Nu ik afgestudeerd ben heb ik besloten om de werkstukken die ik tijdens mijn studie Religiewetenschappen geschreven heb te publiceren op deze weblog. Ik heb de opdrachten, papers, essays, recensies, besprekingen en presentaties altijd met veel plezier gemaakt, en ik vind het leuk om deze met de wereld te delen. Het zou immers zonde zijn als deze documenten langzaam zouden vergaan op mijn harde schijf. Daarom hierbij een blogreeks met vandaag mijn essay voor de cursus Celtic Civilisation 1B aan de University of Edinburgh. De essayvraag is:
To what extent did the Insular Celts form a zone of Christian beliefs, customs and practices unto themselves in early medieval times?
Introduction
In this essay I will examine to what extent Christian beliefs, customs and practices of the Insular Celts in the Early Middle Ages were homogeneous. This is closely related to the idea of the ‘Celtic Church’, but both this and the concept of ‘the Celts’ are highly problematic. I will examine the introduction of Christianity to the Insular world, its replacement of paganism, the church structure and organisation, learning, orthodox and heretic beliefs, customs and practices and then I will return to the concept of the ‘Celtic Church’.
Insular Christianity
Christianity was introduced in Roman Britain in the last decades of Roman rule. It spread throughout the Insular world through travellers, merchants and soldiers and later through official missions. Passio by Saint Alban is the first known native source which mentions Christian martyrs in the third century,[1] for it was not until 313 that Christianity was officially tolerated as a religion in the Roman Empire.[2]
While Christianity was well established in Roman Britain in the late fourth century[3], archaeological evidence suggests that until the fifth century[4], paganism and Christianity lived side-by-side.[5] The fact that Christianity spread in a pagan culture had significant influences on the shape of Christianity.[6] Chaney mentions that paganism survived in Christianity, for instance, pagan temples and sacrificed animals were used and local customs were adopted, as recommended by Pope Gregory the Great. In more unorthodox ways, the cult of Woden intermingled with Christianity.[7]
The pre-existing culture also influenced the structure and organisation of the Church.[8] The image of the ‘Celtic Church’ comes from Bede, who writes that Columba’s monastery was the model for other monasteries in Britain and Ireland. This was a paruchiae, instead of an episcopacy, due to the lack of Roman civitas in Ireland. In these churches the abbot is the highest authority and has various functions, whereby the bishop only has a sacramental task.[9] It is recently suggested that bishops created episcopal paruchiae, because this was the only way for them to gain more wealth and status than the abbot. The transformation did not have to be drastic, because Continental missionaries were already used to monasticism and the monastic system never totally replaced the diocesan one.[10] Scotland was converted in a monastic Irish context,[11] but there is few evidence for the idea that the Welsh church was mainly monastic.[12]
In the monasteries, learning flourished in Ireland, Wales and Cornwall within a shared Latin culture[13], whereby a common conceptual framework of thinking emerged.[14] Writing in the vernacular established in 600 and can for instance be found in glosses.[15] The Irish had to learn Latin, because Ireland was never part of the Roman Empire, while other countries already had a Latin-speaking elite.[16] Therefore the Irish schools differed from those in other countries and this attracted clergy from England and the Continent.[17]
Davies argues that there is no evidence for one single doctrine within the Insular churches.[18] When it comes to belief, the Bible is most significant, especially the Old Testament and Mosaic Law.[19] For instance, Gildas refers to the Old Testament when he warns for God’s punishment for sins and mentions that the Britons were always heretics. Bede agrees and states that the Saxons are their punishment.[20] This suggests that reward and punishment can come in this life, but also after death in heaven and hell.[21] It is said that brave warriors go to Heaven, sometimes escorted by angels.[22] The monks of Columba wanted to be buried near the monastery to be resurrected with their saint on Judgement Day.[23]
A significant heterogeneous aspect of the early Medieval Church is the Pelagian heresy of 418. Pelagius taught that salvation can be attained through good actions, which is contrary to Augustine’s idea of salvation by the grace of God. Germanus was sent by Pope Celestine to fight this deeply-rooted popular heresy.[24] Even in seventh century Wales and eighth century Ireland Pelagianism can be discovered. [25] Davies comments that heresy suggests the existence of orthodoxy.[26]
Another important controversy is calculating the date for Easter in the seventh century. In Wales and Ireland a fifth century Roman method, recommended by Saint Columba, was used, but this differed from the more accurate sixth century Roman method. The controversy had to do with loyalty to the patron saint, either Saint Columba or Saint Peter.[27] At the Synod of Whitby in 664 it was decided by King Oswiu of Northumberland that the Roman system would be used, but it was not until between 640 and 704 that the Irish adapted it[28], some British followed in 703, the Scots and Picts in 716, and at last the Welsh in 768.[29]
