[gothic-l] Gothic Christianity

[AElfric and Ursula]

Greetings Dirk,

<<Firstly, we were talking about the period 5th/6th century. As Tim
pointed out, by this time Christian burial practice, Christian
imagery on almost all Ostrogothic Spangenhelms, Gothic bishops (since
the early 4th century), large crosses around the neck of Gothic kings
on their coins, Gothic Christian martyrs in the 4th century, all this
suggests that Christianity was well established among most Goths by
the second half of the 5th and certaintly the 6th century.>>

These things all refer to a handful of bishops and noblemen, but do not reflect the beliefs, inner convictions or practices of the Goths on the whole.  Also, side by side with the Christian imagery on Ostrogothic spangenhelms and other ornaments are animals, hunting scenes and other symbols which defy a Christian interpretation.  As you know, evidence for the religion of the common people is very, very slim.  However, if the many detailed reports of surviving pagan practices from from 5th-7th century Visigothic Spain are any indication, then it becomes clear that paganism did indeed survive for much longer.
In _Paganism and Pagan Survivals in Spain up to the Fall of the Visigothic Kingdom_ Stephen McKenna describes some aspects of heathen worship, magic and customs of the Visigoths. McKenna states that the rank and file of the Goths remained pagan for the most part because Arians did not have as much of a problem with heathenism as Catholics, and they did not make any substantial efforts to weed out the old religion in the 5th century.

Spanish bishops said that "throughout almost the whole of Spain and Gaul the sacrilege of idolatry has become deeply rooted." Martin of Braga mentions that ignorance is the cause of people continuing to worship the pagan gods. The autobiography of Valerius tells about the unbecoming songs and dances performed at a meeting of pagans in the forest at night, and of some pagans who worshipped idols on the top of a mountain. The later law codes demonstrate that heathen temples and sacrifices continued as a feature of Visigothic Spain. Pagan temples and idols continued to be prevalent up to at least 641. In the later years of the kingdom, the Visigoths are reported to have worshipped fountains, trees and stones, which was prominent enough to be considered a serious problem at the council of Toledo in 693.  It is also worth noting that the old pagan burial practices survived in Visigothic Spain until the conversion to Catholicism.

If the Goths as a whole had sincerely converted to Christianity by the end of the 5th century, none of these reports would exist.

<<From the onset of Ostrogothic history in Italy, Ostrogothic
Christianity is presented as firm and vibrant, with virtually no
outside traces of paganism left. From this I think it is clear that
Christianity had spread already in the preceeding decades.>>

Christianity became firmly established among the Ostrogoths in the time of Theoderic, after his establishment in Italy.  Before this time, the Goths still practiced pagan burial rituals, which is indicated by the fact that Theoderic had to put an end to the practice of burying the dead with riches and ornaments.  Still, archeology has uncovered some rich burial goods from this period.


<<The survival of traditions like
the raising on the shield can not be cited as evidence for
unsuccessful Christianisation. Such practices survived in many
Christian groups for much longer.>>

 The problem which prominent authors often argue against is the older notion that as soon as Fritigern led the Tervingi accross the Danube, the whole body of the Goths were all of a sudden instantly sincere and devout Christian converts.  However, an entire people does not thow out centuries of tradition overnight in favour of a new religion.  In _The Germanization of Early Medieval Christianity_, James C Russell emphasises the important difference between surface Christianization, and actual conversion, as it pertains to the Goths and other Germanic peoples.  And, there is much evidence that many Goths continued to practice and believe in paganism throughout the 5th century and into the 6th century and even 7th.

Albareiks


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