Chapter XVII: Book II: Chap. I. Of the death of the blessed Pope Gregory.(143) 604 A.D (2)

On that same holy Easter night, the queen had brought forth to the king a daughter, called Eanfled. The king, in the presence of Bishop Paulinus, gave thanks to his gods for the birth of his daughter; and the bishop, on his part, began to give thanks to Christ, and to tell the king, that by his prayers to Him he had obtained that the queen should bring forth the child in safety, and without grievous pain. The king, delighted with his words, promised, that if God would grant him life and victory over the king by whom the murderer who had wounded him had been sent, he would renounce his idols, and serve Christ; and as a pledge that he would perform his promise, he delivered up that same daughter to Bishop Paulinus, to be consecrated to Christ. She was the first to be baptized of the nation of the Northumbrians, and she received Baptism on the holy day of Pentecost, along with eleven others of her house.(216) At that time, the king, being recovered of the wound which he had received, raised an army and marched against the nation of the West-Saxons; and engaging in war, either slew or received in surrender all those of whom he learned that they had conspired to murder him. So he returned victorious into his own country, but he would not immediately and unadvisedly embrace the mysteries of the Christian faith, though he no longer worshipped idols, ever since he made the promise that he would serve Christ; but first took heed earnestly to be instructed at leisure by the venerable Paulinus, in the knowledge of faith, and to confer with such as he knew to be the wisest of his chief men, inquiring what they thought was fittest to be done in that case. And being a man of great natural sagacity, he often sat alone by himself a long time in silence, deliberating in the depths of his heart how he should proceed, and to which religion he should adhere.

Chap. X. How Pope Boniface, by letter, exhorted the same king to embrace the faith. [_Circ._ 625 A.D.]

At this time he received a letter from Pope Boniface(217) exhorting him to embrace the faith, which was as follows:

COPY OF THE LETTER OF THE MOST BLESSED AND APOSTOLIC POPE OF THE
CHURCH OF THE CITY OF ROME, BONIFACE, ADDRESSED TO THE ILLUSTRIOUS
EDWIN, KING OF THE ENGLISH.

“_To the illustrious Edwin, king of the English, Bishop Boniface,
the servant of the servants of God._ Although the power of the
Supreme Deity cannot be expressed by the function of human speech,
seeing that, by its own greatness, it so consists in invisible and
unsearchable eternity, that no keenness of wit can comprehend or
express how great it is; yet inasmuch as His Humanity, having
opened the doors of the heart to receive Himself, mercifully, by
secret inspiration, puts into the minds of men such things as It
reveals concerning Itself,(218) we have thought fit to extend our
episcopal care so far as to make known to you the fulness of the
Christian faith; to the end that, bringing to your knowledge the
Gospel of Christ, which our Saviour commanded should be preached
to all nations, we might offer to you the cup of the means of
salvation.(219)

“Thus the goodness of the Supreme Majesty, which, by the word
alone of His command, made and created all things, the heaven, the
earth, the sea, and all that in them is, disposing the order by
which they should subsist, hath, ordaining all things, with the
counsel of His co-eternal Word, and the unity of the Holy Spirit,
made man after His own image and likeness, forming him out of the
mire of the earth; and granted him such high privilege of
distinction, as to place him above all else; so that, preserving
the bounds of the law of his being, his substance should be
established to eternity. This God,—Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
the undivided Trinity,—from the east unto the west, through faith
by confession to the saving of their souls, men worship and adore
as the Creator of all things, and their own Maker; to Whom also
the heights of empire and the powers of the world are subject,
because the pre-eminence of all kingdoms is granted by His
disposition. It hath pleased Him, therefore, in the mercy of His
loving kindness, and for the greater benefit of all His
creatures,(220) by the fire of His Holy Spirit wonderfully to
kindle the cold hearts even of the nations seated at the
extremities of the earth in the knowledge of Himself.

“For we suppose, since the two countries are near together, that
your Highness has fully understood what the clemency of our
Redeemer has effected in the enlightenment of our illustrious son,
King Eadbald, and the nations under his rule; we therefore trust,
with assured confidence that, through the long-suffering of
Heaven, His wonderful gift will be also conferred on you; since,
indeed, we have learnt that your illustrious consort, who is
discerned to be one flesh with you, has been blessed with the
reward of eternity, through the regeneration of Holy Baptism. We
have, therefore, taken care by this letter, with all the goodwill
of heartfelt love, to exhort your Highness, that, abhorring idols
and their worship, and despising the foolishness of temples, and
the deceitful flatteries of auguries, you believe in God the
Father Almighty, and His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, to
the end that, believing and being released from the bonds of
captivity to the Devil, you may, through the co-operating power of
the Holy and undivided Trinity, be partaker of the eternal life.

