Sigeberht of East Anglia
Encyclopedia
Sigeberht of East Anglia (also known as Saint Sigebert), (Old English: Sigebryht) was a saint
and a king of East Anglia, the Anglo-Saxon
kingdom which today includes the English counties of Norfolk
and Suffolk
. He was the first English king to receive a Christian baptism and education before his succession and the first to abdicate in order to enter the monastic
life. The principal source for Sigeberht is Bede
's Ecclesiastical History of the English People
, which was completed in the 730s.
Sigeberht was probably either a younger son of Rædwald of East Anglia, or his step-son from Rædwald's marriage to a pagan princess from the kingdom of Essex
. Nothing is known of his life before he was forced into exile in Gaul
, which was possibly done in order to ensure that Rædwald's own descendants ruled the kingdom. After his step-brother Eorpwald's
assassination in about 627, Sigeberht returned to East Anglia and (perhaps in the aftermath of a military campaign) became king, ruling jointly with Ecgric, who may have been either a son of Rædwald's, or his nephew.
During Sigeberht's reign the cause of Christianity
in East Anglia was advanced greatly, even though his co-ruler Ecgric probably remained a pagan. Alliances were strengthened between the Christian kingdoms of Kent
, Northumbria and East Anglia. Sigeberht himself played an important part in the establishment of the Christian faith in his kingdom: Saint Felix
arrived in East Anglia to assist him in establishing his episcopal see
at Dommoc
, he started a school for teaching Latin
and he granted the Irish monk Saint Fursey
a monastery site at Cnobheresburg (possibly Burgh Castle
). He eventually abdicated his power to Ecgric and retired to his monastery at Beodricesworth. At an unknown date, East Anglia was attacked by a Mercian army led by Penda
. Ecgric and the East Anglians appealed to Sigeberht to lead them in battle, but he refused and had to be dragged from his monastery to the battlefield. He refused to bear arms during the battle, during which both kings were slain and the East Anglian army was destroyed.
's Ecclesiastical History of the English People
(produced in 731), in which Bede stated that Sigeberht was the brother of Eorpwald
and the son of Rædwald (reigned from about 599 to 624), but William of Malmesbury
described him as Rædwald's stepson. The stepson theory is strengthened by the fact that the name Sigeberht is without comparison in the East Anglian Wuffing
dynasty, but closely resembles the naming fashions of the East Saxon royal house
. If this identification is correct (and Charles Crowley warns that it should be treated with scepticism), Rædwald's wife had previously been married to an East Saxon prince or ruler. Rædwald's own principal heir was Rægenhere (a youth of warrior age in 616, when he was slain in battle) and his second heir was Eorpwald
, slain by the heathen Ricberht in about 627. (There is no ancient record that Ricbehrt was a son of Rædwald's, nor that he was a king.)
Eorpwald, despite his father Rædwald's personal conversion and baptism before 616 and the existence of a Christian altar
in Rædwald's temple, was not himself a convert at the time of his accession in about 624. Since it is known that Rædwald's wife (who was Sigeberht's mother) did not become a Christian, Sigeberht must have received limited encouragement to convert to Christianity before being sent to Gaul
and remaining there as an exile for many years during the lifetime of Eorpwald, "while fleeing from the enmity of Rædwald", as Bede reports. His exile supports the stepson theory, if Rædwald was protecting Eorpwald's succession against a possible claim by a son who was not of the Wuffing line.
Whilst living in Gaul as an exile, Sigeberht was converted and baptized and became a devout Christian and a man of learning. He was strongly impressed by the religious institutions and schools for the study of reading and writing which he found during his long exile.
) as a son of Eni
, Rædwald's brother. Whoever the pagan Ecgric was, Sigeberht had equal or senior power while he ruled, because the influence of his religious patronage was felt throughout his kingdom.
