Chapter XXXI: Book V (7)

192 This is inaccurate and inconsistent with Bede’s own statement in V.
24. Augustine did not arrive in Britain till 597. The dates given
above, at the beginning of this chapter, are, however, probably
correct, if he means that Ethelbert died twenty-one years after the
dispatch of the mission from Rome.

193 The Witenagemot, the supreme assembly. This is the first recorded
instance of its legislative action. The “decisions” are the
so-called “dooms.”

194 “—ing” is a Saxon patronymic.

195 It was Ethelbert’s second wife. Bertha had died before him.

196 Or Gewissae. The West Saxons, an antiquated term for them. Cf. III,
7: “Occidentalium Saxonum, qui antiquitus Gewissae vocabantur” (cf.
“visi” = west, in “Visigoth”).

197 At Canterbury, to the east of the church of SS. Peter and Paul, to
which it was afterwards joined.

198 619 A.D.

199 Boniface V.

200 Their names are said to have been: Severus, Severianus, Victorinus,
and Carpophorus (v. addition to Bede’s Martyrology at 8th November).
They suffered martyrdom at Rome in the Diocletian persecution. A
church was erected in their honour on the Coelian, and on its site
stands the present church of the Santi Quattro Coronati.

201 St. Matt., xxviii, 20.

_ 202 I.e._, the reward is bestowed on that gift of faithful and
successful service which he might hand on in its results to
posterity. But the text is probably corrupt, and it is difficult to
extract sense from it.

203 St. Matt., x, 22.

204 He means Eadbald.

205 Ps. xix, 4.

206 Cf. c. 5, p. 94.

207 I, 29.

208 Except Kent. Cf. _supra_, c. 5.

_ 209 Ibid._

210 A term of endearment.

211 2 Cor., xi, 2.

212 2 Cor., iv, 4.

213 Apparently joint king with his father, Cynegils (III, 7). The
hegemony which the West-Saxon Ceaulin had possessed (_v.s._ c. 5)
had passed to Northumbria.

_ 214 I.e._, Easter Eve, April 19th, 626.

215 Supposed to be at Aldby, near Stamford Bridge, but other conjectures
have been advanced.

216 Twelve in some MSS. and in V, 24. The baptism was on the Eve of
Whitsunday (cf. V. 24, “in Sabbato Pentecostes”). The Eves of Easter
and Whitsunday were usual days for baptisms; the Roman Church tried
to limit them to these seasons, but Christmas and Epiphany were also
favourite times.

217 Boniface V, unless, as Dr. Bright suggests, the name is a scribe’s
error for Honorius, his successor. Boniface V died in October, 625.
Paulinus had only been consecrated in the preceding July, so it is
impossible that Boniface could have heard of Edwin’s delay in
receiving the faith; _v._ following letter (c. 11). But there is a
reference in the same letter to Eadbald’s conversion, the news of
which must have come in the time of Boniface rather than of
Honorius. The difficulty is not cleared up.

218 Reading “profert” for the impossible “proferetur.” The style of this
letter is very involved and there seems to be a good deal of
corruption in the text.

219 Adopting the conjecture “propinemus.”

220 The MSS. reading (“totius creaturae suae dilatandi subdi”) yields no
sense here, but no satisfactory conjecture has been made.

221 From the Vulgate, Ps. xcv, 5 (Ps. xcvi, 5 in our Psalter).

222 Ps. cxiii, 5-8 (cxv in our Psalter).

223 Gen., ii, 24; St. Matt., xix, 5; St. Mark, x, 7; Eph., v, 31.

224 1 Cor., vii, 14, cf. 16.

225 Reading “conversione.”

_ 226 I.e._, of East Anglia (Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridgeshire). Cf.
c. 5, _ad init._

227 I, 34, and note.

228 Cf. Verg. Aen., IV, 2, “caeco carpitur igni.”

229 A tributary of the Trent. The battle is supposed to have been fought
near Retford, in Nottinghamshire, before April 12th, 617. Cf. Bede’s
statement that Edwin was baptized on April 12th, 627, in the
eleventh year of his reign (c. 14).

230 The Witenagemot.

231 Goodmanham, near Market Weighton, in the East Riding of Yorkshire.

232 Cf. Verg. Aen., II. 502.

_ 233 I.e._, Easter Eve. Cf. c. 9, p. 104, note 3.

234 On the site now covered by York Cathedral. The little wooden oratory
was carefully preserved and adorned with gifts. The church has been
repeatedly rebuilt, and of the Saxon building nothing remains but
the central wall of the crypt.

235 Cf. _infra_ c. 20.

236 The newly-baptized wore white garments till the octave of the day of
their baptism, and appeared in church daily with lighted tapers and
accompanied by their sponsors.

237 For Wuscfrea and Yffi, _v. infra_ c. 20, p. 132.

238 Yeavering in Glendale, near Wooler in Northumberland. The name,
Adgefrin, is one of those (common in Anglo-Saxon) in which the
preposition is prefixed. “Æt” (Latin _ad_) and “in” are so used. The
idiom is preserved in the Latin. Cf. Ad Murum, Ad Caprae Caput (III,
21), Infeppingum _(ibid.), et saep._

239 The stream, in its upper reaches called the Bowmont Water, is still
called the Glen at Yeavering. It is a tributary of the Till.
Pallinsburn, in the neighbourhood of Coldstream, preserves by its
name the memory of similar baptisms by Paulinus.

240 Perhaps Millfield, near Wooler; but Mindrum and Kirknewton in the
same district have also been suggested.

241 Catterick Bridge (the Roman station Cataractonium, on the Watling
Street), near Richmond in the North Riding of Yorkshire.

242 Perhaps Doncaster. Other suggestions are Slack, near Huddersfield,
and Tanfield, near Ripon. The Anglo-Saxon version has Donafeld.

243 Leeds. The royal township (_villa_) is said to have been at
Oswinthorp.

244 Elmet Wood, near Leeds.

245 Cf. IV, 17, 23. His father was Ethelhere, King of East Anglia (III,
24).

246 For the patronymic, cf. _supra_ c. 5, p. 95, and note.

247 Cf. III, 18. He was Earpwald’s half-brother, and had been driven
into exile by his step-father, Redwald. Besides becoming a
Christian, he had acquired a taste for secular learning in the
ecclesiastical schools of Gaul.

248 Cf. III, 18, 20. “An important feature of this mission, as it was of
the Kentish, was the combination of education with religion, by
means of a school such as Sigbert had seen abroad, and as by this
time existed at Canterbury in connection with the house of SS. Peter
and Paul” (Bright, p. 143). The name of Felix is preserved in
Felixstowe, on the coast of Suffolk, and in Feliskirk, a Yorkshire
village.

_ 249 Infra_ cc. 16, 18, _et saep._ He was a disciple of Pope Gregory,
“vir in rebus ecclesiasticis sublimiter institutus” (V, 19).

