Editing Eadbald of Kent (section)

==Accession and pagan reaction==
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| caption_left = '''[[Obverse and reverse|O:]]''' Bust of Eadbald right. AVDV[ARLD REGES]
| caption_right = '''[[Obverse and reverse|R:]]''' Cross on globe within wreath. ++IÞNNBALLOIENVZI
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| footer = Gold ''[[thrymsa]]'' of Eadbald of Kent, London (?), 616–40
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Eadbald came to the throne on the death of his father on 24 February 616, or possibly 618. Although Æthelberht had been Christian since about 600 and his wife Bertha was also Christian, Eadbald was a pagan. Bertha died some time before Eadbald's accession, and Æthelberht remarried. The name of Æthelberht's second wife is not recorded, but it seems likely that she was a pagan, since on his death she married Eadbald, her stepson: a marriage between a stepmother and stepson was forbidden by the church.<ref name=Kirby_31/><ref name=Bede_II_5/>

Bede records that Eadbald's repudiation of Christianity was a "severe setback" to the growth of the church. Sæberht, the king of Essex, had become a Christian under Æthelberht's influence, but on Sæberht's death, at about the same time, his sons expelled [[Mellitus]], the bishop of London.<ref name=Bede_II_5/> According to Bede, Eadbald was punished for his faithlessness by "frequent fits of insanity", and possession by an "evil spirit" (perhaps referring to epileptic fits),<ref name=Bede_II_5/><ref name=Yorke_175>Yorke, ''Kings and Kingdoms'', p. 175.</ref> but was eventually persuaded to abandon paganism and give up his wife.<ref name="Kirby_37" /><ref name=Bede_II_6/>  Eadbald's second wife, Ymme, was a Frank,<ref name=Rollason_9/> and it is possible that Kent's strong connections with Francia were a factor in the King's conversion. The missionaries in Canterbury seem to have had Frankish support.<ref name=Kirby_37/> In the 620s, Eadbald's sister Æthelburg came to Kent, but sent her children to the court of King [[Dagobert I]] in Francia; in addition to the diplomatic connections, trade with the Franks was important to Kent. It is thought likely that Frankish pressure had been influential in persuading Æthelberht to become Christian, and Eadbald's conversion and marriage to Ymme are likely to have been closely connected diplomatic decisions.<ref name=Kirby_37/><ref name=Yorke_39>Yorke, ''Kings and Kingdoms'', p. 39.</ref>

Two graves from a well-preserved sixth and seventh-century Anglo-Saxon cemetery at [[Finglesham]] have yielded a bronze pendant and a gilt buckle with designs that are related to each other and may be symbolic of religious activity involving the [[List of Germanic deities and heroes|Germanic deity]] [[Wōden|Woden]]. These objects probably date from the period of the pagan reaction.<ref name=Campbell_94>Commentary, and images of both objects, can be found in S. Chadwick Hawkes, "Finglesham. A Cemetery in East Kent" and "The Archaeology of Conversion: Cemeteries", both in Campbell, ''The Anglo-Saxons'', pp. 24–25 and 48–49.</ref>

===Bede's account===
Bede's account of Eadbald's rejection of the church and subsequent conversion is quite detailed but not without some internal inconsistency.<ref name=Kirby_37/> Bede's version of events is laid out as follows:

*24 February 616: Æthelberht dies and Eadbald succeeds.<ref name=Bede_II_5/>
*616: Eadbald leads a pagan reaction to Christianity. He marries his stepmother, contrary to church law, and refuses baptism. At about this time Mellitus, bishop of London, is expelled by the sons of Sæberht in Essex and goes to Kent.<ref name=Bede_II_5/>
*616: Mellitus and Justus, bishop of Rochester, leave Kent for Francia.<ref name=Bede_II_5/>
*616/617: Some time after Mellitus and Justus depart, Laurence, the archbishop of Canterbury, plans to leave for Francia but has a vision in which [[St Peter]] scourges him. In the morning he shows the scars to Eadbald who is converted to Christianity as a result.<ref name=Bede_II_6>Bede, ''Ecclesiastical History'', bk. II, ch. 6, p. 113.</ref>
*617: Justus and Mellitus both return from Francia "the year after they left". Justus is restored to Rochester.<ref name=Bede_II_5/>
*c. 619: Laurence dies, and Mellitus becomes archbishop of Canterbury.<ref name=Bede_II_7>Bede, ''Ecclesiastical History'', bk. II, ch. 7, p. 114.</ref>
*619–624: Eadbald builds a church which is consecrated by Archbishop Mellitus.<ref name=Bede_II_6/>
*24 April 624: Mellitus dies and Justus succeeds him as archbishop of Canterbury.<ref name=Bede_II_7/>
*624: After Justus's succession, [[Pope Boniface V|Pope Boniface]] writes to him to say that he has heard in letters from King Aduluald (possibly a scribal error for Eadbald) of the king's conversion to Christianity. Boniface sends the [[pallium]] with this letter, adding that it is only to be worn when celebrating "the Holy Mysteries".<ref name=Bede_II_8>Bede, ''Ecclesiastical History'', bk. II, ch. 8, p. 116.</ref>
*By 625 [[Edwin of Northumbria|Edwin]] of [[Deira (kingdom)|Deira]], king of Northumbria, asks for the hand in marriage of Æthelburg, Eadbald's sister. Edwin is told he must allow her to practice Christianity and must consider baptism himself.<ref name=Bede_II_9>Bede, ''Ecclesiastical History'', bk. II, ch. 9, p. 117.</ref>
*21 July 625: Justus consecrates [[Paulinus of York|Paulinus]] bishop of York.<ref name=Bede_II_9/>
*July or later in 625: Edwin agrees to the terms and Æthelburg travels to Northumbria, accompanied by Paulinus.<ref name=Bede_II_9/>
*Easter 626: Æthelburg gives birth to a daughter, Eanflæd.<ref name=Bede_II_9/>
*626: Edwin completes a military campaign against the West Saxons.<ref name=Bede_II_9/> At "about this time" Boniface writes to both Edwin and Æthelburg. The letter to Edwin urges him to accept Christianity and refers to the conversion of Eadbald. The letter to Æthelburg mentions that the pope has recently heard the news of Eadbald's conversion and encourages her to work for the conversion of her husband, Edwin.<ref name=Bede_II_10>Bede, ''Ecclesiastical History'', bk. II, ch. 10, p. 120.</ref>