“How great guilt they lie under, who adhere in their worship to
the pernicious superstition of idolatry, appears by the examples
of the perishing of those whom they worship. Wherefore it is said
of them by the Psalmist, ‘All the gods of the nations are
devils,(221) but the Lord made the heavens.’ And again, ‘Eyes have
they, but they see not; they have ears, but they hear not; noses
have they, but they smell not; they have hands, but they handle
not; feet have they, but they walk not. Therefore they are made
like unto those that place the hope of their confidence in
them.’(222) For how can they have power to help any man, that are
made out of corruptible matter, by the hands of your inferiors and
subjects, and on which, by employing human art, you have bestowed
a lifeless similitude of members? which, moreover, unless they be
moved by you, will not be able to walk; but, like a stone fixed in
one place, being so formed, and having no understanding, sunk in
insensibility, have no power of doing harm or good. We cannot,
therefore, by any manner of discernment conceive how you come to
be so deceived as to follow and worship those gods, to whom you
yourselves have given the likeness of a body.

“It behoves you, therefore, by taking upon you the sign of the
Holy Cross, by which the human race has been redeemed, to root out
of your hearts all the accursed deceitfulness of the snares of the
Devil, who is ever the jealous foe of the works of the Divine
Goodness, and to put forth your hands and with all your might set
to work to break in pieces and destroy those which you have
hitherto fashioned of wood or stone to be your gods. For the very
destruction and decay of these, which never had the breath of life
in them, nor could in any wise receive feeling from their makers,
may plainly teach you how worthless that was which you hitherto
worshipped. For you yourselves, who have received the breath of
life from the Lord, are certainly better than these which are
wrought with hands, seeing that Almighty God has appointed you to
be descended, after many ages and through many generations, from
the first man whom he formed. Draw near, then, to the knowledge of
Him Who created you, Who breathed the breath of life into you, Who
sent His only-begotten Son for your redemption, to save you from
original sin, that being delivered from the power of the Devil’s
perversity and wickedness, He might bestow on you a heavenly
reward.

“Hearken to the words of the preachers, and the Gospel of God,
which they declare to you, to the end that, believing, as has been
said before more than once, in God the Father Almighty, and in
Jesus Christ His Son, and the Holy Ghost, and the indivisible
Trinity, having put to flight the thoughts of devils, and driven
from you the temptations of the venomous and deceitful enemy, and
being born again of water and the Holy Ghost, you may, through the
aid of His bounty, dwell in the brightness of eternal glory with
Him in Whom you shall have believed.

“We have, moreover, sent you the blessing of your protector, the
blessed Peter, chief of the Apostles, to wit, a shirt of proof
with one gold ornament, and one cloak of Ancyra, which we pray
your Highness to accept with all the goodwill with which it is
sent by us.”

Chap. XI. How Pope Boniface advised the king’s consort to use her best endeavours for his salvation. [_Circ._ 625 A.D.]

The same pope also wrote to King Edwin’s consort, Ethelberg, to this effect:

THE COPY OF THE LETTER OF THE MOST BLESSED AND APOSTOLIC BONIFACE,
POPE OF THE CITY OF ROME, TO ETHELBERG, KING EDWIN’S QUEEN.

“_To the illustrious lady his daughter, Queen Ethelberg, Boniface,
bishop, servant of the servants of God._ The goodness of our
Redeemer has in His abundant Providence offered the means of
salvation to the human race, which He rescued, by the shedding of
His precious Blood, from the bonds of captivity to the Devil; to
the end that, when He had made known His name in divers ways to
the nations, they might acknowledge their Creator by embracing the
mystery of the Christian faith. And this the mystical purification
of your regeneration plainly shows to have been bestowed upon the
mind of your Highness by God’s gift. Our heart, therefore, has
greatly rejoiced in the benefit bestowed by the bounty of the
Lord, for that He has vouchsafed, in your confession, to kindle a
spark of the orthodox religion, by which He might the more easily
inflame with the love of Himself the understanding, not only of
your illustrious consort, but also of all the nation that is
subject to you.

“For we have been informed by those, who came to acquaint us with
the laudable conversion of our illustrious son, King Eadbald, that
your Highness, also, having received the wonderful mystery of the
Christian faith, continually excels in the performance of works
pious and acceptable to God; that you likewise carefully refrain
from the worship of idols, and the deceits of temples and
auguries, and with unimpaired devotion, give yourself so wholly to
the love of your Redeemer, as never to cease from lending your aid
in spreading the Christian faith. But when our fatherly love
earnestly inquired concerning your illustrious consort, we were
given to understand, that he still served abominable idols, and
delayed to yield obedience in giving ear to the voice of the
preachers. This occasioned us no small grief, that he that is one
flesh with you still remained a stranger to the knowledge of the
supreme and undivided Trinity. Whereupon we, in our fatherly care,
have not delayed to admonish and exhort your Christian Highness,
to the end that, filled with the support of the Divine
inspiration, you should not defer to strive, both in season and
out of season, that with the co-operating power of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ, your husband also may be added to the number
of Christians; that so you may uphold the rights of marriage in
the bond of a holy and unblemished union. For it is written, ‘They
twain shall be one flesh.’(223) How then can it be said, that
there is unity in the bond between you, if he continues a stranger
to the brightness of your faith, separated from it by the darkness
of detestable error?