250 Dunwich, on the coast of Suffolk, once an important town, afterwards
partially submerged. The diocese was divided into two by Theodore,
and both sees became extinct during the Danish invasions. After
various vicissitudes, the seat of the East Anglian bishopric was
established at Norwich. Cf. IV, 5, p. 231, note 1.

251 Lindsey, the largest of the three divisions of Lincolnshire, was at
times Mercian, at times Northumbrian. At this time it appears to
have been dependent on Northumbria; cf. IV, 12, note.

252 Cf. _infra_ c. 18, _ad init._ The church which stands on the
probable site of this church is called St. Paul’s. The name has been
supposed to be a corruption of “Paulinus.”

253 Partney, in Lincolnshire; afterwards it became a cell of Bardney
Abbey.

254 The place cannot be identified with certainty. Torksey, Southwell,
Newark, Fiskerton, and Littleborough have all been suggested.

255 Cf. _infra_ c. 20, _ad fin._

256 A form of standard adopted from the Romans. It was made of feathers
attached to a spear.

257 Cf. the instructions of Gregory: I, 29.

258 Bede does not mention the year of his death. The Saxon Chronicle
places it in 627, and this is supported by William of Malmesbury.
Smith places it in 630.

259 St. Matt., xi, 28.

260 St. Matt., xxv, 21.

_ 261 I.e._, the kings of Northumbria and Kent. For similar combined
action on the part of a Northumbrian and a Kentish king, cf. III,
29.

_ 262 I.e._, Heracleonas, son of Heraclius and half-brother of
Constantine III; associated with them in the Empire.

_ 263 I.e._, Irish. For their error with regard to Easter, _v.s._ c. 4.

264 John IV, consecrated December 25th, 640. Severinus was Pope for a
few months only. Apparently (cf. _infra_) the Irish ecclesiastics
had consulted him about the Easter question.

265 Cf. _supra_ c. 2, p. 84, note. On the Paschal question the Council
of Nicaea passed no canon, but the understanding was established
that “all the brethren in the East, who formerly celebrated Easter
with the Jews, will henceforth keep it agreeably with the Romans and
ourselves and all who from ancient time have kept Easter as we”;
_i.e._, that they should all keep Easter on the first day of the
week, but never on the 14th of the month Nisan, even when it fell on
a Sunday. The object of the rule was to avoid the day of the Jewish
Passover.

266 Cf. I, 10, note.

267 These bishops have been identified as follows: Tomianus is Tomene,
Abbot and Bishop of Armagh; Columbanus is Colman, Abbot of Clonard
(also a bishop); Cromanus is Cronan, Bishop of Nendrum, or
Inishmahee; Dinnaus is probably Dima, Bishop of Connor; Baithanus
has not been identified with any certainty. With regard to the
priests the proposed identifications are more conjectural. Saranus
is a certain Saran Ua Critain. Two vice-gerents of the Papal see are
associated with the Pope elect in writing this letter. The
arch-presbyter and the “primicerius notariorum,” with the
archdeacon, acted as vice-gerents during a vacancy, or in the
absence of the Pope (cf. Plummer _ad loc._).

268 This is not fairly stated. The Irish were not “Quartodecimans,”
_i.e._, did not insist on the celebration of Easter being on the
fourteenth of the moon. They only included that day as a possible
one for Easter (cf. _supra_ c. 2, p. 84, note 3).

269 Ps. li, 5, in our Psalter. The quotation is partly from the Vulgate,
partly from the “Roman” Psalter, _i.e._, Jerome’s revision of the
old Italic version.

270 Or Cadwallon, King of Gwynedd, in North Wales. His father Cadvan,
had sheltered Edwin during his exile. Afterwards, when Cadwallon
invaded Northumbria, Edwin defeated him and drove him from his
kingdom. Having regained it, Cadwallon now allied himself with
Penda, king of the Mercians (626- or 627-655) in a successful
attempt to shake off the Northumbrian supremacy.

271 Generally identified with Hatfield Chase, north-east of Doncaster.

272 C. 14, p. 119.

_ 273 Ibid._

274 His body was ultimately buried at Whitby; cf. III, 24, p. 190, and
note.

275 For Eanfled, _v.s._ c. 9. For Yffi and Wuscfrea, c. 14.

276 Cf. c. 5.

277 He was a kinsman. Ethelberg’s mother, Bertha, was a daughter of
Charibert, King of Paris (cf. I, 25, note). His brother, Chilperic,
was Dagobert’s grandfather.

278 Cf. c. 8.

279 C. 16, and III, 25.

280 Cf. c. 14. The village cannot be identified. Akeburgh has been
suggested, the name being regarded as a corruption of “Jacobsburgh.”

281 The “Cantus Romanus,” brought to England by the Roman mission;
_i.e._, the style of Church music according to the use of Rome. The
theory that Gregory the Great was the founder of Gregorian music,
which superseded the old “Cantus Ambrosianus” everywhere in the West
except at Milan, must in all probability be abandoned. It seems to
be established that no change of any importance was made till nearly
a hundred years after Gregory’s time, and “the terms ‘Gregorianus,’
‘Ambrosianus Cantus,’ probably mean nothing more than the style of
singing according to the respective uses of Rome and Milan.” (F.
Homes Dudden, “Gregory the Great,” I, p. 274.)

282 Cf. II, 1, p. 82, note.

283 I, 34; II, 2, 12.

_ 284 I.e._, Osric and Eanfrid.

285 Cf. II, 20, _ad init._

286 “In oppido municipio.” Commentators are agreed that Bede means York.
It was a Roman “Colonia,” and is called a “municipium” by Aurelius
Victor, though whether Bede attaches any definitely Roman meaning to
the term seems doubtful. Ducange explains “municipium” as “castrum,”
“castellum muris cinctum.”

287 From the death of Edwin (October 12th, 633), for Oswald’s reign is
reckoned as lasting nine years, including the “hateful year,” and he
was killed August 5th, 642. Cf. _infra_ c. 9.

_ 288 I.e._, probably before the end of 634.

289 Not identified with any certainty, but probably the Rowley Water or
a tributary of it. It cannot be, as has been suggested, the Devil’s
Water, which is clearly distinguished from it in a charter of the
thirteenth century. Caedwalla must have fled southwards for eight or
nine miles after the battle (cf. next note).

290 For another instance of a name with an inner meaning, cf. II, 15.
The site of the battle is probably seven or eight miles north of
Hexham (v. next note), Oswald having taken up his position on the
northern side of the Roman wall between the Tyne and the Solway
(_i.e._, the wall attributed to Hadrian, cf. I, 12, p. 25, note).
According to tradition the battle was finally won at a place called
Halydene (Hallington?), two miles to the east.

