Ealdwulf of East Anglia
Encyclopedia
Ealdwulf or Aldwulf was an obscure King of East Anglia who reigned from 663 to around 713.
Ealdwulf's reign of forty-nine years was extraordinary in length: only Ethelbald of Mercia
's and Offa of Mercia
's reigns are comparable. Far less is known of Ealdwulf than of either of these kings and his personal power never rivalled theirs, but his long rule reflects the success of the alliances set in train during the foregoing decades. East Anglia experienced a long period of stability and growth, not least in its commercial centre at Gipeswic (modern Ipswich
). Among wider struggles for authority, Ealdwulf held a strong position through the patronage of religious houses governed by his extended kin.
of the royal East Anglian Wuffingas dynasty. Æthilric may be the same person as Ecgric of East Anglia
, who died in battle in 636: Æthilric was, in any case, probably dead by 647. His mother Hereswitha
and Hilda of Whitby
were both daughters of Hereric and Breguswith, of the house of Edwin of Northumbria
. He was a first cousin of the saintly children of Anna of East Anglia
.
Ealdwulf was born into a Christian royal household, since in 626 his mother (when a child) may have been baptized by Paulinus
, along with Edwin, her sister and other members of the Northumbrian royal family. Her father Hereric was murdered whilst exiled in the British kingdom of Elmet
: Edwin afterwards slew Ceretic of Elmet soon after becoming king of Northumbria in 616. Her marriage to Æthilric occurred between 626 and 633, the year that Edwin was slain by Cadwallon ap Cadfan
. This diplomatic marriage must have carried the expectation that Æthilric was to be a Christian husband and probably a ruler in his own kingdom. Like Edwin's conversion of Eorpwald
in 627, it sealed in kinship the ties of Edwin to the house of Raedwald of East Anglia
.
In Ealdwulf's childhood Felix of Burgundy
and Fursey
were both active in East Anglia. As a child Ealdwulf saw the temple containing both Christian and pagan altars which Raedwald had maintained: in later years he used to tell of it (testabatur). Indeed his testimony may be authority for Bede
's account of the temple. His widowed mother left East Anglia around 647 to lead a religious life at Chelles
in Gaul
, at a Frankish
royal oratory, there being no religious house for women in East Anglia. It is not known whether Ealdwulf accompanied her, or whether he remained in East Anglia during the eventful reigns of his three uncles, Anna
, Æthelhere and Æthelwold
.
until 669. At one point during this period Boniface
of Dommoc
was the only bishop whose consecration derived from the Canterbury authority. He died in (or shortly before) 669. Anna's daughter Æthelburg, abbess of Faremoutiers Abbey
, probably died of plague at this time and was succeeded by her half-sister Sæthryth. Saint Botolph
's monastery at Iken
was flourishing. Wilfrid
, who sought the bishopric of York
, but received one based at Ripon
), sent his pupil Ceolfrith
to study with Botolph, then considered a man of exceptional life, teachings and spiritual grace.
In 669 Pope Vitalian
sent Theodore of Tarsus
and his assistant Hadrian to Canterbury, where Ecgbert
, son of Eorcenberht of Kent
, was king. Theodore established a great school and began to reform the English Church. Bisi was appointed Bishop of Dommoc
. At York he created Wilfrid Bishop of Northumbria, removing Chad
, who went first to Lastingham
as abbot and then as bishop to Lichfield
in Mercia
. Oswiu of Northumbria
died in 670 and was buried near Edwin at Whitby: his widow Eanfled also retired to live under the abbacy of Hild
, Ealdwulf's maternal aunt. Oswiu's successor was Ecgfrith
, whose wife Etheldreda
remained a virgin.
, and after a year escaped to her East Anglian estate of Ely
, where she founded a double monastery
, the origin of the great mediaeval abbey. Meanwhile in Kent
, her nephew Ecgberht established the monastery of Minster-in-Thanet
, ruled by his cousin Eormenburga, Merewalh
's queen. In 673, Ecgbert was succeeded by his brother Hlothhere
and their mother Seaxburga
, Etheldreda's sister, became established in her double monastery at Minster-in-Sheppey in the Isle of Sheppey
.
The governance of Ely and Sheppey under two queens of East Anglian birth created an enduring axis of patronage and influence. Theodore notified Ecgfrith that he could not remarry within the Church while Etheldreda was living, denying him a legitimate heir. Soon afterwards, with Bishop Bisi in declining health, he divided the bishopric of Dommoc, creating a second East Anglian seat in Norfolk at North Elmham
, or at South Elmham, in Suffolk). Bishop Æcci was appointed to Dommoc and Baduwine to Helmham. Abbot Botolph died in 674 at Iken and was succeeded by Æthelheah, who later exchanged land-rights with the monastery of Much Wenlock
in Shropshire. These entails had perhaps been bestowed by Anna at the foundation of Iken, through his daughter Seaxburga's kinship to the family of Merewalh and Eormenburga.
