Christianisation of Anglo-Saxon England

The Christianisation of Anglo-Saxon England was the process starting in the late 6th century by which population of England formerly adhering to the Anglo-Saxon, and later Nordic, forms of Germanic paganism converted to Christianity and adopted Christian worldviews. The first major step in the process of Christianisation was the Gregorian mission that landed in the Kingdom of Kent in 597 and was followed by the Hiberno-Scottish mission around 634. Æthelberht became the first Anglo-Saxon king to be baptised around 600 and imposed Christianity on Saebert of Essex and Rædwald of East Anglia, however upon his death there was a heathen reaction that led to missionaries being driven out of southern England for a short time. Around 620 Eadwine of Deira was baptised and promoted the new religion in north of the Humber before his death in 633 at the hands of the heathen king Penda of Mercia. Penda expanded Mercia significantly during his reign but was killed in the Battle of the Winwaed in 655, leading to the adoption of Christianity in his kingdom. The last Anglo-Saxon king to adhere to the traditional religion was Arwald of Wihtwara, who in 686 was killed in battle by Cædwalla of Wessex. Around two centuries later, during the Viking Age, settlers from Scandinavia introduced closely related forms of paganism to eastern and northern England. Though evidence it limited, it seems that they broadly converted to Christianity within several generations, with the last potentially heathen king being Erik Bloodaxe, who ruled in York until 954, when he was driven out by King Eadred.

The process and timing of the adoption of Christianity varied by region and was not necessarily a one-way process, with the traditional religion regaining dominance in most kingdoms at least once after their first Christian king. Kings likely often converted for political reasons such as the imposition by a more powerful king, to gain legitimacy and to access book writing traditions, however there were also significant drawbacks to the conversion that may explain the reluctance of many kings to be baptised.

Practices perceived as heathen continued in England after the conversion of kings, with the first record of them being made illegal taking place under the rule of Eorcenberht of Kent around 640. Laws forbidding these practices continued into the 11th century and list punishments ranging from fines to fasting and execution. Other practices and ideas blended with the incoming Christian culture to create mixed practices, such as the use of Christian saints to combat harmful beings such as dwarfs or elves, and the use of Germanic words to refer to Christian concepts such as "God", "Heaven" and "Hell". Beyond word usage, other Germanic elements also continued to be used and developed into the modern period in folklore, such as in British ballad traditions. Despite this continuity with the pre-Christian culture, Christianity was nonetheless adopted and many prominent missionaries involved in the conversion of Scandinavia and the Frankish Kingdom were English.