I.

CHAP. ried along by the tide of fuccefs, he invaded the other Saxon states in his neighbourhood, and becoming terrible to all, he provoked a general confederacy against him. This alliance proved fuccefsful under the conduct of Ethelbert, king of Kent; and Ceaulin, who had loft the affections of his own fubjects by his violent difpofition, and had now fallen into contempt from his misfortunes, was expelled the throne", and died in exile and mifery. Cuichelme and Cuthwin, his fons, governed jointly the kingdom, till the expulfion of the latter in 591, and the death of the former in 593, made way for Cealric, to whom fucceeded Ceobald in 593, by whose death, which happened in 611, Kynegils inherited the crown. This prince embraced Chriftianity, through the perfuafion of Ofwald, king of Northumberland, who had married his daughter, and who had attained a great afcendant in the Heptarchy. Kenwalch next fucceeded to the monarchy, and dying in 672, left the fucceffion fo much difputed, that Sexburga, his widow, a woman of fpirit, kept poffeffion of the government till her death, which happened two years after. Efcwin then peaceably acquired the crown; and, after a fhort reign of two years, made way for Kentwin, who governed nine years. Ceodwalla, his fucceffor, mounted not the throne without oppofition; but proved a great prince, according to the ideas of thofe times; that is, he was enterprifing, warlike, and fuccefsful. He entirely fubdued the kingdom of Suffex, and annexed it to his own dominions. He made inroads into Kent; but met with refiftance from Widred, the king, who proved fuccefsful against Mollo, brother to Ceodwalla, and flew him in a fkirmish. Ceodwalla at laft, tired with wars and bloodshed, was feized with a fit of devotion; beftowed feveral endowments on the church; and made a pilgrimage

y Chion. Sax. p. 22. Alur. Beverl. p. 94.

ż Higden, lib, 5. a Bede, lib. 4. cap. 12.

Chron. Sax. p. 15, Chron. Sax. p.41.

I.

to Rome, where he received baptism, and died in CHAP, 689. Ina, his fucceffor, inherited the military virtues of Ceodwalla,, and added to them the more valuable ones of juftice, policy, and prudence. He made war upon the Britons in Somerfet; and having finally fubdued that province, he treated the vanquifhed with a humanity hitherto unknown to the Saxon conquerors. He allowed the proprietors to retain poffeffion of their lands, encouraged marriages and alliances between them and his ancient fubjects, and gave them the privilege of being governed by the fame laws. Thefe laws he augmented and afcertained; and though he was difturbed by fome infurrections at home, his long reign of thirty-feven years may be regarded as one of the moft glorious and most profperous of the Heptarchy. In the decline of his age he made a pilgrimage to Rome; and after his return, fhut himself up in a cloister, where he died.

THOUGH the kings of Weffex had always been princes of the blood, defcended from Cerdic, the founder of the monarchy, the order of fucceffion had been far from exact; and a more remote prince had often found means to mount the throne, in preference to one defcended from a nearer branch of the royal family. Ina, therefore, having no children of his own, and lying much under the influence of Ethelburga, his queen, left by will the fucceffion to Adelard, her brother, who was his remote kinfman: But this deftination did not take place without fome difficulty. Ofwald, & prince more nearly allied to the crown, took arms againft Adelard; but he being fuppreffed, and dying foon after, the title of Adelard was not any farther difputed; and in the year 741, he was fucceeded by his coufin, Cudred. The reign of this prince was diftinguifhed by a great victory which he obtained, by means of Edelhun, his general, over Ethelbald, king of Mercia. His death made way for Sigebert, his kinfman, who governed

E 4

CHAP. verned fo ill, that his people rofe in an infurrection, I. and dethroned him, crowning Cenulph in his stead.

The exiled prince found a refuge with duke Cumbran, governor of Hampshire; who, that he might add new obligations to Sigebert, gave him many falutary counfels for his future conduct, accompanied with fome reprehenfions for the past. But thefe were fo much refented by the ungrateful prince, that he confpired against the life of his protector, and treacherously murdered him. After this infamous action, he was forfaken by all the world; and skulking about in the wilds and forefts, was at laft discovered by a fervant of Cumbran's, who inftantly took revenge upon him for the murder of his master.

