Ricberht ( ang, Ricbyhrt), may have briefly ruled
East Anglia
East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...
, a small independent
Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
kingdom which today forms the English counties of
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
and
Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
. Little is known of his life or his reign.
According to
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 o ...
's ''
Ecclesiastical History of the English People
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 ...
'', Ricberht murdered
Eorpwald of East Anglia
Eorpwald; also Erpenwald or Earpwald, (reigned from 624, assassinated c. 627 or 632), succeeded his father Rædwald as ruler of the independent Kingdom of the East Angles. Eorpwald was a member of the East Anglian dynasty known as the Wuffingas ...
in about 627, shortly after Eorpwald succeeded his father
Rædwald as king and had then been baptised as a
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
. Following Eorpwald's death, Ricberht may have become king, a possibility that is not mentioned by Bede or any contemporary commentator. East Anglia then reverted to
paganism
Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christianity, early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions ot ...
for three years, before
Sigeberht and
Ecgric succeeded jointly as kings of East Anglia and ended the kingdom's brief period of
apostasy
Apostasy (; grc-gre, ἀποστασία , 'a defection or revolt') is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that i ...
.
Background
![England green top 4](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/England_green_top_4.svg)
The earliest East Anglian kings were pagans. They belonged to the
Wuffingas
The Wuffingas, Uffingas or Wiffings were the ruling dynasty of East Anglia, the long-lived Anglo-Saxon kingdom which today includes the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. The Wuffingas took their name from Wuffa, an early East Anglian king ...
dynasty, named after
Wuffa
Wuffa (or Uffa, ang, Ƿuffa) is recorded in the Anglo-Saxon genealogies as an early king of East Anglia. If historical, he would have flourished in the 6th century.
By tradition Wuffa was named as the son of Wehha and the father of Tytila, b ...
, whose ancestors originated from northern
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
and whose descendants ruled the East Angles in an almost unbroken line until after the reign of
Ælfwald in the middle of the 8th century.
When East Anglia was first mentioned by Bede in his ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'', it was a powerful kingdom ruled by
Rædwald (died about 624). According to Bede, Rædwald was recognised as exercising dominance or ''imperium'' over the southern Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, a position that was assured when he gave his loyalty and support to
Edwin of Northumbria
Edwin ( ang, Ēadwine; c. 586 – 12 October 632/633), also known as Eadwine or Æduinus, was the List of monarchs of Northumbria, King of Deira and Bernicia – which later became known as Northumbria – from about 616 until hi ...
(who was at that time a fugitive at the East Anglian court) and together they defeated
Æthelfrith of Northumbria
Æthelfrith (died c. 616) was King of Bernicia from c. 593 until his death. Around 604 he became the first Bernician king to also rule the neighboring land of Deira, giving him an important place in the development of the later kingdom of North ...
on the banks of the
River Idle
The River Idle is a river in Nottinghamshire, England whose source is the confluence of the River Maun and River Meden near Markham Moor. The Idle flows north from its source through Retford and Bawtry before entering the River Trent at West St ...
, a tributary of the
Trent
Trent may refer to:
Places Italy
* Trento in northern Italy, site of the Council of Trent United Kingdom
* Trent, Dorset, England, United Kingdom Germany
* Trent, Germany, a municipality on the island of Rügen United States
* Trent, California, ...
. Rædwald was converted to Christianity in
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
at the invitation of
King Æthelberht, but, under the influence of his pagan wife, his church contained both a Christian and a pagan
altar
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...
.
Upon his death in around 624, Rædwald was succeeded by his surviving son
Eorpwald
Eorpwald; also Erpenwald or Earpwald, (reigned from 624, assassinated c. 627 or 632), succeeded his father Rædwald as ruler of the independent Kingdom of the East Angles. Eorpwald was a member of the East Anglian dynasty known as the Wuffingas ...
