Physicians of the body and soul: Healing and conversion in Anglo-Saxon England

This dissertation examines the interplay between Christian conversion and classical medical education in the development of Anglo-Saxon healing ideologies. I argue that the Catholic Church purposefully presented missionaries as physicians to the "pagan" Anglo-Saxon population to fuse natural elements, for example the healing properties of herbs, with supernatural elements such as the use of holy oil and prayer. This created a healing ideology consistent and reconcilable with the pre-existing Anglo-Saxon mentality, thus encouraging conversion through a common view of medicine and medical practitioners. This common view was purposefully cultivated by Roman missionaries who deliberately fused elements of classical medicine with supernatural Christian healing in religious works such as Saints' Lives, healing stories, and secular literature such as medical texts. This produced an integrated healing ideology that fused classical, practical medicine with divine Christian healing and the folk healing of the Anglo-Saxon population.