“Wherefore, applying yourself continually to prayer, do not cease
to beg of the long-suffering of the Divine Mercy the benefits of
his illumination; to the end, that those whom the union of carnal
affection has manifestly made in a manner to be one body, may,
after this life continue in perpetual fellowship, by the unity of
faith. Persist, therefore, illustrious daughter, and to the utmost
of your power endeavour to soften the hardness of his heart by
carefully making known to him the Divine precepts; pouring into
his mind a knowledge of the greatness of that mystery which you
have received by faith, and of the marvellous reward which, by the
new birth, you have been made worthy to obtain. Inflame the
coldness of his heart by the message of the Holy Ghost, that he
may put from him the deadness of an evil worship, and the warmth
of the Divine faith may kindle his understanding through your
frequent exhortations; and so the testimony of Holy Scripture may
shine forth clearly, fulfilled by you, ‘The unbelieving husband
shall be saved by the believing wife.’(224) For to this end you
have obtained the mercy of the Lord’s goodness, that you might
restore with increase to your Redeemer the fruit of faith and of
the benefits entrusted to your hands. That you may be able to
fulfil this task, supported by the help of His loving kindness we
do not cease to implore with frequent prayers.

“Having premised thus much, in pursuance of the duty of our
fatherly affection, we exhort you, that when the opportunity of a
bearer shall offer, you will with all speed comfort us with the
glad tidings of the wonderful work which the heavenly Power shall
vouchsafe to perform by your means in the conversion(225) of your
consort, and of the nation subject to you; to the end, that our
solicitude, which earnestly awaits the fulfilment of its desire in
the soul’s salvation of you and yours, may, by hearing from you,
be set at rest; and that we, discerning more fully the light of
the Divine propitiation shed abroad in you, may with a joyful
confession abundantly return due thanks to God, the Giver of all
good things, and to the blessed Peter, the chief of the Apostles.

“We have, moreover, sent you the blessing of your protector, the
blessed Peter, the chief of the Apostles, to wit, a silver
looking-glass, and a gilded ivory comb, which we pray your
Highness to accept with all the goodwill with which it is sent by
us.”

Chap. XII. How Edwin was persuaded to believe by a vision which he had once seen when he was in exile. [_Circ._ 616 A.D.]

Thus wrote the aforesaid Pope Boniface for the salvation of King Edwin and his nation. But a heavenly vision, which the Divine Goodness was pleased once to reveal to this king, when he was in banishment at the court of Redwald, king of the Angles,(226) was of no little use in urging him to receive and understand the doctrines of salvation. For when Paulinus perceived that it was a difficult task to incline the king’s proud mind to the humility of the way of salvation and the reception of the mystery of the life-giving Cross, and at the same time was employing the word of exhortation with men, and prayer to the Divine Goodness, for the salvation of Edwin and his subjects; at length, as we may suppose, it was shown him in spirit what the nature of the vision was that had been formerly revealed from Heaven to the king. Then he lost no time, but immediately admonished the king to perform the vow which he had made, when he received the vision, promising to fulfil it, if he should be delivered from the troubles of that time, and advanced to the throne.

The vision was this. When Ethelfrid,(227) his predecessor, was persecuting him, he wandered for many years as an exile, hiding in divers places and kingdoms, and at last came to Redwald, beseeching him to give him protection against the snares of his powerful persecutor. Redwald willingly received him, and promised to perform what was asked of him. But when Ethelfrid understood that he had appeared in that province, and that he and his companions were hospitably entertained by Redwald, he sent messengers to bribe that king with a great sum of money to murder him, but without effect. He sent a second and a third time, offering a greater bribe each time, and, moreover, threatening to make war on him if his offer should be despised. Redwald, whether terrified by his threats, or won over by his gifts, complied with this request, and promised either to kill Edwin, or to deliver him up to the envoys. A faithful friend of his, hearing of this, went into his chamber, where he was going to bed, for it was the first hour of the night; and calling him out, told him what the king had promised to do with him, adding, “If, therefore, you are willing, I will this very hour conduct you out of this province, and lead you to a place where neither Redwald nor Ethelfrid shall ever find you.” He answered, “I thank you for your good will, yet I cannot do what you propose, and be guilty of being the first to break the compact I have made with so great a king, when he has done me no harm, nor shown any enmity to me; but, on the contrary, if I must die, let it rather be by his hand than by that of any meaner man. For whither shall I now fly, when I have for so many long years been a vagabond through all the provinces of Britain, to escape the snares of my enemies?” His friend went away; Edwin remained alone without, and sitting with a heavy heart before the palace, began to be overwhelmed with many thoughts, not knowing what to do, or which way to turn.

