Great Britain -- History -- Anglo-Saxon period, 449-1066 -- Sources
=Source.=—Bede, _Eccl. Hist._, iv. 13. A.D. 731. Translated by J. A.
Giles. Bohn’s Library.
Being expelled from his bishopric, and having travelled in several
parts, Wilfrid went to Rome. He afterwards returned to Britain; and
though he could not, by reason of the enmity of the aforesaid king, be
received into his own country or diocese, yet he could not be restrained
from preaching the Gospel; for, taking his way into the province of the
South Saxons, which extends from Kent on the west and south, as far as
the West Saxons, and contains land of 7,000 families, who at that time
were still pagans, he administered to them the word of faith, and the
baptism of salvation. Ethelwalch, king of that nation, had been, not
long before, baptised in the province of the Mercians, by the persuasion
of King Wulfhere, who was present, and was also his godfather, and as
such gave him two provinces, viz., the Isle of Wight, and the province
of Meanwara, in the nation of the West Saxons. The bishop, therefore,
with the king’s consent, or rather to his great satisfaction, baptised
the principal generals and soldiers of that country; and the priests,
Eappa, and Padda, and Burghelm, and Eadda, either then, or afterwards,
baptised the rest of the people. The queen, whose name was Ebba, had
been christened in her own island, the province of the Wiccii. She was
the daughter of Eanfrid, the brother of Eanher, who were both
Christians, as were their people; but all the province of the South
Saxons were strangers to the name and faith of God. There was among them
a certain monk of the Scottish nation, whose name was Dicul, who had a
very small monastery, at the place called Bosanham, encompassed with the
sea and woods, and in it five or six brothers, who served our Lord in
poverty and humility; but none of the natives cared either to follow
their course of life, or hear their preaching.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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