Anglo-Saxon Beliefs

In this part of the website we look at the beliefs of the Anglo-Saxons, although the early part of the period is very uncertain.

The earliest Anglo-Saxons were non-Christian. Although Christianity had been practiced in southern Britain during the Roman period it did not continue widely after the Roman administration left. However, there is limited evidence for what the Anglo-Saxons believed as there are few records from that time, and later written records were produced by Christian monks. Much of what we can discover is from linguistic evidence, such as place names or the names of days of the week, and archaeological finds.

Later the Anglo-Saxons did convert to Christianity from the 7th century, as a result of missionaries from Ireland and Rome, and eventually adopted Roman practice as the standard from the late 7th century after the Synod of Whitby in 664. For the Christian period, we are lucky to have a number of churches around the country which include Anglo-Saxon elements, as well as stone crosses and other carvings, and manuscripts.

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We will be producing new items regularly so do come back to see what has been added.