High King of Heaven: Aspects of Early English Spirituality [Cistercian Studies Series: Number One Hundred Eighty-One] (Volume 181)

In the seventh and eighth centuries, missionaries from Rome and Ireland brought Christianity to England. The English piety which developed, resulted from the rich mingling of Celtic, Roman and Anglo-Saxon influences.

In High King of Heaven, Benedicta Ward explores the devotional life of the Anglo-Saxons in the first years after their conversion: what they thought, said, did and prayed in the light of the Gospel of Christ. The discussion concentrates on prayers, corporate and individual, mainly in Latin, but also in Anglo-Saxon, and also on non-literary sources. She considers the Mediterranean influences, as well as the Irish element.