# Massacre of Verden (782)

URL: https://christianity-history.com/timeline/782-massacre-of-verden
Location: Verden, Saxony
Themes: Persecution

After a Saxon uprising, Charlemagne orders the execution of about 4,500 Saxon captives at Verden, according to the Royal Frankish Annals. In the same years his laws for Saxony threatened death for refusing baptism or keeping pagan rites. At this point in the timeline (782), the Bishop of Rome was Pope Adrian I (1 February 772 – 26 December 795).

## Why it matters
It became the starkest example of forced conversion in early medieval Europe and drew criticism even from Charlemagne's adviser Alcuin.

Pope at the time: [Pope Adrian I](https://christianity-history.com/popes/pope-adrian-i)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Massacre of Verden](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_of_Verden)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — Massacre of Verden](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Massacre+of+Verden)
- [Wikipedia — Age Of Councils (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_seven_ecumenical_councils)