It is suggested, but unproved, that the revenue of the East Anglian royal estates centred upon Rendlesham (the 'Five-and-a-half Hundreds', or Wicklaw) were bestowed upon Ely at its foundation, since they formed the largest share of Bishop Æthelwold of Winchester
's re-endowment of Ely in around 970, which later becme known as the 'Liberty of St Etheldreda'. Similar doubt surrounds the Papal Privileges later claimed to have been obtained at Rome
by Wilfrid in around 680 for Ely and Peterborough
. If either or both were authentic, they would show a decisive policy of Ealdwulf to reinforce dynastic authority through ecclesiastical structures. Wilfrid retained close contacts with Ely and Peterborough from his monastery at Oundle
. Etheldreda and Hild both died in around 680: Seaxburga transferred to Ely, leaving Sheppey to Eormenhilda.
and Ecgburga, who later became an abbess. The marriage probably coloured East Anglia's dealings with Mercia and Northumbria, which were approaching new confrontations. When Wulfhere of Mercia
died in around 675, his widow Eormenhilda joined her mother at Minster-in-Sheppey
and his brother Aethelred, whose wife Osthryth
was daughter of Oswald of Northumbria
, succeeded to the throne. Since Raedwald's time the rule of Lindsey
had been disputed between Mercia and Northumbria, but after a battle in 679 it fell finally to Mercia. East Anglia increasingly acknowledged the superior influence of Mercia.
, Bawsey
in the Thetford
area, the Fen
edge around Isleworth
and Exning
, in the east around Burgh Castle
, and in the area around Rendlesham, Ipswich
and in the River Gipping
valley.
The status of coinage was not yet as a true currency, nor overtly regnal. The pieces attributed to East Anglian production are found alongside others mainly of Kentish, East Saxon, and Frisian or Netherland
ish types, reflecting external communications with those centres. In the same period Gipeswic witnessed the full development of its first major expansion from the quayside north to the Cattlemarket area, with established production of Frisian-inspired Ipswich Ware pottery to the north-east of this area. Its continental trade partners may have been Domburg
in Walcheren
and Dorestad
, the large emporium on the Rhine south of Utrecht
. This route gained importance as the Christian mission to Frisia
developed from the 680s.
perished, and Ecgfrith of Northumbria
was killed in an expedition against the Picts
. Ealdwulf is one of three Anglian kings, along with Æthelred of Mercia and Aldfrith
, who were addressed by Pope Sergius
in a letter of 692 urging their acceptance of Berhtwald
of Reculver
as the successor to Theodore at Canterbury. Soon afterwards, Kent was twice invaded by Caedwalla of Wessex
: during the first invasion, his brother Mul was captured and burnt to death along with his bodyguard. Caedwalla abdicated to lead the life of a monk. While Ecgbert's son Wihtred
took possession of Kent, Ine
began his reign in Wessex
. It is possible that Ealdwulf assisted Kent against Wessex. In 693-694 Ine obliged Kent to pay recompense for Mul's death, but also, according to William of Malmesbury
, banished the East Anglian nobility and then put them to flight in battle. This perhaps occurred in Kent, since Ealdwulf was not overthrown.
, beside Lincoln
: Queen Osthryth
had her father Oswald
's relics enshrined there, but was slain by the Mercian people in 697. Æthelred abdicated and retired to Bardney in 704 and was succeeded by his nephew, Coenred
, the son of Wulfhere and Eormenhilda. Their daughter Werburga
united the Mercian lines by marrying Æthelred's son Ceolred
. The subsidiarity of the East Saxons to Mercia is shown in charters of Coenred, and found an amicable settlement when Coenred and Offa of Essex
abdicated together and went to Rome to lead religious lives in 709. Ealdwulf's position was protected by the complete investment of his kin in the surrounding dynasties and their patronage of leading religious houses.
The closing years of Ealdwulf's reign were coloured by the unsatisfactory rule of Ceolred, who depleted monastic assets to support his style of kingship. At this time the Mercian royal hermit Guthlac
was living on the island of Crowland
. His secluded fenland retreat became a place of refuge for a Mercian royal counter-claimant, Æthelbald, who appears to have received encouragement and protection there from the East Anglian nobility. However this development, extremely important in its outcome, had not fully unfolded when Ealdwulf died in 713, leaving his son Ælfwald to succeed to the East Anglian throne.
Ealdwulf's reign of forty-nine years was extraordinary in length: only Ethelbald of Mercia
Ethelbald of Mercia
Æthelbald was the King of Mercia, in what is now the English Midlands, from 716 until 757. During his long reign, Mercia became the dominant kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons, and recovered the position of pre-eminence it had enjoyed during the seventh century under the strong Mercian kings Penda and...
's and Offa of Mercia
Offa of Mercia
Offa was the King of Mercia from 757 until his death in July 796. The son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa, Offa came to the throne after a period of civil war following the assassination of Æthelbald after defeating the other claimant Beornred. In the early years of Offa's reign it is likely...
's reigns are comparable. Far less is known of Ealdwulf than of either of these kings and his personal power never rivalled theirs, but his long rule reflects the success of the alliances set in train during the foregoing decades. East Anglia experienced a long period of stability and growth, not least in its commercial centre at Gipeswic (modern Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
). Among wider struggles for authority, Ealdwulf held a strong position through the patronage of religious houses governed by his extended kin.
