October
410 A.D. Christianity
in Britain to 410 A.D.
Dowding,
Janka. “The Prevalence of Christianity in Roman Britain to AD 410.” History
of the Ancient World. 15 Sept
2014. http://historyoftheancientworld.com/2014/09/the-prevalence-of-christianity-in-roman-britain-to-ad-410-3/ and http://www.mcgill.ca/files/classics/2004-05.pdf. Accessed 15 Sept 2014.
THE PREVALENCE OF
CHRISTIANITY IN ROMAN BRITAIN TO AD 410
Janka Dowding
Popular mythology
claims that Joseph of Arimathea introduced Christianity into
Britain in AD 63
when he brought the Holy Grail to Glastonbury after Christ's crucifixion. As
this story demonstrates, a befuddling mix of myth, tradition and fact dominates
the period preceding the Roman withdrawal. The literary evidence comes
primarily from later sources like Bede and Gildas, who depend on older sources
that have since been lost. In these texts it is often difficult to
differentiate fact from fiction, as well as to establish with any certainty the
depth to which Christianity had infiltrated the island. When the Romans
withdrew from Britain in the early fifth century, they not only left behind a
vast Roman culture, but also a religion, Christianity, which was inherently
Roman. In the last centuries of the Roman Empire, Christianity was a major
factor in defining oneself as being Roman, or possessing Romanitas. This held true even in areas as
remote as Britain, but very little has been done to explore the correlation
between Christianity and 'Romanness.' Twenty
years ago,
scholarship was remarkably lacking in explaining the extent of Romano-British
Christianity. Given the dearth of literary and historical sources from this
time period, students of Romano-British Christianity must inevitably turn to
archaeology. In 1930, archaeologist and historian Collingwood emphasized the
fact that there was very little evidence for Christianity.1 However, since
Jocelyn Toynbee's study of Christian art in Britain in 1953, archaeologists
have discovered hundreds of new sites and artifacts. Dorothy Watts in
particular has re-evaluated many previously ignored sites as well as introduced
new indicators of Christianity. As a result, new research has proven that
Christianity was not solely an urban, upper-class phenomenon. Instead, it had
widespread appeal throughout Britain and elicited a deep commitment from its
adherents, which allowed Christianity to persist even through the pagan attacks
of the fifth century AD and beyond. New archaeological evidence supports the
primary sources that argue that Christianity penetrated a great further into
the British land and society than previously thought.
There is a lack of
literary sources from Late Roman Britain. Gildas, who wrote in the sixth
century AD, laments in his De
Excidio Britanniae that he
cannot use very many literary remains from Britain because "such as they
were, are not now available, having been burnt by enemies or removed by our
countrymen when they went into exile."2 However, there is some evidence of
Christianity in Britain by the late second century. Tertullian, a North African
scholar, claims in his Adversus
Judaeos that by AD 200
Christianity was already established in the more remote territories of the
Roman Empire. He then lists those areas and makes mention of "Britannorum inaccesa Romanis
loca" which were said to be "Christo vero subdita."3 While this passage is rather
vague, it nevertheless demonstrates that Christian writers were aware of
Britain and its Christian inhabitants. Origen, a contemporary of Tertullian,
also makes mention of "the
terra Britanniae"
as a region on the borders of the civilized world. This helped to demonstrate
the triumph of the Church "quae
mundi limites tenent."4
Similar to Tertullian, Origen remarks that even the "end of the
world" had a population of Christians worth mentioning. A question that
arises from both of these accounts is how Tertullian and Origen received
knowledge of Christianity in a place as remote as Britain. Most likely they
received accounts through traders who sailed between Britain and the main
trading centers of the Roman Empire.
Britain did not
receive nearly as many missionaries as other remote parts of the Empire.
Instead, the transmission of Christianity came in the form of trade routes from
the Mediterranean. Trade allowed for British pilgrims to travel to the
Continent, where they could experience Continental Christianity and then return
and put their new-found beliefs into practice. Or, it could be the other way
around, in that there was an increased demand by British Christians for
passages to holy sites on the Continent.5 Tertullian and Origen were from
Carthage and Alexandria respectively, both large trading centers of the Empire.
First- and second-
century Greek coins from Carthage as well as Gallic swords have been discovered
in Britain. Margaret Deanesly concludes that "there is thus no lack of
evidence of sea trade between western Britain, Gaul, and the Mediterranean, and
the possibility that here also Christianity came with the traders cannot be
ruled out."6 It stands to reason then that traders would have brought
stories from Britain and in addition introduced traditions into Britain.