When he had remained a long time in silent anguish of mind, consumed with inward fire,(228) on a sudden in the stillness of the dead of night he saw approaching a person, whose face and habit were strange to him, at sight of whom, seeing that he was unknown and unlooked for, he was not a little startled. The stranger coming close up, saluted him, and asked why he sat there in solitude on a stone troubled and wakeful at that time, when all others were taking their rest, and were fast asleep. Edwin, in his turn, asked, what it was to him, whether he spent the night within doors or abroad. The stranger, in reply, said, “Do not think that I am ignorant of the cause of your grief, your watching, and sitting alone without. For I know of a surety who you are, and why you grieve, and the evils which you fear will soon fall upon you. But tell me, what reward you would give the man who should deliver you out of these troubles, and persuade Redwald neither to do you any harm himself, nor to deliver you up to be murdered by your enemies.” Edwin replied, that he would give such an one all that he could in return for so great a benefit. The other further added, “What if he should also assure you, that your enemies should be destroyed, and you should be a king surpassing in power, not only all your own ancestors, but even all that have reigned before you in the English nation?” Edwin, encouraged by these questions, did not hesitate to promise that he would make a fitting return to him who should confer such benefits upon him. Then the other spoke a third time and said, “But if he who should truly foretell that all these great blessings are about to befall you, could also give you better and more profitable counsel for your life and salvation than any of your fathers or kindred ever heard, do you consent to submit to him, and to follow his wholesome guidance?” Edwin at once promised that he would in all things follow the teaching of that man who should deliver him from so many great calamities, and raise him to a throne.

Having received this answer, the man who talked to him laid his right hand on his head saying, “When this sign shall be given you, remember this present discourse that has passed between us, and do not delay the performance of what you now promise.” Having uttered these words, he is said to have immediately vanished. So the king perceived that it was not a man, but a spirit, that had appeared to him.

Whilst the royal youth still sat there alone, glad of the comfort he had received, but still troubled and earnestly pondering who he was, and whence he came, that had so talked to him, his aforesaid friend came to him, and greeting him with a glad countenance, “Rise,” said he, “go in; calm and put away your anxious cares, and compose yourself in body and mind to sleep; for the king’s resolution is altered, and he designs to do you no harm, but rather to keep his pledged faith; for when he had privately made known to the queen his intention of doing what I told you before, she dissuaded him from it, reminding him that it was altogether unworthy of so great a king to sell his good friend in such distress for gold, and to sacrifice his honour, which is more valuable than all other adornments, for the love of money.” In short, the king did as has been said, and not only refused to deliver up the banished man to his enemy’s messengers, but helped him to recover his kingdom. For as soon as the messengers had returned home, he raised a mighty army to subdue Ethelfrid; who, meeting him with much inferior forces, (for Redwald had not given him time to gather and unite all his power,) was slain on the borders of the kingdom of Mercia, on the east side of the river that is called Idle.(229) In this battle, Redwald’s son, called Raegenheri, was killed. Thus Edwin, in accordance with the prophecy he had received, not only escaped the danger from his enemy, but, by his death, succeeded the king on the throne.

King Edwin, therefore, delaying to receive the Word of God at the preaching of Paulinus, and being wont for some time, as has been said, to sit many hours alone, and seriously to ponder with himself what he was to do, and what religion he was to follow, the man of God came to him one day, laid his right hand on his head, and asked, whether he knew that sign? The king, trembling, was ready to fall down at his feet, but he raised him up, and speaking to him with the voice of a friend, said, “Behold, by the gift of God you have escaped the hands of the enemies whom you feared. Behold, you have obtained of His bounty the kingdom which you desired. Take heed not to delay to perform your third promise; accept the faith, and keep the precepts of Him Who, delivering you from temporal adversity, has raised you to the honour of a temporal kingdom; and if, from this time forward, you shall be obedient to His will, which through me He signifies to you, He will also deliver you from the everlasting torments of the wicked, and make you partaker with Him of His eternal kingdom in heaven.”

Chap. XIII. Of the Council he held with his chief men concerning their reception of the faith of Christ, and how the high priest profaned his own altars. [627 A.D.]

The king, hearing these words, answered, that he was both willing and bound to receive the faith which Paulinus taught; but that he would confer about it with his chief friends and counsellors, to the end that if they also were of his opinion, they might all together be consecrated to Christ in the font of life. Paulinus consenting, the king did as he said; for, holding a council with the wise men,(230) he asked of every one in particular what he thought of this doctrine hitherto unknown to them, and the new worship of God that was preached? The chief of his own priests, Coifi, immediately answered him, “O king, consider what this is which is now preached to us; for I verily declare to you what I have learnt beyond doubt, that the religion which we have hitherto professed has no virtue in it and no profit. For none of your people has applied himself more diligently to the worship of our gods than I; and yet there are many who receive greater favours from you, and are more preferred than I, and are more prosperous in all that they undertake to do or to get. Now if the gods were good for any thing, they would rather forward me, who have been careful to serve them with greater zeal. It remains, therefore, that if upon examination you find those new doctrines, which are now preached to us, better and more efficacious, we hasten to receive them without any delay.”

Another of the king’s chief men, approving of his wise words and exhortations, added thereafter: “The present life of man upon earth, O king, seems to me, in comparison with that time which is unknown to us, like to the swift flight of a sparrow through the house wherein you sit at supper in winter, with your ealdormen and thegns, while the fire blazes in the midst, and the hall is warmed, but the wintry storms of rain or snow are raging abroad. The sparrow, flying in at one door and immediately out at another, whilst he is within, is safe from the wintry tempest; but after a short space of fair weather, he immediately vanishes out of your sight, passing from winter into winter again. So this life of man appears for a little while, but of what is to follow or what went before we know nothing at all. If, therefore, this new doctrine tells us something more certain, it seems justly to deserve to be followed.” The other elders and king’s counsellors, by Divine prompting, spoke to the same effect.

