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Birth:           560 
Death:          24 Feb  616 Canterbury, England

Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86thelberht_of_Kent
Æthelberht (/'æ??lb?rt/; also Æthelbert, Aethelberht, Aethelbert, or Ethelbert, Old 
English Æðelberht, pronounced ['æðelberxt]; c. 560 – 24 February 616) was King of 
Kent from about 589 until his death. The eighth-century monk Bede, in his 
Ecclesiastical History of the English People, lists him as the third king to hold imperium 
over other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. In the late ninth century Anglo-Saxon Chronicle he 
is referred to as a bretwalda, or "Britain-ruler". He was the first English king to convert 
to Christianity.

Æthelberht was the son of Eormenric, succeeding him as king, according to the 
Chronicle. He married Bertha, the Christian daughter of Charibert, king of the Franks, 
thus building an alliance with the most powerful state in contemporary Western 
Europe; the marriage probably took place before he came to the throne. Bertha's 
influence may have led to Pope Gregory I's decision to send Augustine as a missionary 
from Rome. Augustine landed on the Isle of Thanet in east Kent in 597. Shortly 
thereafter, Æthelberht converted to Christianity, churches were established, and 
wider-scale conversion to Christianity began in the kingdom. He provided the new 
church with land in Canterbury, thus establishing one of the foundation stones of what 
ultimately became the Anglican Communion.

Æthelberht's law for Kent, the earliest written code in any Germanic language, 
instituted a complex system of fines; the law code is preserved in the Textus 
Roffensis. Kent was rich, with strong trade ties to the continent, and he may have 
instituted royal control over trade. Coinage probably began circulating in Kent during 
his reign for the first time since the Anglo-Saxon invasion. He later came to be 
regarded as a saint for his role in establishing Christianity among the Anglo-Saxons. 
His feast day was originally 24 February, but was changed to 25 February.
Historical context[edit]

In the fifth century, raids on Britain by continental peoples had developed into full-
scale migrations. The newcomers are known to have included Angles, Saxons, Jutes, 
and Frisians, and there is evidence of other groups as well. These groups captured 
territory in the east and south of England, but at about the end of the fifth century, a 
British victory at the battle of Mount Badon (Mons Badonicus) halted the Anglo-Saxon 
advance for fifty years.[1][2] From about 550, however, the British began to lose 
ground once more, and within twenty-five years it appears that control of almost all of 
southern England was in the hands of the invaders.[3]

Anglo-Saxons probably conquered Kent before Mons Badonicus. There is both 
documentary and archaeological evidence that Kent was primarily colonized by Jutes, 
from the southern part of the Jutland peninsula.[4] According to legend, the brothers 
Hengist and Horsa landed in 449 as mercenaries for a British king, Vortigern. After a 
rebellion over pay and Horsa's death in battle, Hengist established the Kingdom of 
Kent.[5] Some historians now think the underlying story of a rebelling mercenary force 
may be accurate; most now date the founding of the kingdom of Kent to the middle of 
the fifth-century, which is consistent with the legend.[note 1] This early date, only a 
few decades after the departure of the Romans, also suggests that more of Roman 
civilization may have survived into Anglo-Saxon rule in Kent than in other areas.[8]

Overlordship was a central feature of Anglo-Saxon politics which began before 
Æthelberht's time; kings were described as overlords as late as the ninth century. The 
Anglo-Saxon invasion may have involved military coordination of different groups 
within the invaders, with a leader who had authority over many different groups; Ælle 
of Sussex may have been such a leader.[9] Once the new states began to form, 
conflicts among them began. Tribute from dependents could lead to wealth.[10] A 
weaker state also might ask or pay for the protection of a stronger neighbour against a 
warlike third state.[11]

