of Edward I., who finally added the principality to the English crown, had certainly compelled the inhabitants of Wales, as well as of the rest of England, at least to profess allegiance to them as the lords para mount of the whole country from the sea to the Forth.

There is not a more intricate maze in history than that formed by the transactions of the different Saxon states established in Britain. The annals which have come down to us of several of these petty kingdoms do not furnish us even with an unbroken succession of the sovereigns; and even where the narrative is more full, inexplicable obscurities or contradictions meet us in almost every page. Looking to these considerations, and also to the little interest for the general reader attaching to the revolutions of a mob of monarchies, the traces of the separate existence of which are now, for the most part, so utterly defaced, we shall not attempt here either to pursue with tedious particularity the thread of the history of each, or to chronicle the weary series of quarrels and broils in which they were almost incessantly engaged with one another. We must limit ourselves to the mere outline of this thick crowd of events. And for that purpose, our best plan will be to follow the sovereign, or at least the ascendant authority, as it transferred itself from one to another of the rival powers. For it is important to observe--although this has been too much overlooked by most of our historians-that from the first establishment of the Saxons in Great Britain, there was always some one of the contemporary rulers who was accounted the chief over the others, the Bretwalda, as he was called, or emperor of Britain, as the term may be translated. The Bretwalda was looked upon as the true representative or successor of the ancient British monarchs,- —as occupying, in fact, the place formerly held by Vortigern and his descendants subsequently to the abandonment of the country by the Romans. The authority exercised by this nominal sovereign was often indeed, practically, not much felt; he stood somewhat in the same position in which the emperor of Germany used to stand to the electors of the empire,-having little or no power, for instance, to interfere in the internal affairs of the several subordinate states, or even to prevent them from going to war with each other. But yet, although in point of fact the dignity seems to have been deemed, by those who acknowledgea, if not always by him who held it, little more than titular, it at least implied that the particular state by the sovereign of which it was borne, was, for the time, more powerful than any of its neighbours; and by accompanying its movements, therefore, as it passed from one sceptre to another, we shall obtain a view of the rise and fall, in succession, of each of the principal states.*

According to Mr Palgrave, Ella, who, as already mentioned, arrived in the island in the year 477, and afterwards founded the kingdom of the South Saxons-comprehending the two modern counties of Sussex and Surrey-was the first Bretwalda. In this capacity, after the death of Hengist, he commanded the armies of his countrymen in their united contest with the Britons. Ella died in 514, and was succeeded by his son, Cissa, who is said to have reigned for the long period of seventy-six years. His death is placed in the year 590, which,

We have the high authority of Lingard for our mode of treating this portion of our country's annals,

History of England, vol. i. p 77.

as he is stated to have come over from Germany with his father, would make him to have lived at least above 115 years; but there is doubtless some error in this account. On the death of Cissa, who left no children, his kingdom was seized by Ceawlin, king of Wessex, the son of Cenric, and grandson of Cerdic; and the South Saxons, though they often attempted to regain their independence, were never afterwards able to emancipate themselves from the yoke of their conqueror and his descendants. Even before he had thus taken possession of the kingdom of Ella, Ceawlin had assumed his title of Bretwalda, and had compelled the other princes to recognise his supremacy. His violent usurpation of the throne of Sussex, however, at last provoked the formation of a confederacy against him, and, being defeated in 593, in a great battle fought at Wansdike, in Wiltshire, he died soon after. His nephew, Ceolric, however, whom he had made viceroy of Sussex, having joined the league against him, contrived in this way to be allowed to retain possession both of that conquest and of the kingdom of Wessex, to which he succeeded by inheritance. But Ethelbert, king of Kent, a very able prince, and who had been the leader of the opposition against Ceawlin, was appointed to the dignity of Bretwalda. Ethelbert was the great grandson of Æsca, the son of Hengist, from whom the kings of Kent were usually denominated Escingas. His supremacy as Bretwalda, was acknowledged by all the states except that of Northumbria, the independence of which he never succeeded in subduing. But on the death, in 594, of Cridda, the first king of Mercia, Ethelbert, acting upon his pretended right, as lord paramount, seized upon that kingdom. He soon after, however, thought proper, on perceiv ing the general dissatisfaction his conduct had excited, to restore his patrimony to Wibba, Cridda's son, or rather, as it would appear, to appoint the young man governor or lieutenant of what had been his father's dominions. Ethelbert married Bertha, daughter of Charibert, king of France; and it was through means of this princess that Christianity was first introduced among the Anglo-Saxons. She would not consent to give her hand to Ethelbert until he had promised to allow her the free exercise of her own religion, and the liberty of bringing over with her for that purpose a certain number of ecclesiastics, and maintaining them in her household. But Bertha, who appears to have been a woman very superior to her age, had something more in view, when she stipulated for this arrangement, than merely the sustenance of her own faith: she hoped also to convert her heathen husband. Animated by this pious resolution, she spared no pains to acquire an ascendancy over the rude nature of Ethelbert, and soon succeeded by her virtues and her devotedness in attaching him to her by the most cordial esteem and affection. It is supposed that, having thus so far prepared the way, Bertha now applied to Pope Gregory I. to send over a mission to Britain. The missionaries, accordingly, consisting of forty Benedictine monks, headed by Austin, or Augustine, as abbot, arrived in the year 597, in the isle of Thanet, in the dominions of Ethelbert. That king, on the intercession of his wife, soon after permitted them to take up their residence in the city of Canterbury, his capital, and, in the course of about a year, consented to receive baptism at their hands. His conduct was imitated by large numbers of his subjects; and from this time the new religion spread gradually over