291 Hexham. Wilfrid built a magnificent church there between the years
672-678 on land given by Ethelthryth, wife of Egfrid, king of
Northumbria. It became the see of a bishop in 678 when the great
northern diocese was subdivided by Theodore (_v._ IV, 12). Bede’s
own monastery of Wearmouth and Jarrow was in the diocese of Hexham.
The bishopric became extinct in 821.

292 The place is still called St. Oswald’s, and a little chapel probably
marks the spot.

_ 293 I.e._, Irish.

294 Cf. II, 2, note on Paschal Controversy.

295 Bishop of Laodicea, _circ._ 284 A.D. According to Eusebius, he was
the first to arrange the cycle of nineteen years. The Canon quoted
by the Celts in support of their observance of Easter is proved to
be a forgery, probably of the seventh century and of British origin.

296 Probably they adopted Catholic customs about 633, after the return
of their delegates sent to consult the Roman Church on this question
in 631.

297 Cf. Preface, p. 4, note 3. The Celtic missionaries were generally
attracted to remote sites, and this, the first mission station of
the Celtic Church in Northumbria, was doubtless chosen for the
resemblance of its physical features to Iona. The constitution was
also modelled on that of Iona, with this difference, that it was an
episcopal see as well as a monastery. It was included in the
“province” of the Abbot of Iona. The Bishop and all the clergy were
monks, and Aidan himself was Abbot as well as Bishop.

298 “Sacerdotali,” perhaps (but not necessarily here) = “episcopal,” as
often. There may have been a number of the Irish non-diocesan
bishops in the mission.

299 Iona, a name supposed to have arisen from a mistaken reading of
_Ioua_, an adjectival form used by Adamnan (_v. infra_ note 4),
feminine, agreeing with _insula_, formed from the Irish name, I, Ii,
Hii, etc. (the forms vary greatly). Then “Iona” was fancifully
regarded as the Hebrew equivalent for _Columba_ (= a dove), and this
helped to preserve the name.

_ 300 I.e._, Irish.

301 For St. Columba, _v._ Dr. Reeves’s edition of the life by Adamnan,
Abbot of Iona, 679-704 (cf. V, 15, note). Authorities are divided
with regard to the date of his coming to Britain. Dr. Reeves and Mr.
Skene, following the Annals of Tighernach, decide in favour of 563.
For his name, “Columcille,” cf. V, 9, note. He was of Irish birth,
connected with the Dalriadic Scots, and of royal descent on both
sides of his house. He was ordained priest at Clonard, but was never
a bishop. Many ecclesiastical and monastic foundations throughout
Ireland and Scotland are attributed to him. He travelled much in
both countries, visited Bruide (_v. infra_) at Inverness, and
founded churches all over the north of Scotland. He also worked
indefatigably in his own monastery of Iona. In his earlier years his
excitable, impatient temperament seems to have involved him in
various wars. He is said to have stirred up his kinsmen against the
Irish king, Diarmaid; and it has been supposed that his mission to
the Picts was undertaken in expiation of the bloodshed for which he
was responsible.

302 There is much that is legendary in the account of St. Ninias, and
Bede only professes to give the tradition. He was a Briton, probably
a native of Strathclyde. He studied at Rome and received episcopal
consecration there; came under the influence of St. Martin of Tours,
to whom he afterwards dedicated his church in Galloway, and returned
as a missionary to Britain. His preaching led to the conversion of
the Picts of Galloway and those to whom Bede alludes here as
situated to the south of the Grampians. Irish tradition, difficult
to reconcile with Bede’s statement that he was buried at Whitern,
tells that he spent the last years of his life in Ireland and
founded a church at Leinster. He was commemorated there on September
16th, under the name of Moinenn. The traditional date of his death,
September 16th, 432, has no authority.

303 Whitern, on Wigton Bay, so called from the white appearance of the
stone church, as compared with the usual wooden buildings. The
dedication must have been subsequent to St. Martin’s death, _circ._
397. The see was revived as an Anglian one in Bede’s own time (_v._
V. 23, p. 381). For the form of the name, “Ad Candidam Casam,” cf.
II, 14, p. 119, note 5.

304 Bruide Mac Maelchon had defeated the Dalriadic Scots in 560 A.D. and
driven them back to Cantyre. Northwards his dominion extended as far
as the Orkneys and it is probable that it included the eastern
lowlands north of the Forth (cf. Rhŷs, “Celtic Britain”). Another
tradition (Irish) represents Conall, King of the Dalriadic Scots, as
the donor of Iona, but the earliest Irish authority (ninth or tenth
century) agrees with Bede.

305 The year in which he died, as well as the ultimate resting-place of
his relics, is uncertain. Dr. Reeves places his death in 597, the
year of St. Augustine’s landing.

_ 306 I.e._, in Irish. The place is Durrow in Leinster.

307 There was no diocesan episcopate in the early Irish Church; it was
organized on a monastic system. Bishops performed all episcopal
functions (ordination, etc.), but they lived in the monastery,
subject to the supreme authority of the abbot, who was aided in the
government by a council of senior monks. Bishops were also sent out
as missionaries. The functions of abbot and bishop might be combined
in one man, but the abbot, as such, could discharge no episcopal
duties. A great monastery was head of a “provincia” (“diocesis,”
“parochia”), and had many monasteries and churches dependent on it.

308 Cf. c. 27, IV, 3, 26; V, 9, 10, 22, 23, 24. Perhaps “sacerdos”
should be translated “bishop” here (_v. supra_ c. 3, note; _infra_
c. 27, note). Early writers allude to him as a bishop, _e.g._,
Alcuin, Ethelwulf. In the life of St. Adalbert, one of Wilbrord’s
companions (cf. V. 10), he is called “Northumbrorum episcopus.”

_ 309 I.e._, they were not “Quartodecimans” (cf. II, 2, p. 84, note 3).

310 Phil., iii, 15.

311 Cf. II, 19. He is probably to be identified with the Segenus
mentioned there as one of the priests to whom Pope John’s letter was
addressed. He was Abbot of Iona, 623-652.

312 Hector Boethius gives his name as Corman.

313 Cf. I, 1, p. 6, note 2.

314 Bamborough (Bebbanburh, Bebburgh, Babbanburch, etc. There are many
forms of the name). It is uncertain who the queen was. Nennius says
she was the wife of Ethelfrid. His wife, Oswald’s mother, was Acha
(_v. infra_), but he may have been married twice. It was Ida, the
first king of Bernicia, who founded Bamborough (Sax. Chron.).

315 Cf. II, 5 _ad fin._, note.

316 Cf. note on Cuichelm, II, 9. Cynegils began to reign in 611 and
reigned about thirty-one years.

317 This account tells us substantially all that is known of him.
Additional details are either legendary or conjectural. He was made
a missionary (“regionary”) bishop, _i.e._, had no fixed see assigned
to him.