Sigeberht's Christian conversion may have been a decisive factor in his achieving royal power, since at that time Edwin of Northumbria
(616–632 or 633) was the senior English king and only he and Eadbald
, who ruled Kent, were Christian. Eadbald certainly had contacts with the Frankish rulers. After Dagobert
succeeded Clothar II
in Francia in 628, Sigeberht's emergence helped to strengthen the English conversion upon which Edwin's power rested. Sigeberht is likely to have encouraged the conversion of Ecgric, if he was not already Christian. Edwin's encouragement took shape in the marriage of his grand-niece Hereswitha
, sister of Hilda of Whitby
, to Æthelric, Rædwald's nephew. Hereswith and Hilda were under Edwin's protection and were baptised with him in 626.
came to England from Burgundy as a missionary bishop and was sent by Saint Honorius
, Archbishop of Canterbury
, to assist in establishing Christianity in Sigeberht's kingdom. William of Malmesbury
had the later story that Felix accompanied Sigeberht to East Anglia. In either case, this dates Sigeberht's accession to c. 629–630, because Felix was bishop for seventeen years, his successor Thomas
for five and Thomas' successor Berhtgisl Boniface
for seventeen – and Berhtgisl died in around 669. Sigeberht established the bishop's seat of his kingdom for Felix at Dommoc
, claimed variously for Dunwich
or Walton
, Felixstowe
(both coastal sites in Suffolk
). If the seat was at Walton (as Rochester claimed during the 13th century), the site of Dommoc may have been within the precinct of a Roman
fort which formerly stood there.
. According to the Life of Gregory the Great, Paulinus of York
, who from 633 to 644 was the Bishop of Rochester
in northern Kent, had been connected with Rædwald's court during the exile of Edwin.
determined the Roman basis of the East Anglian Church, influenced along continental lines, though Felix's training in Burgundy may have been coloured by the teaching of the Irish missionary Saint Columbanus
in Luxeuil
. In around 633, perhaps shortly before Saint Aidan
was sent to Lindisfarne
from Iona
, the Irish royal hermit and missionary Saint Fursey
came to East Anglia from the Athlone area, along with his priests and brethren. Sigeberht granted him a monastery site in an old Roman fort called Cnobheresburg, usually identified as Burgh Castle
, near Great Yarmouth
. Felix and Fursey both effected a large number of conversions and established many churches in Sigeberht's kingdom. Bede records that Archbishop Honorius and Bishop Felix much admired the work of Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne and it is therefore likely that they also appreciated the tasks accomplished by Saint Fursey, whose community also lived according to the ascetic principles of Irish Christianity
.
of Beodric after whom the place was originally named. The site occupied a strong position on the upper reaches of the Lark valley
, which drains north-west into the Great Fen
through important early settlements at Icklingham
, Culford
, West Stow
and others. This was a line of access towards Ely
, where a foundation of Saint Augustine
may already have existed, and towards Soham
, where Saint Felix is thought to have founded a monastery.
At an unknown date, which may have been in the early 640s, East Anglia was attacked by a Mercian army and Ecgric was obliged to defend it with a much smaller force, though one that was not negligible. The East Angles appealed to Sigeberht to leave his monastery and lead them in battle, hoping that his presence and the memory of his former military exploits would encourage the army and make them less likely to flee. Sigeberht refused, saying that he had renounced his worldly kingdom and now lived only for the heavenly kingdom. However, he was dragged from the monastery to the battlefield where, unwilling to bear arms, he went into battle carrying only a staff. The Mercians were victorious and Sigeberht, Ecgric and many of the East Angles were slain and their army was routed. In this way Sigeberht became a Christian martyr. He is among the names of the kings who according to an ancient saying, were avenged by the slaying of Penda in 654.
The Church that Sigeberht had done so much to establish in East Anglia survived for two centuries, enduring 'evil times' (such as the period when the kingdom was under attack by the armies of Penda of Mercia
). It lasted continuously under a succession of bishops until the Danish Great Heathen Army
invaded East Anglia in the 860s.
Lives of the English Saints, written by John Henry Newman in 1843, is amongst the texts that gives Sigeberht's feast day as being observed on 29 October.
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
and a king of East Anglia, the Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
kingdom which today includes the English counties of Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
and Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
. He was the first English king to receive a Christian baptism and education before his succession and the first to abdicate in order to enter the monastic
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
life. The principal source for Sigeberht is Bede
Bede
Bede , also referred to as Saint Bede or the Venerable Bede , was a monk at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth, today part of Sunderland, England, and of its companion monastery, Saint Paul's, in modern Jarrow , both in the Kingdom of Northumbria...
