In the Shadow of Death: Saint Boniface and the Conversion of Hessia, 721–54

512 Pages·2011·3.859 MB·English

by  John-Henry Clay

IN THE SHADOW OF DEATH
CULTURAL ENCOUNTERS IN LATE
ANTIQUITY AND THE MIDDLE AGES
General Editor
Yitzhak Hen Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Editorial Board
Angelo di Berardino Augustinianum–Instituto Patristico, Rome
Nora Berend University of Cambridge
Leslie Brubaker University of Birmingham
Christoph Cluse Universität Trier
Rob Meens Universiteit Utrecht
James Montgomery University of Cambridge
Alan V. Murray University of Leeds
Thomas F. X. Noble University of Notre Dame
Miri Rubin University of London
Previously published volumes in this series are listed at the back of this book.
VOLUME 11
IN THE SHADOW OF DEATH
Saint Boniface and the
Conversion of Hessia, 721–54
by
John-Henry Clay
H
F
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Clay, John-Henry.
In the shadow of death : Saint Boniface and the conversion
of Hessia, 721-754. -- (Cultural encounters in late
antiquity and the Middle Ages ; v. 11)
1. Boniface, Saint, Archbishop of Mainz, ca. 675-754.
2. Hessians--Religion. 3. Missions, English--Germany--
History--To 1500. 4. Germany--Church history--To 843.

I. Title II. Series
270.2'092-dc22

ISBN-13: 9782503531618
© 2010, Brepols Publishers n.v., Turnhout, Belgium
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission of the publisher.
D/2010/0095/172
ISBN: 978-2-503-53161-8
For Bridget Gale
1914–2007

CONTENTS
List of Illustrations ix
Preface xiii
Author’s Note xv
List of Abbreviations xvii
Part I. Foundations
Chapter 1: Introduction 3
Chapter 2: Historiography 19
Part II. Context
Chapter 3: West Saxon Origins 55
Chapter 4: Hessia on the Eve of the Bonifatian Mission 119
Part III. Mission
Chapter 5: The Chronology of the Bonifatian Mission in Hessia 189
Chapter 6: Representing the Mission 237
Chapter 7: Experiencing the Mission 279
Chapter 8: Conclusion 399
Appendix 1: Terms and Expressions Relating to Mission and 405
Missionaries in the Letters of Boniface and Lul
Appendix 2: Metaphors and Motifs Used to Represent the Mission 411
in the Letters of Boniface and Lul
Appendix 3: The Terms Germania and Germanicum in the Letters 421
of Boniface and Lul
Appendix 4: Property Held by Hersfeld in Hessia before 775 425
Appendix 5: Patrons of Fulda in the Amöneburg District, 750–79 427
Bibliography 431
Index 473
ILLUSTRATIONS
Figures
Fig. 1, p. 24. Statue of Boniface at Fritzlar.
Fig. 2, p. 59. Swallowcliffe Down seen from the east.
Fig. 3, p. 136. The Wotanstein at Maden.
Fig. 4, p. 152. Kirchberg excavation plan (from Göldner and Sippel, ‘Spätmerow-
ingische Gräber’, Abb. 2).
Fig. 5, p. 154. Kirchberg grave goods (from Göldner and Sippel, ‘Spätmerow-
ingische Gräber’, Abb. 4).
Fig. 6, p. 158. Gaulskopf seen from the east (distant wooded rise on the left).
Fig. 7, p. 158. Eresburg seen from the south.
Fig. 8, p. 160. Büraburg excavation plan (from Wand, ‘Die Büraburg und das
Fritzlar-Waberner Becken’, unnumbered pull-out map).
Fig. 9, p. 160. Büraburg seen from the location of the early medieval settlement of
Geismar.
Fig. 10, p. 162. Kesterburg excavation plan (from Gensen, ‘Christenberg, Burgwald
und Amöneburger Becken’, unnumbered pull-out map).
Fig. 11, p. 162. Weidelsburg seen from the north.
Fig. 12, p. 164. Dörnberg seen from the Helfensteine.
x
Illustrations
Fig. 13, p. 164. Dörnberg excavation plan (from Kappel, ‘Dörnberg bei Zieren-
berg’, Abb. 1).
Fig. 14, p. 172. Amöneburg seen from the south.
Fig. 15, p. 174. Amöneburg excavation plan (from Uenze, ‘Völkerwanderungs-
zeitliche Gräber’, Abb. 1–3).
Fig. 16, p. 179. Reconstruction of the monastery at Büraburg. Drawing by John-
Henry Clay.
Fig. 17, p. 180. St Brigid’s chancel arch.
Fig. 18, p. 185. Fritzlar seen from the west, with a view of the present-day
cathedral of St Peter (left).
Fig. 19, p. 215. Eighth-century church at Gaulskopf (from Best and Löwen, ‘Die
Ausgrabungen in der mittelalterlichen Wallburg Gaulskopf’, Abb. 6).
Fig. 20, p. 298. Mader Stein seen from the west, dominating the village of Maden.
Fig. 21, p. 298. Gudensberg seen from the east, showing a basalt outcrop named
after the god Wodan.
Fig. 22, p. 302. Ancient oak in Reinhardswald.
Fig. 23, p. 304. The Riesenstein at Heiligenberg (right) and the artificially carved
cliff of Ziegenrück (left).
Fig. 24, p. 306. Heiligenberg, near Gensungen, showing the basalt outcrop at the
peak.
Fig. 25, p. 306. Kirchberg seen from the south.
Fig. 26, p. 307. Wichdorf, ‘the holy settlement’, seen from the south.
Fig. 27, p. 310. The Martinstein at Martinhagen, showing its proximity to the
later medieval church (left).
Fig. 28, p. 310. Hasungen seen from the east.
Fig. 29, p. 312. The Helfensteine seen from the west.
Fig. 30, p. 313. Helfensteine ‘sentinels’.
Fig. 31, p. 313. Main Helfensteine outcrop.