Sources for this period in Kentish history include the Ecclesiastical History of the 
English People, written in 731 by Bede, a Northumbrian monk. Bede was interested 
primarily in England's Christianization. Since Æthelberht was the first Anglo-Saxon king 
to convert to Christianity, Bede provides more substantial information about him than 
about any earlier king. One of Bede's correspondents was Albinus, abbot of the 
monastery of St. Peter and St. Paul (subsequently renamed St. Augustine's) in 
Canterbury. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a collection of annals assembled c. 890 in 
the kingdom of Wessex, mentions several events in Kent during Æthelberht's reign.
[12] Further mention of events in Kent occurs in the late sixth century history of the 
Franks by Gregory of Tours. This is the earliest surviving source to mention any 
Anglo-Saxon kingdom.[13] Some of Pope Gregory the Great's letters concern the 
mission of St. Augustine to Kent in 597; these letters also mention the state of Kent 
and its relationships with neighbours. Other sources include regnal lists of the kings of 
Kent and early charters (land grants by kings to their followers or to the church). 
Although no originals survive from Æthelberht's reign, later copies exist. A law code 
from Æthelberht's reign also survives.[12]
Ancestry, accession and chronology[edit]

According to Bede, Æthelberht was descended directly from Hengist. Bede gives the 
line of descent as follows: "Ethelbert was son of Irminric, son of Octa, and after his 
grandfather Oeric, surnamed Oisc, the kings of the Kentish folk are commonly known 
as Oiscings. The father of Oeric was Hengist."[14] An alternative form of this 
genealogy, found in the Historia Brittonum among other places, reverses the position 
of Octa and Oisc in the lineage.[4] The first of these names that can be placed 
historically with reasonable confidence is Æthelberht's father, whose name now 
usually is spelled Eormenric. The only direct written reference to Eormenric is in 
Kentish genealogies, but Gregory of Tours does mention that Æthelberht's father was 
the king of Kent, though Gregory gives no date. Eormenric's name provides a hint of 
connections to the kingdom of the Franks, across the English channel; the element 
"Eormen" was rare in names of the Anglo-Saxon aristocracy, but much more common 
among Frankish nobles.[15] One other member of Æthelberht's family is known: his 
sister, Ricole, who is recorded by both Bede and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as the 
mother of Sæberht, king of the East Saxons (i.e. Essex).[5][16]

The dates of Æthelberht's birth and accession to the throne of Kent are both matters 
of debate. Bede, the earliest source to give dates, is thought to have drawn his 
information from correspondence with Albinus. Bede states that when Æthelberht died 
in 616 he had reigned for fifty-six years, placing his accession in 560. Bede also says 
that Æthelberht died twenty-one years after his baptism. Augustine’s mission from 
Rome is known to have arrived in 597, and according to Bede, it was this mission that 
converted Æthelberht.[17] Hence Bede’s dates are inconsistent. The Anglo-Saxon 
Chronicle, an important source for early dates, is inconsistent with Bede and also has 
inconsistencies among different manuscript versions. Putting together the different 
dates in the Chronicle for birth, death, and length of reign, it appears that Æthelberht's 
reign was thought to have been either 560–616, or 565–618, but that the surviving 
sources have confused the two traditions.[18]

It is possible that Æthelberht was converted to Christianity before Augustine's arrival. 
Æthelberht's wife was a Christian and brought a Frankish bishop with her, to attend 
her at court, so Æthelberht would have had knowledge of Christianity before the 
mission reached Kent. It also is possible that Bede had the date of Æthelberht's death 
wrong; if, in fact, Æthelberht died in 618, this would be consistent with his baptism in 
597, which is in accord with the tradition that Augustine converted the king within a 
year of his arrival.[18]

Gregory of Tours, in his Historia Francorum, writes that Bertha, daughter of Charibert, 
king of the Franks, married the son of the king of Kent. Bede says that Æthelberht 
received Bertha "from her parents". If Bede is interpreted literally, the marriage would 
have had to take place before 567, when Charibert died. The traditions for 
Æthelberht's reign, then, would imply that Æthelberht married Bertha before either 560 
or 565.[17][18]

