Sexred, or Sexræd (d. 626?), and Sæward (Sæward of Essex) are two brothers who jointly served as king of the

East Saxons The Kingdom of the East Saxons (; ), referred to as the Kingdom of Essex , was one of the seven traditional kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was founded in the 6th century and covered the territory later occupied by the counties of Essex ...

after the death of their father Sæbert. Their father 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 ...

in 604, becoming the first Christian king of the East Saxons. When Sæberht died in c. 616? the two brothers ruled jointly as king, perhaps with another, said on no good authority to have been named Sigebert (Bromton, ap. Decem SS. col. 743) but perhaps the unplaced Seaxbald, father of Swithhelm. Both refused to accept

, openly practised

paganism Paganism (, 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 Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

and gave permission to his subjects to worship their idols. They repressed

in favour of the indigenous English religion, allowing the worship of their people's native gods. When the brothers saw

Mellitus Mellitus (; died 24 April 624) was the first bishop of London in the Saxon period, the third archbishop of Canterbury, and a member of the Gregorian mission sent to England to convert the Anglo-Saxons from their native paganism to Christia ...

(d. 624), bishop of London, giving the

eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...

to the people in church, it was commonly believed in the

Venerable 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 fa ...

's time that they said to him, "Why do you not offer us the white bread that you used to give to our father Saba, for so they called him, and which you still give to the people?" Mellitus answered that if they would be washed in the font they should have it, but that otherwise it would do them no good. But they said that they would not enter the font, for they did not need washing but refreshment. The matter was often explained to them by the bishop, who persisted in refusing their request. At last they grew angry and banished him from their kingdom."Kings of the East Saxons", by Barbara Yorke, ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

'' Not long afterwards they went out to fight with the West Saxons, their army being almost wholly destroyed (Bede, Hist. Eccl. ii. c. 5). This battle was fought against

Cynegils Cynegils () was King of Wessex from c. 611 to c. 642. Cynegils is traditionally considered to have been King of Wessex, even though the kingdoms of the Heptarchy had not yet formed from the patchwork of smaller kingdoms in his lifetime. The l ...

and

Cwichelm of Wessex Cwichelm ( ; died 636) was an Anglo-Saxon king of the Gewisse, a people in the upper Thames area who later created the kingdom of Wessex. He is usually counted among the Kings of Wessex. Life Cwichelm is first mentioned in the ''Anglo-Saxon Ch ...

, the West Saxon kings who invaded their territory with a larger force than the East Saxons could muster in or about 626. They and their brother were killed in a battle against the forces of

Wessex The Kingdom of the West Saxons, also known as the Kingdom of Wessex, was an Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy, kingdom in the south of Great Britain, from around 519 until Alfred the Great declared himself as King of the Anglo-Saxons in 886. The Anglo-Sa ...

. They were succeeded by

Sigeberht the Little Sigeberht the Little was king of Kingdom of Essex, Essex from 623? to 653. A Sigeberht was the son of Sæward of Essex, Sæward, who was slain in battle against forces from Wessex in 623(?), and father of later king Sighere of Essex, Sighere, but ...

. Some sources suggest that their direct successor was actually

Sigeberht the Good Sigeberht II, nicknamed the Good (''Bonus'') or the Blessed (''Sanctus''), was King of the East Saxons (r. ''c''. 653 to ? 660 x 661), in succession to his relative Sigeberht I the Little. Although a bishopric in Essex had been created under Mel ...

In popular culture

The first series of

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

comedy ''

Detectorists ''Detectorists'' is a British comedy television series first broadcast on BBC Four in October 2014. It is written and directed by Mackenzie Crook, who also stars alongside Toby Jones. The series is set in the fictional small town of Danebury i ...

'' follows a group of characters searching for Sexred's lost burial place, in the hope of uncovering a Saxon hoard.

References

;Attribution: Year of birth unknown 620s deaths East Saxon monarchs Anglo-Saxon warriors Anglo-Saxons killed in battle 7th-century English monarchs Anglo-Saxon pagans Monarchs killed in action {{England-bio-stub