Æthelwold Of East Anglia
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Æthelwold, also known as Æthelwald or Æþelwald (
Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
: ''Æþelwald'' "noble ruler"; reigned c. 654 – 664), was a 7th-century king of
East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...
, the long-lived
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
kingdom which today includes the English counties of
Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
and
Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...
. He was a member of 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 kin ...
dynasty, which ruled East Anglia from their ''regio'' (centre of royal 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. The proximity of the Sutton Hoo ship burial may indicate a connection between Sutton Hoo a ...
. The two Anglo-Saxon cemeteries at
Sutton Hoo Sutton Hoo is the site of two Anglo-Saxon cemeteries dating from the 6th to 7th centuries near Woodbridge, Suffolk, England. Archaeology, Archaeologists have been excavating the area since 1938, when an undisturbed ship burial containing a wea ...
, the monastery at
Iken Iken is a small village and civil parish in the Suffolk sandlands, sandlands of the England, English county of Suffolk, an area formerly of heathland and sheep pasture. It is near the estuary of the River Alde on the North Sea coast and is loca ...
, the East Anglian see at Dommoc and the emerging port of
Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...
were all in the vicinity of Rendlesham. Æthelwold lived during a time of political and religious upheaval in East Anglia, whose Christian kings in the decades prior to his succession all died violent deaths, having proved unequal to the task of defending the newly converted kingdom against attacks from its neighbouring kingdom,
Mercia Mercia (, was one of the principal kingdoms founded at the end of Sub-Roman Britain; the area was settled by Anglo-Saxons in an era called the Heptarchy. It was centred on the River Trent and its tributaries, in a region now known as the Midlan ...
, led by its pagan king,
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 theor ...
. Æthelwold was the last of the nephews of Rædwald to rule East Anglia. He died in 664 and was succeeded by
Ealdwulf Ealdwulf is a male given name used by: * Ealdwulf of East Anglia (), King of the East Angles * Ealdwulf of Sussex, King of Sussex in the early 8th century * Aldwulf of Rochester, Bishop of Rochester from 727 to 736 * Ealdwulf of Lindsey, Bishop ...
, the son of his brother Æthelric. Few records relating to East Anglia have survived and almost nothing is known of Æthelwold's life or reign. He succeeded his elder brother Æthelhere, after Æthelhere was killed with Penda of Mercia at the Battle of the Winwæd in about 655. During his rule he witnessed a setback in the aspirations of Mercia to dominate its neighbours, following the Battle of the Winwæd and the murder of Penda's son,
Peada Peada (died 656), a son of Penda, was briefly King of southern Mercia 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 at the hands of his w ...
. He was king during the last decade of the co-existence in England of the Christian
Roman rite The Roman Rite () is the most common ritual family for performing the ecclesiastical services of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. The Roman Rite governs Rite (Christianity) ...
, centred at
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
, and the
Celtic rite The term "Celtic Rite" is applied to the various liturgical rites used in Celtic Christianity in Britain, Ireland and Brittany and the monasteries founded by St. Columbanus and Saint Catald in France, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy during the ...
based in
Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...
. At the
Synod of Whitby The Synod of Whitby was a Christianity, Christian administrative gathering held in Northumbria in 664, wherein King Oswiu ruled that his kingdom would calculate Easter and observe the monastic tonsure according to the customs of Roman Catholic, Ro ...
, in 664, the Roman cause prevailed and the division of ecclesiastical authorities ceased. In 662, Swithelm of Essex was persuaded to adopt Christianity and was
baptised Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...
at Rendlesham, with Æthelwold present as his sponsor. East Anglia became more closely allied to Northumbria,
Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
and lands in the Fens by means of royal marriages such as that between the Northumbrian Hereswitha and the East Anglian Æthilric.


