The following are the kings of Kent, in succession:— Hengist, the first king, was 8 years in making the conquest, and reigned afterwards 32 years; Esc his son reigned gloriously 34 years; Octa reigned obscurely about 20 years; Irmiric reigned in like manner about 25 years; Ethelbert, son of Irmiric, and the first Christian king, had a glorious reign of 56 years; Eadbald, 34; Erchenbert, 34; Egbert, 9; Lothaire, the ninth king, 12. The following are the kings of Wessex, in succession :— The first king Cerdic, from the twentieth year after the arrival of the Saxons, reigned 17 years; Kenric, son of Cerdic, reigned 26 years; Ceaulin, son of Kenric, reigned 30 years; Ceolric, son of Ceaulin, reigned 5 years; Ceolwulf, son of Cutha, brother of Ceaulin, reigned 14 years; Kinigils, son of Ceola, son of Cutha, reigned 31 years, the first who was converted to the faith; Kenwald, son of Kinigils, also reigned 31 years; Sexburgh, wife of Kenwald, reigned 1 year; Escwin, son of Kenwald, reigned 2 years; Kenwin, kinsman of Escwin, reigned 9 years. The following are the kings of Essex, in succession :— Erchenwin, the first king; Slede; Sebert, first received the faith; Sigebert; Sibert; Swithelm; Sebbi; Sigard. The following are the kings of Northumbria, in succession: Ida, the first king; Ella; Ethelfert; Edwin, first received the faith; Oswald; Oswy; Egfert. The following are the kings of East-Anglia, in succession: Uffa, the first king; Titulus; Redwald; Erwald, first received the faith; Sigebert; Ecgric; Anna; Ethelhere; Ethelwulf; Aldulf. The following are the kings of Mercia, in succession:Crida, the first; Wippa; Ceorl; Penda; Peda, first received the faith; Wulfhere; Ethelred. The following are the kings of Sussex, in order :- The other kings of Sussex are unknown, through the paucity of their chroniclers, or the obscurity of their annals, period of 376 years; but according to Henry of Huntingdon, their reigns lasted either 367 or 397 years; and so of the rest."-Petrie. except the king Ethelwold, who is justly had in remembrance, because he was the first who adopted the Christian faith. Let this then suffice. And now, reader, observe and reflect how soon great names are lost in oblivion; and since there is nothing enduring in this world, seek, I pray you, carefully to obtain a kingdom and treasure which will not fail, a name and honour which shall not pass away, a memorial and glory which shall never grow old. To meditate on this is the highest wisdom, to attain it the highest prudence, to enjoy it the highest felicity. F BOOK III.1 In the year of grace 582, Maurice, the fifty-fourth of the Roman emperors from Augustus, began his reign. In the fourteenth year of this prince, about 150 years after the arrival of the Saxons in England [A.D. 596], Gregory, the servant of God, commissioned Augustine, with several other monks, to preach the gospel to the English nation 2. In obedience to the Pope's commands, they proceeded on their journey, and had arrived in the neighbourhood of Britain, when they became so alarmed for their safety among a barbarous people, of whose very language they were ignorant, that they determined to abandon the undertaking and return to Rome. In short, they sent back Augustine, who was to have been consecrated bishop in case they were received by the English, that he might humbly entreat their release from the obligation to prosecute so perilous, so toilsome, and so hopeless a mission. In reply, the Pope addressed to them an epistle, exhorting them to proceed in the work confided to them, in reliance on the word of God, and to put their trust in his divine aid. The purport of this letter was as follows: 66 Gregory, the servant of the servants of God, to the servants of our Lord. "Forasmuch as it would have been better not to begin a In this third Book, Henry of Huntingdon relates the conversion to Christianity of the Angles and Saxons settled in England. It is wholly an abridgment of Bede's Ecclesiastical History; but by reducing it to order, and describing the conversion of the several kingdoms of the Heptarchy seriatim, confining his narrative to the principal events, he has avoided the prolixity and confusion of Bede's History. The Archdeacon has better preserved the thread of his narrative, by judiciously omitting, in general, to insert the accounts of the miracles with which the history of Bede is largely interspersed. These he reserved for a separate Book. On the other hand, our historian sometimes indulges his rhetorical vein in embellishing and expatiating on incidents which Bede relates simply and succinctly. 