CHAPTER V
BAPTISM
Edwin, about two years after his accession, resolved to take anotherwife, and he decided upon sending an embassy to the King of Kent toascertain whether a proposal for a princess of his family would befavourably entertained. Sivel was selected for this delicate mission,and he proceeded to Canterbury in 619, where he was cordially receivedby King Eadbald, and by his old master, Archbishop Laurentius. He foundthat a number of changes had taken place in the years that had elapsedsince he and his friends left Kent.
Two years after the boys set out for their homes, Gregory sent a pallto Augustine and a reinforcement of monks, including Mellitus, Justus,Rufinianus, and Paulinus, with vestments and ornaments for the church.A letter was also sent by the Holy Father to Augustine, exhorting himnot to glory overmuch in his miracles. They were becoming a little toonumerous. This was in 601, and in the following year poor old Peter,having been sent on an embassy to France, was drowned in landing atAmfleet (Ambleteuse). Gregory died in 605, and near the same timeAugustine had an interview with the Welsh Bishops in Gloucestershire.It was ostensibly on the subject of the correct way of calculatingEaster, but it was really intended to force the native church intoobedience to Rome. The overbearing Italian expected the British clergyto submit their judgment to his. He lost his temper, performed one ofhis miracles, cursed the British clergy, and kept seated when theyappeared--all which proceedings worked irretrievable mischief. In 604he ordained Mellitus Bishop of London, where Ethelbert's nephew Sebert,King of Essex, was willing to receive him. At the same time Justus wasmade Bishop of Rochester. In the next year Augustine died, and wassucceeded as Archbishop of Canterbury by good old Laurentius. Ten yearsafterwards Ethelbert died, after a reign of nearly sixty years. Besidesadopting Christianity, he introduced a code of laws after the Romanmodel, which was written in English, and confirmed by the Witena-gemotof Kent.
Then there was a panic among the cowardly monks. The new King Eadbaldrefused to become a Christian, and the consequence was that the peoplereturned to the faith of their fathers. The monks declared that, as asign of divine anger, he was troubled with frequent fits of madnessand possessed of an evil spirit. Sebert of Essex also died, and wassucceeded by profane sons. They refused baptism, but wanted to eat thesacramental bread, and told Mellitus that if he would not give it tothem he must leave London. These events were looked upon as alarming bythe monks of Canterbury. They resolved to desert their posts and runaway. Mellitus and Justus actually fled into France. Laurentius wasabout to follow, but ventured first to try a miracle. He had not beenaccustomed to resort to such practices, like Augustine, but he seemsto have thought that a great occasion justified the means. He went toEadbald, took off his shirt, and exposed some marks of recent stripeson his back. The King was astonished, and asked who had dared to treatso great a man with such indignity. Laurentius gravely replied that St.Peter had come down from heaven and scourged him for his intention ofleaving England. Strange to relate, King Eadbald believed the story,abjured the religion of his fathers, and was baptized. Henceforward hepromoted the affairs of the Church to the utmost of his power, and thefugitives ventured to return.
Sivel gathered these particulars during his stay at Canterbury,regretting the proceedings of Laurentius. The King's sister was stillvery young, indeed the dates point to her having been a grand-daughterof Ethelbert. The monks also induced Eadbald to say that it was notlawful for a Christian virgin to marry a Pagan king. He, however, gaveSivel to understand that arrangements might be made which would removethis difficulty, if there was a similar proposal when the PrincessEthelburga was a little older. During the progress of the negotiations,Sivel had been busily engaged in procuring a copy of Ethelbert'slaws, and other documents likely to be useful to King Edwin in hisadministration. As soon as he was ready, he took a friendly leave ofEadbald, and visited Archbishop Laurentius to bid him farewell. Sivelhad been grieved to hear of the miracle, and frankly said as much."The Prior used to resort to those practices," he said, "but you neverdid." Laurentius replied, "My son, these matters are too high for you.Extreme measures are sometimes needed for the safety of God's Church."The old man was ill at ease. He had been the instructor of Oswith andSivel, Coelred and Porlor on the Caelian Hill, and they loved him."Alas!" said Sivel, "you used to tell us that God is truth." Laurentiusbowed his head in shame. Sivel said, "My dear old master!" and put hishand affectionately on the Archbishop's shoulder. "Will you take myblessing?" asked the old man. "Thankfully," cried his former pupil, ashe threw himself on his knees. It was a sad leave-taking. A month hadnot passed before Laurentius was no more. He was succeeded by Mellitus,who suffered a good deal from the gout. It carried him off in April624, and Justus became Archbishop.
