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Map of England before Roman rule.
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Edict of MilanGalerian and then Constantine grants Christians freedom of worship.
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Roman rule definitively ends in Britain, leaving Britain vulnerable to invasion by the same types of Germanic tribes that will bring down Rome itself. Image of Hadrian's Wall.
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Saxons invade from Germany from 450-600, and nearly drive out Christianity everywhere they conquer. Badbury Ring is an Iron Age fort possibly the site on a battle with the Saxons. Saxon invasion history
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St. Mungo, also known as Saint Kentigern, Cantigernus or Cyndeyrn Garthwys, was born @ 528, and is the patron saint of Glasgow, and builder of what became Glasgow Cathedral on the River Clyde. In legend it is claimed that he converted Merlin to Christianity.
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Kin Aethelbert of Kent received St. Augustine and allowed him to preach in Kent. Married to the Christian Queen Bertha, daughter of the King of Paris, he soon converted to Christianty himself.
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St. Convall was an Irishman who was a disciple of St. Mungo; he worked as a missionary among the Picts. Supposedly, he floated across the sea to Scotland from Ireland on a piece of granite. Image is of Pictish engraving called a Serpent Stone.
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Synod of WhitbyDispute over date of Easter between the Celtic and Roman customs within kingdom of Northumbria; it was decided to follow Roman usage.
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John Wycliffe, also known as "the Morningstar of the Reformation," helps push for an English translation of the Bible as a measn of empowering the laity against the growing power of the papacy. His followers were known as "Lollards" for their very long public prayers.
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Locations of major monastic houses prior to their suppression by King Henry VIII.
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William Tynedale produces an English version of the New Testament, an act for which he is declared a heretic by King Henry VIII-- and is later executed by being strangled and burned at the stake.
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Henry VIII's eldest surviving child ascends to the throne as Elizabeth I after the death of her half-stser and enemy Mary I, also known as "Bloody Mary" for her persecution of Protestants (over 280 of whom she had burned at the stake) during her brief reign.
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The Vikings, also known as Norsemen or Danes, begin invading England. Their pagan worship is another challenge to Christianity in Britain. Monasteries, such as Skye and Iona, were hit particularly hard particularly in Scotland and along coastal areas, as they were plundered.
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St. NinianSt. founded the first Christian settlement north of Hadrian's Wall in Southwest Scotland. Made of whitewashed stone, it was called Hwit Aerne by the local Picts. Image is of St. Ninian's Cross.
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At the Peace of Wedmore,Alfred the Great (of Wessex) defeats the Danes under Guthrum, Viking king of East Anglia, and Guthrum becomes Christian.
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St. Augustine, the first Archbishop of Canterbury, finally lands in England, accompanied by 30 monks, after being sent by Pope Gregory. H is received warily by King AEthelbert of Kent, whose wife, Bertha, was a Christian.