There are many common Christian practices in the Insular world which are in accordance with the Roman Church, for instance the laity only went to church on special occasions and did not take communion regularly, while clerics had many rules to live by[30] and went to mass and received communion regularly.[31] Giving alms was a very important obligation for the laity,[32] but baptism and penance were most important in order to achieve salvation and go to heaven.[33] Bede and archbishop Theodore mention that the British have a deviant form of baptism.[34] Penitential texts provided the right punishment for sins.[35] There was a difference between penitentials for monks and laity.[36] Marriage was seen as a good alternative to monastic life for the laity, as suggested by Adomnán.[37] Regarding burial customs, inhumation in isolated places was custom, but saints were buried in churches.[38] Churches were build in alignment with the east.[39] Hagiographies can be helpful to understand the position of saints within early Medieval society. They were seen as people elected by God without sins and there were various saint cults. Saints, as well as their relics, were believed to perform miracles and have magical powers.[40] Being disrespectful or mistrust a saint is seen as a sin and one has to belief in the powers of a saint in order to perceive them.[41]
Maier mentions that the churches of Ireland, Scotland and Wales have practices deviant to those of the Roman Church.[42] There is little evidence for liturgy, but it is known that Galician versions circulated in Ireland, although Lapidge suggests that the Welsh used pre-Gregorian liturgy in the ninth century. A century earlier the British liturgy was seen as deviant by the Irish.[43]
An important, controversial, religious expression was the tonsure. In the Synod of Bishops it is stated that clerics should wear a tonsure.[44] The style symbolised loyalty to the patron saint, in the same manner as the Pelagian heresy.[45]
The Celtic Church
Davies argues that there never has been a ‘Celtic Church’ which differed from the Roman Church. The notion suggests similarities of the church in a geographical way, without mentioning the differences throughout time and place, which became clearer from the seventh century onwards. The Celtic Church has been associated with Protestantism as ‘true Protestants’ against Rome and suggests the existence of ‘the Celts’, which is associated with Romantic, religious and political ideas of Celticness.[46] Both the ‘Celtic Church’ as well as ‘the Celts’ are modern inventions.[47] Besides, most surviving sources are Irish, but we cannot know if they can be applied to other Celtic countries as well.[48]
Conclusion
Now that we have an idea of early Medieval Insular Celtic Christianity, we can conclude that there are commonalities, but also significant differences. These differences suggests that Christianity did not form one zone. However, in that time the Insular world was considered as part of the Roman Church.
We have seen that the notion ‘Celtic Church’ is problematic because it suggests the existence of ‘the Celts’ and its associations. The Insular Celts were not homogeneous and their pre-existing different cultures influenced the shape of Christian beliefs, customs, practices and church structure, combined with British and Continental influences. Monasticism, the abbot as highest authority, penitentials and saints seem typical Celtic, but the sources are biased towards Ireland and these phenomena can also be found on the Continent. There was a shared Latin culture, but the level of this language differed significantly, especially in Ireland, which affected learning. Apart from the common eschatological and soteriological Christian beliefs, the issues of Pelagianism, the calculation of Easter and the tonsure divided the Insular world. However, the Celtic world did try to maintain orthodox in the Roman ways as they believed it to be.
At last I want to add that Christianity has never been homogeneous from the start. For instance, considering that the emphasis of various Gospels differ, Biblical interpretations differ, and there have always been Christian movements with diverse beliefs. Also, orthodoxy, as it was decided at councils, was always hard to maintain. After hardly a millennium of Christianity, the first great schism took place between the Eastern and Western Church. Apparently, the ‘Celtic Church’ differed not enough from the Roman Church in that time to cause a schism as well.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Synodus Episcoporum, trans. by L. Bieler, The Irish Penitentials (Dublin, 1963).
Secondary sources
- W.A. Chaney, ‘Paganism to Christianity in Anglo-Saxon England’, in The Harvard Theological Review 53, 3 (1960), 197-217.
- W. Davies, Wales in the Early Middle Ages (Leicester: 1982).
- W Davies, ‘The Myth of the Celtic Church’, in The Early Church in Wales and the West, eds. by N. Edwards & A. Lane (Oxford: 1992), 12-21.
- P.G. Hoare & C.S. Sweet, ‘The Orientation of Early Medieval Churches in England’, in Journal of Historical Geography 26, 2 (2000), 162-173.
- K. Hughes, The Church in Early Irish Society (London: 1966).
- E. James, Britain in the First Millennium (New York: 2010).
- B. Maier, The Celts: A history from earliest times to the present (Edinburgh: 2003).
- D. Ó Cróinín, Early Medieval Ireland 400-1200 (London: 1995).
- K. Ritari, ‘From Pagan to Christian in the Seventh Century Irish Hagiography’, in Studia Celtica Fennica 1 (2004), 14-23.
- K. Ritari, ‘How Should Christians Lead Their Lives? An exploration of the image of lay people in Adomnán’s Vita Columbae’, in Studia Celtica Fennica 2 (2005), 138-151.
- L. Woodhead, An Introduction to Christianity (Cambridge: 2004).
[1] E. James, Britain in the First Millennium (New York: 2010).
[2] L. Woodhead, An Introduction to Christianity (Cambridge: 2004).
