Mercian Religion
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Throughout its history the Kingdom of
Mercia la, Merciorum regnum , conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia , common_name=Mercia , status=Kingdom , status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879)Client state of Wessex () , life_span=527–918 , era=Heptarchy , event_start= , date_start= , ye ...
was a battleground between conflicting religious ideologies.


Early history

It is likely that the Anglian occupation of Mercia saw the displacement of, or integration with, Sub-Roman British tribes. There is a possibility that some of these British Christian communities survived the Anglo-Saxon occupation: Richard Fletcher mentions
Much Wenlock Much Wenlock is a market town and parish in Shropshire, England, situated on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. Nearby, to the northeast, is the Ironbridge Gorge, and the new town of Telford. The civil parish includes the villag ...
as a possible candidate. The first kings of Mercia were pagans, and they resisted the encroachment of Christianity longer than those of other kingdoms in the Anglo-Saxon
Heptarchy The Heptarchy were the seven petty kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England that flourished from the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain in the 5th century until they were consolidated in the 8th century into the four kingdoms of Mercia, Northumbria, Wess ...
. Placenames like Wednesfield and Wednesbury perhaps suggest that the worship of
Woden Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...
was particularly prominent, and that there was a cluster of late pagan practice near
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
: there are no surviving toponyms relating to
Thunor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, and ...
, for example, although Tiw may be connected to
Tyseley Tyseley is a district in the southern half of the city of Birmingham, England, near the Coventry Road and the districts of Acocks Green, Small Heath and Yardley. It is located near the Grand Union Canal. Etymology Tyseley means "Tyssa's clearin ...
, Tysemere and
Tysoe Tysoe is a civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon District of Warwickshire, England. The parish is on the boundary with Oxfordshire, about northwest of Banbury. The parish includes the contiguous villages of Middle and Upper Tysoe and the separa ...
. Similarly the Old English word ''weoh'' (altar) is found as a root for several Mercian placenames including Weeford near
Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west of B ...
. Mercian rulers remained resolutely pagan until the reign of Peada in 656, although this did not prevent them joining coalitions with Christian Welsh rulers to resist Northumbria. The first appearance of Christianity in Mercia, however, had come at least thirty years earlier, following the Battle of Cirencester of 628, when
Penda Penda (died 15 November 655)Manuscript A of the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' gives the year as 655. Bede also gives the year as 655 and specifies a date, 15 November. R. L. Poole (''Studies in Chronology and History'', 1934) put forward the theor ...
incorporated the largely Christian West Saxon territories of the Hwiccas into his kingdom.


The Mercian Supremacy


Reign of Penda

The conversion of Mercia to Christianity occurred in the latter part of the 7th century, and was carried out almost entirely by Northumbrian and Irish monks of the
Celtic Rite The term "Celtic Rite" is applied to the various liturgical rites used in Celtic Christianity in Britain, Ireland and Brittany and the monasteries founded by St. Columbanus and Saint Catald in France, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy during the ...
. Penda remained pagan to the end, but by the time of his defeat and death, Mercia was largely surrounded by Christian states. As such, it was excluded from many of the networks of diplomacy and alliance that extended through Western Europe, as these generally involved dynastic marriages and ecclesiastical negotiation. Christianity gained a foothold in Mercia precisely through these channels. Part of the price of Oswiu's support for Peada as sub-king of the Middle Angles, during the period of Mercian eclipse, was that Peada marry Oswiu's daughter, Alchflaed, and accept her religion. Diuma, an Irish monk and one of Oswiu's missionaries was subsequently ordained a bishop—the first to operate in Mercia. Peada founded an abbey at
Medeshamstede Medeshamstede was the name of Peterborough in the Anglo-Saxon period. It was the site of a monastery founded around the middle of the 7th century, which was an important feature in the kingdom of Mercia from the outset. Little is known of its ...
, in modern Peterborough, as earnest of his support for the Church. Bede tells us that Penda respected the Christians and even allowed them to operate more widely in Mercia. However, it seems that not much progress was made at converting the nobles and people of Mercia.