But Coifi added, that he wished more attentively to hear Paulinus discourse concerning the God Whom he preached. When he did so, at the king’s command, Coifi, hearing his words, cried out, “This long time I have perceived that what we worshipped was naught; because the more diligently I sought after truth in that worship, the less I found it. But now I freely confess, that such truth evidently appears in this preaching as can confer on us the gifts of life, of salvation, and of eternal happiness. For which reason my counsel is, O king, that we instantly give up to ban and fire those temples and altars which we have consecrated without reaping any benefit from them.” In brief, the king openly assented to the preaching of the Gospel by Paulinus, and renouncing idolatry, declared that he received the faith of Christ: and when he inquired of the aforesaid high priest of his religion, who should first desecrate the altars and temples of their idols, with the precincts that were about them, he answered, “I; for who can more fittingly than myself destroy those things which I worshipped in my folly, for an example to all others, through the wisdom which has been given me by the true God?” Then immediately, in contempt of his vain superstitions, he desired the king to furnish him with arms and a stallion, that he might mount and go forth to destroy the idols; for it was not lawful before for the high priest either to carry arms, or to ride on anything but a mare. Having, therefore, girt a sword about him, with a spear in his hand, he mounted the king’s stallion, and went his way to the idols. The multitude, beholding it, thought that he was mad; but as soon as he drew near the temple he did not delay to desecrate it by casting into it the spear which he held; and rejoicing in the knowledge of the worship of the true God, he commanded his companions to tear down and set on fire the temple, with all its precincts. This place where the idols once stood is still shown, not far from York, to the eastward, beyond the river Derwent, and is now called Godmunddingaham,(231) where the high priest, by the inspiration of the true God, profaned and destroyed the altars which he had himself consecrated.(232)

Chap. XIV. How King Edwin and his nation became Christians; and where Paulinus baptized them. [627 A.D.]

King Edwin, therefore, with all the nobility of the nation, and a large number of the common sort, received the faith, and the washing of holy regeneration, in the eleventh year of his reign, which is the year of our Lord 627, and about one hundred and eighty after the coming of the English into Britain. He was baptized at York, on the holy day of Easter,(233) being the 12th of April, in the church of St. Peter the Apostle, which he himself had built of timber there in haste, whilst he was a catechumen receiving instruction in order to be admitted to baptism. In that city also he bestowed upon his instructor and bishop, Paulinus, his episcopal see. But as soon as he was baptized, he set about building, by the direction of Paulinus, in the same place a larger and nobler church of stone, in the midst whereof the oratory which he had first erected should be enclosed.(234) Having, therefore, laid the foundation, he began to build the church square, encompassing the former oratory. But before the walls were raised to their full height, the cruel death(235) of the king left that work to be finished by Oswald his successor. Paulinus, for the space of six years from this time, that is, till the end of the king’s reign, with his consent and favour, preached the Word of God in that country, and as many as were foreordained to eternal life believed and were baptized. Among them were Osfrid and Eadfrid, King Edwin’s sons who were both born to him, whilst he was in banishment, of Quenburga, the daughter of Cearl, king of the Mercians.

Afterwards other children of his, by Queen Ethelberg, were baptized, Ethelhun and his daughter Ethelthryth, and another, Wuscfrea, a son; the first two were snatched out of this life whilst they were still in the white garments of the newly-baptized,(236) and buried in the church at York. Yffi,(237) the son of Osfrid, was also baptized, and many other noble and royal persons. So great was then the fervour of the faith, as is reported, and the desire for the laver of salvation among the nation of the Northumbrians, that Paulinus at a certain time coming with the king and queen to the royal township, which is called Adgefrin,(238) stayed there with them thirty-six days, fully occupied in catechizing and baptizing; during which days, from morning till night, he did nothing else but instruct the people resorting from all villages and places, in Christ’s saving Word; and when they were instructed, he washed them with the water of absolution in the river Glen,(239) which is close by. This township, under the following kings, was abandoned, and another was built instead of it, at the place called Maelmin.(240)

These things happened in the province of the Bernicians; but in that of the Deiri also, where he was wont often to be with the king, he baptized in the river Swale, which runs by the village of Cataract;(241) for as yet oratories, or baptisteries, could not be built in the early infancy of the Church in those parts. But in Campodonum,(242) where there was then a royal township, he built a church which the pagans, by whom King Edwin was slain, afterwards burnt, together with all the place. Instead of this royal seat the later kings built themselves a township in the country called Loidis.(243) But the altar, being of stone, escaped the fire and is still preserved in the monastery of the most reverend abbot and priest, Thrydwulf, which is in the forest of Elmet.(244)

Chap. XV. How the province of the East Angles received the faith of Christ. [627-628 A.D.]

