of his subjects still continued in the rudest state of idolatry. After a short reign of six years, he was basely murdered by the hand of a relation. The honor of giving Christianity a permanent footing in East-Anglia was reserved for Sigbrecht, or Sigebert, the successor of Eorpwald. This prince was the son by a former marriage of Redwald's second queen; and finding that the popu larity which his amiable qualities and accomplishments obtained for him, had excited the jealousy of his step-father, he retired to France. There he became a proficient in the literature of the age, and a zealous professor of the Christian faith. From this voluntary exile Sigebert was recalled on the death of his half-brother, for the purpose of being placed on the vacant throne. He brought over with him Felix, a learned and pious Burgundian priest, whom he appointed bishop of Dunwich. In consequence of the indefatigable exertions of this prelate, and the judicious assistance of the sovereign, the latter soon had the satisfaction of witnessing the general conversion of his subjects to the Christian faith. To this monarch the town of Bury was indebted for the germ of the ecclesiastical distinction to which it afterwards attained; for here Sigebert founded a monastery, and built a church, which he dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, After a reign of seven yenrs, motives of mistaken piety impelled this prince to resign the cares of a crown to his kinsman Egric, and to become a monk in his own convent. The royal recluse was not destined long to enjoy the pleasures of retirement. Penda, king of Mercia, having turned his arms against the East-Angles, Sigebert was prevailed upon to quit his monastery, and to assume the command of their army. His attempt to oppose the invader proved unsuccessful, both himself and Egric being slain in 644. The crown now devolved to Anna, the nephew of Redwald, a prince distinguished for wisdom and valor, Notwithstanding these qualities, he was unable to cope with the superior power of Penda; and after an unequal contest of ten years, he bravely fell with his son Firminus, in aņ obstinate battle fought at Bullchamp, near Dunwich, in 655. The remains of the two princes were interred at Blithburgh, but

after

afterwards removed to the abbey church at Bury. The assistance afforded to Penda by Ethelred, the unnatural brother of Anna, now procured his elevation to the throne of East-Anglia, which continued to be governed by its own princes till Offa, king of Mercia, about the year 792, basely assassinated Ethelbert, and seized his kingdom. Ravaged by contending armies, the country was converted into a scene of bloodshed and desolation, but in 828 it was obliged to submit to the preponderating power of Egbert, king of the West-Saxons. That monarch, instead of incorporating East-Anglia with his own dominions, suffered it to remain as a tributary state under its own sovereigns, the last of whom was the unfortunate Edmund, dignified after his death with the titles of Saint and Martyr.

*

The subsequent history of Suffolk having been already related in that of Norfolk, it will be sufficient to remark, that among other districts laid waste by Sweyne, king of Denmark, on his invasion of England, this county suffered most severely from his ravages; neither towns nor churches being spared, unless redeemed by the inhabitants with large sums of money: but to compensate in some measure for this treatment, Canute, his son and successor, shewed it particular kindness,

When William the Conqueror had by his sword made good his claim to the English crown, and confiscated the estates of the Saxon nobility and gentry throughout the kingdom, in order to reward the valor or fidelity of his principal officers, the county of Suffolk was parcelled out among them in the following manner:

To Hugh de Abrineis, Earl of Chester, his sister's

son, he gave

To Robert, Earl of Morton and Cornwall

To Odo of Champagne, Earl of Albemarle and
Holdernesse

To William Warren, Earl of Surrey

To William Malet, Lord of Eye in this county

To Robert de Todenei, a noble Norman

To Robert de Stafford

To Alberic de Vere, Earl of Oxford
To Jeffery de Magnavil, or Mandevill

To Richard de Tonebruge, or de Clare

95

At the same time Ralph Waher, or Guader,* was by the conqueror constituted earl, or chief governor of this county, as well as Norfolk; but this nobleman having conspired against the king, was obliged to quit the country, upon whieh his titles were conferred on Roger Bigod.

