes settled ia Oracdbben diceretur." 11. 38. 262 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. Resolves to put down heathen- CHAP. XII. him in this determination. The means he resorted to were A.D. 995-997. ^^'^^ ^s might have been expected from a Northern Viking, with an ecclesiastic like Thangbrand at his side. He began by destroying the heathen idols and temples, where- ever it was practicable, and then, summoning his relatives, "he would," he declared, " either bring it to pass that all Norway should be Christian, or die. I shall make you all great and mighty men in promoting this work, for I trust to you most as blood-relations and brothers-in-law." They agreeing to do as he desired, he made a public proclama- tion to all the people of Norway, declaring it to be his will and pleasure that Christianity should be adopted as the national faith. Those who had ah-eady pledged their as- sistance, straightway gave in their adhesion, and being very powerful and influential, speedily induced others to follow their example, till at last all the inhabitants of the Eastern part of Viken allowed themselves to be baptized. Pro- ceeding thence to the Northern part of the same district, he invited every man to accept the new faith, and punished severely all who opposed him, killing some, mutilating others, and driving the rest into banishment^. Successful in his own kingdom, and in that of his relative Harold Greenske, he next proceeded to Hordaland and Kogaland, summoned the people to a Thing, and pro- posed the same terms. Here, however, he encountered more active opposition. The bonders no sooner received the message-token for the Thing, than they assembled in great numbers and in arms, and selecting three men who were regarded as the best spokesmen, they bade them argue with the king, and answer him, and especially de- cline anything against the old customs, even if the king demanded it, "When the bonders came to the Thing," we read in the quaint and vivid language of the Saga, " and the Thing was formed, king Olaf rose, and at first 1 Snorro, I. 437. Opiposition.of the bonders. Tlie Conversion of Norway. 263 spake good-humouredly to tlie people ; but they observed chap. xii. he wanted them to accept Christianity with all his fine ^d 995—997. words; and in conclusion he let them know that those who should speak against him, and not submit to his pro- posal, must expect his displeasure and punishment and all the ill it was in his power to inflict. When he had ended his speech, one of the bonders stood up, who was con- sidered the most eloquent, and who had been chosen as the first to reply to king Olaf. But when he would begin to speak, such a cough seized him, and such a difficulty of breathing, that he could not bring out a word, and was obliged to sit down again. Then another bonder stood up, resolved not to let an answer be wanting, although it had gone so ill with the former; but he became so confused, that he could not find a word to say, and all present set up a laughter, amid which the bonder sat down again. And now the third stood up to make a speech; but when he began, he became so hoarse and husky in his throat, that nobody could hear a word he said, and he also had to sit down again. There were now none of the bonders to speak against the king, and as nobody answered him, there was no opposition ; and it came to this, that all agreed to what the king had proposed. Accordingly all the people were baptized before the Thing was dissolved'." Shortly afterwards, this Northern Mahomet summoned comimum-y -w~\- Ti. • n iTij- nT> baptism of tJie the bonders of the 1 lord district. South More, and Kaums- pmpie. dal, and offered them two conditions, "either to accept Christianity, or to fight." Unable to cope with the forces the king had brought with him, they too made a virtue of necessity, and agreed to be baptized. Sailing next to Lade, in Drontheim, Olaf destroyed the temple, despoiled it of its ornaments and property, and amongst the rest, of the great gold ring, which the apostate Hacon had ordered to be made and caused to be hung in the door of the temple. ' Snorro, I. 429, 264 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XII. Then at a Thing held in Viken, he denounced terrible i.D.995— 997. penalties against all who dealt with evil spirits, or were addicted to sorcery and witchcraft. Summer came round, ovwiiion at and Olaf, collecting a large army sailed Northwards to Ni- daros, in the Drontheim district, where he summoned the people of eight districts round to a Thing. The bonders, however, changed the Thing-token into a war-token, and called together all men, free and unfree, to resist this re- forming Jehu. Remembering how they had succeeded in forcing Hacon into some sort of submission, they inter- rupted Olaf's proposals by threatening him with violence. Perceiving that this time he was numerically weaker, Olaf feigned to give way, and expressed a desire to go to their temples, and see their customs, and decide which to hold by. A Midsummer sacrifice was fixed to take place at Ma5re, the site of an ancient temple in the Drontheim dis- trict, and thither all the great chiefs and bonders were invited to repair. As the day approached, Olaf ordered that a great feast should be prepared at Lade, at which the mead-cup went round freely. Next mOrning he ordered early mass to be sung before him, and then summoned a House-Thing, to which the bonders repaired. " We held a Thing at Froste," said he, " when they were all seated, and I proposed to the bonders that they should allow themselves to be baptized. But they invited me to offer sacrifices, as Hacon had done. So we agreed to meet at Msere, and make a great sacrifice. Now if I, along with you, shall turn again to making sacrifice, then will I make the great- est of sacrifices that are in use ; and I will sacrifice men. But I will not select slaves or malefactors for this, but will take the greatest men only to be offered." Thereupon he nominated eleven principal chiefs, whom he proposed to sacrifice to the gods for peace and a fruitful season, and he ordered them to be seized forthwith. So unexpected a proposal utterly confounded the bond- The Conversion of Norway. 265 ers, and they were fain to be baptized, and to remain as chap. xii. hostages until the arrival of their relatives. Having taken ^ „ 995—997. these precautions, Olaf set out for the great sacrifice at Maare. Here the whole heathen party had assembled in great force, determined to make the king comply with the national customs. Olaf proposed his usual terms, and the oia/datrons , the image of bonders demanded that he should offer sacrifice to the ™'"' "' Mtere. gods. Mindful of his former promise, Olaf then consented to go to their temple and watch the ceremonies, and entered it with a great number of his men. As the sacrifice pro- ceeded, the king suddenly struck the image of Thor with his gold-inlaid axe, so that it rolled down at his feet, and at this signal his men struck down the rest of the images from their seats. Then coming forth, he proposed his usual conditions, and the bonders, after this manifest proof of the powerlessness of their deities, surrendered to his will, and gave hostages that they would remain true to Chris- tianity, and " took baptism^" Shortly afterwards Olaf made him a great long ship, Jtmd the strong. which he called the Crane, and sailed Northwards to Halogaland, imposing Christianity wherever he went. But at Godo Isle in Salten Fiord he encountered great oppo- sition. There dwelt here, the Saga tells us, a chief of great power, but a great idolater, and very skilful in witchcraft, named Eaud the Strong. Hearing that Olaf was coming, he went to meet him in his own great ship the Dragon. A fight ensued, in which Eaud was vanquished, and forced to retreat to his island. Olaf followed, but when he reached Salten Fiord, which is more dreaded even than storm in saitm the famous Maelstrom, such a storm was ragmg that for a whole week he could not make the land. In this diffi- culty he applied for counsel to bishop Sigurd, who accom- panied him on this occasion, and whom he had placed over ^ Snorro, J. 440. For another instance, see Kobertson's Chv/rch History, VL. 4SO. 266 The Missionary History of the. Middle Ages. CHAP. XII. the Drontheim district. Sigurd promised to try if "God ..D. 995— 997. would give him power to conquer these arts of the devil." Bishop sinurd Accordiuglv, arrayed in all his mass-robes, he went to incenses the OJ' J i * ti -i • " Crane." the bows of the Crane, lit many tapers, kindled incense, set the crucifix at the stern, read the Evangelist, offered many prayers, and, finally, sprinkled the whole ship with holy water. Then, declaring that the charm could not fail to be efficacious, he bade Olaf row into the fiord. Thus encou- raged, the king, followed by his other long ships, rowed boldly up the throat of the fiord, and so efficacious had been the bishop's prayers, that "the sea was curled about their keel-track like as in a calm, so quiet and still was the water ; yet on each side of them the waves were lashing up so high that they hid the sight of the mountains." After a day and a night's rowing, Grodo Isle was reached, and an attack immediately made on Baud, as he was sleep- ing'. After many of his servants had been murdered, the chief was dragged into the presence of Olaf. "I will not take thy property from thee," said the king, "but will rather be thy friend, if thou wilt make thyself worthy to be so, and be baptized." E,aud exclaimed he would never believe in Christ, and made his scoff of God. Thereupon Olaf was wrath, and ordered him to be put to death amidst revolting tortures *, and having carried off all his effects and his fine dragon-ship, he made all his men receive baptism, and imposed Christianity on all the people of the Fiord, and then returned Southward to Nidaros. Thus did Olaf "bend his whole mind" to uprooting heathenism and old customs, which he deemed contrary to A.D. 997. Christianity. Iceland, also, did not escape his attentions. He had sent Thangbrand thither" on account of his misdeeds, ' Snorroj I. 448. I. 448. ° According to the Saga, a ser- * Dasent's Burnt Njal, i. xci. pent was forced down his throat, Snorro, 1. 450. Discovered in the which ate its way through his body year A.u. 861, Iceland was colonized (!) and caused Ms death. Snorro, by the Norwegians in 874. Even The Conversion of Norway. 267 to bring it over to the Faith. But that rough ecclesiastic chap. xii. found this no easy matter. Some of the chiefs submitted \^ gg^^ to baptism, while others not only refused but composed Atiemvts u ■*■ *' ^ christtanite lampoons upon him, whereupon Thangbrand slew two iceiand. of them outright. About this time some of the Icelandic chiefs paid a visit to Nidaros, and staid there during the winter, where they encountered Olaf, and were obliged, much against their will, to answer him many questions about Iceland. The following Michaelmas the king had high mass celebrated with great splendour, and the Ice- landers came, and listened to the singing and the sound of the bells, and on the following day were baptized and treated with much kindness. At this iuncture Thangbrand Thangbi-ands -, 1 violence. returned, and informed the king of his ill success, and how the Icelanders made lampoons upon him, and threatened to kill him. Olaf was so enraged that he ordered a horn to be blown, and all the Icelanders in Nidaros to be sum- moned, and would have put them all to death, had not one of them reminded him of his promise to forgive all who turned from heathenism and became Christians, and de- clared that Thangbraud's ill success was the result of his own violence and bloodshed. It was owing to the influence at this early period traces were His success was confined to building found of an older Christianity which a churcii, and baptizing a few prose- had been planted in the island by lytes, but many refused the rite, the indefatigable Irish missionaries, from unwillingness to wear the white who, under the name of i'ajjar', were robes used by the neophytes, and known in the Orkney, Shetland, and worn in Iceland by none but chil- Paroe Islands, and left behind them dren. One chief proposed that the croziers, bells, and Irish books. But rite should be administered to his it was only a flickering spark, and aged father-in-law, and as it did not was soon extinguished. JSTo efforts save him from death soon after, were made towards rekindling it he put off his own baptism for some till the year 981, when a native, years. In 986, the bishop and named Thorwald, brought into the Thorwald were expelled, and took island a Saxon bishop named Fred- refuge in Norway. F. Johannsus, erick, by whom he had been con- Hisi. Eccles. Islandice, Dicuili Liber verted. He, possibly, belonged to de Mensura Orlrls TerrcejVitns, iSo-j, the archiepiscopal Church at Ham- I. 47. DolUnger, III. 19. Dasent's burgh, the outpost Charlemagne se- Burnt Njal, i. vii. Worsae's Banes lected for these Northern missions. and North-men, 382. 268 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XII. i.D. 997. AD. 1000. Olaf falls in battk. of these Icelandic chiefs on their return, that the Lawman ' Thorgeir proposed to the Icelandic national council that Christianity should be introduced, which resolution was supplemented afterwards by another, that all the islanders should be baptized, the temples destroyed, and at least the public ceremonies of paganism abolished \ In the same year, however, that this resolution was passed in Iceland, Olaf 's violent efforts to uproot heathen- ism in Norway were brought to a close. Worsted in a tre- mendous engagement with the united forces of Denmark and Sweden, rather than yield to his enemies, he flung himself from the deck of Baud's ship into the sea, and sank beneath the waters ^ He was the type of a northern Viking. The Sagas delight to record instances of his strength and agility, how he climbed the Smalsor Horn, an inaccessible peak of a mountain in Bremager, and fixed his shield upon it; how he could run across the oars of the Serpent, while his men were rowing ; how he could cast two spears at once, and strike and cut equally with both hands. In private life, they tell us, he was gay, social, and generous ; and though, when enraged, he was distinguished for cruelty, "burning some of his enemies, tearing others to pieces by mad dogs, and mutilating or casting down others from high precipices," yet he was as dear to his subjects as Ivan the Terrible^ to ^ June 14. A.D. 1000. Daseut's Burnt Njal, I. xoii. Snorro, I. 465. Metcalfe's Oxonian in Iceland, p. 79. Quarterly Reuiew, No. 221. It was at this Thing that Snorri made his famous speech : "Then came a man running, and said that a stream of lava (earth fire) had burst out at Olfus, and would run over the home- stead of Thorod the priest. Then the heathen men began to say, ' No wonder that the gods are wrath at such speeches as we have heard.' Then Snorri the priest spoke and said, 'At what, then, were the gods wrath, when this lava was molten, and ran over the spot on which we now stand? ' " Burnt Njal, I. xci. n. ^ Snorro, I. 490. Adam Brem. II. 38. ' Stanley's Lectures on, the Eastern Church, pp. 325, 6. "The epithet which we render 'Terrible,'" re- marks Stanley, "in the original rather expresses the idea of 'Awful,* the feeling with which the Athe- nians would have regarded, not Peri- ander or Dionysius, but the Eumen- ides. His memory still lives among the peasants as of one who was a Czar indeed." The Conversion of Norway. 269 the Eussian people of Moscow ; nay, many of them are said chap. xii. to have died of grief for him, and after his death exalted TiTiooo^ him to the dignity of a saints During the fifteen years which succeeded the death of Olaf, Christianity made but slow progress in Norway, though its followers were not persecuted by the sons of Earl Hacon, whom the conquerors at the great battle of Svoldr had set over the country. At length, about the year 1015, a descendant of Harold Haarfager, Olaf a.d. 1015. Haraldson, better known as Olaf the Saint, gathered a i'SsfStmLson, party, put an end to the domination of the Swedes and Danes in Norway, and became Over-king. His youth had been spent in piratical expeditions, and he had shared in the invasions of England. Seated on the throne, he in- vited a considerable number of clergy from that country", at whose head was bishop Grimkil, who composed a sys- tem of ecclesiastical law for the Norsemen. Olaf also wrote to the archbishop of Bremen, and requested his aid in evangelizing his people. His own measures savoured too much of the example set by Olaf Tryggvason. Ac- companied by bishop Grimkil, "the horned man," as the people called him from the shape of his mitre, he made frequent journeys through his kingdom, summoned the ' On the legend of hia re-appear- were, as their names show, of Dan- ance as an Egyptian abbot, see the ish origin, and undoubtedly natives quotation from Mtinter, in Robert- of the i)anish part of England, son's Ch. History, II. 451. Sprung from Scandinavian families, ^ "Habuit secum multos episco- which, though settled in a foreign pos et presbyteros ab Anglia, quo- land, could scarcely have so soon niTTi monitu et doctrina ipse cor forgotten their mother tongue, or snum Deo prseparavit, subjectumque the customs which they had in- populum ilhs ad regendum commisit. herited, they could enter with greater Quorum clari doctrina et virtutibus safety than other priests on their erant Sigafrid, Grimkil, Eudolf et dangerous proselytizing travels in Bernard." Adam Brem. II. 55. the heathen North; where, also, Geijer's History of the Swedes, p. 37. from theur familiarity with the Scan- " The English missionaries, with dinavian language, they were mani- Scandinavian names," remarks Wor- festly best suited successfully to sae (p. 135), who went over to Scan- prepare the entrance of Christianity." dinavia in the tenth century, for the See also Lappenberg, II. 204. purpose of converting the heathens. 270 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XII. 1015-1030. His violent ef- /m'ts to expel heathenism. Summons a Thing in the Uplands. Opposition of Dale (rud- brand. Things, and read the laws which commanded the observ- ance of Christianity; all who refused to obey them he threatened with confiscation of property, maiming of the body, or death. Having discovered that the old heathen sacrifices were still secretly ofi'ered in divers places, he determined to ascertain the truth of these reports. Sum- moning his bailiff in the Drontheim district, he desired to know whether the proscribed rites were still celebrated there. Under a promise of personal security, the man confessed that the old autumn, winter, and summer sacri- fices were still secretly offered, and presided over by twelve of the principal bonders. Thereupon Olaf equipped a fleet of five vessels and three hundred men, and sailed for Msere- fiord, where, in the middle of the night, he surprised the guilty parties, put their leader to death, and divided their property amongst his men-at-arms. Then, having taken many of the chief bonders as hostages, he summoned a Thing, and obliged the people to submit to the erection of several churches, and the location amongst them of several clergy'. Proceeding afterwards to the Uplands, he summoned a Thing for the districts of Loar and Hedal, and made his usual requisition. Not far from Loar dwelt a power- ful chief named Gudbrand, who hearing of Olaf's arrival, sent a message-token calling together the peasantry far and wide, to resist these encroachments on the national faith. "This Olaf," said he in the Thing, "will force upon us another faith, and will break in pieces all our gods. He says he has a much greater and more powerful god; and it is wonderful that the earth does not burst asunder beneath him, or that our god lets him go about unpunished when he dares to talk such things. I know this for certain, that if we carry Thor, who has always stood by us, out of our temple that is standing on this ^ Snorro, II. 152. The Conversion of Norway. 271 farm, Olaf's god will melt away, and he and liis men be chap. xii. made nothing, so soon as Thor looks upon them." The 7^, bonders shouted applause, and Gudbrand's son was di- 1015-1030. i J- ' Proposition rected to repair Northwards to Breeden, and watch the '^g^on'^m- movements of Olaf, who, with bishop Sigurd, was busy in '"*" "'' """^: fixing teachers in various places. Hearing rumours of opposition, Olaf hurried to Breeden, and in a battle which ensued utterly routed the rude peasantry, and captured Gudbrand's son, whom he sent to his father with the news of his own speedy approach. Gudbrand, in his alarm, consulted the neighbouring chiefs, and it was resolved to send an embassy to Olaf "to propose that a Thing should be summoned to decide whether there was any truth in this " new teaching," during which a strict truce should be maintained on both sides. Olaf consented, and the tImdVSde bonders met to decide the question between the rival oeS' "^ '^""'' Creeds. The king rose first, and informed the assembly how the people of the neighbouring districts had received Christianity, broken down their houses of sacrifice, and now believed in the true God, " who made heaven and earth, and knows all things." "And where is thy god?" asked Gudbrand. " Neither thou nor any one else can see Him. We have a god who can be seen day by day. He is not here, indeed, to-day, because the weather is wet; but he will appear to thee, and I expect fear will mix with thy very blood when he comes into the Thing. But since, as thou sayest, thy god is so great, let him send us to-morrow a cloudy day, without rain, and then let us meet again'." His counsel was taken, and Olaf returned to his lodg- Description oj ing accompanied by Gudbrand's son, whom he retained as taw. a hostage. As the evening drew on, the king inquired of the youth, what the god was like of which His father had spoken. Thereupon he learnt that the image was one of 1 Snorro, II. 157. 272 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP XII. Thor, that lie held a hammer in his hand, was of great ~i~^. size, but hollow within, that he lacked neither gold nor 1015-1030. siiyer about him, and every day received four cakes of bread, besides meat. While the rest retired to bed, the king spent the night in prayer, and in the morning rose, heard mass, and after service proceeded to the Thing, the weather being such as Gudbrand had desired. The first speaker was bishop Sigurd, who, arrayed in all his robes, with his mitre on his head, and his pastoral staff in his hand, spake to the bonders about the true faith, and the wonderful works of God. To which one of the bonders replied, " Many things are we told of by this horned man with the staff in his hand crooked at the top like a ram's horn; but since ye say, comrades, that your god is so powerful, and can do so many wonders, tell him to make it clear sunshine to-morrow forenoon, and then we shall meet here again, and do one of two things, — either agree with you about this business, or fight you." And then they separated. o«a/>-^ai-« One of the king's retinue was Kolbein the Strong, a chief of high birth, who usually carried, besides his sword, a great club. Olaf begged him to keep close to him next morning, and meanwhile sent men to bore holes in the bonders' ships, and loose their horses on the farms. This done, he again spent the night in prayer, and in the grey of the morning, as soon as he had heard mass, proceeded to the Thing-field, he and his party ranging themselves on one side, Gudbrand and his faction on the The image of othcr. Soon a great crowd appeared carrying "a great into the Thing, man's image" glittering all over with gold and silver. The bonders rose, says the Saga, and did obeisance to the "ugly idol," while Gudbrand cried aloud to the king^ "Where is now thy god? I think neither thou nor that horned man yonder will lift your heads so high as in former days. See how our idol looks upon you." Olaf, The Conversion of Norway. 273 thereupon, whispered to Kolbein, " If, while I am speaking chap. xii. the honders look elsewhere than towards their idol, see 71 that thou strike him as hard as thou canst with thy club," ioi5-i030. and then turning to the honders, he said, " Dale Gudbrand would frighten us with his god that can neither hear, nor see, nor save himself, nor even move without being carried. Ye say our god is invisible; but turn your eyes to the East, and see Him advancing in great splendour'." Ki The image oe- that moment the sun rose, and all turned to look. Kol- bein was duly on the alert, and immediately struck the image with all his might, so that it burst asunder and disclosed a number of mice and other vermin which had hitherto fattened on the sacrifices offered to it. The bond- , ers, terrified at this unexpected result, fled in alarm to their ships, which soon filled with water, while others ran for their horses, and could not find them. Ketreat being thus cut off, they returned once more to the Thing-field. "I cannot understand," said Olaf when they were seated, " what this noise and uproar means. There is the idol, which ye adorned with gold and silver, and supplied with meat and provisions. Ye see for yourselves what he can do for you, and for all who trust to such folly. Take now your gold and ornaments that are lying strewn about on the grass, and give them to your wives and daughters ; but never hang them hereafter upon stock or stone. Here are now two conditions between us to choose upon, — either accept Christianity, or fight this very day; and the victory be to them to whom the god we worship gives it." Even Gudbrand could do nothing. " Our god," he said to the king, " will not help us, so we will believe in the God thou believest in," and he and all present were bap- tized and received the teachers whom Olaf and bishop Sigurd set over them, and Gudbrand himself built a church in the valley '^ 1 Snon-o, n. i6o. ^ Snorro, li. i6i. 18 CHAP. XII. A.D, 1015—1030. Similar efforts m'lde to put (town heathm~ ism in Green- land and Uie Orlinei/s. A.D. 1026. O'nf retires to Russia, S74 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. This story, told wltK all the quaint vividness of the Saga, illustrates sufficiently the contest which was now going on throughout the length and breadth of the land between Christianity and expiring Odinism. Wherever Olaf went, accompanied by his bishops, much the same scene was enacted. Extending his care to Greenland, the Orkneys, and Iceland, he sent to the latter a quantity of timber for building a church, and a bell to be suspended in it ; he also endeavoured to introduce Grimkil's ecclesiasti- cal lawsS The example which he himself set to his sub- jects was more satisfactory than that of either of his pre- decessors. He was exemplary in observing the ordinances of religion. It was his custom, the Saga tells us, to rise betimes in the morning, put on his clothes, wash his hands, and then go to church and hear matins. Thereafter he went to the Thing-meeting, to arrange quarrels, or amend the laws, and settled all matters of religion in concert with bishop Grimkil and other learned priests. The impartial severity with which he administered the laws, punishing equally both great and small, was one of the chief causes of the rebellion against his rule, which broke out about the year 1026, and was greatly fomented by Canute, king of Denmark, who sowed disaffection amongst the chiefs^. At last, Olaf determined to leave his kingdom, and fled to Eussia, where he was honourably received by Taroslaff, and requested to settle in the country. But while doubting between accepting the offer of a province and undertaking a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, Olaf Tryggvason is said to have appeared to him in vision, and bade him return to Norway, and reclaim his kingdom. Olaf therefore set out, and sailed to Sweden, where the king Onund, his brother-in- law, welcomed him, and aided him in his plans for rer 1 Snorro, II. i86. The first Ice- landic bishop, consecrated by Adel- bert of Bremen, was placed at Sliaa- Iholt, in 1056, a second at Hollum, in 1 107. Adam Brem. Descr. Inml: c. 35. Wfltech's CJiurch Geog. 1. 419. ^ Adam Brem. 11. 59. Lappen- berg, ir. 218, The Conversion of Norway. 275 covering Norway. He no sooner appeared in the latter chap. xii. country than multitudes flocked to hi^ standard, but he ^ „ jpae. rejected all who did not comply with the one condition Atumpu to n- 01 service — , the reception of baptism. Ihe helmets and *>"«• shields of all who fought on his side were distinguished by a white Cross, and on the eve of battle, Olaf directed many ad- io30. marks of silver to be given for the souls of his enemies, who should fall in the battle, esteeming the salvation of his own men already secured. He also directed that the war-shout should be " Forward, Christ' s-m en ! Cross-men ! King's-men." The battle was hot and bloody, and Olaf was defeated and slain. After his death, his people rt- i><:f'«-ted and , slaui. pented of their rebellion. They found that if Olaf had *' chastised them with whips," the new ruler, Swend, son of Canute, would " chastise them with scorpions," and they groaned under the taxes now imposed upon them. Mean- ikriardedasa while it began to be whispered that Olaf was a holy man, and had worked miracles, and many began to put up prayers to him as a powerful saint, and to invoke his aid in dangers and difficulties. News of this reached the ears of bishop Grimkil, who, during Olaf's absence in Russia, had re^ mained in Norway \ He came to Nidaros, and obtained leave from Swend to exhume the body of the departed king. On opening the coffin, the Saga tells us there " was rikbodi/ a:- a delightful and fresh smell, the king's face had undergone no change, but his hair and nails had grown as though he had been alive." Alfifa, Swend's mother, remarked sneer- ingly that " people buried in sand rot very slowly, and it would not have been so if he had been bmied in earth." Grimkil bade her notice his hair and beard. " I will be- lieve in the sanctity of his hair," replied Alfifa, " if it will not burn in the fire." Thereupon the bishop put live coals in a pan, blessed it, cast incense on it, and then laid ^ Snorro, ii. 347. 18-2 276 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CUAP. XII. A.D. 1030. ItcTpnvpd to iSy Clement's chtirck. A.D. 1030. Olaf's liisiory « si'ni: of the tlittcs. thereon king Olaf's hair. The incense burnt, but the hair remained unsinged. Alfifa proposed it should be laid on unconsecrated fire. But her unbelief shocked the by- standers ; bishop, and king, and assembled Thing, all agreed that Olaf should be regarded as a man " truly holy." His body was, therefore, removed to St Clement's church', which he himself had built at Nidaros, and enclosed in a shrine mounted with gold and silver, and studded with jewels^. And so Olaf became patron saint of Norway, pil- grims ilocked to his tomb', and churches were dedicated to his name, not only in his native land, but in England and Ireland, and even in distant Constantinople''. The story of Olaf the Saint may be taken as a sign of the change which was now coming over the Norseman. He was beginning to lay aside his old habits of lawless piracy, and to respect civilized institutions ; the Viking was gradually settling down into the peaceful citizen^. Expe- ditions to Christian lands, intermixture with the popula- tions, admission to ecclesiastical ofSces", had gradually brought about very different feelings towards Christian in- stitutions, than those entertained by the Vikings of the eighth and ninth centuries. We are not surprised, then, that when Canute had seated himself on the throne of Eng- land, and had espoused an English consort, he not only ^ St Clement was the seaman's patron saint. See Worsae's Danes aiid Northmen, p. 17. ^ Snorro, 11. 350. Adam Brem. II. 59. " St Olave's church and Tooley Street (in London) are very remarkable memorials of the con- version of the Scandinavians on English soil." Pauli's Ungland, p. 412. 3 " Ad cujus tumbam nsque in ho- diemum diem maxima Dominus ope- rator sanitatum miracula, ita ut a longinquis illic regionibus confluant ii qui se meritis sancti non desperant juvari." Adam Brem.Z)cscr. InsuL^i. * "Worsae's Danes and Norilimen, p. 18. It was not tin the following period that the Norwegian sees of Nidaros, Opolo, Bergen, Hammer, and Stevanger were founded. ^ Christianity certainly put an end to the life of the Viking. "So- haner" (sea-cocks) were no longer to^ be found, " who scorned to sleep by the comer of the hearth, or under sooty beams." Worsae, p. j 12. 8 During the tenth century three archbishops of Danish family pre- sided over the English Church. On the Danish clergy, see Worsae, p. '34—138- The Conversion of Norway. 277 promulgated severe laws against heathenism', and under- chap. xir. took a pilgrimage to Eome, but dispatched missionaries to j^g^ evangelize his Scandinavian subjects, and strengthen the, Canutes ugis- cause of Christianity throughout the North. His influence in Denmark, combined with that of Olaf the Lap-king in Sweden, had an important influence on the progress of the Scandinavian churches^. Schools and monasteries now GraduauMu- gradually rose, bishoprics were founded, the rude Runic XX"'' characters retired before thS Latin alphabet, agriculture was encouraged by the Benedictine monks, and new kinds of com were planted, mills were built, mines were opened, and before these civilizing agencies' Odinism retired more and more from a useless contest, as surely as Brahmanism in Lidia is yielding before European science and European literature, before the telegraph and the railway, the book and the newspaper. ' Lappenberg, li. -204. Canute bestowed Danish bishoprics on Eng- lish ecclesiastics ; Scania on Bern- hard, Fionia on Keinhere, Seeland on Gerbrand. Turner's A. -Saxons, HI. 137. Spelmau's Concilia, 553. Amongst the objects of worship for- bidden are — the sun, the moon, fire and flood, fountains and stones, trees and logs: also witchcraft, framing death-spells, either by lot or by torch, or phantoms. ^ Adam Brem. II. 38, 40, 44. ^ In 1075, the pubUc service.'? in honour of Thor and Odin were absolutely interdicted in Sweden. In 1056 the see of Skaalholt was erected in Iceland, and in 1107 that of HoUum. For a striking picture of the Icelanders under the new regime, see Adam Brenj. Descrip. Insul. 35. "Episcopum suum ha- bent pro rege ; ad ilUus nutum re- spicit omnis populus, quicquid ex Deo, ex Scripturis, ex consuetudine aliorum gentium ille constituit, hoc pro lege habent." From Iceland Christianity was wafted to the dreary shores of Greenland, whither, in 986, Eric the Red led out a colony that flourished vigorously for several centuries (Snorro, iii. 143): a bishop was consecrated for Greenland in 1015, and he presided over 13 churches in the Eastern part of the country, 4 in the West- ern, and 3 or 4 monasteries. Six- teen bishops in succession ruled over the Greenland Church, attended sy- nods in Norway as well as Iceland, and were subject to the archbishop of Nidaros. The seventeenth bishop was unable to land owing to the ac- cumulation of ice on the shore, and from the year 1408, the Church of Greenland disappears. The popu- lation, decimated by the " IJlack Death," (Hecker's Epidemics of the Middle Ages, p. 28), fell a prey to the Esquimaux. Un the tradition of an Irish missionary who crossed over from Greenland into North America, and died a martyr, see Milnter, i. 561. Hardwick, 119. CHAPTER XIII. MISSIONS AMONG THE SLAVIC OE SLAVONIAN EACES. A.D. 800—1000. "Literaa denique Slavonicas a Constantino quodam phllosnpho repertas, quibus Deo laudes debite resonant, jure laudamus, et in eadem linguS Christi Domini nostri praeoonia ut enarrentur et opera jubemua." CHAP. XIII. Let us now turn from the blue fiords and pine-forests of The Slavonian Scandiuavia to the great Slavonian family of nations, whose wide territory extended Eastward from the Elbe to the slug- gish waters of the Don, and from the Baltic on the North to the Adriatic on the South. While for three centuries the Teutonic tribes had been yielding to the influences of Chris- tianity, scarcely any impression had been made on the vast population which clustered together on either side of the Danube, and thence spread onwards into the very heart of the modern Russian empire'. " They were still rude, war- like, and chiefly pastoral tribes," says Milman of one por- tion of this great family, " inaccessible alike to the civili- zation and the religion of Eome. The Eastern empire had neither a Charlemagne to compel by force of arms, nor zealous monkish missionaries 2, like those of Germany, to penetrate the vast plains and spreading morasses of the 1 Krasinsld's Seformation in Po- missionary character of the East- fond, p. 7. era Church, see Stanley's Eastern " For some remarks on the non- Church, 34. Missions among the Slavic or Slavotiian Races. 279 rebarbarised province on either side of the Danube ; to chap. xiii. found abbacies and bishoprics, to cultivate the soil, and reclaim the peopled" (i.) With the death, however, of the great apostle oil- Bulgaria. Sweden synchronizes one of the earliest missionary efforts made amongst any portion of this great family. A map of Europe in the sixth century discloses to us the Bulgarians seated along the Western shore of the Euxine, between the Danube and the Dnieper. About the year 680 they had *"• 680. moved in a southerly direction into the territory known in ancient times, as Macedonia and Epirus, Here they bestowed their names on the Slavonians, whom they con- quered, gradually adopted their language and manners, and by intermarriage became entirely identified with them^. Unable to return either in a Northerly or Westerly direc- tion, in consequence of the formidable barrier which the irrup- tion of more powerful nations had interposed in their rear, they extended their conquests to the South of the Danube, and became involved in continual struggles with the Greek S'Ia" ftS" emperors. In the year 811 the Emperor Nicephorus ad- ^"'i"^""- vanced into the centre of their kingdom, and burnt their sovereign's palace. The insult was terribly avenged. Three days after his disastrous success, he was himself surrounded by the collected hordes of his barbarous foes, and fell ignominiously with the great officers of the empire. His head was exposed on a spear, and the savage warriors, true to the traditions of their Scythian wilderness, fashioned his skull into a drinking-cup, enchased it with gold, and used it at the celebrations of their victories*. But these border-wars were destined to produce more beneficent re- sults. In the early part of the ninth century, when Theo- dora was Empress of Byzantium, a monk named Cupharas 1 Milman's Latin Christianity, II. Krasinski'a Lectures on Slavonian 41Q. P- 35> »• 2 Gibbon, VII. 65, n. (ed. Smith), s. Gibbon, Til. 67. 280 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XIII. fell into the hands of the Bulgarian prince Bogoris '. ^ ^ ggQ_ At the same time, a sister of the prince was in captivity at Bogoris arid the Constantinople, and it was proposed by the Empress that ™- the two captives should be exchanged. During the period of her captivity the princess had adopted the Christian faith, and on her return she laboured diligently to deepen in her brother's mind the impression which had already been made by the captive monk. Like Clovis, the prince long remained unmoved by her entreaties. At length a famine, during which he had vainly appealed to his native deities, induced him to have recourse to the God of his sister. The result was such as he desired, and he was Bogo-ri'ibnp- baptized by Photius the patriarch of Constantinople, the au4. Emperor himself standing sponsor by proxy, and the Bul- A D. 861—864. garian prince adopting his name^. A short time afterwards the prince requested the Emperor to send him a painter for tjie decoration of his palace. A monk, named Methodius, was accordingly sent, and was desired by Bogoris to adorn his hall with paintings representing the perils of hunting. As he appeared anxious for terrible subjects', the monk Methodius' pic- employed himself in paintina- the scene of the " Last Judff- ticre of the Last r ./ r o O jiidsmmt. ment," and so awful was the representation of the fate of obstinate heathens, that, not only, was Bogoris himself in- duced to put away the idols he had till now retained, but even many of the court were so moved by the sight, as to desire admission into the Christian Church. So averse, however, was the great bulk of the nation to the conversion of their chief, that his baptism, which was celebrated at midnight, was kept a profound secret, the disclosure of which was the signal for a formidable rebellion in favour of the national gods, and Bogoris could only put it down by resorting to the severest measures. Photius had given to the prince at his baptism, a long letter, or rather a treatise on Christian doctrine and practice, as also on the ^ Cedreni Annales, p. 443. 2 ibid. ' Ibid. Missions among the Slavic or Slavonian Races. 281 duties of a sovereign. But its language was far too refined chap. xiii. for his comprehension, and his difficulties were further in- ^ „. 333. creased by the arrival of missionaries, Greek, Roman, and /^ff"'."."'"'^'' Armenian, who all sought his union with their respective {^^"Jj^''"" Churches, and all propounded difi'erent doctrines. Thus perplexed by their rival claims, and unwilling to involve himself in more intimate relations with the Byzantine court, Bogoris turned to the West for aid, and made an application to Louis II. of Germany, and, at the same time, to Nicolas the Pope, requesting from both assistance ^f£ j'/^"!.^ in the conversion of his subjects, and from the latter, more ''""^' intelligible advice than he had received from the patriarch of Constantinople. The Pope replied by sending into Bulgaria Paul, bishop a.d. 866. of Populonia, and Formosus bishop of Portus, with Bibles f^^l"^"^° and other books'. At the same time he also sent a long letter treating of the various subjects on which Bogoris had requested advice, under one hundred and six heads. Respecting the conversion of his subjects, he advised the Bulgarian chief to abjure all violent methods, and to appeal to the weapons of reason only; apostates, however, ought to meet with no toleration, if they persisted in refusing obedience to the monitions of their spiritual fathers. As to objects of idolatrous worship, they ought not to be treated with violence, but the company of idolaters ought to be avoided, while the Cross, he suggested, might well take the place of the horse-tail as the national standard. .All re- course to divination, charms, and other superstitious prac- tipes, ought to be carefully abolished, as also polygamy, and marriage within the prohibited degrees, and the spi- ritual relationship contracted at the font ought to be esteemed equally close with that of blood. As to prayer for their forefathers, who had died in unbelief, in respect 1 See Jaffa's Rejcsta Pont. Earn. Neander, V. 426. A. a. 866. 282 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XIII. to which the simple prince had requested advice, " such a vain mark of filial affection could not be allowed for a moment." With these precepts bearing on their spiritual welfare, were mingled others designed to soften and civilize their savage manners. The Pope exhorted them to greater gentleness in the treatment of their slaves, and protested against their barbarous code of laws, their use of the rack in the case of suspected criminals, and their too frequent employment of capital punishment. Finally, as to the request of the prince that a patriarch might be sent him, the Pope could not take such an important step till he had more accurate information as to the numbers of the Bul- garian Church; meanwhile he sent a bishop, who should be followed by others, if it was found necessary, and as soon as the Church was organized, one with the title of archbishop or patriarch was promised. This intervention, however, of the Western Church was no sooner announced at Constantinople, than it stirred to a still greater heat the flames of jealousy which had already been kindled between the two Churches. Nicolas claimed the Bulgarians, because their country had always been in- cluded within the boundaries of the Roman empire; Pho- tius claimed them, as having baptized their prince, and introduced amongst them the germs of Christian civiliza- tion. He proceeded even to summon a council at Con- stantinople, and, in a circular epistle to the patriarchs of Alexandria, Jerusalem, and Antioch, denounced the un- warranted intrusion of the Pope, enumerated the various errors of the adherents of the Western Church, their pecu- liar usages in respect to fasting, the celibacy of their clergy, the second unction, the heretical addition to their creed, and all other points whereon the Churches differed. Re- criminations on the one side were met by recriminations on the other. Hincmar of Rheims, Odo bishop of Beauvais, ^neas of Paris, Eatramu of Corbie, composed treatises in i.». 867. Jeatounii 0/ tJie Eitslem Church. Circular Epistle of Plwtius. Missions ixmong the Slavic or Slavonian Races. 