's Ecclesiastical History of the English People
Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum
The Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum is a work in Latin by Bede on the history of the Christian Churches in England, and of England generally; its main focus is on the conflict between Roman and Celtic Christianity.It is considered to be one of the most important original references on...
, which was completed in the 730s.
Sigeberht was probably either a younger son of Rædwald of East Anglia, or his step-son from Rædwald's marriage to a pagan princess from the kingdom of Essex
Kingdom of Essex
The Kingdom of Essex or Kingdom of the East Saxons was one of the seven traditional kingdoms of the so-called Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was founded in the 6th century and covered the territory later occupied by the counties of Essex, Hertfordshire, Middlesex and Kent. Kings of Essex were...
. Nothing is known of his life before he was forced into exile in Gaul
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
, which was possibly done in order to ensure that Rædwald's own descendants ruled the kingdom. After his step-brother Eorpwald's
Eorpwald of East Anglia
Eorpwald; also Erpenwald or Earpwald, , succeeded his father Rædwald as ruler of the independent Kingdom of the East Angles...
assassination in about 627, Sigeberht returned to East Anglia and (perhaps in the aftermath of a military campaign) became king, ruling jointly with Ecgric, who may have been either a son of Rædwald's, or his nephew.
During Sigeberht's reign the cause of Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
in East Anglia was advanced greatly, even though his co-ruler Ecgric probably remained a pagan. Alliances were strengthened between the Christian kingdoms of Kent
Kingdom of Kent
The Kingdom of Kent was a Jutish colony and later independent kingdom in what is now south east England. It was founded at an unknown date in the 5th century by Jutes, members of a Germanic people from continental Europe, some of whom settled in Britain after the withdrawal of the Romans...
, Northumbria and East Anglia. Sigeberht himself played an important part in the establishment of the Christian faith in his kingdom: Saint Felix
Felix of Burgundy
Felix of Burgundy, also known as Felix of Dunwich , was a saint and the first bishop of the East Angles. He is widely credited as the man who introduced Christianity to the kingdom of East Anglia...
arrived in East Anglia to assist him in establishing his episcopal see
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
at Dommoc
Dommoc
Dommoc, a place not certainly identified but probably within the modern county of Suffolk, was the original seat of the Anglo-Saxon bishops of the Kingdom of East Anglia. It was established by Sigeberht of East Anglia for Saint Felix in c. 629–31 It remained the bishopric of all East Anglia...
, he started a school for teaching Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
and he granted the Irish monk Saint Fursey
Saint Fursey
Saint Fursey was an Irish monk who did much to establish Christianity throughout the British Isles and particularly in East Anglia...
a monastery site at Cnobheresburg (possibly Burgh Castle
Burgh Castle
Burgh Castle is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the east bank of the River Waveney, near Great Yarmouth, some 6 km west of Great Yarmouth and within the Broads National Park.-Roman Fort:...
). He eventually abdicated his power to Ecgric and retired to his monastery at Beodricesworth. At an unknown date, East Anglia was attacked by a Mercian army led by Penda
Penda of Mercia
Penda was a 7th-century King of Mercia, the Anglo-Saxon kingdom in what is today the English Midlands. A pagan at a time when Christianity was taking hold in many of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, Penda took over the Severn Valley in 628 following the Battle of Cirencester before participating in the...
. Ecgric and the East Anglians appealed to Sigeberht to lead them in battle, but he refused and had to be dragged from his monastery to the battlefield. He refused to bear arms during the battle, during which both kings were slain and the East Anglian army was destroyed.
Family background, exile, conversion and education
It is not known when Sigeberht was born and nothing is known of his life before he was sent into exile prior to becoming king, as few records have survived from this period of English history. The most reliable source for Sigeberht's background and career is BedeBede
Bede , also referred to as Saint Bede or the Venerable Bede , was a monk at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth, today part of Sunderland, England, and of its companion monastery, Saint Paul's, in modern Jarrow , both in the Kingdom of Northumbria...
's Ecclesiastical History of the English People
Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum
The Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum is a work in Latin by Bede on the history of the Christian Churches in England, and of England generally; its main focus is on the conflict between Roman and Celtic Christianity.It is considered to be one of the most important original references on...
