This chapter provides the understanding of England and the Continent in the eighth and ninth centuries. It concentrations of the evidence, the context for and activities of the Anglo-Saxon missionaries on the Continent, the establishment of new religious foundations in Hesse, Thuringia and Franconia, the Anglo-Saxons' contributions to the Frankish church, their interaction with Frankish rulers and bishops, and their legacy for subsequent connections across the Channel in the ninth century and afterwards. The eighth century in England and Francia was a period of rapid political change. It saw the emergence in England of Mercia, and in Francia of the Carolingian family whose wealth and interests were focused in the Rhine, Moselle and Meuse region, that is, the region where the English missionaries were initially most active. Information about the early life of the first of these missionaries, Willibrord, is meagre. The eighth- and ninth-century relations between England and the Continent were personal connections and local influences that were predominant.