Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-lnqnp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T01:03:58.928Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The tabernacula of Gregory the Great and the conversion of Anglo-Saxon England

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 November 2007

Flora Spiegel
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In a famous letter to his missionaries in England, Pope Gregory the Great suggested that the newly converted Anglo-Saxons should be encouraged to build small huts, or ‘tabernacula’, in conjunction with Christian festivals. He seems to have associated these structures with the Jewish festival of Sukkot, reflecting a missionary strategy modelled on both the biblical conversion of the Israelites and on Gregory's own proselytizing approach towards the Jews of Rome. Gregory's instructions are discussed in the light of historical writings and archaeological evidence, which suggest that ‘tabernacula’ were indeed constructed in England during the conversion period, possibly adapted from pre-Christian Anglo-Saxon ritual structures.

Type
Research Article
Information
Anglo-Saxon England , Volume 36 , December 2007 , pp. 1 - 13
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)