Origins
Ealdwulf was the son of Æthilric, son of EniEni of East Anglia
Eni or Ennius was a member of the Wuffing family, the ruling dynasty of the Kingdom of East Anglia. He was the son of Tyttla and brother of Raedwald, both kings of East Anglia.There is no historical evidence that Eni ever ruled the East Angles himself...
of the royal East Anglian Wuffingas dynasty. Æthilric may be the same person as Ecgric of East Anglia
Egric of East Anglia
Ecgric was a king of East Anglia, the independent Anglo-Saxon kingdom that today includes the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. He was a member of the ruling Wuffingas dynasty, but his relationship with other known members of the dynasty is not known with any certainty. Anna of East Anglia...
, who died in battle in 636: Æthilric was, in any case, probably dead by 647. His mother Hereswitha
Hereswitha
Hereswitha or Hereswyde , also spelt Hereswithe or Haeresvid, was a 7th century Northumbrian saint. She married into the East Anglian royal dynasty and afterwards retired to Gaul to lead a religious life...
and Hilda of Whitby
Hilda of Whitby
Hilda of Whitby or Hild of Whitby was a Christian saint and the founding abbess of the monastery at Whitby, which was chosen as the venue for the Synod of Whitby...
were both daughters of Hereric and Breguswith, of the house of Edwin of Northumbria
Edwin of Northumbria
Edwin , also known as Eadwine or Æduini, was the King of Deira and Bernicia – which later became known as Northumbria – from about 616 until his death. He converted to Christianity and was baptised in 627; after he fell at the Battle of Hatfield Chase, he was venerated as a saint.Edwin was the son...
. He was a first cousin of the saintly children of Anna of East Anglia
Anna of East Anglia
Anna was King of East Anglia from the early 640s until his death. Anna was a member of the Wuffingas family, the ruling dynasty of the East Angles. He was one of the three sons of Eni who ruled East Anglia, succeeding some time after Ecgric was killed in battle by Penda of Mercia...
.
Ealdwulf was born into a Christian royal household, since in 626 his mother (when a child) may have been baptized by Paulinus
Paulinus of York
Paulinus was a Roman missionary and the first Bishop of York. A member of the Gregorian mission sent in 601 by Pope Gregory I to Christianize the Anglo-Saxons from their native Anglo-Saxon paganism, Paulinus arrived in England by 604 with the second missionary group...
, along with Edwin, her sister and other members of the Northumbrian royal family. Her father Hereric was murdered whilst exiled in the British kingdom of Elmet
Elmet
Elmet was an independent Brythonic kingdom covering a broad area of what later became the West Riding of Yorkshire during the Early Middle Ages, between approximately the 5th century and early 7th century. Although its precise boundaries are unclear, it appears to have been bordered by the River...
: Edwin afterwards slew Ceretic of Elmet soon after becoming king of Northumbria in 616. Her marriage to Æthilric occurred between 626 and 633, the year that Edwin was slain by Cadwallon ap Cadfan
Cadwallon ap Cadfan
Cadwallon ap Cadfan was the King of Gwynedd from around 625 until his death in battle. The son and successor of Cadfan ap Iago, he is best remembered as the King of the Britons who invaded and conquered Northumbria, defeating and killing its king, Edwin, prior to his own death in battle against...
. This diplomatic marriage must have carried the expectation that Æthilric was to be a Christian husband and probably a ruler in his own kingdom. Like Edwin's conversion of Eorpwald
Eorpwald of East Anglia
Eorpwald; also Erpenwald or Earpwald, , succeeded his father Rædwald as ruler of the independent Kingdom of the East Angles...
in 627, it sealed in kinship the ties of Edwin to the house of Raedwald of East Anglia
Raedwald of East Anglia
Rædwald ; also Raedwald or Redwald, was a 7th century king of East Anglia, a long-lived Anglo-Saxon kingdom which today includes the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. He was the son of Tytila of East Anglia and a member of the Wuffingas dynasty , who were the first rulers of the East Angles...
.
In Ealdwulf's childhood Felix of Burgundy
Felix of Burgundy
Felix of Burgundy, also known as Felix of Dunwich , was a saint and the first bishop of the East Angles. He is widely credited as the man who introduced Christianity to the kingdom of East Anglia...
and Fursey
Saint Fursey
Saint Fursey was an Irish monk who did much to establish Christianity throughout the British Isles and particularly in East Anglia...
were both active in East Anglia. As a child Ealdwulf saw the temple containing both Christian and pagan altars which Raedwald had maintained: in later years he used to tell of it (testabatur). Indeed his testimony may be authority for Bede
Bede
Bede , also referred to as Saint Bede or the Venerable Bede , was a monk at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth, today part of Sunderland, England, and of its companion monastery, Saint Paul's, in modern Jarrow , both in the Kingdom of Northumbria...
's account of the temple. His widowed mother left East Anglia around 647 to lead a religious life at Chelles
Chelles Abbey
Chelles Abbey was founded by Saint Balthild, widow of King Clovis II of Neustria circa 658. It was dissolved during the French Revolution.Chelles had been the site of a Merovingian palace, the villa Calae. A church, dedicated to Saint George had been founded at Chelles by Queen Clothilde...
in Gaul
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
, at a Frankish
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
royal oratory, there being no religious house for women in East Anglia. It is not known whether Ealdwulf accompanied her, or whether he remained in East Anglia during the eventful reigns of his three uncles, Anna
Anna of East Anglia
Anna was King of East Anglia from the early 640s until his death. Anna was a member of the Wuffingas family, the ruling dynasty of the East Angles. He was one of the three sons of Eni who ruled East Anglia, succeeding some time after Ecgric was killed in battle by Penda of Mercia...