===Alternative chronology===
Although Bede's narrative is widely accepted, an alternative chronology has been proposed by D.P. Kirby. Kirby points out that Boniface's letter to Æthelburg makes it clear that the news of Eadbald's conversion is recent, and that it is unthinkable that Boniface would not have been kept up to date on the status of Eadbald's conversion. Hence Eadbald must have been converted by Justus, as is implied by Boniface's letter to Justus. The pallium accompanying that letter indicates Justus was archbishop by that time, and the duration of Mellitus's archiepiscopate means that even if Bede's dates are somewhat wrong in other particulars, Eadbald was converted no earlier than 621, and no later than April 624, since Mellitus consecrated a church for Eadbald before his death in that month. The account of [[Laurence of Canterbury|Laurence]]'s miraculous scourging by St Peter can be disregarded as a later hagiographical invention of the monastery of St Augustine.<ref name=Kirby_37/>

As mentioned above, it has been suggested that King "Aduluald" in the letter to Justus is a real king Æthelwald, perhaps a junior king of west Kent. In that case it would appear that Laurence converted Eadbald, and Justus converted Æthelwald.<ref name=Yorke_32/> It has also been suggested that the pallium did not indicate Justus was archbishop, since Justus is told the limited circumstances in which he may wear it; however, the same phrasing occurs in the letter conveying the pallium to Archbishop Augustine, also quoted in Bede. Another possibility is that the letter was originally two letters. In this view, Bede has conflated the letter conveying the pallium with the letter congratulating Justus on the conversion, which according to Bede's account was seven or so years earlier; however, the grammatical details on which this suggestion is based are not unique to this letter, and as a result it is usually considered to be a single composition.<ref name=Kirby_37/>

The letter to Æthelburg makes it clear that she was already married at the time the news of Eadbald's conversion reached Rome. This is quite inconsistent with the earlier date Bede gives for Eadbald's acceptance of Christianity, and it has been suggested in Bede's defence that Æthelburg married Edwin substantially earlier and stayed in Kent until 625 before travelling to Rome, and that the letter was written while she was in Kent. However, it would appear from Boniface's letter that Boniface thought of Æthelburg as being at her husband's side. It also appears that the letter to Justus was written after the letters to Edwin and Æthelburg, rather than before, as Bede has it; Boniface's letter to Edwin and Æthelburg indicates he had the news from messengers, but when he wrote to Justus he had heard from the king himself.<ref name=Kirby_37/>

The story of Æthelburg's marriage being dependent on Edwin allowing her to practice her faith has been questioned, since revising the chronology makes it likely, though not certain, that the marriage was arranged before Eadbald's conversion. In this view, it would have been the church that objected to the marriage, and Æthelburg would have been Christian before Eadbald's conversion. The story of Paulinus's consecration is also problematic as he was not consecrated until at least 625 and possibly later, which is after the latest possible date for Æthelburg's marriage. However, it may be that he traveled to Northumbria prior to his consecration and only later became bishop.<ref name=Kirby_37/>

A revised chronology of some of these events follows, taking the above considerations into account.
*616: Eadbald leads a pagan reaction to Christianity.
*616: Mellitus and Justus, bishop of Rochester, leave Kent for Francia.<ref name=Bede_II_5/>
*c. 619: Laurence dies, and Mellitus becomes archbishop of Canterbury.<ref name=Bede_II_6/>
*Early 624?: Justus converts Eadbald. Messengers go to Rome.<ref name=Bede_II_8/> Also at about this time Æthelburg's marriage to Edwin is arranged, perhaps before the conversion.<ref name=Bede_II_9/> Eadbald builds a church, and Mellitus consecrates it.<ref name=Bede_II_6/>
*24 April 624: Mellitus dies and Justus succeeds him as archbishop of Canterbury.<ref name=Bede_II_7/>
*Mid 624: Edwin agrees to the marriage terms and Æthelburg travels to Northumbria, accompanied by Paulinus.<ref name=Bede_II_9/>
*Later 624: the pope receives news of Eadbald's conversion and writes to Æthelburg and Edwin.<ref name=Bede_II_10/>
*Still later 624: the pope hears from Eadbald of his conversion, and also hears of Mellitus's death. He writes to Justus to send him the pallium.<ref name=Bede_II_8/>
*21 July 625 or 626: Justus consecrates Paulinus bishop of York.<ref name=Bede_II_9/>

This timeline extends the duration of the pagan reaction from less than a year, in Bede's narrative, to about eight years. This represents a more serious setback for the church.<ref name=Kirby_37/>