283 reply to the charges of Photius, and in defence of the purity chap. xiii. of the Roman see. The Bulgarians meanwhile, who had iVser! raised this theological tempest, again began to waver as to the quarter whence they would receive their creed. At length, in spite of the solemn warnings of Pope John VIII. as to the danger they would inevitably incur by connecting themselves with the Greeks, who were "always involved in some heresy or other," they united themselves mom tm Buiriarians closely with the rJyzantme patriarchate, and a (jrreek sjich- hHzatiime ijain- bishop, with Greek bishops, chosen from among the monks, were admitted into the country, and exerted supremacy over the Bulgarian Church. The reception of Christianity in Bulgaria paved the way for its admission in other quar- ters. The Chazars of the Crimea, the Slavic tribes in the interior of Hellas, the Servians, who extended from the Danube to the Adriatic, and other tribes, were more or less affected by Christian influences, though in several cases, they were weakened by the equally zealous efforts of Jewish and Mussulman propagandists. (ii.) But a more important portion of the South-Sla- u. Mormia. vonic area was now to be added to the Chm-ch. In the early part of the ninth century the kingdom of Moravia comprised a considerable territory, extending from the fron- tiers of Bavaria to the river Drina, and from the banks of the Danube, beyond the Carpathian mountains, to the river Styri in southern Poland. Falling within the ever-widen- ing circle of the empire of Charlemagne, it had acknow- leda-ed him and his son Louis as its suzerains. According Eariy(^m-uof to the settled policy of these princes, the conquered tern- and-.uuu-u- tory had received a compulsory form of Christianity, and a regionary bishop had endeavoured, under the auspices of the archbishop of Passau, to bring about the conversion of the people. But these efforts had been productive of very partial results. Foreign priests unacquainted with the Slavonic language were not likely to attract many to 284 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XIII. their Latin services, or to prevent the great hulk of the ^ „ 8g3_ people relapsing into heathenism. itostuiaoap- But in the year 863 Moravia made great efforts to plieit to the •* '^ "oTchrmmr recover its independence, and Kostislav, its ruler, requested kachere. ^.j^g Qj-gek Empcror Michael to send him learned men, who might translate the Scriptures into the Slavonic tongue, and arrange the public worship upon a definite basis. "Our land is baptized," ran the message, "but we have no teachers to instruct us, and translate for us the sacred books. We do not understand either the Greek or the Latin language. Some teach us one thing, some another; therefore we do not understand the meaning of the Scrip- tures, neither their import. Send us teachers who may explain to us the Scriptures, and their meaning." When the Emperor Michael heard this, he called together his philosophers, and told them the message of the Slavonic princes ; and the philosophers said, " There is at Thessa- lonica a man named Leon: he has two sons, who both know well the Slavonic language, and are both clever philosophers." On hearing this, the Emperor sent to Thes- salonica to Leon, saying, " Send to us thy sons Methodius and Constantine'; which hearing, Leon straightway sent them; and when they came to the Emperor, he said to them, ' The Slavonic lands have sent to me, requesting teachers that may translate for them the Holy Scriptures.' And, being persuaded by the Emperor, they went into the Slavonic land, to Rostislav, to Sviatopolk, and to Kotzel; and having arrived, they began to compose a Slavonic alphabet, and translated the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles; and the Slavonians rejoiced, hearing the great- ness of God in their own language; after which they translated the Psalter, and the other books"." In the com- position of this alphabet these eminent missionaries made Arrival of M^ VuidUiS and toasUmtine. Tim/ compose a aiuvonic alyhalmt. ^ Vita S. Constantini (Cyrilli), by a contemporary. Acta SS, March 2. 2 Nestor's Aivnals, quoted in Ki-a- sinski's Lectv/res, p. 30. Missions among the Slavic or Slavonian Races. 285 use of Greek letters, with the addition of certain other chap. xiii. characters, partly Armenian and Hebrew, and partly of ^j, gg3_ their own invention, the total number amounting; to fortyS andimmiaie . , ^ ■' portions of ike 1 his innovation on the methods employed by Western scriptures. ecclesiastics was blessed with signal success, many of the people were converted, and several churches were erected. For four years and a half their work went on in peace. But, in the meantime, they were regarded with no friendly oppnsuvm of feelings by the German clergy, and their introduction of a cvo-i;™'"' Slavonic alphabet was looked upon as little short of heresy. Intelligence of their strange proceedings reached the ears a"- 868. of Pope Nicolas, who summoned Cyril and Methodius to Rome. On their first arrival in Moravia, they had brought with them a body supposed to be that of St Clement of Kome, which Cyril boasted to have found on the shores of the Tauric Chersonese, whither Clement had been banished by Trajan. With this sacred relic they The Missimmnes repaired to Kome, and its production produced no little uome. sensation. Admitted to an audience with Adrian, they recounted the method of their proceedings, and offered their creed for examination. Adrian pronounced himself satisfied, and Methodius was appointed Metropolitan of Moravia and Pannonia, but without any fixed see. Thus armed with the approval of the sovereign Pon- tiff of the West, Methodius" returned to the scene of his labours, and achieved still greater success. But political troubles soon arose. Eostislav was betrayed by his nephew into the hands of Louis of Germany, dethroned, and blinded. Deprived of the protection of his patron, Metho- Mahommre- ., ■£• 1*1 irtrri^ to Mo- dius was constrained to retire irom uis dangerous post. '■'""■''• Tlie suspicions aroused by his Slavonic Bible and Liturgy ^■"- ^''°' 1 On the vexed question of the at Rome, or, according to another Slavonic alphabet, see Krasinski's account, to have retired to a con- licforitiation in Poland, lo, n. vent. Gieseler, ii. i. 253. '' Cyril would seem to have died 286 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages, CHAP. XIII. followed him into his retreat in Pannonia, and rendered A D 879. necessary a second journey to Rome to defend himself Fmhoppo- before Pope John VIII. From this Pontiff, after much sitwn of ^ Ito-^iT"""* discussion, he succeeded in obtaining a qualified approval of his Slavonic alphabet and Liturgy. It is said that the Pontiff's scruples were removed by remembering the verse Becisionofthe ih the Psalms '^ Praise the Lord, all ye nations.'^ This iilfiSS'"^ verse appeared to him to be decisive. It could hardly mean that the (Jreator s praise was to be restricted to three languages, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. He who formed these languages must have formed others for His own glory. One condition, however, was annexed to this concession. The Mass must be celebrated in one at least of the languages of the Church, either Greek or Latin'. Once more, then, Methodius returned to the Moravian mission-field, and, in spite of much opposition, maintained firmly the great principle that the language of each separate nation is not to give place, in public worship, to a sacred language peculiar to the clergy, but is itself adapted for public instruction and private reading. But, after his death ''j the opposition of the German clergy deepened into persecution, and many of the Greek Slavonic clergy were driven out of Moravia. Before long, invaded by the AD. 907. pagan Magyars, or Hungarians", Moravia ceased to exist, as an independent state, and on the restoration of order, was united to the kingdom of Bohemia. 1 Krasinski's Reformation in Po- the most serious otstaclea to the land, ^^, n. "Jubemus ut in om- spread and establishment of Chrie- nibus Ecclesiis propter majorem ho- tianity. More terrible than the Sa- norificentiam evangelium Latine le- racen, or the Northern viking, inex- gatur, et post, Slavonioa lingua trans- haustible in number, superior to all latum in auribus popuU Latina verba the Scythian hordes in military non intelligentis annuncietur, sicut prowess, they were identified by in quibusdam ecclesiis fieri videatur." fear-stricken Christendom with Gog • ^ Which appears to have taken and Magog, the forerunners of the place about the year 8S5. dissolution of the -world. After de- ^ The ravages of this people vastating Bavaria, Germany, South- presented, at this period, one of ern France, and Italy, they were at Missions among the Slavic or Slavonian Races. 287 ili. The latter country, OBce the home of the Celtic chap. xiii. nation of the Boii, then occupied by the Marcomanni, and, ^ ^ g^j on their migration with the Goths and Alani to the m. uohmia. South-west of Europe, by the Slavonic nation of the Chekhs', experienced, as might be expected, the effects of the missionary labours of Methodius. The existence of previous influences in the same direction might be pleaded from the fact, that fourteen Bohemian chiefs were baptized at Eatisbon in the year 844. But such conces- sions to the dominant religion of the German court were evanescent in their effects. About the year 871, the Bohemian Duke Borziwoi, who was still heathen, visited -""fe bot-ottoi 1 piTir • • r* 11 attlie court uf the court oi the Moravian prince bwatopluk. The story ^'^atopiuk. runs that, on his arrival, he was received with all due jrespect, but, at dinner, was assigned by the Moravian prince, together with his attendants, a place on the floor, last checked by Henry the Fowler, in 934, near Merseburg. (Men- zell's Germany, i. 321.) Twenty years later Otho the Great inflicted npon them a terrible defeat, and then mingling with the Avars, they settled down within their present boundaries, and began to value the blessings of civilization. Two chiefs had already been baptized in 949, but one relapsed into Paganism, and the other could make but little im- pression on his rude subjects. The influence of another chief, named G-eisa, aided by the exertions of nu- merous Christian captives, kept the flickering spark alive till the year 974, when Piligrin, bishop of Pas- sau, was formally commissioned by Benedict VII. to undertake the evangelization of the country. Ap- pointed Archbishop of Lorch (Jaffa's Hejesta Pont. Rom. p. 33'2), and aided by several clergy, he strove to carry out the mission. But his success was inconsiderable. A more auspi- cious day dawned in 997 on the ac- cession of a son of Geisa, named Waik, or Stephen, as he was called at his baptism by Adelbert, Arch- bishop of Prague. (Pertz, Mon. Germ. XIII. -231.) The new king, amidst much opposition, and in spite of formidable resistance established schools, and Benedictine monaster ries, divided his Idngdom into eleven dioceses, under the archbishop of Gran, and invited monks and clergy from every quarter. To encourage pilgrimage and open communica- tions with other countries he found- ed a college for the education of his countrymen at Rome, and monaste- ries and hospitals at Ravenna, Con- stantinople and Jerusalem. (Pertz, XIII. 235. DoUinger, in. 34. Gies- eler. III. 463.) His zeal won tlie fervent gratitude of Silvester II., who bestowed upon him the title of king, and invested him with the most extensive authority in ecclesi- astical affairs. But with his suc- cessor a reaction set in, and as late as 1061 the old and the new religion were struggling for the mastery. ^ Krasinski's Lectures, p. 43, A.D. 871. BapHxm of Uurztwul. Pious eflnrts of LudiiiUla, 288 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XIII. as being tainted with heathenism. This attracted the notice of Methodius, who was seated with Swatopluk at the high table, and he expressed to the Duke his surprise that one so powerful as himself should occupy a position no higher than that of a swineherd. " "What may I hope to gain by becoming a Christian?" inquired the Duke. "A place higher than all kings and princes," was the reply. Thereupon he was baptized, together with thirty of his attendants. Subsequently his wife Ludmilla, and their two sons, embraced the faith, and became eager for its propagation amongst their people. A Moravian priest had accompanied Borziwoi to his kingdom, and a partial suc- cess rewarded the efforts of the court, which was itself divided as to the admission of the new creed. The piety of Wratislav, his successor, kept alive the flickering spark, and the energetic Ludmilla hoped to maintain it during another generation by superintending the education of his two sons, Wenceslav and Boleslav. But on the death of Wratislav in 925, a reaction set in. His widow, Drago- mira, who had never laid aside her heathen errors, did all in her power to eradicate Christianity ; she murdered the virtuous Ludmilla, banished the clergy, and destroyed the churches. The young princes differed widely in their sentiments with respect to the new faith. Wenceslav, who succeeded to the throne, in spite of all the efforts of his mother, continued faithful to the lessons taught him by Ludmilla. His life was distinguished by exemplary in- tegrity, and he was on the point of exchanging his crown for the cowl of a monk, when he was basely attacked by his brother Boleslav, while performing his devotions, and killed in the tumult that ensued. The new king, who was surnamed the " Cruel," offered no quarter to his Christian subjects. A bitter persecution broke out, the clergy were expelled, the churches and monasteries razed to the ground. But, after a period of lA.D. 925. Murder of U enciistuv. AD. 936. Missions among the Slavic or Slavonian Races. 289 fourteen years, the success of the Emperor Otho I.' obliged chap. xiii. him to change his policy, nor could he purchase peace ^j, gsg. except by consenting to leave his Christian subjects unmo- ^'^^I'^^j^j lested, and to offer no obstacle to the propagation of their faith. The infant Church of Bohemia now had rest, and, ^i"- 967-999. under the new king, Boleslav "the Pious," whom his father, with a strange inconsistency, had devoted to a re- ligious life, experienced a very different fortune. Boleslav II. was as eager to extirpate paganism as his father had been to maintain it, and by his exertions, supported by the authority and influence of the Emperor Otho, a more definite organization was imparted to the Bohemian Church, and a bishopric established at Prague''. The first bishop Biethmar was a Saxon named Diethmar ; his successor Adelbert, who Prague. had been educated at Magdeburg, and whose Bohemian name was Wogteich, distinguished himself by energy and a.d.982. activity in his duties, and erected many churches and mo- nasteries. But though a door was opened for missionary exertions, there were "many adversaries" who hampered and restricted the work. Pagan customs and a pagan party still exerted a baneful influence. Polygamy and AOeaa-cs at- , . iiTTTiT ^"^P^ reforms. incestuous marriages were unchecked, and a divorce could be obtained for the slightest cause. The clergy were sunk in the grossest immorality, and the slave-trade was carried on with unblushing effrontery, Jewish slave-merchants dis- posing of captives to heathens, even, it is said, for the purpose of sacrifice". The bishop determined to undertake the arduous task of reformation. But his zeal was not tempered with prudence. Educated at Magdeburg, he had learnt to regard the Slavonic Liturgy, which had found its way into Bohemia from Moravia, with the utmost sus- picion. His determination to uphold the Roman " uses " provoked the most strenuous opposition, and he retired in 1 On this emperor's proselytizing " Wiltsch, I. 425. wars, see Snorro, I. 391—393- ^ DoUinger, in. 27. 19 -290 The Missionary History of ike Middle Ages. A.D. 1038-1067, iv. Russia. CHAP. XIII. despair to the seclusion of a convent. The voice of a ^j 994. Roman Synod recalled him to resume his work in 994. imres to Prus- He returned, but only to fly a second time, and finally repaired to Prussia, with a commission from Gregory V. to evangelize that country, where, as we shall see, he met with his death. What he had unsuccessfully endeavoured to bring about in Bohemia, was achieved by a later pri- mate, named Severus. Under his influence the Slavonic ritual disappeared more and more, and the Bohemian Church was organized on the model of the orthodox Ger- man churches'. iv. And now, reserving for a subsequent Chapter the history of missionary exertions among the more Northern members of the great Slavonic family of nations, let us turn in an Easterly direction towards those Scythian wilds and level steppes, where arose the Russian kingdom of Ruric the Norman. We need not linger over the legends of St Andrew, the Apostle of Scythia'', nor the traditions of early missionary success which adorn the pages of Ph()tius^ Before the close of the tenth century, news of the great Jjingdom rising round Novgorod and Kieff had, indeed, been carried to Constantinople by the traders passing down the great rivers, and tangible proof of the rising spirit of enterprise had been afforded, as early as 867, by the Russian armies, which appeared before the Byzantine capital, but it was scarcely known how vast were the resources of the great Slavonic empire, which had A.D. 862. Legends of early missions. ^ Gieseler, ii. 458 n. 1 7. Hard- wick's Church History, Middle Age, p. 1 2 5 n. In 1 060, the Synod of Sa,lona declared Methodius a heretic, and the Slavonian alphabet a diabolical invention. Krasinski's Reformation in Poland, p. 1 7. ^ "Ascending up and penetrating by the Dnieper into the deserts of Scythia, he planted the first cross on the hills of Kieff, and 'See you,' said he to his disciples, 'these hills? On these hiUs shall shine the hght of divine grace. There sbaU be here a great city, and God shall have in it many churches to His Xame.' " Nestor, quoted in Mouravieffs Church of Russia, translated by Blackmore, p.7. Stanley's.E'asfe™C7MireA,p.293. Fabricii Lux Evang. p. 471. ^ Bpist. u. 58. Hardwiek, 129)1. Missions among the Slavic or Slavonian Races. 29 1 already expanded from Moscow to the Baltic on the one chap xiii. hand, and to the Euxine on the other. But now it was, ^ „ 302. while the Western Church was contemplating with awe and terror the gradual coming of the Day of Doom, that " the Eastern Church, silently and almost unconsciously, bore into the world her mightiest oiFspring'." In the year 955 the Princess Olga, accompanied by a ad. 955. numerous retmue, left Kieif on a journey to the Byzantme trtncess uiga. capital, and there, whether from predisposing causes al- ready at work^, or from the effect of what she saw', was induced to embrace Christianity, and received the name of Helena, having for her sponsor the Emperor Porphyroge- nitus. Returning to her native land she exerted herself with exemplary diligence to instil the doctrines of her new creed into the mind of her son Swiatoslav. But on this prince her exhortations produced little or no effect. He was the very type of the rough Varangian warrior. " Wrapt in a bearskin," writes Gibbon, " he usually slept on the ground, his head reclining on a saddle; his diet was coarse and frugal, and, like the heroes of Homer, his meat (it was often horseflesh) was boiled or roasted on the coals"." For him the gods of his ancestors were suffi- cient, and the entreaties of his mother were thrown away. Her grandson, Vladimir, seemed likely to become a more ad. 930. docile pupil, though the zeal he subsequently displayed for the savage idolatry of his countrymen was not at first calculated to inspire much confidence ^ ^ Stanley's Eastern Church, p. 294. purple." Gibbon, Vll. 92, ed. Smith. " DoUinger, III. 30. Hardwiok, * Gibbon, vil. 89, ed. Smith, p. 129. ^ In his reign the only two Chris- 2 The Emperor Constantine Por- tian martyrs, (of the Russian chroni- phyrogenitus has described, with mi- clers), the Varangians Theodore and nute diligence, the ceremonial of her John, "were put to death by the reception in his capital >and palace. f uiy of the people, because one of The steps, the titles, the salutations, them, from natural att'ection, had the banquet, the presents, were ex- ■ refused to give up his son, when he quisitely adjusted to gratify the va- had beeu devoted by the prince Vla- nity of the stranger, with due reve- dimir to be offered as a sacrifice to rence to the superior majesty of the Peroun." Mouravieff, p. 10. 19—2 292 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP, XIII. A.D 986. Vladimir. Visited hy 2. Jewish, S. tholic, But he was not to remain long halting between two opinions. The desire of converting so powerful a chief attracted missionaries from many quarters. First, accord- ViMwmetan, ing to the Russian chronicler, came the Mahometan Bul- garians from the Volga; but " the mercy of Providence inspired Vladimir to give them a decided refusal." Then came Jews from amongst- the Chazars, priding themselves on their religion, and telling many stories of the ancient glories of Jerusalem. " But where is your country?" said the Prince. "It is ruined by the wrath of God for the sins of our fathers," was the reply. Thereupon the inter- view was cut short by the decisive answer, " How can I embrace the faith of a people whom their God has utterly Roman ca- abandoned?" Next appeared Western doctors from Ger- many, who would have had the prince embrace the creed of Western Christendom : but Vladimir knew of no form of Christianity save such as was taught at Byzantium. They too, therefore, retired without effecting their object. Last of all came one who is styled by the chronicler, " a philosopher from Greece." He reasoned with Vladimir long and earnestly; and learning that he had received emissaries from the Jews, who accused the Christians of worshipping a God who had been crucified, he took the opportunity of relating the true account from beginning to end. Then he went on to speak of "judgment to come," and showed him on a tablet the scene of the Last Day, w%/"'n( ^"^ the right were the good going into everlasting joy, ■ on the left were the wicked departing into eternal fire. " Happy are those on the right," said Vladimir; " woe to the sinners who are on the left." " If thou wishest to enter into happiness with those on the right," replied the missionary, " consent to be baptized'." Vladimir reflected in silence, but deferred his decision. Next year, however, he sent for certain of his nobles, and ' Mouravieff, p. ii. Neander, v. 453. 4. Greek mis- sionuries. Mesiengers sent various Churches. Missions among the Slavic or Slavonian Races. 2%3 informed them of the different deputations he had received, chap, xm, "Every man praises his own religion," said they; " send, ZZ^. therefore, certain of thy court to visit the different churches, arid bring hack word." Messengers were accordingly dis- f^ patched to the Jews and Mahometans, as also to the Ger- man and Eastern churches. Of all they returned the most unfavourable report, except only the Church of Con- stantinople. Of this they could not say enough. When '^'g'\"f they visited the Byzantine capital, they were conducted to the church of St Sophia, then, perhaps, the finest eccle- siastical structure in the world. The patriarch himself celebrated the Liturgy with the utmost pomp and magni- ficence. The gorgeous processions, the music, the chant- ing, the appearance of the deacons and sub-deacons with lighted torches, and white linen wings on their shoulders, before whom the- people prostrated themselves, crying " Kyrie Eleison," all this so utterly different from any- thing they had ever witnessed amidst their own wild steppes, had such an overpowering effect on the Eussian envoys, that, on their return to Vladimir, they spake not a word in favour of the other religions, but of the Greek Church they could not say enough. " When we stood in the temple," said they, " we did not know where we were, for there is nothing else like it upon earth : there in truth God has His dwelling with men; and we can never for- get the beauty we saw there. No one who has once tasted sweets will afterwards take that which is bitter : nor can we now any longer abide in heathenism." Thereupon the Boyars said to Vladimir, " If the religion of the Greeks had not been good, your grandmother Olga, who was the wisest of women, would not have embraced it. The ■weight of the name of Olga decided her grandson, and he said no more in answer than these words, *' Where shall we be baptized'?" 1 Mouravieff, pp. I2, 353. Stanley's Eastern Church, p. 300. 294 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. xni. AD. 986. Vladimir I'tys siege la Cherson. Baptism of Vuidimir. Still, like Clovis, he hesitated before taking so im- " portazit a step, and "led by a sense which had not yet been purged by grace," according to the chronicler, he thought fit to overawe the country whence he intended to receive his new religion, and laid siege to Cherson in the Tauride. The siege was long and obstinate. A priest at length informed the Russian chief by means of an arrow shot from the town that its safety depended on cutting off the supply of water from the aqueducts. Elated at the prospect of success Vladimir vowed to be baptized as soon as he should be master of the place. His wish was grati- fied, and forthwith he sent ambassadors to Constantinople to demand the hand of Anne, sister of the Emperor Basil. Compliance was promised on condition of his accepting Christianity. Vladimir declared his consent, and the sis- ter of the Emperor was constrained to go, and she sailed for Cherson accompanied by a large body of clergy. Her arrival hastened the baptism of the prince, which was celebrated in the church of the Most Holy Mother of God. Nor, according to the chronicler, was it unaccom- panied with miracle. Vladimir was suffering from a com- plaint of the eyes when his new consort reached him, but no sooner had he risen from the font, cleansed of the le- prosy of his heathenism, than the bishop of Cherson laid his hands on his eyes, and his sight was restored, while the prince cried, " Now I have seen the true God." Many of his suite, thereupon, consented to follow his example, and shortly afterwards, accompanied by the Greek clergy, he returned to Kieff', and forthwith ordered his twelve sons to be baptized, and proceeded to destroy the monu- ments of heathenism. The huge idol Peroun was dragged from its temple at a horse's tail, scourged by twelve ^ Kieff was one of the great cen- Mecklenburgh, Karenz in Engen tres of the Slavonic religion : other Winneta in WoUin, Julin, Stettin! centres were Novgorod, Betra in and Arcona. Missions among the Slavic or Slavonian Itaces. 295 mounted pursuers, and then flung into the Dnieper. " The chap. xiii. people at first followed their idol down the stream, but ^^ ggg were soon quieted when they saw it had no power to help TheimPermm ^ fl'uno into the itself." Thus successful, Vladimir felt encouraged to take Dnieper. a further step, and gave order for the immediate baptism of his people. " Whoever on the morrow," ran the pro- clamation, " shall not repair to the river, whether rich or poor, I shall hold him for my enemy." Accordingly at the word of their "respected lord" all the inhabitants with their wives and children flocked in crowds to the Dnieper, and there, in the words of Nestor, " some stood in the water up to their necks, others up to their breasts, holding their young children in their arms ; the priests read the prayers from the shore, naming at once whole companies by the same name." Vladimir, transported at the sight, cried out, "0 great Grod! who hast made heaven and earth, look down upon these Thy new people. Grant them, Lord, to know Thee the true God, as Thou hast been made known to Christian lands, and confirm in them a true and unfailing faith ; and assist me, O Lord, against my enemy that opposes me, that, trusting in Thee, and in Thy power, I may overcome all his wiles." On the very spot where the temple of Peroun had ad. 996. stood he now erected the church of St Basil, and encou- raged the Greek priests in erecting others throughout the ' towns and villages of his realm. Michael the first Metro- politan with his bishops travelled from place to place, bap- tizing and instructing the people. Churches were built, the choral music and service-books of Constantinople were introduced, as also the Greek Canon law; schools also gradually arose, and the people became familiar with the Slavonic Scriptures and Liturgy, which the labours of Cyril and Methodius, in Bulgaria and Moravia, had made ready to their hands. Under Leontius, the next Metropolitan, the Greek 296 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XIII. Church was enabled to consolidate her conquests. Bishops ^^ ggg^ were now placed at Novgorod, Kostoff, Chernigoff, Vla- umtimihe dimir, and Belgorod, In the first of these new sees the second Metro- ' ° , c ii • poiitan. contest With idolatry was carried on as successiully as it had been at Kieff. Another statue of Peroun was flung into the river, and the idolatrous altars were overthrown without opposition on the part of the people'. Wherever civilization had penetrated, and trade and commerce had opened up the country to external influences, the work went on with comparative ease. But the first two bishops of Eostoff were driven away by the people, who continued long fanatically addicted to their old rites ; and it was only by dint of untiring labour, and amidst much persecution, A.B. that their successors succeeded in planting the foundations 1019-1077. oftheChurch^ ^ Mouravieff, p. ly- • their oppression till 1462. During ^ The irruption of the terrible this period the chair of the metro- Mongols {1223) long checked the poiitan was removed to Vladimir, development of the Eussian state, and thence in 1320 to Moscow, nor did it finally free itself from Hardwick, 131 m. CHAPTEE XIV. THE CONVERSION OP POLAND AND POMEUANIA. A.D. 1000—1127. " Adilentes virum esse hoDorabilem, domi divitera, et nimc quoque in aliena terra suis opibus sufficientem ; nihil enim petere, nullius egere, pro illorum aalute advenire, non quaestua gratia." — Ebbokis Vita Ottonis. Though by his reception of Christianity Vladimir dealt chap, xi v. a heavy blow to the supremacy of the Slavonic superstitions a.b. 965. in Russia, they long continued to maintain their ascend- sfmSmpir- ancy in other parts of Europe, and nowliere more persist- SSawij ently than in Poland, Pomerania, Wendland, and Prussia. In these countries, the Slavonic hierarchy, who were as numerous and almost as potent as in the religious insti- tutions of India and Egypt, presented a formidable obstacle to the labours of the Christian missionary. Not only had they their representatives in every town and village, but the higher members of the order wielded a power always equal, and often superior to that of the dukes or princes of the several states'. The time, however, was now at hand when these strongholds of the Slavonic faith were to be penetrated by the light of civilization, and their votaries reclaimed, at least in some measure, from their heathen errors. 1 "Rex apud eos modioae eatima- dent." Helmold, Chron. Slav. n. 12. tionis est comparatione Flaminis. Peter de Dusburg, Chronicon Pros- Sacerdos ad nutum sortium, etporro eice, 79, rex et populus ad illiua nutum pen« 298 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XIV. Pomerania, the district with which we shall he mainly jj B. 965. concerned in the present Chapter, owed its evangelization in the first instance to its subjugation hj the Dukes of Poland, to the rise of Christianity in which country we shall first devote a few words. The seeds of Christianity are said to have been wafted into Poland' from Moravia, as early as the ninth century, and Christian refugees from the invasions of the Hungarians appear to have still fur- ther extended its progress during the tenth. In the year 965 the Polish duke Mieceslav I. married Dambrowka the daughter of the Christian king of Bohemia, and shortly afterwards embraced the Christian faith''. The relations between Poland and the German Empire at this period jiffortsof Mie- were of the most intimate character. Mieceslav not only cestavfor the •' S/fd!'"'""'' recognised the sovereignty of the German Empire, but took his place in the diets as one of its members. Poli- tical causes, therefore, conspired to induce the wish that his subjects should adopt his own creed ; but he could think of no other means of producing this result but stem and rigorous penalties. An illustration of their rigour is supplied by a proclamation which he issued forbidding his subjects, under penalty of losing their teeth, to eat flesh during the interval between Septuagesima Sunday and Easter. This enactment is recorded by Ditmar^, bishop of Merseburg, who pleads in its extenuation that for a people requiring to be tended like cattle, and beaten like stubborn asses, such means of proselytism were more adapted than the gentler measures which the spirit of Christianity would have dictated. Mieceslav's subjects viewed the matter in a different light ; they rebelled against ^ On the legend of St Andrew's have been active in the country, preaching in Poland, see Fabrioii Krasinski, p. 13. Lux Evang. ^ii. Krasinski'a &/or- ^ " Populus more bovis eat pas- mation in Poland, p. 6. cendus et tardi ritu asini castigandug, ^ Cyril and Methodius are sup- et sine gravi poena non potest cum posed by some to have visited Poland, salute principia traotari." Thietmai-i or at least their disciples axe said to Chronicon, Pertz, v. 861. The Conversion of Poland and Pomerania. 299 tlieir chiefs relentless rigour, and consequently the Gospel chap. xiv. made little progress during the first twenty years of his ^ „ 970, supremacy. In the year 970 the Emperor Otho I. had erected a. Erection of a ■nTii'i- T-i 1 T 1 Potixh bishopric Polish bishopric at Posen, which was subordinated to the «' ''<'«''• jurisdiction of the archiepiscopal see of Mayence, and after- wards to that of Magdeburg'. Coming as it did through Moravia the early Christianity of Poland was tinged with Eastern influences. But the marriage of Mieceslav with his fourth wife Oda, the daughter of a German count, gradually led to the preponderance of the Latin system, which was still further promoted by the influx of foreign clergy from France, Italy, and Germany, who filled the numerous mo- nasteries erected by Oda, and appropriated all the eccle- siastical preferments in the country. Otho III., on the ad. 1000. occasion of his visit to Gnesen^, bestowed the title of king^ on the son of Mieceslav, made Gnesen a metropolitan see, and gave it authority over the sees of Breslau, Cracow, and Colberg'. On the death of Mieceslav II. Poland fell into a state of utter confusion. The heathen party, who had long sub- *■». 1034. mitted with sullen unwillingness to the degradation of the national faith, now regained their ascendancy, and re- taliated for a long series of oppressions by burning monas- teries and churches, by hunting down, and, in some in- stances, killing the bishops and clergy. At last the Poles ciSm^/Yo resolved to ofier the crown to Casimir I., a son of the late "" ""'""' king. He had been banished from the country, and had retired to a Benedictine monastery, where he had not only taken the monastic vows, but had received ordination. When, therefore, his countrymen desired to place him on the throne they were met by the reply of the abbot that 1 Krasinski, p. 172. sinski's Reformation in Poland, 28. '^ On a pilgrimage to the shrine ^ Milman's Latin Christianity, 11. of St Adalbert, whose remains had 485. Wiltsoh, i. 427. just been removed to Gnesen. Era- OHAP. XIT. A u. 1034. tSubjuf/alion of Ea4itern Pome- rania. Invasions of iioleslav III. 300 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. he could uot release him from his engagements. In 'this dilemma, appeal was made to Pope Benedict IX., who, after much entreaty, at length consented to absolve Casi- mir from his vows, and permitted him to marry and ascend the throne. The new king repaid his benefactor by extir- pating such vestiges as still remained of the Slavonic Liturgies, and uniting the Polish Church still more closely with the Papal See. One of the dioceses over which, as we have said, Otho III. had given Gnesen metropolitan authority, was Colberg in Eastern Pomerania'. This country had been invaded by the Polish Duke Boleslav, and annexed to the Polish dominions. The first bishop, however, of Colberg, who was a German, was able to accomplish little or no- thing towards extending Christianity in his diocese, and was murdered in 1015, while on a journey to Eussia. The Polish yoke was detested by the Pomeranians, and the relations subsisting between the two countries were similar to those between Charlemagne and the Saxons. Like the latter, the Pomeranians were ever unfurling the standard of re- bellion, and thus bringing on fresh invasions of their country, that could be averted only by a timely submis- sion to the rite of baptism, which thus became the hated symbol of subjugation. After a century of constant hosti- lities, the Polish authority was still further extended in Pomerania; in 1121, the Western districts, as well as the Eastern, were subjugated and made tributary, and the in- habitants were constrained to take an oath promising to adopt the Christian faith. The invasions of the Polish duke, Boleslav III., were carried on with remorseless cruelty; "he was determined," says the chronicler "^ * "Pommo lingaa SolaTonunyjMite sonat vel circa, moriz autem mare; inde Pommerania quasi Pommori- zania, idem, juxta vel circa mare sita'" Ebbonis VUa, il. i. Latham's Tadti Germania, XVII. ^ Herbordi Vita Ottonis, Pertz, XII. 777. The Conversion of Poland and Pomerama. 301 ^' either utterly to crush his enemies, or to drive them at chap. xiy. the point of the sword to adopt the Christian religion." ^^ „ n2i. Stettin, the Pomeranian capital, was attacked and captured in the midst of a dreary winter; the whole district was ravaged with fire and sword, and the piles of skeletons were pointed out even three years afterwards by the survivors \ Eighteen thousand of the Pomeranian soldiers were put to death, eight thousand of the people with their wives and children were transported into Poland, and employed in garrisoning the frontier, after having first been forced to promise to abjure their idols and receive baptism. How to extend anv knowledge of Christianity in the Boiaiavma.M •^ ^ ^ •* ^ the ronversmn subject province afforded Boleslav considerable anxiety, "f hu subjects. In vain he applied to the Polish bishops, who each and all declined the dangerous task. In the year 1122, however, a Spanish priest, named Bernard, who had been elevated to a bishopric at Kome, appeared at his court, and re- quested permission to preach the word in Pomerania. The Duke did not conceal the difficulties his request involved, but would not forbid his making the trial. Bernard him- self was peculiarly unfitted for the task. As a Spaniard Bishop oenmnt. he was utterly unacquainted with the Pomeranian language, and being of an ascetic turn, he was unable to throw him- self into the real requirements of the work. Accompanied, however, by his chaplain, and an interpreter, supplied by Boleslav, he repaired to the town of Julin barefooted and in the garb of a mendicant. The Pomeranians, an easy, merry, well-conditioned race^, accustomed to the splendid ^ Hid. " Omnem in circuitu ejus diet, "Perinas cervorura, bubalorum regionem igni et ferro vastavit, et equulorum agrestium, ursorum, adeo ut ruinas et adustiones et aprorum, porcorum, omniumque fe- acervos cadaverum interfectorum in- rarum copia redundat omnis provin- colre nobis per diversa loca monstra- cia ; butirum de armento et lac de rent post tres annos ac si de strage ovibuscumadipeagnorumetarietum,' reoenti." cum habundantia mellis et tritioi, ^ On the fertility of the country, cum canapo et papavere et cuncti see Herbordi Vita, ii. 40 ; where we generis legumine." find enxmierated among articles of 302 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XIV. appearance of their own priests, regarded the missionary j^ „ JJ21. ^it'i profound disdain. When he asserted that he had come as the messenger of God, they asked how it was possible to helieve that the great Lord of the World, glo- rious in power and rich in all resources, would send as his messenger a man in such a despicable garb, without even shoes on his feet. If the great Being had really desired their conversion. He would have sent a more suitable envoy and representative. As for Bernard, if he had any regard for his own safety, he had better straightway return whence he came, and not discredit the name of his Grod by pretending to have a mission from Him, when in reality he only wanted relief in his destitution. Bernard replied by proposing, if they would not believe his words, that a ruinous house should be set on fire, and he himself flung into the midst. " If while the house is consumed, I come forth unscathed," said he, " then believe that / am sent unto you by Him whom the fire as well as every other created thing obeys." The Pomeranians, convinced that he was mad, urged him to leave the place ; but, instead of heeding the advice, Bernard struck down one of the sacred images, on which a riot ensued, and he was hurried on board a vessel, with the advice, since he was so eager to preach, to exercise his talents in addressing the fish of the sea and the fowls of the air\ Stel*'''"'-'' Bernard seeing there was no hope of success retired to Bamberg, where he met the bishop Otho, a Suabian of noble family. Otho had received a learned education, and had lived in Poland as the chaplain of the Duke Wratislav". Entrusted with various missions to the German coui-t, dui- ing one of which he had been instrumental in procuring ^ Ebbonis Vita Ottonis, n. i. te, non est usque ad unura." On " Quandoquidem tanta tibi priedi- Bernard's visit, see the subsequent cationis inest aviditas, prsedica pis- speech of Wratislav at the diet of cibus maris et volatilibus cceli, et Usedom, Herbordi Vita, in. 3. Ebbo, cave ne ultra fines nostros attingere in. 6. 13. proEsumas, quia non est qui reoipiat => Ebbo, I. 2. Tlie^ Lionversion oj jfoiana ana i-'omerania, 303 for his master the hand of the sister of Henry IV., he oftap. xiv. attracted the notice of the Emperor, became his secretary, ^^ nai. and was rewarded for his fidelity with the bishopric of Bamberg. Here he became famous not only for his mo- nastic austerities but for his charity and upright life, for the zeal with which he promoted the erection of churches and monasteries, and the interest he took in the education of his people. An ardent reformer of ecclesiastical abuses he had laboured unceasingly in his diocese, and had re- ceived tokens of approbation from several Popes. As soon then as he heard of Bernard's arrival at Bamberg, he welcomed him to his palace, and inquired into all the par- ticulars of his late mission. The more they conversed on the subject the more a.d. 1123. sure did Bernard feel that in Otho he saw one peculiarly ^^^otiw'to adapted to carry out the enterprize which had so signally 'Fomrnma!' failed in his own hands. Again and again he urged the bishop on the subject, and assured him that he could not fail of success, if he would but consent to appear among the Pomeranians with becoming pomp and circumstance, and attended by a numerous retinue \ To the solicitations of Bernard were soon added those of the Duke Boleslav, who, remembering his energetic character when his father's secretary, importuned him to undertake the work, engaged to defray all the expenses of the mission, to provide an escort, interpreters, and whatever else might be necessary. Thus pressed on all sides, Otho at length determined to comply, and after seeking the blessing of the Pope Calix- tus II., and receiving from him the appointment of Papal legate^, devoted his energies to collecting a numerous body of clergy to accompany him, and procuring the requisite 1 "Neoesse est ut tu. ..assutnpta cervice spreverunt, (Zmfe'arum jrZon'* cooperatorum et obsequentium no- ar^ reveriti oolla submittent." Ebbo- bili frequentia, sed et viotua ao ves- nis Vita, ir. 2. titus copioso apparatu, illuc tendas, ^ J aSh's Hegest. Pont, Som. Tp. 548. ut qui bumilitatis jugumet effrenata DoUinger, III. 274. 