C

all the other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. The monks, in a short time, began to build a cathedral at Canterbury, as well as other religious edifices in other parts; and eventually, as is well known, on the success which had attended the enterprize being made known to Gregory, Augustine was appointed archbishop of Canterbury and primate of England.

But to return to the succession of the Bretwaldas. Ethelbert, hav.ng died in 616, after a reign of fifty-two years, was succeeded by his son Eadbald, a prince lost in indolence and dissoluteness, who soon let his father's imperial sceptre drop from his hands. The dignity of which he had shown himself to be unworthy was, by unanimous consent, bestowed upon Redwald, king of East Anglia, grandson of Uffa, the founder of that monarchy, who had just raised himself to the highest distinction as a warrior by his defeat of Adelfrid, king of Northumbria. Adelfrid, who was the grandson of Ida, and originally king of Bernicia only, had in 588, on the death of Ella, king of Deira, whose daughter Acca he had married, taken possession of the throne of the latter principality also, and united the two states under the name of Northumbria, although Ella had left an infant son. This son, named Edwin, having escaped from the power of the usurper, wandered for a ong time from one part of the country to another in quest of a secure place of retreat, till at last, about the year 615, he was generously received at the court of Redwald. Adelfrid, however, who, as we have mentioned above, had all along set at defiance even the otherwise universally acknowledged supremacy of Ethelbert, was of too arrogant and domineering a spirit to brook that his neighbour, the East Anglian king, should dare to shelter the man whom he wished to destroy; and it was not long before he sent a message to Redwald demanding the surrender of the fugitive. It is said that Redwald, naturally averse to expose his dominions to the ravages of a war, for some time hesitated, and felt half-inclined at least to dismiss Edwin from his court and kingdom, but at last the nobler feelings of his nature prevailed, and he re solved to dare the worst that might happen rather than commit an act of cruelty and inhospitality. He sent back Adelfrid's ambassadors, ac. cordingly, with a flat refusal of their master's suit. At the same time, with admirable prudence and decision, he took his measures in conformity with the situation in which he had placed himself, and knowing the imperious temper of the king of Northumbria, and how certain it was that he would have immediately to experience his hostility, he determined to collect his own forces, and, placing himself at their head, to march at once against the enemy instead of waiting till he should be himself attacked. The consequence was, that a great battle took place near the river Idel, in Nottinghamshire, in which Adelfrid was slain, and his army completely put to flight. On this occasion one of the divisions of Redwald's forces was led on by his eldest son, Regner, who, having advanced with too great impetuosity, lost his life in the commencement of the battle. Another was commanded by Edwin, who also greatly distinguished himself, and was more fortunate in the meed which he reaped by his courage. With extraordinary generosity Redwald, though his conquest had cost him so dear, declined to appropriate any of its advantages, and not only reinstated Edwin on the throne of his father, but allowed him also to retain Adelfrid's kingdom

of Bernicia, which, under that usurper, had been so long united with Deira. Thus, from the condition of a friendless and homeless wanderer, to which he had been accustomed for so many years, was the son of king Ella suddenly elevated to a much greater height of dignity and power than that from which he had been cast down.