318 II, 17, 18, 19, 20.

319 He was Archbishop of Milan, residing at Genoa. “Asterius ... like
his predecessors from 568, avoided contact with the dominant Arian
Lombards by residing within the imperial territory at Genoa”
(Bright).

320 Called Cyneburga by Reginald of Durham (Life of St. Oswald).

321 Dorchester, about nine miles from Oxford, near the junction of the
Thame and the Thames. The Abbey Church of SS. Peter and Paul stands
on the traditional site of Cynegil’s baptism. The see became extinct
on the retirement of Agilbert (_v. infra_), but there are some
grounds for believing that it was revived for a short time as a
Mercian see in 679 (_v._ p. 272, note), after which it again
disappeared till, in the ninth century, the Bishop of Leicester
moved his see to Dorchester.

322 IV, 12; V, 18. Haedde became bishop in 676 (Sax. Chron.). His see
was at Winchester. He removed the bones of Birinus, because
Dorchester had ceased to be an episcopal see. Winchester continued
to be the only West Saxon see till the diocese was again divided
(_v._ V, 18), when Daniel was established at Winchester, and Aldhelm
at Sherborne.

323 Winchester; _Gwent_ (Celtic) = a plain. This, the “old Church,” as
distinguished from the present Cathedral, was built by Coinwalch on
his restoration to his kingdom. There are legends of early British
churches on the site, the first founded by “King Lucius” (I, 4), the
second dedicated to “St. Amphibalus” (I, 7, p. 15, note).

324 Cuichelm (_v._ II, 9, and note) had died before his father,
Cynegils.

325 Bede reverts more than once to the subject of Anna’s pious
offspring, _v. infra_ cc. 8, 18; IV, 19, 20. He had four daughters:
Sexburg (c. 8, IV, 19, 22), Ethelberg (c. 8), Ethelthryth (IV, 19,
20; cf. IV, 3, 22), and Witberg (not mentioned by Bede); two
granddaughters, Earcongota (c. 8) and Ermingild, the wife of
Wulfhere of Mercia; all of whom entered convents, as did also his
step-daughter, Saethryth (c. 8).

326 Cc. 25, 26, 28; IV, 1; V, 19. The name is a Frankish form of the
English “Aethelbert.” He was apparently consecrated in Gaul, but not
appointed to any diocese.

327 Cf. c. 28. It is not known why he was expelled (_v. infra_). There
is a tradition that he spent the last three years of his life at
Winchester as a penitent, doubtless for the act of simony related
below, but this is inconsistent with Bede’s statement that he
remained Bishop of London till his death.

328 Winchester; _v.s._ pp. 148-9, notes.

329 London was an East Saxon bishopric, but Wulfhere (_v._ c. 24, _ad
fin._) had acquired the supremacy over the East Saxons (_v._ c. 30).

330 Hlothere, consecrated 670. Apparently he was appointed by a West
Saxon Synod (“ex synodica sanctione”). Dr. Bright thinks the term is
used loosely for a Witenagemot.

331 II, 5-9, 20; V, 24.

332 Faremoûtier-en-Brie (Farae Monasterium in Brige), founded _circ._
617 by Fara, or Burgundofara, a Burgundian lady of noble birth, said
to have been dedicated by St. Columba in her infancy. The monastery
was a double one, _i.e._, consisted of monks and nuns (cf. _infra_,
“many of the brethren”).

333 Chelles, near Paris, founded by Clothilde, wife of Clovis I,
restored and enlarged by Bathild, wife of Clovis II (_v._ V, 19,
note).

334 Andeley-sur-Seine, also founded by Clothilde, wife of Clovis I.

335 Cf. _supra_ c. 7, note on Anna.

_ 336 Ibid._

_ 337 Ibid._

_ 338 Ibid._

339 Cf. c. 1.

340 The place is commonly supposed to be near Oswestry in Shropshire
(_i.e._, Oswald’s Tree). There is a legend (related by Reginald)
which tells of a tree near the spot, to which a large bird carried
the king’s right arm from the stake (cf. c. 12 _ad fin._). The Welsh
name of the place, “Croes Oswallt” (Cross-Oswald), points to the
explanation that the “tree” was a wooden cross set up to mark the
site.

341 642, _i.e._, nine years after the death of Edwin.

342 Reading _stramine subtracto_, on the authority of the oldest MSS.,
in which case we must assume (with Plummer) that _stramen_ is used
incorrectly for _stragulus_ in the sense of “saddle,” or
“horse-cloth,” from the classical use, _sternere equum_ = to saddle.
Cf. “stratus regaliter,” c. 14. Later MSS. read _stramine substrato_
(= “spreading straw under him”).

343 Wife of Ethelred of Mercia (cf. IV, 21), murdered by her own people
in 697 (V, 24).

344 Bardney, in Lincolnshire. Ethelred became first a monk, afterwards
abbot of the monastery.

345 “Sacrarium.” Probably here = the cemetery. But we find it elsewhere
in Bede for the sacristy, and it is also used of the sanctuary.

346 Cf. c. 27; IV, 12.

347 Partney: cf. II, 16, and note. This is the only mention of its
abbot, Aldwin.

348 Aen. II, 1. Quotations from Vergil are frequent in Bede. Cf. II, 13,
_ad fin._; v. 12, p. 327.

_ 349 I.e._, matins (between midnight and 3 A.M.).

350 It was removed in 875, during the Danish invasions, in the coffin of
St. Cuthbert, and finally interred in the same tomb with the body of
Cuthbert at Durham, where it was found in 1827. Hence St. Cuthbert
is often represented holding St. Oswald’s head in his hands.

351 Bamborough: cf. c. 6, note.

352 Bishop of Hexham, 709-731: _v._ V, 20 (cf. also IV, 14; V, 19). He
was a much loved friend of Bede, many of whose works were undertaken
at his instigation. He was devotedly attached to Wilfrid, whom he
succeeded at Hexham. The “Continuation” says that he was expelled
from his see in 731, and he probably never regained it.

353 Cf. V. 19, p. 353. This was probably Wilfrid’s third journey to
Rome, undertaken in 703-704, for, at the time of his earlier journey
(in 678), when he spent the winter in Frisland, Wilbrord was not yet
there.

354 The great missionary archbishop of the Frisians. He was trained as a
boy in Wilfrid’s abbey at Ripon, studied some time in Ireland, and
with eleven companions undertook in 690 the mission to Frisland
planned by Egbert: _v._ V, 10, 11. (For Egbert, _v._ c. 4, p. 143,
and note.)

355 The third of Ethelfrid’s seven sons (_v._ Sax. Chron.) to succeed to
the sovereignty. With his brothers he had spent his youth in
banishment among the Picts and Scots (_v.s._ c. 1).