Gildas is an important
source, for his writings are the earliest extant on Roman Britain. Gildas wrote
in the sixth century AD, with a deep interest in the state of Christianity in
Britain. He explains that before Diocletian's reign (he supposes)
"Christ's precepts were received by the inhabitants without enthusiasm;
but they remained, more or less pure." During the persecution under
Diocletian, "churches were razed throughout the world, the holy
scriptures… were burned in the squares, and the chosen priests of the Lord's
flock, together with their harmless sheep, were slaughtered - so that there
should…be no trace of the Christian religion remaining."7
Gildas makes the
first mention of three British martyrs, St. Alban of Verulam, Aaron and Julius
of Caerleon (also known as Caerwent), as well as many others. Gildas's
narrative suggests that their martyrdoms took place in the early fourth
century. Christianity became much more popular after the Peace of the Church,
or the Edict of Milan, in AD 313. Before this time, however, there is evidence
of a limited Christian population. It is safe to assume that the martyrdoms of
three early British men Alban, Aaron, and Julius are based on historical fact,
given that the writings of Bede, Gildas, Constantius, and Venantius Fortunatus
all mention them. While there is still much debate over the exact dates of the
martyrdoms, their martyrdoms most likely took place under the persecutions of
Emperor Decius in the third century, or as Gildas claims, in the beginning of
the fourth century.
This also means that
there was most likely a strong Christian base by the fourth century in Britain
to produce so many martyrs. Bede also makes mention of the persecution under
Diocletian: "Diocletian in the east and Maximianus Herculius in the west
ordered the churches to be laid waste and the Christians persecuted and slain…
it continued without ceasing for ten years accompanied by the burning of
churches, the outlawry of innocent people, and the slaughter of the martyrs. In
fact Britain also attained the great glory of bearing faithful witness of
God."8
Bede is another
critical primary source in studying the state of Christianity in Britain. If
not for his work, knowledge of British Christianity would be virtually lost
until St. Augustine's mission in the sixth century. Bede writes his narrative
in the eighth century and seeks to demonstrate the chronology of Christianity
in Britain. In one particularly interesting passage Bede writes that in AD 1569
"Lucius, a king of Britain, sent him [Bishop of Rome Eleutherius] a letter
praying him that he might be made a Christian."10
The Historia Brittonum from a century later also mentions this
event. Reverend Gunn, the translator of the Historia Brittonum, provides an interesting note on the text regarding the
history of Lucius's family. He explains that Lucius's grandfather Caractacus
was exiled from Britain and they lived in Rome for an extended period of time:
"At Rome, these unfortunate exiles could not but admire the virtues of the
Christians who abounded in that city."11 As a result of their experiences
in Rome, when the family returned to Britain they sought to convert to
Christianity, which was carried out under Lucius.
Several other
sources also mention the conversion of King Lucius. The Liber Pontificalis (a possible source for Bede) and
successors to Bede's text, such as the Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle and the Historia Brittonum, all write about this event. Nennius
writes that "after the Birth of Christ, one hundred and sixty-seven years,
King Lucius, with all the chiefs of the British people received Baptism, in
consequence of a legation sent by the Roman emperors and Pope
Euaristus."12 This is slightly different from Bede's account, which states
that King Lucius specifically requested the baptism. Other sources, like the
one Nennius is using here, claims that it was in fact Pope Eleutherius that
spurred the conversion.
The
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle echoes
Bede: "Eleutherius succeeded to the bishopric of Rome…To him Lucius, king
of Britain, sent letters - asked that he might be made a Christian, and he
carried out what he asked, and afterwards they remained in the true faith until
the rule of Diocletian."13 This shows that there were multiple accounts
concerning the early history of the Church in Britain that have since been
lost. It also demonstrates that there was a tradition of Christianity long
before Constantine's conversion. The authors themselves are another important
detail surrounding the issue of Christianity in Roman Britain. Written sources
provide valuable evidence about both politics and religion in later Roman
Britain and they are all by, and about, Christians. "It certainly suggests
that the educated and literate were more and more likely to adopt what was now
the official faith of the Roman world. Opposition is manifested through heresy,
not paganism."14 Henig proposes that there may have been a shift towards
Christianity at the end of the fourth century.15 After Constantine, an
overwhelming majority of Roman emperors were Christian. Once Christianity had
the support of the Roman state behind it, it could play a much more important
role in the far-reaching areas of the empire. Most importantly, Christianity
became associated with Romanitas. For example, Sidonius Apollinaris was
a "defender at one and the same time of his diocese and of Romanitas."16
Once Christianity
became the official religion of the Roman Empire, aristocrats wishing to
maintain their Roman prestige began to shift their attentions to Christian
matters. It is no surprise then that in the fourth century Britain had
representation in many church meetings.
