Christianisation of Anglo-Saxon England
Continuation and suppression of heathen practices

Active suppression of paganism in the wider population seems to only have begun in the late 7th century. From this point onwards, legal codes and penitentials often forbid practices considered heathen. In its section entitled "Of the Worship of Idols", the late 7th- or early 8th-century Penitential of Theodore assigns penance to those qui immolant demonibus ("who sacrifice to demons"), lasting between 1 and 10 years depending on the deemed severity of the offence. The term "demons" in this context would likely have referred to heathen gods and other beings connected to Anglo-Saxon pre-Christian religion, as these were typically equated in Christian thinking. The penitential further lists the appropriate punishment for practices such as the eating of food offered in sacrifices to the recipient being and the burning of cereals where a man has died to bring good health to the household. Similar prohibitions are seen throughout other law codes from a similar time such has those of King Wihtred of Kent, dating to around 695. The 8th-century Paenitentiale Pseudo-Ecgberhti lists punishments for those that act wrongly. For example, those who bring offerings to springs, stones or trees should fast on only bread and water for three years, whilst those that only eat there should fast for one year in the same manner.
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