(produced in 731), in which Bede stated that Sigeberht was the brother of Eorpwald
Eorpwald of East Anglia
Eorpwald; also Erpenwald or Earpwald, , succeeded his father Rædwald as ruler of the independent Kingdom of the East Angles...
and the son of Rædwald (reigned from about 599 to 624), but William of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. C. Warren Hollister so ranks him among the most talented generation of writers of history since Bede, "a gifted historical scholar and an omnivorous reader, impressively well versed in the literature of classical,...
described him as Rædwald's stepson. The stepson theory is strengthened by the fact that the name Sigeberht is without comparison in the East Anglian Wuffing
Wuffing
The Wuffingas were the ruling dynasty of the kingdom 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. It has been argued that the Wuffingas may have originated...
dynasty, but closely resembles the naming fashions of the East Saxon royal house
Kingdom of Essex
The Kingdom of Essex or Kingdom of the East Saxons was one of the seven traditional kingdoms of the so-called Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was founded in the 6th century and covered the territory later occupied by the counties of Essex, Hertfordshire, Middlesex and Kent. Kings of Essex were...
. If this identification is correct (and Charles Crowley warns that it should be treated with scepticism), Rædwald's wife had previously been married to an East Saxon prince or ruler. Rædwald's own principal heir was Rægenhere (a youth of warrior age in 616, when he was slain in battle) and his second heir was Eorpwald
Eorpwald of East Anglia
Eorpwald; also Erpenwald or Earpwald, , succeeded his father Rædwald as ruler of the independent Kingdom of the East Angles...
, slain by the heathen Ricberht in about 627. (There is no ancient record that Ricbehrt was a son of Rædwald's, nor that he was a king.)
Eorpwald, despite his father Rædwald's personal conversion and baptism before 616 and the existence of a Christian altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
in Rædwald's temple, was not himself a convert at the time of his accession in about 624. Since it is known that Rædwald's wife (who was Sigeberht's mother) did not become a Christian, Sigeberht must have received limited encouragement to convert to Christianity before being sent to Gaul
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
and remaining there as an exile for many years during the lifetime of Eorpwald, "while fleeing from the enmity of Rædwald", as Bede reports. His exile supports the stepson theory, if Rædwald was protecting Eorpwald's succession against a possible claim by a son who was not of the Wuffing line.
Whilst living in Gaul as an exile, Sigeberht was converted and baptized and became a devout Christian and a man of learning. He was strongly impressed by the religious institutions and schools for the study of reading and writing which he found during his long exile.
Accession
After an interregnum prompted by Eorpwald's assassination, Sigeberht returned from Gaul to become ruler of the East Angles. It is likely that he gained the kingdom by military means, because his prowess as a commander was later remembered. During his reign, part of the kingdom was governed by Ecgric his 'kinsman', a relationship described by the Latin term cognatus. This may mean that Ecgric was a son of Rædwald. However, the historian Steven Plunkett is amongst those that consider Ecgric to be the same person as Æthelric, named in the East Anglian tally (in the Anglian collectionAnglian 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...
) as a son of Eni
Eni of East Anglia
Eni or Ennius was a member of the Wuffing family, the ruling dynasty of the Kingdom of East Anglia. He was the son of Tyttla and brother of Raedwald, both kings of East Anglia.There is no historical evidence that Eni ever ruled the East Angles himself...
, Rædwald's brother. Whoever the pagan Ecgric was, Sigeberht had equal or senior power while he ruled, because the influence of his religious patronage was felt throughout his kingdom.
Sigeberht's Christian conversion may have been a decisive factor in his achieving royal power, since at that time Edwin of Northumbria
Edwin of Northumbria
Edwin , also known as Eadwine or Æduini, was the King of Deira and Bernicia – which later became known as Northumbria – from about 616 until his death. He converted to Christianity and was baptised in 627; after he fell at the Battle of Hatfield Chase, he was venerated as a saint.Edwin was the son...
(616–632 or 633) was the senior English king and only he and Eadbald
Eadbald of Kent
Eadbald was King of Kent from 616 until his death in 640. He was the son of King Æthelberht and his wife Bertha, a daughter of the Merovingian king Charibert. Æthelberht made Kent the dominant force in England during his reign and became the first Anglo-Saxon king to convert to Christianity from...
