eighth century seven streets in a town called Kilbally near Rahen in King’s Co. were wholly occupied by Galls, or foreigners.[238] Among the foreign students there were sometimes princes. Of the more illustrious of these we may mention Oswald (d. 642) and Ailfrid (d. 704), kings of Northumbria, and Dagobert II. (d. 679) king of France, all of whom were educated in Ireland. Owing to one of those wars so common in England in the seventh century Oswald, son of King Ethelfrid of Northumbria, had to seek refuge in Ireland when he was fifteen years old. He was educated in a monastery and became a Christian. On regaining his kingdom he sought the aid of the monks of Iona to convert his heathen subjects. In 635 A.D. St. Aidan arrived in Northumbria and founded a monastery on the island of Lindisfarne which was destined to become the Iona of the North of England.[239] Ailfrid, another Northumbria king, spent his schooldays in Ireland. While there he was called the Irish Flann Fina (literally Fina’s Flann) from his mother Fina who was an Irish princess. There is still extant a very ancient Irish poem[240] which he composed in praise of Ireland. He would appear to have got a very good education; for Aldhelm in dedicating to him an epistle on Latin prosody congratulates him on having been educated in Ireland.[241] After the death of King Sigibert his little son, who eventually became Dagobert II., was brought by Didon, bishop of Pointers, to Ireland to be educated. This was done at the command of Grimoald, Mayor of the Palace.[242] The greatest of English missionaries, Wilibrord (657–739) was educated in Ireland where he spent thirteen years. With twelve companions, some of them Irish, and other English whom he selected from the Irish schools, he set sail for Friesland and converted that country to the Christian faith.[243] As Alcuin says so tersely, Britain gave him birth but Ireland reared and educated him. (“Quem tibi iam genuit fecunda Britannia mater doctaque nutrivit studiis sed Hibernia sacris.”)[244] Bede mentions other Anglo-Saxon missionaries who in addition to Wilibrord received their training in Irish schools; of these the most familiar names are Victbert and Hewald.[245] Agilbert, a native of Gaul, after spending some time in Ireland studying the Scriptures, was appointed bishop of the West Saxons in 650 A.D. and later occupied the episcopal see of Paris.[246] Other distinguished students were the Angles, Chad and Egbert. Bede tells us that Egbert spent a long time in exile in Ireland studying the Scriptures.[247] Apparently the prestige of the Irish schools continued to draw many students from England even after the establishment of schools in their own country; for we find Aldhelm (d. 709 A.D.) writing in a somewhat bitter mood to three young men who had just returned from the Irish schools: “Why does Ireland pride herself on such a priority that such numbers of students look there