Saint Bertha or Saint Aldeberge (c. 565 – d. in or after 601) was the queen of Kent whose influence led to the Christianization of

Anglo-Saxon England Anglo-Saxon England or Early Medieval England, existing from the 5th to the 11th centuries from the end of Roman Britain until the Norman conquest in 1066, consisted of various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms until 927, when it was united as the Kingdom o ...

. She was canonized as a

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

for her role in its establishment during that period of English history.

Life

Bertha was a Frankish princess, the daughter of Charibert I and his wife Ingoberga, granddaughter of the reigning King

Chlothar I Chlothar I, sometime called "the Old" ( French: le Vieux), (died December 561) also anglicised as Clotaire, was a king of the Franks of the Merovingian dynasty and one of the four sons of Clovis I. Chlothar's father, Clovis I, divided the kin ...

and great-granddaughter of

Clovis I Clovis ( la, Chlodovechus; reconstructed Frankish: ; – 27 November 511) was the first king of the Franks to unite all of the Frankish tribes under one ruler, changing the form of leadership from a group of petty kings to rule by a single kin ...

and

Saint Clotilde Clotilde ( 474–545), also known as Clothilde, Clotilda, Clotild, Rotilde etc. (Latin: Chrodechildis, Chlodechildis from Frankish ''*Hrōþihildi'' or perhaps ''*Hlōdihildi'', both "famous in battle"), was a Queen of All the Franks. She was ...

. Her father died in 567, her mother in 589. Bertha had been raised near Tours.Taylor, Martin. ''The Cradle of English Christianity''
Her marriage to the

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. ...

Æthelberht of Kent, in 580 AD, was on condition that she be allowed to practice her religion.Wace, Henry and Piercy, William C., "Bertha, wife of Ethelbert, king of Kent", ''Dictionary of Christian Biography and Literature to the End of the sixth Century'', Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.
She brought her chaplain, Liudhard, with her to England. A former Roman church was restored for Bertha just outside the City of Canterbury, and dedicated to Saint

Martin of Tours Martin of Tours ( la, Sanctus Martinus Turonensis; 316/336 – 8 November 397), also known as Martin the Merciful, was the third bishop of Tours. He has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints in France, heralded as the ...

. It was the private chapel of Queen Bertha before Augustine arrived from Rome. The present St Martin's Church continues on the same site, incorporating Roman walling of the original church in the chancel. It is acknowledged by UNESCO as the oldest church in the English-speaking world where Christian worship has taken place continuously since 580 AD. St Martin's (with

Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, leader of the ...

and

St Augustine's Abbey St Augustine's Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in Canterbury, Kent, England. The abbey was founded in 598 and functioned as a monastery until its dissolution in 1538 during the English Reformation. After the abbey's dissolution, it underwent ...

) make up Canterbury's UNESCO World Heritage site. Pope Gregory the Great sent a Mission led by

Augustine of Canterbury Augustine of Canterbury (early 6th century – probably 26 May 604) was a monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597. He is considered the "Apostle to the English" and a founder of the English Church.Delaney '' ...

, to restore Christianity to England in 596. The Mission's favourable reception upon arrival in 597 AD owed much to the influence of Bertha. Without her support and Æthelberht's good will, monastic settlements and the cathedral would likely have been developed elsewhere."Queen Bertha", Canterbury Historical and Archaeological Society
/ref> In 601, Pope Gregory addressed a letter to Bertha, in which he complimented her highly on her faith and knowledge of letters. Anglo-Saxon records indicate that Saint Bertha had two children: Eadbald of Kent, and Æthelburg of Kent. She is named in the genealogies of various of the medieval accounts of the ' Kentish Royal Legend'. The date of her death (''possibly 606'') is disputed.

Legacy

The city of Canterbury celebrates Queen Bertha in many ways. * The Bertha trail, consisting of 14 bronze plaques set in pavements, runs from the Buttermarket to St Martin's church via Lady Wootton's Green. * In 2006, bronze statues of Bertha and Ethelbert were installed on Lady Wootton's Green as part of the Canterbury Commemoration Society's "Ethelbert and Bertha" project."6th Century royal statues on show", BBC News, 26 May 2006
/ref> * There is a wooden statue of Bertha inside St Martin's church.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bertha Of Kent 541 births 580 deaths Merovingian dynasty Anglo-Saxon royal consorts 6th-century English people 7th-century English people Kentish saints Christian royal saints Roman Catholic royal saints 7th-century Frankish saints Gregorian mission Christian female saints of the Middle Ages 6th-century English women 7th-century English women Frankish princesses Daughters of kings