304 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XIV. ecclesiastical furniture for such churches as he might build, A D.I12I together with rich and costly robes, and other presents for mho arriws ai the Pomerauian chiefs. Gnesen. , These provided, with TJlric his favourite chaplain, seven other ecclesiastics, and several attendants, he set out for the scene of his labours on the 25th of April, 1124. Passing through the friendly territory of the Duke of Bohemia, he arrived at Breslau on the 2nd of May, and after a stay of two days at Posen, set out for Gnesen, where Boleslav was awaiting him with several of the neighbouring chiefs. Otho's entrance into the town was welcomed by a crowd of spectators, who flung themselves at his feet and besought his blessing. During a stay of seveii days, the legate discussed with Boleslav the future plan of operations, and the Duke collected waggons to carry the provisions and baggage, supplied jnoney of the country, attendants acquainted with the German and Sla- vonic languages, and instructed a captain named Paulicius to take the command of a protecting escort. inficuiiies of On the eighth day Otho and his retinue bade farewell to their entertainer, and plunged into the vast forest which then formed the boundary between the Polish and Pome- ranian territories. As yet it had only been once traversed by the soldiers of Boleslav on one of their marauding ex- peditions, and the trees they had felled marked the only practicable path. Into this the missionary party struck, and with the utmost difficulty, and no little danger, suc- ceeded in making their way', and after six days emerged on tlie banks of the river Netze, where they were met by the Pomeranian Duke Wratislav at the head of five hun- dred soldiers. While Otho and the Duke conferred in 1 " Magna quidem diffioultate prop- propter loca palustria quadrigaa ter serpentium ferarumque monstra et currus praspedientia, vix diebus diversarum, neonon et gruum in sex emenso nemore, ad ripam flumi- ramis arborum nidos habentium, nos- nis, quod limen Pomeramse est, cou- que garritu et plausu nimis infes- sedimus." Herboi-di Vita, 11. lo. tantium, importunitatem, simulque The Conversion of Poland and Pomerania, 305 private as to tlie plan to be pursued, the ecclesiastics in chap. xiv. his train were thrown into no little alarm by the terrible ^^^^^ aspect of the Pomeranian warriors, who, drawing their sharp knives, threatened to flay them alive, and bury them in the ground up to their necks. These threats, and the uncertainty as to Wratislav's intentions, added to the rapidly deepening shades of evening, threw a gloom over the whole party, which, however, was dispersed in the morning, when they discovered that the Duke's intentions were peaceful, and that his troops shared his feelings. In a second conference, full permission was formally given to Otho to preach in the Pomeranian dominions, and the missionary party, escorted as before, set out for Pyritz. Their path lay through a district which had suffered se- verely during the late wars with Poland, and thirty scattered peasants were the sole representatives of the ruined vil- lages. They were asked whether they were willing to be Bapvsm of baptized, and, scared by the martial retinue of the legate, flung themselves at his feet, and professed their entire willingness to submit to his wishes. Without more ado, the rite was conferred by Otho, who consoled himself for the fewness of the recipients by the reflection that thirty was a mystical number, being the product of the multi- plication of the number of the Trinity with that of the Decalogue'. Pyritz was reached late in the evening, but it was thought prudent to remain outside the walls, instead of entering at a time when a great religious fes- tival was in course of celebration, and a vast number of strangers had assembled to join in the revels. The night, therefore, was spent in the open fields, the trembling ecclesiastics scarcely daring to sleep, much less to kindle ^ "Hosergo quasi primitias Do- talis, et Decalogum Legis in numero minicse measis, iu aream Domini sui taoite oonsiderans, opus Evangelioum messor devotus cum gratiarum ao- mystioe a se inohoatumgavisuseat." tione oomponens, baptizavit illio Herbordi YUa, 11. 11, homines 30, fideiuque Sauctse Tiiui- 20 306 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XIV. a fire or address one anotlier in tones louder than a '.Z^. whisper. liniri/mto As soon as it was day, Paulicius, with the envoys of the dukes Boleslav and Wratislav, entered the town, and convened an assembly of the principal inhabitants. Ee- minding them that their promise to accept Christianity was one of the conditions of peace, they announced that the legate, a man of noble birth, not a mendicant like Bernard, but rich and powerful, was nigh at hand, and they warned them not to incur the displeasure of the Dukes by delaying to receive them into the town. Over- awed by this threatening address, and deeming them- selves deserted by their national gods, the people of Pyritz at last agreed to admit the bishop within the town. Accordingly a procession was formed, and Otho made his entrance with every sign of pomp, which the long train of baggage-waggons, and the retinue of ecclesiastics and soldiers, could inspire. At first the people misinter- preted the meaning of this display, and thought they had been deceived. But Otho quickly reassured them, and after fixing his tent in one of the squares, attired in his full pontifical robes ascended an eminence, and thus opened his mission : " The blessing of the Lord be upon you. We return you many thanks for having refreshed our hearts by your hearty and loving reception. Doubtless ye have already heard what is the object of our coming, but it will not be amiss to remind you again. For the sake of your salvation, your happiness, your joy, we have come a long and weary way. And assuredly ye will be happy and blessed, if ye be willing to listen to our words, and to acknowledge the Lord your Creator, and to serve and worship Him only." /iapusmof Having thus announced the purport of his mission, he ,a«, thousand, ^nd his attendant ecclesiastics devoted themselves to the work of instructing the people; and having appointed a The Conversion of Poland and Pomerania. ' 307 fast of three days, bade them purify themselves by frequent chap. xiv. ablution, and so prepare for the reception of baptism. ^„ 1224. Meanwhile large vessels^ were sunk in the ground, filled with water, and surrounded with curtains. Hither on the fourth day repaired upwards of seven thousand candi-dates for the rite, and were solemnly addressed by Otho on the vows they were about to make. The usual questions were duly asked and answered, and then the bishop and the rest of the clergy, standing outside the curtains, baptized the different groups as they were successively led up. Everythingj the biographer of the bishop assures us, was conducted with modesty and decorum, and nothing occurred to mar the solemnity of the rite". Twenty days were spent at Pyritz, and during this period the missionaries employed themselves diligently in instructing all who were willing; to listen to tlieir words. The subiect-matter otiw'n miiHon- ^ ^ arp senn&ti. of their homilies is best illustrated by that of Otho's sermon before leaving the town. "All ye, my brethren," said he, "who are here present, and who have believed in Christ, and have been baptized, have put on Christ; ye have received from Him the forgiveness of all your sins actual and original; ye are cleansed and pure, not through any deed of your own, but through the operation of Him into Whose name ye have been baptized ; for He has washed away the sins of the whole world in His blood. Beware, then, of all contamination with idolatry ; ^ " Dolia grandia valde terrse altius menta." Ibid. immergiprsBcepit, itautoradoliorum ^ " Tribus exstructis baptisteriis, usque ad genu hominis vel minus de ita ordinavit, ut ipse solos mares terra prorainerent, quibus aqua im- pueros in uno baptizaret, alii autem pletis, facilis erat in earn descensus." sacerdotes in aliis feminas seorsum Herbordi Vita, II. 15. In the win- et vires seorsum. Tanta quoque ter the water was warmed, "instupis diligentia, tanta munditia et hones- calefactis et in aqua calida eodem . tate pater optimus sacramenti opera- nitoreatqueverecundiEeobservatione, tionem fieri edocuit, ut nihil inde- iufossis doliis et cortinis adhibitis, corum, nihil pudendum, nihil Un- thure quoque et aliis odoriferis quam quod alicui gentilium minus speoiebus cuncta respergentibus, to- plaoereposset,ibiageretnr." Herbordi neranda baptismi confecit sacra- Vita, 11. 15. Cf. also II. 19, 35. 20—2 308 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XIV. put your trust in God, wlio is your Creator, and worship J, 0. 1124. ^0 created thing, but rather seek to advance in faith and love, that His blessing may come upon you and upon your children, and that believing in Him, and adorning your faith* by your works, ye may have true life through Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvellous light. For be ye well assured, that if, by God's help, ye endeavour through life to be faithful to the promises ye have made this day, and to walk in holiness and purity, ye will not only escape eternal death, but enjoy the bliss of the kingdom of heaven for ever and ever." Otho then proceeded to treat of the Seven Sacraments', Baptism, Confirmation, Extreme Unction, the Eucharist, Penitence, Marriage, and Ordei-s. The mention of marriage led him to observe that his hearers had hitherto been grievously tainted with polygamy. This could be no longer per- mitted. " If there are any amongst you," said Otho, " who have many wives, let him select the one he loves best, and cleave unto her only, as becometh a christened man." The cruel custom of infanticide^ was denounced with the severest penalties, and the sermon concluded with an ex- hortation to respect the clergy left by the bishop, and a promise of another visit. cammin. At Cammiu, whither the missionaries next directed their steps, resided the wife of Duke Wratislav. She had long been favourable to the cause of Christianity, and materially aided the bishop by her influence. Forty days were spent here, and the time was employed in instructing the people, and preparing them for baptism, which rite was administered in the same way as at Pyritz, and to so many persons, that Otho could scarcely muster strength to super- 1 "The earliest trace of this plures filiaa aliqua genuisset, ut scholastic limitation." Hardwick, ceteris facUius providerent, aliquas P- .'|2'. ex eis jugulabant, pro nihUo duoeu- ^ Herbordi Vita, II. \6, 32. "Si tes panicidiuru." The Conversion of Poland and Pomerania. 309 intend the administration. Meanwhile Wratislav arrived, chap. xiv. and greeted the missionaries with much cordiality. Many ^^24. of his soldiers were baptized, and the Duke himself, con- strained by the bishop's exhortations, swore upon the sacred relics to put away twenty-four of his concubines, and to cleave to one wife. His conduct made a great impression on the people, and not a few followed his example. A church was next built, and supplied with books and all the necessary ecclesiastical vestments and vessels. The waggons, which had hitherto conveyed the baggage JMn. of the missionaries, were now exchanged for boats, in which to navigate the inland rivers and lakes which lay between Cammin and Julin', the spot selected for their next visit. Julin was a place strongly fortified, and devoted to the Slavonic superstitions. Here, it will be remembered, Ber- nard had provoked the wrath of the inhabitants, by offering violence to one of the national deities, and had in consequence beenexpelled from the country. As they neared the town, therefore, the boatmen advised that they should cast anchor till the evening at some little distance, and thus avoid the tumult likely to be excited by entering the place in the broad daylight. Not far from the spot where they an- chored was a fort, which had been erected as a sanctuary and place of refuge for such as might fly thither when pursued by an enemy, or in any sudden emergency". The boatmen advised the bishop to steal into the sacred inclo- sure under cover of the night, and assured him that there he would be quite secure. The suggestion was acted upon, and the night was spent in safety. But the morning had no sooner dawned than an immense vwUni opvmi- tion ai Jaiiii. ' In the Island of WoUin. quam si quia confugisset, lex talis " This appears to have been usual erat, ut quolibet hoste persequente in aU the Pomeranian towns. "In seouiTis ibi consisteret et iUaesus." singulis civitatibus dux palatium ha- Herbordi Vita, 11. 23. Ebbo, II. 7. bebat et curtim cum a?dibus, ad 310 TJie Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. xiv. multitude of the townspeople surrounded the fort, and A.D. 1124. threatened the bishop and his retinue with death, if he did not instantly quit the place. In vain the commander of the military escort begged them to respect the sanctity of the asylum, the excited throng would pay no heed to his words, and with the utmost difficulty the bishop's retinue effected their escape from the fort, and got safely to their boats, having broken down the bridge in their rear to cut off the pursuit of the infuriated populace. It was now resolved to anchor for a week on the other side of a neighbouring lake, and to await any change in the popular feeling ; and in the meantime communications were maintained between the town and the missionaries, who proclaimed the rank and style of the bishop, and threatened the speedy vengeance of the Duke for the insult they had received. This alarmed the people ; the leading chiefs called together an assembly, and after much discussion respecting the admission of the bishop, it was agreed to abide by the decision of the people of Stettin, the oldest and wealthiest of the Pomeranian towns'. If Stettin did not decline to receive the bishop, neither would they. A pilot was, therefore, procured, who escorted the boats of the missionaries till Stettin was in sight, and then left them for fear of detection. suuin. Night was setting in when they reached the Pomeranian capital, and again Otho sought a safe entrance by taking refuge in a fort belonging to the Duke^ In the morning their landing was discovered, and they explained to the townspeople the purport of their mission, and the desire of the Dukes that they should accept Christianity. But their overtures were rejected with scorn. " What have we to do with you?" was the universal cry. "We will not put away our national customs, and are well content with our present religion. Are there not thieves and robbers ^ Herbordi Vita, ii. 24. 2 " Curtim ducis Intravimus." Herbordi V'ito, n. ■25. Ebbo, II. 7. The Conversion of Poland and Pomerania, 311 among you Christians, whom we have seen deprived of chap. xiv. their feet and eyes ? Keep your own faith for yourselves, ^^Z'mi. and intermeddle not with us." After two months had -£"!'"'»«:" <« Boleslav, been spent m fruitless efforts to induce the people to recon- sider their resolution, Otho determined to send messengers to Boleslav, informing him of the obstinacy of the Pome- ranians, and asking his advice as to the course that ought to be pursued. His intentions transpired, and the towns- people filled with alarm, determined to send a counter embassy, promising conformity to the Duke's wishes, if he would promise a permanent peace, and agree to reduce the heavy tribute exacted from them. While the messengers went on their respective errands, Otho and his companions paid frequent visits to the town, set up a Cross in the market-place, and persevered, in spite of opposition, in preaching to the people and exhorting them to abandon their errors'. At length two young men, sons of one of the principal chiefs, paid the bishop a visit, and requested information concerning the doctrines which he preached. To them Otho expounded, as he best could, the teatihing of the Church respecting the immortality of the soul, the resurrection of the body, and the life of the world to come. The visit was often repeated, and at length Baptism of two the young men declared their willingness to be baptized. *°™^' '"' Unknown to their parents they approached the font, and diu-ing the eight days following remained with the mission- aries, who welcomed with joy the first fruits of their toils. Intelligence of what had occurred meanwhile reached their mother, and she immediately set out for the bishop's residence in quest of her sons. Knowing her influence in the town, Otho received her seated on a bank of tm-f in the open air, surrounded by his clergy, with the young men arrayed in their white baptismal robes seated at his feet. As she approached, the latter rose and on a signal I Herbordi Vita, il. 25. Ebbo, 11. 8. 312 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. xiT. from the tishop, went forth to meet her, when, to the ^ „, H24. surprise of all present, she sank to the ground on her knees, and in a flood of tears gave glory to God that she had lived to see the day of her sons' baptism. Then, turning to Otho, she informed him that she had long been a secret Christian, and now she openly avowed the faith,' which she had first learnt while a captive in a distant land. The impression made on the townspeople was profound. The baptism of the entire household speedily followed, and the young men, returning with costly presents from the bishop, were successful in inducing many to listen more favourably to his exhortations, and did not fail to spread the fame of his generous liberality. While the excitement caused by this incident was at its height, the messengers returned from Gnesen, with a Ri-piy of Boks- letter from Boleslav^ in which he informed the townspeople that he could not understand their behaviour towards his friend the legate. Had it not been for the intercession of the latter, he would have inflicted on them the severest punishment; as it was, he had determined to forgive them, and was willing to remit a considerable portion of the tribute, and to guarantee a permanent peace, on condition that they submitted to the instructions of their spiritual teachers, otherwise they might look for his wrath and abiding displeasure. This letter Otho did not fail to have read to the people, and followed it up by renewed exhorta- tions to embrace the terms proposed by the Duke, and by way of proving their sincerity, to suffer the temples of the national deities to be destroyed. If they felt any scruples about doing this themselves, then let him and his clergy commence the work of destruction, and if they escaped unhurt, let this be a proof of the worthlessness of the national faith. Permission at length was given, and after mass had been duly celebrated, Otho set out at the head I Herbordi Vita, ii, 29, The Conversion of Poland and Pomerania. SIS of his clergy, armed ■with cluhs and axes to essay the chap. xiv. work of demolition, while crowds of the townspeople stood ^^1124 anxiously on the watch to see what their own gods would do. One temple fell, and then another, and still the bishop's retinue were unharmed. Thereupon the multitude cried nestnction 0/ IT -i (* -I ^^ tempter, out, " What power can these gods have, who do not defend their own abodes? If they cannot defend themselves, how can they defend or advantage us?" Hundreds of willing hands now joined in the work of demolition, and, in a very short space of time, four of the largest temples^ were razed to the ground, and the materials converted into fuel. One of these structures, dedicated to the triple-headed Triglav and adorned with the rarest earvings'', was stored with a vast number of votive oiferings of considerable value, consisting of the spoils taken in various battles, gold and silver beakers, bulls' horns tipped with gold, swords, knives, and sacred vessels. These the people freely offered for Otho's acceptance, but he caused them to be sprinkled with holy water, and then gave them up for general distribution. All he reserved for himself was the triple Tripu head of , ■ -r»q Triiiiav Siint to head of Triglav, which he sent to the Pope , as a memo- *<"««■ rial of his victory over Slavonic idolatry. Other monu- ments of superstition now excited his attention, among which were a gigantic oak and a sacred spring close by, which were regarded with peculiar reverence. The tree Otho consented to spare in compliance with the re- iterated solicitations of the people, on condition that they would agree to resort to it for the future, merely to enjoy ^ "Contincs quatuor," as they are erant et raenase, quia ibi oonciliabula called. Herbordi Vita, II. 31. "Est et conventus sues habere soliti erant. / / Vox Slavica. Apud Polonos est Nam she potare sive ludere sive seria ' Jconczyna finis, fastigium ; continae sua tractare vellent, in easdem cedes igitur sedificia fastigata." Note ia certis didms conveniebant et horn." Pertz, XII. 793. Herbordi Vita, II. 31. Analogous ^ See above, Chap. I. p. 33. customs at Corinth called forth the 8 Honorius II. The biographer Apostob'o remonstrances in i Cor. of Otho says of the Slavonic temples, viii. 10. '* Sedilia intus in circuitu extmcta 314 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. A.].. 1124. BapfUm 0/ numbers. piiAP. XIV. its shade, and not perform any heathen ceremonies'. The like indulgence, however, he would not extend to a black horse of great size, which was used for taking the spear- omens on going out to war or on any foray". With much difficulty the people were induced to allow of its removal, and to abstain in future from thus seeking supernatural direction. When the emblems of heathen worship had been duly put away, the bishop exhorted them to regard all Christian men as brethren, whom it was sinful to sell into slavery, maltreat, or torture ; he warned them against piracy, robbery, and infanticide ; and, after instructing them in the first principles of the Christian faith, admitted numbers to the baptismal font, with the same ceremonies that we have described at Pyritz. The only man of influence who held out against his exhortations was the high priest, whose duty it was to wait upon the sacred horse. Nothing would induce him to forsake his old faith, and he atoned for his obduracy, so we are assured, by a sudden and awful deaths Before Otho left, he could point to a tangible memorial of his victory over the national heathenism in a church, which was erected in the market-place of the town. Meanwhile what had taken place was not unknown at Julin. The townspeople had sent messengers and spies to the Slavonic capital, who narrowly watched and reported the bishop's proceedings, and the conduct of the people of Stettin. Consequently when Otho again presented himself at Julin*, he found the populace ready and eager to receive baptism. The rite was performed as in other places, and with the consent of the chiefs it was agreed that a bishopric should be established here, to which Boleslav subsequently 1 In Herbordi Vita, III. 22, we have a similar account of the de- struction of a sacred nut-tree. ^ Ibid. II. 32. See also supra, Chap. I. p. 34, n. •* " Tumore ventris ac dolore cre- puit et mortuus est." Herbordi Vita, II- 33- * On his way he preached and baptized at Garz and Lubzin. Sea notes in Herbordi Vita, ix. 36. Tlie, Conversion of Poland and Pomerania. 315 nominated one of his chaplains, Adalbert*, who had accom- chap, xiv: panied Otho on his tour. Having consecrated the chancels ^^ j^gi. ^ of two churches, he left Julin, and visited Clotkowe, Colberg-, and Belgrade, where he was equally successful in inducing many to abandon their idolatry. The approach of winter however warned him that he must bring his labours to a close, and he spent the remaining .period in visiting the places where he had achieved such rapid suc- cess, exhorted the infant Churcheslto constancy in the faith, and a holy life, and amid many expressions of regret, left the country for his own diocese, where he arrived early in the February of 1 1 25. -f*- 2. 1125. Though anxious to resume his labours in the Pome- ranian mission-field", Otho found the cares of his own diocese sufficient to claim all his attention. In the spring, however, of 1127^ he determined to set out again, and a.d. 1127. once more collected, as preliminary to his journey, a number of costly presents. On this occasion he selected a different route. Passing through Saxony he laded his vessels at Halle, and di-opping down the river Elbe, reached the town of Demmin*. The first sight that met his eyes, after making his way thither with the greatest difficulty, was one which must have excited painful emotions, and ^ Ihid. II. 36. Ebbo, II. 15. One nolens... ouppam surcuUa plenam at- of the reasons given for fixing the tulit et implantari fecit, ut tellus ea see here is "quia civitas h«c in TeIsaorificiovinuinprocrearet."Ebbo, meditullio sita eat Pomoranise...et II. 40. quod de medio ad omnea terminoa * Herbordi Yita, iii. i. On this terrse crisma et alia, quae ab ipso occasion he resolved to defray him- accipienda sunt, faciliua deportari self all his personal expenses, and not poasent." to burden the Duke of Poland. He ^ On the state of the newly- Jaded his vessel at Halle with " auri founded Churches during his ab- et argenti copia, purpura et briso et sence, aee Ebbo, HI. i,andNeander, paunis preciosis, et muneribus mag- VII. 23. nis et variis pro varietate person- ^ On the year see the note in arum," which conveyed the cargo by Pertz, XII. 800, 801. Ebbo, ill. 3. 25. the Saale to the Elbe and Havel, On his second visit, because the where fifty waggons transported it vine was unknown in Pomerania, to Demmin. " episcopus vitem ilU terr fj^jgj^^' ^ amongst them, which he made subordinate to the metropo- ^"''''• litan see of Magdeburg. For these posts he endeavoured to select men who had been tried in other fields of mis- sionary labour, and Boso, bishop of Merseburg, one of his chaplains, learnt the Slavonic tongue, and even preached in it, finding his reward in the conversion of not a few of his hearers. He also translated some of the liturgical forms into the Slavonian dialect, but failed to make even the "KyrieEleison" intelligible to the people, who, caught by a somewhat similar jingle of sounds, changed it into UJerivolsa, or " the alder stands in the hedge^." The partial success, however, of such prelates was soon Partial mccesx. rendered abortive by the cruel oppressions to which tlie Wends were subjected, and the persistency of the German clergy in levying ecclesiastical dues. A fresh rebellion, therefore, alternated with every fresh conquest achieved by the German empire, and ceaseless efforts were made to throw off a foreign yoke. Thus in 983 a Slavonic chief, Mistewoi, though he had embraced Christianity, and was attached to the Emperor's court, was so exasperated by personal injuries-, that, summoning his countrymen to Ee- thre, the centre and home of the Slavonic idolatry, he unfurled the banner of rebellion, and wasted Northern Ger- many with fire and sword, razing to the ground every church and monastery that came in his way". His grand- GMschaik. son Gottschalk, though he, in like manner, had received a ' AtHavelburg ing46, Aldenburg Bollinger, in. 38. Hardwick, 127. in 948, Brandenburg in 949, Misnia ' Thietmar, Chron. Perti, V. 755, in 965, at Cizi, Meissen, and Merse- wliere see Lappeuberg's note, burg in 968. Helmold. C%TO«. I. 12. " Helmold. CArom. I. 16. 328 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XV. Christian training at Luneburg, stung to the quick at the aTd. 936-968. ^^^e murder of his father, the Wendish prince Udo, flew to arms, gathered round him the Wendish youth, and spread havoc over Hamburg and Holstein. But one day, as he surveyed a district formerly covered with churches, but now lying waste and desolate, he is said to have been filled with remorse, and to have vowed to make atonement for the evil he had done, by propagating the faith he had learnt in his earlier years. A.D.1047. Under his auspices arose, in 1047, a great Wendish kingdom, into which he invited a large staff of ecclesiastics from Bremen, and even expounded the Scriptures himself to his subjects, or interpreted to them in their own tongue Aibnch', arch- the words of the foreign clerffy. At this period, the palace birlwpoJBre- , i p ?^ in l mm. of Albrecht , archbishop of Bremen, would appear to have been a harbour of refuge for ecclesiastics of all grades, whom the distractions of the times had driven from their dioceses. Here they were sure of a welcome, and in return for the kindness and hospitality of the archbishop, were ready to go forth at his bidding into such parts of the mis- sion-field as promised the slightest hope of success. The good-will of Gottschalk naturally encouraged many to dif- fuse a knowledge of Christianity amongst his subjects; but though several churches and mission-stations were erected, the results of their exertions were only too speedily oblite- rated. The heathen party, who would never forgive their king for favouring a hostile f&ith, and allying himself with the German princes, at last rose in fury, stoned many of the clergy, murdered Ebbo the priest of Lutzen at the altar, and their king Gottschalk himself^. In this persecution perished one of the last representatives of the earlier Irish missionaries, in the person of John bishop of Mecklen- burg. Leaving Ireland, he had travelled into Saxony, • Historia Arch. Brem. p. 93, ed. " At Leutzen. Helmold. I. 22. Lindenbrog. Adam. Brem. iii. 49, Conversion of Wendland, Prussia, and Litliuania. 329 arid been hospitably received by the archbishop of Bre- chap. xv. men'. By the latter he had been induced to undertake ^^7i066^ a share in the Slavonic mission, and was recommended ^o*«i'/itf«*- to Gottschalk, who stationed him at Mecklenburg. His labours are said to have been blessed with unusual success, but he fell a martyr to his zeal. After being cruelly beaten with clubs, he was carried about as a show through the chief Slavonic towns, and at Rethre, when he would not deny the faith, suffered the loss of his hands and feet, and afterwards was beheaded. The body was iflung into the street, and the head, fixed on a pole, was carried in triumph to the temple of Eadegast, and there offered as an atone- ment to the offended deity ^. This murder of Gottschalk and many of the clergy was the signal for a general revolt, in the midst of which nearly every vestige of the mission was swept away, and during the rule of Cruko, a chief de- terminately hostile to Christianity, the old idolatry regained its former ascendancy. After an interval, however, of somewhat more than Re-esiabushment . . , . ., of the Wendisit fifty years, the Wendish Christian kingdom was re-estab- Mngd^m. lished under a son of Gottschalk. But the period of its independence had passed away. Year after year it became, in consequence of its own internal dissensions, an easier prey to the princes of Germany; and, at length, Henry the Lion and Albert the Bear invaded the country, and while 1125— ii62. the latter founded the Margravate of Brandenburg, the for- mer vanquished the Obotrites, and colonised the devastated districts with German settlers, who, assisted by foreign clergy, reorganised the Wendish sees. Amidst the ceaseless din of arms, the form of one true missionary is discernible, who strove to wield other weapons than those of the military oppressor, and to soften the hearts of the vanquished Wends* ^ Lanlgan, III. 3r8. iv. 6. Adam. ^ Helmold. 1.22. Moreover, "in Brem. III. 50. Kist. Arch. Brem, derisionem Salvatoris nostri etiam p. 93. cruces a paganis truncati sunt." 330 The Missionary Eistory of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XT. This was Vicelin. Bom at Quernheim, on the banks of the Weser, he had been brought up at the flourishing A.D. U25-1162. school of Paderborn, whence he had been removed, to take charge of an educational establishment at Bremen, and after succeeding there, had studied for three years at the University of Paris'. Receiving orders, and attracted by intelligence of the need of missionary zeal in the Wendish kingdom, he betook himself, in the year 1125, to the arcli- bishop of Bremen, who commissioned him to preach to the Slavonians. His first efforts at Lubeck were cut short by cpens amission political disturbances'; afterwards, at the request of the mhabitants, he was stationed m the border-town ot s&\- dera, or, as it was afterwards called, Newmiinster, as being a convenient outpost for evangelizing the districts north of the Elbe. The neighbouring country lay waste and deso- late, under the repeated ravages of war; and the impover- ished inhabitants, despairing of aid and protection, had relapsed into their old idolatries. Vicelin, however, in the spirit of Severinus, settled down amongst them, and so won the hearts of many by his zeal, that a number of lay- men and ecclesiastics rallied round him, and formed them- selves into a fraternity^, vowing to devote their lives to prayer, charity, and good works, to visit the sick, relieve the poor, and especially labour for the conversion of the Wends. For nine years this pious band toiled on amidst every kind of obstacle ; and when the province of Holstein LotiMire. was visitcd, in 1134, by the Emperor Lothaire II. they Could point to many proofs that their exertions had not been thrown away ; and Lothaire was so gratified by the 1 Chron. Slav. Inccrtl Auctoris, prseter lucos et Penates, quibus agri Ed. Lindenbrog, 1609. Hardwick, et oppida i-edundabant, dii primi et 2 26. n. praecipai erant isti, scil. Dens Prone 2 And a heathen reaction. "Ido- in Oldenburg, Sywe dea Polabromm, lonim cultura reinvabrit, ita ut Eadigast Dens Obotritorum." CAron. boves, oves, atque homines dsmoni- Slav. xvin. bus immolarentur. Chrisfiani etiam ^ Adopting the Eule of the " Prse- cruciflgebantur, eviscerabantur, et monstratensians." Hardwick, 227. Conversion of Wendland, Prussia; and Lithuania. 331 success that had been achieved, that he committed to Vi- chap. xt. celin the superintendence of the Churches of Lubeck and ^^. Segeberg', and encouraged him with no little earnestness ii25— ii62. to persevere in his good work. But it was only by slow and painful stages that the [f™*™ "'"'' Wendish mission was to gain a secure footing. On the a.d. ii37. death of Lothaire, in 1137, the Wends rose again in rebel- lion against their German rulers, fell upon the churches and monasteries, and expelled every herald of the Cross from the country. Vicelin was constrained to fall back upon Faldera, and there, "persecuted, but not forsaken," "cast down, but not destroyed," he contrived for several years to animate the faith of his little flock. A brighter day dawned, when Adolph, count of Holstein, succeeded in partially restoring the German supremacy. His church at Segeberg was now restored to him ; but in view of the too probable distractions, he removed the monastery he had established to Hogelsdorf, where, assisted by Dittmar, a canon of Bremen, he presided over the little society, and on the occurrence of a grievous famine was enabled, by his welcome charity, to conciliate the affections of many who crowded round the gates of the monastery". Meanwhile the wave of German conquest swept again over the districts whence it had been obliged to recede during the late rebellion, and the archbiship of Bremen found himself able to re-establish the ruined sees. Vicelin, a.b. 1143. therefore, in 1148, was nominated to the see of Oldenburg, m^ueff^ '" and in spite of the anxieties consequent on a misunder- '"^' standing between the archbishop and Henry the Lion respecting the prerogative of investiture, he continued to set an eminent example of devotion to the true objects of missionary labour'. The worship of the god Prone, which ^ Chron. Slav. cap. XV'III. Nean- tibente Duce, et quamvis temporalia der, VII. 46. nou raessuit, spiritalia tamen eis ^ See Neander, vii. 47. rationesui officii seminavit." Chron. ' "Decimas non recipiebat, pro. Slav. cap. XXII. CHAP. XV. A.D. 1154. Estahluhment of Christianity amongst the Wenils. A.D. 1168. The inland of liilgen. Deslruction of the inia/je of Svantovit. 332 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. prevailed especially at Oldenburg, received a permanent, check, a church was erected, and a considerable number of the people received the faith, over whom Vicelin continued to preside till his death, in the year 1154. Shortly after- wards a larger number of German colonists were introduced into the country, who displaced the original inhabitants, consolidated still further the influence of the German Empire, and consequently of, at least, a nominal form of Christianity. About this time the island of Kiigen, which we have already described as one of the chief fortresses of Slavonic heathenism, was opened up to Christianity and civilization; Ever since the conversion of the Pomeranians by bishop Otho, sanguinary feuds had arisen between the new con- verts and the pagan islanders. Resenting the apostasy of Stettin and Julin, they had menaced them again and again with the severest punishment, and in the terror of Otho's companions, when he proposed to visit the island, we saw a proof of their bitter zeal for their pagan creed. After frequent engagements the Danes at length took up the quarrel, and Waldemar, king of Denmark, assisted by the chiefs of Pomerania and of the Obotrites, succeeded in subjugating the island. The destruction of paganism was now possible, and bishop Absalom of Roeskilde, who, like Thangbrand of famous memory, appears to have united the ecclesiastical and military functions, undertook to found a Christian Church. After a long siege, the capital, Arcona, was captured, and finding it impossible to withstand the Danish arms, the inhabitants agreed to renounce their heathenism, and permit the introduction of Christianity, according to the usage of the Danish Church. The first care of Absalom was the destruction of the gigantic image of Svantovit, of whose temple Arcona was the seat. A vast crowd surrounded the sacred inclosure, expecting that a sudden death would be the inevitable Conversion of Wendland, Prussia, and Lithuania. 333 penalty of the party charged with the destruction of the chap. xv. image. The latter, undeterred by any superstitious fears, ^ „ ^gs. entered the temple, and removed the ragged' purple curtains suspended before the shrine. Then with axes they plied the feet of the enormous image, which appears to have been fastened to the platform on which it stood. After a few blows it fell with a crash to the ground, and at the same moment, according to the common Medifflval oelief, the demon which haunted the temple was seen suddenly to dart from the shrine in the form of a black animal, and then as suddenly disappeared. The removal of the prostrate image was rendered diiBcult by reason of the awe wherewith even now it was regarded, and which deterred any native of the island from even touching it. At length certain captives and foreigners were induced to make the dangerous experiment''; ropes were fastened to the image, and amidst some lamentations, but far more mockery and laughter, it was dragged into the Danish camp, hewn to pieces, and converted into fuel for cooking the soldiers' provisions. Other temples were then attacked, Destruction of and other images destroyed, amongst which was one with seven heads and of such size that Absalom standing on its feet could scarcely reach the chin of the image with an axe he carried in his hand ; another with five heads ; a third with four. All these stood in temples contiguous to that sacred to Svantovit, and all shared the same fate. This done, the foundations were laid of several Christian churches, ^ " Frequens sedem purpura cir- bilium hominum capita divinse irse cumpendebat, nitore quidem prae- potissimum objectanda ducentes." dita, sed situ tarn putris, ut tactum Ibid. ferre non posset." Saxo Grammali- ^ " Factum quercu simulacrum, cus, Lib. XIV. quod JJugisevithum vooabant, ab om- ^ "Oppidaiii simulacro urbe ege- ni parte magno cum deformitatis rendo funes injicere jussi, cum id ludibrio speotandum patebat. Nam pristinae religionis raeta per seipsos hirundinea, quse sub oris ejus linea- exequi non auderent, captivis exte- mentis nidos molitse fuerant, in risque quEestum in urbe petentibus, ejusdem pectus crebras stercorum ut illud ejioerent imperabant, igno- sordes congesserant. " Ibid. . 334 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XV. which were served by ecclesiastics sent over by Absalonsi A D- lies! iw£!^ Denmark, and sustained at his own cost. The dis- tribution of these clergy in different parts of the island, added to the exemption of the people from ecclesiastical dues, considerably facilitated the reception of this Mona of the North within the advancing circle of Christendom. uvmia. Along the Eastern coast of the Baltic, and extending to the Gulf of Finland, dwelt the Lieflanders, a branch of the Slavonic family, though considerably intermixed with the Ugrian race of Finns. Grove-worship and tree-worship, the practice of magic and sorcery, the immolation of human victims prevailed amongst them as elsewhere, and they appear to have been sunk in the grossest ignorance and barbarism. Commercial relations with their Western neighs hours lirst opened up their country to the exertions of the A.n. 1186. missionary, and, about the year 1186, there sailed to the Diina, in one of the merchant-ships of Bremen, a venerable Mdnhard. pricst, named Meinhard, who had been trained in one of Vicelin's monasteries at Segeberg. Obtaining permissiom from the Russian chief Vladimir of Plozk, to preach the Gospel, he founded the first LIvonian Church at YxkuU, on the Diina, where the Bremen merchants had already erected a fort for the protection of their trade*. Meinhard found himself able to conciliate the good-will of the rude people by aiding them when attacked on one occasion by a hostile army, and Instructing them how to erect a largea: fort for their more permanent defence. Grateful for these benefits, not a few professed themselves ready to listen to the doctrines of the Gospel, and even to receive baptism. Appointed lo the Ecpalring to Bremen, he announced to Hartwlg, the see of Yxkutl. ii-i , i /■, ■ . archbishop, the result of his exertions, and was appointed to the see of YxkuU. But on his return to his diocese he found how greatly he had been deceived. No sooner had 1 Origines Limnim, ed. Gruber, Frankfort, 1740, pp. 1 — 5. DoUinger, in. 278. Gieseler, iii. 478. Conversion of Wendland, Priissia, and Lithuania. 335 their immediate wants been relieved than the fickle multi- chap. xv. tude relapsed into their old heathen rites, and the utmost ^ ^ ^gg. efforts of Meinhard were fruitlessly spent in attempting to induce them to forsake their heathen errors. Meanwliile, Theodoric, a Cistercian monk, came to his aid, and began to cultivate some land in the neighbourhood of Yxkull. The superiority of his crops so provoked the jealousy of jeuionsi/ of the the Lieflanders that they determined to offer him in sacri- fice to the gods'. Fortunately for the successful agricul- turist, it was thought expedient to ascertain the will of Heaven before resorting to such extreme measures. The sacred horse was thrice led by the attendant priest over the rows of spears, and each time the omen was in favour of sparLng his life. But an eclipse of the sun, which took ad. 1191. place shortly afterwards, exposed him to similar peril, and he was accused of exercising sinister influences on the orb of day^. This, added to the success of his agricultural labours, rendered his stay in the country more and more hazardous, and he was obliged to fly, while Meinhard, after much fruitless labour, died at Yxkull, in 1196. He was succeeded by Berthold, abbot of a Cistercian Beruuid. monastery in Lower Saxony. He thought to conciliate his fickle flock by a distribution of provisions and numerous presents, but he was equally unsuccessful in procuring any lasting results. When his stock of presents was exhausted a revulsion of feeling ensued, and, like Bernard at Wol- gast, he was despised as a beggarly stranger, and bidden to leave the country unless he wished to be flung into the Diina'. In 1198, Berthold returned at the head of an army of Crusaders, whom Pope Innocent III. had summoned to 1 "LivonesDiissuisimmolarepro- comedere." Oriff. Livonim. ponunt, eo quod fertilior seges ipsius * " Ipsum in Molmenis coemeterii sit in agris, eorumque segetes inun- consecratione alii in ecclesia concre- datione pluviffi perirent." Orig. Li- mare ; alii occidere ; alii in Dana sub- von. cap. 10. mergere concertabanfc ; egestatem ^ " A paganis pluriraa pa5sn3 est adventus sui oausam esse impropera- vitae pericula dicentibus ipaum solem bant." Orig. Zivoniw,u. 2. CHAP. XV. AD. 1191, Au. 1198. A.D. 1198-1299. Albert von Apetdcm. 336 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. his aid from the neighbouring countries. On his arrival ' he bade the Lieflanders at once surrender, and not provoke a useless contest. They undeterred bade him dismiss his forces, and enter peacefully on the duties of his diocese, and advised him to try and compel those, who had received Christianity, to remain faithful thereto, and induce others to adopt it by good words instead of violent blows. There- upon a battle ensued, in which Berthold fell ; but the rude pagans, unable to cope with a disciplined force, were defeated, and promised obedience to the demands of their conquerors, consenting in not a few instances to receive baptism. But the Crusaders had no sooner departed, than, as might naturally be expected, gj^ reaction followed, the heathen party rose and wreaked their vengeance with terrible effect on the new converts and such clergy as had been left amongst them. Many also of those who had consented to be baptized now flung themselves into the Diina, and strove to efface the effects of their baptism by washing in its waters'. The successor of Berthold was Albert von ApelderUj of Bremen. He sailed up the Diina with a fleet of twenty- three ships, and a numerous army of Crusaders, and laid the foundations of the town of Riga, whither, as being a more secure locality, the bishopric of YxkuU was transferred. His efforts, however, to secure any perma- nent results were not more successful than those of his two predecessors, and, harassed by the incursions of neighbouring pagan tribes, he determined to establish a permanent military force, at once to defend his own diocese and overawe the Lieflanders into a reception of Christianity. Accordingly he established, with the concurrence of the Emperor Otho IV., and the approbation of the Pope, the ^ "Dunae fluminig aqua se per- fundunt, dicentes ; Hie jam haptts- matis aquam cum ijiisa Christianitate removemus aqua fiuminis, et fidem susceptam post Saomnes recedentes Iransmittimus." Oriy. Livon. ii. 8. Conversion of Wendland, Prussia, and Lithuania. 