, who ruled Kent, were Christian. Eadbald certainly had contacts with the Frankish rulers. After Dagobert
Dagobert I
Dagobert I was the king of Austrasia , king of all the Franks , and king of Neustria and Burgundy . He was the last Merovingian dynast to wield any real royal power...
succeeded Clothar II
Clotaire II
Chlothar II , called the Great or the Young , King of Neustria, and, from 613 to 629, King of all the Franks, was not yet born when his father, King Chilperic I died in 584...
in Francia in 628, Sigeberht's emergence helped to strengthen the English conversion upon which Edwin's power rested. Sigeberht is likely to have encouraged the conversion of Ecgric, if he was not already Christian. Edwin's encouragement took shape in the marriage of his grand-niece Hereswitha
Hereswitha
Hereswitha or Hereswyde , also spelt Hereswithe or Haeresvid, was a 7th century Northumbrian saint. She married into the East Anglian royal dynasty and afterwards retired to Gaul to lead a religious life...
, sister of Hilda of Whitby
Hilda of Whitby
Hilda of Whitby or Hild of Whitby was a Christian saint and the founding abbess of the monastery at Whitby, which was chosen as the venue for the Synod of Whitby...
, to Æthelric, Rædwald's nephew. Hereswith and Hilda were under Edwin's protection and were baptised with him in 626.
Foundation of the East Anglian bishopric
Bede relates that the East Anglian apostle Saint FelixFelix of Burgundy
Felix of Burgundy, also known as Felix of Dunwich , was a saint and the first bishop of the East Angles. He is widely credited as the man who introduced Christianity to the kingdom of East Anglia...
came to England from Burgundy as a missionary bishop and was sent by Saint Honorius
Saint Honorius
Honorius was a member of the Gregorian mission to Christianize the Anglo-Saxons from their native Anglo-Saxon paganism in 597 AD who later became Archbishop of Canterbury. During his archiepiscopate, he consecrated the first native English bishop of Rochester as well as helping the missionary...
, Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
, to assist in establishing Christianity in Sigeberht's kingdom. William of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. C. Warren Hollister so ranks him among the most talented generation of writers of history since Bede, "a gifted historical scholar and an omnivorous reader, impressively well versed in the literature of classical,...
had the later story that Felix accompanied Sigeberht to East Anglia. In either case, this dates Sigeberht's accession to c. 629–630, because Felix was bishop for seventeen years, his successor Thomas
Thomas (bishop)
Thomas was a medieval Bishop of the East Angles.He was consecrated between 647 and 648. He died between 652 and 653. He was bishop for five years.-See also:*Bishop of Dunwich*Bishop of Elmham*Bishop of Thetford*Bishop of Norwich-External links:*...
for five and Thomas' successor Berhtgisl Boniface
Brigilsus
Brigilsus was a medieval Bishop of the East Angles.He was consecrated between 652 and 653. He died about 669 or 670. He was consecrated by Archbishop Honorius of Canterbury.-See also:...
for seventeen – and Berhtgisl died in around 669. Sigeberht established the bishop's seat of his kingdom for Felix at Dommoc
Dommoc
Dommoc, a place not certainly identified but probably within the modern county of Suffolk, was the original seat of the Anglo-Saxon bishops of the Kingdom of East Anglia. It was established by Sigeberht of East Anglia for Saint Felix in c. 629–31 It remained the bishopric of all East Anglia...
, claimed variously for Dunwich
Dunwich
Dunwich is a small town in Suffolk, England, within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths AONB.Dunwich was the capital of East Anglia 1500 years ago but the harbour and most of the town have since disappeared due to coastal erosion. Its decline began in 1286 when a sea surge hit the East Anglian coast, and...
or Walton
Walton, Suffolk
Walton is a small village in Suffolk, between the rivers Orwell and Deben. It is often confused as being part of Felixstowe, although it is a separate village and is mentioned in the Domesday Book...
, Felixstowe
Felixstowe
Felixstowe is a seaside town on the North Sea coast of Suffolk, England. The town gives its name to the nearby Port of Felixstowe, which is the largest container port in the United Kingdom and is owned by Hutchinson Ports UK...
(both coastal sites in Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
). If the seat was at Walton (as Rochester claimed during the 13th century), the site of Dommoc may have been within the precinct of a Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
fort which formerly stood there.
