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Church & Co
T
he earliest churches in Anglo-Saxon
England were monasteries —
communities of monks and nuns
who lived relatively secluded lives
and devoted themselves to the
worship of God and God’s
teachings. The monks and nuns followed what is
known as a Monastic Rule. Its regulations told
them how to live a life of proper devotion and
guided their daily activities. Many of these
monasteries grew very wealthy as a result of
donations and patronage by wealthy Anglo-
Saxon families, who hoped that the monks and
nuns would pray for them in return for their gifts.
During the ninth century, monasteries came to be
seen as excellent targets for small Viking raiding
parties. The reasons are threefold: wealth, lack of
military defenses, and isolated locations. As a
result, many of the major monastic houses were
abandoned. Others were left in the care of secular
Reconstruction of a monastic
settlement in Anglo-Saxon times
