User:Mike Christie/Eadbald sandbox

Chronology of conversion
Bede provides a fairly detailed account of Eadbald's conversion, but there are some internal inconsistencies. Bede's version of events can be laid out as follows.
 * 24 February 616: Æthelberht dies and Eadbald succeeds.
 * 616: Eadbald leads a pagan reaction to Christianity. He marries his stepmother, contrary to church law, and he refuses baptism.  At about this time Mellitus, bishop of London, is expelled by the sons of Saeberht in Essex, and goes to Kent.
 * 616: Mellitus and Justus, bishop of Rochester, leave Kent for Gaul.
 * 616/617: Some time after Mellitus and Justus depart, Laurentius, the archbishop of Canterbury, plans to leave for Gaul, but has a vision in which St Peter scourges him. In the morning he shows the scars to Eadbald who is converted to Christianity as a result.
 * 617: Justus and Mellitus both return from Gaul, “the year after they left”. Justus is restored to Rochester.
 * c. 619: Laurentius dies, and Mellitus becomes archbishop of Canterbury.
 * 619-624: Eadbald builds a church which was consecrated by Archbishop Mellitus.
 * 24 April 624: Mellitus dies and Justus succeeds him as archbishop of Canterbury
 * 624: after Justus’s succession, Pope Boniface writes to him to say that he has heard in letters from King Aduluald (possibly a scribal error for Eadbald) of the king’s conversion to Christianity. Boniface sends the pallium with this letter, adding that it is only to be worn when celebrating “the Holy Mysteries”.
 * By 625 Edwin of Deira, king of Northumbria, asks for the hand in marriage of Æthelburh, Eadbald’s sister.  Edwin is told he must allow her to practice Christianity, and must consider baptism himself.
 * 21 July 625: Justus consecrates Paulinus bishop of York.
 * July or later in 625: Edwin agrees to these terms and Æthelburh travels to Northumbria, accompanied by Paulinus.
 * Easter 626: Æthelburh is delivered of a daughter, Eanflaed.
 * 626: Edwin completes a military campaign against the West Saxons. At “about this time” Boniface writes to both Edwin and Æthelburh.  The letter to Edwin urges him to accept Christianity and refers to the conversion of Eadbald.  The letter to Æthelburh mentions that the pope has recently heard the news of Eadbald’s conversion, and encourages her to work for the conversion of her husband, Edwin.

Although this chronology is widely accepted, an alternative chronology has been proposed by D.P. Kirby. Kirby points out that Boniface’s letter to Æthelburh makes it clear that the news of Eadbald’s conversion is recent, and that it is unthinkable that Boniface would not have been kept up to date on the status of Eadbald’s conversion. Hence Eadbald must have been converted by Justus, as is implied by Boniface’s letter to Justus. The inclusion of the pallium in that letter indicates Justus was archbishop by that time, and the duration of Mellitus’s archiepiscopate means that even if Bede’s dates are somewhat wrong in other particulars, Eadbald was converted no earlier than 621, and no later than April 624, since Mellitus consecrated a church for Eadbald before his death in that month.

It has been suggested that King “Aduluald” in the letter to Justus is a real king, perhaps a junior king of west Kent; on this point scholarly opinions differ, and it seems just as likely that it is a scribal error for “Eadbald” It has also been suggested that the pallium did not indicate Justus was archbishop, since Justus is told the limited circumstances in which he may wear it; however, the same phrasing occurs in the letter conveying the pallium to Archbishop Augustine, also quoted in Bede. Another possibility is that the letter was originally two letters, and that Bede has conflated the letter conveying the pallium with the letter congratulating Justus on the conversion, which according to Bede’s account was seven or so years earlier; however, the grammatical details on which this suggestion is based are not unique to this letter, and as a result it is usually considered as a single composition.

The letter to Æthelburh makes it clear that she is already married at the time the news of Eadbald’s conversion reaches Rome. This is quite inconsistent with the earlier date Bede gives for Eadbald’s acceptance of Christianity, and it has been suggested that in fact Æthelburh married Edwin substantially earlier and stayed in Kent until 625 before travelling to Rome, and that the letter was written while she was in Kent. On the other hand it would appear from Boniface’s letter that Æthelburh was at her husband’s side. It also appears that the letter to Justus was in fact written after the letters to Edwin and Æthelburh; his letter to Edwin and Æthelburh indicates he had the news from messengers, but when he wrote to Justus he had heard from the king himself.

Finally, the story of Æthelburh’s marriage being dependent on Edwin allowing her to practice her faith has been questioned, since it is likely, though not certain, that the marriage was arranged before Eadbald’s conversion. In this view, it would have been the church that objected to the marriage, and Æthelburh would have been Christian before Eadbald’s conversion. The story of Paulinus’s consecration is also problematic as he was not consecrated until at least 625 and possibly later, which is after the latest possible date for the marriage Æthelburh’s marriage. However, it may be that he traveled to Northumbria prior to his consecration and only later became bishop.

A revised chronology taking these considerations into account follows.
 * 24 February 616: Æthelberht dies and Eadbald succeeds.
 * 616: Eadbald leads a pagan reaction to Christianity. He marries his stepmother, contrary to church law, and he refuses baptism.  At about this time Mellitus, bishop of London, is expelled by the sons of Saeberht in Essex, and goes to Kent.
 * 616: Mellitus and Justus, bishop of Rochester, leave Kent for Gaul.
 * c. 619: Laurentius dies, and Mellitus becomes archbishop of Canterbury.
 * ?Early 624: Justus converts Eadbald. Messengers go to Rome.  Also at about this time Æthelburh’s marriage to Edwin is arranged, perhaps before the conversion.  Eadbald buiilds a church, and Mellitus consecrates it.
 * 24 April 624: Mellitus dies and Justus succeeds him as archbishop of Canterbury
 * Mid 624: Edwin agrees to the marriage terms and Æthelburh travels to Northumbria, accompanied by Paulinus.
 * Later 624: the pope receives news of Eadbald’s conversion and writes to Æthelburh and and Edwin.
 * Still later 624: the pope hears from Eadbald of his conversion, and also hears of Mellitus’s death. He writes to Justus to send him the pallium.
 * 21 July 625 or 626: Justus consecrates Paulinus bishop of York.