Edwin was so zealous for the true worship, that he likewise persuaded Earpwald, king of the East Angles, and son of Redwald, to abandon his idolatrous superstitions, and with his whole province to receive the faith and mysteries of Christ. And indeed his father Redwald had long before been initiated into the mysteries of the Christian faith in Kent, but in vain; for on his return home, he was seduced by his wife and certain perverse teachers, and turned aside from the sincerity of the faith; and thus his latter state was worse than the former; so that, like the Samaritans of old, he seemed at the same time to serve Christ and the gods whom he served before; and in the same temple he had an altar for the Christian Sacrifice, and another small one at which to offer victims to devils. Aldwulf,(245) king of that same province, who lived in our time, testifies that this temple had stood until his time, and that he had seen it when he was a boy. The aforesaid King Redwald was noble by birth, though ignoble in his actions, being the son of Tytilus, whose father was Uuffa, from whom the kings of the East Angles are called Uuffings.(246)

Earpwald, not long after he had embraced the Christian faith, was slain by one Ricbert, a pagan; and from that time the province was in error for three years, till Sigbert succeeded to the kingdom,(247) brother to the same Earpwald, a most Christian and learned man, who was banished, and went to live in Gaul during his brother’s life, and was there initiated into the mysteries of the faith, whereof he made it his business to cause all his province to partake as soon as he came to the throne. His exertions were nobly promoted by Bishop Felix,(248) who, coming to Honorius, the archbishop,(249) from the parts of Burgundy, where he had been born and ordained, and having told him what he desired, was sent by him to preach the Word of life to the aforesaid nation of the Angles. Nor were his good wishes in vain; for the pious labourer in the spiritual field reaped therein a great harvest of believers, delivering all that province (according to the inner signification of his name) from long iniquity and unhappiness, and bringing it to the faith and works of righteousness, and the gifts of everlasting happiness. He had the see of his bishopric appointed him in the city Dommoc,(250) and having presided over the same province with pontifical authority seventeen years, he ended his days there in peace.

Chap. XVI. How Paulinus preached in the province of Lindsey; and of the character of the reign of Edwin. [_Circ._ 628 A.D.]

Paulinus also preached the Word to the province of Lindsey,(251) which is the first on the south side of the river Humber, stretching as far as the sea; and he first converted to the Lord the reeve of the city of Lincoln, whose name was Blaecca, with his whole house. He likewise built, in that city, a stone church of beautiful workmanship; the roof of which has either fallen through long neglect, or been thrown down by enemies, but the walls are still to be seen standing, and every year miraculous cures are wrought in that place, for the benefit of those who have faith to seek them. In that church, when Justus had departed to Christ, Paulinus consecrated Honorius bishop in his stead, as will be hereafter mentioned in its proper place.(252) A certain priest and abbot of the monastery of Peartaneu,(253) a man of singular veracity, whose name was Deda, told me concerning the faith of this province that an old man had informed him that he himself had been baptized at noon-day, by Bishop Paulinus, in the presence of King Edwin, and with him a great multitude of the people, in the river Trent, near the city, which in the English tongue is called Tiouulfingacaestir;(254) and he was also wont to describe the person of the same Paulinus, saying that he was tall of stature, stooping somewhat, his hair black, his visage thin, his nose slender and aquiline, his aspect both venerable and awe-inspiring. He had also with him in the ministry, James, the deacon,(255) a man of zeal and great fame in Christ and in the church, who lived even to our days.

It is told that there was then such perfect peace in Britain, wheresoever the dominion of King Edwin extended, that, as is still proverbially said, a woman with her new-born babe might walk throughout the island, from sea to sea, without receiving any harm. That king took such care for the good of his nation, that in several places where he had seen clear springs near the highways, he caused stakes to be fixed, with copper drinking-vessels hanging on them, for the refreshment of travellers; nor durst any man touch them for any other purpose than that for which they were designed, either through the great dread they had of the king, or for the affection which they bore him. His dignity was so great throughout his dominions, that not only were his banners borne before him in battle, but even in time of peace, when he rode about his cities, townships, or provinces, with his thegns, the standard-bearer was always wont to go before him. Also, when he walked anywhere along the streets, that sort of banner which the Romans call Tufa,(256) and the English, Thuuf, was in like manner borne before him.

Chap. XVII. How Edwin received letters of exhortation from Pope Honorius, who also sent the pall to Paulinus. [634 A.D.]

At that time Honorius, successor to Boniface, was Bishop of the Apostolic see. When he learned that the nation of the Northumbrians, with their king, had been, by the preaching of Paulinus, converted to the faith and confession of Christ, he sent the pall to the said Paulinus, and with it letters of exhortation to King Edwin, with fatherly love inflaming his zeal, to the end that he and his people should persist in belief of the truth which they had received. The contents of which letter were as follow:

