Augustine of Canterbury

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Augustine of Canterbury (early 6th century – most likely 26 May 604) was a Christian monk who became the first archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597. He is considered the "Apostle to the English".

Augustine was the prior of a monastery in Rome when Pope Gregory the Great chose him in 595 to lead a mission, usually known as the Gregorian mission, to Britain to Christianize King Æthelberht and his Kingdom of Kent from Anglo-Saxon paganism. Kent was likely chosen because Æthelberht commanded major influence over neighbouring Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in addition to his marriage to Bertha, a Frankish princess, who was expected to exert some influence over her husband. Before reaching Kent, the missionaries had considered turning back, but Gregory urged them on, and in 597, Augustine landed on the Isle of Thanet and proceeded to Æthelberht's main town of Canterbury.

King Æthelberht converted to Christianity and allowed the missionaries to preach freely, giving them land to found a monastery outside the city walls. Augustine was consecrated as a bishop and converted many of the king's subjects, including thousands during a mass baptism on Christmas Day in 597. Pope Gregory sent more missionaries in 601, along with encouraging letters and gifts for the churches, although attempts to persuade the native British bishops to submit to Augustine's authority failed. Roman bishops were established at London, and Rochester in 604, and a school was founded to train Anglo-Saxon priests and missionaries. Augustine also arranged the consecration of his successor, Laurence of Canterbury. The archbishop probably died in 604 and was soon revered as a saint.

Background to the missionEdit

After the withdrawal of the Roman legions from their province of Britannia in 410, the inhabitants were left to defend themselves against the attacks of the Saxons. Before the Roman withdrawal, Britannia had been converted to Christianity and produced the ascetic Pelagius.<ref name=Hindley3/><ref name=Mayr78/> Britain sent three bishops to the Council of Arles in 314, and a Gaulish bishop went to the island in 396 to help settle disciplinary matters.<ref name=Frend80>Frend "Roman Britain" Cross Goes North pp. 80–81</ref> Material remains testify to a growing presence of Christians, at least until around 360.<ref name=Frend82>Frend "Roman Britain" Cross Goes North pp. 82–86</ref> After the Roman legions departed, pagan tribes settled the southern parts of the island while western Britain, beyond the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, remained Christian. This native British Church developed in isolation from Rome under the influence of missionaries from Ireland<ref name=Hindley3>Hindley Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons pp. 3–9</ref><ref name=Mayr78/> and was centred on monasteries instead of bishoprics. Other distinguishing characteristics were its calculation of the date of Easter and the style of the tonsure haircut that clerics wore.<ref name=Mayr78>Mayr-Harting Coming of Christianity pp. 78–93</ref><ref name=Yorke115>Yorke Conversion of Britain pp. 115–118 discusses the issue of the "Celtic Church" and what exactly it was.</ref> Evidence for the survival of Christianity in the eastern part of Britain during this time includes the survival of the cult of Saint Alban and the occurrence in place names of eccles, derived from the Latin ecclesia, meaning "church".<ref name=Yorke121>Yorke Conversion of Britain p. 121</ref> There is no evidence that these native Christians tried to convert the Anglo-Saxons.<ref name=ASE102>Stenton Anglo-Saxon England p. 102</ref><ref name=Harting32>Mayr-Harting Coming of Christianity pp. 32–33</ref> The invasions destroyed most remnants of Roman civilisation in the areas held by the Saxons and related tribes, including the economic and religious structures.<ref name=Kirby23>Kirby Earliest English Kings p. 23</ref>