Historical context


The emergence of the Kingdom of the East Angles

The history of
East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...
and its kings is known from '' The Ecclesiastical History of the English People'', compiled by the
Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...
n monk
Bede Bede (; ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, Bede of Jarrow, the Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable (), was an English monk, author and scholar. He was one of the most known writers during the Early Middle Ages, and his most f ...
in 731, and a genealogical list from the ''
Anglian collection The Anglian collection is a collection of Anglo-Saxon royal genealogies and regnal lists. These survive in four manuscripts; two of which now reside in the British Library. The remaining two belong to the libraries of Corpus Christi College, Cambr ...
'', dating from the 790s, in which the ancestry of
Ælfwald of East Anglia Ælfwald (Old English: ''Alfƿold'', "elf-ruler," reigned from 713 to 749) was an 8th-century king of Kingdom of East Anglia, East Anglia, an Anglo-Saxon kingdom that today includes the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. The last king of ...
was traced back through fourteen generations to Wōden. East Anglia was a long-lived
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
kingdom in which a duality of a northern and a southern part existed, corresponding with the modern English counties of
Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
and
Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...
. It was formed during the 5th century, following the ending of Roman power in Britain in 410. The east of Britain became settled at an early date by
Saxons The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...
and
Angles Angles most commonly refers to: *Angles (tribe), a Germanic-speaking people that took their name from the Angeln cultural region in Germany *Angle, a geometric figure formed by two rays meeting at a common point Angles may also refer to: Places ...
from the continent. During the 5th century, groups of settlers of mixed stock migrated into
the Fens The Fens or Fenlands in eastern England are a naturally marshy region supporting a rich ecology and numerous species. Most of the fens were drained centuries ago, resulting in a flat, dry, low-lying agricultural region supported by a system o ...
and up the major rivers inland. From Bede it is known that the people who settled in what became East Anglia were Angles, originally from what is now part of
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
. By the 6th century, new settlements had also appeared along the river systems of the east coast of East Anglia, including the Deben, the Alde and the
Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...
. The settlers were unaffected by Roman urban civilisation and had their own
religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...
and language. As more of the region fell under their control, new kingdoms were formed, replacing the function of the Roman ''territoria''. Surrounded by sea, fenland, large defensive earthworks such as the Devil's Dyke and wide rivers, all of which acted to disconnect it from the rest of Britain, the land of the East Angles eventually became united by a single ruling dynasty, the Wuffingas.


Rædwald and his successors

The first king of the East Angles of whom more than a name is known was Rædwald, described by Bede as 'the son of Tytil, whose father was Wuffa', who reigned from about 599 until approximately 624. According to Bede, he was converted to
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
at the court of his overlord
Æthelberht of Kent Æthelberht (; also Æthelbert, Aethelberht, Aethelbert or Ethelbert; ; 550 – 24 February 616) was Kings of Kent, King of Kingdom of Kent, Kent from about 589 until his death. The eighth-century monk Bede, in his ''Ecclesiastical Hist ...
in about 604. Later in his reign he was powerful enough to hold ''imperium'' over several
Anglo-Saxon kingdoms The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to Ge ...
. In 616, he defeated
Æthelfrith of Northumbria Æthelfrith (died ) was King of Bernicia from c. 593 until his death around 616 AD at the Battle of the River Idle. He became the first Bernician king to also rule the neighboring land of Deira, giving him an important place in the developme ...
and installed the exiled
Edwin The name Edwin means "wealth-friend". It comes from (wealth, good fortune) and (friend). Thus the Old English form is Ēadwine, a name widely attested in early medieval England. Edwina is the feminine form of the name. Notable people and char ...
as the new king. He is thought to have been given a
ship burial A ship burial or boat grave is a burial in which a ship or boat is used either as the tomb for the dead and the grave goods, or as a part of the grave goods itself. If the ship is very small, it is called a boat grave. This style of burial was pr ...
and interred amongst a magnificent array of personal treasures and symbols of regal power that were discovered under Mound 1 at
Sutton Hoo Sutton Hoo is the site of two Anglo-Saxon cemeteries dating from the 6th to 7th centuries near Woodbridge, Suffolk, England. Archaeology, Archaeologists have been excavating the area since 1938, when an undisturbed ship burial containing a wea ...
, in Suffolk. His son Eorpwald succeeded him and reigned briefly before he was killed soon after his baptism, by a heathen named Ricberht, after which the East Angles reverted to paganism. Ricberht was replaced by Sigeberht, whose Christian education ensured that Christianity was reestablished. During Sigeberht's joint reign with Ecgric, the East Anglian see at Dommoc was established. During 632 or 633, Edwin of Northumbria was overthrown and slain and his kingdom was ravaged by
Cadwallon ap Cadfan Cadwallon ap Cadfan (died 634)A difference in the interpretation of Bede's dates has led to the question of whether Cadwallon was killed in 634 or the year earlier, 633. Cadwallon died in the year after the Battle of Hatfield Chase, which Bede ...
, supported by
Penda of Mercia 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 theor ...
. The Mercians then turned on the East Angles and their king, Ecgric. In 640 or 641, they routed the East Anglian army in a battle in which Ecgric and his predecessor Sigeberht both perished.Warner, ''The Origins of Suffolk'', pp. 110–13. See Kirby, ''The Early English Kings'', p. 207 for a discussion of the problematic dating of the battle in which Ecgric was killed. Ecgric's successor, Æthelwold's brother Anna, who was renowned for his devout Christianity and the saintliness of his children, proved ineffective in preventing East Anglia from being invaded by the Mercians. Following a Mercian attack in 651 on the monastery at Cnobheresburg, Anna was exiled by Penda, possibly to the kingdom of the
Magonsæte Magonsæte was a minor sub- kingdom of the greater Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia, thought to be coterminous with the Diocese of Hereford. The former territory of the Cornovii tribe was conquered by Oswiu of Northumbria in 656, while he was ov ...
. After his return, East Anglia was attacked again by Penda, Anna's forces were defeated and he was killed. During the reign of his successor, Æthelhere (another brother of Æthelwold), East Anglia was eclipsed by Mercia. In 655, after the Battle of the Winwæd, near
Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
, in which Æthelhere was slain fighting beside Penda,Yorke, ''Kings and Kingdoms'', p. 63. a new political situation arose. Penda's son
Peada Peada (died 656), a son of Penda, was briefly King of southern Mercia 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 at the hands of his w ...
, who had ruled the
Mercia Mercia (, was one of the principal kingdoms founded at the end of Sub-Roman Britain; the area was settled by Anglo-Saxons in an era called the Heptarchy. It was centred on the River Trent and its tributaries, in a region now known as the Midlan ...
n province 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 (tribe), Angles broke into the English Midlands ...
as a Christian king from 653, now succeeded Penda as king of Mercia, but he was murdered a year later. Peada's death dealt a severe blow to Mercian aspirations of dominion over the other kingdoms of England.