, Æthelhere and Æthelwold
Æthelwold of East Anglia
Æthelwold, also known as Æthelwald or Æþelwald , was a 7th century king of East Anglia, the long-lived Anglo-Saxon kingdom which today includes the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. He was a member of the Wuffingas dynasty, which ruled East Anglia from their regio at Rendlesham...
.
Reign
Ealdwulf's reign began as a great plague struck his kingdom, which left no archbishop at CanterburyCanterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
until 669. At one point during this period Boniface
Brigilsus
Brigilsus was a medieval Bishop of the East Angles.He was consecrated between 652 and 653. He died about 669 or 670. He was consecrated by Archbishop Honorius of Canterbury.-See also:...
of Dommoc
Dommoc
Dommoc, a place not certainly identified but probably within the modern county of Suffolk, was the original seat of the Anglo-Saxon bishops of the Kingdom of East Anglia. It was established by Sigeberht of East Anglia for Saint Felix in c. 629–31 It remained the bishopric of all East Anglia...
was the only bishop whose consecration derived from the Canterbury authority. He died in (or shortly before) 669. Anna's daughter Æthelburg, abbess of Faremoutiers Abbey
Faremoutiers Abbey
Faremoutiers Abbey was founded circa 620 by Burgundofara . It formed an important link between the Merovingian Frankish Empire and the southern Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Kent and East Anglia....
, probably died of plague at this time and was succeeded by her half-sister Sæthryth. Saint Botolph
Saint Botolph
Botwulf of Thorney was an English abbot and saint. He is the patron saint of travellers and the various aspects of farming...
's monastery at Iken
Iken
Iken is a small village and civil parish in the marshlands of the English county of Suffolk.It is near the estuary of the River Alde on the North Sea coast and is located south east of Snape and due north of Orford....
was flourishing. Wilfrid
Wilfrid
Wilfrid was an English bishop and saint. Born a Northumbrian noble, he entered religious life as a teenager and studied at Lindisfarne, at Canterbury, in Gaul, and at Rome; he returned to Northumbria in about 660, and became the abbot of a newly founded monastery at Ripon...
, who sought the bishopric of York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
, but received one based at Ripon
Ripon
Ripon is a cathedral city, market town and successor parish in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, located at the confluence of two streams of the River Ure in the form of the Laver and Skell. The city is noted for its main feature the Ripon Cathedral which is architecturally...
), sent his pupil Ceolfrith
Ceolfrid
Saint Ceolfrid was an Anglo-Saxon Christian abbot and saint. He is best known as the warden of Bede from the age of seven until his death in 716. He was the Abbot of Monkwearmouth-Jarrow Abbey, and a major contributor to the project Codex Amiatinus...
to study with Botolph, then considered a man of exceptional life, teachings and spiritual grace.
In 669 Pope Vitalian
Pope Vitalian
Pope Saint Vitalianus was Pope of the Catholic Church from July 30, 657, until January 27, 672.He was born in Segni, Lazio, the son of Anastasius.-Reign:...
sent Theodore of Tarsus
Theodore of Tarsus
Theodore was the eighth Archbishop of Canterbury, best known for his reform of the English Church and establishment of a school in Canterbury....
and his assistant Hadrian to Canterbury, where Ecgbert
Ecgberht of Kent
Ecgberht was a King of Kent who ruled from 664 to 673, succeeding his father Eorcenberht s:Ecclesiastical History of the English People/Book 4#1....
, son of Eorcenberht of Kent
Eorcenberht of Kent
Eorcenberht of Kent was king of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Kent from 640 until his death, succeeding his father Eadbald....
, was king. Theodore established a great school and began to reform the English Church. Bisi was appointed Bishop of Dommoc
Dommoc
Dommoc, a place not certainly identified but probably within the modern county of Suffolk, was the original seat of the Anglo-Saxon bishops of the Kingdom of East Anglia. It was established by Sigeberht of East Anglia for Saint Felix in c. 629–31 It remained the bishopric of all East Anglia...
. At York he created Wilfrid Bishop of Northumbria, removing Chad
Chad of Mercia
Chad was a prominent 7th century Anglo-Saxon churchman, who became abbot of several monasteries, Bishop of the Northumbrians and subsequently Bishop of the Mercians and Lindsey People. He was later canonized as a saint. He was the brother of Cedd, also a saint...
, who went first to Lastingham
Lastingham
Lastingham is a village and civil parish which lies in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. It is on the southern fringe of the North York Moors, five miles north east of Kirkbymoorside, one and a half miles to the east of Hutton-le-Hole. It was home to the early missionaries to the...
as abbot and then as bishop to Lichfield
Lichfield
Lichfield is a cathedral city, civil parish and district in Staffordshire, England. One of eight civil parishes with city status in England, Lichfield is situated roughly north of Birmingham...
in Mercia
Mercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
. Oswiu of Northumbria
Oswiu of Northumbria
Oswiu , also known as Oswy or Oswig , was a King of Bernicia. His father, Æthelfrith of Bernicia, was killed in battle, fighting against Rædwald, King of the East Angles and Edwin of Deira at the River Idle in 616...
died in 670 and was buried near Edwin at Whitby: his widow Eanfled also retired to live under the abbacy of Hild
Hilda of Whitby
Hilda of Whitby or Hild of Whitby was a Christian saint and the founding abbess of the monastery at Whitby, which was chosen as the venue for the Synod of Whitby...
