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Peada (died 656), a son of
Penda Penda (died 15 November 655)Manuscript A of the '' Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' gives the year as 655. Bede also gives the year as 655 and specifies a date, 15 November. R. L. Poole (''Studies in Chronology and History'', 1934) put forward the theo ...
, was briefly
King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ...
of southern
Mercia la, Merciorum regnum , conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia , common_name=Mercia , status=Kingdom , status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879)Client state of Wessex () , life_span=527–918 , era= Heptarchy , event_start= , date_start= , ...
after his father's death in November 655The year could be pushed back to 654 if a revised interpretation of Bede's dates is used. and until his own death in the spring of the next year.


Life

Around the year 653 Peada was made king of the
Middle Angles The Middle Angles were an important ethnic or cultural group within the larger kingdom of Mercia in England in the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon period. Origins and territory It is likely that Angles broke into the English Midlands, Midlands from ...
by his father.
Bede Bede ( ; ang, Bǣda , ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, The Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable ( la, Beda Venerabilis), was an English monk at the monastery of St Peter and its companion monastery of St Paul in the Kingdom ...
, describing Peada as "an excellent youth, and most worthy of the title and person of a king", wrote that he sought to marry Alchflaed of Bernicia, the daughter of King
Oswiu of Northumbria Oswiu, also known as Oswy or Oswig ( ang, Ōswīg; c. 612 – 15 February 670), was King of Bernicia from 642 and of Northumbria from 654 until his death. He is notable for his role at the Synod of Whitby in 664, which ultimately brought the ch ...
; Oswiu, however, made this conditional upon Peada's
baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...
and conversion to
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesu ...
, along with the Middle Angles (Peada was, at this time, still a pagan, like his father). Bede says that Peada eagerly accepted conversion: :When he heard the preaching of truth, the promise of the heavenly kingdom, and the hope of resurrection and future immortality, he declared that he would willingly become a Christian, even though he should be refused the virgin; being chiefly prevailed on to receive the faith by King Oswy's son Aifrid, who was his relation and friend, and had married his sister
Cyneburga Kyneburga, Kyneswide and Tibba were female members of the Mercian royal family in 7th century England who were venerated as saints. Kyneburga and Kyneswide Kyneburga (d. c. 680) (also called Cyneburh in Old English); the name being also rendere ...
, the daughter of King Penda. Peada was subsequently baptized by Finan of Lindisfarne, and this was followed by a campaign to convert Peada's people: :Accordingly he was baptized by Bishop Finan, with all his earls and soldiers, and their servants, that came along with him, at a noted village belonging to the king, called At the Wall. And having received four priests, who for their erudition and good life were deemed proper to instruct and baptize his nation, he returned home with much joy. These priests were Cedd and Adda, and Betti and Diuma; the last of whom was by nation a Scot, the others English. Adda was brother to Utta, ... a renowned priest, and abbot of the monastery of Gateshead. The aforesaid priests, arriving in the province with the prince, preached the word, and were willingly listened to; and many, as well of the nobility as the common sort, renouncing the abominations of idolatry, were baptized daily.
Bede Bede ( ; ang, Bǣda , ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, The Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable ( la, Beda Venerabilis), was an English monk at the monastery of St Peter and its companion monastery of St Paul in the Kingdom ...
, ''
Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum The ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'' ( la, Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum), written by Bede in about AD 731, is a history of the Christian Churches in England, and of England generally; its main focus is on the conflict be ...
''
Book III
chapter 21.
On 15 November 655 Oswiu defeated and killed Penda at the
Battle of the Winwaed The Battle of the Winwaed (Welsh: ''Maes Gai''; lat-med, Strages Gai Campi) was fought on 15 November 655 between King Penda of Mercia and Oswiu of Bernicia, ending in the Mercians' defeat and Penda's death. According to Bede, the battle ...
, and consequently he came to exercise power in Mercia. According to Bede, Oswiu allowed Peada to rule the southern part of Mercia; southern Mercia consisted of 5,000 families, Bede reports, while northern Mercia was populated by 7,000 families, and the two were divided by the
River Trent The Trent is the third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands. The river is known for dramatic flooding after storms and ...
.Bede, ''H. E.'', Book III, chapter 24. According to the ''
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of A ...
'', Peada helped found the
monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...
at
Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...
: :In his time they came together, eadaand Oswy, brother of King
Oswald Oswald may refer to: People * Oswald (given name), including a list of people with the name * Oswald (surname), including a list of people with the name Fictional characters *Oswald the Reeve, who tells a tale in Geoffrey Chaucer's '' The Canter ...
, and declared that they wished to establish a minster in praise of
Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religi ...
and in honor of
St Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupati ...
. And they did so, and gave it the name Medeshamstede, because there is a spring there called Medeswael. And then they began the foundations and built upon them, and then entrusted it to a monk who was called Seaxwulf. He was a great friend of God, and all people loved him, and he was very nobly born in the world and powerful. He is now much more powerful with Christ.''
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of A ...
'', manuscript E, 654–656. Translated by Michael Swanton (1996, 1998).
However, the ''Chronicle'' continues, "Peada ruled no length of time, because he was betrayed by his own queen at Eastertide"; Bede also reports that Peada was "very wickedly killed" through his wife's treachery "during the very time of celebrating Easter" in 656.


See also

* Kings of Mercia family tree


References


External links

* {{Kings of Mercia 7th-century births 656 deaths Converts to Christianity from pagan religions Anglo-Saxon warriors Mercian monarchs 7th-century English monarchs 7th-century murdered monarchs House of Icel