On False Gods

Now that we understand Euhemerism we can look at Ælfric of Eynsham's example of it in his essay De falsis deis ("On false gods"). A handful of manuscripts survive, at least one of which is a translation from Anglo-Saxon to Old Norse.Ælfric's goal was to explain away all the heathen stories of gods and legends and put the world into a Christian context. Archbishop Wulfstan of York (previously mentioned here) "borrowed" Ælfric's writing for his own homilies, also known as De falsis deis as well as Homily XII. Wulfstan's became very well-known and copied throughout the island. From him we have more complete versions.Of course the problem of heathens is caused by the devil:Alas, it is because of the devil that many things went wrong long ago, and mankind disobeyed God too greatly, and heathenism altogether did harm too greatly and still does widespread harm. However, we do not read anywhere in books that man established any idolatry anywhere in the world in the time before Noah's…

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