In AD 314, three
British bishops attended the Council at Arles: Restitutus the Bishop of London,
Eborius of York, and Adelfius of Lincoln. Later in AD 359, there were bishops
at a council in Rimini.17 This demonstrates that Britain possessed a committed,
organized church that spread from the South East all the way up to Lincoln in
the North East.
Further literary
references to Romano-British Christianity are virtually non-existent for the
period up to the withdrawal of the Roman forces. Therefore, in order to
determine the extent of Christianity in the period from the conversion of
Constantine to c. 410, literary evidence must yield to archaeological
evidence.18 When Jocelyn Toynbee completed her initial work in 1953 on
Christian archaeological findings in Britain, she found 50 items that could be
viewed as Christian artifacts. Twenty years later, C.F Mawer provided another
catalogue of British Christian items, which raised the total to 260 items of
Christian significance. However, Mawer concluded from her findings that
"Christianity in Britain was not only far less prevalent but also neither
as complex nor as subtle as the claimed evidence indicated."19 She
narrowed her finds so that only 70 of these objects could be of "definite
Christian significance."
Miranda Green also
claimed that Christianity was not very widespread in Roman Britain. She labeled
archaeological sites that were located primarily in towns, and she did not have
any evidence for rural Christianity. Green depended almost entirely on
archaeological references, with only a few literary references to Bede.
"The distribution of Christian objects in Britain during the late Roman
period shows a thin scatter throughout Prevalence of Christianity in Roman
Janka Dowding Britain to 410 AD 57
southern and eastern
Britain."20 Most archaeological evidence, according to Green, "is
associated with the owners of Roman villas." Thus Green concludes that
Christianity was popular mainly among the aristocracy of urban Britain, not
among the lower rural classes.
Archaeological
evidence regarding Romano-British Christianity has grown substantially since
the writings of Mawer and Green. When Thomas wrote in 1981, he wrote about
several possible archaeological sites that could possibly be Christian. Since
his research, scholars like Dorothy Watts have since revisited the previous
evidence and reinterpreted it. As a result, there are now much greater numbers
of sites that can be more confidently posed as Christian.22
One of the new
approaches to gauge Christianity in Britain is the analysis of cemeteries.
Prior to Dorothy Watts's and Charles Thomas's research, "tangible evidence
[was] lacking in Britain, at least so far as burials are concerned, and up to
now there have been no certain Christian cemeteries identified from the Roman
era."23 Indeed, Watts's data has proven that Christianity was much more
prevalent in rural areas than Green thought: "Of the thirteen cemeteries
presumed to be Christian, seven are from rural sites."24 Critical criteria
for a Christian cemetery included west-east orientation of the burial places,
undisturbed graves, an absence of decapitated bodies, contemporaneous pagan
burials, and absence of grave goods, especially the coin for Charon's fee.25
Another important criterion that has not received proper attention is the
presence of infant burials. Prior to Christianity, pagan religions periodically
engaged in infant purging and rarely gave small children proper burials. When
Christianity became popular, these practices changed. In his Apologeticus,
Tertullian condemns those who commit infanticide by abortion or exposure.26
Children were a very special group to Jesus, and there are many references in
the New Testament instructing Christians to be child-like. In addition, by the
early fourth century, baptism was available to infants, which made them members
of the Christian community, and therefore worthy of a proper Christian burial
in a cemetery with other Christians. Thus the presence of small children in
cemeteries may denote an almost certain tie with Christianity. Another new
discovery was the association of cemeteries with 22Watts, 215. I am indebted
toWatts' research regarding the criteria of identifying Christian cemeteries
and churches, as well as her re-interpretations of previous research, most
notably that of Charles Thomas.
Prevalence of
Christianity in Roman Britain to 410 AD Christian churches. Church sites are
also critical for establishing Christian presence in Britain. Literary evidence
attests the presence of churches at Silchester, Caerwent (also known as
Caerleon,
who had two notable
martyrs in Aaron and Julius), and (from Bede) Canterbury. Charles Thomas
researched sites that had a similar shape to churches on the Continent. But
Dorothy Watts argues that most communities were not rich enough to build such
elaborate buildings. Instead, she poses that many square-shaped buildings
(especially in rural areas) could have served as religious buildings. The
rudimentary forms of these churches may reflect a lack of Roman sophistication,
as well as the slowness in which Romanitas
penetrated those areas.27 Thus, it is
much more difficult to identify buildings as churches that lack a
"typical" construction or Christian iconography. Watts proposes that
"the presence of non-domestic, non-industrial, or non-agricultural
buildings in association with cemeteries of the fourth century and beyond is an
indicator of the Christian identity for both the building and the
cemetery."28 Given the fact that cemeteries have not received wide
attention from scholarship, their examination has produced many more possible
Christian sites, many of which are located in rural areas. Watts concludes from
her research that "of the seventeen [churches] analyzed, eight were urban
and nine rural."29 This is a vastly different conclusion from Miranda
Green's research, who found that Christianity was present only in towns. The
fact that there are so many more rural sites reaffirms the belief that
Christianity was in fact much more widespread in Britain, and that it appealed
to all classes, not just the elite.
