5.31. Anna king of Eastangles is slaine by Penda king of Mercia, his brother succee|ding him is slaine also by Oswie king of Nor|thumberland, the Mercians or Middle angles re|ceiue the faith vnder vertuous Peda their prince, he requesteth Alchfled the king of Northumberlands daughter in mariage, he is baptised by bishop Finnan, by whose meanes the Eastsaxons imbraced christian religion vnder Sigibert their king, he is murthered of two brethren that were his kinsmen vpon a conceiued hatred against him for his good and christian life, how dan|gerous it is to keepe companie with an excommunicate person, the authoritie of a bishop. The xxxj. Chapter.

Anna king of Eastangles is slaine by Penda king of Mercia, his brother succee|ding him is slaine also by Oswie king of Nor|thumberland, the Mercians or Middle angles re|ceiue the faith vnder vertuous Peda their prince, he requesteth Alchfled the king of Northumberlands daughter in mariage, he is baptised by bishop Finnan, by whose meanes the Eastsaxons imbraced christian religion vnder Sigibert their king, he is murthered of two brethren that were his kinsmen vpon a conceiued hatred against him for his good and christian life, how dan|gerous it is to keepe companie with an excommunicate person, the authoritie of a bishop. The xxxj. Chapter.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 2 _AFter Egricus succeeded Anna the sonne of Enus in the kingdome of Eastangle,Anna. Will. Malmes. and was likewise slaine by Penda king of Mercia, with the most part of his armie, as he gaue battell vnto the said Penda that inuaded his countrie. He left behind him manie children, but his brother Edelhere succéeded him in gouernment of the kingdome,Edelhere K. of Eastangle. who was slaine by Oswie the king of Northumberland, togither with the foresaid Penda, and woorthilie, sith he would aid that tyrant which had slaine his kinsman and his brother that were predecessors with him in his kingdome. After this, when the sée of Canturburie had béene vacant by the space of one whole yeere and six moneths,Deus dedit. one Deus dedit of the countrie of the Westsaxons, was elec|ted and consecrated by Ithamar the bishop of Ro|chester, on the 7 kalends of Aprill. He gouerned the church of Canturburie by the tearme of nine yéeres, foure moneths, and two daies. When he was depar|ted this life, the foresaid Ithamar consecrated for him one Damianus of the countrie of Sussex.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 ABout this time,Beda histae [...] lib. 3. cap. 21. 653. the people of Mercia common|lie called Middleangles, receiued the christian faith vnder their king named Peda or Peada, the sonne of Penda king of Mercia, who being a to|wardlie yoong gentleman, and woorthie to haue the guiding of a kingdome, his father Penda aduanced him to the rule of that kingdome of the Middlean|gles during his owne life.Peda or Pea|da king of Middlean|gles. [¶Héere maie you note, that the kingdome of the Middleangles was one, and the kingdome of Mercia another, though most commonlie the same were gouerned by one king.] This yoong Peda came to Oswie king of Northum|berland, requiring of him to haue his daughter Alch|fled in mariage: but when he was informed that he might not haue hir except he would become a christi|an, then vpon hearing the gospell preached, with the promise of the celestiall ioies and immortalitie, by the resurrection of the flesh in the life to come, he said that whether he had king Oswies daughter to wife or not, he would suerlie be baptised, and chieflie he was persuaded therevnto by his kinsman Alchfrid, who had in mariage his sister the daughter of Pen|da named Cimburgh.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 Wherefore he was baptised by bishop Finnan, with all those which came thither with him, at a place called At the wall, Ad [...] and taking with him foure priests which were thought méete to teach and baptise his people, he returned with great ioy into his owne countrie. The names of those priests were as follow|eth, Cedda, Adda, Betti, and Diuna, of the which, the last was a Scot by nation, and the other were En|glishmen. EEBO page image 117 These priests comming into the prouince of the Middleangles, preached the woord, and were well heard, so that dailie a great number of the no|bilitie & communaltie renouncing the filthie dregs of idolatrie, were christned. Neither did king Penda forbid the preaching of the gospell within his pro|uince of Mercia, but rather hated and despised those whome he knew to haue professed themselues christi|ans, and yet shewed not the woorks of faith,The saieng of king Penda. saieng, that Those were wretches and not to be regarded, which would not obeie their God in whome they be|léeued. This alteration of things began, about two yéeres before the death of king Penda.