CENULPH, who had obtained the crown on the expulfion of Sigebert, was fortunate in many expeditions against the Britons of Cornwal; but afterwards loft fome reputation by his ill fuccefs against Offa, king of Mercia. Kynehard also, brother to the depofed Sigebert, gave him disturbance; and though expelled the kingdom, he hovered on the frontiers, and watched an opportunity for attacking his rival. The king had an intrigue with a young woman, who lived at Merton in Surrey, whither having fecretly retired, he was on a fudden invironed, in the night-time, by Kynehard and his followers, and after making a vigorous resistance, was murdered, with all his attendants. The nobi lity and people of the neighbourhood, rifing next day in arms, took revenge on Kynehard for the flaughter of their king, and put every one to the fword who had been engaged in that criminal enterprise. This event happened in 784.

BRITHRIC next obtained poffeffion of the government, though remotely defcended from the royal family; but he enjoyed not that dignity without in

b Higden, lib. W. Malmef. lib. 1. cap. 2. 'c W. Malmes.

lib. 1. cap. 2.

5.

quietude.

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quietude. Eoppa, nephew to king Ina, by his CHAP. brother Ingild, who died before that prince, had begot Eta, father to Alchmond, from whom sprung Egbert', a young man of the most promifing hopes, who gave great jealousy to Brithric, the reigning prince, both because he seemed by his birth better entitled to the crown, and because he had acquired, to an eminent degree, the affections of the people. Egbert, fenfible of his danger from the fufpicions of Brithric, fecretly withdrew into France; where he was well received by Charlemagne. By living in the court, and ferving in the armies of that prince, the most able and moft generous that had appeared in Europe during feveral ages, he acquired those accomplishments, which afterwards enabled him to make fuch a fhining figure on the throne. And familiarizing himself to the manners of the French, who, as Malmesbury observes', were eminent both for valour and civility above all the western nations, he learned to polish the rudeness and barbarity of the Saxon character: His early misfortunes thus proved of fingular advantage to him.

It was not long ere Egbert had opportunities of difplaying his natural and acquired talents. Brithric, king of Weffex, had married Eadburga, natural daughter of Offa, king of Mercia, a profligate woman, equally infamous for cruelty and for incontinence. Having great influence over her husband, the often inftigated him to destroy fuch of the nobility as were obnoxious to her; and where this expedient failed, fhe fcrupled not being herself active in traiterous attempts against them. She had mixed a cup of poison for a young nobleman, who had acquired her husband's friendship, and had on that account become the object of her jealousy: But, unfortunately, the king drank of the fatal cup along

f Lib. 2.

I.

CHAP. with his favourite, and foon after expired. This tragical incident, joined to her other crimes, rendered Eadburga fo odious, that he was obliged to fly into France; whence Egbert was at the fame time recalled by the nobility, in order to afcend the throne of his ancestors". He attained that dignity in the last year of the eighth century.

In the kingdoms of the Heptarchy, an exact rule of fucceffion was either unknown or not strictly obferved; and thence the reigning prince was continually agitated with jealoufy againft all the princes of the blood, whom he ftill confidered as rivals, and whofe death alone could give him entire fecurity in his poffeffion of the throne. From this fatal caufe, together with the admiration of the monaftic life, and the opinion of merit attending the prefervation of chastity even in a married state, the royal families had been entirely extinguifhed in all the kingdoms except that of Weffex; and the emulations, fufpicions, and confpiracies, which had formerly been confined to the princes of the blood alone, were now diffused among all the nobility in the feveral Saxon ftates. Egbert was the fole defcendant of those first conquerors who fubdued Britain, and who enhanced their authority by claiming a pedigree from Woden, the fupreme divinity of their ancestors. But that prince, though invited by this favourable circumftance to make attempts on the neighbouring Saxons, gave them for fome time no difturbance, and rather chose to turn his arms against the Britons in Cornwal, whom he defeated in feveral battles. He was recalled from the conqueft of that country by an invafion made upon his dominions by Bernulf, king of Mercia.

Higden, lib. 5. M. Weft. p. 152. Affer. in vita Alfredi, p. 3. ex edit. Camdeni. h Chron. Sax. A. D. Soo. Brompton, P. 801.

i Chron. Sax. p. 69.

THE