The context of Rædwald's kingdomīy the beginning of the 7th century, southern England was almost entirely under the control of the Anglo-Saxons. The Battle of the River Idle, in which Rædwald and his forces defeated the Northumbrians, is described in the twelfth century Historia Anglorum, written by Henry of Huntingdon. Rædwald is however referred to in the 8th century Vita of St Gregory the Great, written by a member of the religious community at Whitby. The Anglian collection, which dates from the late eighth century, contains an East Anglian genealogical tally, but it does not include Rædwald. Such later sources are therefore treated with caution. Later mediaeval chroniclers, such as Roger of Wendover, gave information about East Anglian events, but Yorke suggests that the annalistic format used at the time forced these writers to guess the dates of key events. Bede placed Rædwald's reign between the advent of the Gregorian mission to Kent in 597 and the marriage and conversion of Edwin of Northumbria during 625–26. The earliest and most substantial source for Rædwald is the Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum ( Ecclesiastical History of the English People), completed in 731 by Bede, a Northumbrian monk. No details of his life before his accession are known. Rædwald is the first king of the East Angles of whom more than a name is known. The devastation in East Anglia that was caused by the Vikings is thought to have destroyed the books or charters that may have been kept there. The historian Barbara Yorke has suggested that the reason for the paucity of East Anglian sources was almost certainly the Viking expansion in the ninth century, and that the monks and scribes of East Anglia produced as much work as those living in other parts of England. Rædwald died at some point in the mid-620s, perhaps in 624.įew sources have survived that were written by the Anglo-Saxons in England, and East Anglia has even less documentary evidence than most of the kingdoms that existed at that time. He is generally considered by historians to be the most favoured candidate for the occupant of the Sutton Hoo ship-burial, although other theories have been advanced. In receiving the faith he helped to ensure the survival of Christianity in East Anglia during the apostasy of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Essex and Kent. He was the first king of the East Angles to become a Christian, being converted to Christianity at Æthelberht's court some time before 605, whilst at the same time maintaining a pagan temple. According to Bede he was the fourth ruler to hold imperium over other southern Anglo-Saxon kingdoms: he was referred to in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, written centuries after his death, as a bretwalda (an Old English term meaning 'Britain-ruler' or 'wide-ruler'). In the battle both Æthelfrith and Rædwald's son Rægenhere were killed.įrom around 616, Rædwald was the most powerful of the English kings south of the River Humber.
#Mr bug helm of raedwald install
In 616, as a result of fighting the Battle of the River Idle and defeating Æthelfrith of Northumbria, he was able to install Edwin, who was acquiescent to his authority, as the new king of Northumbria. He reigned from about 599 until his death, initially under the overlordship of Æthelberht of Kent. Details of Rædwald's reign are scarce, primarily because the Viking invasions of the ninth century destroyed the monasteries in East Anglia where many documents would have been kept. He was the son of Tytila of East Anglia and a member of the Wuffingas dynasty (named after his grandfather, Wuffa), who were the first rulers of the East Angles.
![mr bug helm of raedwald mr bug helm of raedwald](https://i.natgeofe.com/n/96984f20-1fe2-4af8-96ed-c723c9fc48fc/02-sutton-hoo_3x4.jpg)
Rædwald ( Old English: Rædwald, "power in counsel") also Raedwald or Redwald, (died around 624) was a 7th century king of East Anglia, a long-lived Anglo-Saxon kingdom which today includes the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. The restored helmet found at Sutton Hoo, which many historians believe may have belonged to Rædwald.Ĭonsidered by many experts to be the occupant of the ship-burial at Sutton Hoo, Suffolk