It was against this background that Pope Gregory I decided to send a mission, often called the Gregorian mission, to convert the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity in 595.<ref name=ASE104>Stenton Anglo-Saxon England pp. 104–105</ref><ref name=Jones>Jones "Gregorian Mission" Speculum</ref> The Kingdom of Kent was ruled by Æthelberht, who had married a Christian princess named Bertha before 588,<ref name=ASE105>Stenton Anglo-Saxon England pp. 105–106</ref> and perhaps earlier than 560.<ref name=Kirby24>Kirby Earliest English Kings pp. 24–25</ref> Bertha was the daughter of Charibert I, one of the Merovingian kings of the Franks. As one of the conditions of her marriage, she brought a bishop named Liudhard with her to Kent.<ref name=DNBBertha>Nelson "Bertha" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography</ref> Together in Canterbury, they restored a church that dated to Roman times<ref name=Hindley33>Hindley Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons pp. 33–36</ref>Template:Sndpossibly the current St Martin's Church. Æthelberht was a pagan at this point but allowed his wife freedom of worship. One biographer of Bertha states that under his wife's influence, Æthelberht asked Pope Gregory to send missionaries.<ref name=DNBBertha/> The historian Ian N. Wood feels that the initiative came from the Kentish court as well as the queen.<ref name=Wood10>Wood "Mission of Augustine of Canterbury" Speculum pp. 9–10</ref> Other historians, however, believe that Gregory initiated the mission, although the exact reasons remain unclear. Bede, an 8th-century monk who wrote a history of the English church, recorded a famous story in which Gregory saw fair-haired Saxon slaves from Britain in the Roman slave market and was inspired to try to convert their people.Template:Efn<ref name=Harting57>Mayr-Harting Coming of Christianity pp. 57–59</ref> More practical matters, such as the acquisition of new provinces acknowledging the primacy of the papacy, and a desire to influence the emerging power of the Kentish kingdom under Æthelberht, were probably involved.<ref name=Hindley33/> The mission may have been an outgrowth of the missionary efforts against the Lombards who, as pagans and Arian Christians, were not on good relations with the Catholic church in Rome.<ref name=DNB>Mayr-Harting "Augustine" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography</ref>

Aside from Æthelberht's granting of freedom of worship to his wife, the choice of Kent was probably dictated by a number of other factors. Kent was the dominant power in southeastern Britain. Since the eclipse of King Ceawlin of Wessex in 592, Æthelberht was the bretwalda, or leading Anglo-Saxon ruler; Bede refers to Æthelberht as having imperium (overlordship) south of the River Humber. Trade between the Franks and Æthelberht's kingdom was well established, and the language barrier between the two regions was apparently only a minor obstacle, as the interpreters for the mission came from the Franks. Lastly, Kent's proximity to the Franks allowed support from a Christian area.<ref name=Brooks7>Brooks Early History of the Church of Canterbury pp. 6–7</ref> There is some evidence, including Gregory's letters to Frankish kings in support of the mission, that some of the Franks felt that they had a claim to overlordship over some of the southern British kingdoms at this time. The presence of a Frankish bishop could also have lent credence to claims of overlordship, if Bertha's Bishop Liudhard was felt to be acting as a representative of the Frankish church and not merely as a spiritual advisor to the queen. Frankish influence was not merely political; archaeological remains attest to a cultural influence as well.<ref name=Kirby27>Kirby Earliest English Kings p. 27</ref>

In 595, Gregory chose Augustine, who was the prior of the Abbey of St Andrew in Rome, to head the mission to Kent.<ref name=ASE104/> The pope selected monks to accompany Augustine and sought support from the Frankish royalty and clergy in a series of letters, of which some copies survive in Rome. He wrote to King Theuderic II of Burgundy and to King Theudebert II of Austrasia, as well as their grandmother Brunhild, seeking aid for the mission. Gregory thanked King Chlothar II of Neustria for aiding Augustine. Besides hospitality, the Frankish bishops and kings provided interpreters and Frankish priests to accompany the mission.<ref name=Brooks4>Brooks Early History of the Church of Canterbury pp. 4–5</ref> By soliciting help from the Frankish kings and bishops, Gregory helped to assure a friendly reception for Augustine in Kent, as Æthelbert was unlikely to mistreat a mission which visibly had the support of his wife's relatives and people.<ref name=Brooks6>Brooks Early History of the Church of Canterbury p. 6</ref> Moreover, the Franks appreciated the chance to participate in mission that would extend their influence in Kent. Chlothar, in particular, needed a friendly realm across the Channel to help guard his kingdom's flanks against his fellow Frankish kings.<ref name=Wood9>Wood "Mission of Augustine of Canterbury" Speculum p. 9</ref>

