In Pope Gregory’s letter to Mellitus Abbot in France he addresses the idea of converting the Anglo-Saxon Pagans to Christianity. His philosophy on conversion is much different from past conversions such as Constantine and Clovis. While they both had defining moments that led to their conversions, Pope Gregory plans on converting all the Pagans in a different fashion. These methods are much more conservative and they fail to get to the heart of the process of converting from Paganism to Christianity. Rather than experiencing something life changing it’s as if the Pagans are going through the motions instead of fully feeling the affects of conversion. 
  Leading up to Gregory’s reign as Pope the Church was much more significant compared to the days of Clovis. Christianity had a great deal of power under Gregory while it was more of a minority religion when Clovis converted although the religion was beginning to gain some popularity. Christianity was first spread to the Mediterranean region by St. Paul but did not gain much support until Constantine took the thrown in 306 C.E. A few years after becoming Emperor, Constantine converted to Christianity. After his conversion Constantine began to protect the Christians from the ridicule and violence they often times received. This allowed Christianity to gain stability amongst its members and gain interest from outsiders. Prior to Constantine the constant persecution and ridicule that Christians faced caused much of the Empire to fear joining the religion. Now, free from all of this, the Church began to slowly gain members and power leading up to Clovis’ reign.
    The first King of the Franks, Clovis, began his rule in 482 C.E. He is well known for being a ferocious leader always looking to win wars and expand his empire. Initially, Clovis was a Pagan and resented Christianity. His wife, Clotilda, attempted many times to convert Clovis but he refused. Clotilda has their first-born child, Ingomer, baptized and he died shortly after1. Clovis is furious and states, “If the boy had been dedicated in the name of my gods he would certainly have lived; but as it is, since he was baptized in the name of your God, he could not live at all…” It is not until a moment during battle that Clovis turns to Christianity. The Franks were at war with the Alemanni and on the brink of defeat when Clovis looked up to the sky and pleaded to Jesus that if he is guided to victory then he will “believe in thee and be baptized in thy name…”2.Clovis goes on to win the battle and honors his agreement with Jesus and converts to Christianity. 
      Clovis’ conversion shows a great deal of sincerity and exemplifies the true meaning of conversion. He experienced a life-changing event that in his opinion, without God, wouldn’t have happened. This event changed Clovis’ views and Christianity played a major role in the rest of his reign. Christianity also allowed Clovis to use Bishops and religious power as an ally 3.  It was not only a religion for him but also a tool in conquest. An example of this is when Clovis was speaking to his people and said “ I take it very hard that these Arians hold part of the Gauls. Let us go with God’s help and conquer them and bring the land under our control…”4 This shows that Clovis is not only looking to expand his empire but also his new religion. 