356 Cc. 21, 24, 25, 28. The pupil and friend of Wilfrid. He was made
sub-king of Deira in place of Ethelwald (_v._ next note). The date
and circumstances of his rebellion are not known. A cross at
Bewcastle in Cumberland, erected in 670 or 671, commemorates him and
asks prayers for his soul.

357 Ethelwald, _v._ cc. 23, 24.

358 Cf. II, 3.

359 The first bishop of English birth. For Honorius, _v._ II, 15, note.

360 The apostate king of Deira, Osric, son of Aelfric, was first cousin
to Edwin (cf. c. 1). Oswald united the two Northumbrian kingdoms,
but at his death, Oswin, son of Osric, succeeded to Deira. He was
canonised, and his tragic death led him to be regarded as a martyr.

361 Not identified. The village (“a vico Cataractone”) is probably the
one called Cataracta in II, 14 (_v._ note, _ad loc._).

_ 362 Comes_, A.S. _gesith_.

363 At Queen Eanfled’s request (_v._ c. 24, p. 191). The place is
generally identified with Gilling in the North Riding of Yorkshire.
For the form of the name, _v._ II, 14, p. 119, note 5.

364 In 651 A.D. Cf. V. 24.

365 Cf. c. 21.

366 II, 9, 20; III, 24, 25, 29; V, 19.

367 The monastery of Wearmouth and Jarrow. Cf. IV, 18; V, 21 _ad init._,
24.

368 Bamborough, _v._ cc. 6, 12.

369 The scene of St. Cuthbert’s hermit life: _v._ IV, 27, 28, 29; V, 1.
It is called the “House Island,” and is the largest of the Farne
group of seventeen islands off the coast of Northumberland, opposite
Bamborough, famous in modern times for the rescue of a shipwrecked
crew by Grace Darling.

_ 370 v.l._ seventeen. The MS. authority is about equal; but cf. _infra_,
the statement that he died in the seventeenth year of his
episcopate, which seems to be correct.

371 651 A.D.; _v.s._ c. 14 _ad fin._

372 Cc. 21, 22, 25, 26, 27. For his character, _v._ c. 25 (though some
suppose the reference to be to Ronan). For Hii, _v._ c. 3, note.

373 The church and the buttress were evidently both of wood.

374 He probably refers to the “De Temporum Ratione,” the longer of his
two chronological works. It treats the Paschal question at length.
But in the “De Temporibus” he also briefly discusses it.

375 Cf. c. 3.

376 II, 15, and note.

377 Cf. _ib._ The school was probably in the episcopal city of Dunwich,
though it has been maintained that it was the origin of Cambridge
University. For this there seems to be no authority except a
seventeenth century addition to this passage in a twelfth or
thirteenth century MS: “Grantebrig schola a Sigberto Rege.”

378 Cf. c. 7, p. 149, and note.

379 For a full account of St. Fursa and his brothers, and other
companions mentioned in this chapter, _v._ Miss Margaret Stokes’s
“Three months in the Forests of France, a pilgrimage in search of
vestiges of the Irish Saints in France.” Bede’s narrative is taken
from an extant ancient Latin life of St. Fursa (or Fursey), the
“libellus de vita ejus conscriptus” to which he refers several times
(_v. infra_).

380 St. Matt., xxv, 13.

381 Burgh Castle in Suffolk, where there was a Roman fortress,
Garianonum.

_ 382 I.e._, Irish.

383 His monastery on Lough Corrib. It is obvious from the sequel that
this vision was prior to his journey to Britain, and is distinct
from the vision mentioned above.

384 Ps. lxxxiv, 7; (lxxxiii, 8, in the Vulgate). The reading is that of
the Vulgate and the Gallican Psalter: “Ibunt de virtute in virtutem:
videbitur Deus deorum in Sion.”

_ 385 Ibid._

_ 386 I.e._, Ireland.

387 The monastery at Burgh Castle.

388 Fullan, or Foillan, was apparently a bishop (the others are called
“presbyteri”). He and Ultan after Fursa’s death (_circ._ 650) went
to South Brabant. Ultan founded a monastery at Fosse in the diocese
of Liège (then of Maestricht), and Fullan laboured in conjunction
with St. Gertrude in the double monastery of Nivelles. Ultan became
abbot, first of Fosse and later of Péronne. The name Gobban occurs
frequently in Irish Church History, Dicull occasionally. There is a
Dicull mentioned in IV, 13.

_ 389 I.e._, the Mercians; _v.s._ c. 18.

390 Clovis II, King of Neustria, 638-656. Ercinwald was his Mayor of the
Palace.

391 Lagny on the Marne, near Paris.

392 Péronne on the Somme. The monastery founded there after his death
was called “Perrona Scotorum” from the number of Irish who resorted
to it.

_ 393 Circ._ 647. The rapid increase in the number of native bishops may
be seen from this chapter. The only one before Thomas was Ithamar
(cf. c. 14, p. 164).

394 The Fen country. The province included part of the counties of
Lincoln, Northampton, Huntingdon, and Cambridge.

395 Such changes of name were frequent: cf. Benedict for Biscop (IV,
18), Boniface for Winfrid (_v._ “Continuation”), Clement for
Wilbrord (V, 11), and cf. _infra_, “Deusdedit.”

396 II, 15, note.

397 The first archbishop of English birth. He died in 664 (_v._ IV, 1).
His original name is said to have been Frithonas; Deusdedit is the
Latin form of Theodore. There was a Pope of the same name, 615-618
(_v._ II, 7). Similar names were common in the African Church,
_e.g._, “Adeodatus,” “Habetdeus,” “Quodvultdeus,” “Deogratias.”

398 Cf. c. 14, and note.

399 Cf. IV, 2. It has been supposed that he died of the plague of 664.
After his death the see was vacant for several years. It is
remarkable that he came of a race which had not yet become
Christian. The South Saxons continued to be pagan till Wilfrid
evangelized them, 681-686 (IV, 13).

400 For their origin, _v._ I, 15. Their country, which was subject to
Mercia, was the present Leicestershire. They are probably to be
identified with the Southern Mercians; _v._ c. 24, where we find
Peada confirmed by Oswy in the government of that people.

401 She caused his death by treachery: _v._ c. 24 _ad fin._

402 C. 14, _ad init._, and note.

403 After Alchfrid’s death, she took the veil and ruled the monastery of
Caistor (? Cyneburgacaster) in Northamptonshire. She was one of the
five children of the heathen Penda, who were canonized as saints.

_ 404 Comitibus ac militibus._ A.S. “geferum” (companions) and “king’s
thegns.”

405 Cf. c. 22. Variously identified with Walton and Walbottle, both near
Newcastle. For the preposition, _v._ II, 14, p. 119, note 5.

406 For Cedd, _v._ Preface, and _infra_ cc. 22, 23, 25, 26. The names of
Adda and Betti do not occur again. For Diuma: _v. infra_ and c. 24.