, Ealdwulf's maternal aunt. Oswiu's successor was Ecgfrith
Ecgfrith of Northumbria
King Ecgfrith was the King of Northumbria from 670 until his death. He ruled over Northumbria when it was at the height of its power, but his reign ended with a disastrous defeat in which he lost his life.-Early life:...
, whose wife Etheldreda
Æthelthryth
Æthelthryth is the proper name for the popular Anglo-Saxon saint often known, particularly in a religious context, as Etheldreda or by the pet form of Audrey...
remained a virgin.
Monastic patronage and division of the diocese
In 672, Etheldreda took religious vows with the help of Bishop Wilfrid, to whom she gave the estate at HexhamHexham
Hexham is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, located south of the River Tyne, and was the administrative centre for the Tynedale district from 1974 to 2009. The three major towns in Tynedale were Hexham, Prudhoe and Haltwhistle, although in terms of population, Prudhoe was...
, and after a year escaped to her East Anglian estate of Ely
Ely, Cambridgeshire
Ely is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England, 14 miles north-northeast of Cambridge and about by road from London. It is built on a Lower Greensand island, which at a maximum elevation of is the highest land in the Fens...
, where she founded a double monastery
Double monastery
A double monastery is an institution combining a separate monastery for monks and an abbey for nuns. Examples include Coldingham Monastery in Scotland, and Einsiedeln Abbey and Fahr Abbey in Switzerland, controlled by the abbot of Einsiedeln...
, the origin of the great mediaeval abbey. Meanwhile in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, her nephew Ecgberht established the monastery of Minster-in-Thanet
Minster-in-Thanet
Minster-in-Thanet, also known as Minster, is a village and civil parish in the Thanet District of Kent, England. The village is situated to the west of Ramsgate and to the north east of Canterbury; it lies just south west of Kent International Airport and just north of the River Stour...
, ruled by his cousin Eormenburga, Merewalh
Merewalh
Merewalh Merewalh Merewalh (sometimes given as Merwal or Merewald was a sub-king of the Magonsæte, a western cadet kingdom of Mercia thought to have been located in Herefordshire and Shropshire...
's queen. In 673, Ecgbert was succeeded by his brother Hlothhere
Hlothhere of Kent
Hlothhere was a King of Kent who ruled from 673 to 685.He succeeded his brother Ecgberht I in 673. He must have come into conflict with Mercia, since in 676 the Mercian king Æthelred invaded Kent and caused great destruction; according to Bede, even churches and monasteries were not spared, and...
and their mother Seaxburga
Seaxburh of Ely
Seaxburh ; also Saint Sexburga of Ely, was the queen of King Eorcenberht of Kent, as well as an abbess and a saint of the Christian Church....
, Etheldreda's sister, became established in her double monastery at Minster-in-Sheppey in the Isle of Sheppey
Isle of Sheppey
The Isle of Sheppey is an island off the northern coast of Kent, England in the Thames Estuary, some to the east of London. It has an area of . The island forms part of the local government district of Swale...
.
The governance of Ely and Sheppey under two queens of East Anglian birth created an enduring axis of patronage and influence. Theodore notified Ecgfrith that he could not remarry within the Church while Etheldreda was living, denying him a legitimate heir. Soon afterwards, with Bishop Bisi in declining health, he divided the bishopric of Dommoc, creating a second East Anglian seat in Norfolk at North Elmham
North Elmham
North Elmham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.It covers an area of and had a population of 1,428 in 624 households as of the 2001 census. For the purposes of local government, it falls within the district of Breckland....
, or at South Elmham, in Suffolk). Bishop Æcci was appointed to Dommoc and Baduwine to Helmham. Abbot Botolph died in 674 at Iken and was succeeded by Æthelheah, who later exchanged land-rights with the monastery of Much Wenlock
Much Wenlock
Much Wenlock, earlier known as Wenlock, is a small town in central Shropshire, England. It is situated on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. Nearby, to the northeast, is the Ironbridge Gorge, and the new town of Telford...
in Shropshire. These entails had perhaps been bestowed by Anna at the foundation of Iken, through his daughter Seaxburga's kinship to the family of Merewalh and Eormenburga.
It is suggested, but unproved, that the revenue of the East Anglian royal estates centred upon Rendlesham (the 'Five-and-a-half Hundreds', or Wicklaw) were bestowed upon Ely at its foundation, since they formed the largest share of Bishop Æthelwold of Winchester
Æthelwold of Winchester
Æthelwold of Winchester , was Bishop of Winchester from 963 to 984 and one of the leaders of the tenth century monastic reform movement in Anglo-Saxon England....