337 knightly Order of the Sword. Placed under the special ohap. xv. protection of the Virgin Mary, the members of this Order '^_ bound themselves to hear mass frequently, to abstain from ii98-i299. ^ ■' ' Order of Iha marriage, to lead a sober and chaste life, and to fight ««"»•<*• against the heathen, and in return for these services they were to have and to enjoy whatever lands they might wrest with their good swords' from their pagan adversaries. Remorseless war was now waged against the heathen Leiflanders for upwards of twenty years. In vain they courted alliance with other tribes, and strove to resist their oppressors. Castle after castle was erected in their land, under the protection of which German colonists, in ever-increasing numbers, took up their residence and ex- tended German influences. From Riga, as a starting point, Albert von Apeldern directed the arms of his Crusaders against Esthonia, and into the neighbouring territories of Semgallen and Courland. Aided by Waldemar II., king of Denmark, he succeeded in imposing a nominal form of Christianity on the war-wasted districts, and the bishoprics of Eevel, Dorpat, and Pernau were so many ecclesiastical fortresses strengthening the power of the Order of the Sword, and securing the fruits of their victories. To make up for the absence of a vernacular literature, Miracu-puy . at liigci, curious methods were adopted for diffusing a glimmering knowledge of Christianity amongst the rude and half- civilized people of Livonia. Thus, at Riga, in the year 1204, a Miracle-Play was performed, representing scenes from the Old and New Testaments"; and an attempt was made to enlist the sympathy of the eye with events which the uninstructed ear of the pagans were unable to compre- hend. While the exploits of Gideon, David, and Herod were visibly enacted before the wondering gaze of the ^ From their great swords they ^ Origines Livonia;, pp. 123 sq. were called Ensiferi; their habit Fabriuii itia; ^jian,^. p. 468. Gieeeler, wag a white cloak with two swords, in. 478. Gules in Sautoir and a red Star. ' 22 338 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. AD. 1230. CHAP. XV. spectators, interpreters, from time to time, explained thf ~ meaning of the dramatical representations. But they dc not appear to have been uniformly successful in theii endeavours "to point the moral and adorn the tale." On one occasion', the spectators interpreting the scenes more liter- ally than their instructors intended, fled in terror at the sight of the Midianites attacked by Gideon's army, and imagined that the next assault would be directed against themselves. During the follovsring winter, Archbishop Andreas, of Lund, who had come into the country with the allied army of the Danes, set an example which many of his clergy would have done well to follow, by lecturing to the people, in their own tongue, on the Book of Psalms ; and proofs were not wanting that, whenever an attempt was made in a meet and becoming spirit, the Leiflanders were not unwilling to listen to the words of those who addressed them in a language suitable to the faith they sought to propagate. Meanwhile, in a country closely bordering on Livonia, armies of Crusaders succeeded by similar methods in forcing an entrance, which had long been persistently denied to the heralds of the Cross. This was Prussia, at this time inhabited chiefly by Slaves, with a Lithuanian and German admixtm-e, and divided into eleven petty independent statesl Nowhere, perhaps, was the Slavonic Paganism more deeply rooted ; nowhere had the Slavonic priesthood more undis- puted sway. Besides a number of inferior divinities, and the elements of nature'', three gods were held in particular Pntssia. Orpavised po^i/theism. ' "Iste autem ludus quasi prae- ambulura, prseludmm et prsesagium erat futurorum malorum. Nam in eodem ludo erant bella utpote David, Gideonis, Herodis. Erat et doctriua Veteris et Novi Testament! quia nimiram per bella plurima, quie sequuntur, convertenda erat gen- tilitas, et per doctrinam Veteris et Novi Testament! erat instruenda, qualiter ad verum pacificum et ad vitam perveniat sempitemara." Orig. Livonice. ^ Peter de Dusburg, Chronicon Pi-usmcE, p. 72. ^neas Sylvius de Statu Europce, cap. XXIX. ^ " Omnem creaturam pro Deo coluerunt, sive Solem, Lunam^ et Stellas, tonitrua, volatilia, quadru- pedia etiam, usque ad bufonem. Habuerunt etiam lucos, oampos et aquas sacras, sic quod seoare, aut Conversion of Wendland, Prussia, and Lithuania. 339 veneration, Percunos, the god of thunder ; Potrimpos, the chap. xv. god of corn and fruits ; PicuUos, the god of the infernal ^ „, 1230. regions. The face of the first was expressive of extreme anger, his head was wreathed with a crown of flames ; the second was represented by a beardless youth, and wore a chaplet of green leaves and ears of corn ; the face of the third was pale, the beard snow-white, the eyes looked downwards on the ground^ Every town and village had a larger or smaller temple ; but the sanctuary of the nation was at Eomove, where also were the sacred oaks, and the veiled statues of the gods. Here, also, resided the chitiinjiuoKeofthe . ™ , 111' 1 • 1 Slavonic hier- pontiii, who was held m such veneration, that, not only ««%■ himself or any of his connections, but a herald bearing his staff or other insignia was accounted sacred^. The other members of the hierarchy were required to live in celibacy, and possessed unbounded influence over the people, of whom, at particular seasons, they exacted human sacrifices, especially ^n honour of Picullos and Potrimpos. Every native of the country was permitted to have three wives, who were regarded as slaves, and on the death of their husbands were expected to ascend the funeral pile or otherwise put an end to their lives. Infanticide', especially that of female infanticide. children, was common, so much so that all the daughters in a family, save one, were invariably put to death. Children also that were deformed, aged persons, and all whose recovery was doubtful, were put out of the way; and male and female slaves were burnt with the corpse of their masters, as also his horses, hounds, hawks, and armour*. agros colere, vel piscari ausi non * " Cum nobilibus tnortuis arma, fuerant in eisdem." Peter de Dug- equi, servi et ancillse, vestes, canes burg, p. 79. venatici, aves rapaces, et alia qus ^ Hartknooh's Dissertations, Vll. spectant ad militiam urereutur. Cum ^ Hartknoch, Dissert, vi. ignobilibus comburebatur id quod ^ In the OHgiiies Livonice, p. 31, ad offioium speotabat." Chroniam we have an instance of fifty women PrussicE, p. 80. On serpent worship hanging themselves on the death of in Prussia, see Hartknoch, Dissert. their husbands. Tm. 22—2 340 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XV. The opening of the thirteenth century saw the Prussians ^„ ggy^ still fanatically addicted to this organised system of pagan- ism, and such missionaries as attempted their conversion AiaiieH bishop expiatcd their temerity with their lives. One of the earliest of Prague. *■ •' and most eminent of these was Adalbert, bishop of Prague, who sailed to Dantzic in the year 997, escorted by some soldiers lent him by Boleslav I., duke of Poland. His landing was not opposed, and imprudently dismissing the vessel with her crew, he rowed in a little boat, accompanied only by a priest named Benedict, and one of his own pupils, to the mouth of the river Pregel. On attempting, however, to land, the natives fell upon them with clubs, and Adalbert, struck with an oar while chanting the Psalter, fell stunned to the bottom of the boat. With much diffi- culty they made their way to the opposite bank, and landed in the territory of Samland. Here they encountered the chief of one of the villages, who summoned the inhabitants, and bade the missionaries explain the object of their visit. Adalbert complied, and told them' who he was, and whence he had come. On this his hearers exclaimed, "Away with such fellows from our land; these are they who cause our crops to fail, our trees to decay, our herds to sicken. Depart from us, or expect instant death'." Therefore Adalbert and his companions left to make their way to the coast. The bishop himself was inclined to propose their lingering in the country, and thought if they suffered their hair to gi-ow, and laying aside their clerical garb^ took to working with their own hands, they might hope 1 Brauonis Vita S. Adalberti, eormn effecti, familiarius eo habita- Pertz, Script, vi. p. 6o8. muB coUoquimur et convivimus : ' " Habitus ^ corporum et horror laborando quoque propriis manibus, veetium, ut video, paganis aniniis victum quseramus ad instar Apoato- non parum nocet. Unde, si placet, lorum. Interea, prosperante mise- vestimenta mutemua clericalia, pen- ricordia Salvatoris, fit aliquid hac dentibus capiffis surgere siuemus ; arte ao fraude, ut opinio se fallat ; tonsje barbae comas prodire permit- evangelizandi occasio arte venit." tamus: forsan non agniti melius Ibid, iiabemus ealutem operari; suniles Conversion of Wendland, Prussia, and Lithuania. 341' to calm the suspicions of the people, and be enabled in chap. xt. time to take more decisive steps. But such ideas were not j^„ 997, destined to he realized. Plunging into a thick wood they pursued their journey, and, halting to take some refresh- ment, fell asleep, and woke to find themselves surrounded by a troop of the natives, who clamoured for their lives. The bishop had barely time to exhort his companions to Martyrdom of steadfastness, when seven lances were plunged into his body. Another attempt to cai-ry the Word of Life into this Brum. dangerous region was made by Bruno, chaplain of the a.d. 1008. Emperor Otho III. Instigated, it is said, to undertake the mission by the sight at Rome of a picture of St Boniface, the great apostle of Germany, he procured a commission from Silvester II., empowering him to preach to the hea- then Prussians, and was consecrated a regionary bishop at Magdeburg. With eighteen companions he entered Prussia, in the year 1008, and before twelve months had expired, he had shared, together with all his retinue, the fate of the bishop of Prague. After the death of Bruno a period of nearly two centuries elapsed, during which the national repugnance to Christianity was still further intensified by the long wars with Poland. At length, in 1207, Gottfried, ad. 1207. a Polish abbot, with one of his monks, penetrated into ^'""" ^°"-'^* the country, and had succeeded in achieving a faint amount of success, when his companion fell a victim to the' hostility of the people, and he himself was obliged to give up in despair. Three years afterwards. Christian, a Pomeranian monk, a.d. 1210. from a monastery near Dantzic, accompanied by several ^^^clrLtiSn. brethren, and accredited with the express authority of Innocent III., arrived with the determination of making another attempt. For a space of four years he was enabled to prosecute his task in peace, and then set out for Rome, accompanied by two converted chiefs, the firstfruits of his 342 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XV. zeal. The Pope received them cordially, and conferred ^ „ 1214. Vi-^on Christian the episcopate over the new community\ He also wrote to various Cistercian abbots in the country, desiring them to aid instead of impeding the efforts of the new bishop, and to the Polish and Pomeranian dukes, inveighing strongly against the oppressive burdens they had laid upon the Prussian converts, which only tended to irritate the people, and prejudice them against the Gospel. Thus accredited, Christian once more returned to his Pagan reaeucm. diocesc. But the suspicions of the heathen party had been aroused, and the new converts themselves groaned under the taxes and imposts exacted from them by the authorities of Poland and Pomerania. The consequence was a general reaction. The Prussians rose in fury, destroyed nearly three hundred churches and chapels, and put many Chris- tians to the sword °. Other agencies were now invoked by AD. 1219. Bishop Christian, and the " Order of Knights Brethren of Dobrin," formed on the model of that which we have already encountered in Livonia, were bidden to coerce the people into the reception of Christianity. But they failed to achieve the task assigned them, and then it was that the famous "Order of Teutonic Knights," united with the "Brethren of the Sword" in Livonia, concentrated their energies on this "ik'Undu^"' ^^''opean Crusade. Originally instituted for the purpose of succouring German pilgrims in the Holy Land, the " Order of Teutonic Knights," now that the old Crusades had become unpopular, enrolled numbers of eager adven- turers determined to expel the last remains of heathenism from the face of Europe. After the union of the two Orders had been duly solemnized at Eome, in the presence AD 1238. of the Pope, in the year 1238, they entered the Prussian territory, and for a space of nearly fifty years continued a series of remorseless wars against the wretched inhabitants* ' Clironicon Prussia,^. 2Ci. Hartknoch, Dissert XIV. ^ Chronicon Prussice, n. o. i. Conversion of Wendland, Prussia, and Lithuania. 343 Slowly but surely they made their way into the very heart chap. xv. of the country, and secured their conquests by erecting ^ „ 1238. castles, under the shadow of which rose the towns, of Culm, Thorn, Marienwerder, and Elbing, which they peopled with German colonists. The authority of the Order knew scarcely any bounds, fjlfo^j^'"'^ Themselves the faithful vassals of the Pope, they exacted the same implicit obedience, alike from the German immi- grant, or colonist, and the converted Prussians. Baptism was made the one condition of admission to the enjoy- ment of any rights, individual or social'. The baptized proselyte might regard himself as a freeman, might boast that, in some sense, he was a man. Tlie Prussian who still persisted, in spite of being conquered, to adhere to his old superstitions, forfeited all claim to personal freedom, and was as much the property of his master as his horse or his hound. In 1243 the conquered lands Ecclesiastical ^ organisation. were divided by the Pope into three bishoprics. Culm, Pomerania, and Ermeland, each of which was again di- vided into three parts, one being subject to the bishop, and the other two to the brethren of the Order''. With this subdivision there gradually sprang up a number of churches and monasteries, and the Prussians began to dis- continue many of their heathen customs, such as sacrifice to idols, infanticide, the practice of polygamy, and the burning of their dead. In return for these concessions, a greater degree of personal liberty was guaranteed to them, the Polish laws were introduced, and the Popes, who, to the utmost of their power, befriended the new converts, enjoined an equable distribution of the country into parishes, im- pressed upon the clergy the duty of instructing the people, and on the knights a due regard to the gentler precepts of the Gospel. In 1251 schools began to be erected, though numbers of the Prussian children were sent for instruction 1 Milman's Latin Clinstianity, v. 404. ^ Dollinger, ni. 282. 344 The CHAP. XV. A.o. 1260. AD. 1283- IiiUmania. Missionary History of the Middle Ages. t '11. i -nyr . 1 i__ _ 1 ^ into Germany, and especially to Magdebiurg', and numerous Dominican monks laboured for the more effectual conversion of the people. Paganism, however, was not yet extinct. In 1260 the knights were defeated by the Lithuanians, and eight of the order, who were taken prisoners, were burnt alive in honour of the gods. This was the signal for another rising, and the Prussians wasted with fire and sword far and wide, murdered the clergy, and destroyed the monasteries and churches. The knights thereupon retaliated, the favourable terms granted to the Prussians in 1249 were cancelled, and a sanguinary war, which lasted for twenty-two years, and in which the knights were aided by armies of Crusaders sent them by the Popes, closed the struggle between the rival faiths. Many of the chiefs Were deprived of their freedom, and reduced to the condition of serfs, and the bulk of the people, in sheer despair, consented to recog-nize the sovereignty of the Order. Thus dominant, the knights maintained their supremacy both, in Church and state; the bishops were dependent on them, and in most cases were selected from amongst themselves, and were even prohibited from pronouncing censures on any member of the Order, or interfering in their administration of affairs. The only province of much importance now remaining unreclaimed from heathenism was that of Lithuania, whose rebellion against the Teutonic knights we have just men- tioned. The same gi-oss form of polytheism prevailed here, that so long held their Prussian kinsmen in its dark bondage, and assumed even a more degraded form. Not only the heavenly bodies, and the God of Thunder, but even serpents^ and lizards were regarded with veneration, Haxdwick, ' Dollinger, III. 284. pentem habuit, cui cibum dedit, ac saorificium fecit, in fseno jaoenti." ' "Primi quos adiit ex Lituanis .^neas Sylvius de Statu Europa, serpentea colebant, pater familias cap. xxvi. p. 418. suuDi quisque in angulo domim ser- Conversion of Wendland, Prussia, and Lithuania. 345 and approaclied witli human sacrifices'. Mindove, a native chap, xv. chieftain, is said to have embraced the Christian faith as ad. 1386. early as 1252 ; and Vitus, a Dominican monk, dispatched hj Pope Innocent IV., attempted to fan the spark into a flame, but met with little encouragement. From this time till the year 1386, not a ray of light appears to have pene- trated the darkness of their heathenism. In this year, however, one of the Lithuanian chiefs JagaP, whose predatory incursions had hitherto been the terror of the Poles, proposed to the latter to espouse the young queen Hedwige, and thus unite the two countries, agreeing at the same time to introduce Christianity amongst his own people. The arrangement was accepted, and the Lithu- anian chief was baptized at Cracow, and assumed the name of Vladislav. Thence, accompanied by his queen, and many Polish ecclesiastics, he repaired to Wilna, where a decree of the diet formally accepted Christianity as the national faith °. Under the superintendence of the arch- bishop of Gnesen, and the Polish clergy headed by Va- sillo, a Franciscan monk, and the first bishop of the new see of Wilna, the more public rites of heathenism were abolished. The idols were destroyed, the groves cut down, the sacred fires extinguished*, the holy serpents and lizards killed, the Lithuanians at first looking on with horror, and then acquiescing complacently in the destruction of the objects of their former veneration. In ^ "Dracones adorant cum volu- pli materiam ne deficeret ministra- cribus, quibus etiam vivos litaDt ho- bant, hos super vita segrotautium mines, quos a mercatoribus emunt, amici consulebant, illi nocta ad diligenter nmnino probates, ne ma- ignem accedebant, mane vero con- culam in corpore habeant." Adam sulentibus responsa dantes, umbram Brem. de Situ Daniw, Dollinger, m. aegroti apud ignem sacrum se vidisse 286. aiebant. Quae cum Be calefaceret, ^ Fabricii Lux Evangelii, p. 455. signa vel mortis vel vitse ostentasset, ^ Dollinger, III. 286. Hardwick, victurum aegrotum facias ostensa p, 335, i^^j contra si dorsum ostentasset, ^ "Post hos gentem repent, quae morituram portendit." j^Eneas Syl- saonmi oolebat ignem, eumque per- vius de Statu Europce, cap. XXVI. petuum appellabat. Sacerdotes tern- 346 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. cnAP. XV. promoting the change, no one was more conspicuous than i „. ;i3gg_ the grand-duke himself. He interpreted to the people in the native language, the meaning of the Lord's Prayer, the Creed, and other formularies, which they could never have learnt from the Polish clergy. Thus slenderly in- structed, "and attracted," says DoUinger, "by the present of a white woollen garment'," the people were either con- ducted in troops to the banks of the rivers, and there baptized, or sprinkled in large numbers at once, receiving the same Christian name of Paul or Peter. A i>. 1413. About thirty years afterwards, a Lithuanian priest named Withold, communicated such seeds of truth, as his own superficial acquaintance with the faith enabled him, to the Samaites, who have been regarded as more or less identical with the barbarous Samoeids, who now dwell in the cold and dreary regions of the Arctic circle^. Their conversion had been already sought by Prussian priests, while the power of the Teutonic knights was at its height, but the results had been barely perceptible. The exer- tions of Withold, supported by the influence of the grand- duke Jagal, were more successful, the town of Womie, or Miedniki, was built, and here Withold fixed his episcopal see. 1 DoUinger, III. 286. 1335, Christianity did not become ^ Hardwick, p. 336. Among the the popular religion till the i6th Lapps, though successful missions and 1 7th centuries. had been inaugurated as early as CHAPTEE XVI. MISSIONS TO THE SARACENS AND THE MONGOLS. A.D. 1200—1400. " Multos equites video ire ad sanctam terram ultramarinam, et putare ipsam acquirere per vim armorum, et in fine omnes consumuntur, quin ve- niant ad id, quod putant ; unde videtur mihi, quod acquisitio Ulins sancte terrse non debeat fieri, nisi eodem mode quo Tu et Tui Apostoli earn acquisistis, scilicet amore et orationibus et effusione lacrymarum et sanguinis." — Eatmundds Lullus. Among the letters of the great Apostle of Germany to chap. xvi. numerous friends in England, is one addressed to the umiiatm of abbess Eadburga, in which he dissuades her from a pil- "'^ "'""''' grimage to Rome because of the constant incursions of the Saracens'. Meagre, doubtless, were the tidings the ardent missionary received respecting the limitation of the Church in the distant East, but nearer home events had occurred, calculated to excite in his mind deep musings as to the designs of Providence. Bursting from its home in the Arabian deserts, the wave of Mahometanism had swept on unchecked over Syria and Egypt, over Persia and Northern Africa^, nor stopping here, had inundated the length and breadth of Spain, save only a little Gothic kingdom in the inaccessible fastnesses of Asturia. Eestless even here, the Moslem warriors had crossed the Pyrenees, and the 1 Ep. XXXII. A.D. 733. in 707, Spain in 711, and after 2 The Saracens conquered Jeru- being clieoked by Cliarles Martel in salem in 637, Syria in 639, Egypt 732, threatened the interior of Italy in 640, Persia in 651, North Africa in 734. 348 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XTi. sword of Charles Martel alone had saved the Frankish AD. 733. Churches from the fate already undergone bj those of Augustine and of Cyprian. Strange, indeed, and sad must have been the reflections of the early pioneers of Christian civilization among the Teutonic nations, when they heard that Churches which Apostles had planted had been swept away before the austere monotheism of Arabia, that from cities where a Paul or an Apollos had sown and planted, there now went up to heaven the cry, " God is One, and Allah is His prophet." Little could these simple-minded men understand, that this sudden revolution was no less a judgment on the decrepit Eastern Churches, for their dis- union and moral corruption^, than a means destined in the hands of Providence to minister, and that not ineffectually, to the ultimate civilization of Europe. Wraceni'c^on- ^^ ^°®® "°^' indeed, fall within our plan to trace the c'/^Mim progress of the Saracenic conquests, but on the history of mvisicms., Medieeval Missions they undoubtedly exercised a potent influence. For a time they seemed to change the very spirit of Christianity, taught it to forget of "what spirit" it was, and to imagine that the legitimate weapons of its warfare were not "spiritual" but "carnaP." The gradual rise of this new phase of thought and feeling, was nowhere more perceptible than in the Iberian Peninsula, where after their repulse by the sword of Charles Martel, the Saracens settled down in great numbers, and speedily attained a higher degree of civilization than in almost any other part of the world °. A.D. 850. Till the year 850, the Spanish Church could not fairly complain of intolerance or persecution, on the part of the Saracen conquerors. Christians rose to high positions in 1 See the quotation from Prideaux " SeeMUman's Latin Christianity, in Stanley's Eastern Church, p. 260. II. 49. Hardwick's Middle Ages, p. 34 and ^ Prescott's Ferdinand and Isa- note. ' lella, I. 212. Missions to the Saracens and the Mongols. 349 the court of Cordova, and even ecclesiastics and monks chap. xvi. found ample scope for their acquaintance with Arabic and ^^ ggg Latin, as interpreters during negotiations with Christian princes. Intermarriages even were by no means uncom- mon, and produced their usual results, the husband con- verting the wife, or the wife the husband'. Before long, jj«>wjcj the Sultan to remain in his tent, tlie intrepid chap. xvi. preacher replied, "Yes, I will remain, if thou and thy ^.p. 1219. people will become converts for the love of the Saviour my Master. If thou art unwilling, kindle a furnace', and I and thy priests will enter it together; and let God deter- mine whether the true faith is on thy side, or on mine." The Imauns trembled, and the Champion of the Crescent allowed that none of his priests would be willing to face such an ordeal. "Only promise, then," replied the other, "to become a Christian, and I will enter the fire alone. If I come forth unharmed, acknowledge Christ; but even should I be burnt, conclude not that my faith is false, but that on account of my sins I am unworthy to receive this honour." The Sultan courteously declined the proposal for fear of an uproar, and dismissed the , enthusiastic monk with ample presents. The eloquent author of Essays in Ecclesiastical Biography remarks, that the fact that " the head of the missionary was neither bartered for a gold besant by the soldiers, nor amputated by the scimitar of their leader, may be explained either by the Oriental reverence for supposed insanity, or by the universal rever- ence for self-denying courage^." For ourselves we should be far more inclined to ascribe it to the latter reason ; the more so as the Bishop of Acco, then present with the army, assures us that the Saracens were far from unwilling to listen to the preaching of the followers of St Francis, so long as they confined their exhortations to the doctrines notes with Sir J. Stephen, I. 126. nia, chapter xiv, and that of Bishop " The appeal to a judgment of God," Poppo, Chapter XI. says Neander, " is undoubtedly in ^ For a Boraewhat similar instance the spirit of Francis, and the Sultan of. the " magnetic power of earnest- might perhaps have returned such ness and simplicity" see the account an answer to it. At all events, the of the dispute between an heathen agreement of the accounts in the philosopher and an aged bishop at essential point vouches for the truth the council of Nicaea, Stanley's JSasl- of the fact lyino- at the bottom." em Church, 115. Another in the ' Compare the story of Bernard life of St Francis Xavier is given in the Spanish missionary in Pomera- Grant's Hampton Lectures, p. 272. 23 354 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XTi. of the Gospel, and did not, In a spirit utterly alien from i o 1219. that of the greatest of Christian missionaries, as displayed in a certain memorable Interview on Mars' Hill, resort to . the language of coarse abuse and fanatical declamation'. The spirit of the Apostle of the Gentiles, rare at all times, must have been especially rare at this period, and, therefore, it Is truly cheering to come across the record of one, who even now had not forgotten that there was a voice more potent in appealing to the hearts of men than the fire, the earthquake, or the storm. Such an one Invites our notice in the person of the once famous, now almost Raymundiuii. forgotten Eaymuud Lull, whose life and labours mark an era In the missionary history of the Middle Ages. This celebrated man was born of noble parents at Palma, A.D.1236. the capital of Majorca, about the year 1236^ His father had served with great distinction in the army of Don James, king of Arragon, and the boy was at an early age intro- duced to the court, where he rose to the post of seneschal'. The traditions of his youth present him to us as gifted with great mental accomplishments, as an ardent cultivator itecktessnas of of poetry, but addicted to sensual pleasures. He married, but this did not restrain him from gratifying unlawful passions, and the theme of his poetical effusions was seldom any other than the joys of lawless love. " I see, Lord," he says in his Contejnplations, " that trees bring forth every ' " Saraceni autem omnes fratrea Wadding, Annate Franciscor. IV. minores tam diu de Cbristi fide 423 (ed. I73'2). A list of his works et evangelica doctrina praedicantes occupies nearly five foUo pages in libenter audiunt, quousque Maho- Wadding. Humboldt (Cosmos, 11. meto, tanquam audaci et perfido, 629, ed. Bohn) describes him as "at prajdicatione sua manifeste contra- once a philosophical systematizer, diount. Ex tunc autem eos impie and an analytic chemist, a skilful irerberantes, et nisi Deus mirabiliter mariner, and a successful propagator protegeret psene trucidantes, de ci- of Christianity." vitatibus suis expellunt." J. de '"ilaymundus,Senescallusmensie Vitry, in the Bist. Occident, c. 32, regia3 Majoricarum." In the Acta quoted in Neander, VII. 82. ^ SS. we have an elaborate excursus '^ Vita B. Raymundi LuUi Mart. on the duties of this office. Acta Sanctorum, June 30, p. 644. Missions to the Saracens and the Mongols. 355 year flowers and fruit, eacli after their kind, whence man- chap, xvi. kind derive pleasure and profit. But this it was not with ^TTase- me, sinful man that I am ; for thirty years I brought forth no fruit in this world, I cumbered the ground, nay, was noxious and hurtful to my friends and neighbours'." But when he had reached his thirtieth year, there arose within him a mighty struggle, the spirit and the flesh, his lower and his higher nature strove with one another. The story of St Augustine under the fig-tree at Milan was re-enacted at Palma. One day, as the Seneschal was sitting on his a.d. i265. couch and composing an erotic song, there suddenly ap- peared to him the image of Christ hanging on the cross. So deep was the impression made that he could write no more. Some days passed away, and he was again similarly engaged, when once more the same Divine Image pre- j^'"' '''■"■»- sented itself, and he was fain before that spectacle of Divine Self-sacrifice to lay aside his pen. This time''' the effect was not so transitory; again and again it seemed to return, and he could not resist the thought, that there was a special message meant for himself, that the Saviour of men was thus inviting him to conquer his lower passions, and to de- vote himself entirely to His service. But then arose the doubt, how can I, defiled with impurity, rise and enter on ^ "Video, Domine, quod arbores faoio nunc in declioatione mese se- omnl anno produoant floies et fruc- nectutis ; non, sicut tua omnia mea tus, per quos liBtificantur et susten- opera erant in peocatis et in socie- tautur homines ; sed non est ita de tate viliorum, ita nunc epero per me peccatore, quia triginta annis tuam gratiam, quod mea opera et non fui in hoc mundo fructuosus, meae oonsiderationes et mea desideria immo fui nocivus meis et meis ami- sint ad dandam gloriam et laudera CIS : igitur, cum arbor, quse est sine tua gloriosa essentia divina." Lib. inteilectu et ratione, sit fructuosior Contempl. cvi. .30. quam ego fuerim, valde vereoundor ^ Or, as it seems, the vision ap- et me reputo valde culpabilem." peared oftener) "tertio et quarto Kaymundus Lull us, Lib. Contempl. suocessivo diebus interpositis aliqui- in Deum, ix. 257, ed. 1740. And bus, Salvator, in forma semper qua again, "Tibi Domine Deus, ago primitus, apparet." Acta SS. An- multas gratias tuus servus et tuus other version of the story of his con- sabditus, quia video magnam differ- version is given in the Vita Secunda entiam esse inter opera, qu^solebam Acta SS. June 30, p. 669, and Wad- iacere in mea juventute, et ea, quae ding, iv. 423. 23—2 356 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XVI. a holier life ? Night after night he lay awake, a prey to ^ „ 1265. doubt and despondency. At length occuiTed the thought, "Christ is meek, and full of compassion and tender mercy. He invites all to come to Him, and whosoever cometh to Him, He will in no wise cast out. Sinful as thou art, peradventure He will accept thee, if thou wilt come to Him." With that thought came consolation; he concluded that he was indeed invited to forsake the world, and follow his Saviour, and he resolved to give up all for His sake. As this resolution gained hold upon him, he began to feel that he was walking in the right path ; old things began ■ to pass away; powers long dormant, or dwarfed and stunted by devotion to lower aims, put forth greater activity ; the flower at the bottom of the long sunless cavern had caught the quickening ray, and was beginning to expand into the fulness of its bloom. After long contemplation, he came to the conclusion that he could not devote his energies to a higher work, than that of proclaiming the message of the Cross to the Saracens. His thoughts would naturally take such a di- rection. The Balearic Isles had long been in the possession of the Saracens ; his father had served in the wars and shared the triumphs of the king of Arragon over the Ma- hometans', and had been rewarded for his bravery by the grant of a portion of Majorca. It occurred to his son, that possibly the Sword of the Spirit might conquer foes, whom AD. 1266. the carnal weapons of the knights had failed to win over to the Christian fold. But then arose another difficulty. How cottld he, a layman, and uninstructed, enter on such a work ? Thereupon it again occurred to him that, at least, a beginning might be made by composing a volume which should demonstrate the truth of Christianity, and convince the warriors of the Crescent of their errors. But even if such a book were composed, of what avail would it be in ^ In the year 1229. Ada SS. June 30, p. 644. Resolves to at- tempt the con- version of the Mahometans. Missions to the Saracens and the Mongols. 357 the hands of the Saracens, who understood no other chap. xvi. language but Arabic ? As he pondered over this, he ^^ ^gee! was filled with the idea of calling; upon the Pope and idmofaddA-m- ^ ^ ^ L inx] the Pope the monarchs of Christendom, instead of spending blood I'fchrStm-'''' and treasure in bootless martial expeditions against the ' Saracens, to join in founding monasteries and schools, where men might learn the language of their foes, and so be enabled to go forth and preach the Word to some pur- pose. Full of such thoughts, he repaired on the next day to a neighbouring church, and poured forth his whole soul to God, beseeching Him if He did, indeed, inspire these thoughts, to enable him to carry them out, and to give him sttength and courage to dedicate himself to the work^. This was in the month of July, 1266. But thoueh old The festival oj •^ .' ° Si FrancU of things were passing away, all things had not yet become ^"«»- new with him. Old passions rose and struggled afresh for the mastery, and so far succeeded in thwarting and batHing higher aspirations, that for three months his great design was laid aside^. The fourth of October came, the festival of St Francis of Assisi. Lull went to the Franciscan Church at Palma, and heard from the lips of the preacher, the tale of the " Spouse of Poverty ;" how the son of Pietro Eemadone di Mericoni, once foremost in all deeds of arms, gayest at the gay festival, was taken prisoner at Perugia, and brought by disease to the very gates of the grave; how thus he learnt to weigh the things of time and sense in the balances of eternity, and recovering, came forth to live no more for himself, but for his Lord; how he ex- changed his gay apparel for the garb of the mendicant, visited the sick, tended the leprous, and, renouncing the 1 Vita Prima, p. 667. " Domi- refcur." num Jesum Christum devote, fleiis ^ " Cum nimia esset adhuc imbu- largiter exoravit, quatenus hs'C tus vita et lascivia seculari, in prae- preedicta tua, quae ipse misericor- dictis tribus negotiis persequendis... diter inspiraverat cordi suo, ad effec- satis fuit tepidus et remissus." Vita turn sibi placitum perducere digna- Prima, p. 662. 358 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XTi. world, achieved the yictory that overcometh it. The words A^ 1266! °f ^^^ preacher rekindled the resolutions of the listening Seneschal. He now made up his mind once and for ever, sold all his property save a scanty sustenance for his wife and children!, assumed the coarse garb of a mendicant, made pilgrimages to various churches in the island, and prayed for grace and assistance in the work he had resolved to undertake. Entmmthe At One time he thought of repairing to Paris, and Mc/" ™ there, by close and diligent scientific study, training him- self for the controversy with the Saracen. But the advice of his kinsman, the Dominican, Kaymund de Pennaforte^ dissuaded him, and he remained at Majorca. He next proceeded to purchase a Saracen slave, and entered on the study of Arabic, with which he was occupied for a period of upwards of nine years. A tragic incident interrupted his studies. On one occasion the Saracen blasphemed Christ. Lull in his indignation struck him violently on the face. The Moslem stung to the quick attempted his life, and wounded him severely, for which he was flung into prison, and there committed suicide''. Still Lull persevered in his resolution, and retired for eight days to Idea of the ijs a mountain to engage in prayer and meditation. While Major give , , ,° ?, ^ •' . , . . oeneraiis. thus employed, the idea occurred to him, ot composing a work which should contain a strict and formal demon- stration of all the Christian doctrines, of such cogency that the Moslem doctors could not fail to acknowledge their truth, and to embrace the faith ^. With such force did ^ "Tibi, Domine Deus, offero me ^ He had a few years before per- et meam uxorem et meas proles et suaded Thomag Aqiiinas to compose omnia quee possideo ; et quoniam his work in four volumes On the adeo te humiliasti per opus sacrificii, Catholic Faith, or Summary against placeat Tibi Te humiliare ad accep- the Gentiles. See Hue, I. 244, Jame- tandum omnia, quse tibi do et offero, son's Legends, 4^0. ut ego et mea uxor et mese proles ^ Vita Prima, p. 66l. simus tui humiles seryi." Lib. Con- * "Eogat Eaymundus religiosos tempi, xoi. 27. et seculares sapientes, ut videant, si Missions to the Saracens and the Mongols, 359 this tliouglit take possession of his mind, that he could chap. xvi. regard it in no other light than a divine revelation, 77T266^ and haying traced the outline of such a work, vrhich he called the Ars Major sive Generalis, he returned to the spot where the idea had first hurst upon him, and re- mained there for four months, developing the argument, and praying for the divine blessing on his work*. The treatise he conceived, while in one sense intended for the special work of convincing the Moslems, was to include " a universal art of acquisition, demonstration, confutation," " to cover the whole field of knowledge, and supersede the inadequate methods of previous schoolmen''." When it was completed, he had an interview with the king of Majorca, published the first book of his "Method," and lectured upon it in public. At length he persuaded a.d. 1275. the king, who had heard of his zeal, to found and endow a monasteiy in Majorca, where thirteen Franciscan monks should be instructed in the Arabic language, and trained to become able disputants among the Moslems'*. . The success of his request to the king encouraged him to hope that the great Head of Christendom might evince a similar interest in his plans. He therefore undertook a journey to Kome, hoping to obtain from Honorius IV. the approbation of his treatise, and aid in founding mis- rationes, quas ipse faoit contra Sara- ipso audiverat quenquam loqui." cenos approbando fidera Catholicam Vita Prima, 663. habeant veritatem, quia si forte all- ^ For his ideas, "de veriore mode quis solveret rationes, quae per Sa- qui possit haberi in disputatione de racenos contra fidem Catholicam ^ide," seeLib. deContempL in Dmm, opponuntur, cum tamen ipsi ra- CLXXxxvii. tiones, quae fiunt pro eadem, solvere ' " Quantumcunque aspiciam et non valerent, fortificati Saraceni inquiram, fere nullum invenio, qui valde literati et aapientes se facerent vadat ad Martyrium pro amore Tui, Christiaros." Introduction to the sicut Tu, Domine, fecisti pro amore Necessaria demonstratio arliculorum nostri : igitur rationabile mihi vide- fulei. retur ordinationem fieri, quod esaent ^ And holding interviews, accord- Religiosi, qui addiscerent diversas ing to one biographer, with a cer- linguas et irent ad moriendum pro tain mysterious Shepherd, "quern tViO&more." Lib. Contempl. in Beum, ipse nunquam viderat alias, nequede cap. ex. 28, Tom. ix. 246. 360 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XVI. sionary schools and colleges in varioas parts of Europe. i J 1286. 0^ ^^^^ arrival lie found the Papal chair vacant, and all men busied with one thing, the election of a successor. He waited for calmer times, but impediments were always thrown in his way, and his plans received little encou- ragement. The heads of the Christian world " cared for none of these things." Meanwhile he repaired to Paris, lectured on his Ars Generalis in the University, and com- posed another treatise on the discovery of truth. And, at length, tired of seeking aid for his plans in which no one took much interest, he determined to set forth him- self, and attempt alone and singlehanded, the propagation of the faith among the Moslems in Africa \ For this purpose he betook himself to Genoa, and finding a ship on the point of sailing for the African coast, engaged for his passage thither. At Genoa the story of his life was not unknown; men had heard with wonder of the marvellous change that had come over the once gay A.D. 1287. and dissolute Seneschal, and now it was whispered that he had devised an entirely new method for the conversion of the " infidel," and was about to set out alone for the barbarous shores of Africa. The expectations of the Genoese were raised to the highest pitch, and the utmost interest was taken in his project. The ship was lying in the harbour, the missionary's books had been conveyed on board, and everything was ready for the voyage. But at this junc- ture a change came over him ; he was overwhelmed with terror at the thought of what might befal him in the country whither he was going. The idea of enduring torture or life- long imprisonment presented itself with such force, that lie could not control his emotions'''. His books were recalled, ^ "Ad experiendum, utrum ipse a Deo, Filii Dei Inoamationem, nec- saltem solus in aliquo posset profi- non Divinarum Personarum in sum- cere apud ipsos, conferendo cum sa- ma unitate essentiae Beatissimam' pientibus eorum, sic manifestando Trinitatem." Vita Prima, p. 663. eisdem, secundum Artem sibi datam * Vita Prima, p. 664. " England Missions to the Saracens and the Mongols. 361 , and the ship sailed without him. No sooner had he re- chap xvi. ceived tidings that this was the case, than he was seized ^ „, 1287. with the keenest remorse. The thought that he had proved a traitor to the great cause, that he had slighted a divine call to a special work, that he had given a handle to all scoffers at religion, threw him into a violent fever. While he was yet suffering the greatest bodily and mental pros- tration, he heard that another ship was lying in the harbour ready to sail for Tunis. Weak as he was, he implored his friends that his books might again be put on board, and he suffered to essay the voyage. He was conveyed to the ship, but his friends convinced that he could not outlive the voyage, insisted on his being again landed. He returned to his bed, and his troubled mind found no peace, and his bodily sufferings no alleviation. Soon another ship being announced as ready to sail, he determined, at all risks, to be put on board, and the vessel had hardly lost sight of the laud before he felt himself a different man^ ; his conscience no more rebuked him for cowardice, peace of mind returned, his body was attuned once more to its wonted vigour, and, to the surprise of all, he seemed to have regained perfect health. He reached Tunis at the close of the year 1291, or ^b- the beginning of 1292. His first step was to invite the ^^^'' ^ ^^^^ Reaches Tunis. has disappeared, and with it, all my inoiperent navigare, Eaymundus peace," writes Henry Martyn, in his sospitatem conscientiae, quara sub diary., as the shores of (Jornwall re- nubiiatione aupradicta se crediderat ceded from view on the voyage to amisisse, subito tetus in Domino, India. "Would I go back? O no Sancti Spiritus illustratione miseri- — but how can I be supported ? my cordi, recuperavit, una cum sui cor- faith fails. I find, by experience, I poris languid! sospitate : in tantum, am as weak as water. my dear quod ipse infra dies paucissimos, friends in England, when we spoke mirantibuscunctis...etiamsemetipso, with exaltation of the missions to sensit se in adeo bono statu mentis the heathen, whilst in the midst of et corporis, sicut anteafuerat in tota health and joy and hope, what an praeterita vita sua." Vita Prima, imperfect idea did we form of the p. 664. See Neander's Memorials, sufferings by which it must be ac- p. 527. Wadding, Annates Fran- eomplished." Life, p. lii. cisc. an. 1287. * "CumnautEe, deportuexeuntea. 