Abstract
Another institution that led immigrants to feel a part of England, and therefore promoted Englishness, was the English church. Like the English government, the English church acted in subtle but important ways to reshape geographic and ethnic loyalties. As an institution with responsibility for the spiritual well-being of the inhabitants of England, the English church could foster a collective identity in the country. It could also foster cultural unity, at least once some of the initial disputes, such as the confrontation at Glastonbury over liturgy, were healed. As the loyalty of immigrant laypeople shifted to local churches and as powerful members of the laity became involved in issues involving the English church, they too could have been drawn into a nexus of existing ideas and loyalties that would help in their Anglicisation. This chapter provides some illustrations of precisely how saints were associated with and raised the prestige of both England and the English.