's re-endowment of Ely in around 970, which later becme known as the 'Liberty of St Etheldreda'. Similar doubt surrounds the Papal Privileges later claimed to have been obtained at Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
by Wilfrid in around 680 for Ely and Peterborough
Peterborough
Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...
. If either or both were authentic, they would show a decisive policy of Ealdwulf to reinforce dynastic authority through ecclesiastical structures. Wilfrid retained close contacts with Ely and Peterborough from his monastery at Oundle
Oundle
Oundle is an ancient market town on the River Nene in Northamptonshire, England, with a population of 5,345 or 5,674 . It lies some north of London and south-west of Peterborough...
. Etheldreda and Hild both died in around 680: Seaxburga transferred to Ely, leaving Sheppey to Eormenhilda.
Influence in Lindsey
The name and dynastic house of Ealdwulf's queen is unknown. They had at least two children, his heir ÆlfwaldÆlfwald
Ælfwald may refer to:* King Ælfwald I of Northumbria* King Ælfwald II of Northumbria* King Ælfwald of Sussex* King Ælfwald of East Anglia* Alfwold, Bishop of Sherborne...
and Ecgburga, who later became an abbess. The marriage probably coloured East Anglia's dealings with Mercia and Northumbria, which were approaching new confrontations. When Wulfhere of Mercia
Wulfhere of Mercia
Wulfhere was King of Mercia from the end of the 650s until 675. He was the first Christian king of all of Mercia, though it is not known when or how he converted from Anglo-Saxon paganism. His accession marked the end of Oswiu of Northumbria's overlordship of southern England, and Wulfhere...
died in around 675, his widow Eormenhilda joined her mother at Minster-in-Sheppey
Minster-in-Sheppey
Minster is a small town on the north coast of the Isle of Sheppey and in the Swale district of Kent, England.-Toponymy:The name of the town derives from the monastery founded in the area...
and his brother Aethelred, whose wife Osthryth
Osthryth
Osthryth was the daughter of Oswiu of Northumbria and the wife of King Æthelred of Mercia. She was murdered by the nobles of Mercia. She is referred to by Bede as Queen Ostritha....
was daughter of Oswald of Northumbria
Oswald of Northumbria
Oswald was King of Northumbria from 634 until his death, and is now venerated as a Christian saint.Oswald was the son of Æthelfrith of Bernicia and came to rule after spending a period in exile; after defeating the British ruler Cadwallon ap Cadfan, Oswald brought the two Northumbrian kingdoms of...
, succeeded to the throne. Since Raedwald's time the rule of Lindsey
Lindsey
Lindsey was a unit of local government until 1974 in Lincolnshire, England, covering the northern part of the county. The Isle of Axholme, which is on the west side of the River Trent, has normally formed part of it...
had been disputed between Mercia and Northumbria, but after a battle in 679 it fell finally to Mercia. East Anglia increasingly acknowledged the superior influence of Mercia.
Coinage and commerce
The issue and use of English coins during Ealdwulf's reign followed its development in Kent, at first with gold shillings or thrymsas during the 660s to the 670s, and thereafter, by a debasement linked to the diminishing gold quality of Frankish coin, with silver sceattas or pennies of various types. The distribution of findspots reveals foci of their use and possibly their issue at East Anglian centres of importance, especially in the north-west around HunstantonHunstanton
Hunstanton, often pronounced by locals as and known colloquially as 'Sunny Hunny', is a seaside town in Norfolk, England, facing The Wash....
, Bawsey
Bawsey
Bawsey is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is about 4 miles east of the town of King's Lynn and 40 miles west of the city of Norwich...
in the Thetford
Thetford
Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland district of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich and London, just south of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, covering an area of , has a population of 21,588.-History:...
area, the Fen
Fen
A fen is a type of wetland fed by mineral-rich surface water or groundwater. Fens are characterised by their water chemistry, which is neutral or alkaline, with relatively high dissolved mineral levels but few other plant nutrients...
edge around Isleworth
Isleworth
Isleworth is a small town of Saxon origin sited within the London Borough of Hounslow in west London, England. It lies immediately east of the town of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane. Isleworth's original area of settlement, alongside the Thames, is known as...
and Exning
Exning
Exning is a village in Suffolk, England.It lies just off the A14 trunk road, roughly east-northeast of Cambridge, and south-south-east of Ely...
, in the east around Burgh Castle
Burgh Castle
Burgh Castle is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the east bank of the River Waveney, near Great Yarmouth, some 6 km west of Great Yarmouth and within the Broads National Park.-Roman Fort:...
, and in the area around Rendlesham, Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
and in the River Gipping
River Gipping
The River Gipping is the source river for the River Orwell in the county of Suffolk in East Anglia, England, which gave its name to the former Gipping Rural District and the village of Gipping....
valley.