“_To his most noble son, and excellent lord, Edwin king of the Angles, Bishop Honorius, servant of the servants of God, greeting._ The wholeheartedness of your Christian Majesty, in the worship of your Creator, is so inflamed with the fire of faith, that it shines out far and wide, and, being reported throughout the world, brings forth plentiful fruits of your labours. For the terms of your kingship you know to be this, that taught by orthodox preaching the knowledge of your King and Creator, you believe and worship God, and as far as man is able, pay Him the sincere devotion of your mind. For what else are we able to offer to our God, but our readiness to worship Him and to pay Him our vows, persisting in good actions, and confessing Him the Creator of mankind? And, therefore, most excellent son, we exhort you with such fatherly love as is meet, to labour to preserve this gift in every way, by earnest striving and constant prayer, in that the Divine Mercy has vouchsafed to call you to His grace; to the end that He, Who has been pleased to deliver you from all errors, and bring you to the knowledge of His name in this present world, may likewise prepare a place for you in the heavenly country. Employing yourself, therefore, in reading frequently the works of my lord Gregory, your Evangelist, of apostolic memory, keep before your eyes that love of his doctrine, which he zealously bestowed for the sake of your souls; that his prayers may exalt your kingdom and people, and present you faultless before Almighty God. We are preparing with a willing mind immediately to grant those things which you hoped would be by us ordained for your bishops, and this we do on account of the sincerity of your faith, which has been made known to us abundantly in terms of praise by the bearers of these presents. We have sent two palls to the two metropolitans, Honorius and Paulinus;(257) to the intent, that when either of them shall be called out of this world to his Creator, the other may, by this authority of ours, substitute another bishop in his place; which privilege we are induced to grant by the warmth of our love for you, as well as by reason of the great extent of the provinces which lie between us and you; that we may in all things support your devotion and likewise satisfy your desires. May God’s grace preserve your Highness in safety!”

Chap. XVIII. How Honorius, who succeeded Justus in the bishopric of Canterbury, received the pall and letters from Pope Honorius. [634 A.D.]

In the meantime, Archbishop Justus was taken up to the heavenly kingdom, on the 10th of November,(258) and Honorius, who was elected to the see in his stead, came to Paulinus to be ordained, and meeting him at Lincoln was there consecrated the fifth prelate of the Church of Canterbury from Augustine. To him also the aforesaid Pope Honorius sent the pall, and a letter, wherein he ordains the same that he had before ordained in his epistle to King Edwin, to wit, that when either the Archbishop of Canterbury or of York shall depart this life, the survivor, being of the same degree, shall have power to ordain another bishop in the room of him that is departed; that it might not be necessary always to undertake the toilsome journey to Rome, at so great a distance by sea and land, to ordain an archbishop. Which letter we have also thought fit to insert in this our history:

“_Honorius to his most beloved brother Honorius:_ Among the many good gifts which the mercy of our Redeemer is pleased to bestow on His servants He grants to us in His bounty, graciously conferred on us by His goodness, the special blessing of realizing by brotherly intercourse, as it were face to face, our mutual love. For which gift we continually render thanks to His Majesty; and we humbly beseech Him, that He will ever confirm your labour, beloved, in preaching the Gospel, and bringing forth fruit, and following the rule of your master and head, the holy Gregory; and that, for the advancement of His Church, He may by your means raise up further increase; to the end, that through faith and works, in the fear and love of God, what you and your predecessors have already gained from the seed sown by our lord Gregory, may grow strong and be further extended; that so the promises spoken by our Lord may hereafter be brought to pass in you; and that these words may summon you to everlasting happiness: ‘Come unto Me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you.’(259) And again, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.’(260) And we, most beloved brothers, sending you first these words of exhortation out of our enduring charity, do not fail further to grant those things which we perceive may be suitable for the privileges of your Churches.

“Wherefore, in accordance with your request, and that of the kings our sons,(261) we do hereby in the name of the blessed Peter, chief of the Apostles, grant you authority, that when the Divine Grace shall call either of you to Himself, the survivor shall ordain a bishop in the room of him that is deceased. To which end also we have sent a pall to each of you, beloved, for celebrating the said ordination; that by the authority which we hereby commit to you, you may make an ordination acceptable to God; because the long distance of sea and land that lies between us and you, has obliged us to grant you this, that no loss may happen to your Church in any way, on any pretext whatever, but that the devotion of the people committed to you may increase the more. God preserve you in safety, most dear brother! Given the 11th day of June, in the reign of these our lords and emperors, in the twenty-fourth year of the reign of Heraclius, and the twenty-third after his consulship; and in the twenty-third of his son Constantine, and the third after his consulship; and in the third year of the most prosperous Caesar, his son Heraclius,(262) the seventh indiction; that is, in the year of our Lord, 634.”

Chap. XIX. How the aforesaid Honorius first, and afterwards John, wrote letters to the nation of the Scots, concerning the observance of Easter, and the Pelagian heresy. [640 A.D.]

