ABSTRACT
Despite facing serious political and military challenges, Louis the Pious continued his father’s agenda for the Christianization of Saxony. Louis promoted that agenda through a variety of methods, such as integrating Saxon nobles into the Church, creating and supporting ecclesiastical foundations, dispatching missionaries, through the collection and distribution of relics, and commissioning a “Saxon Gospel,” known as the Heliand. The first section of the chapter documents the key developments in Saxony regarding ecclesiastical foundations, missionaries, and relics promoted by Louis, later Carolingians, and the Saxon nobility, while the second half of the chapter is dedicated fully to the history, use, and significance of the Heliand. Particular emphasis is placed on the Heliand’s syncretic elements and the successful use of indigenizing the Gospel in order to facilitate its acceptance.