Sources make no mention of why Pope Gregory chose a monk to head the mission. Pope Gregory once wrote to Æthelberht complimenting Augustine's knowledge of the Bible, so Augustine was evidently well educated. Other qualifications included administrative ability, for Gregory was the abbot of St Andrews as well as being pope, which left the day-to-day running of the abbey to Augustine, the prior.<ref name=Fletcher116>Fletcher Barbarian Conversion pp. 116–117</ref>

Arrival and first effortsEdit

File:Britain peoples circa 600.svg

Map of the general outlines of some of the British kingdoms in about 600

Augustine was accompanied by Laurence of Canterbury, his eventual successor to the archbishopric, and a group of about 40 companions, some of whom were monks.<ref name=ASE105/> Soon after leaving Rome, the missionaries halted, daunted by the nature of the task before them. They sent Augustine back to Rome to request papal permission to return. Gregory refused and sent Augustine back with letters encouraging the missionaries to persevere.<ref name=Blair116>Blair Introduction to Anglo-Saxon England pp. 116–117</ref> In 597, Augustine and his companions landed in Kent.<ref name=ASE105/> They achieved some initial success soon after their arrival:<ref name=DNB/><ref name="Fletcher116" /> Æthelberht permitted the missionaries to settle and preach in his capital of Canterbury where they used the church of St Martin's for services.<ref name=Brooks8/> Neither Bede nor Gregory mentions the date of Æthelberht's conversion,<ref name=Woods11>Wood "Mission of Augustine of Canterbury" Speculum p. 11</ref> but it probably took place in 597.<ref name=Brooks8/>Template:Efn In the early medieval period, large-scale conversions required the ruler's conversion first, and Augustine is recorded as making large numbers of converts within a year of his arrival in Kent.<ref name=Brooks8/> Also, by 601, Gregory was writing to both Æthelberht and Bertha, calling the king his son and referring to his baptism.Template:Efn A late medieval tradition, recorded by the 15th-century chronicler Thomas Elmham, gives the date of the king's conversion as Whit Sunday, or 2 June 597; there is no reason to doubt this date, although there is no other evidence for it.<ref name=Brooks8>Brooks Early History of the Church of Canterbury pp. 8–9</ref> Against a date in 597 is a letter of Gregory's to Patriarch Eulogius of Alexandria in June 598, which mentions the number of converts made by Augustine, but does not mention any baptism of the king. However, it is clear that by 601 the king had been converted.<ref name=Kirby28>Kirby Earliest English Kings p. 28</ref> His baptism likely took place at Canterbury.<ref name=Convert56>Higham Convert Kings p. 56</ref>

Augustine established his episcopal see at Canterbury.<ref name=DNB/> It is not clear when and where Augustine was consecrated as a bishop. Bede, writing about a century later, states that Augustine was consecrated by the Frankish Archbishop Ætherius of Arles, Gaul (France) after the conversion of Æthelberht. Contemporary letters from Pope Gregory, however, refer to Augustine as a bishop before he arrived in England. A letter of Gregory's from September 597 calls Augustine a bishop, and one dated ten months later says Augustine had been consecrated on Gregory's command by bishops of the German lands.<ref name=Brooks5>Brooks Early History of the Church of Canterbury p. 5</ref> The historian R. A. Markus discusses the various theories of when and where Augustine was consecrated, and suggests he was consecrated before arriving in England, but argues the evidence does not permit deciding exactly where this took place.<ref name=Markus24>Markus "Chronology of the Gregorian Mission" Journal of Ecclesiastical History pp. 24–29</ref>