The sphere of Rendlesham

The royal seat of Rendlesham, specified by Bede, seals the evident importance of the Deben estuary headwaters as a centre of royal power, demonstrated for an earlier period by the royal cemetery of Sutton Hoo. Rendlesham, a short distance from
Iken Iken is a small village and civil parish in the Suffolk sandlands, sandlands of the England, English county of Suffolk, an area formerly of heathland and sheep pasture. It is near the estuary of the River Alde on the North Sea coast and is loca ...
, the site of Botolph's monastery, stands at a strategic point between the rivers Deben and Alde at the headwaters of the Butley estuary, which intersects the peninsula between the two major rivers. The dedication of Rendlesham's church to St Gregory suggests its early, perhaps primary connection with the royal dwelling mentioned by Bede. If the Dommoc bishopric was at Walton, as the monks of
Rochester Cathedral Rochester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, is in Rochester, Kent, England. The cathedral is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Rochester and seat (''cathedra'') of the Bishop of Rocheste ...
claimed in the thirteenth century, then this was also immediately within the sphere of Rendlesham. Archaeologists have revealed that the quay of Gipeswic (now modern
Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...
), at a ford of the River Orwell estuary, was then growing in importance as a centre of seaborne trade to the continent, under direct royal patronage.


Descent, family and accession

Æthelwold (
Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
'noble ruler') was a member of the Wuffingas dynasty, the youngest son of
Eni Eni is an Italian oil and gas corporation. Eni or ENI may refer to: Businesses and organisations * Escuela Nacional de Inteligencia, the Argentine intelligence academy * Groupe des écoles nationales d’ingénieurs (Groupe ENI), a French engi ...
and a nephew of Rædwald of East Anglia. Two of his brothers, Anna and Æthelhere, ruled in succession before him. His accession is mentioned by the 12th-century historian
William of Malmesbury William of Malmesbury (; ) was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. He has been ranked among the most talented English historians since Bede. Modern historian C. Warren Hollister described him as "a gifted historical scholar and a ...
, in ''
Gesta Regum Anglorum The (Latin for "Deeds of the Kings of the English"), originally titled ("On the Deeds of the Kings of the English") and also anglicized as or , is an early-12th-century history of the kings of England This list of kings and reigning q ...
'': :"''To Anna succeeded his brother Ethelhere, who was justly slain by Oswy king of the Northumbrians, together with Penda, because he was an auxiliary to him, and was actually supporting his brother and his kinsman. His brother Ethelwald, in due succession, left the kingdom to Adulf and Elwold, the sons of Ethelhere''."''"Successit Annæ frater ejus Ethelhere, occisusque est a rege Northanhimbrorum Oswio cum Penda merito, quod ei concurreret in auxilium, et fulciret exercitum qui pessum dedisset fratrem et cognatum. Hujus successor frater Ethelwaldus continuatis successionibus regnum reliquit ejusdem Ethelherii filiis Aldnlfo."''
William of Malmesbury, Book 1, §97
Dynastic alliances bound Æthelwold's kingdom strongly to the Christian
kingdom of Kent The Kingdom of the Kentish (; ), today referred to as the Kingdom of Kent, was an Early Middle Ages, early medieval kingdom in what is now South East England. It existed from either the fifth or the sixth century AD until it was fully absorbed i ...
, where Seaxburh, the eldest daughter of Æthelwold's elder brother Anna, was
Eorcenberht of Kent Eorcenberht of Kent (also Ærconberht, Earconberht, or Earconbert) (died 14 July 664) was king of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Kent from 640 until his death, succeeding his father Eadbald. The Kentish Royal Legend (also known as the Mildrith leg ...
's queen.Yorke, ''Kings and Kingdoms'', p. 37. East Anglia's western stronghold in the Fens was held by Seaxburh's sister
