Ethelbert of Kent, King
Also known as Adilberct, Aethelberht, Aibert, Edilbertus
Born . 560;
Died at Canterbury on February 24, 616;
Feast day formerly February 24.
Feast day: February 25
In the days of the Saxons, Ethelbert, great-grandson of Hengist, the first Saxon conqueror of Britain, reigned for 36 years over Kent beginning about 560, the oldest of the kingdoms. Although he had been defeated by Ceawlin of Wessex at the battle of Wimbledon in 568, Ethelbert became the third bretwalda of England, exercising supremacy over all other Saxon kings and princes south of the Humber. Under his rule Kent was the most cultured of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms; it was closely associated with the Frankish Rhineland.
He married a Christian princess, Bertha, granddaughter of King Clovis of the Franks and sister of Chilperic's brother Charibert, king of Paris. Bertha brought with her to England her own chaplain, Bishop Saint Liudhard of Senlis, and in a church built in Roman times in Canterbury that was dedicated to Saint Martin, he preached the Gospel in a heathen land.
Bertha herself was lovable and gentle, and though we know little of her life, her memory remains as a bright light shining in the darkness of those ancient days. Bertha was a zealous and pious Christian princess, who by the articles of her marriage had free liberty to exercise her religion. To Ethelbert and his people she brought the pattern and example of a Christian life and prepared the way for the coming of Augustine (Austin). Although in one place Saint Gregory the Great compares her piety and zeal to that of Saint Helen, as late as 601, he reproached her for not having converted her husband.
Although Ethelbert was a very courteous man, he was himself not yet a Christian. When Augustine and his missionaries, sent from Rome by Gregory the Great, landed on the isle of Thanet and requested Ethelbert's permission to preach, he ordered them to remain where they were and arranged for them to be well tended until he had reached a decision.
Ethelbert feared that the missionaries might be magicians, so he would not receive them indoors, in case he needed to retreat quickly from their sorcery. In that time they believed at that time, an evil spell would be ineffective outdoors. So the king arranged to meet them in the open air on Thanet Island under a great oak.
They came in the bright morning light, the emissaries of Rome, bearing before them a great silver cross and a picture of our Lord painted on a large wooden panel, and chanting Gregorian strains. At their head marched Augustine, whose tall figure and patrician features were the center of attention. it was a moving sight, and who could have foretold all that the day held in store for England! As the paraded forwarded they prayed for their salvation and that of the English.
The king, surrounded by a great company of courtiers, invited the visitors to be seated, and after listening carefully to what Augustine had to say, gave a generous answer: "You make fair speeches and promises, but all this is to me new and uncertain. I cannot all at once put faith in what you tell me, and abandon all that I, with my whole nation, have for so long a time held sacred. But since you have come from so far away to impart to us what you yourselves, by what I see, believe to be the truth and the supreme good, we shall do you no hurt, but, on the contrary, shall show you all hospitality, and shall take care to furnish you with the means of living. We shall not hinder you from preaching your religion, and you may convert whom you can."
He accommodated them in the royal city of Canterbury and before the year was over there were 10,000 converts according to a letter from Saint Gregory to Patriarch Eulogius of Alexandria. On Whit Sunday 597 traditionally, though it is more likely to have occurred in 601, King Ethelbert himself was baptized by Saint Augustine. In 601, Gregory wrote an encouraging letter to Ethelbert, congratulating him on becoming a Christian. Not since the conversions of Constantine and Clovis had Christendom known an event so thrillingly momentous.
From that time, Ethelbert was changed into another man. His only ambition during the last 20 years of his life was to establish the perfect reign of Christ in his own soul and in the hearts of his subjects. His ardor in penitential exercises and devotion never abated. It must have been difficult to master his will in the while wielding temporal power and wealth, but Ethelbert continuously advanced in the path of perfection.
In the government of his kingdom, his thoughts were completely turned upon the best means of promoting the welfare of his people. He enacted wholesome laws, abolished the worship of idols, and turned pagan temples into churches. While he granted religious freedom to his subjects, believing conversion by conviction was the only true conversion, thousands of them also became Christians. His code of laws for Kent is the earliest known legal document written in a Germanic language. The first law decreed that any person who stole from the church or clergy must make immediate reparation.
Ethelbert gave his royal palace of Canterbury to Saint Augustine for his use, founded a cathedral there, and built the abbey of Saints Peter and Paul later called Saint Austin's just outside the city walls. He also laid the foundations for Saint Andrew's in Rochester and many other churches. King Ethelbert was instrumental in bringing King Sebert (Sabert) of the East Saxons and King Redwald of the East Angles to faith in Christ. He built the cathedral of Saint Paul's in London in the territory of King Sebert.
Saint Gregory the Great, delighted with the progress made in the English mission field, sent a number of presents to King Ethelbert. The pope wrote that "by means of the good gifts that God has granted to you, I know He blesses your people as well." He urged King Ethelbert to destroy the shrines of idols and to raise the moral standards of his subjects by his own good example.
Upon his death, Ethelbert was buried beside his first wife Bertha in the porticus side-chapel of St. Martin in the Abbey Church of SS. Peter and Paul. Later his relics were deposited under the high altar of that same church, then called Saint Austin's. Polydore Virgil reports that a vigil light was kept before the tomb of Saint Ethelbert, and was sometimes an instrument of miracles even in the days of King Henry VIII. There seems to have been an unofficial cultus at Canterbury from early times, but his feast is found in calendars only from the 13th century, and generally on February 25 or 26, because Saint Matthias occupied February 24. He is commemorated in both the Roman and British Martyrologies
Also known as Adilberct, Aethelberht, Aibert, Edilbertus
Born . 560;
Died at Canterbury on February 24, 616;
Feast day formerly February 24.
