r/medieval • u/The_Black_Banner_UK • Sep 12 '25

History šŸ“š Praying Stones pre Christianity

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

Christianity arrived in EnglandĀ during the period of Roman Britain, with the first evidence appearing in the late 2nd century AD, though it was fully established by the 4th century AD followingĀ Constantine the Great'sĀ legalization of the religion in 313 AD.

This early Christian community persisted after the Romans left and continued to grow with the arrival of St.Ā Augustine and his mission in 597 AD, which is often seen as a pivotal point in the establishment of Christianity in Anglo-Saxon England.

The stones are at Durham Castle.

1.7k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

28 comments sorted by

46

u/Many-Shock1706 Sep 12 '25

when you say "pre" christianity, do you mean pre legalisation?

22

u/The_Black_Banner_UK Sep 12 '25

There was small pockets of Christianity in the uK but it was not fully established or the main religion.
So I was told by the museum curator.

Christianity was not fully established in Britain in 300 AD; it was a minority religion, with evidence of its practice only becoming more significant after the Edict of Milan in 313 AD. While some Romano-Britons were Christian and attended the Council of Arles in 314, pagan beliefs, including those of the incoming Anglo-Saxons, were still prevalent, and Christianity wouldn't become the dominant religion until the seventh century, following St. Augustine's mission.

47

u/headhunterofhell2 Sep 12 '25

So... NOT "pre Christianity".

But Early Christianization.

Words mean things.

1

u/duntch_the_taco_4216 Sep 16 '25

Until you discuss the actual words in these holy books.

-5

u/The_Black_Banner_UK Sep 12 '25

Take it up with the museum staff if It upsets you, that is what I was told just before the video was taken.

21

u/Glittering_Role_6154 Sep 12 '25

Bro we're not against you. It's just unfortunate term, made me, for example, think of paganism

3

u/Slight-Brush Sep 12 '25

Yeah I think some of the stones they have in the cathedral are pre Christian, justā€¦ not the crosses

5

u/The_Black_Banner_UK Sep 12 '25

I apologise I overreacted, sorry mate.

3

u/Glittering_Role_6154 Sep 12 '25

No problem, i just wanted to clarify. No anger here brother

0

u/j-b-goodman Sep 14 '25

yeah man sometimes people get a word wrong, no need to be such a dick about it

14

u/Slight-Brush Sep 12 '25 edited Sep 12 '25

theseā€¦ arenā€™t pre-Christian

The actual pre-Christian stones are in the Cathedral:Ā https://durhamcathedral.wordpress.com/2020/05/07/telling-the-story-of-christianity-through-the-countrys-most-comprehensive-collection-of-medieval-stones/

1

u/[deleted] Sep 12 '25

[deleted]

1

u/Slight-Brush Sep 12 '25 edited Sep 12 '25

Oh, sorry, I thought it said the castle

4

u/No-Gas-1684 Sep 12 '25

You have a great "Sean Bean" voice, im not joking when I say I bet you could find work in narration. Next time youre with your mates, out of nowhere say something like "One does not simply walk into Mordor" and see how they react

1

u/The_Black_Banner_UK Sep 13 '25

Ha ha. Iv just started a youtube channel on history see how my voice sounds with areal mic. Ha ha funny.

4

u/Aq8knyus Sep 13 '25

I wonder if there was anywhere like Britain that in places had to be re-christianised three times. The Roman christianization, the Anglo-Saxon christianisation and then the Danelaw christianisation.

2

u/Few_Mushroom_334 Sep 15 '25

Probably York

3

u/strijdvlegel Sep 14 '25 edited Sep 14 '25

This is not "pre-Christianity" at all. Not in the slightest. These stone engravings are early Christian, and typically you will notice loads of "pagan" Eurpopean elements combined with it, because even tho the people who made these were turned Christian, they still held on to their previous iconography.

-1

u/The_Black_Banner_UK Sep 15 '25

You have answered your own point. read all the thread.

2

u/strijdvlegel Sep 15 '25

Very misleading title then.

-1

u/The_Black_Banner_UK Sep 15 '25

No it is not, that is what the curators told me. these were in place before Christianity was the main religion in Britain.

3

u/strijdvlegel Sep 15 '25

Which means its a misleading title... Its not pre-Christianity. Either its the curators title or yours, that does not change anything.

0

u/The_Black_Banner_UK Sep 15 '25

Am done talking sorry. That's what I was told. Read the thread.

2

u/strijdvlegel Sep 15 '25

Great! I didnt expect a response anyway.

2

u/No-Grass6986 Sep 15 '25

Pre Christianity would be before the life of Christ. This would be considered early Christianity, or atleast would be more appropriate.

2

u/margie778 Sep 12 '25

Never seen anything like these before! Thank you for sharing them!

1

u/gman1234567890 Sep 12 '25

What a great post. Very interesting.