A.D. 633. Ireland, who was heartily welcomed by Sigebert, and by CHAP. VI. his life and doctrine contributed much to the spread of the Gospel'. His missionary tours, which extended over a period of fifteen years, were productive of immense benefits, alike to the heathen and the Christians of East Anglia, and Bede has drawn a glowing picture of his sanctity and zeal. Northumbrian In the kingdom, however, of Northumbria, a sad Decline of the change was at hand. Before Edwin could receive the Mission. letters addressed to him by the Pope Honorius I., informing him that he had sent palls to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, he had perished in the battle of Hatfield fighting against the savage Penda, who, at the head of a formidable British confederacy, invaded Northumbria, spreading everywhere ruin and desolation, and sparing neither age nor sex. Paulinus, who must have perceived that the times were ripe neither for such a government as that of Edwin, or such a religion as he had introduced, fled with the widowed queen and her children into Kent, and received from the Archbishop of Canterbury the vacant see of Rochester. The only member of the mission left in York was Jacob the deacon, who must have grieved sorely for the dark and troublous times which had now set in for Northumbria. Both Eanfrith prince of Bernicia and Osric prince of Deira relapsed into heathenism, and the land groaned under the savage rule of Cadwalla. At length, in 635, A.D. 635. Oswald a younger son of Æthelfrith, raising a small force, and erecting a cross, round which he commanded his followers to kneel and pray for aid to the God of battles, 1 On the Milesian Scot, Fursæus, who in his cell at Burgh Castle "kindled the spark which, transmitted to the inharmonious Dante of a barbarous age, occasioned the first of the metrical compositions from whose combination the Dirina 2 Bede, III. 1. Lappenberg, I. Accession of A.D. 635. CHAP. VI. burst upon the armies of Cadwalla at Hefenfeld near Hexham, and utterly routed the last hero of the old British race. Uniting in himself the sovereignty of Bernicia and Deira he was saluted as the sixth Bretwalda, and under him the land had rest many days1. from Iona. Like Edwin he had in his earlier years been an exile, and had received instruction from the Scottish missionaries; and now that he had obtained the throne he was determined to do all in his power to carry on the good work which Paulinus had begun, but which had been interMissionaries rupted by the invasion of Penda. Instead, however, of sending to Canterbury for labourers in the mission-field, he sent messengers to Segienus, Abbot of Hy, requesting aid in the instruction of his subjects. In compliance with his wish, the Abbot sent him a monk named Corman', who, after preaching the word some time with little success, returned in disgust to his seagirt home. He could effect nothing, he declared, to the assembled brethren, owing to the ungovernable and barbarous temper of the Saxons. These tidings were received with sorrow, and the assembly was in anxious discussion as to the best course to be taken, when a voice was heard saying, "It seems to me, brother, thou hast been harsher than was fitting towards thy ignorant hearers, and thou hast not, in accordance with Apostolic usage, first offered them the milk of simple teaching, till by degrees being nourished with the divine word, they might be enabled to receive the more perfect and to keep the higher precepts of God." Aidan. Thereupon the eyes of all were fixed upon the speaker, and it was unanimously agreed that no other was more fit to undertake the duty of evangelizing these wild Northumbrians. This was Aidan, a monk of Iona, of whom, 1 Lappenberg, I. 157. 2 Bede, III. 5. Hect. Boethius, Lib. IX. 3 Bede, III. 5. In the Chronicon Hyense, drawn up by Dr Reeves, principally from the Irish Annals, A.D. 635. ary labours. though a disciple of the Irish school, even Bede speaks in CHAP. VI. the highest terms, as a man eminent for meekness, piety, and good works. Having been consecrated bishop, he immediately set out for Northumbria, and fixed his see at Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, which the king willingly granted him, to be an English Iona. Hence he went forth on his missionary tours, wherein he was always assisted by Oswald, who, while as yet the bishop was not master of the English language, himself acted as interpreter, and made his instruction intelligible to his chiefs and courtiers. Nor did Aidan fail to justify the confidence that had been reposed in him. Active in the propagation of the faith, Aidan's Missionhe was at once severe towards himself and humble and beneficent towards the poor and lowly. "He neither sought the things of this life nor cared for them. Whatever presents he received from the king or wealthy persons, he rejoiced to distribute forthwith among the poor that fell in his way. In his journeys through his diocese, he was wont to travel not on horseback, but on foot, except in case of great necessity, in order that, as he went along, he might address