The status of coinage was not yet as a true currency, nor overtly regnal. The pieces attributed to East Anglian production are found alongside others mainly of Kentish, East Saxon, and Frisian or Netherland
Netherland
Netherland is a critically acclaimed novel by Joseph O'Neill. It concerns the life of a Dutchman living in New York in the wake of the September 11 attacks who takes up cricket and starts playing at the Staten Island Cricket Club.-Plot summary:...
ish types, reflecting external communications with those centres. In the same period Gipeswic witnessed the full development of its first major expansion from the quayside north to the Cattlemarket area, with established production of Frisian-inspired Ipswich Ware pottery to the north-east of this area. Its continental trade partners may have been Domburg
Domburg
Domburg is a seaside resort on the North Sea, on the northwest coast of Walcheren in the Dutch province of Zeeland. It is a part of the municipality of Veere, and lies about 11 km northwest of the city of Middelburg, the provincial capital.-Demographics:...
in Walcheren
Walcheren
thumb|right|250px|Campveer Tower in Veere, built in 1500Walcheren is a former island in the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands at the mouth of the Scheldt estuary. It lies between the Oosterschelde in the north and the Westerschelde in the south and is roughly the shape of a rhombus...
and Dorestad
Dorestad
In the Early Middle Ages, Dorestad was the largest settlement of northwestern Europe. It was a large, flourishing trading place, three kilometers long, situated where the rivers Rhine and Lek diverge southeast of Utrecht in the Netherlands near the modern town of Wijk bij Duurstede...
, the large emporium on the Rhine south of Utrecht
Utrecht (city)
Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 312,634 on 1 Jan 2011.Utrecht's ancient city centre features...
. This route gained importance as the Christian mission to Frisia
Frisia
Frisia is a coastal region along the southeastern corner of the North Sea, i.e. the German Bight. Frisia is the traditional homeland of the Frisians, a Germanic people who speak Frisian, a language group closely related to the English language...
developed from the 680s.
Conflict with Wessex
In 685 two events strengthened Mercia's power: Kent was plunged into a civil war in which HlothhereHlothhere of Kent
Hlothhere was a King of Kent who ruled from 673 to 685.He succeeded his brother Ecgberht I in 673. He must have come into conflict with Mercia, since in 676 the Mercian king Æthelred invaded Kent and caused great destruction; according to Bede, even churches and monasteries were not spared, and...
perished, and Ecgfrith of Northumbria
Ecgfrith of Northumbria
King Ecgfrith was the King of Northumbria from 670 until his death. He ruled over Northumbria when it was at the height of its power, but his reign ended with a disastrous defeat in which he lost his life.-Early life:...
was killed in an expedition against the Picts
Picts
The Picts were a group of Late Iron Age and Early Mediaeval people living in what is now eastern and northern Scotland. There is an association with the distribution of brochs, place names beginning 'Pit-', for instance Pitlochry, and Pictish stones. They are recorded from before the Roman conquest...
. Ealdwulf is one of three Anglian kings, along with Æthelred of Mercia and Aldfrith
Aldfrith of Northumbria
Aldfrith sometimes Aldfrid, Aldfridus , or Flann Fína mac Ossu , was king of Northumbria from 685 until his death. He is described by early writers such as Bede, Alcuin and Stephen of Ripon as a man of great learning, and some of his works, as well as letters written to him, survive...
, who were addressed by Pope Sergius
Pope Sergius
Pope Sergius could refer to:*Pope Sergius I *Pope Sergius II *Pope Sergius III *Pope Sergius IV...
in a letter of 692 urging their acceptance of Berhtwald
Bertwald
Berhtwald was the ninth Archbishop of Canterbury in England. The medieval writer Bede claims that he served as the Abbot of Glastonbury, and documentary evidence names Berhtwald as abbot at Reculver before his election as archbishop...
of Reculver
Reculver
Reculver is a hamlet and coastal resort situated about east of Herne Bay in southeast England. It is a ward of the City of Canterbury district in the county of Kent. Reculver once occupied a strategic location at the western end of the Wantsum Channel, between the Isle of Thanet and the Kent...
as the successor to Theodore at Canterbury. Soon afterwards, Kent was twice invaded by Caedwalla of Wessex
Caedwalla of Wessex
Cædwalla was the King of Wessex from approximately 685 until he abdicated in 688. His name is derived from the British Cadwallon. He was exiled as a youth, and during this time attacked the South Saxons and killed their king, Æthelwealh, in what is now Sussex. Cædwalla was unable to hold the...
: during the first invasion, his brother Mul was captured and burnt to death along with his bodyguard. Caedwalla abdicated to lead the life of a monk. While Ecgbert's son Wihtred
Wihtred of Kent
Wihtred was king of Kent from about 690 or 691 until his death. He was a son of Ecgberht I and a brother of Eadric. Wihtred acceded to the throne after a confused period in the 680s, which included a brief conquest of Kent by Cædwalla of Wessex and subsequent dynastic conflicts...
took possession of Kent, Ine
Ine of Wessex
Ine was King of Wessex from 688 to 726. He was unable to retain the territorial gains of his predecessor, Cædwalla, who had brought much of southern England under his control and expanded West Saxon territory substantially...
began his reign in Wessex
Wessex
The Kingdom of Wessex or Kingdom of the West Saxons was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the West Saxons, in South West England, from the 6th century, until the emergence of a united English state in the 10th century, under the Wessex dynasty. It was to be an earldom after Canute the Great's conquest...
. It is possible that Ealdwulf assisted Kent against Wessex. In 693-694 Ine obliged Kent to pay recompense for Mul's death, but also, according to William of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. C. Warren Hollister so ranks him among the most talented generation of writers of history since Bede, "a gifted historical scholar and an omnivorous reader, impressively well versed in the literature of classical,...
