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Whether the king's converfion was real or nominal, the most falutary confequences attended the reception of the Gofpel by his fubjects. Humanity, peace, and civilization began to flourish among a people hitherto fierce and barbarous in the extreme. Stephen, the fon of Geyfa, was baptized by Adalbert; and became a more decifive defender of the faith than his father had been. Under Stephen, Hungary was almoft wholly evangelized; and nothing was omitted by this zealous prince to establish Christianity throughout his dominions. There is every reafon to believe that many real converfions took place, though I can give no particular account of them.

But Adalbert has been mentioned; and it will be proper to give the reader a fhort sketch of the life of that extraordinary perfonage*. He was A.D. born in 956, and ordained by Diethmar, archbi- 956. fhop of Prague. He beheld this fame archbishop dying in terrible agonies of confcience, on account of his neglect of paftoral duty, and fecular avarice. Adalbert was appointed his fucceffour; but with fo little fatisfaction to himself, that he was never seen to fmile afterwards. Being afked the reason, he faid, it is an eafy thing to wear a mitre and a crofs, but an awful thing to give an account of a bishopric, before the Judge of quick and dead.” Bohemia, the fcene of his diocefe, was covered with idolatry: there were Christians, indeed, in that country, but chiefly nominal ones. In vain did the pious archbishop endeavour to reform the evils and abuses. The people undefignedly gave the noblest teftimony to his fincerity, when they obferved, that it was impoffible for him and them to have communion with each other, because of the perfect oppofition

Alban Butler's Saints' lives. Vol. IV.

Adalbert,

oppofition of life and conversation. fighing over the wretched objects of his charge; and, ftill willing to labour in the best of caufes, travelled as a miffionary into Poland, and planted the Gospel in Dantzic. Here his labours feem to have been crowned with good fuccefs: in vifiting a small island, he was knocked down with the oar of a boat: however, recovering himself, he made his escape, rejoicing that he was counted worthy to fuffer for the name of Chrift, and with his fellow-labourers quitted the place: indeed he was forced to flee for his life; and, at length, was murA.D. dered by barbarians in Lithuania; or, as fome 997. think, in Pruffia, about the year 997. Siggo, a pagan prieft, was the principal inftrument of his death. He is commonly ftiled the apostle of Pruffia*, though he only evangelized the city of Dantzic, which is in the neighbourhood of that country. Such was Adalbert; and fo fmall is the account tranfmitted to us, of one of the wifeft and best of men, whom God had raised up for the inftruction of the fpecies, a man willing to labour and to fuffer for Chrift!

Wolfang, bishop of Ratisbon, may properly accompany Adalbert, who had received his bifhopric of Prague, in confequence of Wolfang's having vacated part of his diocese for that purpose. The latter was a native of Suabia, and was brought up at a school in Wurtzburg. His experience gave him an opportunity of feeing, that profeffors of wifdom may even be greater flaves to pride and envy than the illiterate. Wearied with the view of fcholaftic ftrifes, he fighed for folitude, but was engaged to attend Henry, his friend, to Triers, where the latter was chofen archbishop. Wolfang there taught children, and was dean of a community

Mofheim, Cent. XI. Chap. I.

nity of ecclefiaftics. In 972, he went to preach in Hungary, but had no great fuccefs. He was afterwards appointed bishop of Ratisbon: there he reformed the clergy, and was indefatigable in preaching twenty-two years. Henry, duke of Bavaria, placed under him his four children, Henry, afterwards emperor,-Gifela, queen of Hungary, -Bruno, bishop of Augsburg,-and Brigit, abbefs of Ratisbon, all eminent characters. Wolfang died A.D. in 994. See Butler, Vol. X.

994.

