The Christianisation of the Saxons

Abstract

Taking Christianisation as the process by which an entire society can be said to have become Christian, this article examines that phenomenon in ninth-century Saxony. The conversion of Saxony was unwelcome and imposed often by force, especially during the time of Charlemagne. This process of Christianisation is considered through two texts: 'Translato sancti Alexandrii and Translatio sancti Liborii'. The isolationism of the Saxons and the divine triumph over that position through Charlemagne are emphasised in these later accounts of the translation of the remains of saints Alexander and Liborius, whose bodies and the miracles associated with them helped reverse the reintroduction of paganism. At the same time, political necessity had seen the Saxons being granted the right to return to their old way of life in support of the Carolingian rulers. In the end, being Christian was portrayed as the best way to be Saxon and the process of Christianisation hastened.