I have taught the Anglo-Saxon period to undergraduates for some time now, and every year, I become more and more fascinated by King Raedwald’s wife. Presumably because so little is known about her, she is largely absent from the scholarship.
Her existence is acknowledged by the National Trust who, on their website have a short article devoted to her entitled ‘The Legacy of a Queen’ within their discussion of Sutton Hoo.
So, why might she be of such interest to me, and why is she largely absent from the scholarship? First, let’s give her some context and then discuss what we do know about her.
Who was King Raedwald?
King Raedwald ruled the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of East Anglia in the early 7th century. Early Anglo-Saxon kingship was rather complex. England was not a unified country at this time, rather people were ruled by petty kings. It was to him whom allegiance was owed. These kings ruling over relatively small kingdoms owed their position to their military strength. Success in battle was paramount but so was the ability to enjoy and retain support from other warriors. Each of these petty kings was then ruled by an overlord or a ‘bretwalda’. The bretwalda held ultimate power over the petty kings within his region.1B. Yorke, Kings and kingdoms of early Anglo-Saxon England, (London, 2003), p. 16.
King Raedwald was initially one such petty king ruling within the kingdom of East Anglia. According to Bede, who is our only near-contemporary source of information for King Raedwald, he ruled under King Aethelberht of Kent. Aethelberht converted to Christianity sometime before 601 AD. Pope Gregory had sent Augustine (later St Augustine) to England to convert the kings who inhabited the lands. Augustine arrived in 597. Aethelberht as bretwalda of the large and powerful kingdom of Kent was naturally a prime target.
The Christianisation of the Anglo-Saxon Kings
Augustine did win the favour of Aethelberht who initially permitted him to preach within his kingdom. Aethelberht then converted to Christianity. However, Christianity was in fact fragile at this point in time. The 7th century was a time of mass conversions to Christianity, however, enthusiasm for the new faith often dwindled and kings reverted back to paganism. In order to successfully implement this new religion, kings needed the support of their followers, he needed to persuade them to convert to create consensus within the kingdom. As Bede tells it, Aehtelberht had convinced King Raedwald to convert. Nevertheless, this conversion was short-lived:
for on his return home, he was seduced by his wife and certain perverse teachers, and turned aside
Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People, p. 112.
from the sincerity of the faith; and thus his latter state was worse than the former; so that, like
the Samaritans of old, he seemed at the same time to serve Christ and the gods whom he served
before; and in the same temple he had an altar for the Christian Sacrifice, and another small
one at which to offer victims to devils..
Bede does not mention King Raedwald’s wife by name, he merely mentions her deeds. Our author is careful to note that Raedwald did not revert back to paganism of his own accord, rather he was seduced by his wife.
King Raedwald’s Wife, the Seducer
Bede’s depiction of Raedwald’s wife is hardly surprising. Bede was a monk who had taken a vow of chastity. Monks were very anxious about women and the temptations they brought. To Bede and, at least some of his fellow monks, women were temptresses. Celibates were in an enduring battle with the temptations of the flesh. It was natural to Bede that her actions would be seductive.
Furthermore, the significance of Raedwald’s actions should not be overlooked. He abandoned Christianity, something utterly abhorrent to Bede. Had Raedwald remained a convert, the kingdom of East Anglia would have been converted at a much quicker pace. King Raedwald’s wife, according to Bede, uses the attributes associated with her gender to steer Raedwald in the wrong direction. Here, Bede portrays Raedwald’s wife in a negative light. If Raedwald’s wife was the individual who convinced him to revert back to paganism, she likely felt Christianity was a threat to her position or that of her husband. As noted above, Christianity was not necessarily permanent. Aethelberht’s son and successor, initially Eadbald refused to convert when he succeeded his father. Thus his kingdom reverted back to the pagan faith. He was eventually persuaded to convert.
But the fickle nature with which kings treated Christianity in the early 7th century meant that friends and allies could be lost. This is to assume that alliances could be built along the lines of religious affiliation. Conversion could be a way to gain allies, however, the business of conversion must have been rather worrisome. There was a chance that if a king did convert and his allies, his followers, or other kings did not convert, he would be isolated. Perhaps King Raedwald’s wife was concerned with the politics of conversion rather than driven by concerns for the welfare of her husband’s soul.