362 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. xTi. Mahometan literati to a conference. He announced that lie had diligently studied the arguments which supported 1291, or 1292. not only the Christian but the Mahometan religion, that he ■was anxious for the fullest and freest discussion, and was willing, if they succeeded in convincing him by fair argu- ment, to espouse their belief. The Imauns eagerly responded to the challenge, and flocking to the place of conference in great numbers, exhausted their whole store of arguments in the hope of winning him over to the religion of the Prophet. After a lengthened discussion, the missionary ad- riu preaching, vanced the following propositions': "Every wise man must acknowledge that to be the true religion, which ascribed the greatest perfection to the Supreme Being, and not only conveyed the worthiest conception of all His attributes, His goodness, power, wisdom, and glory, but demonstrated the harmony and equality existing between them. Now their religion was defective in acknowledging only two active principles in the Deity, His will and His wisdom, whilst it left His goodness and greatness inoperative, as though they were indolent qualities, and not called forth into active exercise. But the Christian faith could not be charged with this defect. In its doctrine of the Trinity it conveys the highest conception of the Deity, as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, in one most simple essence and nature". In that of the incarnation of the Son, it evinces the harmony that exists between God's goodness ^ On the LuUian Art, see Mau- Filii Dei Christi passione, quam ipse rice's Moral and Metaphysical Philo- apte liumanitatisassutnptae sustinuit, Sophy {Mediceval), pp. 344 — 246. sua voluntaria et misericordissima '■' " Apparebit vobis, si placet, ra- dignatione, pro nobis peccatoribiis tionabilissiine per eandem Artera, redimendis a peccato et corruptione quod in Filii Dei Incarnatione, per primi parentis, ac reducendis ad sta- partioipationem unionis Creatoris et turn glorise et fruitionis divinsB ; Creaturse in una persona Christi, propter quem, et ad quem statum, prima et summa causa cum suo ef- finaliter nos homines fecit Deus be- fectu rationabilissime concordat, et nedictus." Fitoi'jvma, p.665. Com- convenit ; et quod etiam maxirae et pare also Lib. de Contempl. in Deam, nobilissime hoc apparet in ejiisdem uv. 2$ — 28 and CLXXXVI. 6. Missions to the Saracens and the Mongols. 363 and His greatness, and in the person of Christ displays the chap. xvr. true union of the Creator and the creature'; while in His 'Zt,. Passion which He underwent out of His great love for man, 1291, or 1292. it sets forth the Divine harmony of Infinite Goodness and Condescension, even the condescension of Him, Who for us men, and for our salvation, and restitution to our primeval state of perfection, underwent those sufferings, and lived and died for man." This argument, whatever else waa thought of it, was deemed worthy of drawing down persecution on the head of its author. A learned Imaun pointed out to the king the danger likely to beset the law of Mahomet, if such a zealous propagandist was allowed to disseminate his opin- ions, and therefore suggested that he should be put to death. Raymund therefore was thrown into prison, and was only saved from death by the intercession of a less pre- judiced counsellor, who reminded his sovereign that a pro- fessor of their own faith would be held in high honour, if he imitated tlie self-devotion of the prisoner, in propagating their doctrines among the Christians. Let him then be fairly dealt with, and let them do as they would be done by. This timely intervention saved him, and the sentence of death was commuted to banishment from the country. The ship which had conveyed him to Tunis was on the point of returning to Genoa ; he was placed therefore on board, and warned that if he ever made his way into the country again he would assuredly be stoned to death. But Raymund, ' " Quantatn significationem dant esse Deum et Hominem Tibi attri- de tua Bonitate, Doniine, Lex Judae- buunt Naturam diviaam et naturam orum et Lex Saiacenorum, tantatn ajigelicam quantum ad animam, et significationemdatde ipsa Lex Chris- naturam huraanam quantum ad cor- tianorum et adhuc multo majorem ; pus et animam rationalem : igitur et quia Judsi et Saiaceni negant quia Lex Christianoruin significat Te assumpsisse humanam naturam, in Te plus Bonitatis, quamalis leges, quam Ohristiani Te assumpsisse af- eignificatseipsam esse veraijn, et leges firmant, Cliristiani attribuunt tuas sibi contrarias esse falsas, et signifi- Deitati plus bonitatis, quam Judaei cando hoc significat Te esse Terum et Saraceni, quoniam confitendo Te Deum et Hominem simul." Ibid. 1296—1306. 364 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XVI. unwilling to give up the hopes of a lifetime', managed to 'Zl. return to Tunis unawares, and for three months concealed 1291, or 1292. himself in the neighbourhood of the harbour, and employed his time in composing another scientific work. But finding no second opportunity for free discussion, he sailed for Naples, and there remained several years teaching and lecturing on his new Method, till hearing of the elevation of Coelestine V. to the Papal Chair, he betook himself to Kome, hoping to obtain that assistance in establishing his favourite plan of missionary colleges, which he had vainly besought before. Coelestine's reign was brief, and his successor, Boniface VIII., cared little for missionary enter- prised A.B. Finding his journey to Rome likely to lead to no prac- tical result, he resolved to travel from place to place, and preach wherever he might have opportunity. After en- deavouring, therefore, to convince the Mahometans and Jews in Majorca of their errors, he sailed for Cyprus, and thence, attended only by a single companion, penetrated into Armenia, and strove to reclaim the various Oriental sects to the orthodox faith'. Ten years having been spent in these occupations, he returned and lectured in several of the universities of Italy and France, and then in 1307 made his way once more to Bugia in Northern Africa, and standing up publicly, proclaimed in the Arabic language that Christianity was the only true faith, that the religion of the Prophet was false, and he was ready to prove this to the satisfaction of all. A commotion en- ' " Disposuerat viros famosse re- See Neander's Memorials of Chris- putationis et alios quamplnrimos ad tian Zi/e, p. 52S. baptismum, quos toto animo affecta- ^ "Accessit ad regem Cypri af- bat deduoere ad perfectum lumen fectu multo suppUcatis ei, quatenus fidei orlhodoxEB." Vita S. LuUi. quosdam infiilelcs atque schismati- 2 During his Btay in Rome he com- cos, videlicet Jacobinos, Nestoiinos, posed a trtiatise having for its object Momminas (Maronitas?) ad suam to demonstrate incontrovertibly the prsedicationemnecnondisputationem fundamental truths of Christianity. ooarctaret venire." Ibid. Missions to the Saracens and the Mongols. 365 sued, and not a few hands were lifted to stone him to chap. xvi. death. The mufti rescued him, and expostulated with ^ ^ 13Q.7 him on his madness in thus exposing himself to imminent peril. "Death has no terrors," he replied, "for a sincere servant of Christ, who is labouring to bring souls to a knowledge of the truth." Thereupon the Moslem, who was well versed in the Arabian philosophy, challenged him for his proofs of the superiority of his religion to that of the prophet. Eaymund fell back on his favourite arguments, and dilated on the harmony that existed in the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. But, as before, his arguments only brought upon him persecution. He was flung into a dungeon, and for half a year remained a close prisoner, befriended only by some merchants of Genoa and Spain. Meanwhile riches, wives, high place and power were offered him if he would consent to abjure his faith'. To all such temptations he replied, " And I will promise you wealth, and honour, and everlasting life, if ye will forsake your false creed, and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ." He also proposed that both parties should com- pose a written defence of their respective tenets, and was engaged in fulfilling his part of the engagement, when a sudden command of the king directed that he should be sent out of the country. During the voyage a storm arose, and the vessel was driven on a point of the coast not far from Pisa. Here he was received with all the respect that became so emi- nent a champion of the faith. Though upwards of seventy, his old ardour was not abated, the same high aspirations still animated him. "Once," he writes'^, "I was fairly rich; once I had a wife and children; once I tasted freely the pleasures of this life. But all these things I gladly ^ " Promittebant ei uxores, ho- ad anu. 1293. "Nunc senex sum, nores, domum et pecuniam copio- nunc pauper sum, in eodem piopo- 6am." Vita Prima, cap. iv. sito sum, in eodem usque ad mortem ^ Wadding, Annales, V. p. 317, mansurus, si Dominua ipse dabit." CHAP. XYI. i.D. 1308. A.D. 1311. Council of Vienne. 3G6 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. resigned that I might spread abroad a knowledge of the " truth. I studied Arabic, and several times went forth to preach the Gospel to the Saracens ; I have been in prisons; I have been scourged ; for years I have striven to persuade the princes of Christendom to befriend the common good of all men. Now, though old and poor, I do not despair. I am ready, if it be God's will, to persevere even unto death." Full of his old ardour, and in keeping with the spirit of the age, he conceived the idea of founding a new order of spiritual knights', who should be ready to em- bark, at a moment's notice, to war against the Saracens, and attempt the recovery of the Holy Sepulchre. Pioua noblemen and ladies at Genoa offered to contribute for this object, the sum of thirty thousand guilders, and thus encou- raged he set out for Avignon to lay his scheme before Clement V. The same fate befell this appeal that had attended all the rest, and he found occupation in attacking as a teacher at Paris the opinions of Averroes. While here, he heard that a general council was to be summoned at Vienne''. A General Council might favour what Popes had scarcely deigned to notice. He repaired therefore to Vienne, and proposed that missionary colleges should be established in various parts of Europe ; that the dif- ferent orders of spiritual knights should be consolidated, with a view to another effort to recover the Holy Land; and, lastly, that men duly qualified should be invited to combat the opinions of Averroes'. The first of these pro- positions was favourably received, and the Council passed ^ "Cum Sanctum Sepulchrum et sancta terra ultramarina, Domine, videatur debere acquirere per prse- dicationem melius, quam per vim ar- morum, progrediantur saiicti equites religiosi et muniant se signo Crucis, et impleant se gratia Sancti Spiiitus, et eaut praedicare infidelibus verita- tem tuse Passionia, et effondant pro tuo amore totajn aquara suorum ocu- lorum, et totum sanguinem sui cor- poris, sicut Tu feciati pro amore ip- sorum." Lih. Contanpl. in Deum, cap. oxii. II. ' Wadding's Annals, TI. 199, ad ann. 1312. ' Vita Prima, cap. iv. Missions to the Saracens and the Mongols. 367 a decree, that professorships of the Oriental languages chap, xvi, should be endowed in tlie universities of Paris, Salamanca, ^^"^aiL and Oxford, and in all cities where the Papal court re- sided'. Thus at last he had lived to see some portion of the labours of his life brought to fruition. When the delibe- rations of the Council were over, it might have been thought he would have been willing to enjoy the rest he had so well deserved. But such was not his wish. "As the needle''," he says in his Contemplations, " naturally turns to the North, when it Is touched by the magnet, so is it fitting, Lord, that Thy servant should turn to love and praise and serve Thee, seeing that out of love to him, Thou wast willing to endure such grievous pangs and sufferings'." Or, as he says again, " Men are wont to die, Lord, from old age, the failure of natural warmth and excess of cold ; but thus, if it be Tliy will. Thy servant would not wish to die ; he would prefer to die in the glow of love, even as Thou wast willing to die for him*." Animated ad- 1314. by these sentiments he crossed over once more to Buaia cnsmmer ° toBugia. on the 14th of August, 1314, and for nearly a year laboured secretly among a little circle of converts, whom during previous visits he had won over to the Christian faith. To them he continued to expatiate on the theme of which he never seemed to tire, the Inherent superiority of the Christian religion to that of the Jews and the Ma- hometans. "If the latter," he still argued, "according ^ On the story of his visit to Eng- ' Ub. de Contempl. oxxix. 19. land and the curious legend of his * Vita Secunda, cap. iv. Lib. de writing a work on Alchemy at St Contempl. cxxx. 27. "Homines Catharine's Hospital, London, see morientes prae senectute, Domine, Strype's Stow, 1. 352 (ed. 1753). moriuntur per defectum caloris Wadding, vi. 236. naturalis et per excessum caloris; ' In his treatise Fenix des Us Ma- et ideo tuus servus et subditus, si raiiiZfas dci Ocics, published in 1286, tibi placeret, non vellet mori tali he again alludes to the use of the morte imrao vellet mori prse calore mariner's compass. See Humboldt's Amoris, quia Tu voluisti mori tali Cosmos, II. 630 n. morte." 368 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. xTi. to their law, affirm that God loved man because He cre- A D. 1314. ated him, endowed him with noble faculties, and pours His benefits upon him, then the Christians according to their law affirm the same. But inasmuch as the Chris- tians believe more than this, and affirm that God so loved man that He was willing to become man, to endure poverty, ignominy, torture, and death for his sake, which the Jews and Saracens do not teach concerning Him, therefore is the religion of the Christians which thus reveals a Love beyond all other love, superior to that of those which reveals it only in an inferior degree'." On the " length, and breadth, and depth, and height" of this Love, a Love " which passeth knowledge," he never ceases to expatiate in his Contemplations, and now it was the one theme of his earnest converse with his little A.D. 1315. flock. At length, longing for the crown of martyrdom he ^wmartjir- gj^^g forth from his seclusion, and presenting himself openly to the people, proclaimed that he was the same man they had once expelled from the town, and threat- ened them with divine wrath if they still persisted in their errors. The consequences can be easily anticipated. Filled with fury the populace seized him, and on the 30th of June, 1315, dragged him outside the town, and there by command of the king stoned him to death. A few faithful merchants of Majorca succeeded in obtaining per- mission to remove the body, from under the pile of stones that covered it, and conveyed it for interment to their native land. Missions in the Out of the Crusades, however, the fanaticism of which is tasi oviuiQ to , , . _ ^ ^ . u^ Crusades, agreeably rchevcd by this episode of the gentler spirit of Eaymund Lull, arose other effi^rts to bear the banner of the Cross into the lands of the East. The Eastern Church, as we have already remarked, had long since ceased to be 1 Lib. de Contempl. CLixxvi. 26, and compare CLsxxvn. 13. Missions to the Saracens and the Mongols. 369 aggressive or creative ; such missionary zeal as still existed, chap. xvi. was found amongst a sect excluded from her pale, and i.„. eoo-iooo. known as Nestorians or Chaldsean Christians. At first p™*°"« "*- SKynary exer- finding protection and toleration in Persia, they not only SoSm. won over the Persian Church to their tenets, but extended their spiritual dominion beyond the Tigris to Baetriana and India, and in the sixth and seventh centuries could count up their missionary stations along the pepper coast of Mala- bar', in the island of Ceylon, in the valleys of Imaus, and in the track of the wandering Tartar. Timotheus, one of the most distinguished of their patriarchs, who had the power of holding synods, electing metroplitans, bishops, and clergy, sent forth in the ninth century, from the monas- tery of Bethabe, in Mesopotamia, hosts of missionaries, who roved in the neighbourhood of the Caspian sea, and even penetrated into China, where a well-known inscription in the Chinese and Syrian tongue, purporting to belong to the year 781, relates that a Nestorian missionary laboured there with success, as far back as the year 635 ^ Whatever amount of confidence may be placed in travellers of this period, certain it is that the Nestorian schools, especially those at Bagdad, Edessa, Nisibis, and Dschondisapur in Khusistan^, "exercised a very marked influence on the geographical diffusion of knowledge," gave the first im- pulse to scientific and medical investigations*, and scattered the seeds of civilization far into the distant East. The suc- cessful efforts, towards the close of the tenth century, of 1 Neale's Eastern Church, i. 146. '' Humboldt's Cosmos, II. 578, ed. Wiltsch, I. 490. Stanley's Eastern Bohn. Church, p. 6. In the ninth century * "The school of Edessa, a pro- the Christians of S. Thomas attracted totype of the Benedictine schools of the notice of our Alfred. Pauli's Monte Cassino and Salerno, gave Alfred, p. 147. the first impulse to a scientific inves- ^ First discovered by the Jesuit tigation of remedial agents, yielded missionaries in 1625. Its genuine- from the mineral and vegetable king- ness, however, is disputed. Smith's doms." Cosmos, 11. 579. See Asse- Gibbon, vi. 50 n. Neander, v. 123. man, Biblioth. Orientalis, tom. in. Hardwiok, Middle Ages, 29 n. part ii. 75, 76. "Wiltsch, i. 486. 24 370 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XVI. the Nestorian primate of Maru in Chorasan, amongst the ^ ^ J200. people of Tartary, who sent to the city of Caracorum in the kingdom of Kerait two priests, together with deacons and ecclesiastical vessels, and baptized many thousands of the people, gave rise to those vague rumom-s, current in Western Europe in the thirteenth century, of a powerful Christian empire in Tartary, governed by a mysterious line of sacerdotal kings '. Mongol mva- Thcsc vaguc rumours were before long exchanged for somethmg more certam. In the year 1202, an internal revolution extinguished the dynasty of these sacerdotal monarchs, placed the well-known Chinghis Khan upon the throne, and hurled the Mongol armies against the terrified soldiers of the West. More dreadful even than the Sara- cens, they conquered Russia, invaded Poland, overran Hungary, and threatened Germany and the shores of the Baltic^ The Western Pontiff trembled at their coming, and in the year 1245, sent two embassies, one to charge these sanguinary warriors to desist from their desolating inroads, the other to attempt to win them over to Christi- anity. The first embassy, consisting of four Dominican Asceiin. monlis, headed by one named Ascelin', sought the com- mander-in-chief of the Mongol forces in Persia. Ignorant of the language and manners of these tribes, they provoked their suspicions by refusing to comply with Oriental cus- toms, and after vainly endeavouring to impress on the mind of the Great Khan, the awful might and majesty of the Pope, were dismissed with directions to inform their master, that it was the will of Heaven that the Great Khan should be lord of the whole world, and if any wished to make their submissioil, they must remain on their own soil, nor vainly oppose the resistless course of the Mongol hosts. The other ^ Xeander, VII. 63. Asseman, II. ^ Gibbon, vi. 149. 44.4. Hardwiok, p. 140. Gieseler, ^ Hakluyt'a Voyages, I. 37 ; Ne- III. 481. ander, vil. 66. Missions to the Saracens and the Mongols. 371 embassy', consisting of Franciscans, headed by an Italian, chap. xvi. Johannes de Piano Carpini, next arrived in Tartary, after ^^^ i246. making their way, amidst every species of hardship, through Russia. Their leader, who had travelled much, and held high office in his order, was better acquainted with the forms of Oriental etiquette ; he made the usual prostrations ^ bu1>, ifcZ"cltrUii- though admitted to an audience with the successor of Oktai- khan^, failed in making any impression on his mind, or inducing him to lean more to them than to the nupierous Nestorian envoys at his court. Filled with the idea that the Mongol conquests would come to an end, unless the gods of foreign countries were propitiated, the Mongol chief gave a patient hearing to Catholic, Nestorian, Buddhist, and Ma- hometan missionaries, and listened, like Vladimir of Russia, to their several arguments. In the year 1253, Louis the Ninth of France, then a.d. 1253. staying, during the Crusade, in the island of Cyprus, en- couraged by the exaggerated accounts of the willingness of the Mongol chiefs to receive the Christian faith, sent thither another Franciscan, William de Rubruquis*. He pene- ji«.w(m 0/ trated even as far as the Mongol capital ot Caracorum, and nubruqm. soon perceived how illusive were the hopes of expecting any permanent impression. The toleration of the Khan was unbounded ; Nestorians prayed for him, and blest his cups one day, Mahometans the next, and Buddhists the third^. A pretended monk, a weaver from Armenia, was ^ Hue, I. 163. thence to Soldya, where liubruquis '^ "It being given us to under- organized hia caravan of eight co- stand that we must bestow giftes vered carts, two of which were to upon them, we caused certaineskinnes serve for beds, and five saddle-horses, of bevers and other beastes to be Besides his companion, Bartholomew bought, which was given upon alms of Cremona, his party consisted of an to succour us by the way." Hak- interpreter, a guide and a servant." luyt, I. 63. For a singularly accurate description ^ See Hue, I. 175, where he gives of Tartar manners in the fifteenth the answer of the Khan to the em- century, see the account of Friar JBi- bassy of the Pope. cold, quoted in Hue, I. 214. * Neander, vii. 69. Hakluyt, I. ^ Hue, I. 231, where also he cites 71. Hue, I. 207. "Their route many instances of the superstitions was from Acre to Constantinople, of the Khan. 24-2 372 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XVI. installed in high favour, as accredited with a direct revela- ^ ^ 1253. tioQ f^o™ heaven, while side by side with the single Chris- tian church, were two Mahometan mosques, and twelve idol temples. Eubruquis, however, succeeded in baptizing about sixty persons, and celebrated mass on Easter Day to a large number of recipients. He then applied for permis- sion to reside in the country, and was closely interrogated, as to his object in coming so far from his own land. "To make known to the Mongol nation the Word of God," was his reply. "What word?" inquired the officers of the court ; " had it anything to reveal respecting the future ? Could it insure success to the nation?" "The word of Grod is this," replied the Franciscan: " Unto whomsoever God has given much, of him shall be much required; unto whom less has been entrusted, of him shall less be re- quired ; and he, to whom most is entrusted, he is also loved most'. Now, on the Khan, God had bestowed power, and might, and dominion over many nations. His idols had conferred nothing upon him; all that he had came from the one God, who setteth up one nation and putteth down another ; let him be assured, then, that if he loved God, nothing would be wanting to him, whereas if he did otherwise, let him know that he would be called to the strictest account hereafter, for all that had been entrusted to iMscuxsion with him." "And who does not love God?" asked one of the the court offi- »■«■ officers, and a Mahometan. " He who loves God, keepeth His commandments ; he that loveth Him not, keepeth not His commandments," was the reply of Rubruquis. "But what were God's commandments?" pursued his inquirers: " had the missionary ascended into heaven, and discovered what they were?" "He had not," Eubruquis answered: " but One had come down from heaven, and revealed God's will. His will and commandments were recorded in a certain book, and by their works it was known whether ^ Neander, vii. 72. Missions to the Saracens and the Mongols. 373 men observed them or not." " Did not, then, the Great chap. xvr. Khan keep His commandments?" inquired the com-t- ^ ^ 1253. ofEcers. Ruhruquis parried the subtle question : " It was his wish to lay before the Khan, all the commandments of God, and then, he could judge for himself whether he kept them or not." On the followinsr day, it was announced as the will 0? immiewwuh the Khan, since the professors of so many religions were scattered throughout his kingdom, each of whom declared his own religion was the only true one, that a conference should be held, at which the advocates of each religion should hand in a written defence of their tenets. On the Eve of Whit-Sunday, they repaired to the place of con- ference ; three secretaries of the Khan, a Christian, a Maho- metan, and a Buddhist were appointed umpires, and procla- mation was made that, if either party injured the other, or excited a disturbance, he would suffer death. It had been arranged by Eubruquis and the Nestorians, that he should speak first, and since three of the rival parties were agreed on the existence of One God, that they should make this a common standing-point in disputing with the Buddhist ad- vocate*. Accordingly Eubruquis commenced the discussion by trying to prove, in opposition to polytheism, the neces- sity of recognising One Almighty God, the Author and Creator of all things. The Buddhist asked, " If there was only one God, how could the existence of evil be accounted for?" Eubruquis replied by asking for a definition of evil. What is evil ? Till that was settled, it was idle to inquire into its origin. Thereupon the discussion reverted to its original channel. When it came to the turn of the Mahometans, they, if we may believe Eubruquis, disclaimed all dealings with idolatry, they acknowledged only one God, to whom they offered prayer, and whose law they 1 Hue, I. 235. Khan. 374 The Missionary History of tJie Middle. Ages. CHAP. XVI. endeavoured to keep, and had no wish to dispute with i.„. 1254. Christians, who were Monotheists like themselves. Decision of tke On the next dav, the Franciscan was admitted to an audience, and the Khan made known to him his decision. "We Mongols," said he, "believe there is only one God, in whose hands are the issues of life and death, and to whom our hearts are wholly directed." "May God's grace enable you to do so," replied Kubruquis; "for without that it cannot be done." The Khan somewhat puzzled, asked through an interpreter, the meaning of the reply, and then proceeded, " God has given many fingers to the hand, even so hath he appointed many ways whereby man may serve him. To the Christians he has given the Sacred Books, but they do not observe what is written therein, or keep one of its chief precepts, not to censure or revile others." "True," said Kubruquis; "and I told thee at the first, I had no wish to dispute with any man." "God," continued the Mongol chief, " has given you the Sacred Books; ye do not observe what is written therein; to us He has given diviners and astrologers ; we do observe what they tell us, and we try to live in peace with one another." This concluded the discussion, and the Khan made known to the missionary his desire that he would leave the country, and convey his reply to the letter of Louis the Ninth*^. Five years after this interview, the principal seat of the Mongol empire was transferred to China °, where, while Christianity was tolerated and even respected, the religion of the state itself underwent a change. The one article of belief among the simple pastoral tribes of Mongolia, was the existence of one Almighty Being, and His Son the Khan, to whom He had assigned all the kingdoms of the earth, and whom all men were bound to obey. While thus there was room for the most comprehensive toleration, ' The reply is given at length in Hue, I. 240. ° Hardwick, p. 235. Missions to the Saracens and the Mongols. 375 there was room also for every kind of superstition, and chap. xvr. the desire to bring the one Supreme, living apart in awful A.D. isolation, into nearer communion with his feeble worshipper, 1258—1260- to bridge over the awful chasm between them, predisposed the people for a composite religion of Buddhism and Lama- ism', and the first grand Lama was appointed in the year 1260. Still, in a spirit strangely alien from that of the pontiffs of the West, "the Son of Heaven" entertained a respect for all religions, and not least for Christianity. He gladly welcomed Christian merchants and travellers, and Marco Polo ascribes to Kublai-Khan the saying, " There are four great prophets, who are reverenced by the different classes of mankind. The Christians regard Jesus Christ as their God ; the Saracens, Mahomet ; the Jews, Moses ; the idolaters, Sakya-Muni Burchan the most eminent among their idols. I do honour and respect all the four\" The authority for this assertion, Marco Polo, was sent to the court of Kublai, in 1274, in company with two a.d. 1274. learned Dominican monks, who had been commissioned by Gregory X. to visit the Mongol chief; and he relates iinother story which reflects credit on the tolerant spirit of 1 Hardwick'a Christ and other have the power of controlling bad Masters, n. App. 2, iii. p. 89. Mid- weather, and obliging it to retire to die Ages, p. 235. Hue, i. 329. any quarter of the heavens, with ^ Travels of Marco Polo, p. 167. many other wonderful gifts of that ed. Bohn, 1854. Hia reasons for nature. You are witnesses that their not adopting Christianity he relates idols have faculty of speech, and to two Christian ambassadors to predict to them whatever is re- the Pope: "Wherefore," said he, quired... Return you to your pon- "should I become a Christian? You tiff, and request of him in my name yourselves must perceive that the to send hither a hundred persons Christians of these countries are ig- well skilled in your law, who being norant, inefficient persons, who do confronted with the idolaters, shall not possess the faculty of performing have power to coerce them, and anything (miraculous) ; whereas you showing that they themselves are see the idolaters can do whatever endowed with similar art, but whicK they will. When I sit at table the they refrain from exercising, because cups that were in the middle of the it is derived from the agency of evil hall come to me filled with wine and spirits, shall compel them to desist other beverage, spontaneously and from practices of such a nature in without being touched by human their presence." See also Hue, i. hand, and I diink from them. They 335. 376 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XVI. the Khan. A Christian, probably a Nestorian, rebelled j^ „, 1274. against him, and, at the head of a numerous bodj of his fellow-believers, advanced to encounter him in battle, pre- ceded by a banner inscribed with a Cross. He was easily overcome, and the Jews and Saracens did not fail to jeer against the Christian faith. "Here," said they, "is a proof of the weakness of Christ, He could not give even his own votaries a victory." " It is true," replied Kublai, to whom the Christians reported these jeering remarks; " the rebel did hope for aid from the Christian's Grod, but He, as a good and righteous Being, would not uphold His A.D.1292. causeV In the year 1292, appeared at Pekin a Franciscan John dt Monte monk, named John de Monte Corvino, and for a period of eleven years he kept alive, alone and single-handed, the dickering spark of Christianity in the Tartar kingdom. AD. 1303. In 1303 he was joined by another Franciscan brother, Arnold of Cologne. Together they struggled on, amidst the constant impediments thrown in their way by their inveterate enemies, the Nestorians, though from the Khan they received much kindness, and were permitted to cany on their work. In the spirit of a wise missionary, John de Corvino gave earnest attention to the translation of the Scriptures into the Tartar language, the education of the young, and the training of a native ministry. He trans- lated the New Testament and the Psalms, and made use of them in preaching. Purchasing at one time a hundred and fifty boys, between the ages of seven and eleven, he baptized them, and taught them Psalmody. Successful in building "a church, he introduced his choral service, and attracted the attendance of many, for whose instruction, he set up six pictures representing Scripture characters, Limited success. Selected from the Old and New Testaments, and under- neath he inscribed explanations in Latin, Persian, and Tartar. A Christian merchant, whom he had met in ^ Travels of Marco Polo, p. i66. Missions to the Saracens and the Mongols. 377 Persia, gave him a site for another church, which -was chap. xvi. near the palace of the Khan, who took much pleasure in ^ „, 1303. listening to the chanting of the choir ; a chief also, de- scended from the sacerdotal kings, was persuaded to exchange the Nestorlan for the Catholic Church, and receiving ordination, assisted Monte Corvino by inducing many to embrace the Christian faith*. But he was not destined to achieve any permanent success : though he always retained the good- will of the Khan, and was ad- vanced by the Pope to the archbishopric of Cambalu, and was aided by seven other Franciscans, yet, on his death, in 1330, every vestige of his work was obliterated, his ad. 1330. successor, though nominated by John XXII., never entered on his diocese, and in 1369, a change of dynasty caused the expulsion of every Latin Christian from the Empire ". 1 Neander, vii. 79. 516. Gieseler, iv. 259, 260. Hard- ' Asseman, Bibl. Orient, in. 2, wick, 235, 337. CHAPTER XVII. COMPULSORY CONVERSION OF THE JEWS AND MOOES. A.D. 1400—1520. "Dieendum quod infidelium quidara sunt, qui nunquam susceperunt fidem ; et tales nuUo modo sunt ad fidem compellendi, ut ipsi credant quia credere voluntatis est: sunt tamen compellendi a fidelibus, si adsit facultas, ut fidem non impediant." Thomas Aquiitas. CHAP. XTii. Feom these tentative missions into the regions of the The. Mosifin furthest East, we now return, and for the last time, to and uw Jew. j]^j.Qpg_ Here, though with the compulsory conversion of Lithuania and Prussia, the reign of heathenism may be said to have closed, there were still two races, whose obstinate adherence to the tradition of their fathers, was a continual annoyance to the champions of Christendom. The followers of the prophet and the descendants of Abra- ham, the former ■ still occupying a corner in the south of Spain, the latter scattered through the various European kingdoms, still remained a standing proof that tlie circte of European Christendom was not complete. To induce the Moslem and the Jew to receive the Christian faith, was now the earnest effort of the Spanish Church. The spirit whereby it was characterised may be anti- cipated, from what has already been said on the effect, which the fanaticism of the Crusades had exerted on Eu- ropean thought and feeling. But the edge of religious ComjpuhoTy Conversion of the Jews and Moors. 379 animosity had been still further sharpened bj the conflict chap. xvii. of the Church with the earliest form of free thought. ~[^^ From the East the sect of the Bogomiles or Massilians 1119-1200. had found its way into Europe, and especially into Lom-w-MustiY/a/K. hardy and Southern France. Determinately opposed to the rigid Church-system now universally prevailing, they rejected many ceremonies, especially the baptism of in- fants, which they exchanged for a baptism of the Spirit, administered by laying on of hands and prayer, forbade matrimony, and in some places even animal food. Under the various names of Bulgri, Paterini, Popelicani, Cathari, Albigenses', they developed their doctrines, which were all more or less tinged with a Manichsean dualism, and, by their persistent efforts to attain a higher degree of holi- ness than was generally to be found among many mem- bers of the Church, won for themselves an extraordinary degree of popularity. In the south of France, and espe- cially in the territory of the Count of Toulouse, the whole country flocked to listen to their preachers, and even the barons^, startled for once amidst their gaiety and dissi- pation, not only enrolled themselves in their ranks, but even prayed to be admitted into the most ascetic class known as the Perfecti. In the same neighbourhood they were quickly sue- ^^>M/me.ior ceeded by the followers of another and a purer sect, which, while entirely free from any Manichasan tinge', and more attached to the central truths of the Christian faith, were equally opposed to the corruptions of the Medieval Church. These were the Waldenses or Vaudois. Bent a.d. 1170. on a radical reformation of the Church, or rather an ex- altation of its spirit and practice, they insisted on the ' Gieeeler, IIT. 393, 4, and notes. ^ 'M.'AMXa.ni's Facts and Documents, Smith's Gibbon, Yii, 58 n. Mait- pp. 178 sq. Gieseler, iii. 411. Sir land's Facts and Documents, 91m. J. Stephen's Lectures on the History ^ Gieseler, III. 401 n. of France, I. 218. A,i>. 1170. 380 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XVII. personal study of the Holy Scriptures, circulated Eomaunt versions of the Gospels and other parts of the Bible, and claimed to perform the functions of the priestly office'. As these and other similar bodies began to propound their tenets, the terror of the ecclesiastical authorities knew no bounds. In vain councils were summoned", in vain de- nunciation followed denunciation, in vain men like St A.I.. 1206. Bernard strove to reclaim the teachers of these strange doctrines to the Church, in vain Papal legates' wandered barefoot from place to place, and conferred with them on the points in dispute. The churches, especially in Southern France, were deserted, the clergy despised and ridiculed, and the whole country overrun with the adherents of these new opinions. A.u. 1208. The elevation of Innocent III. to the papal throne was Aihigensian the sigual for stcmer measures. The murder, in 1208, of a Papal legate, which was falsely ascribed to Count Eay- mond of Toulouse, kindled the flames of the first Albi- gensian crusade*, and the patron of St Dominic placed the sword in the hands of Simon de Montfort, who bathed the banner of the Cross " in a carnage from which the wolves of Romulus and the eagles of Caesar would have tmned away with loathing^." For thirty years the dreadful con- test continued, and the wretched remnants of these mas- sacres escaped only to fall into the still more ruthless hands of the Inquisition, an institution which the Council AD. 1229. of Toulouse" called into operation in 1229. When therefore the fanaticism of the Crusades was ^ Gieseler, m. 416. Hardwiok, Biography, 1. 113. 313. ^ Gieseler, III. 43?. Kurtz, 44.S. ' "Koaz^, Eejest. Pont. Rom. Ju\j8, Hardwick, 310. One and the same 1 1 19. sentence was pronounced on Ca- ^ The Cistercians, Peter of Cas- thari and Waldenses, on Petrobru- telnau, and Raoul. Gieseler, III. sians, Amoldists and Fratricelli, 424. Hardwick, 309 m. " species quidem habentes diversas," * Gieseler,ni. 426. Hardwick, 309. wrote Innocent III. "sed caudas ad ' Sir J. Stephen's Essays on, Ecd. invicem ooUigatas." Compulsory Conversion of the Jews and Moors. 381 thus further inflamed by the antagonism of reforming sects chap. xvii. at home, it is not to be wondered that the rational spirit ^ „ 1229. of proselytism was quenched and forgotten. The days of Boniface and Anskar were gone by, and when the Church made her final effort to christianize the Moslem and the Jew, her weapons were no longer those of her purer missionary age, or in harmony with the Faith she , sought to propagate. i. Let us first turn our attention to the Jews. Scattered i- TheJem— especiailu in, as the unfortunate race of Israel was throughout every *""'■ kingdom of Europe, in Spain, from their numbers and their wealth, they had attained a very considerable degree of influence. During the palmy days of the Saracenic supremacy they had enjoyed an ample toleration^ Not only were they admitted to high civil offices, and suffered to accumulate wealth, but in the schools of Cordova and Toledo, of Barcelona and Granada, they rivalled their Saracenic masters in the intensity of their application to every branch of learning. In speculative philosophy and Talmudic lore, in mathematics, astronomy, and especially the science of medicine, they made astonishing progress, and for four centuries, from the tenth to the thirteenth, enjoyed a peaceful toleration. But when the Saracen dominion began to wane, and the Spanish Christians slowly but surely pushed their conquests from the moun- tains of Asturia to the Douro and the Tagus, and after- wards still further consolidated their conquests, the Jews began to experience a perceptible change from the state of tranquillity, to which they had so long been accustomed. But long before, there had been signs of an approach- ing storm'''. Dark stories began to circulate in Spain, as in other parts of Europe, concerning the hostility of this ^ Prescott'a Ferdinand and Isa- ^ Thus at Toledo, in 1108, a riot bella, I. 351 (ed. 1838). Lindo's broke out and the streets streamed Jews in Spain and Portugal, p. 40. with Jewish blood. Lindo, p. 69. CHAP. XVII. A.D. 1229. AD. 1146. A.D. 1349. Persecvtwu of the Jews. 382 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. strange people to the Christian faith. It was whispered that they poisoned the wells, stole the consecrated wafers to pierce them with needles, that they crucified children at their Passover festival, and even used their entrails for magical rites. Such tales were eagerly devoured by the common people, until at length a child could not be missed without some foul play being suspected on the part of the Jews'. These stories were spread about in every part of Europe. In vain pious monks protested against such accusations; in vain Bernard of Clairvaux warned the champions of the Cross against staining their hands with the massacre of the people, "who were scattered among all nations as living memorials of Christ's passion^;" in vain the better Popes lifted up their voices against the spirit of the times, and demanded for the outcast race a due measure of toleration. Ferocious enthusiasts like Eudolf and Peter of Cluny were listened to with far greater eagerness by excited mobs, and in almost every part of Europe the most inhuman perse- cutions were set on foot^. But the violence meted out to this unfortunate race in other parts of Europe, was concentrated and intensified in the Spanish peninsula, where the wealth they had accu- mulated during long years of peaceful toleration, excited the cupidity and avarice of the natives of Arragon and Castile, and thus fanned the flames that fanaticism had kindled. At length, in 1391, the popular fary broke out into open violence, the houses of the Jews were broken into, their property plundered, and five thousand massacred without distinction of age or sex*. From this storm of persecution the Jews sought refuge in a real or feigned conversion. Thirty-five thousand are reported by enthusi- 48 n. Gieseler, iv. 260. Neander, vil. 63.^- Robertson's Church Histoiij, II. ^ Gieaeler, iv. 260. Heoker's Epidemics of the Middle Ages, pp. 70, 71. * Prescott's Ferdinand and Isa- lella, I. 353. A.D. Compulsory Conversion of the Jews and Moors. 