In the reign of Henry II. about the year 1173, Robert, Earl of Leicester, having taken part with Henry, the eldest son of that monarch, whose ambition, inflamed by the king of France, tempted him to aspire to the throne of his father, invaded this county with an army of Flemings, and was joined by Hugh Bigod, earl of Norfolk. This force overran nearly the whole county; but being met near Bury, by the royal troops, under the lord chief justice, they were routed with great slaughter, and the earl himself taken prisoner. By these two armies Suffolk was at this time miserably laid waste, especially in the neighborhood of the place where the battle was fought:

During the first war between the barons and king John, Hugh de Boves, a French knight, not less remarkable for his valor, than for his arrogance, promised to bring over a strong army to the assistance of the latter. In consideration of this intended service,

*See Beauties, Vol. XI. Norfolk, p. 60.

service, be obtained of the king a charter, granting him the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, from which he designed, as it was reported, to expel the inhabitants, and to re-people them with foreigners. With this view he assembled a formidable army at Calais. These troops, with their wives and children, being there embarked with an intent to land at Dover, were overtaken by so violent a tempest, and Hugh himself, and all his followers, perished. Matthew Paris computes the total number of lives lost on this occasion at 40,000. The king was thus disappointed of the expected succour; but the inhabitants of Suffolk were not a little rejoiced at their escape from this destruction intended them. But though the county was saved by this providential interference from the rapacity of the king's confederates, it was destined to suffer severely from the allies of the barons: for Louis, the dauphin of France, in conjunction with the nobles who were in arms against John, made incursions into this county, and having ravaged the towns and villages, reduced it into complete subjection to themselves.

In the rebellion excited by Wat Tyler and Jack Straw against Richard II. the populace of this county, headed by John Wraw, and John Ball, two seditious priests, took a conspicuous share. Assembling in vast numbers, they committed the greatest enormities, putting to death the chief justice of England, the Earl of Suffolk, and other distinguished persons, till they were routed with great slaughter, and finally dispersed by the bishop of Norwich.

In the fifteenth year of Henry VII. one Patrick, an Augustine friar of this county, having a scholar, named Ralph Wilford, the son of a shoemaker, instructed him to assume the character of the earl of Warwick, nephew to Edward IV. and Richard III. at that time confined in the Tower, whence the impostor pretended to have escaped by the aid of the friar. This story gained credit from many people, as soon as it was divulged, which encouraged the friar to assert its authenticity from the pulpit. The king, being soon informed of these transactions, caused both master aud

scholar

scholar to be apprehended; the latter was hanged: and the friar condemned to perpetual imprisonment.*

It does not appear that Suffolk had any share in Kett's rebellion, in the reigu of Edward VI. though the seat of that insurrection was in the neighboring county of Norfolk.

On Edward's decease, the inhabitants of Suffolk, though as sincere Protestants as any part of the nation, zealously supported the title of his sister Mary, against the pretensions of Lady Jane Grey's adherents. When the iprncess repaired on this occasion from Norfolk to Framlingham Castle in this county, the nobility and gentry resorted to her, offering their services to vindicate her rightful claim to the crown, on condition that they might enjoy their religion as established in the reign of her predecessor. Mary assured them that no alteration should be made in that point by her consent, and still less by her authority; but no sooner was she firmly seated on the throne, than the people of Suffolk found themselves as much the victims of the misguided system of this princess as the rest of their fellow-subjects. They ventured to remonstrate with her majesty, and humbly entreated her to be mindful of her promise to them, but were answered, contrary to their expectation, that "it was not the place of members to govern the head, nor subjects their prince, as they should hereafter know." The threat conveyed in the concluding words was fulfilled in the rigorous persecution to which many of the inhabitants of this county fell a sacrifice.

In 1578, the nobility and gentry of Suffolk magnificently entertained Queen Elizabeth in her progress; for though they had but short notice of her intended visit, they prepared so well for it, that on her entering the county, she was received by two hundred young gentlemen clad in white velvet, three hundred of the graver sort in black, and 1500 attendants on horseback, under the conduct of the high-sheriff, Sir William Spring. When her majesty, highly pleased with her entertainment, left the county on her return, she was attended to the confines by the like escort. During the civil war between Charles I. and the parliament,

· Magna Britannic, Vol. V. p. 174.