The extreme length of Æthelberht's reign also has been regarded with skepticism by 
historians; it has been suggested that he died in the fifty-sixth year of his life, rather 
than the fifty-sixth year of his reign. This would place the year of his birth 
approximately at 560, and he would not then have been able to marry until the mid 
570s. According to Gregory of Tours, Charibert was king when he married Ingoberg, 
Bertha's mother, which places that marriage no earlier than 561. It therefore is unlikely 
that Bertha was married much before about 580. These later dates for Bertha and 
Æthelberht also solve another possible problem: Æthelberht's daughter, Æthelburh, 
seems likely to have been Bertha's child, but the earlier dates would have Bertha 
aged sixty or so at Æthelburh's likely birthdate using the early dates.[18]

Gregory, however, also says that he thinks that Ingoberg was seventy years old in 
589; and this would make her about forty when she married Charibert. This is possible, 
but seems unlikely, especially as Charibert seems to have had a preference for 
younger women, again according to Gregory's account. This would imply an earlier 
birth date for Bertha. On the other hand, Gregory refers to Æthelberht at the time of 
his marriage to Bertha simply as "a man of Kent", and in the 589 passage concerning 
Ingoberg's death, which was written in about 590 or 591, he refers to Æthelberht as 
"the son of the king of Kent". If this does not simply reflect Gregory's ignorance of 
Kentish affairs, which seems unlikely given the close ties between Kent and the 
Franks, then some assert that Æthelberht's reign cannot have begun before 589.[18]
[19]

While all of the contradictions above cannot be reconciled, the most probable dates 
that may be drawn from available data place Æthelberht's birth at approximately 560 
and, perhaps, his marriage to Bertha at 580. His reign is most likely to have begun in 
589 or 590.[18]
***
Death and succession[edit]

Æthelberht died on 24 February 616 and was succeeded by his son, Eadbald, who 
was not a Christian—Bede says he had been converted but went back to his pagan 
faith,[42] although he ultimately did become a Christian king.[52] Eadbald outraged 
the church by marrying his stepmother, which was contrary to Church law, and by 
refusing to accept baptism.[14] Sæberht of the East Saxons also died at approximately 
this time, and he was succeeded by his three sons, none of whom were Christian. A 
subsequent revolt against Christianity and the expulsion of the missionaries from Kent 
may have been a reaction to Kentish overlordship after Æthelberht's death as much as 
a pagan opposition to Christianity.[53]

In addition to Eadbald, it is possible that Æthelberht had another son, Æthelwald. The 
evidence for this is a papal letter to Justus, archbishop of Canterbury from 619 to 625, 
that refers to a king named Aduluald, who is apparently different from Audubald, which 
refers to Eadbald. There is no agreement among modern scholars on how to interpret 
this: "Aduluald" might be intended as a representation of "Æthelwald", and hence an 
indication of another king, perhaps a sub-king of west Kent;[54] or it may be merely a 
scribal error which should be read as referring to Eadbald.[55]

Liturgical celebration[edit]

Æthelberht was later regarded as a saint for his role in establishing Christianity among 
the Anglo-Saxons. His feast day was originally 24 February but was changed to 25 
February.[56] In the 2004 edition of the Roman Martyrology, he is listed under his date 
of death, 24 February, with the citation: 'King of Kent, converted by St Augustine, 
bishop, the first leader of the English people to do so'.[57] The Roman Catholic 
Archdiocese of Southwark, which contains Kent, commemorates him on 25 February.
[58] He is honoured together with his wife Bertha on the liturgical calendar of The 
Episcopal Church on 27 May.[59]

Parents
____ Eormenric (ABT  535 - )
----- ----- ()

Siblings
____ Ethelbert I ( 560 - 24 Feb  616)

Marriage To OF PARIS Bertha (ABT  565 - BEF  616)
    m.  586 

Notes
date of 566 is too early. Try 586

Parents
____ Charibert (ABT  517 - Dec  567)
____ Ingoberga (ABT  520 - )

Children by OF PARIS Bertha ABT  565 - BEF  616
____ Eadbald (ABT  590 -  640)

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