Sivel returned to York with an account of the results of his mission,and was occupied for the next five years in assisting and advisingEdwin concerning administrative measures of various kinds. In 624 Edwinagain sent his trusted minister to Canterbury to ask for the hand ofEthelburga. He was instructed to assure Eadbald that the Princessand all her attendants would have leave to follow their faith andto worship after the customs of Christians. He was even to hold outhopes that, if Edwin was convinced that Christianity was more holy andworthy of God than the religion of his fathers, he might embrace thenew belief. This time no objection was made. Eadbald promised thatthe Princess Ethelburga should be sent to Edwin. But Sivel found thatPaulinus, the very man who played the trick at Sleaford, which wasexposed by Forthere, was to accompany the bride. Paulinus was ordaineda bishop by Justus before starting, on 21st July 625. He is describedas having been a tall man with a stooping gait, black hair, a meagrevisage, and nose slender and aquiline. James the Deacon was also toaccompany Ethelburga, a zealous and devoted missionary, untaintedwith personal cowardice or timidity, and not addicted to tricks. WhenPaulinus deserted his post in the hour of danger, James remained andbraved the storm. By the advice of Justus, the Pope Boniface IV. wrotea letter to King Edwin urging him to become a Christian, accompanied bya present of a shirt with one gold ornament, and a garment of Ancyra.Ethelburga received a silver looking-glass and a gilt ivory comb aspapal gifts.
Sivel took his leave of Eadbald and rode with all speed to Aldby toannounce the success of his mission. It was considered right that, asPaulinus was coming as bishop, the King should be informed by Forthereof the trick that had been played upon him by that holy person atSleaford. Ethelburga came by sea, and was met by Coelred with a fleetof armed vessels to escort her up the Humber and the Ouse. The King wasat York, where they were married, and then went to Aldby. The KentishPrincess was handsome, with a serious expression, and was very silent.She was surnamed "Tate." She received the admonitions and orders ofPaulinus with great humility, but at the same time she was devoted toher husband.
After about a year had passed away since the marriage, the arrivalof an embassy from Wessex was announced to Edwin. To the generalsurprise, the envoy was no less a person than Eumer, the truculentthegn who, with Cuichelm, acted such a treacherous part at the battleof Bampton. Edwin ordered him to be treated with hospitality, andannounced his intention of receiving him in audience on the followingday. He supposed that Eumer came to give some plausible explanationof his master's conduct, and to offer amends. The King took his seatin the great hall at Aldby, with his thegns on either side of him,unarmed except with the _seax_, or long knife, worn at the girdle onthe right side. Eumer was introduced, made a low obeisance, advancedup the hall, and came close to the King. He put his hand into hisbreast as if to draw out something to present. Suddenly a long daggerwas flashing over his head and descending like lightning. But devotedlove is ever vigilant, and even quicker than lightning. Lilla had flunghimself between the King's breast and the dagger. The stroke descendedwith tremendous force, passed right through Lilla, and slightly woundedEdwin. In another instant the assassin had turned and plunged hisdagger into the body of Forthere, who was rushing forward. The vilewretch was then cut down, and almost hacked to pieces.
Lilla and Forthere were dead, the two brave and most loyal paladins.Never did king have truer and more faithful servants, never werethere more constant and unchanging friends. Bitter rage was mingledwith the intense grief of the Deirans, from the King downwards. Lostin their prime, and in an instant! Such sorrow as is felt by men whohave shared every hope and every joy, almost every thought, with thelost ones cannot be described. After the first agony was passed,Coelred and Porlor saw most vividly the stalwart little Oswith readyto wrestle with them on the green at Hemingborough, and the brave boyForthere sinking exhausted from running and swimming, in the court atStillingfleet. Then the whole array of gallant deeds and warm-heartedthoughts of their beloved comrades came one after the other to theirminds and overwhelmed them with grief. Next followed a stupor, replacedby more sad reminiscences. The grief of Bergliot was heart-breaking,and Sivel could not be separated from the body of his beloved Forthere.Godric too had lost one who had been to him more than a brother, andBassus was inconsolable, and went about with a settled sternness on hishandsome features.
