A.D. 676. Escwin of Wessex dies; CENTWINE, son of Cynegils, succeeds. Ethelred of Mercia ravages Kent. A.D. 677. Egfrid takes Lincoln from the Mercians. A.D. 679. Battle near the Trent between the Mercians and Northumbrians; Elfwine, brother of Egfrid, is killed. Theodore, archbishop of Canterbury, mediates a peace. A.D. 680. A synod of Heathfield (Hatfield, in Hertfordshire), Sept. 17, against the Monothelites; at which also the division of the Mercian diocese was probably completed. A.D. 680 (circa). A code regulating legal proceedings, issued by Lothaire and Edric in Kent". A.D. 681. The Picts subject to the Northumbrians, and Trumwine appointed their bishop. Wilfrid converts the South Saxons. Wilfrid, the introducer of the practice of carrying appeals to Rome, born about 630, was educated at the court of Northumbria, and, adopting the priestly profession, went to Rome in 654, and on his return became tutor to the son of Oswy; he received from his royal patron the monastery of Ripon, and having at the synod of Whitby powerfully supported the Roman views, he was appointed to the archbishopric of York, which had remained unoccupied since the withdrawal of Paulinus. He then passed over into Gaul, to Egilbert, bishop of Paris (formerly bishop of the West Saxons); but during his absence Chad was appointed to York, and Wilfrid, on his return, after assuming the power to appoint priests and deacons in Kent, in the vacancy of the see of Canterbury, before the arrival of Theodore, found himself obliged to retire to Ripon. In 669, however, Chad resigned York to him, and Wilfrid held it till 678, but having given offence by his pompous style of living, he was then driven out, and his vast diocese, which comprised the whole Northumbrian kingdom, was divided into the dioceses of York, Lindisfarne, and Hexham. Wilfrid now appealed to Rome, (passing the winter among the pagans of Friesland on his journey), and obtained a papal decree in his favour, but it was disregarded; he then visited the heathen South Saxons, and converted them. At length, in 687, a portion of his diocese was restored, and he was established at Hexham, but was again driven out in 691, and spent several years in Mercia. In 702 or 703 he again repaired to Rome, obtained another decree in his favour in 705, and passed the few remaining years of his life as bishop of Hexham; dying at Oundle, in 709, he was buried in the monastery of Ripon. Being canonized, he became a popular saint in the north of England, where about thirty churches are still found dedicated to his memory. "See section on Anglo-Saxon Laws. A.D. 682. Centwine of Wessex has much success against the Britons. A.D. 684. The Northumbrians ravage the eastern part of Ireland; “and miserably they plundered and burned the churches of God." A.D. 685. Egfrid of Northumbria is killed, May 20, in war against the Picts, who in part recover their lands. ALDFRITH, his brother, succeeds. A.D. 686. Ceadwalla of Wessex, and his brother Mul*, ravage Kent. A.D. 687. Lothaire of Kent is killed, Feb. Cuthbert, bishop of Lindisfarne, dies, March 203. Mul with twelve comrades is burned in his quarters in Kent, and Ceadwalla again ravages the country. A.D. 688. Ceadwalla goes to Rome, is baptized by the name of Peter, and dies seven days after, April 20. INA, a distant kinsman, succeeds in Wessex. The meaning is doubtful, but Mr. Kemble, the eminent Saxon scholar, takes it to imply that he was of mixed blood, a "mule"-i.e. having a British mother. y Cuthbert, originally a shepherd-boy, became a monk of Melrose, then prior of Lindisfarne, and afterwards long led the life of a hermit on an islet on the Northumbrian coast. In 685 he was consecrated bishop of Lindisfarne, but he resigned the see soon after, and again retired to his hermitage, where he died March 20th, 687. His remains were buried at Lindisfarne, whence, in consequence of the ravages of the Northmen, they were removed in 875, and after various wanderings they found a restingplace on the hill where now stands the cathedral of Durham. In 1104 they were solemnly translated to the present edifice, being, it is affirmed, found uncorrupt, and the splendid shrine that was raised over them continued to attract its crowds of pilgrims until its destruction in the year 1537. The body, still unchanged it is said, was after the lapse of five years re-interred on the site of the shrine, and now reposes under a plain blue marble slab in the chapel of the Nine Altars, as was ascertained by an antiquarian examination made in the year 1827. Dry bones only, swathed in a number of richly embroidered garments, were found on the latter occasion, instead of the perfect body said to have been seen by former explorers; the coffin also contained a golden cross and some other articles whose connexion with the saint is uncertain. St. Cuthbert was an exceedingly popular saint in the north of England, and miracles without number were ascribed to him, so that he was commonly known by the name of the Wonder-worker; his festival was celebrated on the 20th of March. More than sixty churches exist dedicated to him; he was indeed regarded as the patron of the North, and the banner of St. Cuthbert (of red velvet embroidered with green silk and gold, and inclosing relics,) was borne not only at solemn ceremonials (as before Richard III. at York) but also to war, at least as late as the battle of Flodden field. A.D. 