work would be successful, they approached the shore and having preached to the inhabitants they overturned the shrines of their god Fosite and built Christian churches in their stead. They baptized the converts at the fountain which Willibrord had used for the same purpose with results which nearly proved fatal to him. A little later the work in Friesland was again interrupted for a time by a pagan invasion and many churches were destroyed.

After the final conquest of the Saxons Charlemagne directed Liudger to undertake the evangelization of those who lived in the neighbourhood of Mimegerneford (or Mimegardeford). A missionary named Bernard had already worked in this district, 780-791. Here Liudger built a monastery and sent out thence missionaries to preach and teach and stamp out all traces of idolworship. In 805 he was consecrated as a missionary Becomes bishop, the site of his see being fixed at Münster. His bishop of Münster, diocese included five cantons of Friesland and the

805.

country inhabited by the East Saxons which is now part of Westphalia, extending from the R. Lippe to the middle course of the R. Ems. He laboured zealously as a missionary till his death on March 26, 809.

Three biographies of him, written during the ninth century, have been preserved, the first and most trustworthy of which was written by Altfridus, third bishop of Münster, who had never seen Liudger but obtained his information from his relations and disciples.1

Another missionary who came from England and Willehad whose sphere of work lay in the same district was Willehad, a native of Northumbria. He was born about

1 See Migne, P. L. xcix. col. 769 ff., and Pertz, Mon. Germ. ii. 403 ff.

730 and was a great friend of Alcuin.

He began his

missionary labours near Dokkum and after awhile moved to the district of Groningen, the population of at Gronin which was still fanatically pagan. As a result of his gen, preaching and his uncompromising denunciation of their idols the people rose against him at a place called Humarcha and declared him to be deserving of death for having spoken blasphemy against their gods. Some of those present, however, withheld them from carrying out their intentions and urged that they should delay and consider carefully before putting the missionary to death. They urged also that this form of religion was unknown to them and that they knew not whether it was offered to them by the will of the gods. The preacher was not guilty of any crime, and should not be put to death, but lots should rather be cast in order that it might be ascertained from heaven whether he were deserving of death. This advice was accepted and, the lots that were cast having proved favourable to Willehad, he was allowed to depart in peace. He continued to labour as a missionary in the district of Drenthe, where his work prospered and a number of and at converts were secured. After a time, and as a result of an attempt on the part of his disciples to destroy some of the temples and idols, a rising took place near Drenthe and Willehad was again attacked. One of the pagans drew his sword and struck at him, intending to cleave his skull, but the blow only severed the thong supporting the box of relics that he was carrying. This circumstance was regarded by the

1 Alcuin in a letter dated 789, writes, "saluta millies dilectissimum

meum Uilhaed episcopum."

2 Migne, P. L. cxviii. col. 1016.

Drenthe,

and at

Wigmodia.

Visit to

Rome, 782.

pagans as a favourable omen and Willehad was again permitted to depart in safety.

Charlemagne now suggested to him that he should endeavour to evangelize the pagans who inhabited the district of Wigmodia, between the Weser and the Elbe, and for the next two years he worked amongst them with the result that nearly all the Saxons and Frieslanders in that district professed conversion to the faith of Christ. On the rebellion of Wittekind in 782 several missionaries were murdered and Willehad again took refuge in flight. On this occasion he visited Rome and on his way back he spent two years in a convent which had been founded by Willibrord at Epternach in France. Here he spent his time in studying the Scriptures and in transcribing the Epistles of St. Paul; his MS. was afterwards long preserved by the bishops of Bremen. In 785 he returned on the solicitation of Charlemagne to Friesland and helped to rebuild the churches which had been destroyed by the pagans. On the baptism of Wittekind missionary work made rapid progress and soon afterwards (787) Charlemagne caused Willehad to be consecrated as bishop of Eastern Frisia and Saxony. After an episcopate of rather more than two years he died at Pleccateshem (Blexen) near Bremen on Nov. 8, 789. His life was written by Anskar, bishop of Hamburg,1 in the middle of the ninth century. Within three years of his death the long struggle between Charlemagne and the Saxons ended in a final victory for the emperor and Nominal in the nominal victory of Christianity. The results which had been achieved by his armies and by the

victory of

Christianity.

1 See Migne, P. L. cxviii. col. 1013 ff.

tion of

rics.

missionaries who followed were consolidated by the Foundafoundation of the eight bishoprics of Osnaburg, Bremen, eight Münster, Minden, Halberstadt, Paderborn, Werden, bishopand Hildesheim. Of these Bremen, Paderborn and Minden were for the Angivaric Saxons, Münster and Osnaburg for the northern Westphalians, Werden and Hildesheim were for the Eastphalians and Halberstadt was for the Thuringian Saxons.

marius.

The first bishop of Paderborn was a Saxon named HathuHathumarius. According to Ido (who wrote the history of the translation of St. Liborius) Hathumarius had been given as a hostage to Charlemagne whilst still a boy and was sent by him to live at Wurzburg. He was made bishop of Paderborn and was succeeded in 815 by Baduradus.

During the episcopate of Hunger, eleventh bishop of Utrecht, the city was destroyed (876) by the pagan Northmen, and at the time of its destruction it is said to have contained fifty-five churches. On this occasion the Northmen killed nearly all its inhabitants, including the clergy. Their ravages continued at intervals for more than a century. Utrecht itself was rebuilt in the time of Bishop Baldric (d. 977).

CHAPTER XIV

The con

Germany

12 cen

turies.

GERMANY

THE Conversion of the peoples who lived within the limits of the present German empire occupied more Occupied than twelve centuries. The first Christian communities concerning which we have any definite information had come into existence by the middle of the second century, but it was not till nearly the close of the thirteenth century that the forcible conversion of the inhabitants of Prussia to a profession of the Christian faith was accomplished, and another century had still to pass before the Lithuanians, some of whom live in Eastern Prussia, were nominally converted.

After referring to the statements that are to be found in early writers relating to the isolated Christian communities that were established in the early centuries, chiefly in Southern Germany, we shall try, as far as is conveniently possible, to treat in separate sections the progress of Christian Missions in the various provinces or districts. In many cases it will be found that the history of one province is intertwined with that of another, but it will be better to aim at keeping the story of each district distinct rather than to regard the country as a unit and attempt to fuse into one the religious development of its different peoples.

The first definite reference to the existence of Christian