383 astic chroniclers to have been converted through the eloquent chap. xvh. preaching of Vincent Ferrier, a Dominican of Valencia^ But ^ ^ isgj, ^he condition of the converts was one of extremest peril. In some instances they might even be admitted to ecclesi- astical preferment, their daughters might be courted to repair the decayed fortunes of the Spanish nobility, but the slumbering fanaticism was ever ready to burst forth for the slightest cause. Meanwhile, those who continued steadfast to the faith of their fathers felt, especially in the early part of the fifteenth century, the weight of the severest legislative penalties. They were not only debarred 1400—1415. from all free intercourse with Christians, they were not only confined within certain limits in their respective cities, but they were ordered to wear a red badge on the left shoul- der, and were forbidden to exercise the profession of vintner or grocer, taverner or apothecary, physician or nurse*. But these measures did not satisfy the populace ; com- i„„-eascd im- plaints against their "abominable ceremonies" were mul- '''* tiplied, and many petitions were laid before Ferdinand and Isabella, begging that the heresy might be extirpated. A Dominican prior of the monastery of St Paul in Seville, ad. 1473. and the Papal Nuncio at the court of Castile, took the lead in these petitions, and suggested that, for the speedier conversion of the Jews, the assistance of the Holy Office should be invited. Her better feelings induced Isabella to hesitate before introducing so frightful an engine of cruelty; but she had promised heir confessor, the infamous Tor- quemada, that should she ever come to the throne, "she would devote herself to the extirpation of heresy, for the glory of God, and the exaltation of the Catholic faith"." ^ Hardwicls, 341 ». De Castro's ^ Prescott's Ferdinand and Isa- History of Hie Jews in Spain, p. 95. hella, I. 362. For many instances On the memorable disputation at of the complete subservience of the Tortosa in 1414, see Lindo, pp. 209 Spanish sovereigns to the clergy, see —215. Buckle's History of Civilization, 11. ' Lindo, pp. 122, 127, 130. II. 384 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. xTii. After resisting, therefore, for some time the importunities A.D. 1475. of ^sr clergy, she reluctantly consented to request a Bull for the introduction of the Holy Office, and in compliancy therewith, Sixtus IV. invested, in 1478, three ecclesiastics with the necessary powers. isubSta'""" "^ Again, however, Isabella interposed, and begged that more lenient measures might first be tried. Accordingly the Cardinal Mendoza drew up a catechism', containing an explanation of the chief articles of the Christian faith, and the clergy were instructed to be unremitting in their exer- tions to reclaim the benighted Israelites from their errors, and induce them to flee for refuge to the bosom of the true Church. How far their efforts were successful we have no means of judging. They were continued for a space of two years, and the report then sent in was not favourable. Accordingly the Inquisitors were directed to carry out the duties of their office, and the benign work commenced at Seville, on the second of January, 1481. On the sixth of the same month six suffered at the stake ; seventeen more shared their fate in March ; and before the fourth of September 298 persons had figured in the autos-da-fi at Seville^ A.n. liSf . In 1483, Sixtus IV. promulgated another brief, nominat- nSS'" ing Torquemada Inquisitor-General of Castile and Arrao:ou, Im/uisitor-Ge- -, ... . ^ o ' nerai. and empowermg him to organize afresh the Holy Office at Seville. During his supremacy, which lasted twenty years, " no less than 10,220 persons (chiefly Jews) were burnt, 6,860 condemned and burnt in effigy as absent or dead, and 97,321 reconciled by various other penances." But the 1 See the JDisputalio Judcei cum portal of the house where the inqui- Clirisliano de Fide Christiana, in An- sitors met is curious : " Exswge Do- selm's PTorfe, pp. jii — 533, and the mine; judica causam tuam; capite Pugio Fidei, by a Spanish Domini- nolis vulpes." Prescott, I. 365. can, Raymond Martini, of the 13th = Prescott, Ferdinand and ha- century, directed (i) against the Ma- WZa, i. 380. Kurtz, 467. Lindo, hometans, (2) the Jews. p. 253. ^ The Latin inscription over the Compulsory Conversion of the Jews and Moors. 385 inquisitors themselves gi-ew tired at last, of their ineffectual chap. xvir. efforts to bring about the work of conversion. They might ^^ „ 1483. succeed here and there in persuading a few to abjure their errors, but by far the greater number adhered to their ancestral faith. Finding torture, whether of the rack or the stake, ineffectual, they suggested that every unbaptized Israelite should be forthwith and for ever, expelled from the country. In vain the unhappy people tried to propitiate their persecutors by offering to contribute thirty thousand ducats towards the Moorish war. Torquemada rushed into the apartment where the sovereigns were debating on the offer, and holding up a crucifix, exclaimed, "Judas Iscariot sold his Master for thirty pieces of silver. Your highnesses would sell him anew for thirty thousand. Here He is, talie Him and barter Him away," tiinging the crucifix, as he said the words, upon the table. The sovereigns rejected *■"■ i*^^- the offer of the Jews, and on the thirtietli of March, sian. 1492, signed a decree, ordering every unbaptized Jew, of whatever age, sex, or condition, to leave the country before the end of the following July, and to forbear to return on pain of instant death, and confiscation of property; they might convert their effects into bills of exchange, but on no pretence whatever, might they carry out of the country, either gold or silver*. The feelings of the wretched people can be better f^^fi^ ™"«- imagined than described. They had resorted to many expedients for the purpose of not offending the prejudices of their brother men. They had hoped that, at least, steady loyalty might have exempted them from persecution such as this. But it was not to be. The land which they had inhabited, since the days of the Arian Visigoths and the times of the first Saracenic invaders, where they had risen to position and opulence, where their forefathers from genera- tion to generation had prospered, none making them afraid, ^ The edict is given in full in Lindo, 277. 25 386 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XVII. this land must now be left, forthwith and for ever. And A ]>. 1492. it was while they were bowed down by a misfortune like this, and the prospect of still more grievous misfortunes soon to come, while they found that wellnigh every clause in the edict which promised the slightest alleviation of their woes, was a dead letter, that the Spanish clergy redoubled their efforts to induce them to abjm-e their errors. In every synagogue, in every public square and market-place, they might be heard declaiming against the awfulness of the Jewish heresy, and expounding the articles of the faith. But wherever they went they were confronted by the Jewish rabbins, who bidding their brethren remember the tale of Egypt, and the passage of the Red Sea, exhorted them now to put their trust in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and not fear the wrath of man ; and while they thus strove to nerve them for coming trials, the richer classes enforced their exhortations by liberal contributions to the wants of their poorer brethren. The Exodus. At length the day for their departure came, and mul- titudes might be seen flocking towards the diiferent routes that led into the kingdom of Portugal, or the sea-coast on the South. Men, women, and children, the sick, the weak, and the helpless, some on horses, some on mules, the greater part on foot, commenced their sad and weary jour- ney'. Even the Spaniards could not refrain from tears. But the relentless Torquemada forbade all sympathy, or succour, under the severest ecclesiastical penalties. Those, and they were by far the largest proportion, who passed through the kingdom of Portugal, paid a cruzado a head for the privilege of this route to the African coast. At Cadiz and Santa Maria, a Spanish fleet was lying ready to transport them to the Barbary shore. Landing at ErciUa, they made their way thence to Fez, where a number of ' Prescott's Ferdinand and Isabella, n. 229. Xindo 2S5. Compulsory Conversion of the Jews and Moors. 387 their countiymen resided. They had not proceeded far, chap. xvii. hefore the children of the desert swooped down upon them,, ^ ..gg pillaged them of whatever gold they had secreted in their garments, or in the lining of their saddles, perpetrated every excess that lust could dictate on their wives and daughters, and massacred many in cold blood. Reduced to the last extremity, they tried to keep themselves from starvation by feeding on the tufts of grass that relieved here and there the arid monotony of the desert ; and when this last resource failed, broken in spirits, hungry, and emaciated, numbers crawled back to Ercilla, and in the hope of being allowed to return to Spain, consented to be baptized. So many were they that sought this alleviation of their sufferings, that the officiating priests were fain to sprinkle the holy drops from the hyssop on numbers at once. Thus writes a chronicler of the period : " The cala- mities of these poor blind creatures proved, in the end, an excellent remedy that God made use of to unseal their eyes, which they now opened to the vain promises of the rabbins, so that renouncing their ancient heresies, they became faithful followers of the Cross'!" Many of the wretched exiles, however, directed their steps towards Italy, others passed into Turkey, while others found their way into France and England. But even thus they were not secure. In Portugal, John II. issued an edict that all Jewish children, of fourteen years of age and under, should be taken from their parents and baptized ; and an edict of the next reign ordered that all adults, who refused baptism, should be expelled from the country ; and similar enactments were issued in France and Italy^ ii. The same year that witnessed the signing of the "• 2'ft« Moors. ^ Prescott, n. ■231. The number '■' See Prescott, I. 375. Hal- thus expelled is estimated by De lam's Middle Ayes, ir. 368. Tur- Castro at 170,000, Religious Intol- ner's History of England, 11. 114 — erance in Spain, p. ^S. See, how- I30. ever, Buckle's Civilisation, II. 19 M. 25—2 388 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. ciTAP. xTii. disastrous edict for the expulsion of the Jews, witnessed AD, 1492. • also the fall of Granada. The fortunes of the Western n'aJa^^''''' Caliphate, like those of the Eastern, had dwindled from the highest pitch of prosperity to gi-adual but sure decay. For upwards of two centuries, the champions of the Cres- cent driven by successive conquests into the narrow king- dom of Granada, had defied all the efforts of the Christian warriors to wrest from them their last stronghold. But, in 1492, the fall of Granada restored the entire country to the Spanish arms. A treaty, however, unusually gentle in its terms, guaranteed to the Moslems the uninterrupted en- joyment of their ancient laws and religion, and for nearly eight years they continued to find that its provisions were not a dead letter, and experienced the reward of their capi- tulation in a peaceful repose*. Frt,,/ Fernando During this period the archbishop of Granada, Fray Fernando de Talavera, a man of gentle and tolerant dis- position, made earnest endeavours to win over the subject Moslems to the Christian faith. In a spirit very different from that of Torquemada, he strove to accomplish this by rational and befitting means. Though advanced in years, he commenced the study of Arabic, and commanded his" clergy to copy his example. He drew up an Arabic Voca- bulary, Grammar, and Catechism, translated the Liturgy, with selections from the Gospels, and did not hesitate to promise before long an Arabic Version of the entire Bible. These rational and prudent methods for enlightening the understandings of the people he desired to convert, recom- mended, as they were, by the sincerity and purity of his own life, gained at least the respectful attention of many of the Moslems, and not a few are said to have joined the ranks of the Christians^. Such a work would be necessarily slow ; but it was far 1 See the conditions of the treaty » Presciott, Ferdinand and Iia- in De Castro, p. 27. hella, 11. 509. Compulsory Conversion of the Jews and Moors. 389 too slow for the great body of the Spanish ecclesiastics, chap. xtii. They had -witnessed the excellent effects of the expulsion 77^92 of the Jews from the country, and they now suggested msmtwfacunn that, in a similar manner, the alternative should be pro- eccksiastia. posed to the stiffnecked Islamite, of instant conversion or banishment into Africa. For the present, however, such expedients found little favour with the Spanish sovereigns, who determined to remain faithful to the terms of the capitulation, and, beyond certain temporal advantages, pro- posed no other stimulant to the conversion of their Moslem tributaries. But, in the year 1499, the Spanish court visited Gra- ad. 1499. nada, and in its train followed the famous archbishop of nm>TA,ch- Toledo, Ximenes de Cisneros. In the teeth of the most uncompromising opposition, he had just carried out his great scheme of monastic reform, and his stern religious enthusiasm at once suggested that more active measures should be employed for Christianizing the kingdom of Granada. No sooner, therefore, had the sovereigns left the city, than, in defiance of their earnest exhortation to caution and prudence, he invited the Islamite doctors to a conference, and after expounding with his usual energy and eloquence the chief articles of the Christian faith, he pressed their immediate acceptance on his hearers. Not content with this, he enforced his exhortations with liberal presents of costly robes, and induced upwards of four thou- sand to profess at least an outward acquiescence in the truths that he had taught, and on them the archbishop lavished freely the ample revenues of his estates, which felt for several years the drain to which they were now subjected\ But with many these proceedings found no favour, ximenaand Amongst these was a noble Moor, named Zegri, a man of intelligence and learning, on whom Ximenes wasted all 1 Prescott, II. 513. 390 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. A.n. 1499- CHAP. XVII. his eloquence and his promises of reward, in vain efforts to induce him to abjure his errors. At length, in despair of other means, he handed him over to the tender mercies of an officer named Leon, "a lion," says the punning historian, " by nature as well as by name," with the re- quest that he would take such means as should convince his prisoner of the error of his ways'. A few days' im- prisonment in irons, and without food, brought about the desired change; and when Zegri again stood before the archbishop, he not only assured him that he had seen Allah in a vision, bidding him submit to baptism, but, added jocosely, that if this lion were turned loose among the people, there would not in a few days be left a single Mussulman within the walls of Granada''. Active measures having thus succeeded in one instance, they were tried in others, and before long, the astonished Moslems beheld all the copies of the Koran that Ximeues could procure, and all the Arabic works, which had the least connexion with religion, publicly burnt in one of the great squares of Granada. Neither the most exquisite chirography, nor the most sumptuous binding, could exempt a single volume from the flames ; and the author of the " Complutensian Polyglot" fondly hoped in this way, not only to exterminate Mahometauism, but even the very characters in which its teaching was recorded". These highhanded proceedings, so directly contrary to the earnest exhortations of the Spanish sovereigns, created no little alarm among the Spanish clergy, and many were the appeals addressed to the archbishop, imploring him to stay his hand. But for all such representations he had Bvminfj of Arabic tvt/rhs. ' Prescott, II. 515. ^ "Thus," exclaims the devout Ferreras, **did Providence avail itself of the darkness of the dungeon, to pour on the benighted mind of the infidel, the light of the true faith." Prescott, II. 516. ^ Conde {El Nuliense, p. 4) esti- mates the number of books destroyed at 80,000, Eobles at 1,005,000, Gro- mez at 5,000. Prescott inclines to Conde's estimate, II. 516 n. Compulsory Conversion of the Jews and Moors. 391 jne answer ; ^' a tamer policy might indeed suit in temporal chap. xvii. matters, but not those in which the interests of the soul TTTboo^ were at stake; that the unbeliever, if he could not he, obsunacy of drawn, should be driven into the way of salvation ; and that it was not time to stay the hand, when the ruins of Mahometanism were tottering to their foundations'." But he was soon made to feel that such expedients could only be resorted to at a heavy cost. The patience of the Rise of lu Moors lost all bounds, and the archbishop found himself besieged in his own palace by a furious mob. His de- liverance was due entirely to the interposition of the venerable archbishop of Granada. He, at the imminent risk of his life, went forth alone and unarmed into the midst of the tumult, and calmed the rage of the people, who no sooner saw their old friend than they crowded round him, flung themselves at his feet, and kissed the hem of his robe. His efi'orts, combined with those of the Count of Tendilla, the Governor, who left his wife and two children as hostages with the Moslems, to assure them that their feelings should not again be violated, induced the infuriated populace to lay aside their weapons and return to their homes. The news of this untoward in- surrection quickly reached Seville, and was received by the sovereigns with every sign of displeasure. But Ximenes hurried to the Court, and in reply to the royal expostula- tions, took upon himself the entire blame of the affair, recounted all the means he had used to bring about a more peaceful solution, the sums he had expended, the presents he had lavished, and winding up with a homily on the obduracy of the stiffnecked infidels, boldly declared that they had now forfeited all claim to lenient measures, that they were guilty of treason, and deserved nothing more than the treatment which had already been meted out to J- Prescott, n. 519. 392 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP, XVII. the Jews — the alternative of instant baptism or expulsioil A.D. 1500. fro"i the country. SS'sra-"' Ferdinand and Isabella at length gave in their adhesion '""'*'■ to the course thus proposed, and though it was not as yet carried out entirely, commissioners were sent to Granada to inquire into the late rebellion and punish the guilty. To avoid the too certain penalty of obduracy, multitudes now received baptism, or migrated to Barbary. Fifty thousand are said to have abjured their errors, and under the name of Moriscos dragged on a miserable existence, in per- petual fear of being brought before the Inquisition, on the least suspicion of relapse. The two following years were, as might be expected, not peaceful. The inhabitants of the wild Sierras of the Alupaxarras, enraged no less at the faithlessness of their countrymen, than at this flagrant vio- lation of the treaty of Granada, flew to arms, and suc- ceeded in inflicting on the Spanish cavaliers wellnigh the most humiliating defeat that had ever stained the lustre of their contests with the Moslem. But the hardy mountain- eers dared not await the terrible revenge that Ferdinand prepared to take, and despairing of aid, consented to submit to the terms he offered. Those who preferred to depart, and could muster the ten doblas a head, which was the price of this privilege, were conveyed in Spanish galleys to the Barbary coast, while by far the greater number were constrained to stay and submit to baptism'. TKn Spanish Thus, at length, the Spanish sovereigns had the satis- iiilmiisjud. ' faction of beholding the banner of the Cross waving through the length and breadth of the hitherto impreg- nable Sierras. But they were not as yet satisfied. In the kingdom of Castile there still remained traces of the old leaven, and sturdy upholders of Islamism, on whom per- suasion and the sword had equally little effect. To prevent contamination, therefore, a decree was passed in the year '. Prescott, II. 110. Compulsory Conversion of the Jews and Moors. 393 1501, forbidding all intercourse between such hardened chap. xvii. infidels and the converted kingdom of Granada. And ^ ^ Ym.. wlien this was found insufficient to prevent the tares mingling with the wheat, a pragmatica was passed on the 12th of February, 1502, directing that the plan proposed by Ximenes, in his conference with the sovereigns two years before, should be carried out. In very similar terms to those employed in the famous edict against the Jews, it set forth the solemn obligation of the Catholic sovereigns to banish infidelity from the laud; and then went on to enumerate the many dangers of backsliding, which the new converts must inevitably incur, if permitted to mingle with their still obdurate brethren; and concluded by enacting that all unbaptized Moors in the kingdom of Castile, if males, above fourteen years of age, if females, above twelve, must leave the country before the end of the following April, and taking the proceeds of their property in anything save gold and silver, and regularly prohibited merchandize, emigrate to any part of the world, " save the dominions of the grand Turk, and such parts of Africa as were not at peace with Spain." If they failed to do this, confiscation of property or death were denounced as the certain penalty. Castilian writers pass over the history of the execution of this decree as too insignificant to be noticed, and also, we may believe, from the very scanty number of emigrants ; a " circumstance not to be wondered at," observes Mr Prescott, "as there were very few, probably, who would not sooner imitate their Granadine brethren in assuming the mask of Christianity, than encounter exile under all the aggravated miseries with which it was- accompanied'." It was while the Spaniard was thus maddened with centuries of conflict with the infidel at home, and when his spirit had drunk deep of intolerance, that a new field 1 Prescott, n. 113. 394 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XVII. for missionary zeal was opened up in the New World. AD. 1484. Already the Cape of Good Hope had been rounded by Neui field for Bartolcm^ Diaz, in 1484, and the foundation of the Portu- enterwise. guese Indian Empire hadbeen laid by Alfonso Albuquerque, in 1508. In the same year, moreover, that the Spanish sovereigns witnessed the fall of Granada, Columbus landed on the isle of San Salvador, and the countless wealth of the New World attracted thousands from the shores of Europe. The Portuguese and Spanish navigators had indeed secured the patronage of the Pope for their great enterprises, and they had promised wherever they planted their flag, there to be zealous also in planting the Christian faith'. But their zeal, even when not choked by the rising lust of wealth and territorial power, took, too often, a one-sided direction. Thus the Portuguese turned their energies towards repressing the Syrian Christians, and interfering with the Abyssinian Church^, while from the pathetic narrative of Bartolem^ de las Casas we can only too truly estimate the meaning of the expression, "the conversion of the Indians," put forward as the ostensible pretext of Spanish conquest. The measure of mercy and justice already meted out to the infidel at home, had consigned multitudes in the New World, who would not instantly renounce their heathen errors at the bidding of their Spanish masters, to indiscriminate massacre, or abject slavery. And the feel- ings which the Spanish conquerors had inspired in their new subjects is terribly illustrated, by the memorable reply of an Indian chief when urged by Velasquez, at the stake, to embrace Christianity, in order that he might be admitted into heaven. "And shall I meet the white man there?" asked the wretched victim. When he was answered in the affirmative, " Then," said he, " I will not be a Christian ; ' Hardwick, 337 n. of Malabar, p. 4. Hardwick, 338 n. ' Geddea' History of the Church Reformation, p. 437. Compulsory Conversion of the Jews and Moors. 395 for I would not go again to a place where I must find men chap. xvii. so cruel'." " This reply," as Mr Prescott truly remarks, " is more a.b. 1519. eloquent than a volume of invective," and reveals only too truly the spirit that was abroad. The same spirit charac- terized the conquests of Cortdz, and tinged all his attempts to convert the Indians. If milder measures did not achieve their object, the Spanish cavalier was ever ready to employ force; nor was the efficacy of any conversion, however sudden, however violent, doubted for a single moment ^ The war, in which he was taking part, he deemed a "holy war ;" it was for the faith he was in arms, and for a champion of the Cross to be careless about the souls of his heathen foes, was to disgrace at once his chivalry and his creed. Into any details of the campaigns of the conqueror of Mexico we do not intend to enter ; they belong to a later period than that with which we are concerned, and the missions they originated were the commencement of a dis- tinct series, which would require special and separate notice. Suffice it here to say, that the terrible system of reparti- mientos sadly marred the success of his proselytizing efforts. The native feocaZ?t might be overthrown, the huge uncouth wooden idols torn down from their foundations, the cruel sa- crifices of human victims might be interdicted, the image of the Virgin might replace that of the god of rain, or of the ter- rible Huitzilopotchli, the Christian altar might be raised, and amidst solemn ceremony and procession be surmounted by the uplifted Cross, but the cupidity of the colonists, and the compulsory service they exacted of their conquered con- verts, were a sad commentary on the faith they sought to propagate'. Here and there, indeed, there might be bright exceptions ; Dominican missionaries might protest against ^ Presoott'a Ccmquest of Mexico, ' Five bishoprics had been esta- p. 71. blished in a.d. 1520. " Prescott, p. 88. 396 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. xTii. the cruelty of the system, and strive to lighten the yoke of riTisio! ^^® oppressed. But their protests were too often the pro- tests of despair. The Aztec worship, indeed, disappeared, and the altar no more reeked with the gore of human sacrifices. But the Spanish cavalier sacrificed too often on the altar of Cupidity, to render the conversion of his new subjects either genuine or lasting. CHAPTER XVIII. EETEOSPECT AND EEFLECTIOKI Kal ISoi, 'Eyii /ieS' v/muiv etfu ircitros rds rjfifpas Sms t^j (rvvreXetas tou alSvos. — S. Matt, xxviii. 20. Now that we have reached those limits of our subject chap, xviit. which we do not intend to exceed, it may not be amiss to look back, for a short space, on the course we have traversed in the preceding pages, and to notice the chief peculiarities of the missionary history of the Middle Ages. Respecting the Mediaeval period itself, it is useful to characio-istir^ ^ . ° . '^ . . of the Mediaeval bear in mind that it was one of transition, a period not «™* ultimate, but intermediate and preliminary. Trite and commonplace as the observation may seem, it is one which must not be put out of sight, when we wish to form an estimate of the value of the efforts made during this period to propagate the Gospel. Starting from the time when the Christian Church had wellnigh absorbed into herself whatever was good In the culture of the Greek and Roman world, we paused at the dawn of the bright morning of the last three hundred years, which have given birth to what has not been inaptly called Teutonic, as contrasted with Latin Christianity. As, then, was the period of the Middle Ages, so was its missionary work, being to a great extent, from the nature of the case, disciplinary and prepara- tory. During the first part of this period the Church was 398 Tlie Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XVIII. called to undertake one of the most difficult tasks tliat could have been presented to her energies and her zeal. Herself scarcely recovering from the shock of the harbarian invasions, she was called to train and civilize races fresh from their native wilds, filled with all the ardour and im- petuosity of youth, and ignorant of the first principles of order and settled life. The stage of culture they had attained was low, they were little capable of discerning the outward from the inward, the letter from the spirit; and before learning the simplest lesson in Christian civilization, they had to unlearn a ferocity and a lawlessness which made them at first a terror even to their teachersS vedemim oj Moreover, it cannot be denied that the Church herself, rirn'Mu^^ in her contact with the world, had lost much of her original simplicity, and that the form of Christianity which she presented to the new races for their reception was not that of purer and apostolic times. But, however defective may have been the development attained during this period, it may be pleaded, on the one hand, that it was almost inevi- table from the nature of the case, and, on the other, that it was adapted as a transitionary stage for the childhood of these races, which needed parental discipline before they could learn or value independence, needed to be governed before they could govern themselves. At the first promul- gation of the Faith, the old E.oman Empire had, in the providence of God, supplied the framework which held 1 It has been well remarked by is based the character of Europe in Professor Eanke, that "the task of later times. There is a spirit of bending the refractory spirit of the community in the modern world Northern tribes to the pure laws of which has always been regarded as Christian truth was no light one. the basis of its progressive improve- Wedded, as these nations were, to ment, whether in religion, politics, their long-cherished superstitions, manners, social life or literature, the religious element required a long To bring abou^ this community, it predominance before it could gain was necessary that the Western na- entire possession of the German cha- tions should, at one period, consti- racter ; but by this predominance tute what may be called a single that close union of Latin and Ger- politico-ecclesiastical state." Kanke's man elements was effected, on which History of the Popes, i. 22. Retrospect and Reflections. 399 together the various masses of social life, which the Gospel chap, xviii. was intended to pervade. Similarly, during this period, 1 great Latin Christian empire was, if not needed, at least overruled, to address the nations in language legal and formal, and to naturalize Christianity in the West. If the age of the Primitive Church may be compared to the Patriarchal period of Jewish history, that of the Mediaaval Church may be likened to the Mosaic dispensation, or period of legal discipline, destined, indeed, after performing its office, to vanish away, but, while it was needed, "of great consequence and undeniable aptitude^" i. Such being the characteristics of the period itself, i. contrast the first feature in its missionary work which calls for Mediavai , '' and Apostolic remark, is the contrast between the efforts then made to pro- Missions. pagate the Gospel and those of the first age of the Church. During the " Century of Wonders," as it has been called, we are chiefly struck by the presence of direct miraculous agency and spiritual gifts, and the corresponding absence of temporal aid. In the sub-apostolic period, again, Chris- tianity found a point of contact with the Greek and Roman mind, as well as a distinct national culture which it could purify and transfigure. It found also a language long prepared for its service, in which it could speak everywhere to the intellect, the reason, the conscience of its hearers. It was the season too of its " first love ;" hence the com- plete antagonism of the first believers towards paganism, their repudiation of all compromise, their studious renunci- ation of all heathen principles and practices. It was the season, lastly, of the Church's struggle always for toleration, sometimes for existence. Hence, her conversions were individual rather than national, the new faith made its way from below rather than from above; not "many wise, not 1 TJllmann's Reformers before the Age, p. 4.2. Compare also some re- Refm-mation, i. i68. Kurtz's Church marks in Stanley's Sermons on the Misiory, I. 383. Sohaaf's Apostolic Apostolical Age, p. 105. 400 Tlie Missionary History of the Middle Ages. circumstances of the eari'/ Medicevu t Church. onAP. xvni. many mighty, not many noWe,'' had as yet been called; the early Church was working her way, in the literal sense of the word, " underground, under camp and palace, under senate and forum, ' as unknown and yet well known, as dying and behold it lived'.' " But even before the period which has occupied our attention, all this had passed away. The consolation of the slave, or the fugitive in the catacombs, had become the creed of the emperor. Instead of pleading for tole- ration, the Church had learned to be aggressive. The Greek fathers had moulded her creeds, Eome had regu- lated her laws, and bequeathed to her its own love of organisation. No longer in dread of the caprice or malice of the occupant of the imperial throne, with fixed instil tutions, magistrates, and power, she awaited the coming of the new races. For awhile, indeed, her own safety seemed in peril, but when the agitated elements of society had been calmed, and the flood had subsided, she emerged to present to the world the one single stable institution that had survived the shock. In her dealings, therefore, with the new races, there was a great change from the missions of the first age. Whereas the latter had, from the necessity of the times, worked upwards from below, till at length the number of the converts became too great and too influential to be ignored by the ruler, and the voice from the catacombs found an echo in the palace, during the Mediseval period all this was reversed. With an almost monotonous uniformity, in Ireland and England, in Southern and Northern Germany, among the Slavonic as well as the Scandinavian nations, the conversion of the people followed that of the king or chief. The fourth century, indeed, presents the somewhat ano- malous spectacle of the Emperor Constantine, as yet unbap- National cm- vcfsioiis. ' Stanley's Introd. Lecture on Ecd. Hktory, p. xxxriii. Retrospect and Reflections. 401 tized, taking an active part in Christian preacliing^ but chap, xviii. turn where we will in this age, we cannot but be struck with the religious aspect of the temporal ruler ^ Severi- nus addresses his exhortations to Eugian, Eemigius to rough Frankish chiefs ; the apostle of Ireland to Celtic, the founder of lona to Pictish princes. It is Ethelbert in Aristocranc Kent, Sigebert in Essex, Edwin, Oswald, and Oswy in"Ar"S™(m«. siotis Northumbria, who take the lead in the work of evangeliz- ing their subjects. Columbanus rebukes Thierri and Bru- nehaut; Boniface discusses his missions in Thuringia in the courts of Austrasian kings ; his disciples follow in the track of Charlemagne's victorious armies. It is with a prince of Denmark that Anskar embarks on his first mis- sionary voyage ; it is to Bogoris, the Bulgarian chief, that the Greek " philosopher " displays the awful picture of the Last Day. A Polish duke supplies all the necessities of the a,postle of Pomerania, another welcomes him on entering the land he had come to evangelize, and offers to protect him with a regiment of soldiers ; and if any- thing were wanting to complete the picture, it is supplied by the record of the Greek mission to Eussia, where the religious aspect of the temporal ruler finds its highest ex- pression, and Vladimir bears the same title as Constan- tine, " Isapostolos," Vladimir equal to an apostle". Of this feature in the missions of this period various Exvianati .0711! Of this feature. ' Stanley's Eastern Church, p. igS, a capite too in membra, quam ut a ° This feature is distinctly alluded membris derivetur in caput. Et in to by one of the Pomeranian dukes primitiva quidem ecclesia, sicut au- on the occasion of one of Bishop divimus, religio fidei Christianse a Otho's missionary tours : " Superest plebe et plebeiis persouis incipiens, modo," he says, " ut nos, qui primi ad mediocres progressa, etiam max- et majores dicimus ao sumus, nostr See above, Chap. iii. pp. 68, 69. " Kurtz, p. iSe. * See Chap. v. pp. loi, 102. Betrospect and Reflections. 425 to the royal worshipper of Odin and Thor in Kent the unity chap. xix. of God, and then proceeded to treat of the person and work of His only-begotten Son. The arguments of Oswiu' in oswiu. liis exhortations to Sigebert, king of Essex, are directed in the strain of the old Hebrew prophets mainly against the absurdities^ of idolatry, and the folly of a system which taught the worship of deities made by human hands, "that might be broken, or burnt, or trodden underfoot," that have eyes and see not, feet and walk not, hands and handle not. From the worship of such gods he bids his royal brother turn to the true God, the Creator of all things, Who is invisible, omnipotent, eternal; Who will judge the world with righteousness, and reward the good with eternal life. In the case, indeed, of Coifi', during the mission of coj^- Paulinus in Northumbria, we have an instance of one actu- ated by low motives, who regarded the new faith as worthy of a trial like the systems of heathenism, and deserving of instant reception if it produced those temporal advantages which the speaker had vainly sought from the national gods. But at this very conference his speech is counterbalanced by that of the thane* on the briefness and uncertainty oi^^^'">f*'^' life, which certainly struck a deeper chord, and while it bears all the marks of sincerity, is suggestive of those "deep searchings of heart" respecting the awful mystery of death, which have haunted men in every age. The utterer of this parable was, probably, a representative of many in those times, who were not only dissatisfied with wooden divinities, but were ready to embrace heartily any religion which could proclaim to them glad tidings of great ' Bede, III. 22. Above, Chap. VI. 15— '20; of Jeremiali, li. 17, 18; of p. 124. ■ Habakkuk, ii. 18, 19. ^ It is on this point that the He- " Chap. v. p. 112. irew prophets expatiate so constant- '' Chap. V. p. 113. His "Parable" y. Compare the language of Moses, may be compared with the Anglo- Deut. xxxii. 37, 38; of EHjah in Saxon poem on the last home of t Kings xviii. 21 — 29 ; of the Psahn- man, the grave, cited in Turner's st, Ps. cxv. 4—8, cxxxv. IS— 18; of Anglo-Suxons, ill, 339. Isaiah, xli. 23, 24, 29, xlv. 9 — 11, 426 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XIX. joy, and assure them of a life beyond the grave, and the glory of a world to come. sermoTis of Eli- YxoTd the sermoHs of Eligius we have already oflFered some quotations, which sufficiently illustrate the same ob- jective method of preaching, and the earnest way in which lie sought to reclaim his flock from heathen errors. The Gaiiut. sermon of Gallus on the occasion of the consecration of his disciple John to the see of Constance is hardly a missionary sermon, but it is interesting as testifying to his very intimate acquaintance with the Old Testa- ment History, and the events in the Saviour's life. The knowledge displayed by this Irish missionary is cer- tainly in advance of that which is popularly ascribed to the period in which he lived ; and if he succeeded in re- producing in the minds of his disciples similar acquaint- ance with the teaching of Holy Writ, their labours could not have been entirely thrown away on the people to whom cm-«jMnd«i« they preached. The correspondence' of Daniel, bishop of ''ch^Zfwm"' Winchester, with his friend and fellow-countryman Boni- Boniface. £^^g^ jg particularly deserving of notice, as illustrating the way in which he would have him preach the word to their Teutonic kinsmen, and reclaim them from their hea- then superstitions to the true God. To this correspond- ence we have already drawn attention, and now would allude to it at somewhat greater length". The bishop commences with words of encouragement and sympathy with the great work, which the missionary had undertaken, and the duty and privilege of aiding him by advice and counsel in dealing with Teutonic errors. ^ In these letters we often find Boni- cons, two bucklers, two lances, to face sending presents to his friends his queen an ivory comb, and a look- in England in return for books col- ing-glass of silver, lected for him out of the monastic ^ The letter appears to have been libraries ; thus to one he sends pre- written about the year 724, when pared skins, to Daniel, bishop of Boniface had achieved no inconside- "Wiiichester, a fur to keep his feet rable success in Thuringia. Migne'a warm, to Ethelbald a hawk, two fal- Pairologia, saeo. vm. p. 707. Befrospect and Reflections. 427 He then deprecates any violent and useless declamation chap. xix. against the native superstitions', and would rather that he cmtradicUons put such questions, from time to time, as would tend to "■f'^'^'"^"""- suggest the contradictions which they involved, especially in relation to the genealogy of the gods. " They will admit," he writes, " that the gods they worship had a he- ginning, that there was a time when they were not ; ask them, then, whether they consider the world also to have had a beginning, or whether it has always existed without any beginning. If it had a beginning, who created it? By the world I do not mean the merely visibly parts of creation, such as the heaven and the earth, but those in- visible and infinite regions, in the existence of which they themselves believe. If, then, they assert that this world has always existed without any beginning, strive to convince them of the folly of such an opinion by proof and argument. "Then, again, inquire who governed and sustainei oenmiogies o/ the world before the birth of those gods in whom they be- ^'"'■'■ lieve? By what means were they able to gain a supremacy of power over a universe which had existed from all time before they ever were known? And whence, how, and when was the first God or goddess born? Are more deities still in process of generation? If not, why and when did this law of celestial increase come to an end? Ask them, again, whether amidst the multitude of powerful deities there is not danger of failing to discover the most power- ful, and thus offending him ? Why, in fact, are these gods worshipped? For the sake of present and temporal, or fiiture and eternal happiness ? If the former, in what re- spect are the heathens happier than the Christians? "What, again, is the import of their sacrifices? If ^ Conformably to the policy sug- England, Boniface requests a copy gested to Augustine by Gregory the of the questions of Augustine, and Great. See above. Chap. v. p. 104. the replies of Gregory. Ozanam, In one of his letters to &iends in p. 182. 428 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XIX, the gods are all-powerful, what advantage do they bestow whijdotiiqi on them thereby ? Is there not a contradiction in the idea oMr sacrifice? ^^ all-sufficient deities needing anything from their worship- pers? If, on the other hand, they do not need them, then why attempt to appease them with so many and such costly sacrifices, which must after all be superfluous? Such and similar questions I would have thee put to them, not, remember, in the way of taunt or mockery, which will only irritate, but kindly and with gentleness : then, after a while, compare their superstitions with the Christian doctrines, and touch upon the latter judiciously, so that the people may be not exasperated against thee, but ashamed of the foolish errors in which they are entangled, and may not fancy that we are ignorant of their nefarious rites and fabulous stories. whphmthdr "There is another point to which thou mayest direct their attention. They say their gods are omnipotent, beneficent, and just, that they can not only reward those who fear, but punish those who despise them. If they can both punish and reward in this world, why do they spare the Christians, who throughout all the world are turning their backs on their worship and throwing down their temples? Why are the Christians allowed to inherit all the pleasant and fertile portions of the earth, the lands of the vine and the olive, while the heathen are constrained to put up with the dreariest and most inhospitable regions*, where, as if banished to a last stronghold, their gods ex- ercise a mere shadow of authority. Tell them of the strides which Christianity has made throughout the world, of the authority it has gained, while they are but a hand- ful persisting obstinately in exploded errors. If they plead ^ Gibbon remarks (iv. 325) that, this argument against the Christians, at the date of this Epistle, the Ma- See, however, St Augustine de Ca- hometans, who reigtied from India techizandis Mudibus, 26. to Spain, might well have retorted irorship de- clined? Retrospect and Reflections, 429 that, nevertheless, their deities have a rightful claim to ohap. xix. universal worship, remind them that once they did enjoy unlimited sway, and ask how it is that all this has vanished before the coming of Christ the true Omnipotent Creator, by whose teaching the world has been illumined, by whose life and death it has been reconciled to God?" If from this prudent advice of the bisliop of Winchester strrmnsofBo- ^ ^ rufacc. we turn to such sermons of Boniface as still remain, we have proof that he desired something far more real than the superficial form of Christianity we are wont to impute to this period. Of the first of his fifteen sermons, which &<•»>• ^■ have been preserved^ the subject is the Right Faith, in which he expounds the doctrine of the Trinity, the relation of Baptism to the remission of sins, the Resurrection of the dead, the future Judgment, and the necessity of Repentance. The second, preached on Christmas Day, is concerned with scrm. n. the Creation of man, the circumstances of his Fall, the Pro- mise of a Saviour, His first Advent, and the story of Bethle- hem. The third has for its subject the "two-fold operation serm. ni. of justification ;" the fourth, the "Eight Beatitudes;" the serm.jF. fifth, " Faith and the works of Love;" the sixth, " Deadly sa-m. r. rr. Sins and the chief Commandments of God," amongst the former of which are enumerated the chief heathen practices then rife in the country ; the seventh, eighth, and ninth, serm. rii. are occupied with an amplification of the same points. The succeeding two are mainly concerned with further &ra. x. x/. explanations of man's original state, his Fall, the Redemp- tion wrought by Christ, His Sufferings, Death, and Resiu- rection, the hope of the world to come, and the necessity for preparation for the day of Judgment, by leading a pure and holy life. The subject of the twelfth and thirteenth s™. ^ifi-~_ is an explanation of the purport and necessity for observing the Lenten fast, while the fourteenth is an Easter sermon, sa-m. xir. The last may probably have been preached on the occasion ■ 1 See M'gne, Pairologia Latina, ssec. vili. p. 813. Renuiiciaiion. 