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 ABout the same time,Beda. lib. 3. cap. 22. the Eastsaxons at the in|stance of Oswie king of Northumberland, re|ceiued eftsoones the faith which they had renounced, when they banished their bishop Melitus. Ye haue heard that Serred, Siward, and Sigibert brethren, and the sonnes of king Sabert (which brethren occa|sioned the reuolting of that prouince from the faith of Christ) were slaine in battell by the kings of West|saxon, after whome succéeded Sigibert surnamed the little sonne to the middlemost brother Siward, as some write. This Sigibert the litle left the kingdome to an other Sigibert that was sonne to one Sige|bald the brother of king Sabert, which second Sigi|bert reigned as king in that prouince of the East|saxons, being a most especiall friend of king Oswie, so that oftentimes he repaired into Northumberland to visit him, whervpon king Oswie ceassed not most earnestlie at times conuenient to exhort him to re|ceiue the faith of Iesus Christ, and in the end by such effectuall persuasions as he vsed, Sigibert gaue cre|dit to his woords, and so being conuerted, receiued the sacrament of baptisme by the hands of bishop Finnan,King Sigi|bert receiued the faith. at the kings house called, At the wall, so named, bicause it was built néere to the wall which the Romans had made ouerthwart the Ile, as is of|ten before remembred, being twelue miles distant from the east sea.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 King Sigibert hauing now receiued the christian faith,This was a|bout the yéere 649, as Matth. West. hath no|ted. when he should returne into his countrie, re|quired king Oswie to appoint him certeine instruc|tors and teachers which might conuert his people to the faith of Christ. King Oswie desirous to satisfie his request, sent vnto the prouince of the Middleangles, calling from thence that vertuous man Cedda, and assigning vnto him another priest to be his associat,Cedda. sent them vnto the prouince of the Eastsaxons, there to preach the christian faith vnto the people. And when they had preached & taught through the whole countrie, to the great increase and inlarging of the church of Christ, it chanced on a time that Cedda re|turned home into Northumberland to conferre of certeine things with bishop Finnan which kept his sée at Lindesherne, where vnderstanding by Cedda the great fruits which it had pleased God to prosper vnder his hands, in aduancing the faith among the Eastsaxons, he called to him two other bishops, and there ordeined the foresaid Cedda bishop of the East saxons.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 2 Héerevpon, the same Cedda returned vnto his cure,Ced or Cedda bishop of the Eastsaxons. went forward with more authoritie to per|forme the woorke of the Lord, & building churches in diuerse places, ordeined priests and deacons which might helpe him in preaching, and in the ministerie of baptising, speciallie in the citie of Ithancester vp|on the riuer of Pent,Tilberie. and likewise in Tileburge on the riuer of Thames. Whilest Ced was thus bufle to the great comfort and ioy of the king and all his people, in the setting forward of the christian religion with great increase dailie procéeding, it chanced tho|rough the instigation of the deuill, the common eni|mie of mankind, that king Sigibert was murthe|red by two of his owne kinsmen who were bre|thren, the which when they were examined of the cause that should mooue them to that wicked fact, they had nothing to alledge, but that they did it bi|cause they had conceiued an hatred against the king, for that he was too fauourable towards his enimies, and would with great mildnesse of mind forgiue in|iuries committed against him: such was the kings fault for the which he was murthered, bicause he ob|serued the commandements of the gospell with a de|uout hart.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 Notwithstanding, in this his innocent death, his offense was punished, wherein he had suerlie trans|gressed the lawes of the church. For whereas one of them which slue him kept a wife, whome he had vn|lawfullie maried, and refused to put hir away at the bishops admonition, he was by the bishop excom|municated, and all other of the christian congrega|tion commanded to absteine from his companie. This notwithstanding, the king being destred of him came to his house to a banket, and in his comming from thence met with the bishop, whome when the king beheld, he waxed afraid, and alighted from his horsse, and fell downe at his féet, beséeching him of pardon for his offense. The bishop, which also was on horssebacke likewise alighted, and touching the king with his rod which he had in his hand, as one some|thing displeased, and protesting as in the authoritie of a bishop,The authori|tie of a bishop. spake these words; Bicause (saith he) thou wouldst not absteine from entring the house of that wicked person being accurssed, thou shalt die in the same house: and so it came to passe.