2 Bede's Eccl. Hist., book i. c. 23. good work, than to think of withdrawing from that which has been begun, it behoves you, my well-beloved sons, to fulfil that good work which by the help of the Lord you have now entered on. Let, therefore, neither the toil of the journey, nor the tongues of evil-speaking men, deter you, but persist with all perseverance and with all zeal in what you have undertaken by the will of God, knowing that the greater the suffering the greater is the glory of the eternal reward. When, therefore, Augustine your chief, whom we also appoint your Abbot, returns to you, humbly obey him in all things; being assured that whatever ye shall do by his direction will in all respects be profitable to your souls. May Almighty God defend you with his gracious assistance, and grant that I may behold the fruits of your labours in the heavenly country; inasmuch as although it is not permitted me to labour with you, I shall be found with you in the joys of the reward, because I am willing to partake of your labours. God have you in his holy keeping, my wellbeloved sons! Dated on the tenth of the kalends of August, in the fourteenth year of the reign of our Lord Mauritius Tiberius, the most pious Augustus; and in the fourteenth indiction." Reassured by this message from the holy Father, the missionaries pursued their journey to Britain'. At that time Ethelbert was king of Kent, and possessed of great power; for he had extended the frontier of his dominions to the Humber, a great river which is the boundary between the southern and northern tribes of the Saxons. On the eastern side of Kent lies Thanet, an island of considerable size, containing after the English way of reckoning 600 families. The river Wantsum, which separates it from the main-land, is about three furlongs wide, and is fordable in two places only, both ends of it being estuaries. Augustine, the servant of God, with his companions, being, as is reported, nearly forty men, having landed on this island, they announced to the king by their interpreters, that they were come from Rome, and were bearers of a joyful message, which beyond all doubt assured to those who obeyed it 1 Bede, book i. 25. eternal joys in heaven, and an everlasting kingdom with the living and true God. The King, upon hearing this, commanded them to remain in the island in which they had landed, where they should be supplied with all things necessary, till such time as he should consider how he should deal with them. For he had some cognizance of the Christian religion, his wife, a princess of the nation of the Franks, Bertha by name, being a Christian: having been given to him by her parents upon the express condition, that she should have full liberty to preserve her faith inviolate, and to practise the rites of her religion under the ministration of Luidhard, a bishop who attended her. In a few days time the King crossed over to the island, and, seat ing himself in the open air, ordered Augustine and his companions to be invited to a conference with him. For he was cautious not to meet them in any house, lest, according to an ancient superstition, if they practised any magical arts, they might unawares gain an advantage over him. But they came endowed with divine, not with magical virtue, a silver cross and a picture of Our Lord and Saviour being carried before them as their ensigns, while they chanted litanies making supplications to God for the eternal salvation of themselves, and of those for whom and to whom they were come. By the King's command, they then sat down and preached to him and his attendants, and all who were present, the word of life. After which the King thus replied:" Your words and the promises you hold out to us are indeed specious; but as much as they are a novelty and hard of comprehension, I cannot assent to them, forsaking that which I have so long held in common with the whole English nation. But because you have travelled hither from a far distant country, and, as far as I can judge, for the purpose of communicating to us the benefit of what you believe to be excellent and true, so far from molest ing you, it is our wish to receive you with generous hospi tality, and to take care you are supplied with whatever is necessary for your subsistence. Nor do we prohibit you from converting all whom you are able to persuade by your preaching to the belief of your religion." Accordingly he assigned them a residence in the city of |