407 III, 15.

408 Gateshead on the Tyne, opposite Newcastle. For the preposition, cf.
II, 14, p. 119, note 5.

409 Penda was killed in 655. Diuma was probably consecrated in 656.

410 Not identified. Perhaps Repton (Reppington) in Derbyshire, where it
is supposed that Diuma had fixed his see. For the form of the name,
cf. II, 14, p. 119, note 5.

411 He probably returned at the time of the rebellion of Mercia in 658;
_v._ c. 24, _ad fin._ For Hii, _v.s._ c. 3, _ad fin._

412 Abbot of Gilling. He was a kinsman of Oswin: _v._ c. 24, p. 191.

413 Cf. II, 5. Since then, the East Saxons had remained pagan.

414 Sometimes surnamed the “Good.” (He must not be confused with
Sigbert, King of the East Angles, II, 15, and III, 18, 19.) Sigbert
the Little was the successor of the three young kings who expelled
Mellitus (II, 5).

415 C. 21 and note.

416 C. 21 and note.

417 They must have been Celtic bishops, probably of the Irish Church and
subject to the authority of Iona. Cedd seems to have had no fixed
see. He is not called Bishop of London, like Mellitus.

418 Dr. Bright regards this organization as a foreshadowing of the
parochial system, which, however, was not thoroughly established
till long after.

419 Identified with the Roman military station, Othona, on the
Blackwater, formerly called the Pant, in Essex. The town is now
submerged.

420 Tilbury.

_ 421 Comes._ A.S. “gesith.”

422 He was his brother probably. But the relationships of these East
Saxon kings are very difficult to determine.

423 Rendlesham in Suffolk.

424 Distinguish from Ethelwald, or Oidilwald, sub-King of Deira (_v.s._
c. 14, and _infra_ cc. 23, 24). Ethelwald, King of the East Angles,
succeeded his brother, Ethelhere, who was the successor of Anna (cf.
_supra_ cc. 7, 18, 19), and was killed in the battle of the Winwaed
(_v. infra_ c. 24).

425 Cf. _supra_ c. 14; _infra_ c. 24. Apparently he succeeded Oswin as
sub-King of Deira.

426 Isaiah, xxxv, 7.

427 Lastingham (_v._ Preface). Cedd was its first abbot, though it was
not in his own diocese.

428 Doubtless only one at a time. The “Provost” is the prior of later
times. The charge of the monastery would devolve upon him while Cedd
was absent in his diocese.

429 Or, as he is commonly called, St. Chad, the greatest of this
remarkable group of brothers; _v._ Preface and _infra passim_.

430 Ythancaestir, or Tilbury (_v._ c. 22).

431 Oswald; _v.s._ c. 9.

432 “Ealdormen,” Green, “Making of England,” p. 301. But they probably
included many British chiefs (_v._ Nennius, and cf. _infra_ “duces
regii”).

433 Oswy’s younger son. He succeeded his father in 670 or 671 (_v._ IV,
5, and for the events of his reign, IV, V, _passim_).

434 The wife of Penda.

435 Cc. 14 and 23. The reason for his conduct is not explained. Probably
he had hoped to establish his claims on Northumbria through Penda’s
assistance, but shrank from actually fighting against his country.

436 Cf. c. 22, _ad fin._, note. How he gave occasion for the war is not
known.

437 The river has not been identified, and there is great uncertainty
even with regard to the district. Below, Bede says that Oswy
concluded the war in the district of “Loidis,” by which he must mean
Leeds, as in II, 14, and most commentators adopt this view. In this
case, the river may be the Aire, or more probably the Went, a
tributary of the Don. Others believe the district to be the
Lothians, following the account in Nennius, who describes Oswy as
taking refuge before the battle in a city called Iudeu, supposed to
be either Edinburgh or Carriden (cf. I, 12, note), and the river has
been supposed to be the Avon in Linlithgow.

438 She is mentioned as joint-abbess with her mother, Eanfled, of the
monastery of Whitby (IV, 26). Eddius calls her “sapientissima
virgo,” “semper totius provinciae consolatrix optimaque
consiliatrix.” Her influence helped to restore Wilfrid to the
bishopric. She was the friend of St. Cuthbert, who is said to have
wrought a miraculous cure on her behalf. It was to her that he
prophesied the death of her brother Egfrid (IV, 26, p. 285, note).

439 Hartlepool in the county of Durham (cf. IV, 23).

440 For the main facts of her life, _v._ IV, 23. She was Abbess of
Whitby at the time of the Synod (c. 25).

441 Whitby. It was a mixed monastery (cf. IV, 23).

442 The ancient life of Gregory the Great, by a monk of Whitby, tells
how Edwin’s body was translated thither from the place where he
fell. For the fate of his head, cf. II, 20.

443 In 655: cf. V, 24 (death of Penda).

444 Cf. c. 21, where, however, Lindsey is not mentioned. For the
successive conquests of Lindsey by Northumbria and Mercia, _v._ IV,
12, p. 243, note. Though it must have passed to Northumbria after
Oswy’s victory, it was still apparently included in the Mercian
diocese.

445 C. 21, _ad fin._ and note. “Scottia,” as usual, means Ireland, which
includes Iona (cf. II, 4).

446 Cf. c. 14.

_ 447 I.e._, he confirmed Peada in the government conferred on him by his
father, Penda, if we may assume the Southern Mercians to be
identical with the Middle Angles: cf. c. 21, p. 180.

448 Alchfled, Oswy’s daughter: _v.s._ _ibid._

449 He has been already mentioned, cc. 7, 21. He was a vigorous ruler;
he freed Mercia from Northumbria, reconquered Lindsey, established
his supremacy over the East Saxons (cf. c. 30), and curtailed the
power of Wessex. His attempt, however, to extend his power to the
north of the Humber ended in 675 in his disastrous defeat by Egfrid,
King of Northumbria (IV, 12) and his death followed immediately
after. He was the first Christian king of all Mercia, and he was
zealous in putting down idolatry (Florence of Worcester).

450 Cf. _supra_ and c. 21.

451 He succeeded in 662. Cf. c. 30.

452 C. 23, p. 187, and note.

453 IV, 3, 5, 6. He was deposed by Theodore for some act of disobedience
not known (IV, 6), and went to the Continent, where, travelling in
Neustria, he was mistaken for Wilfrid and cruelly ill-treated by the
emissaries of Ebroin (_v._ V, 19, note), “errore bono unius syllabae
seducti,” as Eddius, the biographer of Wilfrid, remarks.

_ 454 I.e._, Ireland.

455 He succeeded Cuthbert as Bishop of Lindisfarne; _v._ IV, 29, 30.

456 Cf. II, 2, p. 84, note 3.

457 Nothing certain is known of him.

458 II, 16, 20; IV, 2.

_ 459 I.e._, Iona: cf. IV, 4, _ad init._ Colman succeeded in 661.