, who was then converted to the Christian faith shortly after becoming king. According to the historian N. J. Higham, Edwin of Northumbria and
Paulinus of York
Paulinus (died 10 October 644) was a Roman missionary and the first Bishop of York. A member of the Gregorian mission sent in 601 by Pope Gregory I to Christianize the Anglo-Saxons from their native Anglo-Saxon paganism, Paulinus arrived in ...
, Edwin's bishop, were able to persuade Eorpwald to accept an "alien cult" whose authority rested outside East Anglia. Eorpwald may have been sponsored by King Edwin at his baptism, which would have resulted in Edwin being acknowledged as Eorpwald's lord. The East Angles may also have been baptised as a people, which would have undermined Eorpwald's authority as king and acted against the authority of any long-established pagan cults.
The assassination of Eorpwald
![Erpenwald - John Speed](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/Erpenwald_-_John_Speed.JPG)
Soon after his conversion, Eorpwald was killed by Ricberht, possibly as the result of a pagan reaction to the East Anglian conversion. Nothing about Ricberht's ancestry or background is known, although his name can be taken to imply that he was a member of the East Anglian elite and was perhaps related to Eorpwald. The single source for Ricberht, Bede's ''Ecclesiastical History'', states that "Eorpwald, not long after he had embraced the Christian faith, was slain by one Ricberht, a pagan;" (''"Uerum Eorpuald non multo, postquam fidem accepit, tempore occisus est a uiro gentili nomine Ricbercto;"''). It is not known where Eorpwald's murder occurred, nor any other details surrounding his death.
Rule
Historians generally maintain that Ricberht, if he became king at all, succeeded Eorpwald and ruled for three years. Bede does not mention him again, only noting that "the province was in error for three years" ("''et exinde tribus annis prouincia in errore uersata est''"), prior to the accession of Eorpwald's half-brother (or brother) Sigeberht and his kinsman Ecgric.
Scholars have been unable to determine the regnal dates of several kings of this period, including that of Ricberht, with any certainty. Higham surmises that Ricberht's ability to rule for three years, at a time when Edwin was overlord among the Anglo-Saxons, implies that Ricberht was supported by the East Angles in overthrowing Eorpwald, whom they regarded as "overly compliant" towards the Northumbrian king.
It has been speculated by
Michael Wood and other historians that Ricberht may have been interred in the
Sutton Hoo ship-burial
Sutton Hoo is the site of two early medieval cemeteries dating from the 6th to 7th centuries near the English town of Woodbridge. Archaeologists have been excavating the area since 1938, when a previously undisturbed ship burial containing a w ...
near the Wuffingas centre of authority at
Rendlesham
Rendlesham is a village and civil parish near Woodbridge, Suffolk, United Kingdom. It was a royal centre of authority for the king of the East Angles, of the Wuffinga line; the proximity of the Sutton Hoo ship burial may indicate a connection ...
, but most experts consider Rædwald to be a more likely candidate.
Martin Carver
Martin Oswald Hugh Carver, FSA, Hon FSA Scot, (born 8 July 1941) is Emeritus Professor of Archaeology at the University of York, England, director of the Sutton Hoo Research Project and a leading exponent of new methods in excavation and surve ...
has used the evidence of what he identifies as iconic pagan practices at Sutton Hoo to theorise that the ship burial represents one example of pagan defiance "provoked by the perceived menace of a predatory Christian mission".
Successors
In about 630, Christianity was permanently re-established in East Anglia when Sigeberht and Ecgric succeeded to rule jointly. Ecgric, who may have been a sub-king until the abdication of Sigeberht in around 634, seems to have remained a
pagan
Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...
. There is no evidence that Ecgric adopted or promoted Christianity: Bede wrote nothing to imply that he was a Christian, in contrast to his praise of the devout Sigeberht, the first English king to receive a
Christian 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 education before his succession.
References
Sources
* (available a
Google Books
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ricberht Of East Anglia
7th-century criminals
Anglo-Saxon warriors
East Anglian monarchs
7th-century English monarchs
Anglo-Saxon pagans
Medieval murderers