Lilla Saves the King's Life]
They buried the fearless son of Guthlaf, the bright boy Oswith, theunrivalled warrior Lilla, in the old Roman fort at Hemingborough. Inafter ages a beautiful church with a tall spire shooting up into thesky was raised on the spot--a fitting monument to Oswith the fearless,chief of the Hemingas. Sivel and Godric found a last resting-placefor the body of their beloved Forthere in the tumulus of Vidfinn atBilbrough.
On the same day, it was Easter Sunday, the Queen gave birth to adaughter, who was named Eanflaed. Edwin consented that she should bebaptized at Whitsuntide. Twelve women and children of the Deiran familywere baptized at the same time. Braga had long felt remorse that shehad not complied with the wishes of her beloved Hereric. She joyfullyreceived the rite with her two daughters Hereswith and Hilda. It alsogave Bergliot some consolation to be baptized with her two little sons.The wife of Osric came to the font with the young Atheling Oswin, andNanna with the son and heir, named Edwin, she had borne to Godric. Bythe desire of Godric, Nanna was christened by the name of Mary, towhich her husband added the word "Audr," to denote her rare gifts. Thewife and child of a son of old Saebald made up the twelve.
"Now for vengeance!" said Bassus, with a stern inexorable look, as hestood before the King. "Now for justice," said Edwin, looking equallyfull of righteous anger. A carefully-selected force was assembled, wellarmed and supplied by the care of Coelred and Porlor, Sivel and Godric.It was in four divisions, one commanded by each of the paladins, whileBassus attended the King's person. Rapid marches were made acrossMercia, where every assistance was offered, and when the Northumbrianscrossed the Wessex frontier they began to devastate, destroyingbuildings and crops, and beating down all resistance. They had nearlyreached Sarum when a messenger arrived from Cynegils entreating aninterview. Soon the King of Wessex arrived. He solemnly swore thathe was innocent. He declared that if Cuichelm had not escaped andconcealed himself, he should have been given up. He assured Edwin thathe had arrested at least thirty of Cuichelm's thegns and advisers.They were handed over to Bassus and hanged before the sun went down.He paid the full amount of "were-gild" for the murdered thegns. Whatmore was desired of him? Edwin was appeased. He believed Cynegils to beinnocent. The King of Wessex then fully acknowledged the overlordshipof Edwin, who returned to York the most powerful sovereign that everreigned over Britain. He had been Bretwalda since the death of Redwaldin 624 over all the other English kingdoms except Kent.
Edwin had long been pondering deeply over the religion of his people,and the question of introducing Christianity. Personally he had ceasedto believe in the gods of his ancestors. He also felt that the oldreligion was fast losing its hold on the people, while some abidingfaith was necessary for their happiness and well-being. He conceivedthat the belief in Woden and the Asyniars had suffered a severe wrenchwhen it was transplanted from its native land to a new country. It waslike an uprooted tree that had been replanted and failed to thrive.It was fast withering. So he turned to Christianity. Since the deathof Hereric, Porlor was the friend who was most competent to explainits tenets, which he did to the best of his abilities. He advised thebaptism of Edwin and the active propagation of the new religion on verymuch the same grounds that had recommended such a measure to the King.Porlor concluded one long conversation by saying, "Alca, thy sister,was the wisest being this world will ever see. She also pondered overthis question--this solemn question--for years. Her last words were,'Hereric, my sweet cousin, bring me into the fold of Christ.'" Edwinwas deeply moved, but he only said, "My own mind is made up. But Ithink of my people, not of myself."
One day he was meditating deeply, after Porlor had left him, whenPaulinus entered and came towards him with an air of mystery. Heput his right hand on the King's head and said, in a solemn voice,"Dost thou know that sign?" The effect was very different from whathe anticipated. Edwin sprang to his feet with a look of scorn andcontempt, and waved him away. He said, "Here you will always be treatedwith hospitality and respect as a servant of the Queen. But when Iam baptized, it shall be by an honest man, not by a trickster. Go!"Paulinus slunk off, seeing that his miracle had failed to work.
