The Earliest States of Eastern Europe

The second half of the tenth century and the first decade of the eleventh marked a major revival in missionary activity, following the interruption caused by Viking expansion, especially in Eastern and Northern Europe. The period witnessed missions to the Danes, the Hungarians, the Rus’, the Pechenegs and the Prussians. This paper considers the large number of Christian missions undertaken during the period, most especially the best-evidenced of them (those of Adalbert of Prague and Bruno of Querfurt), but also those for which we have less information, including that of Poppo to the Danes and Adalbert of Magdeburg to the Rus’, as well as the intended mission of Romuald to Hungary, within the context of both religious and diplomatic activity (and therefore of state formation). Given that many of the missions had political backing, not least from the Ottonian rulers of Germany, comparison is also made with the mission of John of Gorze to the caliph in Cordoba. The scale of the missions is considered, as is the significance of imperial, secular (in the case of Bolesław Chrobry and Vladimir), and papal involvement, both for the missionaries themselves and also for their backers. In addition to considering the backing, organisation and scale of the missions, this paper also examines the experiences of the individual missionary, whose interests and concerns went beyond those of his secular and ecclesiastical patrons. In particular, it examines the strategies evolved by individual missionaries in order to survive, but also to work, within an alien environment.

Keywords:

Adalbert of Prague, Bolesław Chrobry, Bruno of Querfurt, Hungary, Liturgy, Mission, Otto III, Rus’, Vladimir

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