Foundation of the East Anglian school
Sigeberht secured the future of the Church in East Anglia when he established a school in his kingdom so that boys could be taught reading and writing in Latin, on the model that he had witnessed in Gaul. Felix assisted him by obtaining teachers of the kind who taught in KentKingdom of Kent
The Kingdom of Kent was a Jutish colony and later independent kingdom in what is now south east England. It was founded at an unknown date in the 5th century by Jutes, members of a Germanic people from continental Europe, some of whom settled in Britain after the withdrawal of the Romans...
. According to the Life of Gregory the Great, Paulinus of York
Paulinus of York
Paulinus 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 England by 604 with the second missionary group...
, who from 633 to 644 was the Bishop of Rochester
Diocese of Rochester
The Diocese of Rochester is a Church of England diocese in South-East England and forms part of the Province of Canterbury. It is an ancient diocese, having been established in 604; only the neighbouring Diocese of Canterbury is older in the Church of England....
in northern Kent, had been connected with Rædwald's court during the exile of Edwin.
Foundation of Cnobheresburg
The allegiance of Felix to CanterburyProvince of Canterbury
The Province of Canterbury, also called the Southern Province, is one of two ecclesiastical provinces making up the Church of England...
determined the Roman basis of the East Anglian Church, influenced along continental lines, though Felix's training in Burgundy may have been coloured by the teaching of the Irish missionary Saint Columbanus
Columbanus
Columbanus was an Irish missionary notable for founding a number of monasteries on the European continent from around 590 in the Frankish and Lombard kingdoms, most notably Luxeuil and Bobbio , and stands as an exemplar of Irish missionary activity in early medieval Europe.He spread among the...
in Luxeuil
Luxeuil-les-Bains
Luxeuil-les-Bains is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Franche-Comté in eastern France.-History:Luxeuil was the Roman Luxovium and contained many fine buildings at the time of its destruction by the Huns under Attila in 451...
. In around 633, perhaps shortly before Saint Aidan
Aidan of Lindisfarne
Known as Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne, Aidan the Apostle of Northumbria , was the founder and first bishop of the monastery on the island of Lindisfarne in England. A Christian missionary, he is credited with restoring Christianity to Northumbria. Aidan is the Anglicised form of the original Old...
was sent to Lindisfarne
Lindisfarne
Lindisfarne is a tidal island off the north-east coast of England. It is also known as Holy Island and constitutes a civil parish in Northumberland...
from Iona
Iona
Iona is a small island in the Inner Hebrides off the western coast of Scotland. It was a centre of Irish monasticism for four centuries and is today renowned for its tranquility and natural beauty. It is a popular tourist destination and a place for retreats...
, the Irish royal hermit and missionary Saint Fursey
Saint Fursey
Saint Fursey was an Irish monk who did much to establish Christianity throughout the British Isles and particularly in East Anglia...
came to East Anglia from the Athlone area, along with his priests and brethren. Sigeberht granted him a monastery site in an old Roman fort called Cnobheresburg, usually identified as Burgh Castle
Burgh Castle
Burgh Castle is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the east bank of the River Waveney, near Great Yarmouth, some 6 km west of Great Yarmouth and within the Broads National Park.-Roman Fort:...
, near Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a coastal town in Norfolk, England. It is at the mouth of the River Yare, east of Norwich.It has been a seaside resort since 1760, and is the gateway from the Norfolk Broads to the sea...
. Felix and Fursey both effected a large number of conversions and established many churches in Sigeberht's kingdom. Bede records that Archbishop Honorius and Bishop Felix much admired the work of Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne and it is therefore likely that they also appreciated the tasks accomplished by Saint Fursey, whose community also lived according to the ascetic principles of Irish Christianity
Celtic Christianity
Celtic Christianity or Insular Christianity refers broadly to certain features of Christianity that were common, or held to be common, across the Celtic-speaking world during the Early Middle Ages...
.