430 Tlie Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CH^p. XIX. of the celebration of the baptismal rite, and illustrates the serm.xr. simple missionary character of the rest. " Listen," it BoptomaiSer- i^egins, "my brethren, and consider attentively what it was ye renounced at your baptism. Ye renounced the devil, and all his works, and pomps'. What are the works of the devil? They are pride, idolatry, envy, homicide, backbiting, lying, perjury, hatred, variance, fornication, adultery, theft, drunkenness, sorcery, witchcraft, recourse to amulets and charms. These and such like are the works of the devil, and all such ye renounced at your baptism, and, as the Apostle saith, ' They who do such things are worthy of death, and shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.' But because we believe that through God's mercy ye renounce all these sins in heart and life, therefore, that ye may deserve to obtain pardon, I warn you, brethren beloved, to remember what ye promised unto God Almighty. "For ye promised to believe in God Almighty, and in Jesus Christ His Son, and in the Holy Spirit, One God Almighty in a perfect Trinity. "These are the commandments of God, which we ought to observe and keep : ye must love the Lord, in Whom ye have professed your belief, with all your heart, and mind, and strength. Be ye patient, tenderhearted, kind, chaste, and pure. Teach your children to love God, and your household in like manner. Reconcile them that are at variance. Let him that judges give righteous judgment, let him not receive bribes, for bribes blind the eyes even of the wise. " Observe the Lord's Day, assemble yourselves at church, and there pray, not making vain repetitions. Give alms according to your means, for as water extinguishes the flame, so almsgiving blotteth out sin. Observe hospitality, visit the sick, minister to widows and orphans, give tithes ^ For the renunciation formula at baptism, -see p. 2 1 n. Faith. Obedience* (Piristian prac- tice. Retrospect and Reflections, 431 to the Church, and what ye would not men should do unto chap. xix. you, that do ye not unto them. Fear God, and Him only. Servants, be obedient unto your masters, and maintain the rights of your master amongst your fellow-servants. Learn diligently the Lord's Prayer and the Creed, and teach them to your children, and to those for whom ye stood spon- sors at their baptism. Practise fasting, love righteousness, resist the devil, receive the Eucharist at the stated seasons. These, and such like, are the commands that God bade ye do and keep. "Believe that Christ will come, that there will be a ^/"'"" ' ^ Judgment. resurrection of the body, and a general judgment of man- kind. Then the wicked will be separated from the good, and the one will go into eternal fire, the other into eternal bliss, and they shall enjoy everlasting life with God v/ith- out any more death, light without darkness, health with- out sickness, happiness without fear, joy without sorrow ; there shall be peace for evermore, and the righteous shall shine forth as the sun, for ' eye Jiath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of inan to conceive what things God hath prepared for them that love Him.^ " Such was the missionary instruction which the apostle ri^demx' of Germany imparted to his flock". Further information i^*"''' on the same point is supplied in the correspondence of Alcuin with the Emperor Charlemagne, who had entrusted a mission amongst the Avars to Arno, archbishop of Salz- burg^ Congratulating the Emperor on his success, and the prospect of the speedy spread of the faith, he impresses upon him the necessity of due attention to public preaching, and an orderly celebration of baptism'. A mere external ' See Ozanam, p. 185. tione Hunnonitn, et qualiter dooendi ' Einhardi Annales, at the year sint in fide, et quia ordo sit aervan- 796. dua." Migne, Patrologia, s?bc. IX. ' Compare Ep. xxxvil. A.D. 796: p. 187. Neander, v. 113. Ad Domiuum Kegem, "de subjeo- CHAP. XIX, Ordei' of Chris tianimii-uclioii. 432 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. washing of the body, he declares, will avail nothing, unless ordc,- of Chris- the mind has first duly received the rudiments of the' Christian faith. " The Apostolic Order," he observes, "if first to teach all nations, then is to follow the administra-' tion of baptism, and further instruction in Christian duties, Therefore in teaching those of riper years, that order should' be strictly maintained, which the blessed Augustine' has laid down in his treatise on this special subject. i. " First, a man ought to be instructed in the immor- tality of the soul, in the future life, its retribution of good and evil, and the eternal duration of both conditions. ii. " Secondly, he ought to be taught for what crimes and sins he will be condemned to suffer with the devil everlasting punishment, and for what good and beneficial actions he will enjoy eternal glory with Christ. ' iii. " Thirdly, he ought most diligently to be instructed in the doctrine of the Trinity, in the advent of the Saviour for the salvation of mankind, in His life, and passion, His resurrection, ascension, and future coming to judge the world. Strengthened and thoroughly instructed in this faith, let him be baptized, and afterwards let the precepts of the Gospel be further unfolded by public preaching, till he attain to the measure of the stature of a perfect man, and become a worthy habitation of the Holy Ghost^" In another letter, after exhorting the emperor to pro- vide competent instructors for his newly-conquered subjects, he remarks that " they ought to follow the example of the apostles in preaching the Word of God ; for they at th^ beginning were wont to feed their hearers with milk, that is, gentle precepts, even as the Apostle Paul saith, 'And I, 1 Augustine de Catechizandis Ru- is said to have been adopted by one dihus, Op. Ed. Eened. V. 451 sq. of the Greek missionaries sent to Compare also the letter of Pope Bo- Vladimir, the Eussian Prince in niface to king Edwin, a.d. 625, 987. See Grant's Bampton lectures, Bede, 11. 1 1. Appendix, p. 408. '■' A similar course of instruction Retrospect and Reflections. 433 jbrethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but chap. xix. as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat : for hitherto ye were jiot able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able'.' And thereby that great Apostle of the whole world, Christ Bpeaking in him, signified that newly converted tribes ought to be nourished with mild precepts, like as children are with milk, lest if austerer precepts be taught, their weak mind should reject what it drinks. Whence also the Lord Jesus Christ Himself in the Gospel replied to those asking Him why His disciples fasted not, ' Men put hot new wine into old bottles : else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish ; but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved^.' For, as the blefesed Jerome saith, the virgin purity of the soul which has never been contaminated with former vice is very dif- ferent from that which has been long in bondage to foul lusts and passions." Again, writing to Arno himself, who had requested in- later toArtw. formation as to the right method of instructing converts from heathenism, he insists even more strongly on the worthlessness of baptism without faith and conviction. "In this sacrament," he writes, "there are three visible and three invisible things. The visible things are the priest, the person to be baptized, and the water ; the in- visible are the Spirit, the soul, and faith. The three visi- ble things effect nothing externally, if the three invisible have no internal operation. The priest washes the body with water, the Spirit justifies the soul by faith. He that will be baptized must ©e'er his body to the mystery of the sacred washing, and his mind to the voluntary recep- tion of the Catholic Faith. These points ought a teacher 1 I Coj., ;;;, j j. in initio fidei novae prsedicationis ' Matt. ix. 17. "Qui sunt utres prsecepta tradideris, rumpuntur, et veteres, nisi qui in gentilitatia er- ad yeteres consuetudines perfidiae Toribus obduraverant? Quibua si revolvuntur." 23 434 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XIX. to consider most diligently if he desire the salvation of the neophyte, and he must beware of slothfully or carelessly celebrating so great a sacrament." The opinions Alcuin here puts forth were, doubtless, those which, in his school at York, he imparted to men like Alubert and Liudger', and they would naturally act up to them in their missionary operations. They, at any rate, tend to show that they were men, who did not regard the baptismal rite as a mere opus operatum, and did not scruple to inveigh against the tendency to identify conquest and conversion, iii. Absence of iii. The permanent influence, however, of this mode of any vei'tiacuiar ^ »■ ^ luerature. instruction must have been materially weakened, not only by the troubled circumstances of the times, and the con- stant wars, but also, and not the least, by the absence of vernacular translations of the Scriptures and the Liturgy. In every country evangelized by the missionaries from Rome, and, therefore, from the docile Anglo-Saxon king- doms, we cannot but have observed their anxiety to retain for the Scriptures and the Liturgy the Latin language of the old Latin empire. They seem to have shrunk with horror from suffering the barbarous tongues of the dif- ferent races to find a place in the sacred services of the Church. It is with perplexity and misgiving that we think of Augustine at the court of Ethelbert, or bishop Otho at Pyritz, addressing their hearers through " the frigid mediation of an interpreter." It is easier to imagine how Boniface and his disciples found access to the hearts of the people of Hessia and Thuringia. They came forth from "the first Teutonic Church, -yvhich remained Teuton °," and with the persuasive eloquence of their own tongue could announce to their Teutonic brethren " the wonderful works of God," and exhort them to turn to the living and ^ See above, Chap. X. p. 209. ' Milman's Latin Christianity, vi. 529. Ozanam, 167, Retrospect and Reflections. 435 true God. And in their ability to do this we are inclined cii .^F. xix. to find one of the chief causes of their rapid success. Yet it never seems to have struck them, as it did Ulphilas, and Cyril, and Methodius, and other missionaries of the Eastern Church, that one of the most important requisites for per- manent success was the introduction of the Scriptures and the Liturgy, or at least portions of both, in the vernacular language of their converts. We must be careful, indeed, not to impute to the first half of the period we have surveyed, what more truly dis- tinguishes the latter. The teaching of the seventh and eighth centuries on this point was not that of the fifteenth. The force of custom and the long practice of the Church had not stifiened a habit into an article of faith. In the ^'"^ '"»"'"•- tongue 7Vii'er finish' I th6 » Anfjlo-Saxon - services. Anglo-Saxon Church the mother-tongue was never entirely 'JapMi ml banished from the most sacred services. The Synod ofj Cloveshoo (a. d. 747) enacted in its tenth Canon, that the priest should be able to translate and explain in the native language the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Liturgical forms used at Baptism, and at the celebration of the mass'. This Council was held in the year after Archbishop Cuth- hert received the letter from Boniface, to which we have before alluded, and in which he informs him of his own plans for the successful organization of the German Church. Subsequently we find a Canon of Egbert^ requiring that on ^ Spelman's CoiKtZw, p. ■248 : "TJt p. 191; Johnson's English Canons, presbyteri omne sui gradus offioium I. ■247. legitimo ritu per omnia discant ex- ° ExcerptionesEglertiArchkp.Ebor. hibere posse, deinde ut Symbolum c. III. "Ut omnibus fastis et diebus Fidei ao dominioam Orationcm, sed Dominicis, unusquisque Sacerdos E- et sacrosaucta quoque verba quae in vangelium Christi prsedicet populo." Missse oelebratione, et officio baptis- Again, in the letter of Bede to Eg- mi solemniter dicuntur, interpretari bert, we find him exhorting tliat atque exponere posse propria lingua prelate, "Hoc prs caeteris omni in- qui nesciant, discant ; necnon et ipsa stantia procurandum arbitror, ut fi- sacramenta qus in missa ao baptis- dem catholicam quae apostolorura mate, vel in ahis Ecolesiastiois offi- symbolo continetur, et Dominicam oils visibiliter oonficiuntur, quid spi- orationem quam sancti Bvangelii nos ritualiter signifioent, et discere stude- Scriptura edocetjOmniumquiad tuura apt." See Joyce's (Sacred Synods, regimen pertinent, memoris radi- 28—2 Earlp versions of parts of tJie Bible. Ulphilas. Aldliehn. 436 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XIX. each Sunday and festival the priest should expound the Gospel to all committed to his charge, while the wedding form, as Lappenherg observes, was no doubt in Anglo- Saxon, and "its hearty sound and simple sterling sub- stance are preserved in the English ritual to the present day." Numerous versions, again, of various portions of the Scriptures were in existence. What Ulphilas accomplished for the Goths we have already seen, and in our own island, a former pupil of Adrian, abbot of Canterbury, the celebrated bishop Aldhelm', gave his countrymen the earliest Saxon Psalter; the venerable Bede, who was born while Wilfrid was evangelizing Sussex, translated at least the Gospel of St John ; King Alfred some portion of the Psalms ; while Csedmon had already paraphrased in a metrical form the chief parts of the Sacred History. Bede has told us the interesting tale how the Northumbrian herd was bidden by an angel in his dreams to sing "the origin of things," and how the reeve of Whitby and the abbess of the convent bade him enter the monastery and exercise his art. " He sang," says Bede, " of the creation of the world and the origin of the human race, and the whole history of G enesis ; of the departure of Israel from Egypt, and their ' entry into the land of promise ; of the incarnation, life, death, resurrection and ascension of the Saviour; the coming of the Holy Ghost, and the teaching of the Apo- stles." He first taught his countrymen to think of the Great Allfather enthroned in majesty ineffable, surrounded by ten thousand times ten thousand angels, who pay their homage to the Eternal Son. He taught them how of this Bede. Alfred. Cadm&n. ohiit crc. 680. citus infigere cures. Et quidem om- nts qui Latinam linguam leotionie usu didicerunt, etiam hsec optimfe didioisse certissimum est: sedidiotas, hoc est, eos qui propria tantum lin- gua notitiam habent, hsec ipsa siia lingua dicere, ac sedulo decantare facito." Up. ad Ecberctum, ed. Hus- eey, p. 334- ' Hard wick, 96 Ji. Churton's jpngr. Oil. 133. Retrospect and Reflections. 437 celestial host, one, filled witli pride, fell from his high estate, chap. xix. and in his fall dragged down myriads of other spirits, who thenceforth became the ceaseless foes of the human family'; how one of these, "coiling as a serpent round the tree," de- ceived our first parents, and persuaded them to eat the " un- holy fruit," and then flew in vindictive triumph to cheer Satan "in the swart hell, bound by the clasping of rings." The rude Saxon had heard how the goddess of death had conquered Baldr, but Csedmon could announce more joyous news, how the Redeemer, after suffering death, had de- scended into Hades, and proclaimed His triumph over " him that had the power of deaths" Again, in the various continental Churches of the Car- lovingian age, we do not trace that anxiety to banish the popular tongue from the public services, which afterwards dictated its entire withdrawal. The conqueror at Tolbiac and his Merovingian successors, Charlemagne and his im- mediate descendants, were Teutons, and in their courts the German language was to be heard. A Capitulary, dated from Fraukfort-on-the-Maine, A.D. 794, pronounces it a foolish idea, that " God is to be worshipped or addi-essed only in three languages, for He may be addressed in every tongue, and in every tongue may He be heard'." The Councils of Tours, in A.D. 813*, and of Mayence, in 817, enact that the bishops be diligent in preaching throughout their dioceses, and that they " study to expound the homilies of the Fathers in the rustic Eoman or in Theotisc or Deutsch, so that all the people may understand." Thirty years later we find an archbishop of Tours' recommending 'Caedmon'sParapAr'(wc,ed. Thorpe, * Gieseler, n. 264, m. 24. Hard- 47. Bede, rr. c. 24. wick's Middle Age, p. 95 n. Pal- 2 Ibid. p. 289. grave's Normandy and England, ' " Ut nuUus credat quod non nisi I. 65. In tribus Unguis Deus orandus sit : " Herard, archbp. of Tours, A.D. quia in omni lingua Deus adoratur, 858. Gieseler, n. 265, n. 28. Hard- et homoexauditur, si justa petierit." wick, 206 n. Gieseler, II. 265, n. 29. 438 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XIX. that the main events in the Saviour's history, His birth^ death, resurrection, the coming of the Holy Ghost, the future judgment, the necessity for good works, and the importance of the sacraments, should form the subject of the parish priest's expositions. About the same time we find Hinc- mar of Eheims requiring of his clergy that, in addition to committing to memory certain formulae and services of the Church, they should be able to expound the Lord's Prayer, the Apostles' Creed, and that of St Athanasius, as also forty homilies of Gregory the Great'. Town and village schools were, as all know, extensively encouraged in the reign of Charlemagne and his successors ; but the knowledge of the Paternoster and the Creed was too often the limit with which the teacher was obliged to be content, and even this had to be enforced by fines and punishment^. Copies of the Scriptures, or even parts of them, were comparatively scarce, especially among the country clergy, and were con- fined to them. From versions, however, of some portions of the Bible, poetic paraphrases, and vernacular hymns, the people could here and there pick up stray crumbs of know- ledge. Louis-le-Ddbonnaire especially encouraged the exer- tions of a Saxon husbandman, another Csedmon, and his metrical version of the Scriptures, called the Heliand, acquired great popularity'. Forty years later another Har- mony, or Paraphrase of the Gospels, was put forth by Ottfried*, a monk of Weissenburg, and in the eleventh century the stock of vernacular literature was increased by the addition of a German paraphrase of the Psalms, drawn up by Notker Labro, a monk of St Gall, and a German translation and exposition of Solomon's Song, by Williram, master of the cathedral-school at Bamberg^. ^ Hinomar, archbp. of Eheims, Neander, vi. i6i. Capitula, A.D. 852. Gieseler, n. ■263, ' Hardwiok, ■208. Palgrave'siVor- n. ■23. mandy and England, i. 188. " Kurtz, Oh. History, § 118, r. * a.d. 868. Gieseler, 11. 266. Gieseler, II. 265, n. 30. For the in- " Hardwiok, 209 n. Kurtz, 342. fluence of the Irish schools, see Retrospect and Reflections. 439 But as time rolled on, vernacular translations of the chap. xir. Bible or the Liturgy were regarded with more and more sus- vmiaeuiar picion. We saw with what difficulty Methodius succeeded regarded vntt, SilSD'iCi07h in persuading Pope John VIII. to look with a friendly eye on the vernacular Liturgy he had drawn up for his Slavonic converts'. It was only after a struggle, that the Pontiff came to the conclusion that God had made other languages besides the Hebrew, the Greek, and the Latin. But what he conceded with the proviso that the Mass should be cele- brated in one of the languages of the Church, was cancelled by a later Pope, Gregory VII. Nothing could induce him to yield to the earnest entreaties of Duke Wratislav, in the year 1080, and sanction the Slavonic Liturgy by similar approval. He allowed, indeed, that the concession had once been made, but "it was," he declared, "only to serve a temporary emergency, and could be no adequate precedent with himself; as to a vernacular edition of the Scriptures, that was impossible ; it was not the will of God that the sacred Word should be everywhere displayed, lest it should be held in contempt, and give rise to error." By this time the Gospel, now always read in Latin, was fast becoming a sealed book to the bulk of worshippers in the West, and the Latin Service a succession of unmeaning sounds. It EvUeffic/s lo ^ missionary needs but little reflection to see how formidable an obstacle ^^'e**- to any real and permanent reception of the Christian faith must have been created by this persistence in creating an •exclusive hierarchical language. "Our own sense and experience teach us," writes Professor Stanley^ " what barriers this single cause must have created in many coun- tries between the conquerors and the conquered, between the educated and the vulgar, above all, between the clergy and the laity. The ill effects of the tardy translation of our own Bible and Prayer Book into Welsh and Irish 1 Above, Chap. xill. p. ■286. » Lectures on the Eastern Church, p. 309. 440 The, Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XIX. indicate the probable results. In the Eastern Church, on the other hand, a contrary method was everywhere fol- lowed. The same principle, which had, in his cell at Bethlehem, dictated the original translation of the Bible by Jerome into what was then the one known language of the "West, was adopted by the Greek Church with regard to aU the nations that came within her sphere. Hence, in the remote East, sprang up the Coptic, Armenian, and Ethi- opia versions; hence, in the only attempt made by the Eastern Church on the Western barbarians, Ulphilas im- mortalized himself by producing the only wide-spread translation of the Scriptures which existed in any Western language till the time of Wycliffe." Hence also Cyril and Methodius constructed an alphabet for the Slavonic races, and rendered into their language the Psalter and the New Testament, thus giving to the new faith a home in the hearts and affections of the people. But it was long before the great principle was acknowledged in the West, on which the Eastern Church acted as if by intuition from the begin- ning, that the language of every nation, not one peculiar to the clergy and to them alone, is the proper vehicle for public worship and religious life. No wonder that as the Bible was more and more thrust into the background, and the scandalous lays of the Troubadours and Trouvferes' be- gan to vie in popular estimation with the lives of the Saints", the Western Church was tempted to supply by means of Mir*ii -'i nacular liturgy, and- by dramatizmg Bible stories m the stately cathedral, to make up for the loss of a vernacular Bible'. It was a bold and dangerous attempt, to say the least, which thus sought to make the Christian Church the "theatre as well as the temple of the people*," and to appeal 1 Hardwick, 317. ^ See Hardwick's Ch. Hist. Mid- ^ On the fascination of this kind die Ages, 318, and notes. of literature circulated in the lau- * Milman, Latin Christianity, vr. guageof thepeople,3eeHardwick,97. 495. See above, Chap. xv. p. 337. Retrospect and Reflections. 441 to the eye of the ill-instructed mass, by representations of chap. xix. such scenes in the Gospel-history as the Infancy, the Passion, the Eesurrection, and the Ascension. It is not dif- ficult to enter into the feelings of the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg, who, in his manifesto respecting the Ammergau ne Ammergau mystery, in the year 1779, viewed with misgiving " the '"^''"'^' mixture of sacred and profane," "the ludicrous and disa- greeable effect of the bad acting of the more serious actors, or of the intentional buffooneries of others," "the distraction of the minds of the lower orders from the more edifying modes of instruction by sermons, church-services, and re- vivals." Still we must be careful to avoid the language of indiscriminate censure. The "religious mystery" can claim the patronage of Gregory Nazianzen, and the approval of Luther, who is reported to have said, " Such spectacles often do more good, and produce more impres- sion, than sermons." It has been sanctioned also by Lu- theran bishops of the Church of Denmark and Sweden, as a legitimate method of imparting instruction. The recorded impression made upon a cultivated mind by the represen- tation of the Ammergau Mystery, in I860', is a sufficient proof of its power to kindle the emotions of an enwrapped audience ; and doubtless, as Dean Milman remarks, " the dry skeletons of these Latin Mysteries which have come down to us, can give no notion of what they were when alive, with all their august, impressive, enthralling ac- cessories, and their simple, unreasonhig, but profoundly agitated hearers^" It cannot, however, be a matter of surprise that the temptation to exceed the bounds of moderation and even decency was soon sufficient to ren- der their utility a matter of great question, and to call down the severest denunciations of Popes and Councils. It would have been well if these very excesses had suggested 1 See A. P. S. in Macmillan's Magazine, Oct. i860, p. 464. " Milman, Latin Christianity, VI. 496. 442 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XIX, to these high authorities the inquiry, whether they were not themselves causing "offences to come," by hiding the key of knowledge, and retaining in their most sacred ser- vices a language which, to the majority of the hearers, was simply unintelligible. iT. Themissim- iv. And here a few remarks on the policy of the mis- aries and hea- , . ., - , . - j» l thmism. sionaries as regards heathenism may not be out oi place, especially as they have sometimes been accused of too great accommodation to the weaknesses and scruples of their pa- gan converts. A review of the efforts made during this period does not tend to substantiate the charge at least against the missionaries themselves. Again and again we have seen them hewing down the images, profaning the temples, and protesting with vehemence against sorcery, witchcraft, and other heathen practices. The apostle of Ireland did not, as we saw, spare the great object of Celtic worship ; liis countrymen, Columbanus and Gallus, provoked the griev- ous wrath of the Suevians by their hostility to Thor and Odin; Willibrord, at the peril of his life, polluted the sacred fountains of Fosites-land ; Boniface risked not only personal safety but all his influence over the people of Hesse by hewing down the sacred oak of Geismar ; the address of Lebuin to the Saxon assembly did not betray one easily " shaken by the wind;" Bogoris flung away his idols at the first request of Methodius ; Vladimir flogged the huge image of Peroun, and flung it into the waters of the Dnieper before the face of his people ; Olaf and Thang- brand overthrew the monuments of Scandinavian idolatry with a zeal worthy of a Jehu ; Bishop Otho in Pomerania insisted, in spite of imminent danger to himself, on destroy- ing various Slavonic temples. As far as such external protests against idolatry could avail, their missionaiy zeal did not err on the side of laxity. It cannot be said that there was any accommodation here to the views of the Retrospect and Reflections. 443 heathens, or anything like the policy of the unworthy chap. xix. followers of Xavier, in India'. In several cases, however, the advice of Gregory the ^dweo/G"- Great to Augustine appears to have heen mainly followed, "»»«• at least by the Anglo-Saxon missionaries. From the letter of that Pope to Mellitus^ it seems that the question of the destruction of the heathen temples had caused him con- siderable anxiety, and had long occupied his thoughts. The conclusion to which he at last came, was, that in- stead of being destroyed, they should be "cleansed from heathen pollution by being sprinkled with holy water," and consecrated to Christian purposes by' the erection of the Christian altar, and the " deposition of relics of the saints." Whatever may be the reason of the strange contrast between the policy advocated in this letter and in that addressed to Ethelbert", it is certain that Gregory was wisely anxious to facilitate the transition from hea- thenism to Christianity. In this spirit, therefore, he advised Augustine to deal cautiously with the heathen festivals which were celebrated in or near the temples ; he would not have them abolished altogether, but suggested that on the anniversaries of the Martyrs, whose relics had been placed in the temples now converted into churches, booths should be erected, and the people permitted to celebrate their feasts in honour not of the old pagan deities, hut of the True God, the Giver of all good. Gregory, whose spirit is said to have yearned towards the old heathen sages who had died without hearing of the work of Christ*, considered that he had found a precedent for the advice he now gave in the divine system of educating the Jewish people after their departure from ^ Sir E. Tennant's Ceylon, p. 17. rum cogitans tractavi." Hardwiok's Reformation, p. 443. ^ Bede, i. 33. ^ Epp. Greg. Lib, xi. 76. Bede, * Stanley's Memorials of Canter- 1.30: "2)i« mecumde causa Anglo- hury,p.'!. 444 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XIX. The reasons for his advice. Egypt. " They had been wont," he remarks, " to sacrifice to false gods, they were not forbidden now altogether to abstain from offering sacrifice. The object only of their worship was changed, and the same animals they had been wont to sacrifice to idols, they now sacrificed in honour of the Lord their God." Grrant that he may have regarded the Jewish sacrificial system from far too low a point of view, still in the cir- cumstances of the Anglo-Saxons just emerging from heathenism, there was much to remind him of the Jewish nation during its long contact with idolatry in Egypt. The latter unfitted, as the very genius of their language attests', for abstract thought or metaphysical speculations, absolutely required material symbols, and with a Book of Symbols they were mercifully provided. The same mode of proceeding Gregory was of opinion was requisite in the case of the Anglo-Saxon converts, and if existing ceremo- nies could only be exalted and purified, a gradual ascent might be supplied towards understanding higher truths^. Where, as in England, and probably on the Continent, every Mark had its religious establishment'', the Mediaeval missionaries, themselves in many cases but lately converted, may be pardoned for the natural desire to make as much as possible of the religio loci, and to avail themselves, so far as it was practicable, of old associations. Thus in England the temple of Ethelbert was converted into the Church of St Pancras*, and the sites granted by the same king for St Paul's in London, and St Peter's in West- minster, had both before been places of heathen worship, 1 Hardwick's Chrht and otherMas- terSjl. lor. Wiseman's i/cciwres,!. 139. 2 " Duris mentibus aimul omnia absoidere impoBsibile esse non dubi- um est, quia et is, qui summum lo- cum asoendere nititur, gradibua vel passibus, non autem saltibus, elera- tur." Bede, I. 30. ^ Kemble's Saxons in, England, 11. 4'24. * Stanley's Memorials of Canter- lury, p. 22. The Pantheon was de- dicated to All Saints about four years after Gregory's death. Retrospect and Reflections, 445 even as at Eome the statues of the Cassars had vanished chap. xix. from the apsis of the hasilica, and given place to the image — ' of the Son of Man'. Architectural reasons may very probably have prevented i>ifncuitvof , ^ " */ L ti 1 eradicating old m many cases a compliance with Gregory's advice, but its »«?"■*'""*■ spirit was obeyed, wherever the Teutonic missionary went forth to evangelize Teutons. And independently of the sound principle which was thus taught, "that the evil spirit can be cast out of institutions without destroying them," the early missionaries must have found that it is easy to destroy the image or to fling it into the stream, but very hard to extirpate a faith, and eradicate time-honoured superstitions. They to whom they preached were, as we have already seen, worshippers of all above them and around them ; in the skies, the woods, the waters, they found their oracles and sacred books ; they revelled in spirits of the grove and of the fountain, of the lake, and of the hill ; they believed devoutly in divinations, and presages, and lots. Imagine, then, one who from his earliest years, had lived and moved in the atmosphere of a faith like this, which identified itself with all the associations of nature and the world around, which taught him to hear voices from another world in the forest roaring round his cottage in the wintry night, or on the lake where he flung his net^, — imagine such an one, out of deference to the will of his chief, or the stern command of the conqueror, in an age of " implicit, childlike, trusting, fearing, rejoicing faith," — ex- changing his early creed for that of the Christian, and can we wonder that the old ideas long retained their sway, or that Councils were obliged to denounce, and the mis- sionary to inveigh against lingering traces of well-worship, and tree- worship, against divination, and witchcraft^? 1 Eanke's Popes, l. 5. 364. S^S- Thorpe's N. Mythology, I. " Compare Chap. Til. p. 147. 256. Dasent's Tales from the Norse, ^ Kemhle's Saxons in England, I. Introd. p. Ixxxi. 446 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XIX. Can we wonder ttat in an age when the old divinities were still regarded as real powers, who were not entirely teref't of all influence over their apostate votaries, even after they had bowed before the uplifted* Cross, or been signed with the same symbol in the baptismal stream, the missionary was tempted, almost unconsciously, to meet heathenism halfway, and to Christianize superstitions he . found himself powerless to dispel ? Can we wonder that many, unable to resist the glamour of old beliefs, in the midst of which their forefathers "had lived and moved and had their being," were still prone at times to offer the an- cient sacrifices, and, as we gather from the letters of Boni- face', to resort to the old magic and soothsaying ? When we reflect that as late as the fifteenth century the Church was engaged in eradicating the remains of Slavonic hea- thenism, and protesting against a rude fetishism and ser- pent worship, it is surely no matter of surprise that the boundary line between the old and the new faith was not very sharply defined, that a continual interchange long went on between Christian legends and heathen myths. It was no settled policy on the part of the forefathers of European civilization, but the spirit of the age itself, which refused to disjoin the judicial assembly from its old accompanying heathen rites ; which kept heathen festivals on Christian holidays, and celebrated, heathen festivals purified of their grosser elements, under a Christian guise^ ; which exchanged the remembrance cup once drunk at the banquet in honour of Thor and Woden for a similar salu- tation of the Apostles, and in place of the image of Frigga caused the stafl' of some Saint to be carried round the corn- fields to drive away the fieldmice or the caterpillars; which preserved the heathen names of the days of the week, and 1 .^p. XXV. LXXXVll. Statut.Con- N. Mi/th. i. 22'; . Compare also StaD- cil. XXXIII. ley's Eastern Church, 193, Banke'a ^ Grimm, D, M, p. xzzii. Thorpe's Servia, Chap, iv. Retrospect and Reflections. 447 inextricably united the name of a Saxon goddess with ohap, xix. the most joyous of the Christian festivals ; names which have survived all the intervening changes of thought and feeling, and remain to the present day the undying memo- rials of the period of twilight between heathendom and Christianity. V. Our retrospect has, from the nature of the case, been v. ukguimatr. i.n I'll !•• /v> T ^^fhods of piQ- chieily concerned with the more legitimate efforts made p«.ars aijainsi - , - , . . _ _-^ u^ Saxons. subjects 01 more legitimate censure . That these wars were carried on with relentless severity, that the Saxon territory was invaded from year to year, that on one occasion four thousand five hundred prisoners were be- headed for sharing in an insurrection, that, on another, ten thousand Saxons were forcibly removed from their own country into the older Frankish territory, cannot be denied. Still the peculiarities of Charlemagne's position must not be overlooked. Other causes than the simple lust of conquest promoted these wars*. Antipathies of race, and divergences of religious belief lent a peculiar bitterness to the conflict between the Frank and the Saxon. Charle- ^ Greg. Turon. Op. n. 40. Perry's History of France, I. 53. FranJcs, p. 96. ^ Seeabove, Chap. x. pp. 215,216. " Sir J. Stephen's Lectv/res o» the * See p. 215, n. Retrospect and Refiections. 449 magne knew well, that if these hardy pirates of the North chap. xix. gained the upper hand, all order and security in Europe would he at an end. At the root of the new civilization, whereof he was the champion, lay the Christian faith. In the Christian Church he felt were the only elements of order, and he had strengthened his own power hy the most intimate relations with it. It is no wonder, there- fore, that he believed himself bound, as a Christian king, to impose that faith, which alone promised any definite union or concord, on races that still clung to the blood- stained rites of Odinism. " That the alternative, ' Believe or die,' was sometimes proposed by Charlemagne to the Saxons," writes Sir James Stephen, "I shall not dispute, ffi^^f,, But it is not less true that before these terms were ten- ^*"*""''""'* dered to them, they had again and again rejected his less formidable proposal, 'Be quiet and live.' In form and term, indeed, their election lay between the Gospel and the Sword. In substance and in reality, they had to make their choice between submission and destruction. A long and deplorable experience had already shown that the Frankish people had neither peace nor security to expect for a single year so long as their Saxon neighbours retained their heathen rites, and the ferocious barbarism inseparable from them. Fearful as may be the dilemma, ' submit or perish,' it is that to which every nation, even in our own times, endeavours to reduce a host of invading and deso- lating foes ; nor if we ourselves were exposed to similar inroads, should we offer to our assailants conditions more gentle or less peremptory'." These considerations may tend to modify our view of Charlemagne's policy, but the wholesale and indiscriminate mode of administering the rite of baptism on the conclusion of his campaigns, cannot possibly be defended, and drew forth, as we saw, the indig- nant expostulations of Alcuin, and men of kindred spirit. 1 Lecture I. p. 02. 29 450 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages, CHAP. XIX. The violent efforts of the Norwegian princes to enforce Violent effbris Christianity as the national faith have a grotesqueness of wegianjaris. their owH, which relieves them from the imputation of those darker motives which prompted the Albigensian Crusades, and the establishment of the Inquisition. The emotions, which the latter events call forth, are too painful to be dwelt upon, and only call for the expression of gratitude that the age which witnessed them has passed away without the possibility of recall. As for the violence of the Viking, it may be pleaded that, however low and Unworthy the conceptions he had formed of the Christian faith, his mode of enforcing his new Creed on his rough and hardy subjects was at least straightforward. He had believed once in the might of Thor's great hammer, " the crusher and smasher," and force was the only weapon he could conceive capable of effecting his purpose. If the Inquisition and the Albigensian Crusades present the dark, the efforts of Hacon and the Olafs present the grotesque side of the same truth, that acts of violence in the moral world are symptoms of weakness, for " we only resort to religious despotism when we despair of prevailing by per- suasion." To expect maxims of toleration from a Viking would indeed be absurd ; but the fact that, in spite of the violence with which Christianity was introduced into the Scandinavian and other kingdoms, the leaven was found able to work mightily, and to do great things for their advancement, is surely an encouragement as regards the future of modern missionary efforts. When we reflect how long a period even the partial evangelization of Europe occupied, how slow, how gradual was its progress, how at times order seemed to have vanished and chaos to have come back to earth, we shall not be impatient for imme- diate results of missionary work in modern times. Whenever the Church effected anything real or last- ing, it was when she was content to persevere in a spirit Retrospect and Reflections. 