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20 C 0 NT l N l T IT Y 0 F THE R ELI G I 0 Nreligious bias of the writers, which caused them to make Christianityappear as the only religion existing at the time. Butthough the historical records are silent on the suhject the lawsand enactments of the different cornn1unities, whether lay orecclesiastical, retain yery definite evidence of the continuanceof the ancient cults.In this con nexion the dates of the conyersion of Englandare instructive. The fo1lowing table gives the principal dates:59j- 604. Augustine's mission. London still heathen. Conyersionof £thelbert, I~ing of J{~ent. After /Ethelbert'sdeath Christianity suffered a reverse.604. Conversion of. the I(ing of the East Saxons, whosesuccessor lapsed.62j. Conversion of the J(ing of North umbria.628. Conversion of the l(ing of East Anglia.63r- 651. Aidan's missions.635. Conversion of the I\:ing of Wessex.653. Conversion of the J(ing of Mercia.654· Re-con,~ersion of the J(ing of the East Saxons.681. Conversion of the l(ing of the South Saxons.An influx of heathenism occurred on two later occasions:in the ninth century there was an inYasion by the heathenDanes under Guthrmn; and in the eleventh century theheathen king Cnut led his hordes to victory. As in the caseof the Saxon kings of the seventh century, Guthrmn andCnut were converted and the tribes follo\ved their leaders'example, professed Christianity, and were baptized.But it cannot be imagined that these wholesale conversionswere more than no1ninal in n1ost cases, thoug-h the king-'sreligion was outwardly the tribe,s religion. If, as happenedamong the East Saxons, the king forsook his old gods,returned to then1 again, and finally forsook them altogether,the tribe followed his lead, and, in public at least, worshippedChrist, Odin, or any other deity whom the king favoured forthe moment ; but there can be hardly any doubt that in privatethe mass of the people adhered to the old religion to \vhichthey were accustomed. This tribal conversion is clearlymarked when a heathen king married a Christian queen, oryice yersa; and it must also be noted that a king never