The same Pope Honorius also wrote to the Scots,(263) whom he had found to err in the observance of the holy Festival of Easter, as has been shown above, with subtlety of argument exhorting them not to think themselves, few as they were, and placed in the utmost borders of the earth, wiser than all the ancient and modern Churches of Christ, throughout the world; and not to celebrate a different Easter, contrary to the Paschal calculation and the decrees of all the bishops upon earth sitting in synod. Likewise John,(264) who succeeded Severinus, successor to the same Honorius, being yet but Pope elect, sent to them letters of great authority and erudition for the purpose of correcting the same error; evidently showing, that Easter Sunday is to be found between the fifteenth of the moon and the twenty-first, as was approved in the Council of Nicaea.(265) He also in the same epistle admonished them to guard against the Pelagian heresy,(266) and reject it, for he had been informed that it was again springing up among them. The beginning of the epistle was as follows:

“_To our most beloved and most holy Tomianus, Columbanus, Cromanus, Dinnaus, and Baithanus, bishops; to __ Cromanus, Ernianus, Laistranus, Scellanus, and Segenus, priests; to Saranus and the rest of the Scottish doctors and abbots, Hilarus, the arch-presbyter, and vice-gerent of the holy Apostolic See; John, the deacon, and elect in the name of God; likewise John, the chief of the notaries and vice-gerent of the holy Apostolic See, and John, the servant of God, and counsellor of the same Apostolic See._(267) The writings which were brought by the bearers to Pope Severinus, of holy memory, were left, when he departed from the light of this world, without an answer to the questions contained in them. Lest any obscurity should long remain undispelled in a matter of so great moment, we opened the same, and found that some in your province, endeavouring to revive a new heresy out of an old one, contrary to the orthodox faith, do through the darkness of their minds reject our Easter, when Christ was sacrificed; and contend that the same should be kept with the Hebrews on the fourteenth of the moon.”(268)

By this beginning of the epistle it evidently appears that this heresy arose among them in very late times, and that not all their nation, but only some of them, were involved in the same.

After having laid down the manner of keeping Easter, they add this concerning the Pelagians in the same epistle:

“And we have also learnt that the poison of the Pelagian heresy again springs up among you; we, therefore, exhort you, that you put away from your thoughts all such venomous and superstitious wickedness. For you cannot be ignorant how that execrable heresy has been condemned; for it has not only been abolished these two hundred years, but it is also daily condemned by us and buried under our perpetual ban; and we exhort you not to rake up the ashes of those whose weapons have been burnt. For who would not detest that insolent and impious assertion, ‘That man can live without sin of his own free will, and not through the grace of God?’ And in the first place, it is blasphemous folly to say that man is without sin, which none can be, but only the one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, Who was conceived and born without sin; for all other men, being born in original sin, are known to bear the mark of Adam’s transgression, even whilst they are without actual sin, according to the saying of the prophet, ‘For behold, I was conceived in iniquity; and in sin did my mother give birth to me.’ ”(269)

Chap. XX. How Edwin being slain, Paulinus returned into Kent, and had the bishopric of Rochester conferred upon him. [633 A.D.]

Edwin reigned most gloriously seventeen years over the nations of the English and the Britons, six whereof, as has been said, he also was a soldier in the kingdom of Christ. Caedwalla,(270) king of the Britons, rebelled against him, being supported by the vigorous Penda, of the royal race of the Mercians, who from that time governed that nation for twenty-two years with varying success. A great battle being fought in the plain that is called Haethfelth,(271) Edwin was killed on the 12th of October, in the year of our Lord 633, being then forty-eight years of age, and all his army was either slain or dispersed. In the same war also, Osfrid,(272) one of his sons, a warlike youth, fell before him; Eadfrid,(273) another of them, compelled by necessity, went over to King Penda, and was by him afterwards slain in the reign of Oswald, contrary to his oath. At this time a great slaughter was made in the Church and nation of the Northumbrians; chiefly because one of the chiefs, by whom it was carried on, was a pagan, and the other a barbarian, more cruel than a pagan; for Penda, with all the nation of the Mercians, was an idolater, and a stranger to the name of Christ; but Caedwalla, though he professed and called himself a Christian, was so barbarous in his disposition and manner of living, that he did not even spare women and innocent children, but with bestial cruelty put all alike to death by torture, and overran all their country in his fury for a long time, intending to cut off all the race of the English within the borders of Britain. Nor did he pay any respect to the Christian religion which had sprung up among them; it being to this day the custom of the Britons to despise the faith and religion of the English, and to have no part with them in anything any more than with pagans. King Edwin’s head was brought to York, and afterwards taken into the church of the blessed Peter the Apostle, which he had begun, but which his successor Oswald finished, as has been said before. It was laid in the chapel of the holy Pope Gregory, from whose disciples he had received the word of life.(274)

The affairs of the Northumbrians being thrown into confusion at the moment of this disaster, when there seemed to be no prospect of safety except in flight, Paulinus, taking with him Queen Ethelberg, whom he had before brought thither, returned into Kent by sea, and was very honourably received by the Archbishop Honorius and King Eadbald. He came thither under the conduct of Bassus, a most valiant thegn of King Edwin, having with him Eanfled, the daughter, and Wuscfrea, the son of Edwin, as well as Yffi, the son of Osfrid, Edwin’s son.(275) Afterwards Ethelberg, for fear of the kings Eadbald and Oswald,(276) sent Wuscfrea and Yffi over into Gaul to be bred up by King Dagobert,(277) who was her friend; and there they both died in infancy, and were buried in the church with the honour due to royal children and to Christ’s innocents. He also brought with him many rich goods of King Edwin, among which were a large gold cross, and a golden chalice, consecrated to the service of the altar, which are still preserved, and shown in the church of Canterbury.