In addition to the
poverty of the buildings, many were originally Romano-Celtic temples that were
converted to serve as Christian centers: "temples often replaced earlier
Celtic structures or marked a sacred place."30 These sites may have served
a symbolic function in that they showed the new religion (i.e. Christianity)
triumphing over the new.
As a result, there
is not a "typical" construction for churches, and indeed many would
resemble pagan temples without closer inspection. Some churches were not even
their own buildings, but were extensions of aristocratic villas, which is the
case in the Lullingstone site.
Villas and house
churches contributed greatly to the spread and upkeep of Christianity in rural
areas. Christian landowners could potentially encourage their tenants to adhere
to Christianity by having a convenient church for the local community. A prime
example of such a church is the Lullingstone site. Although the villa was
eventually abandoned, its house church was still used by the surrounding
population for years afterward.31 Many of these constructions display murals
and paintings with both pagan and Christian iconography.
These depictions
often show characters like Orpheus; in the early history of the church, Orpheus
became a representation of Christ. Like Orpheus, Christ tamed wild animals and
descended into the Underworld to free trapped souls. As a result, these
depictions of Orpheus can be an indication of Christianity as well as the
continuity between the Classical Roman religion and the new. Villas and country
estates were critical in promoting and tending to the spread of Christianity in
areas far from the influence of Romanized towns.
Another valuable
method of determining the popularity of Christianity is to evaluate how many
pagan shrines were in use compared to pre-Christian times. "Many of the
Romano-Celtic temples were extremely active during the fourth century even
though the Roman world was officially Christian… Some of the pagan town temples
did have a shorter life than some of the country examples… of the town shrines
only a few show evidence of use after 350."32 This evidence suggests that
as Christianity became more prominent in Britain, pagan practices dwindled.
This would coincide with the fact that many aristocrats as well as merchants
dwelled in the cities, the classes most concerned with Romanitas. After
Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, these same people
had a vested interest in adopting the new religion to retain their Romanitas.
By the time of the
Roman withdrawal, Christianity had penetrated not only into British towns, but
into rural areas as well. When scholars first reviewed literary evidence regarding
the period prior to the Roman withdrawal, they concluded that the sources were
embellishing the prevalence of Christianity to fit their narratives. However,
advances in archaeology have proven and continue to prove that Christianity was
much more prevalent in Britain than previously expected, thus strengthening the
claims of writers like Bede and Gildas.
Country villas
played a vital role in spreading Christianity into these parts. Romano-British
aristocrats who wished to uphold the idea of Romanitas adopted
the customs of Christianity and built churches adjacent to their holdings.
These buildings continued to be used by the general population even after the
owners of the villas had departed.
Archaeological
evidence has played a vital role in re-assessing the prevalence of Christianity
in Britain. Scholars such as Frend and Green, who originally saw Christians as
a very small minority, have had to amend their views in light of new
developments.
Even Charles
Thomas's work from 1983 has since been updated by Dorothy Watts. Watts
re-evaluated sites that previous archaeologists wrote off as mere buildings,
for they did not believe that there was a lower class component to
Romano-British Christianity, which is not the case. Buildings that seemingly
held no purpose have now been identified as poor churches. Thomas had limited
his identification of churches to those buildings with clear apses or separate
rooms for worship. However, these kinds of structures would not have been
affordable to a poor rural community. Christianity was therefore much more
alive in the British landscape than was previously thought.
Christianity was
widespread in Late Roman Britain and it possessed roots in Britain strong
enough to persist through the Anglo-Saxon invasions in the mid-fifth century
and beyond. Although previous scholarship has painted Christianity as a
minority religion in Britain, residing only in the towns and among the upper
classes, new evidence has expanded this view. It is true that Christianity
played an important role in maintaining Roman tradition in cities, which
prevented Christianity from disappearing. The importance of urban Christianity
is great, but it is also important to realize that Christianity was not limited
to the more Romanized centers of Britain; it had more widespread appeal, even
among the lower classes. Indeed, the rusticity of most of the church sites
implies that lower-class Christians were even more common than rich, urban
Christians. Scholarship has advanced a great deal in the last few decades, and
with the amount of new evidence that scholars have found in such a short span
of time, it stands to reason that there is still much more to be found and even
more to be re-evaluated. As more evidence is unearthed, Christianity will prove
to have been more prevalent than contemporary writers have believed.
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