CHAP.

I.

gained a great and well-difputed battle against Cadwalla; the
last vigorous effort which the Britains made against the Saxons.
Ofwald is much celebrated for his fanctity and charity by the
Monkish historians "; and they pretend, that his reliques
wrought miracles, particularly the curing a fick horse, which
had approached the place of his interment.

He died in battle against Penda, King of Mercia, and was fucceeded by his brother, Ofwy; who established himself in the government of all the Northumbrian kingdom, by putting to death Ofwin, the fon of Ofric, the laft king of the race of Deïri'. His fon Egfrid fucceeded him; who perishing in battle against the Picts, without leaving any children, because Adelthrid, his wife, refused to violate her vow of chastity', Alfred, his natural brother, acquired poffeffion of the kingdom, which he happily governed for nineteen years; and he left it to Ofred, his fon; a boy of eight years of age. This prince, after a reign of eleven years, was murdered by Kenred his kinsman', who, after enjoying the crown only a year, perished by a like fate. Ofric, and after him Celwulph the son of Kenred, next mounted the throne, which the latter relinquished in the year 738, in favour of Eadbert his coufin-german, who imitating his predeceffor, abdicated the crown, and retired into a monaftery". Ofwolf, fon of Eadbert, was flain in a fedition, a year after his acceffion to the crown*; and Mollo, who was not of the royal family, feized the crown. He perished by the treachery of Ailred, a prince of the blood; and Ailred, having fucceeded in his defign upon the throne, was foon after ex

℗ Matth. West. p. 115.

↑ Bede, lib. 3. cap. 9.

•Bede, lib. 4. cap. 19.

Simeon Dunelm. cap. 2. Chron. Sax. p. 31.

· W. Malmef. lib. 1. cap. 3. Matth. West. P. 118.
· W. Malmcf. lib. 1. cap. 3.
"Simeon Dunclm.

lib. 2. cap. 1. 3. Chron. Sax. cap. 59.

* Simeon Dunelm. lib. 2. cap. 4.

pelled

a

pelled by his fubjects". Ethelred, his fucceffor, the fon of Mollo, fhared a like fate. Celwold, the next king, the brother of Ailfred, was deposed and flain by the people, and his place was filled by Ofred, his nephew, who, after the short reign of year, made way for Ethelbert, another fon of Mollo, whose death was equally tragical with that of almost all his predeceffors. After Ethelbert's death an univerfal anarchy prevailed in Northumberland; and the people, having, by fo many fatal revolutions, loft all attachment to their government and princes, were well prepared for fubjection to a foreign yoke; which Egbert, King of Weffex, finally imposed upon them.

The Kingdom of EAST-ANGLIA.

THE hiftory of this kingdom contains nothing memorable,

except the converting to christianity Earpwold, the fourth king and great-grandfon of Uffa, the founder of the monarchy. The authority of Edwin, king of Northumberland, on whom that prince entirely depended, engaged him to take this ftep: But foon after, his wife, who was an idolatrefs, brought him back to her religion; and he was found unable to resist those allurements, which have feduced the wifeft of mankind. After his death, which was violent, like that of most of the Saxon princes, who did not early retire into monafteries, Sigebert, his fucceffor, and half-brother, who had been educated in France, restored christianity, and introduced learning among the Angles. Some pretend that he founded the university of Cam

▾ Chron. Sax. p. 61.

z W. Malmes. lib. 1. cap. 3.

Bede, lib. 2. cap.

15. Bromp. W. Malmef. lib. 1. cap. 5. H. of Huntingdon fays it was Redwald
who apostatized, lib. 3• -
Bede, lib. 2. cap. 15. lib. 3. cap. 22.

b

bridge,

I.

CHAP. bridge, or rather fome schools in that place. It is almoft impoffible, and quite needless to be more particular in relating the transactions of the Eaft-Angles. What advantage or entertainment can it give the reader to hear a long bede-roll of barbarous names, Egric, Annas, Ethelbert, Ethelwald, Aldulf, Elfwald, Beorne, Ethelred, Ethelbert, who fucceffively murdered, expelled, or inherited from each other, and obfcurely filled the throne of that kingdom. Ethelbert, the laft of thefe princes, was treacherously murdered by Offa, king of Mercia, in the year 792, and his state was thenceforth united with that of Offa, as we shall relate presently.