460 For his life: _v._ V, 19.

461 Really Annemundus. He was Archbishop of Lyons. Cf. V, 8, note on
Godwin. He is confused with his brother Dalfinus, Count of Lyons:
_v._ V, 19, p. 348, note.

462 Ripon. For the preposition, cf. II, 14, p. 119, note 5. The
monastery was first given to Eata (_v._ c. 26), to be organized by
him, and among the monks he brought with him from Melrose was
Cuthbert (cf. IV, 27). They were forced to retire in 661, but after
the Synod of Whitby they conformed to the Catholic rules.

463 Cf. c. 7, where Bede’s summary account obscures the sequence of
events. Here he is still called Bishop of the West Saxons. It is
probable that he had retired from Wessex by this time, but had not
yet gone to Gaul. He did not become Bishop of Paris before 666, for
in that year we find his predecessor, Importunus, witnessing a
“privilegium” for a nunnery at Soissons.

464 We hear nothing more of this priest.

465 C. 24. The etymology is generally considered impossible. But cf.
Bright, “Early English Church History,” p. 213.

466 C. 24. After the Synod it appears that she conformed to the Catholic
usages. But she continued to be an opponent of Wilfrid till the end
of her life.

467 Cc. 21, 22, 23.

468 The practice of the churches of Asia, traditionally derived from St.
John, was to disregard the day of the week and observe as Easter Day
the 14th of the month Nisan. Therefore the claim to the authority of
St. John, advanced by the Celts, was inaccurate and gives some
colour to the charge, often brought against them, of being
“Quartodecimans.”

469 Acts, xvi, 3.

_ 470 Ibid._, xxi, 26.

_ 471 Ibid._, xviii, 18.

_ 472 Ibid._, xxi, 20.

473 Cf. II, 19, note.

474 Cf. c. 3, note.

475 St. Matt., xvi, 18-19.

476 Cf. II, 2, p. 85, note 1.

477 To Iona; _v._ IV, 4, _ad init._

478 Fourth Bishop of Lindisfarne and the last of the Irish bishops in
that see. He died of the plague in 664: _v._ c. 27.

479 Cf. c. 3, p. 139, and note.

_ 480 I.e._, Ireland.

481 IV, 12, 27, 28; V, 2.

482 Old Melrose, “Quod Tuidi fluminis circumflexu maxima ex parte
clauditur,” V, 12. The more famous monastery is of later date and is
to the west of the older site.

483 Cf. c. 3, _ad fin._ (where, however, there is only a general
allusion to the instruction of English children). It has been
suggested that they may have been redeemed from slavery. Cf. c. 5,
p. 145.

484 Really on the 1st.

485 Called the “Yellow Pest” from the colour of its victims. It was a
bubonic plague; it probably came from the East and was the same as
that which raged in Europe in Justinian’s reign. There were several
outbreaks in England in the seventh century, but this was the most
virulent. For subsequent visitations, cf. IV, 7, 14, 19.

486 Cf. c. 26, p. 201.

487 The Saxon Chronicle has “on Wagele,” which is supposed to be
Whalley, on the borders of Lancashire, Cheshire, and Yorkshire, but
the name varies greatly in different chroniclers. Smith considers
that Bede’s form “Paegnalaech” or “Paegnalech” points to Finchale
(Wincanheale, in Simeon of Durham, or Pincahala), near Durham.

488 Cf. c. 4.

489 Cf. c. 11; IV, 12.

490 Said, on doubtful authority, to be Melfont, or Mellifont, in County
Louth.

491 “Acceptum sacerdotii gradum,” A.S. “biscophade onfeng” = he received
the episcopate. Cf. c. 4, note.

492 In 664. This was the young “Fainéant” king of Neustria, Clothaire
III. Wilfrid was probably sent abroad at his own request. Doubtless
he desired to have the canonical number of three bishops at his
consecration, and Boniface of Dunwich (c. 20; IV, 5) was the only
prelate in England whose orders he would have regarded as entirely
satisfactory, for Wini might be considered a usurper, and Cedd and
Jaruman had been consecrated by schismatics. Archbishop Deusdedit
was dead (III, 20, note) and so probably was Damian of Rochester.

493 He was Wilfrid’s friend: _v.s._ c. 25, pp. 194-5.

494 Cf. _ibid._, note.

495 Compiègne, a royal “villa.” For the preposition, _v._ II, 14, note.
The ceremony was a specially magnificent one, Wilfrid being carried
in a golden chair by twelve bishops in choral procession, according
to an ancient custom of the Gallican Church.

496 Preface, III, 23, _et saep._ Why Oswy, who had consented to
Wilfrid’s consecration (_v._ V, 19) acted in this manner is not
clear. Probably it implies that the Celtic party, during Wilfrid’s
prolonged absence, had to some extent recovered their ascendency;
and, if it was at this time that Alchfrid (who is not heard of
again) rebelled against his father (_v.s._ c. 14, _ad init._) and
was deprived of his kingdom, Wilfrid would have lost his warmest
supporter.

497 He retired to Ripon from Lindsey, of which he was the first separate
bishop, when Ethelred recovered that province for Mercia in 679. But
cf. IV, 12, _ad fin._, note, for the statement that he was “Bishop”
of Ripon.

498 King of Northumbria, _v.s._ c. 24, p. 188, note 3.

499 It does not appear why Boniface (Bertgils) of Dunwich, Bishop of the
East Angles, 652-669 (c. 20, IV, 5), is ignored. Ceadda’s
consecration was afterwards regarded as of doubtful validity and was
completed by Theodore (_v._ IV, 12). The British (probably Cornish)
bishops were schismatical, and Wini’s position was irregular.
Moreover, the see to which Ceadda was consecrated was not vacant.

500 IV, 1.

501 Consecrated in 657—died in 672.

502 Isaiah, xi, 10.

_ 503 Ibid._, xlix, 1.

_ 504 Ibid._, 6.

_ 505 Ibid._, 7.

_ 506 Ibid._, 8-9.

_ 507 Ibid._, xlii, 6-7. The readings are from the Vulgate.

508 It has not been stated that Oswy and Egbert asked the Pope to
provide an archbishop, failing Wighard. But this seems to be implied
in IV, 1: “episcopum, quem petierant.” Or, as is generally supposed,
Vitalian may have arbitrarily assumed this to be the intention of
their letter.

509 There were several martyrs of the name of Laurentius, but the best
known is the Roman deacon, St. Laurence, who suffered at Rome in 258
A.D. He was buried in the Via Tiburtina, where a church dedicated to
him is said to have been founded by Constantine the Great. On the
site stands the present Church of S. Lorenzo fuori le Mura, the
older part of which dates from the sixth century at least. One of
Aldhelm’s foundations (V, 18) was a little church dedicated to St.
Laurence at Bradford-on-Avon in 705, probably the small Saxon church
which still stands there. There were many martyrs named John and
Paul, and more than one Gregory. St. Pancras was a boy-martyr, a
Phrygian by birth, who suffered at Rome in 304 A.D., when he was
only fourteen years of age. His martyrdom was widely celebrated, and
miraculous powers were attributed to his tomb outside the walls of
Rome. An old British church at Canterbury, which had been desecrated
by the heathen invaders, was restored for Christian use and
dedicated to St. Pancras by Augustine.