451 of absolute dependence on Him who has promised to he chap. xix. with her "always, even unto the end of the world;" when conclusion. in the person of a Columba, a Boniface, a Sturmi, an Anskar, a Eaymund Lull, she was contented to go forth and sow the seed, and then leave it to do its work, remem- bering that if " earthly seed is long in springing up, im- perishable seed is longer still." Whenever she failed in her efforts, it was when she forgot in Whose strength she went forth, and for Whose glory alone she existed, when she was tempted to resort to other means and to try other expedients than those which her great Head had sanc- tioned, when instead of patiently leaving the good seed to grow of itself, she strove to hurry its development, and was impatient of small beginnings and weak instru- ments. For, if the retrospect of the missionary efforts of the Middle Ages teaches one lesson more than another, it is the value of those " slender wires" on which the greatest events are often hung, and the importance of not despising the day of small things. " Let any one," writes the author The vutc from •' . ° . Vv 7 • » ' Martin's of the Historical Memorials of Canterbury, " sit on the cSerM hill of the little church of St Martin at Canterbury, and look on the view which is there spread before his eyes. Immediately below are the towers of the great Abbey of St Augustine, where Christian learning and civilization first struck root in the Anglo-Saxon race; and within which now, after a lapse of many centuries, a new in- stitution has arisen, intended to carry far and wide, to countries of which Gregory and Augustine never heard, the blessings which they gave to us.... From Canterbury, the first English Christian city— from Kent, the first English Christian kingdom — has, by degrees, arisen the whole constitution of a Church and State in England, which now binds together the whole British Empire. And from the Christianity here established in England, has 29—2 452 The Missionary History of the Middle Ages. CHAP. XIX. flowed, by direct consequence, first, the Christianity of Germany, — then, after a long interval, of North America, — and lastly, we may trust, in time, of all India, and all Australasia. The view from St Martin's church is indeed one of the most inspiriting that can be found in the world ; there is none to which I would more willingly take any- one, who doubted whether a small beginning would lead to a great and lasting good, — none which carries us more vividly back to the past, or more hopefully forward to the future\" 1 Stanley's Memorials of Canteriury, p. 39. INDEX. Absalom, bishop of Roeskilde, 331 ; de- stroys the image of Svantovit, 333 Abyssinian Church, interference in of the Portuguese, 394 Adalbert, consecrated bishop of Julin ,315 Adaldag, archbishop of Hamburg-Bre- men, 252 Adamnan, biographer of St Columba, 31 n., imd passim. Addula, abbess, visited by Boniface, 207 Adelbert, Frankish prelate, opponent of Boniface, 196, 7 Adelbert, or Wogteich, bishop of Prague, 289 ; attempts to christianize Prussia, 290, 340 ; his martyrdom, 341 Adelbert, prince of Northnmbria, mis- sionary in Northern Holland, 1 74 ^thelbert, vide Ethelbert Aghabo, Irish monastery, 197 n. AgU, or St Aile, missionary in Bavaria, Agiluht, the Lombard king, visited by St Columbanus, 148 Agilbert, bishop of Dorchester, 121; at the council of "Whitby, 127 Aidan, Scottish king, 90 ; at the council of Dminceath, ib. Aidan, Irish missionary from Hy, i rS ; his lineage, 1 19 and note ; founds the abbey of Lindiafame, ii.; described by Bede, ib. Albert von Apeldern, bishop of Bremen, lays the foundation of Riga, 336 ; in- vokes the aid of the military knights in christianizing Livonia, 337 Albert, margrave of Baren, 319 Albigenses, rise of, 379; their tenets, ii. Albigensian Crusades, 380 Albin, missionary in Pomerania, 317 Albric, sucoesfor of Gregory, abbot of Utrecht, 210; consecrated bishop of Cologne, 223 Albrecht, archbishop of Bremen, pro- motes the Slavonic mission, 328 AJcuin, his school at York, 209; his remonstrances with Charlemagne re- specting the compulsory baptism of the Saxons, 221 ; his remarks respect- ing missionary instruction, 432 AJdgis, Frisian chief, visited by Wilfrid, 167 AMf a, mother of Swend, her incredulity as to the sanctity of Olaf, 275 Alfred the Great and the Danelaghe, 232 n.; his defeat of Guthrum, 233 n.; his mission to the East, 369 n. Alto, Irish missionary in Bavaria, 197 n. Alubert, missionary in Germany, 209. Amandus, missionary bishop from Aqui- tania, 157; his labours among the Frisians, 158; appointed to the see of Mastricht, 159 Ambrose, his treatise on The Advantage of Death, 204 Amoneburg, monastery of, founded by Boniface, 184 Anatolius, bishop, 140 Andrew, St, legendary apostle of Scythia, 290 n. Anegray, monastery of, founded by Co- lumbanus, 136 Anglia, East, evangehzed by Felix, a Burgundian bishop, 116; visited by Fursseus, 117 Anglo-Saxons, their mythology, 16 ; their settlement in England, 97 Anna, king of East Anglia, 121 Anne, Greek princess, marries Vladimir, 294 Anskar, the apostle of Denmark and Sweden, his birth and education, 233; hears of the death of Charlemagne, 234 ; resolves the Danish mission, 235 ; joined by Autbert, ib.; accompanies Harold to Denmark, 236 ; difficulties of the undertaking, ii. ; his missionary 454 Index. efforts in Sweden, 237; Yisits Rome and receives the Pall, 238; repairs to Hamburg, i6. ; expulsion, 239; his endurance under misfortune, 240; se- cond visit to Sweden, 244; permitted to preach at Birka, 246; efforts to check slavery, 248; illness, «6. ; his character, 249 ; death, 250. Ardgar, Danish missionary, 244. Arianism of the Western Goths, 38 ; diffusion amongst the Eastern G-oths, Aristocratic feature of the Mediaeval missions, 401 Ascelin, Dominican monk, undertakes a mission to the Mongols, 370 Asterius, bishop, 121 Augustine, St (of Hippo), his Enchiri- dion, 210; plan for missionary in- atraction, 432 Augustine, archbishop of Canterbury, sent by Gregory to England, 99 ; lands at Ebbe's Fleet, 100; conference with Ethelbert, ih. ; subject matter of his preaching, 102; baptizes Ethelbert, ib. ; correspondence with Gregory, 104, 5 ; conference with the British bishops, 106 ; limits of his success and death, 107. Autbert, companion of Anskar in the Swedish mission, 235; death, 236 Auxerre, visited by St Patrick, 64 Auxilius, accompanies St Patrick to Ireland, 65 ; consecrated bishop, 6g Averroes, his philosophy opposed by iiaymund Lull, 366. B. Baldr, Teutonic god, 22 ; his attributes, 22 n.; contest with Loki, 23 Banchor, monastery of, 135 Bangor, monastery of, 106 Baptism of Clovis, 55 ; of Ethelbert, 102; of Edwin, 114; of Vladimir, 294 Baptisms, national, feature of the Me- diaeval missions, 421; remarks on, 422 Bardic Order, the influence of, 13; advice of Columba respecting, 91 Bavaria, conversion of, 155 ; churches of, organized by archbishop Boniface, 192 Bede, the Venerable, his opinion of St Columba, 83 n.; of Aidau, 119; quoted passim Belbog, a Slavonic deity, 33 Bells, church, antipathy of the Danea to, 248 Benedict, bishop, accompanies Wilfrid to Rome, 126 Benedict, consolidates the various mo- nastic rules, 412 Benignus, favourite disciple of St Patrick, 66; archbishop of Armagh, 76 Bernard, a Spanish ecclesiastic, his mis- sionary efforts in Pomerania, 301; meets bishop Otho, 303 Bernard, of Clairvaux, defends the Jews, 380 _ Beroicia, 117, 118 Bertohwald, archbishop, 182 Bertha, marries Ethelbert, 98 ; her in- fluence over him, 98 Berthold, abbot, heads a mission at YxkuU, 335 ; falls in battle against the Lieflanders, 336 Bethabe, monastery of, 369 Betti, Irish missionary, 122 Bible, translation of by Ulphilas, 40 n. ; by Cyril and Methodius, 284 BiUerbeck, 224 Binna, missionary in Erisia, 184 ; sent to Rome by Boniface, ib. Biom, Danish king, 237, 8 Birinus, missionary in Wessex, 120; ap- pointed bishop of Dorchester, 121 Birka, town of, 237; Anskar, preaches at, 246 Bischofsheim, 193 Bishops, their importance in Mediaeval missions, 413 ; their early influence, 414; their duties, 415 Blexem on the Weser, 226 Bobbio, monastery of, founded by Co- lumbanua, 148; its abbatial presi- dency, ii. note ; its library, ii. note Bogomiles, sect of, 379; their tenets: diffusion in Europe, ib. Bogoris, a Bulgarian prince, baptized by Photius, 280; visited by various mis- sionaries, 281 Bohemia evangelized by Greek" mission- aries, 287; overrun by Boleslav the Cruel, 288 Boleslav, a Bohemian prince, persecutes the Christiana, 288; conquered by Otho I. 289 Boleslav II. or the Pious, 289 Index. 455 Boleslav, a Polish duke, persuades bp Otho to undertake the Pomerarian mission, 304 ; invades Pomerania, 3-21 Bonaven Tabemise, buiih-place of St Pa- trick, 61 Boniface, or "Winfrid, the "Apostle of Germany," birth and education, 182 ; honoured by king Ina, ih. ; first mis- sionary voyage to Frisia, 183; jour- ney to Rome, ib. ; early efforts inThu- ringia, 184 ; second journey to Rome, ib.; interview with the Pope, 185; takes the oath of obedience to the Holy See, ib. ; returns to Hesse, 186 ; letter from Daniel bishop of Winches- ter, 187; destroys the sacred oak of Giesmar, 188 ; invites aid from Eng- land, 189; befriended by Charles Mar- tel, 190; third journey to Rome, 191; invested with the pall, ib. ; visits the diocese of Bavaria, igi ; joined by fresh missionaries, 193; revives the Synodal System, 194; regulations of his first synod, 195,6; his quarrel with Adelbert, Clemens, and Feargil, 197,8; rebukes Pope Zacharias, 198; Interferes in the matter of Gewillieb, 199; his metropolitan seat fixed at Mentz, 200 ; wishes to retire to Ful- da, 201 ; corresponds with king Ethel- bald and archbishop Cuthbert, 202 ; his letter to Fuldrede, 203; his last efforts in Frisia, 204 ; his martyrdom, 205 ; reflections on his life and work, 205, 6 Books of Kells and Durrow, 87 ; descrip- tion of, 87 n. Boructuarians, missions to, 1 70 Borziwoi, Bohemian duke, his baptism, 288 Bosham, cell of, 128 Boso, bishop of Merseburg, 327 Bregenz, monastery of, 145 Breisgau, penetrated by Trudpert, 153 Brigid, St, her cell in Kildare, 76 British Church, 97 ; representatives of, in conference with Augustine, 106 Bruide, Piotish chief, visited by St Co- lumba, 84 Brunehaut, her opposition to Columba- nus, 142, 143 Buchonia (Burchwald) forest of, pene- trated by abbot Sturmi, 211 Bugia (Beyjah), scene of the martyrdom of Raymund Lull, 364 Bulgaria, its border-wars with the Greek emperors, 279; partially converted, 280, 281; unites with the Byzantine patriarchate, 283 Cadoe, a Welch saint, 79 Cadvan, king of Gwynedd, no Csedmon, his metrical paraphrase, 436 Caedwalla defeated by Oswald, 117 Caelian Hill, monastery of, 96 Caibre Riada, descent of king Aidan from, 90 Cainnech, companion of St Columba, 88 Caledonian Wood, the, 84 Calphurnius, father of St Patrick, 61 CalixtuB II. Pope, 303 Cammin visited by bishop Otho, 308 Candidus, letter of Gregory to, 99 Canterbury, entrance of Augustine into, lOI Canute, 252 ; his laws against heathen- ism, 277 and note Carinthia evangtjhzed by Rupert of Worms, 156; by Feargil or Virgilius, 198 Casimir I. king of Poland, 299 Catteriok on the Swale, 115 Cedd, missionary in Mercia, 122 Celts, the, early notices of, 10; their re- ligious rites, 12 CenweaJh, his exile and conversion, 121 CeoUach, missionary bishop, 123 Charibert, king of Paris, 98 Charlemagne, his accession, 215; his wars with the Saxons, 216 — 220; his persecuting policy, 222 ; his final con- quest of the Saxons, 227 ; incident in his life at Narbonne, 229; his death and entombment, 234; reflections on his policy, 449 Chazars, the, partially christianized, 283 Christian, a Pomeranian monk, his mis- sionary labours in Prussia, 341 ; in- vokes the aid of the mUitaiy knights, 342 Chrysostom, St, his zeal for the Gothic missions, 42, 3 Chunichild aids archbishop Boniface in Thuringia, 193 Chunitrude, her convent in Bavaria, 193 Church, extension of, during first four centuries, 4 456 Index. Churches, Irish, peculiarity of, 58 n. Clemens, Irish missionary, his heresies, 197 Clouard monastic seminary, 79 Clonfad, the diocese of bishop Etchen, 80 Clotilda, wife of Clovis, her family his- tory, 52; her anxiety for his conver- sion, 53 Clovis becomes chief of the Salian Franks, 52; his career of conquest, lb. ; marries Clotilda, ib. ; fights the battle of Tolbiac, 54; his baptism, 55 ; importance of his conversion, 56 Cluain-inis, 134 Coifi, his speech before king Edwin, 113; destroys the Saxon temple at God- mundingham, 114 Cohnan, Irish missionary in Northum- bria, 126; succeeds Finan at Lindis- farne, ib. ; at the council of Whitby, 127 Columba, St, founder of lona, 78; his name, birth, and education, 79 ; or- dained priest, 80 ; founds various mo- nasteries, 80, I ; his quarrel with St Finnian, 81 ; judgment of king Diar- maid, 82 ; his martial propensities, 83 ; arrives at Hy, 85 ; his monastery and its precincts, 16. ; his rule, 86 ; his personal appearance, 87; interview with the Pictish chief Bruide, 88 ; tours in Pictland and the Orkneys, 89, 90; crowns king Aidan, 91; his death, 93 ; effects of his labours, 94 Colimibanus, Irish missionary, 134; birth and parentage, 134, 5; with twelve brethren repairs to France, 135; founds various monasteries, 136; severity of his rule, 137, 8; provokes the jea- lousy of the Frankish clei-gy, 140; his letter to Gregory the Great, ii. ; re- proves Thierri, 142; persecuted by Brunehaut, 143 ; repairs to Zug, 144; founds the monastery of Bregenz,! 45; declaims against heathenism, 146; re- tires to Bobbio, 148 ; death, ib. Comgall, companion of St Columba, 88 ComgaU, St, of Bangor, 92 Conall, his grant of the island of Hy to St Columba, 85 Connaught, St Patrick's tours in, 68 Cooldrevny, battle of, 8 a Corbey, monastery of, 233 Corbinian, Frankish missionary, 156, n. Cormac, founds Irish schools, 76 Gorman, Irish monk, 118 Coroticus, Irish pirate chief, 70 > letter of St Patrick, lb. Council of Whitby, 125 Councils, ecclesiastical importance of, 416; enactments of, 417 Crediton, birthplace of St Boniface, 181 Crom-Cruach, the Irish idol, destroyed by St Patrick, 68 Cruko, Wendish chief, 329 Crusades, effect of, on missionary enter- prise, 351 Cucusus, place of St Chrysostom's exile, 43 Cupharaa, a Greek monk, preacher to Bogoria, 279 ; displays a picture of the last day, 280 Cuthbert, archbishop, 202 Cwichelm, king of Wessex, ill Cynegils, king of Wessex, conversion and baptism, 120, i Cyril, (Constantino) 284 ; missionary in Moravia, ib. D. Dagan, Irish bishop, loS, and note Dalaradia, residence of Milcho, 62 Dambrowka, Bohemian princess, 298 Danish missions, 229 — 252 Daniel, bp of Winchester, befriends Boniface, 183; letter to Boniface, 1 86 j quoted more fully, 426 — 429 David, a Welch saint, 79 Declan, Irish missionary in Bavaria, 198 n. Deira, 117, 118 Delphinus, visited by Wilired, T26 Denmark, missions commenced in 232 ; visited by Anskar, 236 ; persecution under Eric II. ; visited by Eimbert, 247 ; missions extended by archbishop tJnni, 250 Deusdedit, archbishop of Canterbury, 124 Diarmaid, king of Ireland, his decision against St Columba, 82 Dicul, Irish missionary, companion of Fursaeus, 128 Diethmar, bishop of Prague, 289 Dinoth, abbot, 106 Ditmarsi, the, evangelized by Willehad, 231 Index. 457 Ditmar, bishop of Merseburg, 298 Dittmar, canon of Bremen, 331 Diuma, Irish missionary in England, 112 ; becomes bishop of the Mercians, 123 Dobda, Irish missionary, 197 n. Dockingen, 204 Doerstadt, port of, 182, 237 Doire-Eithne, hamlet in Donegal, 79 Douafield, baptisms by Paulinusat, 1 15 Donar, or Thor, god of thunder, 21 ; his attributes, 21 n. ; oak of, near Gies- ' mar, 187 Dragomira, a Bohemian princess, 288 Drom-Einn, cell of St Finnian, 8 1 Drontheim, Churches in, 256 ; heathen feast at, 257 Druids, their influence, 12 ; called magi, 13 Druimceatt, council of, 90 Druimsailech, 71 ; site of Armagh, ib. Dubtach, founder of Irish schools, 76 Dundrum, bay of, 65 Dunwlch, bishopric of, 124 E. Eadbald, son of Ethelbert, hig apostasy, 108 Eadburga, abbess, coixesponds with archbishop Boniface, igi EaUifrith, co-regent with Oswiu, 125 EanSeda, queen of Oswiu, 125 Eanfrith, prince of Bernicia, 117 East-AngUa, conversion of, 1 16 Easter, disputes respecting the time of keeping, no; also 125 Eastre, or Eostre, Anglo-Saxon goddess, 22 n. ; connexion of her name with the Easter festival, 22 n., 447 Ebbe's-Fleet, landing-place of Augus- tine, 100 Ebbo, archbishop, his mission to the Norsemen, 232 Ebbo, priest of Lutzen, 328 ; murdered by the Slavonians, ib. Ecgbert, a Northumbrian, studies in the Irish schools, 168 ; his zeal for the Frisian mission, 169; retires to Ire- land, ib. ; selects Willibrord for the mission, 169 Eddas, the Scandinavian, 17 Edwin, king of Northumbria, vicissi- tudes of his life, 108 ; his conversion, 114; aids Paulinus in the Northum- brian mission, 115 ; falls in the battle of Hatfield, 117 Egmond, evangelized by Adelbert, 174 Eichstadt, church of, 192. Eileen-Columkille, 99. Eire, his family settle in Argyleshire, 84 Eithne, mother of St Columba, 78 ; her vision, ib. Elana, or Elachuave, (the "Holy Is- land ") monastery of, 89. Eligius, or StEloy, his birthplace, 159 ; master of the mint to Clotaire, 160 ; his charities, ib. ; becomes bishop of Noyon, 161 ; his missionary labours, 162 ; his sermons, 162 — 165 ; his death, 166 Elphege, bishop of Winchester, 261 Emmeran, bishop of Aquitania, 155; missionary labours at flatisbon, and death, ib. England, missionary work in, <)6 — 131 ; see under Augustine, Aidan, Gregory, Ethelbert. Eoban, bishop, companion of archbishop Boniface, 204 Eorpwald, kingofEast-Anglia, his con- version, 116 Epternach, convent of, 226 Eresburg, on the Drimel, 2 7 ; and 215 ; site of the Irminsaule, ib., and note Eric, the Eed, 247 Eric, Blodbxe, his cruelties, 254 ; re- signs the Norwegian throne, 255 Erimbert, missionary in Sweden, 247 Ernan, maternal uncle of St Columba, abbot of Hymba, 89 Etchen, anchorite bishop of Clonfad, 80 Ethelbert, king of Kent, 98 ; marries Bertha, ib. ; his conference with Au- gustine, 100; baptized 102; death 108; apostasy of his sons, ib. Ethelberga, marries Edwin king of Nor- thumbria, no; co-operates with Pau- linus in the conversion of her husband, ib. Ethelfrith, brother-in-law of Edwin, no Ethel walch, his kindness to Wilfrid, 128 Ethica, monastery at, 89 Eulogius, patriarch of Constantinople, letter of Augustine to, 103 Eucherius, father of Ehgius,i59 Eustachius, missionary in Bavaria, 155 458 Index. Ewald, the brothers, missionaries to the Old Saxons, their martyrdom, 173 F. Faroes, the, 267, n. Feargil, or Virgilius, Irish missionary, his controversy with archbishop Boni- face, 198 ; becomes bishop of Salz- burg, ib. Fedhlimidh, father of St Columba, 78 Felix, a Burgundiaa, his mission to East-AngKa, 116 Finnian, of Clonard, Irish abbot, 79 ; his Psalter, 8 1 Finnian, of Mofille, 79 ; befriends St Columba, 83 Finan, bishop of the Mercians, 123 Finan, succeeds Aidan at Lindisfame, 122 Flensburgh, battle of, 247 Foch-ladh, wood of, 63 Fordun, in Kircardineshire, 60 Fosite, Teutonic deity, 1 72 n. Fositesland, visited by Willibrord, 171 ; its sacredness, ib. ; again visited by Liudger, 223 Franks, the, 51 ; their settlements in Gaul,i6. ; Clovis assumes the chieftaincy of, 52 ; importance of their conver- sion, 57 ; degeneracy of the Frankish Church, ib. Francis St, of Assisi, 352 ; confronts the Sultan of Egypt, 352 ; his cour- age, 353 Fridolin, missionary near Seckingen, IS3 Frisia, visited by WUfrid, 167, 8 ; by Wigbert, 169; by Willibrord, 170; Wulframof Sens, 175 — 8 ; archbishop Boniface, 183, 184, 204 Fritigem, a Gothic chief, the disciple of Ulphilas, 42 Fritzlar, monastery of, founded by Boniface, 189 n. Fulda, monastery of, founded by Sturmi, 214 ; rule of, ib. ; the body of Boni- face interred there, 215 ; attacked by the Saxons, 217 Fuldrede, Frankish chamberlain, letter of archbishop Boniface to, 202 Fursseus, Irish missionary, 117, n ; his labours in East-Anglia, ib. Fussen, monastery of, in Suabia, 153 G. Gallus, an Irish missionary, accompanies Columbanus to. Switzerland, 145 ; preaches at Bregenz, 146; supports the brethren by fishing, 147; founds the monastery of St Gall, 149, 150 ; dechnes the see of Constance, 15 1 ; his sermon, 152 ; his death, ib. Gartan, in Donegal, birthplace of St Columba, 78 Gauzbert, missionary in Sweden, 238 ; expelled by the pagans, 2 39 GeUana, her enmity towards IKilian, 153 Geisa, an Hungarian chief, encourages Christianity, 287 n. Gemman, a Christian bard, 79 Gerold, bishop, slain, 199 Germanus, bishop, 64 Germany, Southern, evangelized by Celtic missionaries, 130 — 152; Nor- thern, by Boniface and other mis- sionaries, 157 — 228 Germany, vast forests of, 408, 409 Gewillieb, son of bishop Gerold, 199; slays his father's murderer, ib.; de- posed from bis bishopric, 200 Giesmar, sacred oak of, destroyed by Boniface, 187 Gildas, a Welch saint, 79 Gisa, queen of the Eugii, 50 ; her cruelty to her captives, ib. ; reproved by Se- verinus, 51 Gnesen, see of, 299 Gear, anchorite missionary, 132 n. Godfrey, king of Lethra, 232 Godmundingham, temple of, destroyed by Coifi, 114 Godo, Isle, residence of Hand the " Strong," 265 Gorm, or Guthrum, king, 2 32 n. Goths, the scanty records of the diflni- sion of the Gospel amongst, 37; causes, 38 ; evangelized by UlpbUas, ib. ; Gothic colony in Moesia, 41; con- verted to Arianism, 43 ; their conver- sion sought by St Chrysostom, ib. Gottscbalk, Wendish prince, his efforts to introduce Christianity, 328 ; mur- dered, ib. Gozbert, Franconian chieftain, 153 Greenland, colonized, 277 n. ; first Greenland bishop, ib. ; subsequent fortunes of the Greenland church, i5. Gregory the Great, sees the Saxon boys Index, 459 in the Koman Forum, 96 ; undertakes a mission to England, 97 ; recalled by the people, ib. ; letter to the presbyter Candidas, 99; sends Augustine to England, ih.; letter to Eulogius, 103; replies to Augustine's question, 104 ; reflections on his missionary policy, 43 Gregory II. exacts an oath of obedience from archbishop Boniface, 187 Gregory III., correspondence with arch- bishop Boniface, 191 n. Gregory, abbot of Utrecht, his first meeting with archbishop Boniface, 207 ; accompanies him as a missionary, 208 ; visits Eome, ib, ; his missionary college, 2og; his death, 210 , Grimkil, an English bishop in Norway, 269 ; companion of Olaf the Saint, ib. Groningen, evangelized by Willehad, 224 Gudbrand Dale, his opposition to Olaf the Saint, 270 Gundebald, uncle of Clotilda, 55 Guntram, king, welcomes Columbanus, 135 Giitzkow, visited by bishop Otho, 319; destruction of Slavonic temples at, ib. Gyda, marries Harold Haarfager, 254 Gyda, sister of Olaf Kvaran, 261 H. Hacon, at the court of Athelstane, 255 succeeds to the Norwegian throne, ib. efforts to put down heathenism, ib. his proposition at the Thing, 256 bidden to conform to heathen c ustoms, 257; refuses to eat the sacred horsC' flesh, ib.; falls in battle, 258 Hacon, jarl, his apostasy, 259 ; his depo- sition, 260 Halfdenthe "Black," 253 Haldebald, bishop, 236 Halitgar, bishop of Cambray, 232 Halogaland, distress in, 259 Hamburg, visited by Anskar, 238 ; sacked and burnt by Eric, 239 ; bishop- ric of united to Bremen, 244 ; re- visited by Anskar, 248 Harold Blaatand, or BlacTe-tooth, his baptism, 2 5 1 ; visited by bishop Poppo, ib. ; falls in battle against his son, 252 Harold Greenske, 262 Harold Haarfager, conquers all Norway, 254 ; resigns in favour of his son, ih. Harold Klak, king of Jutland, 232 ; baptism of, ib. Hartwig, archbishop of Bremen, 334 Heathenism : see nnder Idolatry Hefenfeld, near Hexham, 118; battle of, ib. Heidenheim, monastery of, 193 Henry, the Lion, vanquishes the Wends, Herigar, Swedish chief, converted by Anskar, 238; his constancy, 241; wel- comes Ardgar, 243 Hersfeld, site of, 212; visited by Sturmi, ib. Hessia, evangelized by archbishop Boni- face, 188 Hilary, of Aries, 64 Hilda, the abbess, at the council of Whitby, 125, 126 Hildebald, companion of the missionary Gallus, 149 Hildebold, archbishop of Cologne, 224 Hincmar, of Eheims, 438 Honorius, archbishop of Canterbury, 116 Holm-Patrick, landing-place of the apostle of Ireland, 65 Hordaland, North, Hacon buried at, Horick, king of Jutland, 244 ; encou- rages Anskar, ib. Hungarians, their ravages, 286 n.; the terror of Europe, ib.; their gradual conversion, 287 n. ; evangelized by Piligrin, bishop of Passau, ib. Hy ; see under lona Hymba, monastery at, 89 Iceland, discovered and colonized, 266n. ; efforts to Christianize, 267 n.; visited by Thangbrand, 267 Idolatry : (i) Celtic, Astral worship, 14; Druidio teaching, 15 ; Caesar's opinion respecting, 12 ; human sacri- fices, 15 ; idol of Crom-cruach, 68 (ii) Teutonic, Early form of, 17; combined 460 Index. •mih nature-worship, fg ; hero- worship, 20; mythology, 21 ; legend of Baldr, 33 ; Loki, 22; temples, 26 ; sacrifices, animal, 27 — human, 28, 9; omens, 20 and note ; regard for lots, ib. (iii) Slavonic, Simpler than the Teutonic, 32; early form, ib.; subsequent de- velopment, 33; mythology, 34; temples, 33 ; forms of, in Li- vonia, 334; Prussia, 338, 9; Lithuania, 344 ; sacrifices, 35 ; omens from the stepping of the sacred horses, 34. Ina, ling, patronizes archbishop Boni- face, 183 Inn, the, river flowing into the Danube, 48 ; cell of Seyeriaus near, ih. Innocent III., his anathemas against the Albigenses, 380 Inquisition, the establishment of, 384 ; cruelties of, ii.; motto of, at Seville, ib. and note lona, situation, 85 ; establishment of St Columba's monastery at, 86 ; mis- sionaries from, in England, 120 Ireland, introduction of Christianity into, 59 ; converted by St Patrick, 60 — 75 Irish schools, importance of, 76 Irish missionaries in England, 120; their zeal, 134; labour on the Continent, ib.\ their outward appearance, I34n., 410 Irminsaule, Teutonic image, 27; descrip- tion of, 16. and note ; destroyed, 2 15 n. Isabella, queen of Spain, 383 ; influence of Torquemada over, 384 ; signs the decree for the expulsion of the Jews, 385. Isserninua, companion of St Patrick, 68 ; advanced to the episcopate, 69 Ithamar, Anglo-Saxon bishop, 124 Jacob, the deacon, companion of Pauli- mis, 117, 126 Jarlath, arohbp of Armagh, founds Irish schools, 76 Jews in Spain, 381 ; condition under the Saracens, ii.; persecuted by the Span- ish government, 382 ; stories concern- ing, ib.; expulsion &om Spain, 385 ; persecution of, in various countries, 387 Johannes de Piano Carpini, his embassy to Tartary, 371 John, missionary in Switzerland, com- panion of Gallus, 150; elevated to the see of Constance, 151 John, Irish bishop of Mecklenburg, his mission, 328 ; martyrdom, 329 Julin, town in Pomerania, visited by bishop Bernard, 301 ; his expulsion from, 302 ; visited by bishop Otho, 309; fanaticism of its inhabitants, ib.; their baptism, 314 Justus sent to England by Gregory I. 105 ; consecrated bishop of Roches- ter, 107; succeeds to the see of Canj terbury, 109 Jutland, Harold Klak, king of, 232 Kaiserworth, monastery of, 170 Kells, book of, Kent, conversion of, 102 Klilian, Irish missionary from Hy, 153; his labours at Wiirzbm'g, 154; assas- sinated by command of Geilana, 154 Kitzingen, monastery of, 193 ; Thecla stationed at, ih. Kodran, Iceland chief, 243 n. Kolbein destroys the image of Thor, 273 L. Lade, destruction of temple at, 263; feast at, 264 Lap-king, Olai the, 277 Laurence, successor of Augustine, 107; his dream, 109 Lebuin, missionary amongst the Saxons, 218; his boldness before the Saxon assembly, 219 ; barely escapes with his life, 220 Leogaire, Irish chieftain, 66 ; his kind reception of St Patrick, 67 Leontius, Russian metropolitan, 293 Leutbert, bishop Bremen, 2 39 ; his death, 243 Lieflanders, their superstitions, 334 ; partial conversion, 335 ; their jealousy of Theodoric, ib. Judex. 461 Lindisfame, monastery of, i3o Lioba, comes from England to join arch- bishop Boniface, 193; stationed at Bischofsheim on the Tuber, 193 n. ; her intimacy with HUdegard, (h. Jiithuania, fanaticism of the inhabitants of, 344; serpent-worship in, 348 n; partial evangelization, 346 liudger, missionary in Frisia, ■223; his expedition to Heligoland, it. ; his mis- sionary labours amongst the Saxons, 224; his death, ib. I/ivinus, Irish missionary bishop, 159; his martyrdom, ib. Louis-le-DSbonnaire, carries out the mis- sionary plans of Charlemagne, 232 ; his interviews with Anskar, 236 ; stands sponsor at the baptism of Ha- rold Klak, 233 Ludmilla, Bohemian princess, pious ef- forts of, 288 Luitprand, king of the Lombards, 192 Lull, missionary in Northern Germany, 201; appointed coadjutor to Boniface, 202 LulljRaymund, birth and education,354; recklessness of his youth, ih.; his con- version, 355 ; resolves to attempt the conversion of the Saracens, 356; his plans, 357,' enters on the study of Arabic, 358; composes his Ars gene- ralis, 359; repairs to Eome, iJ. ; teaches at Tunis, 361 ; his preaching, 362 ; banished, 363; at the council of Vi- enne, 367; his ardour for establishing missionary colleges, 368 ; his martyr- dom, ib. Lupus of Troyes, 64 Luxeuil, monastery of, 136 Lystra visited by St Paul, i M. Macha visited by St Patrick, 71 Msere in Norway, great heathen sacri- fice at, 264 JIagh Sleoht, site of the Celtic image of Crom-cruach, 68 ]Magnoald, Irish missionary, 148 ; his monastery, 153 Magus, word always used to express the Druidic functions, 1 3 and note ; op- position of the magi to St Patrick, 67 ; to St Columba, 88 jMainots the, conversion of, 283 Martin, St, cathedral of, at Tours, 98, 102 Martel, Charles, defeats the Saracens, 348 ; befriends archbp Boniface 190 Meinhard, missionary in Livonia, 324; appointed to the see of Yxkull, ib. Mellitus, arrives in England, 105; be- comes bishop of Loudon, 107; ex- pelled, 108; recalled, 109 Mentz, metropoHtan see of Boniface, 200 Mercia, conversion of the kingdom of, 122 Methodius, his mission to Moravia, 284; appointed metropolitan, 2S5; op- posed by the German clergy, 286; his Slavonic Liturgy, ib. ; his death, ib. n. Michael, Greek emperor, sends mission- aries to Moravia, 284 Mieceslav I. Polish duke, his efforts for the conversion of Poland, 298 Milcho, the heathen master of St Pa- trick, 62 ; refuses to hsten to his preaching, 66 Missionary instruction, 423; eminently objective, 424; as given by St Pa- trick, 68, 69, 424 ; by Augustine, loi, 424; by Oswiu, 425; by Eligius 162 — 166 ; by Gallus, 146, 426; by Daniel bishop of Winchester in his corre- spondence with Boniface, 426 — 429 ; by Boniface himself, 429 — 431 ; re- marks of Alcuin respecting, 431, 2 Mistewoi, Slavonic chief, wastes North- em Germany, 327 Mizlav, governor of Giitzkow, his bap- tism, 319; releases his prisoners, 320 Monastic rules of Columba, 86 ; of Co- lumbanus, 137 — 139 Monasteries, Celtic, 410 ; Benedictine, their beneficial effects, 412; degene- racy, 413 ; remarks of Livingstone respecting, ib. Monastic feature of Mediaeval missions, 406—413 Mongols, the, invade Europe, 370; em- bassies to, 371 — 377 Monte Cassino, monastery of, 192 Moors persecuted by the SpanishChurch, 351; expelled from Spain, 393 Morisoos, 392 Moravia, evangelized by Cyril and Me- thodius, 284 — 286 Mythology, Celtic, 14, 15 ; Teutonic, 17 — 29 ; Slavonic, 32 — 35 ; contradic- tions of, 427 462 Index. N. Nestorians, their missionary zeal, 369 ; penetrate into China, ib.j their schools, ib. and note Nicholas, Pope, sends missionaries to Bulgaria, 281 ; quarrel with Photius, 282 ; snmmona Cyril and Methodius to Eome, 285 Nidaros visited by Icelandic chiefs, 16';; Olaf the saint's body exhumed at, 275 Northmen or Norsemen, Charlemagne's prophecy concerning, 229 ; ravages of, 230; gradual civilization, 276, 7 Northumbria, mission of Paulinus to, 110; partially evangelized, 115; de- cline of the mission, 117; resumed by missionaries from lona, 418 Norway, its condition till the ninth cen- tury, -i^i ; conquered by Harold Ha- arfager, 254; christianized byHacon, 255 — 259; by Olaf Tryggvason, 262 — 368; by Olaf the saint, 269 — 274; oppressed by Swend, 276 ; gradually civilized, 277 0. Obotrites, the, vanquished by Henry the Lion, 329 Odoacer, hia interview with Severinus, 49 ^ . Olaf Kvaran, Danish chief at Dublm, 261 Olaf Tryggvason, his accession to the throne of Norway, 260; visits the SoiUy Isles, 261 ; his baptism and marriage, 262; resolves to put down heathenism, 263; destroys the image of Thor at Meere, 265 ; slays Eaud the " Strong," 266; attempts to chris- tianize Iceland, 267 n. Olaf, the saint; his accession to the throne of Norway, 269 ; his violent efforts to put down heathenism, 270 ; destroys the image of Thor, 273 ; at- tempts to christianize Greenland and the Orkneys, 274; retires to Eussia, ib. ; attempts to recover his kingdom, 275; defeated and slain, ib. ; regarded as a saint, ib. ; exhumation of his body, 276; becomes patron saint of Norway, Olave's, St, church in London, 276 n. Olga, Russian princess, her baptism, 261 ; her efforts in favour of Christianity, V), Ongend, a Danish chief, terror of, 171 Onund, king of Sweden, 274 Orkneys, the, partially christianized, 274. Oswald, king of Northumbria, 117; vic- tory over Csedwaller, 118; sends for missionaries from lona, ib. ; aids Ai- dan in evangelizing his subjects, irg ; establishes the see of Dorchester, 121 ; falls in battle against Penda, 122 Oswiu, his conquest of Penda, 123 ; at the synod of Whitby, 125 ; his reply to Wnfrid, 128 Otger, Anglo-Saxon missionary, 1 75 Otho (bishop of Bamberg), undertakes the Pomeranian mission, 303 j arrives at Gnesen, 304; difficulties of the journey, 304 ; entry into Pyritz, 306 ; baptism of seven thousand, ib\ Otho's missionary sermon, 307 ; visits Cam- mim and Julin,, 308, 309 ; advances to Stettin, 310 ; sends an embassy to Boleslav, 311 ; baptizes two young chiefs, ib. ; destroys the heathen tem- ples, 313 ; sends the triple head of Triglav to Eome, ib. ; returns to his own diocese, 315 ; returning to Pome- rania, pleads with Wratislav for Leu- tician captives, 316 ; visits "Wolgast and Giitzkow, 319 ; disarms the ven- geance of Boleslav, 320 ; again visits Stettin, 32 1 ; is violently attacked by the heathen party, 323 j his courage, ib.; his death, 325. Palladius sent to Ireland by Pope Cse- lestine, 60 ; ambiguity of his mission, ib. ; lands at Wicklow, ib.', insignifi- cant result of his labours, ib. and n. Pannonia, evangelized by Severinus, 46 Patrick, St, the Apostle of Ireland, 60 ; his life overlaid with legends, 61 ; his true name, birth, and its probable date, 61 ; carried captive to Ireland, 62 ; his sufferings, ib. ; his escape, 63 ; repairs to the monasteries of S. France, 64; studies at Tours, Auxerre, and Lerins, ib. ; probable visit to Britain, ib, ; lands in Ireland, 65 ; Index. 463 baptizes a chief named Dichu, ib, ; preaches before the assembled chiefs at Tara, 66 ; opposed by the Magi, 67 ; his hymn called St PatricJc's ar- mour^ 6*] n. ; his missionary tours in Connaught, Mayo, and Ulster, 68 ; subjects of his preaching, 69 ; further operations in Ulster, Leinster, and Oashel, 70 ; his letter to Coroticus, ib. ; founds the city of Armagh, 72 ; holds a synod, id. ; its enactments, 73 ; labours and death, 73 — 75- Papar, Irish missionaries in the Orkney and Shetland isles, 267 n. ; their re- lics, i6. Passau, see of, 192 Paul, St, at Lystra and Malta, i, 2 ; features of these incidents, 3 Pauhcius escorts bishop Otho to Pome- rania, 304 Paulinus, ordained a missionary bishop by Justus, no; accompanies Ethel- burga to York, ib. ; baptizes Edwin, 114 ; labours with success in North- umbria, 116 ; appointed to the see of Rochester, 117 Penda invades Northumbria, 117; slain in battle, 123 Percunos, Slavonic deity worshipped in Prussia, 339 Peroun, Russian idol, flung by Vladi- mir into the Dnieper, 295 Persia, Nestorians gain a footing in, 369 Photius, patriarch of Constantinople, baptizes Eogoris, 280 ; his quarrel with the Western Church, 282 PicuUos, Slavonic deity, described, 339 Piligrin, bishop of Passau, 287 n. ; evangelizes the Hungarians, ib. Plechelm, Anglo-Saxon missionary in Frisia, 174 Poland, Slavonic superstitions rife in, 297 ; partially converted, 298 ; Polish bishopric established at Posen, 299 Pomerania, subjugation of by Poland, 300 ; efforts of Bernard for the con- version of, 302 ; evangelized by bishop Otho, 304—325 Poppo, a priest, visits Harold "Blaa- tand," 251 ; legend of, ib., and note Porphyrogenitus, the Greek emperor, receives the princess Olga, 291 Potrimpos, Slavonic deity, 339 ; wor- shipped in Prussia as the God of com and fruits, ib. Prone, Slavonic deity, 331 Prussia, the stronghold of Slavonic pa- ganism, 338 ; characteristics of its superstitions, 339 ; efforts of Adalbert to evangelize, 340 ; of Bruno, 34 1 ; of Gottfried, ift. ; of Christian, j6. ; in- vaded by the Teutonic knights, 342 ; ecclesiastical organization of, 343 Psalter, St Finnen's, legend of, 81 ; copied by St Columba, ib., and 82 n. Pyritz, visited by bishop Otho, 305 ; seven thousand inhabitants baptized, 306 Q. Quemheim, on the Weser, birth of Vice- Un at, 330 E. Eadbod, a Frisian chief, defeated by Pepin, 171 ; Willibrord attempts to convert, 174; baptism of his son by bishop Wulfram, 175 ; reproved by Wulfram for cruelty, 1 76 ; declines baptism, 177 ; legend of his vision, 178, 9 Eadegast, Slavonic god of war, 33, and note ; head of John, bishop of Meck- lenburg, fixed in the temple of, 329 Baud, a northern viking, his encounter with Olaf Tryggvason, 265 ; cruelly murdered, 266 Raymund, Lull : see under Lull Raymund de Pennaforte, 358 Reculver, Ethelbert retires to, 103 Redwald, king of East-Anglia, restores Edwin to his kingdom, in Remigius, bishop of Eheims, baptizes Clovis, 55 Rethre, stronghold of Slavonic idolatry, 32 7 ; John of Mecklenburg murdered at, 329 Richborough, Augustine crosses to, loi Rimbert, missionary in Jutland, 247 ; succeeds Anskar, 250 Ripa, church of, in Jutland, 247 Eomanus, a Kentish priest, at the coun- cil of Whitby, 126 Rubruquis, William de, mission of, to the Mongols, 371 ; penetrates as far as Caracorum, ib. ; his discussion with the Mongol court officers, 372 ; inter- 464 Index. view with the Khan, 373 ; returns to Europe, 374 Eiigen, island of, 321; the Mona of the Baltic Slavonians, ib. ; vain attempt of bishop Otho to evangelize, ib. ; conquered by Waldemar of Denmark, 332 ; christianized, 333 Eugii, the tribe of, evangelized by Seve- rinus, 48 ; king and queen of, reproved by him, 50, i Rupert, bishop of Worms, 155 ; his missionary labours in Bavaria, 156; founds the Cathedral of Salzburg Russia, rise of the empire of, 290 ; evan- gelized by Greek missionaries, 291 ; Vladimir king of, visited by various missionaries, 292 ; his baptism, 293, 4 ; gradual introduction of Christianity into, 295, 6 Sabhall Padruic, origin of the name, 65 Sacraments, seven, early mention of, by bishop Otho, 308 Salten Fiord, storm in, 265 Saul, a favourite resort of St Patrick, 65 Saxons, wars of Charlemagne with, 215; Sturmi's efforts to convert, 216; attack Fulda, 2 1 7 ; visited by St Lebuin, 218; rebellion of, under Wittekind, 223 ; missionary eflforts of Liudger and Wil- lehad to convert, 224 — 226 Schleswig, Anskar settles at, 236 ; bell suspended in the church of, 248 Schools, Irish, rise of, 76 Senile, abbot of Cluain-inis, 134 SoUly Isles, visit of Olaf Tryggvason to, 261, and note Scriptures, the, portion of, read in the monasteries during meal times, 207 ; translation of, by XTlphilas, 40, and note; by Cyril and Methodius, 284; other translations of portions of, 436—438 Segeberg, church at, 331 Segetius, his connection with St Patrick, 64 Segienus, abbot of Hy, 118; Oswald requests missionaries of, ib Serpent-worship in Prussia, 339 ; in Li- thuania, 344, 345, and notes Severiuus, the "Apostle of Noricum," 45 ; mystery of his eaxly life, 46 ; his missionary exertions in Pannonia, 47; his heroism, 48; his influence over barbarous chiefs, 49 ; interview with Odoacer, ib. ; his exhortations to Gisa, queen of the Rugii, 50; death, {,1 ; effect of hia efforts, ib. Shetland Isles, visited by the Papar, or Irish anchorites, 267 n. Sidonius, Latinized form of Sedna, an Irish missionary, 198 n. Sigebert, king of East Anglia, 117; welcomes Fursseus, 117 Sigfrid, archdeacon of York, his zeal for the Swedish missions, 252 n. Sigibodus, disciple of abbot Gregory of Utrecht, 209 ; repairs to Alcuin'a school at York, 209 Sigurd, bishop, exorcises the "Crane," 266 ; his address to the bonders, 272 Sigtuna, town of, 237; church founded at, 238 ; visited by Ardgar, 24 1 Simon de Montfort and the Albigensian Crusades, 380 Slaves emancipated by various mis- sionaries, 417; gradual emancipation of during the Middle Ages, 418 ; Gregory's zeal for, ib. Slaves, the, or Slavonians, 29 ; their early settlements, 31 ; their charac- teristics, 32 ; their reUgion, 33 ; tem- ples, images, and sacred horses, 35 Slavic or Slavonic missions, 278 ; to (a) Bulgaria, 279 — 283 ; (b) Moravia, 283 — 286 ; (c) Bohemia, 287 — 290 ; (d) Russia, 290 — 296 ; (e) Poland and JPomerania, 297—325 ; (/) Weud- land, Prussia, and Lithuania, 326 — 346 Snorri, his famous speech at the Iceland Thing, 268 n. Spain, influence of the Jews in, 381 ; persecution of the Jews in, 382 ; ex- pulsion of the Jews from, 386 ; and of the Moors, 393 Spanish discoveries, 394 Stephen, or Waik, son of the Hungarian chief Geisa, 287 n.; encourages Chris- tian missions, ib. Stettin, Slavonic temples at, 312 ; de- stroyed by bishop Otho, 313 Sturmi, coadjutor of Boniface, 211; penetrates the forest of Buchonia, ib. ; discovers the site for Fulda, 213; becomes the first abbot, 214; his missions in Saxony, 2 1 6; his death, 217 Index. 465 Suidbert, his missionary labours among the Boructuarians, 1 70 Suiger of Hirsberg, count, 192 Sviantovit, or Swantevits, Slavonic idol, 33 ; hie temple at Arcona, ib.; horses sacred to, 34 ; destroyed by bishop Absalom, 332 Swale, the baptism in, of the people of Kent, 103, and note Swatopluk, Moravian prince, 287 Sweden, Anskar sails thither, 237 ; pro- gress of the mission, 238 ; reaction, •239 ; revisited by Anskar, 244 ; con- tinuation of the mission under Him- bert, 146 ; his difiiculties, ib.; German clergy introduced into, by Olaf, the Lap-king, 252 n.; constant reactions, ib. Sweno, revolts against Harold Blaatand, 252 ; his invasions of England, ib. Swiatoslav, Russian prince, 291 Synods, ecclesiastical, their practical legislation, 416 ; their value as supple- menting missionary work, 416 T. Tailten, public games celebrated at, 67 Tara, hill, visited by St Patrick, 66 Teltown, in Meath, synod of, 83 ; its decision respecting St Columba, ib. and note Tetta, abbess of Wimbum, 193 Teuton, the, 16 ; mythology, 17 — 27 ; temples, 26; sacrifices, 27 Thangbrand, an ecclesiastic of Bremen, 260 ; his shield, ib.; gives it to Olaf Tryggvason, ii. ; his violence in Ice- ,land, 267 Thecla, sets out from Wimbum Minster to join Boniface, 193 ; stationed at Kitzingen in Franconia, ib. Theodelinda, queen of the Lombards, 148 ; welcomes Columbanus, ib. Theodore, nominated to the see of Can- terbury, 130; his reforms, 131 Theodoric, a Cistercian monk, 335 ; his labours in Livonia, ib. ; provokes the jealousy of the Lieflanders, ib. Theophilus, a Gothic bishop, at the council of Nice, 38 ; teacher of TJlphi- las, 39 Thomas, St, Christians of, Alfred the Great's mission to, 369 n. Thyra, Danish queen, her influence over Harold Blaatand, 250 Timotheus, Nestorian patriarch, 369 ; great patron of the Nestorian mis- sions, ib. Tir Amalgaidh, scene of the baptism of the seven sons of Leogaire, 68 Tolbiac, battle of, 54 Torquemada, his persecution of the Jews, 384 Triglav, Slavonic deity, 32, and note ; temple of, destroyed by bishop Otho, 313 ; head of, sent to Rome, ib. Trudpert, Irish anchorite, penetrates as far as the Breisgau, 153 ; murdered, ib. Tuda, succeeds Colman, 128; conforms to the Roman custom respecting Easter, ib. U. TJdo, a Wendish chief, 328 Ulphilas, his birth, 39 ; composes a Gothic alphabet, ib.; at the court of Valens, 40; superintends the Gothic mission, 42 tJlric, chaplain to bishop Otho, 250 Universities of Oxford, Paris, Sala- manca, 367; professorships of the Oriental languages established at, ib. TJnni, archbishop, his missionary labours at Schleswig, 250 TJpsal, temple at, 28; human sacrifices at, ib, XJsedom, diet of, 317 Valens, the Roman emperor, 40; con- cedes land in Moesia to the Goths, 41 Valentinus, an early anchorite, 44 ; settles near Passau, ib.; missionary efforts, 45 Vaudois, or Waldenses, the rise of, 379 ; their tenets, ib. ; their spread in Southern France, 380 Vicelin, missionary to the Wends, 330 ; partial success at Ealdera, ib.; nomi- nated to the see of Oldenburg, 331 Vienne, council of, 366 ; proposition of Raymund Lull at, 367 Vikings the, their gradual civilization, 376, and note Virgilius : see Feargil Vladimir, Russian prince, 291; visited by various missionaries, 292 ; his em- bassy to Constantinople, 293 ; his baptism, 294 30 466 Index. "Vougl^, battle of, between Clovia and the Arian Goths, 56 •vv. Wala, abbot of Corbey, near Amiens, ■233 Waldemar, king of Denmark, 332 Waldenses: see Yaudals Wenoeslav, 'Bohemian prince, 288 Wends, early miasio nary efforts among, 327; kingdom of Gottsohalk, 328; labours of Vicelin among, 330 Werenfrid, Anglo-Saxon missionary, 1 74 Wessex, visited by Birinus, 120; esta- blishmentof the see of Dorchester, lii Wigbert, abbot of Fritzlar, 211, and n. 189 Wigbert, a companion of Ecgbert, 169 ; two years' ineffectual labour in Frisia, ih. Wigmodia, labours of Willehad in, 225 Wifi rjth, or Wilfrid, birth and educa- tion, 126; pilgrimage to Eome, J6. ; at the council of Whitby, 127; -vicissi- tudes of his life, 129 ; labours in Sussex, ih,\ preaches in Frisia, i6g ; well received by Aldgis, 168 WiUebald joins Boniface, 192 Willehad, native of Northumbria, la- bours in Groningen and Dreuthe, 224, 5 ; settles in Wigmodia, 225 ; consecrated bishop, 226 ; his death, 227 Willibrord, a native of Northumbria, educated at Kipon, 169 ; then in Egbert's monastery in Connaught, i5.; sails to Frisia with eleven companions, 1 70 ; visits Rome, and receives the name of Clemens, i6. ; evangelizes a considerable portion of Frankish Frisia, 171 ; nearly loses his life on the isle of Heligoland, ih.; declaims against the heathenism of Badbod, 172; aided by many Anglo-Saxons from England, 173 Willimar, priest at Arbon, 145 ; visits Gallus, 148 Wilteburg, Willebrord fixes his metro- pohtan see at, 1 70 Winberct, abbot of Nutescelle in Hamp- shire, 1S2 , Wini, Anglo-Saxon bishop of Winches- ter, 121 Wintar, physician to Cliarleraagne, 2i7~ Wiro, Anglo-Saxon missionary, 174 Witmar, accompanies Anskar to Sweden, m Witstaok, Pomeraman chief, 323 Wittekind, Saxon chief, heads an insur- rection against Charlemagne, 223; is baptized, ih. Wolfard, abbot of a monastery at Exeter, 182 Wolgast, Pomeranian town visited by Otho, 317 Wratislav, Bohemian prince, 288 Wratislav, Pomeranian duke, meets Otho, 304 ; joins him at Canunin, 309 ; assembles a diet atUsedom, 316 Wulflaich, Lombard anchorite, 133 ; his austerities, 133, 4 WuHram, bishop of Sens, 174; aids Willebrord in Frisia, 175 ; protests against human sacrifices, 175, 6 Wunibald joins Boniface from England, and labours in Thuringia, 193 Wursing, Frisian chief, 173 n. and 222 Wurzburg, scene of the labours of St Kilian, 153 Ximenes, cardinal, his proselytizing zeal, 389 ; his mode of dealing with Zegri, 390 ; burns many Arabic works, ?&. ; rouses the hostility of the Moslems, 391; proposes the expulsion of the Moors from Spain, t5. Y. Yaroslaff, honourably receives Olaf the Saint, 274 Yeverin, baptisms at, 115 Ysell, river, 218 Yule, festival of, see 255 n. YxkuU, church at, 334 ; see transferred to Eiga, 336 Z. Zacharias, Pope, correspondence with Boniface, 196 — 8 Zegri, a noble Moor, 389 ; his conversion by Ximenes, 390 Zernabog, a Slavonian deity, 33 ; the Black deity, 36 Ziilpich, battle of, between Clevis and the Alemanni, 52 CAHBEIDGB : FEINTED AT THE UNTVEESITT FKESS. Sy the same Author, I. INCENTIVES TO VIRTUE, NATURAL AND REVEALED, An Essay which obtained the Burney Prize for the Year 1855. Crown 8vo. is. 6d. IL THE CROSS AND THE NATIONS, OR THB ABAPTATION OF CHRISTIANIT? TO THE HTJMAN MIND, AS ILLUSTRATED BT THE INTBLLEOTITAL OHARAOTEKS, RESPECTIVELT, OF THE GREEK AND THE LATIN CHURCHES. An Essay which obtained the Hidsean Prize for the Tear 1857. Crown Svo. is. IIL THE CHRISTIAN STATESMAN AND OUR INDIAN EMPIRE, OB THE LEGITIMATE SPHERE OP GOVERNMENT COUNTENANCE AND AID IN THB PROMOTION OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. An Essay which obtained the Maitland Prize for the Tear 1858. Crown 8vo. 3s. 6d. Second Edition. WorJcs hy Chaeles Haedwick, M.A. lATE ARCHDEACON OP ELT, AND CHEISTIAN ADVOCATE IN THE DNIYEESITT OP CAMEKIDGE. CHRIST AND OTHER MASTERS: an Historical Inquiry into soiue of the Chief Parallelisms and Contrasts between Christianity and the Eeligious Systems of the Ancient World: with Special Reference to Prevailing Difficulties and Objections. Eevised, ■with the Author's latest Corrections, and Prefatory Memoir by Fbanois Proctee, M.A. Vicar of Witton, Norfolk, Author of "Histoiy of the Book of Common Prayer." i Vols, crown 8vo. Second Edition. Contents : Part I, Introduction. Part II, Religions of India. Part III, Religions of China, America and Oceanica. Part IV, Religions of Egypt and Medo-Persia. "Never was so difficult and complicated a subject as the history of Pagan Religion handled so ably and at the same time rendered so lucid and attractive." — Colonial Church Chronicle. II. . HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH DU- RING THE MIDDLE AGES. Second Edition. With Maps. 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