Feast day: February 25
In the days of the Saxons, Ethelbert, great-grandson of Hengist, the first Saxon conqueror of Britain, reigned for 36 years over Kent beginning about 560, the oldest of the kingdoms. Although he had been defeated by Ceawlin of Wessex at the battle of Wimbledon in 568, Ethelbert became the third bretwalda of England, exercising supremacy over all other Saxon kings and princes south of the Humber. Under his rule Kent was the most cultured of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms; it was closely associated with the Frankish Rhineland.
He married a Christian princess, Bertha, granddaughter of King Clovis of the Franks and sister of Chilperic's brother Charibert, king of Paris. Bertha brought with her to England her own chaplain, Bishop Saint Liudhard of Senlis, and in a church built in Roman times in Canterbury that was dedicated to Saint Martin, he preached the Gospel in a heathen land.
Bertha herself was lovable and gentle, and though we know little of her life, her memory remains as a bright light shining in the darkness of those ancient days. Bertha was a zealous and pious Christian princess, who by the articles of her marriage had free liberty to exercise her religion. To Ethelbert and his people she brought the pattern and example of a Christian life and prepared the way for the coming of Augustine (Austin). Although in one place Saint Gregory the Great compares her piety and zeal to that of Saint Helen, as late as 601, he reproached her for not having converted her husband.
Although Ethelbert was a very courteous man, he was himself not yet a Christian. When Augustine and his missionaries, sent from Rome by Gregory the Great, landed on the isle of Thanet and requested Ethelbert's permission to preach, he ordered them to remain where they were and arranged for them to be well tended until he had reached a decision.
Ethelbert feared that the missionaries might be magicians, so he would not receive them indoors, in case he needed to retreat quickly from their sorcery. In that time they believed at that time, an evil spell would be ineffective outdoors. So the king arranged to meet them in the open air on Thanet Island under a great oak.
They came in the bright morning light, the emissaries of Rome, bearing before them a great silver cross and a picture of our Lord painted on a large wooden panel, and chanting Gregorian strains. At their head marched Augustine, whose tall figure and patrician features were the center of attention. it was a moving sight, and who could have foretold all that the day held in store for England! As the paraded forwarded they prayed for their salvation and that of the English.
The king, surrounded by a great company of courtiers, invited the visitors to be seated, and after listening carefully to what Augustine had to say, gave a generous answer: "You make fair speeches and promises, but all this is to me new and uncertain. I cannot all at once put faith in what you tell me, and abandon all that I, with my whole nation, have for so long a time held sacred. But since you have come from so far away to impart to us what you yourselves, by what I see, believe to be the truth and the supreme good, we shall do you no hurt, but, on the contrary, shall show you all hospitality, and shall take care to furnish you with the means of living. We shall not hinder you from preaching your religion, and you may convert whom you can."
He accommodated them in the royal city of Canterbury and before the year was over there were 10,000 converts according to a letter from Saint Gregory to Patriarch Eulogius of Alexandria. On Whit Sunday 597 traditionally, though it is more likely to have occurred in 601, King Ethelbert himself was baptized by Saint Augustine. In 601, Gregory wrote an encouraging letter to Ethelbert, congratulating him on becoming a Christian. Not since the conversions of Constantine and Clovis had Christendom known an event so thrillingly momentous.
From that time, Ethelbert was changed into another man. His only ambition during the last 20 years of his life was to establish the perfect reign of Christ in his own soul and in the hearts of his subjects. His ardor in penitential exercises and devotion never abated. It must have been difficult to master his will in the while wielding temporal power and wealth, but Ethelbert continuously advanced in the path of perfection.
In the government of his kingdom, his thoughts were completely turned upon the best means of promoting the welfare of his people. He enacted wholesome laws, abolished the worship of idols, and turned pagan temples into churches. While he granted religious freedom to his subjects, believing conversion by conviction was the only true conversion, thousands of them also became Christians. His code of laws for Kent is the earliest known legal document written in a Germanic language. The first law decreed that any person who stole from the church or clergy must make immediate reparation.
Ethelbert gave his royal palace of Canterbury to Saint Augustine for his use, founded a cathedral there, and built the abbey of Saints Peter and Paul later called Saint Austin's just outside the city walls. He also laid the foundations for Saint Andrew's in Rochester and many other churches. King Ethelbert was instrumental in bringing King Sebert (Sabert) of the East Saxons and King Redwald of the East Angles to faith in Christ. He built the cathedral of Saint Paul's in London in the territory of King Sebert.
Saint Gregory the Great, delighted with the progress made in the English mission field, sent a number of presents to King Ethelbert. The pope wrote that "by means of the good gifts that God has granted to you, I know He blesses your people as well." He urged King Ethelbert to destroy the shrines of idols and to raise the moral standards of his subjects by his own good example.
Upon his death, Ethelbert was buried beside his first wife Bertha in the porticus side-chapel of St. Martin in the Abbey Church of SS. Peter and Paul. Later his relics were deposited under the high altar of that same church, then called Saint Austin's. Polydore Virgil reports that a vigil light was kept before the tomb of Saint Ethelbert, and was sometimes an instrument of miracles even in the days of King Henry VIII. There seems to have been an unofficial cultus at Canterbury from early times, but his feast is found in calendars only from the 13th century, and generally on February 25 or 26, because Saint Matthias occupied February 24. He is commemorated in both the Roman and British Martyrologies
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