Edwin resolved to assemble the Witan, and to submit the question tothe great and wise men of the kingdom. The assembly met in the largehall of the Aldwark at York. Coelred was selected to explain to themthe tenets of the Christian faith, which he did as nearly as he couldin the words of the beloved Hereric when he addressed Ethelbert and hisnobles at Thanet. Edwin then asked the notables what they thought ofthe new religion. Coifi had the assurance to speak first. He said thatthe old belief had no virtue in it, for that no one had more diligentlyapplied himself to the worship of the gods than he had, but theyneither inspired him nor would they make his spells work. "Many aremore preferred than I, yet, if the gods were good for anything, theywould rather favour me, who have been more careful to serve them. Letus receive the new religion without any delay."
Then Saebald, chief of the Billingas, now a very old man, rose andaddressed Edwin. He said, "The present life of man, O King, seems tome, in comparison with that which is unknown to us, like to the swiftflight of a sparrow through the room wherein you sit at supper inwinter, with your commanders and ministers, and a good fire in themidst, whilst the storms of rain and snow prevail abroad. The sparrow,I say, flying in at one door and immediately out at another, whilsthe is within is safe from the wintry storm; but after a short spaceof fair weather, he immediately vanishes out of your sight, into thedark winter from which he had emerged. So this life of man appears fora short space, but of what went before, or what is to follow, we areutterly ignorant. If, therefore, this new doctrine contains somethingmore certain, it seems justly to deserve to be followed." The otherthegns and councillors spoke, generally to the same effect. Osric,however, manfully maintained that the people should not abandon thereligion of their ancestors.
Coifi again stood up and advised that the temples and altars theyhad consecrated without reaping any benefit from them should be seton fire. "I, who worshipped through ignorance, will first profanethe temples, as an example to others, with the King's permission."Edwin contemptuously, and perhaps thoughtlessly, gave permission,for the buffoonery of the recreant priest would cause pain to manyconscientious men. Then Coifi mounted a stallion and set out todestroy the idols. The people thought he was distracted. As soon as hereached the sacred enclosure at Godmundham, he profaned it by hurlinga spear into it, and then ordered the venerable images and altars tobe destroyed. Coifi was a bad priest of Woden, and was not likely tobe a good Christian. He had no faith. His name appears to be Celtic,and as the priesthood was, as a rule, looked upon as hereditary, itis probable that he was some stray lad who had been adopted by the"Godi" or priest. His guardian, seeing his natural talent as a gleeman,allowed him to pass the first half of his life in that capacity, andEthelric, for some secret service, promoted him to the priesthood. Hisfinal performance in a priestly capacit
y was that of a buffoon. He wasequally dissatisfied with his new religion, and died a year afterwards.
Osric was much incensed at the desecration of the venerable imageswhich had been brought by his ancestors from the Continent when theyfirst settled in England. Coelred and Porlor also thought that theconduct of Coifi was contemptible, and that the things highly valued bytheir fathers, if their use had ceased, should have been put away withbecoming reverence.
King Edwin, with the full consent of the Witan, had now determinedto undergo the rite of baptism. He began to build a timber structurenear the north-eastern angle of the walls of York, which was to serveas a baptistery. When it was nearly completed he sent for Sivel, andentrusted him with a mission. "You remember," said the King, "thestory of my early life, how I was befriended in Gwynedd by a Christianpriest named Urien, and that his son was my playmate. This son was tobe brought up for the priesthood. They were true and honest people.My Sivel, I want my playmate to come here and to baptize me." He thenexplained some topographical details bearing on Urien's country. "It isa difficult, perhaps a dangerous, mission, but I entrust it to you infull confidence that it will succeed in your hands. I and my friendsshall be baptized by an honest man, not by a trickster."
Sivel set out alone. His quiet manner, his coolness, and his greatexperience made him a most skilful diplomatist. He easily made his wayto Gwynedd and found his man, the British priest Rhunn ap Urien, whoreadily consented to return with him. Two months had not elapsed beforeKing Edwin greeted the simple British priest who had once been hisplaymate, and lodged him comfortably in the Aldwark. On Easter Sundayof the year 627 King Edwin was baptized, in the wooden baptistery atYork, by the British priest Rhunn ap Urien; and with the King his twosons, most of his thegns, and a vast number of common people alsoreceived baptism. But Osric the Atheling refused the rite. The baptismwas an epoch in the life and reign of Edwin the Great.
The Paladins of Edwin the Great Page 20