The Prevalence of Christianity in Roman Britain to AD 410
By Jack Dowding
Hirundo: The McGill Journal of Classical Studies, Vol.3 (2004)
Introduction: 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. 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.” 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.” 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.
The Prevalence of Christianity in Roman Britain to AD 410
By Jack Dowding
Hirundo: The McGill Journal of Classical Studies, Vol.3 (2004)
Introduction: 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. 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.” 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.” 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.
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