Christianity In The Seventh Century

The fifth and sixth centuries were packed with many major events—times of countries both rising and falling, new kings and queens taking reign, and religious beliefs shifting. Christianity was beginning to spread like wildfire, and by the end of the seventh century, all of England was at least nominally Christian. While it is easy for a few decades and millions of lives to be briefly summed into a couple of sentences, getting there was far more complicated than the simplicity may suggest. In order to achieve a shift to Christianity, there had to be persuasive arguments made to powerful people; lives were unquestionably taken over religious quarrels; and the beliefs connected to Christianity had to promise something that the other religions

They believed in numerous gods, and religion was a means of ensuring success in material things. For example, they may pray to a particular god for a successful harvest, and they would pray to a different god for a smooth childbirth. When they died, they were either cremated and placed in an urn, or their bodies were buried—each way included their remains being left with some of their possessions. Material objects were very important to the society; there was a heavy focus on living materialistically, and there was little regard to what would become of them in the afterlife. This is why Christianity became to be widely accepted and enforced. This understanding can also be applied to how King Edwin of Northumberland found himself in his situation, questioning whether or not to embrace Christianity. The Anglo-Saxons were at a point where their religion was not fulfilling and answering all that it should, and upon hearing of Christianity’s beliefs, they became curious and nervous about what their current belief in paganism offered in the

“The lonely traveler longs for grace, For the mercy of God…He cuts in the sea, sailing endlessly, aimlessly, in exile” (7). The speaker tells of the unfortunate circumstance of the wanderer, in need of help from God. Unfortunately, life can be filled with difficult circumstances, and fate governs events within it. But in the ultimate end, things will be well for the person who seeks comfort and help from God, in whom all strength and solidity rests. This is wonderfully depicted in this opening because the message is a universal one: whether it be a king or a helpless vagrant, each will end up with the same status and substances once departed from life and into