[3] W. Davies, Wales in the Early Middle Ages (Leicester: 1982).
[4] James, Britain in the First Millennium.
[5] B. Maier, The Celts: A history from earliest times to the present (Edinburgh: 2003).
[6] Maier, ibid.
[7] W.A. Chaney, ‘Paganism to Christianity in Anglo-Saxon England’, in The Harvard Theological Review 53, 3 (1960), 197-217.
[8] K. Hughes, The Church in Early Irish Society (London: 1966).
[9] James, Britain in the First Millennium;
D. Ó Cróinín, Early Medieval Ireland 400-1200 (London: 1995).
[10] Ó Cróinín, ibid.
[11] James, Britain in the First Millennium.
[12] Davies, Wales in the Early Middle Ages.
[13] W Davies, ‘The Myth of the Celtic Church’, in The Early Church in Wales and the West, eds. by N. Edwards & A. Lane (Oxford: 1992), 12-21.
[14] Davies, ibid.
[15] Ó Cróinín, Early Medieval Ireland 400-1200.
[16] Ó Cróinín, ibid.
[17] James, Britain in the First Millennium.
[18] Davies, The Myth of the Celtic.
[19] Davies, ibid.
[20] James, Britain in the First Millennium.
[21] K. Ritari, ‘How Should Christians Lead Their Lives? An exploration of the image of lay people in Adomnán’s Vita Columbae’, in Studia Celtica Fennica 2 (2005), 138-151.
[22] Davies, Wales in the Early Middle Ages.
[23] W.A. Chaney, ‘Paganism to Christianity in Anglo-Saxon England’, in The Harvard Theological Review 53, 3 (1960), 197-217.
[24] James, Britain in the First Millennium;
Davies, The Myth of the Celtic Church.
[25] Davies, Wales in the Early Middle Ages.
[26] Davies, ibid..
[27] James, Britain in the First Millennium.
[28] Davies, The Myth of the Celtic Church.
[29] Maier, The Celts.
[30] E. James, Britain in the First Millennium (New York: 2010).
[31] Davies, Wales in the Early Middle Ages (Leicester: 1982).
[32] Davies, Wales in the Early Middle Ages (Leicester: 1982).
[33] K. Ritari, ‘From Pagan to Christian in the Seventh Century Irish Hagiography’, in Studia Celtica Fennica 1 (2004), 14-23.
[34] W Davies, ‘The Myth of the Celtic Church’, in The Early Church in Wales and the West, eds. by N. Edwards & A. Lane (Oxford: 1992), 12-21.
[35] D. Ó Cróinín, Early Medieval Ireland 400-1200 (London: 1995).
[36] Davies, Wales in the Early Middle Ages (Leicester: 1982).
[37] K. Ritari, ‘How Should Christians Lead Their Lives? An exploration of the image of lay people in Adomnán’s Vita Columbae’, in Studia Celtica Fennica 2 (2005), 138-151.
[38] Davies, Wales in the Early Middle Ages (Leicester: 1982).
[39] P.G. Hoare & C.S. Sweet, ‘The Orientation of Early Medieval Churches in England’, in Journal of Historical Geography 26, 2 (2000), 162-173.
[40] Davies, Wales in the Early Middle Ages (Leicester: 1982).
[41] K. Ritari, ‘How Should Christians Lead Their Lives? An exploration of the image of lay people in Adomnán’s Vita Columbae’, in Studia Celtica Fennica 2 (2005), 138-151.
[42] Maier, ibid.
[43] Davies, The Myth of the Celtic Church.
[44] Synodus Episcoporum, trans. by L. Bieler, The Irish Penitentials (Dublin, 1963).
[45] James, Britain in the First Millennium.
[46] Davies, The Myth of the Celtic Church.
[47] James, Britain in the First Millennium.
[48] Davies, The Myth of the Celtic Church.
great work, I wounder is it possible that the Vikings have gotten a bad reputation as plunderers? It seems to me that the Norwegian is by nature more likely to make friends then to be raiders and thieves. all our history is written by the Christian or translated by them and this in its self seems would be biased.
Thanks again! That’s an interesting comment! The Vikings certainly had a bad reputation as plunderers (and, from a Christian perspective, as ‘unbelievers’ and therefore ‘pagans’), also because churches and monasteries were an easy and therefore popular target for their raids (lots of valuable items and vulnerable clergymen who didn’t/couldn’t fight back). Therefore it’s no surprise that they weren’t that loved by Christians and that’s a reason why, indeed, the sources written by Christians are biased. From a Viking point of view, it was necessary to leave their home in order to find and conquer new land. I think the Vikings have been positively re-valued later, first during Romanticism when people became interested in their own national culture and rediscovered the ancient culture of their ancestors (Edda, folk tales and songs, archaeological findings, etc.). Today, it seems like they are more popular than ever when it comes to their history (re-enactment, etc.), but even more when it comes to their religion (Paganism and branches such as Asatru). So, Vikings had a bad reputation due to their raids, but now a more positive light is shed on their culture.