Wylie Per. 1 Group 4 Anglo Saxon Synthesis Question

Danny Shapiro, Claire West, Edward Tyler, Ivy Arblado

The Roman pagan pantheon was smiling upon the first march of the Legions into Britannia in 55BC, the era of Julius Caesar. But by mid 400AD, as the Anglo-Saxon star rose over moor and heath, it was thanks to: Woden, Thunor, or Tiw. By then, Rome had discarded the heathen way, with Christianity the Religion of the Empire since Constantine. But the two worlds shared roots in polytheistic belief systems and would have similar foundations. Conversion of the Anglo-Saxons was the goal of Pope Gregory who sent Augustine in 597. King Æthelberht converted marking the change in the religion of the Anglo-Saxons. But at the king’s death, there was a pagan backlash as his heir had been worshipping pagan gods along with Christ. It only gradually would change, but by the 7th century Christianity was their primary religion. Along with this came new ideals, customs, and structure. King Alfred the Great collected from three Christian Saxon kingdoms a series of rules of conduct forming the foundation of the common law, the legal system used today. Prior to the presence of Christianity, the absence of a unified code meant the difference between each kingdom was great, resulting in little cohesion. Clarity in moral codes changed the outlook on greed, violence, and sex. The Christian principles instilled the idea that indulgence is a sin, while paganism had promoted it. The unity religion brought was a vital step toward identity as a single nation. But the pagan root will always have pull. Even as Beowulf lay dying he thanked the “Lord of All,” but he bemoaned the mystic pagan powers: “Fate swept us away, sent my whole brave high-born clan to their final doom. Now I must follow them.”