, banished the East Anglian nobility and then put them to flight in battle. This perhaps occurred in Kent, since Ealdwulf was not overthrown.
Relations with Mercia
East Anglian patrimony was restated at Ely in 696, when Seaxburga translated the uncorrupt remains of Etheldreda into the monastery church. Seaxburga died in 699 and was succeeded at Ely by Eormenhilda. Mercia's power in Lindsey was affirmed at the royal monastery of BardneyBardney
Bardney is a village and Civil Parish east of Lincoln, sitting on the north side of the River Witham in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.-The village:...
, beside Lincoln
Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Lincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of 85,595; the 2001 census gave the entire area of Lincoln a population of 120,779....
: Queen Osthryth
Osthryth
Osthryth was the daughter of Oswiu of Northumbria and the wife of King Æthelred of Mercia. She was murdered by the nobles of Mercia. She is referred to by Bede as Queen Ostritha....
had her father Oswald
Oswald of Northumbria
Oswald was King of Northumbria from 634 until his death, and is now venerated as a Christian saint.Oswald was the son of Æthelfrith of Bernicia and came to rule after spending a period in exile; after defeating the British ruler Cadwallon ap Cadfan, Oswald brought the two Northumbrian kingdoms of...
's relics enshrined there, but was slain by the Mercian people in 697. Æthelred abdicated and retired to Bardney in 704 and was succeeded by his nephew, Coenred
Cenred of Mercia
Coenred was king of Mercia, now part of England, from 704 to 709. He was a son of the Mercian king Wulfhere, whose brother Æthelred succeeded to the throne in 675 on Wulfhere's death...
, the son of Wulfhere and Eormenhilda. Their daughter Werburga
Werburgh
Werburh or Wærburh is an English saint and the patron saint of Chester....
united the Mercian lines by marrying Æthelred's son Ceolred
Ceolred of Mercia
-Mercia at the end of the 7th century:By the end of the 7th century, England was almost entirely divided into kingdoms ruled by the Anglo-Saxons, who had come to Britain two hundred years earlier. The kingdom of Mercia occupied what is now the English Midlands, bordered by Northumbria to the...
. The subsidiarity of the East Saxons to Mercia is shown in charters of Coenred, and found an amicable settlement when Coenred and Offa of Essex
Offa of Essex
Offa was King of Essex until 709, when he abdicated in order that he may take up life in a monastery in Rome along with Cenred, King of Mercia. He was the son of Sigeheard of Essex, and, according to some sources, St...
abdicated together and went to Rome to lead religious lives in 709. Ealdwulf's position was protected by the complete investment of his kin in the surrounding dynasties and their patronage of leading religious houses.
The closing years of Ealdwulf's reign were coloured by the unsatisfactory rule of Ceolred, who depleted monastic assets to support his style of kingship. At this time the Mercian royal hermit Guthlac
Saint Guthlac
Saint Guthlac of Crowland was a Christian saint from Lincolnshire in England. He is particularly venerated in the Fens of eastern England.-Life:...
was living on the island of Crowland
Crowland
Crowland or Croyland is a small town in south Lincolnshire, England, positioned between Peterborough and Spalding, with two sites of historical interest.-Geography:...
. His secluded fenland retreat became a place of refuge for a Mercian royal counter-claimant, Æthelbald, who appears to have received encouragement and protection there from the East Anglian nobility. However this development, extremely important in its outcome, had not fully unfolded when Ealdwulf died in 713, leaving his son Ælfwald to succeed to the East Anglian throne.
Sources
- Blake, E.O. (Ed.), Liber Eliensis, Camden 3rd Ser. 92 (London 1962).
- J. Campbell (Ed.), The Anglo-Saxons (Oxford 1982).
- B. Colgrave (Ed.), Felix's Life of Guthlac (Cambridge 1956).
- D.P. Kirby, The Earliest English Kings (London 1991).
- D.M. Metcalf, Thrymsas and Sceattas in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (3 Vols.) (London 1993).
- D.M. Metcalf, 2000, 'Determining the mint-attribution of East Anglian Sceattas through regression analysis', Brit. Numismatic Journal 70, 1-11.
- C. Plummer (Ed.), Venerabilis Bedae Historia Ecclesiastica... una cum Historia Abbatum Auctore Anonymo , 2 Vols. (Oxford 1896).
- S. Plunkett, Suffolk in Anglo-Saxon Times (Tempus 2005).
- D.W. Rollason, The Mildrith Legend - A Study in Early Mediaeval Hagiography in England (Leicester 1982)
- N. Scarfe, Suffolk in the Middle Ages, 2nd Edn. (Woodbridge 2004).
- K. Wade, 2001, 'Gipeswic - East Anglia's first economic capital', in N. Salmon and R. Malster (Eds.), Ipswich from the first to the third Millennium (Ipswich), 1-6.
- S.E. West, N. Scarfe, and R.J. Cramp, 1984, 'Iken, St Botolph, and the Coming of East Anglian Christianity', Proc. Suffolk Inst. Archaeol. 35 Pt. 4, 279-301.
- D. Whitelock, 1972, 'The Pre-Viking Age Church in East Anglia', Anglo-Saxon England 1, 1-22.