Date of Award
12-2009
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
History
First Advisor
Dr. E. Rozanne Elder
Second Advisor
Dr. Robert F. Berkhofer, III
Third Advisor
Dr. Robert C. Ulin
Access Setting
Masters Thesis-Campus Only
Abstract
The arrival of missionaries from Rome on the southeastern shore of Britain near the end of the sixth century represents a crucial moment in the imagined origin story of the English people. Not only did the missionaries bring the Christian faith to the pagan Anglo-Saxons, but they also imported Latin language and literacy in addition to Roman and ecclesiastical concepts of land tenure and social exchange that had an immeasurable impact on the development of English identity.
This thesis examines the mission to convert the Anglo-Saxons from the perspective of patronage as manifested in land grants ^thelberht and Eadbald of Kent made to the church in the early seventh century. By analyzing the vocabulary relevant to gift-giving found within charters credited (albeit dubiously) to these two kings, I demonstrate how the interaction between the missionaries and Kentish rulers may have shaped the perception and practice of patronage, and vice versa. A more thorough understanding of how patronage affected - and was affected by - the mission thus sheds light on one aspect of the complex story of the origin of England.
Recommended Citation
Taylor, Laura, "The Cultural Context of Patronage During the First Contact Period of the Christian Conversion of Kent" (2009). Masters Theses. 301.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/301