Soon after his arrival, Augustine founded the monastery of Saints Peter and Paul, which later became St Augustine's Abbey,<ref name=DNB/> on land donated by the king.<ref name=Blair61>Blair Church in Anglo-Saxon Society pp. 61–62</ref> In a letter Gregory wrote to the patriarch of Alexandria in 598, he claimed that more than 10,000 Christians had been baptised; the number may be exaggerated but there is no reason to doubt that a mass conversion took place.<ref name=ASE105/><ref name=Fletcher116/> However, there were probably some Christians already in Kent before Augustine arrived, remnants of the Christians who lived in Britain in the later Roman Empire.<ref name="Harting32" /> Little literary traces remain of them, however.<ref name=Frend79>Frend "Roman Britain" Cross Goes North p. 79</ref> One other effect of the king's conversion by Augustine's mission was that the Frankish influence on the southern kingdoms of Britain was decreased.<ref name=Kirby29>Kirby Earliest English Kings p. 29</ref>

After these conversions, Augustine sent Laurence back to Rome with a report of his success, along with questions about the mission.<ref name=ASE106>Stenton Anglo-Saxon England p. 106</ref> Bede records the letter and Gregory's replies in chapter 27 of his Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum; this section of the History is usually known as the Libellus responsionum.<ref name=Laurentius>Lapidge "Laurentius" Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England</ref><ref name=Bede71/> Augustine asked for Gregory's advice on a number of issues, including how to organise the church, the punishment for church robbers, guidance on who was allowed to marry whom, and the consecration of bishops. Other topics were relations between the churches of Britain and Gaul, childbirth and baptism, and when it was lawful for people to receive communion and for a priest to celebrate mass.<ref name=Bede71>Bede History of the English Church and People pp. 71–83</ref>

Further missionaries were sent from Rome in 601. They brought a pallium for Augustine and a present of sacred vessels, vestments, relics, and books.Template:Efn The pallium was the symbol of metropolitan status, and signified that Augustine was now an archbishop unambiguously associated with the Holy See. Along with the pallium, a letter from Gregory directed the new archbishop to consecrate 12 suffragan bishops as soon as possible and to send a bishop to York. Gregory's plan was that there would be two metropolitans, one at York and one at London, with 12 suffragan bishops under each archbishop. As part of this plan, Augustine was expected to transfer his archiepiscopal see to London from Canterbury. This move never happened; no contemporary sources give the reason,<ref name=Brooks9>Brooks Early History of the Church of Canterbury pp. 9–11</ref> but it was probably because London was not part of Æthelberht's domains. Instead, London was part of the kingdom of Essex, ruled by Æthelberht's nephew Saebert of Essex, who converted to Christianity in 604.<ref name=Hindley33/><ref name=Fletcher453>Fletcher Barbarian Conversion p. 453</ref> The historian S. Brechter has suggested that the metropolitan see was indeed moved to London, and that it was only with the abandonment of London as a see after the death of Æthelberht that Canterbury became the archiepiscopal see. This theory contradicts Bede's version of events, however.<ref name=Brooks11>Brooks Early History of the Church of Canterbury pp. 11–14</ref>

Additional workEdit

File:Aethelberht of Kent sculpture on Canterbury Cathedral.jpg

Æthelberht of Kent imagined in a statue at Canterbury Cathedral

In 604, Augustine founded two more bishoprics in Britain. Two men who had come to Britain with him in 601 were consecrated, Mellitus as Bishop of London and Justus as Bishop of Rochester.<ref name=Hindley33/><ref name=BEASE267>Hayward "St Justus" Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England pp. 267–268</ref><ref name=BEASE305>Lapidge "St Mellitus" Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England pp. 305–306</ref> Bede relates that Augustine, with the help of the king, "recovered" a church built by Roman Christians in Canterbury.<ref name=Brooks50/>Template:Efn It is not clear if Bede meant that Augustine rebuilt the church or that Augustine merely reconsecrated a building that had been used for pagan worship. Archaeological evidence seems to support the latter interpretation; in 1973 the remains of an aisled building dating from the Romano-British period were uncovered just south of the present Canterbury Cathedral.<ref name=Brooks50>Brooks Early History of the Church of Canterbury p. 50</ref> The historian Ian Wood argues that the existence of the Libellus points to more contact between Augustine and the native Christians because the topics covered in the work are not restricted to conversion from paganism, but also dealt with relations between differing styles of Christianity.<ref name=Wood170>Wood "Augustine and Aidan" L'Église et la Mission p. 170</ref>