The Story of King Edwin
As MacCarron has pointed out, the placement within Bede’s Ecclesiastical History is significant. Bede decides to include this episode when discussing the conversion of Edwin and thus chronologically out of sequence. In doing so, Bede stresses the dangers of a Christian being married to a pagan.2 M. MacCarron, ‘Royal Marriage and Conversion in Bede’s Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum‘, The Journal of Theological Studies, NS, Vol. 68, Pt 2, (October 2017), pp. 665-666. He sought to illustrate that Aethelburg, daughter of Aethelberht, a Christian Princess risked the safety of her soul in her marriage to Edwin, who at the beginning of their marriage was yet to convert.
It is too simplistic to argue that Bede was particularly misogynistic for his time. For his criticism of King Raedwald’s wife was perhaps rooted in her pagan beliefs rather than her sex. For in another part of the Ecclesiastical History, Bede portrays her in a more positive light. To set the scene – Edwin of Northumbria was an exile. He had found hospitality in the court of King Raedwald who had agreed to protect him from the man who was pursuing him, King Ethelfrid. Ethelfrid tried to bribe Raedwald numerous times requesting Edwin either be killed or handed over to Ethelfrid. Initially, Raedwald resisted, but Ethelfrid began to make threats of war should Raedwald not comply. Eventually, Raedwald
‘terrified by his threats, or won over by his gifts, complied with this request, and promised either to kill Edwin, or to deliver him up to the envoys.’
Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People, p. 114.
So, Raedwald had intended to kill Edwin, his guest. However,
when he had privately made known to the queen his intention of doing what I told you before, she dissuaded him from it, reminding him that it was altogether unworthy of so great a king to sell his good friend in such distress for gold, and to sacrifice hishonour, which is more valuable than all other adornments, for the love of money.”
Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People, p.115.
This is Bede’s second and final reference to King Raedwald’s nameless wife. In this instance, Bede uses her in a number of ways. Firstly, she is the ideal wife, she furnishes him with good, sound counsel. In this case, the counsel she offers is ultimately in support of the new faith. If Raeadwald had killed Edwin, Northumbria would not have converted when it did and the conversion process would have been thwarted. Even though a pagan herself, Raedwald’s wife works to inadvertently further the Christian cause.
Gender
In this episode, Raedwald’s wife works within her prescribed gender role. She is the helpmate and support of her husband assisting him to make the right decision. Furthermore, she reminds him of his obligations as a king, and as a man. Had he killed Edwin, Raedwald would lose his honour. An essential component of his masculinity. Furthermore, Edwin’s execution would have created further political turmoil. Likely Raedwald’s wife thought Edwin alive and as a real and present threat to Ethelfrith’s kingship was a safer bet for East Anglia. Thus by a woman’s counsel, Raedwald retains his honour, his reputation and his manhood. On this occasion, Bede uses Raedwald’s wife as a fine example of queenly and ideal womanly behaviour.
In these two episodes, King Radwald’s wife is portrayed as a significant political power. She wields this power indirectly through her husband. She has his ear. Raedwald’s wife presumably recognises the threat that Christianity poses to her husband and by default the threat it poses to her own power. Yet she also recognises the dangers presented by Raedwald’s potential loss of honour. If Bede’s story here is true, likely she could see beyond the immediate consequences of Edwin’s death and envisage a threat to East Anglia from Ethelfrith. Edwin alive and at Raedwald’s court gave Radwald an important and trustworthy ally should he take Northumbria, which he eventually went on to do. Yet Bede decided to couch her in terms of prescribed gender roles. With the wife reminding her husband of his obligations and duties not just as a king, but as a man.
Bibliography
Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People, (Trans. A.M. Sellar).
M. MacCarron, ‘Royal Marriage and Conversion in Bede’s Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum‘, The Journal of Theological Studies, NS, Vol. 68, Pt 2, (October 2017), pp. 650-670.
B. Yorke, Kings and kingdoms of early Anglo-Saxon England, (London, 2003).
For more information on the Early Medieval Period, see my post A Light Shining Through the ‘Dark Ages’: The Sutton Hoo Burial Ground.
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Very interesting post
A very interesting read – I had no idea Bede wrote about her
Great post! xxx