Abstract
At the turn of the seventh century, all the English kings and their courts converted to Christianity. In the complex melting pot that was Britain at that time, Christian influences came from many different sources. ‘Christianity and the Monastic Culture’ shows how the English, with their recently developed kingdoms and social hierarchies, were ready for conversion to a top-down religion which would aspire to turn everyone into civilized Christian people. The kings helped the Church to grow, and in return the Church also enhanced the status of kings. With Christianity came literacy. Also, with the first English churches came the first recognizable English towns.