510 Eanfled, _v.s._ c. 15 and note.

511 St. Matt., vi, 33.

512 Cf. IV, 6. Sighere was the son, Sebbi the brother, of Sigbert the
Little (_v.s._ c. 22, _ad init._).

513 C. 22, _ad fin._

514 C. 24, _ad fin._; IV, 3.

515 664 A.D.: cf. III, 27, _ad init._

516 Cf. III, 26, _ad init._

517 Cf. III, 20 and note.

518 Cf. III, 8; V, 19, p. 348.

519 Cf. III, 29. From Bede’s “History of the Abbots” we learn that he
was a pupil of Pope Gregory’s Roman disciples in Kent.

520 III, 29.

_ 521 Ibid._, and note.

522 Cf. Preface, p. 2, note 3.

523 He was probably chaplain of the nunnery.

524 Cf. Preface, p. 2, note 2.

525 Cf. Bright, cc. 252, 253. He sees here an allusion to the
Monothelite controversy.

_ 526 I.e._, the Eastern, which consisted in shaving the whole head. This
method was supposed to have the authority of St. Paul (an idea
derived from Acts, xviii, 18), and of St. James “the Less.” Cf. II,
2, p. 85, note.

527 They were accompanied by Benedict Biscop (_v._ c. 18) whom Vitalian
had asked to act as their guide and interpreter (“Hist. Abb.,” § 3).

528 Archbishop of Arles, 658-675.

529 From this it has been inferred that Arles belonged to Neustria. The
king was Clothaire III, king of Neustria. Ebroin had succeeded
Ercinwald (_v._ III, 19, _ad fin._) as Mayor of the Palace. He was
murdered in 681.

530 III, 7, 25, 26, 28.

531 Called also Emmo, or Haymo; Bishop of Sens, 658-675.

532 Or Burgundofarus, Bishop of Meaux, 626-672. He was brother of Fara,
mentioned III, 8.

533 “Praefectus.”

534 Etaples in Picardy; “Quentae (or ‘ad Quantiam’) vicus” = the village
at the mouth of the Canche. It was an important commercial town and
port.

535 SS. Peter and Paul (St. Augustine’s): cf. I, 33. Theodore had placed
Benedict Biscop over it while Hadrian was still abroad.

536 II, 16, 20.

537 Eddius, the biographer of Wilfrid. He mentions himself (“Life of
Wilfrid,” Chapter XIV) as a “cantor.”

538 Bede can scarcely mean to impeach the orthodoxy of the bishops of
native birth prior to Wilfrid. Probably the reference is mainly to
the prominent part he took in bringing about the decision at Whitby.

539 Cf. III, 28, note.

540 Cf. III, 20, and note.

541 Cc. 5, 12. Florence of Worcester mentions a Putta, Bishop of
Hereford, who died in 688, but it is very doubtful whether he can be
identified with the above. Bede’s words in Chapter 12 do not imply
that Putta, Bishop of Rochester, became Bishop of Hereford. Hereford
was not one of the five sees into which Florence tells us that
Theodore divided the great Mercian bishopric, but it appears soon
after as a separate see for Hecana (Herefordshire). Possibly Putta,
who is traditionally reckoned as its first bishop, may have acted as
Sexwulf’s deputy there.

542 Cf. II, 20 _ad fin._, note.

543 III, 24, 30. He had probably died two years before Chad’s
appointment, _i.e._, in 667, and the see had been vacant in the
interval, for Wilfrid, then in retirement at Ripon, is said (by
Eddius) to have discharged episcopal functions for the Mercians.

544 Lastingham. Cf. Preface, p. 3; III, 23, 28.

545 Lindsey at this time belonged to Mercia. Cf. c. 12, p. 243, note 5.

546 Smith believed this place to be Barton-on-Humber. It is now
generally identified with Barrow in Lincolnshire. For the
preposition, cf. II, 14, p. 119, note 5.

547 It had not previously been an episcopal see, though Wulfhere had
wished to establish Wilfrid there during the vacancy in the Mercian
bishopric (p. 218, note 4). When the bishopric of Mercia and Lindsey
was subdivided by Theodore in 679, Lichfield remained the see of the
bishopric of Mercia proper. In 787, under Offa, King of Mercia, with
the consent of Pope Hadrian, it was raised into a separate
archbishopric for Mercia and East Anglia, but in 802 Canterbury was
re-established as the sole archbishopric for the Southern Province.
The popular derivation of the name, Lichfield (“Field of the Dead”)
is from _lic_ = a corpse, and the place is traditionally connected
with the martyrdom of a great number of British Christians. Another
derivation, however (from _leccian_ = to irrigate), points to the
meaning “the watered field.”

548 Eccl., iii. 5.

549 A stone which is believed to have formed part of Owini’s tomb was
found at the end of the eighteenth century at Haddenham, near Ely,
and is now in Ely Cathedral. It bears the inscription, “Lucem tuam
Ovino da Deus et requiem. Amen” (Mayor and Lumley).

550 Cf. c. 19.

551 Ps. xviii, 13, 14.

552 III, 4, 27.

553 He is said to have been Abbot of Bardney.

554 In 672. The original Church of St. Mary at Lichfield, said to have
been built by Oswy in 656-657, was replaced about 1140 by the new
Cathedral, and Ceadda’s relics were soon after removed to it.

555 Cf. III, 24, _ad fin._, note.

556 Cf. III, 26, _ad init._

557 Iona. Cf. III, 3, _ad fin._, note.

558 Innisboffin, off the coast of Mayo. The annals of Ulster give 667 as
the date of his retirement to it.

559 Mayo, called from this settlement, “Mayo of the Saxons.” It
continued to be an English monastery (_v. infra_), and after awhile
adopted those usages, to avoid which Colman had left England. It
became an episcopal see, which in 1559 was annexed to the
archbishopric of Tuam.

560 Hertford.

561 It seems probable that we ought to read 671; cf. Plummer _ad loc._

562 Oswy is the last king in Bede’s list of those who held an “imperium”
(_v._ II, 5). With the rise of Mercia under Wulfhere (III, 24), the
supremacy of Northumbria had virtually passed away. After Oswy’s
death, the position of Northumbria was an isolated one, and it was
by conquests over Britons, not Englishmen, that Egfrid enlarged the
bounds of his kingdom.

563 In his youth he had been a hostage at the court of Queen Cynwise,
wife of Penda (III, 24, p. 188).