felix of burgundy was sent to east anglia in england to convert the pagan anglo-saxons.
felix of burgundy was sent to east anglia in england to convert the pagan anglo-saxons.
who was was sent to east anglia in england to convert the pagan anglo-saxons?
felix of burgundy
during ealdwulf's childhood, felix of burgundy and fursey were both active in east anglia. as a boy, ealdwulf is said to have seen for himself the temple containing both christian and pagan altars that rædwald of east anglia had maintained. ealdwulf's testimony may be the authority for bede's account of the temple. æthilric died before around 647, after which his widow left for gaul to lead a religious life within the frankish royal oratory at chelles, there being at that time no religious house for women in east anglia. it is not known whether ealdwulf accompanied his mother, or whether he remained in east anglia during the eventful reigns of his three uncles — anna, æthelhere and æthelwold. it is likely he stayed in east anglia and acted as an ealdorman/nobleman warrior, since in 647, when hereswith left for gaul, he would have already been around 20 years of age.
ealdwulf of east anglia
the pagan anglo-saxons also appeared to wear amulets, and there are many cases where corpses were buried with them. as david wilson noted, "to the early [anglo-]saxons, they were part and parcel of the supernatural that made up their world of 'belief', although occupying the shadowy dividing area between superstition and religion, if indeed such a division actually existed." one of the most notable amulets found in anglo-saxon graves is the cowrie shell, which has been often interpreted by modern academics as having been a fertility symbol due to its physical resemblance to the vagina and the fact that it was most commonly found in female graves. not being native to british seas, the cowrie shells had to have been brought to england by traders who had come all the way from the red sea in the middle east. animal teeth were also used as amulets by the pagan anglo-saxons, and many examples have been found that had formerly belonged to boar, beaver, and in some cases even humans. other amulets included items such as amethyst and amber beads, pieces of quartz or iron pyrite, worked and unworked flint, pre-anglo-saxon coinage and fossils, and from their distribution in graves, it has been stated that in anglo-saxon pagan society, "amulets [were] very much more the preserve of women than men".
anglo-saxon paganism