Æthelthryth Æthelthryth (or Æðelþryð or Æþelðryþe; 23 June 679) was an East Anglian princess, a Fenland and Northumbrian queen and Abbess of Ely. She is an Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the Englis ...
and, like Kent, it was devoutly attached to the Roman Church. There was also an important Northumbrian connection: in 657, Hilda established the monastery of Streoneshalh (identified with
Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is on the Yorkshire Coast at the mouth of the River Esk, North Yorkshire, River Esk and has a maritime, mineral and tourist economy. From the Middle Ages, Whitby ...
), which later became the burial-place of Edwin and other Northumbrian kings. Hilda's sister Hereswitha married Æthelwold's youngest brother Æthelric in around 627–629.


Reign


Christianity in East Anglia under Æthelwold

The influence of the
Celtic rite The term "Celtic Rite" is applied to the various liturgical rites used in Celtic Christianity in Britain, Ireland and Brittany and the monasteries founded by St. Columbanus and Saint Catald in France, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy during the ...
in East Anglia had been strong whilst the monastery of
Saint Fursey Saint Fursey (also known as Fursa, Fursy, Forseus, and Furseus: died 650) was an Irish monk who did much to establish Christianity throughout the British Isles and particularly in East Anglia. He reportedly experienced angelic visions of the a ...
and Saint Foillan at Cnobheresburg had existed. The authority of East Anglian Christianity still resided in the East Anglian see at Dommoc, obedient to
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
. Saint Botolph began to build his monastery at Iken, on a tidal island site in the River Alde, in about 653, the year that Anna was killed at the Battle of Bulcamp. Oswiu successfully persuaded Sigeberht II of the East Saxons to receive baptism and
Cedd Cedd (; 620 – 26 October 664) was an Anglo-Saxon monk and bishop from the Kingdom of Northumbria. He was an evangelist of the Middle Angles and East Saxons in England and a significant participant in the Synod of Whitby, a meeting which r ...
, a Northumbrian disciple of Aidan's, was diverted from the Northumbrian mission to the Middle Angles under Peada to become Bishop of the East Saxons and re-convert the people. Cedd built monasteries at
Tilbury Tilbury is a port town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. The present town was established as separate settlement in the late 19th century, on land that was mainly part of Chadwell St Mary. It contains a Tilbury Fort, 16th century fort ...
in the south and at Ythancæster, where there was an old Roman fort, at what is now
Bradwell-on-Sea Bradwell-on-Sea is a village and civil parish in Essex, England; it is on the Dengie peninsula. It is located north-north-east of Southminster and is east of the county town of Chelmsford. The village is in the District of Maldon and in th ...
, in north-east
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
. Sigebert was assassinated by his own thegns and was succeeded by the pagan Swithelm of Essex. Cedd persuaded him to accept the faith and, according to Bede, his baptism by Cedd took place 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. The proximity of the Sutton Hoo ship burial may indicate a connection between Sutton Hoo a ...
, in the presence of King Æthelwold:
''"Sigebert was succeeded in the kingdom by Suidhelm, the son of Sexbald, who was baptized by the same Cedd, in the province of the East Angles, at the king's countryseat, called Rendelsham, that is, Rendil's Mansion; and Ethelwald, king of the East Angles, brother to Anna, king of the same people, was his godfather."''''"Successit autem Sigbercto inregnum Suidhelm, filius Sexbaldi, qui baptizatus est ab ipso Cedde in prouincia Orientalium Anglorum, in uico regio, qui dicitur Rendlasham, id est mansio Rendili; suscepitque eum ascendentem de fonto sancto Aediluald rex ipsius gentis Orientalium Anglorum, frater Anna regis eorundem."''
Bede, iii, 22


