The next bishop was =Winfrid= (672-675), the abbot of St. Chad's Abbey at Barrow-on-Humber; but in the year that he was appointed a church council was held by Theodore, at which it was decided to split up some of the dioceses. Lichfield being one of the largest, would have been divided at once, but Winfrid, whether for his own sake or at the instigation of King Wulphere, resisted, and the diocese remained unchanged until Wulphere died, when in 675, Winfrid, still remaining opposed to the scheme, was deprived. He subsequently was murdered on his way to Rome. The new bishop was =Saxwulf= (675-691), abbot of Peterborough, and the work of cutting up the diocese was begun. The sees of Hereford and Worcester were made. Lincolnshire was taken from the diocese, and the Middle Angles became the see of Leicester. However, Lichfield still remained an enormous diocese, and when Saxwulf died he was bishop of both Lichfield and Leicester. He was succeeded by =Hedda= (691-721), who is said to have determined the site of the present cathedral by building a church there. However, nothing remains of this cathedral, but it is always supposed that Hedda brought St. Chad's bones from Stowe Church and deposited them here. The cathedral was dedicated to St. Peter. Hedda and his successor, =Aldwin= (721-737), were bishops of both Lichfield and Leicester. They were followed at Lichfield by =Witta= (737-752), and the connection with Leicester ceased. In 756 Offa, the greatest of the Mercian kings, ascended the throne. Offa added a part of Shropshire to the diocese, which from this time remained the same in extent down to the Reformation. Here followed three bishops--=Hemele= (752-764), =Cuthred= (765-768), and =Berthum= (768-779)--of whom little is known; and then came =Higbert= or =Hygeberht= (785-801), who holds a remarkable position in the history of the diocese. Offa had by this time advanced himself into the leading position in England; and so great was his power that Charlemagne called him emperor of the west, keeping for himself the title of emperor of the east. But Offa was first of all king of Mercia, and it did not please him to think that his bishops were subordinate to an archbishop who lived in one of his subject states; and so he determined "to humble Canterbury and exalt Lichfield." He began by confiscating all the property of Canterbury situated in Mercia, and then he appealed to the Pope that the bishop of Lichfield should be made an archbishop. The Pope assented, a council held at Chelsea in 785 also agreed, and Higbert, the new bishop, became archbishop, with the bishoprics of Worcester, Leicester, Lincoln, and Hereford, parts of the old diocese of Mercia, as well as Elmham and Dunwich, to make up his province. Offa died in 796, and immediately a stir was made to restore Canterbury to its old dignity. The negotiations were long, but in 802 Pope Leo decided in favour of Canterbury, and the council of Cloveshoe in