ECCLESIASTICAL 

 HISTORY 



H 



AMPSHIRE possesses the most interesting relic of the 

 Romano-British church that has as yet been found in England. 

 The foundations of the little fourth century Christian church 

 within the walls of Silchester, uncovered in 1893,* together 

 with the gold ring bearing a Christian inscription, 2 and the leaden seal 

 stamped with the Chi-Rho monogram, 3 have been already described and 

 illustrated. 



Though archaeology is thus definite in its evidence as to early 

 Christianity in the shire, history has nothing to say, for the tales of 

 King Lucius and of Constantine's college at Winchester are but pious 

 inventions of the fifteenth century. 



Of the archaeology of the Anglo-Saxon Church, from the seventh 

 century downwards, Hampshire has abundant evidence in the structure 

 and stones of many of her churches, as will be elsewhere shown ; but 

 for this period history speaks plainly. 



The story of the conversion of Wessex and the establishment of the 

 bishopric in Hampshire is easier to follow and much less involved than 

 the like tale in many other English shires, particularly in those of the 

 outlying parts of Mercia. This arises to some extent from Wessex 

 becoming the most important of all the petty kingdoms, which naturally 

 brought about a greater care and fulness in its chronicles. 



Wessex, or the kingdom of the West Saxons, was founded by 

 Cerdic about 519 ; but it was not until 634 that the missionary bishop 

 Birinus, with a little band of evangelists, is said to have begun the 

 work of converting the south and west of England. The remnants 

 of that Celtic church, which once had foothold in Hampshire, had long 

 ago been driven elsewhere, mainly to the extreme west. Reports as to 

 the outer darkness of most of this country appealed to the missionary 

 instincts of Birinus, and offering himself to Pope Honorius he was 

 consecrated bishop at Genoa and sent forth, as Bede expresses it, ' to 

 sow the seeds of the holy faith in the innermost parts of pagan Britain.' 

 Landing on the coast of Wessex (probably at Porchester), Birinus at first 

 intended to push on into Mercia where there was as yet no bishopric ; 

 but finding heathendom absolutely dominant among the Gewissas he 

 deemed it best to tarry at the court of King Cynegils. He preached the 



1 Supra, i. 278, 364-5. * Ibid. i. 223. s Ibid. i. 284. 



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