Women S Role in Boniface Mission Essay

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Saint Boniface's birth to be 675 AD. Born as either Wynfriyh, Winfrid, or Wynfrith in the kingdom of Wessex in what is known as Anglo-Saxon England, Boniface became a leading figure during the 8th century in the Anglo-Saxon mission that led to mass conversion in the German areas of Frankish Territory. Regarded as the first archbishop of Mainz and the patron saint of Germania, he was able to establish the first organized Christianity throughout Germania. Killed in 754 in Frisia, his remains were sent back to Fulda where they quickly became a location of pilgrimage. Since he is a well-known saint, much of his life and death, including his work is widely available. His letters provide not only access to his thoughts and events in his life, but also the thoughts and events of others, in particular women.

Being an apostle of Germania, Saint Boniface assisted in shaping Western Christianity with the help of women who at the time were just as involved as men in Christianity. His regular correspondence with respective churchmen throughout Western Europe included popes he worked with, three in total along with kinsmen in England. While the majority of the letters contained questions and examination of the church along with discussing of reform, doctrinal, or liturgical matters, it is the intimate relationship he had with female correspondents that provided a new way to look at the man behind the saint as well as how he viewed women's role in the church.

There are 150 letters in total and are categorized as Bonifatian correspondence even if some are not by Boniface nor are some of these letters addressed to him. Assembled by his successor in Mainz and the order of archbishop Lullus, the letters were first organized into two sections. The first section contained papal correspondence. The other section contained his private letters. Although they were reorganized later in the century, the eleventh century saw another reorganization making it the version available today. Otloh of St. Emmeram was credited to have worked on finishing the complete correspondence.

The letters were edited and published by the seventeenth century through Nicolaus Serarius with several additions and translations surfacing in the nineteenth century. Aside from the consistent republishing and editing, what remains are the ten letters discussing women or written by women that will serve as the basis for the next section of this essay. (Fletcher 156) The next section will discuss why these particular letters were chosen and what they contribute in understanding the context of the time the letters were written along with Saint Boniface himself.

Reasons for choosing the Letters of St. Boniface

There are several reasons for choosing the Letters of St. Boniface. The first is St. Boniface is a well-known historical figure who left great influence in Western Christianity. The second is the women associated with Boniface and the information derived from the letters that show these associations offer a greater understanding of women's roles during that time. Otloh's Vita Bonifatii states the women that accompanied St. Boniface during his time as a missionary (from England to Germany) were truly religious women and well educated in the liberal arts. This was not typical of women in general of that time. (Rowe)

In fact, women had played a major role in the formation of Christian life in England. They shared equally with women when it came to learning and the conversion process. Women created manuscripts as shown through excavations at the monastery of Whitby (Fletcher 16). Monastics were not just men, but women as well. They were also literate, taking their learning throughout the Continent. Since women played such a significant role and they were allotted the ability to learn and become educated, the letters offer a small glimpse into how these learned women were and what they did.

The letters in essence, represent the best direct evidence for the piety and learning of the women that escorted Boniface from England to Germany. The ten letters were written by women with some letters from Saint Boniface and St. Lull (his successor) to women. "The letters to named women include one from Aldhelm to an otherwise unknown, nine from Boniface himself, and probably six from Lull." (Damico and Olsen 31) Although some have suggested the original correspondence had more letters addressed to women and by women than what is available today, the ones left provide enough reason to investigate further the role of women during Boniface's missionary journey. "As well as letters to women, named or anonymous, there is one important letter in which a woman of distinction is used as introduction and referee.

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" (Damico and Olsen 31)

Otloh reveals that one of the women was Cynehild, the maternal aunt of St. Lull. This shows Anglo-Saxon family relationships and the importance of the female line, which in most cultures is insignificant compared to the male line. Aside from Cynehild, the most well-known of the women that accompanied Saint Boniface during his mission is St. Leoba. Through the Boniface collection, readers can see Leoba include poetry and use alliteration like in her four lines she wrote in a letter addressed to Boniface that she named 'versiculi' or unpretentious verses. "She calls her lines versiculi 'unpretentious verses' and is suitably diffident about their merit, but they scarcely deserve the severity with which they have been treated. Leoba says herself she was taught the art by her magristra 'female teacher' and the test book from which she would have learned is Aldhelm's DeMetris" (Damico and Olsen 38) Just the four lines alone not only show the style from which Saint Leoba wrote, but also that she learned it from a woman (including the literary work she read). Such subtleties deserve highlight especially since so few words and letters survived the passing of time.

What did women do during that time? What did they have to relinquish? History repaints the picture to make it seem like it was men, like it was solely Boniface who changed everything. However, he clearly could not do it on his own. He had to rely on a community of supporters to fulfill his aims. Those supporters included women. These women should be recognized because they mattered not only to the mission, but to Boniface.

Argument

Why are the letters important in regards to women? This is because women played an essential part in Boniface's mission to the Germans. Much like Leoba's involvement, several women provided the means with which Saint Boniface could perform his duties during his missionary journey. "Grounded in traditional Anglo-Saxon values and culture, his overall strategy depended as much on women as on men. Initially equal partners in the venture, only later did Roman orthodoxy overcome traditional practices to create a hierarchy among them." (Rowe 1-7) While things were re-written to satisfy the needs of Roman Orthodoxy, with the story of Leoba being largely changed to conform, these letters give an unaltered viewpoint of women and their contributions that have unfortunately been partially erased from history.

Is it not important to see what women did in the past and their influence in Christianity? With so little resources to pull from, any primary sources can be of great help in understanding what they did and the significance of these women's deeds. Because even though there were efforts made to destroy or minimize women's contributions during this pivotal time, thanks to these letters and some surviving stories, the work of Christian women can be acknowledged. "The thread they set in motion would continue to spin out long after their deaths, however, despite the best efforts of misogynistic churchmen to minimize their contributions, restrict their autonomy and authority, and even to erase them from the historical record." (Rowe 1-7)

The Frankish imperialist expansion provides much of the setting for the history of the German missions with missionary effort focused across the Rhine. Boniface, facing failures from previous unproductive efforts, quickly realized he could not achieve his aims alone, but instead had to do it with the active support of ecclesiastical and secular authorities along with a well-organized, sizeable body of clergy. This meant including women. Boniface was the first Christian clergyman to include women so often in his missionary work. "Boniface seems to have been the first Christian clergyman to recruit women systematically for oversees missionary work, and to include them as a key element in the overall structure of his organization." (Rowe 1-7)

His letters or the letters that make up the Letters of Boniface are the surviving proof of that inclusion and that need for women to come and aid in Boniface's objectives. Essentially, Boniface would not have had the success he had, if he had not taken women with him. Therefore, this look into what few letters survived provides concrete evidence of the women's worth within the missionary work and the rights bestowed on to them for their significant contributions.

History has a habit of excluding most of a story. Moreover, most history lessons barely include the full picture, rather….....

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