But the possession of the two thrones of Northumbria was not all that fortune had in store for Edwin. Redwald died in 624, and was succeeded in the kingdom of East Anglia by his son Eorpwald, who was, however, of far too feeble a character to be able to retain his father's dignity of Bretwalda. That supreme office was immediately seized upon by the king of Northumbria; and so powerful were his claims considered to be by his brother-sovereigns, that none of them ventured to offer him any opposition, except the two brothers Cynegils and Cuichelm, the sons of Ceolric, who then reigned conjointly in Wessex, and whose ambition inspired them to make an attempt to regain for themselves the dignity which had been held by their ancestor, Ceawlin. But in the contest which they waged for this purpose, they were completely defeated by Edwin, whose power was only the more consolidated by the proof to which it had thus been put. The new Bretwalda, indeed, soon began to manifest a determination to extend his authority far beyond the bounds within which his predecessors had been wont to confine themselves. It is said that he even compelled the Welsh to acknowledge his sovereignty and to pay him tribute; and as for the other Anglo-Saxon kings, he treated them rather as his vas sals than as fellow-monarchs. The year after his assumption of the title of Bretwalda, he asked in marriage Ethelburga, the sister of Eadbald, king of Kent, and the daughter of Ethelbert and Bertha of France. Ethelburga, like her mother, was a zealous Christian, and the consequence of her marriage with Edwin was the speedy conversion both of that king and of the greater number of his subjects. After this, Edwin reigned for about eight years in undisturbed tranquillity; and so admirable was the order which he introduced into his dominions, that it is said a child might have run over Northumberland with a purse of gold in his hand without any risk of being robbed. Most of the other kings also seem, in fact, to have considered themselves as the dependents of the powerful sovereign of Northumbria. At last, however, in the year 633, Penda, king of Mercia, the son of Wibba, whom we have already mentioned, determined to take up arms, and to endeavour to free himself and his dominions from what he regarded as a state of disgraceful bondage. For this purpose he entered into a league with Cadwallader, king of Wales, who also felt deeply indignant at the tribute imposed upon his country by the Saxon monarch. The two allies accordingly having collected their forces, met those of Edwin, who were much fewer in number, at Hatfield, in Yorkshire, where a furious and bloody battle took place, in which both the king of Northumbria and his eldest son, Osfrid, were slain, and their army completely routed. The consequence was the reduction of Northumbria to the condition of a conquered province, and the elevation of Penda to the vacant dignity of Bretwalda. Thus terminated the eventful life of Edwin, in the forty-eighth year of his age. His only other surviving son, Eadfrid, was soon afterwards murdered by order of Penda; but his queen, Ethelburga, made her escape to the

dominions of her brother, the king of Kent, under whose protection she passed the rest of her days in a monastery.

Penda, however, did not long retain the supremacy which he had thus acquired. In the course of a few months, an unexpected opponent arose to dispute his claims, and to deliver Northumbria from his oppressive domination, in the person of Oswald, son of Adelfrid, who, on the death of his father, had fled with his two brothers, Anfrid and Oswy, to Scotland, and had been since hospitably entertained at the court of the northern monarch. As soon as Oswald raised his standard, the ancient subjects of his father crowded around him, and he was ere long in condition to attack the combined forces of Penda and Cadwallader. In a battle which was fought at Haledon, or as other authorities say, at Dilston, Oswald obtained a complete victory over his enemies, and Cadwallader himself was left dead on the field. The imperial sceptre of Britain was now transferred to the possessor of the two thrones of Bernicia and Deira, to both of which he was also entitled of right, as the heir of his father and of his uncle. For about eight years after this he reigned in great glory, being distinguished as much for his piety as for his power, and calling himself, according to Bede, sovereign lord not only of the English, but also of the Welsh, the Picts, and the Scots. So popular did he render himself by his liberality, that the Britons themselves are said to have bestowed upon him the appellation of Oswald of the Bounteous Hand. However, in 642, he was again suddenly attacked by his old enemy Penda; and in a great battle which was fought, as is generally supposed, at Oswestry, in Shropshire, he not only sustained a complete defeat, but lost his life. Penda, nevertheless, was not able to follow up his victory in such a manner as to wrest either the kingdom of Northumbria, or the dignity of Bretwalda, from the fainily of his rival. After a short time, Oswy, the brother of Oswald, was raised by the people to the vacant throne, and although he was not for some time acknowledged by his brother sovereigns as Bretwalda, he eventually obtained also that dignity on defeating Penda, in a battle fought at Leeds, in which that restless disturber, in the eightieth year of his age, at last lost both his crown and his life. Oswy had married Anfleda, the daughter and only surviving child of his predecessor Edwin; and on his death, in 670, he was succeeded by his eldest son, Egfrid, born of his lady. According to some accounts, Egfrid also enjoyed his father's place of Bretwalda; but if he ever was in possession of this title, it appears that he did not retain it long. The kingdom of Mercia was soon wrested from his hands by Wulfer, the son of Penda; and he was himself at last slain in battle, while carrying on a war against the Picts, in the fortieth year of his age and the fifteenth of his reign. After his death his subjects raised to the throne, Alfred, the natural son of his father Oswy; and from this time the kingdom of Northumbria never recovered its ancient lustre and influence. The throne, on almost every vacancy, became a prey to the leader of some one of the numerous factions that distracted the state; and, although the country maintained a nominal independence for considerably more than a century, under about fifteen successive monarchs, until it was finally extinguished by Egbert the Great, the remainder of its history presents little or nothing that is worth recording.