those whom he happened to meet, whether rich or poor, and exhort them, if not already Christians, to embrace the faith, and if Christians, to shew forth their faith. by almsgiving and good works'." Like the founder of Icolmkill, he was devoted to reading, and the study of the Scriptures; and of all that accompanied him, he exacted the same diligence, requiring that they must learn the Psalms, or read the Bible, wherever they might be, and as a daily duty. If, as very rarely occurred, he was invited to the king's table, one or two only of his clergy accompanied him, and after a slight refreshment, he hurried we find sub ann. 635, "Ab insula Hii ad provinciam Anglorum instituendam in Christo missus est Edan, accepto gradu episcopatus." He was the son of Lugair, son of Ernin, and of the same lineage as St Brigid 1 Bede, 11. 5. A.D. 635. CHAP. VI. back with all speed to study and devotion. He set the example adopted by religious persons of both sexes, of fasting until three in the afternoon every Wednesday and Friday in the year, except between Easter and Whitsunday. Towards the poor he bore himself with humility, towards the rich with faithfulness, neither cringing nor flattering. Whatever money he received from them, he expended either in works of charity or in redeeming slaves, many of whom he trained and educated, and even raised to the priesthood. Foundation of the Monastery To Lindisfarne, where, according to the Irish custom, of Lindisfarne. Aidan had founded a monastery, and united' the monastic duties with those of the bishop, flocked numbers of auxiliaries, chiefly monks from Iona, who with great zeal preached the word throughout Northumbria. Churches were built in divers places, and monasteries were endowed with grants of land, where the Saxon youth were instructed by their Celtic teachers". Conversion of Nor was it only in Northumbria that the effect of this mission from Iona was felt. In the same year that Aidan came to Lindisfarne, Oswald repaired to the court of Cynegils, king of Wessex, to ask the hand of his daughter in marriage. A year before, Cynegils had been visited by Birinus, who is said to have been bred up as a monk in the monastery of Gregory at Rome, and who had undertaken by the advice of Pope Honorius to penetrate into the innermost parts of the country for the purpose of propagating the Christian faith. 1 Bede, Vita S. Cuthberti, c. 16. "Aidan quippe, qui primus ejusdem loci episcopus fuit, monachus erat et monachicam cum suis omnibus vitam semper agere solebat." Cf. also Bede, III. 3. 2 "Exin cœpere plures per dies de Scottorum regione venire Britanniam atque illis Anglorum provinciis quibus regnavit Oswald, magna devotione verbum fidei prædicare, et Raised to the episcopate credentibus gratiam baptismi quicunque sacerdotali erant gradu præditi, ministrare... Construebantur ecclesiæ...donabantur munere regio possessiones, et territoria ad instituenda monasteria." Bede, III. 3. 3 "Promittens quidem se (Honorio) præsente in intimis ultra Anglorum partibus quo nullus doctor præcessisset, sanctæ fidei semina esse sparsurum." Bede, III. 7. A.D. 635. by Asterius, bishop of Genoa, at the command of Honorius CHAP. VI. he had come to the island, and finding himself on his landing surrounded by the darkest paganism, he had determined to remain where he was rather than advance further. His preaching had now so far influenced the king, that he had consented to submit to baptism, and, on stepping forth from the font, was received by Oswald, who gladly became at once his godfather and son-in-law. of Dorchester. By the two kings Dorchester was assigned to Birinus Birinus, bishop as an episcopal see, and here he continued for some time. preaching the word, building churches, and gathering many into the Christian fold. On the death of Cynegils, in A.D. 643. 643, his son Cenwealh refused baptism, put away his wife, who was the sister of Penda, and contracted another alliance. War ensued, and he was driven from his kingdom. For three years he lived in exile at the court of Anna the pious king of East Anglia, and there learnt to adopt the Christian faith. On his restoration to his kingdom, he was visited by a certain priest named Agilbert, who was of French extraction, but had been spending some time in Ireland for the sake of studying the Scriptures. He was invited by the king to stay and accept the bishopric, and complied with his request. But at last Cenwealh, who knew nothing but Saxon', growing weary of the bishop's foreign dialect, secretly introduced into the new see of Winchester an Anglo-Saxon, who could speak his own language, named Wini, who also had been ordained in France. This, and the division of his diocese, grievously offended Agilbert, and straightway leaving the country, he accepted the A.D. 649. bishopric of Paris, where he lived to a good old age. Meanwhile the good Oswald, whose amiable character Death of had won for him even among his foes, the Britons, the 1 "Tandem rex, qui Saxonum tantum linguam noverat, pertœsus barbara loquela, subintroduxit in provinciam alium suæ linguæ epis- Oswald, |