Sighere was the joint king of the Kingdom of

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

along with his cousin Sæbbi from 663/4 to about 688. He was son of Sigeberht Sæwarding, probably Saint Sigeberht, but perhaps

Sigeberht the Little Sigeberht the Little was king of Essex from 623? to 653. A Sigeberht was the son of Sæward, who was slain in battle against forces from Wessex in 623(?), and father of later king Sighere, but Yorke thought it more likely this was his successor, ...

. He was outlived by Sæbbi, who became the sole ruler of Essex after his death. Sighere and Sæbbi were cousins of their predecessor Swithelm. While Sighere returned to paganism, Sæbbi remained Christian. They soon developed a rivalry. Sighere found an ally in

Wessex la, Regnum Occidentalium Saxonum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the West Saxons , common_name = Wessex , image_map = Southern British Isles 9th century.svg , map_caption = S ...

, and Sæbbi with

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= , ...

. As a result of their rivalry, King

Wulfhere of Mercia Wulfhere or Wulfar (died 675) was King of Mercia from 658 until 675 AD. He was the first Christian king of all of Mercia, though it is not known when or how he converted from Anglo-Saxon paganism. His accession marked the end of Oswiu of Nort ...

established himself as overlord of Essex. and induced Sighere to marry his niece Osgyth, daughter of Frithuwold, sub-king of Mercia in Surrey.

Jaruman __NOTOC__ Jaruman (or Jarumann; died 669) was the fourth Bishop of Mercia.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 220 He fought against apostasy outside his diocese.Stenton ''Anglo-Saxon England'' p. 130 He served as bishop in the time ...

, the bishop of Mercia, was assigned to reconvert the people of Essex to Christianity. In 673, Sighere separated from Osgyth, who then fled to the protection of Bishop Beaduwine of

North Elmham North Elmham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It covers an area of and had a population of 1,428 in 624 households at the 2001 census, including Gateley and increasing slightly to 1,433 at the 2011 Census. For ...

. Sighere died about 688, and Sæbbi became sole ruler of Essex.

References

External links

* 683 deaths Anglo-Saxon pagans Sighere of Essex 7th-century rulers in Europe 7th-century English people Year of birth unknown {{UK-royal-stub