Æthelberht of Kent - Death and Succession

Death and Succession

Æthelberht died on 24 February 616 and was succeeded by his son, Eadbald, who was not a Christian—Bede says he had been converted but went back to his pagan faith, although he ultimately did become a Christian king. Eadbald outraged the church by marrying his stepmother, which was contrary to Church law, and by refusing to accept baptism.

Sæberht of the East Saxons also died at approximately this time and he was succeeded by his three sons, none of whom were Christian. A subsequent revolt against Christianity and the expulsion of Mellitus, their bishop, may have been a reaction to Kentish overlordship after Æthelberht’s death as much as a pagan opposition to Christianity.

In addition to Eadbald, it is possible that Æthelberht had another son, Æthelwald. The evidence for this exists in a papal letter to Justus, archbishop of Canterbury from 619 to 625, in which a king named Aduluald is referred to, who apparently is different from Audubald, which refers to Eadbald. There is no agreement among modern scholars on how to interpret this: "Aduluald" might be intended as a representation of "Æthelwald" and hence, this may be an indication of another king, perhaps a subking of west Kent; or it may be merely a scribal error which should be read as referring to Eadbald.