Editing Kingdom of Essex (section)

===Christianity===
Christianity is thought to have flourished among the Trinovantes in the 4th century AD (late [[Roman Britain|Roman period]]); indications include the remains of a probable church at Colchester,<ref>Details on the church, Colchester Archaeologist website https://www.thecolchesterarchaeologist.co.uk/?p=34126</ref> dating from some time after 320, shortly after the emperor [[Constantine the Great]] [[Edict of Milan|granted freedom of worship]] to Christians in 313. Other archaeological evidence includes a [[chi rho]] symbol etched on a tile at a site in [[Wickford]], and a gold ring inscribed with a chi rho monogram found at [[Brentwood, Essex|Brentwood]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Dunnett|first1=Rosalind|title=The Trinovantes|date=1975 |orig-year=1975 |publisher=Duckworth|location=London|isbn=0-7156-0843-6|page=58}}</ref> It is not clear to what extent, if any, Christianity persisted by the time of the pagan East Saxon kings in the sixth century.

The earliest English record of the kingdom dates to [[Bede]]'s {{lang|la|[[Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum]]}}, which noted the arrival of Bishop (later Saint) [[Mellitus]] in London in 604. [[Æthelberht of Kent|Æthelberht]] (King of Kent and overlord of southern England according to Bede) was in a position to exercise some authority in Essex shortly after 604, when his intervention helped in the conversion of King [[Saebert of Essex|Sæberht of Essex]] (son of [[Sledda|Sledd]]), his nephew, to Christianity. It was Æthelberht, and not Sæberht, who built and endowed St. Paul's in London, where [[St. Paul's Cathedral]] now stands. Bede describes Æthelberht as Sæberht's overlord.<ref>Bede, book II, chapter 3</ref><ref name=Stenton_109>Stenton, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', p. 109.</ref> After the death of Sæberht in 616, Mellitus was driven out and the kingdom reverted to paganism. This may have been the result of opposition to Kentish influence in Essex affairs rather than being specifically anti-Christian.<ref name="Yorke, Barbara 1990">Yorke, Barbara, ''Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England'' (1990)</ref>

The kingdom reconverted to Christianity under [[Sigeberht II of Essex|Sigeberht II the Good]] following a mission by [[Cedd|St Cedd]] who established monasteries at ''Tilaburg'' (probably [[East Tilbury]], but possibly [[West Tilbury]]) and ''Ithancester'' (almost certainly [[Bradwell-on-Sea]]). A [[Royal saxon tomb in Prittlewell|royal tomb]] at Prittlewell was discovered and excavated in 2003. Finds included gold foil crosses, suggesting the occupant was Christian. If the occupant was a king, it was probably either Sæberht or Sigeberht (murdered 653). It is, however, also possible that the occupant was not royal, but simply a wealthy and powerful individual whose identity has gone unrecorded.<ref>Blair, I. 2007. Prittlewell Prince. ''Current Archaeology'' '''207''': 8-11</ref>

[[File:St Peters Chapel.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|[[Chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall|St Peter's Chapel, Bradwell-on-Sea]]. Established by [[St Cedd]], the patron saint of Essex around 662, it was built on the site of the abandoned Roman [[Saxon Shore]] fort of [[Othona]].]]
Essex reverted to Paganism again in 660 with the ascension of the pagan King [[Swithelm of Essex|Swiþhelm]]. He converted in 662, but died in 664. He was succeeded by his two sons: [[Sighere of Essex|Sigehere]] and [[Sebbi of Essex|Sæbbi]]. A plague the same year caused Sigehere and his people to recant their Christianity and Essex reverted to Paganism a third time. This rebellion was suppressed by [[Wulfhere of Mercia]] who established himself as overlord. Bede describes Sigehere and Sæbbi as "rulers […] under Wulfhere, king of the Mercians".<ref name=Kirby_114_1>Kirby, ''The Earliest English Kings'', p.&nbsp;114.</ref> Wulfhere sent Jaruman, the bishop of [[Lichfield]], to reconvert the East Saxons.<ref>Bede, ''HE'', III, 30, pp. 200–1.</ref>

[[Wine (bishop)|Wine]] (in 666)<ref name=Handbook239>Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 239</ref> and [[Erkenwald]] (in 675)<ref name=Handbook239/> were appointed bishops of London with spiritual authority over the East Saxon Kingdom. A small stone chest bearing the name of [[Sæbbi of Essex]] ({{reign|664|683}}) was visible in [[Old St Paul's Cathedral]] until the [[Great Fire of London]] of 1666 when the cathedral and the tombs within it were lost. The inscription on the chest was recorded by [[Paul Hentzner]] and translated by [[Robert Naunton]] as reading: "Here lies Seba, King of the East Saxons, who was converted to the faith by St. Erkenwald, Bishop of London, A.D. 677".<ref>''Travels in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth'' by Paul Hentzner; ''Fragmenta Regalia'' by Sir Robert Naunton. 1892 Cassell https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1992/pg1992.html accessed 8.9.2021</ref>

Although London, like the rest of Middlesex, was lost by the East Saxons in the 8th century, the bishops of London continued to exert spiritual authority over Essex as a kingdom, shire and county until 1845.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp;jsessionid=AE9DA57B52C81919C5ADBE98B322E165?u_id=10568420&c_id=| title = Essex archdeaconry through time| access-date = 14 May 2010| archive-date = 3 April 2012| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120403163411/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp| url-status = dead}}</ref>