The mission of Chad

After an inconclusive start, decisive steps to Christianise Mercia were taken by
Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...
(Latinised by Bede as ''Ceadda''), the fifth bishop to minister to the Mercians. He was a controversial figure, who had been removed from his duties among the Northumbrians by the Archbishop
Theodore of Tarsus Theodore of Tarsus ( gr, Θεόδωρος Ταρσοῦ; 60219 September 690) was Archbishop of Canterbury from 668 to 690. Theodore grew up in Tarsus, but fled to Constantinople after the Persian Empire conquered Tarsus and other cities. After ...
. Finding his realm without a bishop in 669, King Wulfhere requested Theodore to send one, and Theodore despatched Chad. Wulfhere gave him land to build a monastery at
Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west of B ...
which is around north-west of Tamworth. These early bishops were known as bishops of the Middle Angles and/or the Mercians and, in Chad's case, also of the Lindsey people: bishoprics were still ethnic rather than territorial, according to Celtic tradition. Chad tirelessly evangelised Mercia, and Bede credits him with the conversion of the kingdom, despite the briefness of his episcopate—less than three years. The sons of Penda not only supported Christian missionaries but invested heavily in the Church. Wulfhere greatly endowed the family monastery at
Medeshamstede Medeshamstede was the name of Peterborough in the Anglo-Saxon period. It was the site of a monastery founded around the middle of the 7th century, which was an important feature in the kingdom of Mercia from the outset. Little is known of its ...
. In addition to the gift of land at Lichfield, he also gave Chad land for a monastery at Barwae—probably the modern Barrow upon Humber.
Merewalh Merewalh (sometimes given as Merwal or Merewald was a sub-king of the Magonsæte, a western cadet kingdom of Mercia thought to have been located in Herefordshire and Shropshire. Merewalh is thought to have lived in the mid to late 7th century, havin ...
, sub-king of the
Magonsæte Magonsæte was a minor sub-kingdom of the greater Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia, thought to be coterminous with the Diocese of Hereford. The British territory of Pengwern was conquered by Oswiu of Northumbria in 656, while he was overlord of the ...
, to the west, in modern Shropshire and Herefordshire, and apparently a brother or half-brother of Wulfhere, fathered a dynasty of abbesses, endowing an abbey at Leominster and probably also that at
Much Wenlock Much Wenlock is a market town and parish in Shropshire, England, situated on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. Nearby, to the northeast, is the Ironbridge Gorge, and the new town of Telford. The civil parish includes the villag ...
, which his daughter
Mildburh Saint Mildburh (alternatively Milburga or Milburgh) (died 23 February 727) was the Benedictine abbess of Wenlock Priory. Her feast day is 23 February. Life Mildburh was a daughter of Merewalh, King of the Mercian sub-kingdom of Magonsaete, an ...
headed. As in other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, the many small monasteries allowed the political/military and ecclesiastical leadership to consolidate their unity through bonds of kinship.


Division of Mercia into dioceses

However, Mercia did not long survive as an ecclesiastical entity. Chad's successor,
Winfrith Winfrith Atomic Energy Establishment, or AEE Winfrith, was a United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority site near Winfrith Newburgh in Dorset. It covered an area on Winfrith Heath to the west of the village of Wool between the A352 road and the South ...
, was expected to conform more closely to Roman norms but was soon at loggerheads with Archbishop Theodore. Involved in similar problems with
Wilfrid Wilfrid ( – 709 or 710) was an English bishop and saint. Born a Northumbrian noble, he entered religious life as a teenager and studied at Lindisfarne, at Canterbury, in Francia, and at Rome; he returned to Northumbria in about 660, and ...
of York, from 676 Theodore adopted a policy of appointing bishops to much smaller tribal groups within the kingdoms, thus covering smaller areas—closer in size to those found in Francia and other West European countries. Hence, bishoprics were based at
Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...
for the Hwiccas, at
Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...
for the Magonsæte, at Lincoln for the Lindsey people, the latter attached to York rather than Canterbury, and at
Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...
, perhaps for the Middle Angles. This left the remaining diocese still based at
Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west of B ...
and still very large, but much more manageable. For a short time, Offa succeeded in restoring the ecclesiastical unity of Mercia, while adding East Anglia to it. Under his influence, the Synod of Chelsea in 787 established an Archbishopric of Lichfield, headed by
Higbert Hygeberht (died after 803) was the Bishop of Lichfield from 779 and Archbishop of Lichfield after the elevation of Lichfield to an archdiocese some time after 787, during the reign of the powerful Mercian king Offa. Little is known of Hygeberht ...
, the existing bishop. This arrangement did not long survive Offa himself, and the various dioceses were returned to their original provinces in 803.


The Danelaw

In 867, under Ivar the Boneless, the Danes captured Nottingham. Despite attempts by King
Æthelred of Wessex Æthelred (; ang, Æþelræd ) or Ethelred () is an Old English personal name (a compound of '' æþele'' and '' ræd'', meaning "noble counsel" or "well-advised") and may refer to: Anglo-Saxon England * Æthelred and Æthelberht, legendary prin ...
and his brother,
Alfred Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...
, the Danes remained, establishing Nottingham as one of the
five Burghs The Five Boroughs or The Five Boroughs of the Danelaw were the five main towns of Danish Mercia (what is now the East Midlands). These were Derby, Leicester, Lincoln, Nottingham and Stamford. The first four later became county towns. Establ ...
of the Danelaw. Marching from Lindsey to Repton in 874, Ivar drove
Burgred Burgred (also Burhred or Burghred) was an Anglo-Saxon king of Mercia from 852 to 874. Family Burgred became king of Mercia in 852, and may have been related to his predecessor Beorhtwulf. After Easter in 853, Burgred married Æthelswith, daug ...
from his kingdom, bringing Norse paganism with him. The north of Mercia remained under pagan influence until Ivar’s successor, Guthrum, converted to Christianity at the
Treaty of Wedmore The Treaty of Wedmore is a 9th-century accord between Alfred the Great of Wessex and the Viking king Guthrum the Old. The only contemporary reference to this treaty, is that of a Welsh monk Asser in his biography of Alfred, (known as Asser#The Li ...
in 878.


References

{{Reflist
Religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...
Anglo-Saxon paganism Christianity in Anglo-Saxon England