II. Religion

94. The Ancient Saxon Faith.

Before their conversion to Christianity, the Saxons worshiped Woden
and Thor, names preserved in Wednesday (Woden's day) and Thursday
(Thor's day). The first appears to have been considered to be the
creator and ruler of heaven and earth; the second was his son, the god
of thunder, slayer of evil spirits, and friend of man.

The essential element of their religion was the deification of
strength, courage, and fortitude. It was a faith well suited to a
warlike people. It taught that there was a heaven for the brave and a
hell for cowards.

95. What Christianity did.

Christianity, on the contrary, laid emphasis on the virtues of
self-sacrifice and sympathy. It took the side of the weak and the
helpless. The Church itself held slaves, yet it labored for
emancipation. It built monasteries and encouraged industry and
education. The church edifice was a kind of open Bible.

Very few who entered the sacred building then could have spelled out a
single word of either the Old or New Testament, even if they had then
been translated from Latin into English; but all, from the poorest
peasant or the meanest slave up to the greatest noble, could read the
meaning of the Scripture histories painted in brilliant colors on wall
and window.