ال

MERCIA, the largest, if not the moft powerful kingdom of the Heptarchy, comprehended all the middle counties of England; and as its frontiers extended to those of all the other fix kingdoms, as well as to Wales, it received its name from that circumftance. Wibba, the son of Crida, founder of the monarchy, being placed on the throne by Ethelbert, king of Kent, governed his paternal dominions by a very precarious authority; and after his death, Ceorl, his kinfman, was, by the influence of the Kentish monarch, preferred to his fon, Penda, whose turbulent difpofition appeared dangerous to that prince. Penda was thus fifty years of age before he mounted the throne; and his temerity and martial difpofition were found nowife abated by time, experience, or reflection. He engaged in continual hoftilities against all the neighbouring states; and, by his injuftice and violence, rendered himfelf equally odious to his own fubjects and to ftrangers, Sigebert, Egric, and Annas, three kings of Eaft-Anglia, perished in battle against him; as

did

did alfo Edwin and Ofwald, the two greatest princes who had
reigned over Northumberland. At laft, Ofwy, brother to Of-
wald, having defeated him in a great battle, freed the world
from this fanguinary tyrant. Peada, his fon, obtained the
crown of Mercia in 655, and lived under the protection of Of-
wy, whose daughter he had espoused. This princefs was edu-
cated in the chriftian faith, and the employed her influence with
fuccefs, in converting her husband and his fubjects to that reli-
gion *.
Thus the fair fex have had the merit of introducing the
christian doctrine into all the most confiderable kingdoms of the
Saxon Heptarchy. Peada died a violent death'. His fon,
Wolfhere, fucceeded to the government; and after having
reduced to dependance the kingdoms of Effex, and Eaft-Anglia,
he left the crown to his brother, Ethelred, who, though a lover
of peace, showed himself not unfit for military enterprizes.
Befides making a fuccessful expedition into Kent, he repulfed
Egfrid, king of Northumberland, who had invaded his domi-
nions; and he flew in battle Elfwin, the brother of that prince.
Defirous, however, of composing all animofities with Egfrid,
he payed him a fum of money, as a compenfation for the loss of
his brother. After a profperous reign of thirty years, he re-
figned the crown to Kendred, fon of Wolfhere, and retired
into the monaftery of Bardney . Kendred returned the present
of the crown to Ceolred, the fon of Ethelred; and making a
pilgrimage to Rome, passed his life there in pennance and devo-
tion . The place of Ceolred was fupplied by Ethelbald', great-

h

Higden, lib. 5. Brompton, p. 771. Ann. Beverl. p. 85.
W. Malmef. lib. 1. cap. 3. Flor. Wigorn. p. 560.
Brompton, p. 771. Higden, lib. 5.
cap. 4. Ann. Beverl. p. 86.

f

H. Hunting. lib. 3.

* Higden, lib. 5.

e Bede, lib. 3. cap. 21.

Simeon Dunelm. lib. 1. Hugo Candidus, p. 4. fays, that he was treacherously murdered by his queen, from whose perfuafion he had embraced christianity; but this account of the matter is found in that historian alone.

* Bede, lib. 5.
Ingulph. p. 2.

grand

CHAP.

I.

grand nephew to Penda by Alwy, his brother; and this prince, being flain in a mutiny, was fucceeded by Offa, who was a degree more remote from Penda, by Eawa, another brother.

THIS prince, who mounted the throne in 755 *, had fome great qualities,and was successful in his warlike enterprizes against Lothaire, king of Kent, and Kenwulph, king of Weffex. He defeated the former in a bloody battle at Otford upon the Darent, and reduced his kingdom to a state of dependance: He gained a victory over the latter at Benfington in Oxfordshire; and conquering that county, together with that of Glocefter, annexed it to his other dominions. But all thefe fucceffes were stained by his treacherous murder of Ethelbert, king of the East-Angles, and his violent feizure of that kingdom. This young prince, who is faid to have poffeffed great merit, had made fuit to Elfrida, the daughter of Offa, and was invited with all his retinue to Hereford, in order to folemnize the nuptials. Amidst the joy and festivity of these entertainments, he was feized by Offa, and fecretly beheaded: And though Elfrida, who abhorred her father's treachery, had time to give warning to the Eaft-Anglian nobility, who efcaped into their own country, Offa, having extinguished the royal family, fucceeded in his project of fubduing that country'. The treacherous prince, defirous of re-establishing his character in the world, and perhaps of appeafing the remorfes of his own confcience, payed great court to the clergy, and practised all the monkish devotions, which were so much efteemed in that ignorant and superftitious age. He gave the tenth of all his goods to the church"; bestowed rich donations on the cathedral of Hereford; and even made a pilgrimage to Rome, where his great power and riches