597 CE
A year defined by the arrival of Augustine of Canterbury in England, beginning the Christian mission to the Anglo-Saxons that would reshape the religious and cultural life of Britain.
Culture & Society
- Augustine of Canterbury, sent by Pope Gregory the Great, arrived in the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Kent and was received by King Ethelbert, whose Frankish wife Bertha was already a Christian.
- King Ethelbert of Kent converted to Christianity and was baptized, becoming the first Anglo-Saxon king to accept the new faith, and granted Augustine land in Canterbury to establish a church.
- Augustine established the first archbishopric at Canterbury, which would become the most important ecclesiastical seat in England for centuries to come.
- The estimated world population was approximately 210 million.
Climate & Environment
- Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration was approximately 277 parts per million, as later confirmed by ice core analysis.