Abdication and martyrdom
At some point during his reign, Sigeberht abdicated his power to Ecgric and retired to lead a religious life within a monastery he had built for his own use. Bede does not name the location of Sigeberht's monastery, but later sources name it as Beodricesworth, afterwards called Bury St Edmunds. If that identification is accepted, the likely site was in the original precinct of the mediaeval abbey at Bury St Edmunds, probably the 'worth' or curtilageCurtilage
The curtilage is an important legal term to define the land immediately surrounding a house or dwelling, including any closely associated buildings and structures, but excluding any associated 'open fields beyond'. It defines the boundary within which a home owner can have a reasonable expectation...
of Beodric after whom the place was originally named. The site occupied a strong position on the upper reaches of the Lark valley
River Lark
The River Lark is a river in England, which crosses the border between Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. It is a tributary of the River Great Ouse, and was extended when that river was re-routed as part of drainage improvements. It is thought to have been used for navigation since Roman times, and...
, which drains north-west into the Great Fen
Fen
A fen is a type of wetland fed by mineral-rich surface water or groundwater. Fens are characterised by their water chemistry, which is neutral or alkaline, with relatively high dissolved mineral levels but few other plant nutrients...
through important early settlements at Icklingham
Icklingham
Icklingham is a village in Suffolk, England.It takes its name from an Iron Age tribe, the Iceni, who lived in the area and has the remains of a Roman settlement to the South...
, Culford
Culford
Culford is a small village about north of Bury St Edmunds in the English county of Suffolk. The villageis based around a straight road called "The Street" and there are also some smaller residential areas in Culford, like Benyon gardens, a complex of small lanes...
, West Stow
West Stow
West Stow is a small parish in West Suffolk, England.The village lies north of Bury St. Edmunds, south of Mildenhall and Thetford and west of the villages of Culford and Ingham in the area known as the Breckland.This area is located near the Lark River Valley and populated from AD 420-650.it is...
and others. This was a line of access towards Ely
Ely, Cambridgeshire
Ely is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England, 14 miles north-northeast of Cambridge and about by road from London. It is built on a Lower Greensand island, which at a maximum elevation of is the highest land in the Fens...
, where a foundation of Saint Augustine
Augustine of Canterbury
Augustine of Canterbury was a Benedictine monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597...
may already have existed, and towards Soham
Soham
Soham is a small town in the English county of Cambridgeshire. It lies just off the A142 between Ely and Newmarket . Its population is 9,102 , and it is within the district of East Cambridgeshire.-Archaeology:...
, where Saint Felix is thought to have founded a monastery.
At an unknown date, which may have been in the early 640s, East Anglia was attacked by a Mercian army and Ecgric was obliged to defend it with a much smaller force, though one that was not negligible. The East Angles appealed to Sigeberht to leave his monastery and lead them in battle, hoping that his presence and the memory of his former military exploits would encourage the army and make them less likely to flee. Sigeberht refused, saying that he had renounced his worldly kingdom and now lived only for the heavenly kingdom. However, he was dragged from the monastery to the battlefield where, unwilling to bear arms, he went into battle carrying only a staff. The Mercians were victorious and Sigeberht, Ecgric and many of the East Angles were slain and their army was routed. In this way Sigeberht became a Christian martyr. He is among the names of the kings who according to an ancient saying, were avenged by the slaying of Penda in 654.
The Church that Sigeberht had done so much to establish in East Anglia survived for two centuries, enduring 'evil times' (such as the period when the kingdom was under attack by the armies of Penda of Mercia
Penda of Mercia
Penda was a 7th-century King of Mercia, the Anglo-Saxon kingdom in what is today the English Midlands. A pagan at a time when Christianity was taking hold in many of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, Penda took over the Severn Valley in 628 following the Battle of Cirencester before participating in the...
). It lasted continuously under a succession of bishops until the Danish Great Heathen Army
Great Heathen Army
The Great Heathen Army, also known as the Great Army or the Great Danish Army, was a Viking army originating in Denmark which pillaged and conquered much of England in the late 9th century...
invaded East Anglia in the 860s.
Lives of the English Saints, written by John Henry Newman in 1843, is amongst the texts that gives Sigeberht's feast day as being observed on 29 October.
See also
- Wuffing dynasty family treeWuffingThe Wuffingas were the ruling dynasty of the kingdom 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. It has been argued that the Wuffingas may have originated...
- For more information on Ecgric's Wuffing identity, see the family trees in Ecgric of East Anglia.
Further reading
- A poem written in 1879 by
- A. Williams, A.P. Smyth and D.P. Kirkby (1991), A Biographical Dictionary of Dark Age Britain (Seaby 1991). ISBN 1-85264-047-2.