690. Benedict Biscop dies, Feb. Theodore of Tarsus dies, Sept. 29. ceeds in 692 in the see of Canterbury. Berhtwald suc "Before this the bishops had been Romans, but from this time they were English." A.D. 692. Two kings, Wihtred and Webheard or Suaebhard, reign in Kent. A.D. 694. The Kentish men compound with Ina of Wessex for the death of Mul ". WIHTRED becomes sole king in Kent, and at the council of Baccancelde (Bapchild) he grants a charter securing many immunities to the churches and monasteries of his kingdom. A.D. 696. Wihtred of Kent forbids idolatry, and Sunday labour ". A.D. 697. Ostrith, queen of Ethelred of Mercia, and sister of Egfrid of Northumbria, is slain by the Mercians. A.D. 699. The Picts revolt, and kill Beorht, their ealdorman. A.D. 704. Ethelred of Mercia becomes a monk. COENRED succeeds, before June 13. Benedict, the founder of the celebrated monasteries of Wearmouth and Jarrow, was a Northumbrian noble, who at an early age devoted himself and all his possessions to the service of the Church. He made several journeys abroad, and brought back with him not only books and pictures and relics, but workmen in stone and in glass, so that the edifices that he raised, and over which he presided, surpassed anything that had before been accomplished in church architecture in Britain. He also brought with him John the Precentor, to instruct his community in the Roman mode of celebrating divine service, and he himself became the tutor of Bede. He was formerly commemorated in the English Church on the 12th of January, and many churches exist dedicated to St. Benedict, but whether Benedict Biscop or Benedict of Nursia is meant, in any particular case, it seems impossible to decide, though we may well believe that the eminent Northumbrian was not neglected in his own country. a So says the Saxon Chronicle; but this is an error, as Frithona, a native, who took the name of Deusdedit, held the see from 655 to 664. b The various MSS. of the Saxon Chronicle differ as to the amount of this composition, some naming 30 pounds, others 30,000, without saying what. Mr. Kemble considers 30,000 sceats, equal to 120 pounds, the real sum, such being the weregild, or money compensation, for the death of a royal person. See section on Anglo-Saxon Laws. A.D. 705. Aldfrith of Northumbria dies, Dec. 14. OSRED his son succeeds. The West Saxon diocese divided into the two sees of Winchester and Sherborne. A.D. 709. Coenred of Mercia retires to Rome, and dies there. CEOLRED succeeds. Offa of East Anglia goes to Rome. Death of Wilfrid, at Oundle ". A.D. 710. Ina of Wessex defeats the Britons. A.D. 715. War between Wessex and Mercia. A.D. 716. Osred of Northumbria slain. CENRED SUCceeds. Ceolred of Mercia dies. ETHELBALD Succeeds. Egbert, a priest, "converted the monks in the island of Hii (Iona) to right, so that they observed Easter duly, and the ecclesiastical tonsure." A.D. 721. Ina of Wessex kills Cynewulf the atheling'. Three victories of the Britons over the Saxons, in Cornwall and in Glamorganshire, recorded in the Chronicle of the Princes of Wales. A.D. 722. Ina drives out Aldbriht the atheling, who finds refuge in Sussex. Ina, in consequence, makes war on the South Saxons. A.D. 725. Death of Wihtred of Kent, April 23. EADBERT succeeds. Ina defeats the South Saxons, and kills Aldbriht the atheling. A.D. 728. Ina dies at Rome. ETHELHEARD succeeds in Wessex. A.D. 729. Egbert the priest dies in Iona, April 25. ceeds. CEOLWULF suc A.D. 735. Death of the Venerable Bede, May 26. d The exact date is somewhat uncertain; April 24 is given by one authority, October 12 by another. See A.D. 565. A general title for members of the royal race, like "prince of the blood" in modern times. A.D. 737. Queen Frythogith of Wessex goes to Rome. Ceolwulf of Northumbria receives the tonsure. EADBERT, his cousin, succeeds. Ethelbald of Mercia ravages Northumbria. A.D. 739 or 740. Ethelheard of Wessex dies. CUTHRED succeeds. A.D. 741. The minster at York burnt, April 23. A.D. 743. The Mercians and West Saxons make a joint attack on the Welsh. A.D. 746. Selred of Mercia is slain. A.D. 747. The synod of Cloveshoog held, early in September. A.D. 748. Eadbert of Kent dies. ETHELBERT II. succeeds. Cynric, the atheling of Wessex, is slain. A.D. 749. Aelfwald of East Anglia dies. A.D. 752. Cuthred of Wessex defeats Ethelbald of Mercia at Burford. A.D. 753. Cuthred also defeats the Welsh. A.D. 754 or 755. Cuthbert of Mercia dies. SIGEBERT succeeds. Canterbury burnt. A.D. 755. Sigebert is deprived of the whole of his kingdom except Hampshire, by his kinsman Cynewulf and the witan. A.D. 757. Ethelbald of Mercia is killed. OFFA II. succeeds, driving out Beornred who had "obtained the kingdom, and held it a little while and unhappily." A.D. 758. Eadbert of Northumbria becomes a monk. OSWULF succeeds. Oswulf of Northumbria is slain by his household July 25. 8 The place is unknown, but it was somewhere under Mercian influence, and probably near London. From about A.D. 750 to 850, there is a difference generally of two or three years between the chronology of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and that of Simeon of Durham. The latter appearing to agree better with existing charters, has been preferred. The points in question will be found ably discussed in the Introduction to "Monumenta," and in the Preface to the Master of the Rolls' edition of "Hoveden." |