East Anglian marriage alliances

In the early 660s, two important marriages took place.
Ecgfrith of Northumbria Ecgfrith (; ; 64520 May 685) was the King of Northumbria from 670 until his death on 20 May 685. He ruled over Northumbria when it was at the height of its power, but his reign ended with a disastrous defeat at the Battle of Nechtansmere agai ...
, the fifteen-year-old son of Oswiu, married Æthelthryth of Ely, the daughter of Anna of East Anglia (who was about fourteen years older than him), and moved to live with him at his Northumbrian court. She had remained a virgin for Christ during her first marriage; she continued in this resolve as Ecgfrityh's bride, with the result that he could not expect to father an heir. Æthelthryth retained Ely as her own possession during this marriage. Meanwhile,
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 North ...
, a brother of Peada, emerged from safe retreat and was proclaimed king. He was not Christian, but was soon converted and subsequently married Eormenhilda, daughter of Eorcenberht of Kent and Seaxburh. Soon afterwards he founded the monastery of
Medeshamstede Medeshamstede () was the name of Peterborough in the Anglo-Saxon period. It was the site of a monastery founded around the middle of the 7th century, which was an important feature in the kingdom of Mercia from the outset. Little is known of i ...
, which later became known as
Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...
, under abbot Seaxwulf.


Synod of Whitby

Following the death of Finan, bishop of Lindisfarne,
Alhfrith of Deira Alhfrith or Ealhfrith (c. 630 – c. 664) was King of Deira under his father Oswiu, King of Bernicia, from 655 until sometime after 664. Appointed by Oswiu as a subordinate ruler, Alhfrith apparently clashed with his father over religious policy ...
, in collusion with Wilfred of York,
Agilbert Agilbert ( 650–680) was the second bishop of the West Saxon kingdom and later Bishop of Paris. He is venerated as a saint within the Catholic Church, with his feast day falling on 11 October. The date and place of Agilbert's birth are unknown ...
of Wessex and others, were determined to persuade Oswiu to rule in favour of the Roman rite of Christianity within the kingdoms over which he had ''imperium''. The case was debated in Oswiu's presence at the
Synod of Whitby The Synod of Whitby was a Christianity, Christian administrative gathering held in Northumbria in 664, wherein King Oswiu ruled that his kingdom would calculate Easter and observe the monastic tonsure according to the customs of Roman Catholic, Ro ...
in 664, with Colmán, Hild and Cedd defending the Celtic rite and the tradition inherited from Aidan, and Wilifred speaking for the Roman position. The Roman cause prevailed and the former division of ecclesiastical authorities was set aside. Those who could not accept it, including Colmán, departed elsewhere.Yorke, ''Kings and Kingdoms'', p. 80. At that time plague swept through Europe and Anglo-Saxon England. Amongst its victims was Bishop Cedd, Archbishop
Deusdedit of Canterbury Deusdedit (died ) was a medieval Archbishop of Canterbury, the first native-born holder of the see of Canterbury. By birth an Anglo-Saxon, he became archbishop in 655 and held the office for more than nine years until his death, probably fro ...
, and Eorconbehrt of Kent. Æthelwold also died in 664.


Quotations


Notes


Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aethelwold Of East Anglia 664 deaths East Anglian monarchs 7th-century English monarchs Year of birth uncertain House of Wuffingas