althing

ruling tribal council that accepted Christianity (236)

canterbury

the most important episcopal seen in England in the sixth century and the sight of St. Augustine's mission to England (247)

Clovis

united Gaul by conquering native Germanic tribes (217)

Cnut the Great

declared Christianity the establish religion in Denmark (235)

Confessions

St. Patrick's work that describes his spiritual journey of conversion and faith (223)

Council of Toledo

condemned Arianism, allowing for Catholicism to become the religion of Spain (219)

Ecclesiastical History of the English People

included the recordings of St. Bede's fears (230)

Elthelbert

King of Kent who converted to Christianity; gave people the freedom to preach the Catholic faith and a dwelling in his capital Canterbury (227)

Franks

non-Christian invaders who settled themselves in Gaul (217)

Glagolithic Script

based on the Greek alphabet; was developed by St. Cyril to aid his mission to the Slavic peoples (247)

Historia Francorum

History of the Franks" written by St. Gregory of Tours (218)

Irish monasticism

believed to be brought to Ireland through commercial contacts with the East during the earliest days of Christianity's presence in Ireland (223)

Merovingian Dynasty

the descendants of Clovis named after their ancestor Meroveus (217)

Mozarabes (Mozarabs)

Spanish people who chose to live under Arab rule after the Muslim invasion of Spain in 711 (247)

Otto I

defeated an Asian nomadic tribe, the Hungarians (241)

pallium

a sacred vestment symbolic of the fullness of Episcopal authority, worn by popes and archbishops (247)

Patrons of Europe

title given to Pope John Paul II in 1980 to Sts. Cyril and Methodius, responsible for the conversions of all Moravia and Slavic territories (247)

Penitential Books

books that listed various sins with the corresponding penance (226)

Reconquista

Spanish for "re-conquest" when Christians ruled all of Spain (219)

St. Adalbert of Prague

key figure in the conversion of the Slavs also known as the "Apostle of the Prussians" (240)

St. Ansgar

monk who built the first Christian Church, also known as the "Apostle of the North" (235)

St. Augustine of Canterbury

brought the Catholic faith to the pagan and violent Anglo-Saxons, also known as the "Apostle of England" (226)

St. Bede

the most important Anglo-Saxon scholar of his time, also known as the "Father of English History" (229)

St. Boniface

set the stage for a radical reshaping of the heart of Europe, also known as the "Apostle of Germany" (231)

St. Columba

an important evangelizer of northern Britain and Scotland, as well as the founder of a number of important monasteries in the Irish tradition (223)

St. Columbanus:

most famous among a band of Irish monks who helped to evangelize the northern coast of France as well as Switzerland (224)

St. Gregory of Tours

elected as Bishop of Tours in France; became one of the leading churchmen in the period following the collapse of the Roman Empire (218)

St. Henry of Uppsala

bishop and Englishman; major evangelizer of finland (236)

St. James the Greater and St. Paul

brought Christianity directly to Spain (218)

St. Olaf

ruled his people and spread Christianity with a civil but stern hand (236)

St. Olga

began Russia's introduction to Christianity; wife and pagan of Prince Igor of Russia (242)

St. Patrick

strong advocate of Monasticism who promoted the foundation of many monasteries in Ireland (223)

St. Stephen the Great

ruler of Hungary who faced a difficult revolt from pagan opposition (242)

St. Vladimir

pagan chieftain in the tradition of the Viking culture (242)

St. Willibrod

one of the earliest Anglo-Saxon missionaries to evangelize in the Germanic lands (231)

Sts. Cyril and Methodius

first missionaries among the slavs (237)

Sts. Ludmilla and Wenceslaus

worked to spread the faith among the Bohemian people (238)

venerable

either a particular state in the process of canonization or a person's holy life (247)

Visigoths

invaded the Church in Spain and conquered most of the Iranian Peninsula (218)

wata

Oak of Thor"; sacred tree of the pagans cut down by St. Boniface (247)