Remembering St. Boniface, Bishop, Martyr and Saint

Dr. Bradley Birzer reflects on St. Boniface and the foundations of European Christendom:

Despite the new insecurities caused by the heathen Scandinavians [the Vikings], the monks of Ireland and England had already secured much of the continent in favor of Christendom.  Indeed, the synthesis of classical and Christian cultures in England, especially, had witnessed the rise of one of the most important figures in the history of Christendom, St. Boniface, who evangelized the pagan tribes of what is now northern Germany.  Dawson believed that understanding Boniface was the key to understanding the origins of Europe.  When encountering a Hessen tribe worshipping an oak tree dedicated to the Norse god Thor, St. Boniface promptly grabbed an axe and cut down the tree.  According to legend, the tree exploded into four parts at the first touch of the axe’s blade.  And, much to the surprise of the chagrined Hessians, Thor remained aloof and the intruder went unpunished.   “But when he had made a superficial cut, suddenly the oak’s vast bulk, shaken by a mighty blast of wind from above, crashed to the ground shivering its topmost branches into fragments in its fall,” A posthumous account recorded.  “As if by the express will of God (for the brethren present had done nothing to cause it) the oak burst asunder into four parts, each part having a trunk of equal length.”  Awed, the Barbarians were ready to listen.  Legend tells that in the spot of the felled oak, an evergreen instantly sprang forth from the ground, and Boniface’s followers placed candles on it so that Boniface could preach the Gospel late into the night, thus creating the tradition of the Christmas tree.

Read the entire post on Birzer's "Stormfields" blog.

Related Ignatius Insight Excerpts and Interviews:

• Charles Carroll, the Catholic Founder: An Interview with Dr. Bradley J. Birzer, author of American Cicero: The Life of Charles Carroll
• A New Christian Republic of Letters | Dr. Bradley J. Birzer
• Rediscovering Christopher Dawson | An Interview with Dr. Bradley J. Birzer