ANGLES

Tradition says that Gregory the Great (c. 540–604), before he became pope, saw a group of young Anglo-Saxon slaves in the marketplace in Rome. When he enquired about them he was told that they were Angles. At once he wanted them converted and said, “non Angli, sed Angeli” – “not Angles but angels.” When Gregory became pope he sent Augustine of Canterbury and 30 monks to evangelize England.