The plantation of the Gofpel in Brandenburg was begun by the zeal and victorious arms of Charlemagne; but was not completed, in a national A.D. fenfe, till the year 928, under Henry the fowler, 928. the predeceffor of Otho I.*

The labours of Gerard, bishop of Toul in Germany, will alfo deferve to be mentioned. He was himself an eminent preacher; and often commiffioned zealous paftors to preach in country-parishes. He cultivated learning among his disciples; but at the fame time took care, fo far as it lay in his power, that they fhould apply themfelves to devotion. That he would be very earneft in these pious efforts, will admit of no doubt, if it be true, that he declared, that he found more delight in heavenly exercises during one moment, than a worldly foul finds in worldly pleasures for a thoufand years. Alban Butler, Vol. IV.

If we look into Scandinavia, we find that the work of God, which had begun fo profperously in the last century, by the labours of Anfcarius, had met with a fevere check in Denmark, whose king, Gormo the 3d, laboured to extirpate the Gospel

there

* Memoirs of the house of Brandenburg, by the late king of Pruffia.

† Centuriat. Cent. X. Mofheim, Cent. X. C. 1.

the

there entirely, His queen Tyra, however, openly profeffed it, and gave it all the fupport which the was enabled to do, under great difadvantages. But power and influence of the king prevailed, and moft of his fubjects returned to idolatry. At length, Henry I. called the fowler, the predeceffor of the great Otho, led an army into Denmark; and, through the terror of his arms, obliged Gormo to promife fubmiffion to the commands of the emperor. Under the protection of this laft prince, Unni, then archbishop of Hamburg, with some faithful labourers, came into Denmark, and brought over many to the profeffion of divine truth; but Gormo himself remained inflexible. Harald, the fon of Gormo, however, received the word with refpect: for the inftruction of his mother, Tyra, had, at least, removed all prejudice from his mind. Unni, with the confent of Gormo, vifited the iflands, and formed Chriftian churches among them. The king himself was allowed by his conqueror Henry, to choose, whether he would receive Chriftianity himself, or not; but was prohibited from perfecuting the faith, in his dominions: and thus, by a fingular concurrence of circumftances, a fovereign prince was, by a foreign power, prevented from committing that evil among his fubjects, to which his own inclinations would have led him. I cannot vindicate the imperious proceedings of Henry: the labours of Unni were, however, highly laudable, and Providence smiled on his benevolent views in propagating truth and holinefs.

Unni, animated with fuccefs, determined to follow the pattern of Anfcarius, and to vifit the kingdom of Sweden. He entered the Baltic, and arrived at Birca: there he found that the Gospel had been extinct: for feventy years, no bishop

had

had appeared among them, except Rembert, the fucceffour of Anfcarius. There probably were, however, fome fouls then alive, who had heard the Gospel with joy in former times: and it pleafed God, to give large fuccefs to the miniftry of Unni. He fixed the Gofpel in Sweden, and planted it even in the remoter parts of that northern region. And, at length, he finished his glorious course at Birca, in the year 936. The favage difpofition of the princes, and the confufion of the times had tended to obliterate the traces of Anfcarius's labours: but, at length, Eric, the eighth king of Sweden, and ftill more, his fon and fucceffour, Olaus the fecond, favoured the propagation of the Gospel.

The former of thefe princes requested the archbishop of Bremen to fupply his kingdom with miffionaries. The archbishop fent him two perfons of knowledge, piety, and integrity, Adalvard and Stephen. They laboured with much fuccefs for a time; but the natural enmity of depraved mankind will exert itself against true piety, whatever be the form of government under which men live. The nobles of Sweden were enraged to find their licentiousness of manners so restrained: and they commenced a religious perfecution against both the miffionaries and the king. The former were beaten with rods, and expelled from Upfal: the latter was murdered on account of his piety. His fon and fucceffour Olaus was not difcouraged from cherishing Chriftianity; and his zeal and piety were crowned with fuccefs. Cent. Magd. Cent. X.

Thus were Sweden and Denmark, after a variety of changes, reduced into fubjection to the form, and, no doubt, many individuals to the power of the Gospel. In the latter country, after the death of Henry I. the inhabitants refused to pay tribute to Otho the Great, his fucceffour. This monarch obliged

A.D.

936.

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