Augustine failed to extend his authority to the Christians in Wales and Dumnonia to the west. Gregory had decreed that these Christians should submit to Augustine and that their bishops should obey him,<ref name=Harting70>Mayr-Harting Coming of Christianity pp. 70–72</ref> apparently believing that more of the Roman governmental and ecclesiastical organisation survived in Britain than was actually the case.<ref name=Conversion118>Yorke Conversion of Britain p. 118</ref> According to the narrative of Bede, the Britons in these regions viewed Augustine with uncertainty, and their suspicion was compounded by a diplomatic misjudgement on Augustine's part.<ref name=ASE110>Stenton Anglo-Saxon England pp. 110–111</ref> In 603, Augustine and Æthelberht summoned the British bishops to a meeting south of the Severn. These guests retired early to confer with their people,<ref name=Hindley8/> who, according to Bede, advised them to judge Augustine based upon the respect he displayed at their next meeting. When Augustine failed to rise from his seat on the entrance of the British bishops,<ref name=Bede100>Bede History of the English Church and People pp. 100–103</ref> they refused to recognise him as their archbishop.<ref name=Hindley8>Hindley Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons pp. 8–9</ref><ref name=Harting72/> There were, however, deep differences between Augustine and the British church that perhaps played a more significant role in preventing an agreement. At issue were the tonsure, the observance of Easter, and practical and deep-rooted differences in approach to asceticism, missionary endeavours, and how the church itself was organised.<ref name=ASE110/> Some historians believe that Augustine had no real understanding of the history and traditions of the British church, damaging his relations with their bishops.<ref name=Harting72>Mayr-Harting Coming of Christianity pp. 72–73</ref> Also, there were political dimensions involved, as Augustine's efforts were sponsored by the Kentish king, and at this period the Wessex and Mercian kingdoms were expanding to the west, into areas held by the Britons.<ref name=Conversion119>Yorke Conversion of Britain p. 119</ref>

Further successEdit

Gregory also instructed Augustine on other matters. Temples were to be consecrated for Christian use,<ref name=Thomson8>Thomson Western Church p. 8</ref> and feasts, if possible, moved to days celebrating Christian martyrs. One religious site was revealed to be a shrine of a local St Sixtus, whose worshippers were unaware of details of the martyr's life or death. They may have been native Christians, but Augustine did not treat them as such. When Gregory was informed, he told Augustine to stop the cult and use the shrine for the Roman St Sixtus.<ref name=Blair24>Blair Church in Anglo-Saxon Society p. 24</ref>

Gregory legislated on the behaviour of the laity and the clergy. He placed the new mission directly under papal authority and made it clear that English bishops would have no authority over Frankish counterparts nor vice versa. Other directives dealt with the training of native clergy and the missionaries' conduct.<ref name=ASE107>Stenton Anglo-Saxon England pp. 107–108</ref>

The King's School, Canterbury claims Augustine as its founder, which would make it the world's oldest existing school, but the first documentary records of the school date from the 16th century.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Augustine did establish a school, and soon after his death Canterbury was able to send teachers out to support the East Anglian mission.<ref name=Brooks94>Brooks Early History of the Church of Canterbury pp. 94–95</ref> Augustine received liturgical books from the pope, but their exact contents are unknown. They may have been some of the new mass books that were being written at this time. The exact liturgy that Augustine introduced to England remains unknown, but it would have been a form of the Latin language liturgy in use at Rome.<ref name=Harting173>Mayr-Harting Coming of Christianity pp. 173–174</ref>

Death and legacyEdit

File:AgCant-tomb.jpg

Augustine's gravesite at Canterbury

Before his death, Augustine consecrated Laurence of Canterbury as his successor to the archbishopric, probably to ensure an orderly transfer of office.<ref name=Hindley43>Hindley Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons p. 43</ref> Although at the time of Augustine's death, 26 May 604,<ref name=DNB/> the mission barely extended beyond Kent, his undertaking introduced a more active missionary style into the British Isles. Despite the earlier presence of Christians in Ireland and Wales, no efforts had been made to try to convert the Saxon invaders. Augustine was sent to convert the descendants of those invaders, and eventually became the decisive influence in Christianity in most of the British Isles.<ref name=ASE110/><ref name=Collins185>Collins Early Medieval Europe p. 185</ref> Much of his success came about because of Augustine's close relationship with Æthelberht, which gave the archbishop time to establish himself.<ref name=Harting249>Mayr-Harting Coming of Christianity p. 249</ref> Augustine's example also influenced the great missionary efforts of the Anglo-Saxon Church.<ref name=Harting264>Mayr-Harting Coming of Christianity pp. 265–266</ref><ref name=Wood8>Wood "Mission of Augustine of Canterbury" Speculum p. 8</ref>

Augustine's body was originally buried in the portico of what is now St Augustine's, Canterbury,<ref name="Blair61" /> but it was later exhumed and placed in a tomb within the abbey church, which became a place of pilgrimage and veneration. After the Norman Conquest the cult of St Augustine was actively promoted.<ref name=DNB/> After the Conquest, his shrine in St Augustine's Abbey held a central position in one of the axial chapels, flanked by the shrines of his successors Laurence and Mellitus.<ref name=Nilson67>Nilson Cathedral Shrines p. 67</ref> King Henry I of England granted St. Augustine's Abbey a six-day fair around the date on which Augustine's relics were translated to his new shrine, from 8 September through 13 September.<ref name=Shrines>Nilson Cathedral Shrines p. 93</ref>

A life of Augustine was written by Goscelin around 1090, but this life portrays Augustine in a different light, compared to Bede's account. Goscelin's account has little new historical content, mainly being filled with miracles and imagined speeches.<ref name=Gameson17>Gameson and Gameson "From Augustine to Parker" Anglo-Saxons pp. 17–20</ref> Building on this account, later medieval writers continued to add new miracles and stories to Augustine's life, often quite fanciful.<ref name=Gameson19>Gameson and Gameson "From Augustine to Parker" Anglo-Saxons p. 19</ref> These authors included William of Malmesbury, who claimed that Augustine founded Cerne Abbey,<ref name=Gameson20>Gameson and Gameson "From Augustine to Parker" Anglo-Saxons p. 20</ref> the author (generally believed to be John Brompton) of a late medieval chronicle containing invented letters from Augustine,<ref name=Gameson24>Gameson and Gameson "From Augustine to Parker" Anglo-Saxons p. 24</ref> and a number of medieval writers who included Augustine in their romances.<ref name=Gameson22>Gameson and Gameson "From Augustine to Parker" Anglo-Saxons pp. 22–31</ref> Another problem with investigating Augustine's saintly cult is the confusion resulting because most medieval liturgical documents mentioning Augustine do not distinguish between Augustine of Canterbury and Augustine of Hippo, a fourth-century saint. Medieval Scandinavian liturgies feature Augustine of Canterbury quite often, however.<ref name=Blair513>Blair "Handlist of Anglo-Saxon Saints" Local Saints and Local Churches p. 513</ref> During the English Reformation, Augustine's shrine was destroyed and his relics were lost.

Augustine's shrine was re-established in March 2012 at the church of St. Augustine in Ramsgate, Kent, very close to the mission's landing site.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> St Augustine's Cross, a Celtic cross erected in 1884, marks the spot in Ebbsfleet, Thanet, East Kent, where the newly arrived Augustine is said to have first met and preached to the awaiting King Ethelbert.<ref name=Cross>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>