Chapter 7

At that time, during the reign of Cynigils, the West Saxons, anciently known as the Gewissae, accepted the Faith of Christ through the preaching of Bishop Birinus.¹ He had come to Britain at the direction of Pope Honorius [I], having promised in his presence that he would sow the seeds of our holy Faith in the most inland and remote regions of the English, where no other teacher had been before him. He was accordingly consecrated bishop by Asterius, Bishop of Genoa, at the Pope’s command; but when he had reached Britain and entered the territory of the Gewissae, he found them completely heathen, and decided that it would be better to begin to preach the word of God among them rather than seek more distant converts. He therefore evangelized that province, and when he had instructed its king, he baptized him and his people. It happened at the time that the most holy and victorious Oswald was present, and greeted King Cynigils as he came from the font, and offered him an alliance most acceptable to God, taking him as his godson and giving his daughter as wife. The two kings gave Bishop Birinus the city of Dorcic² for his episcopal see, and there he built and dedicated several churches and brought many people to God by his holy labours. He also died and was buried there; and many years later, when Haeddi was bishop, his body was translated to Venta³ and laid in the church of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul.

On the death of Cynigils, his son Coenwalh succeeded to the throne, but refused to accept the faith and sacraments of the heavenly kingdom. Not long afterwards he lost his earthly kingdom also. For he put away his wife, who was sister of Penda, King of the Mercians, and took another woman. This led to war, and Coenwalh was driven out of his kingdom by Penda and took refuge with Anna, King of the East Angles. There he lived in exile for three years, during which he learned the Christian Faith and received Baptism. For Anna his host was a good man and blessed with good and holy children, as I shall mention later.

When Coenwalh had been restored to his kingdom, there arrived in the province a bishop from Gaul named Agilbert,⁴ who had been studying the scriptures in Ireland for many years. This bishop came to the king and voluntarily undertook to evangelize the country. Appreciating his learning and enthusiasm, the king asked him to accept an episcopal see and remain in the province as his chief bishop. Agilbert acceded to the king’s request and presided as bishop for many years. Later, however, the king, who understood only Saxon, grew tired of the bishop’s foreign speech, and invited to the province a bishop of his own tongue called Wini, who had also been consecrated in Gaul; and dividing his kingdom into two dioceses, he gave Wini the city of Venta – known by the Saxons as Wintancaestir – as his see. This action gravely offended Agilbert, as the king had not consulted him in the matter, and he returned to Gaul, where he became bishop of Paris and ended his days there at an advanced age. Not many years after Agilbert’s departure from Britain, Wini was also driven from his bishopric by the king, and took refuge with Wulfhere, King of the Mercians, to whom he offered money for the bishopric of London, which he held till his death. So for a considerable time the province of the West Saxons remained without any bishop.

During this interval King Coenwalh often suffered great damage to his kingdom from his enemies. Eventually he remembered that he had formerly been driven from, his throne because of his infidelity and had been restored to it after his acceptance of the Christian Faith, and realized that his kingdom was now justly deprived of God’s protection because it had no bishop. He therefore sent his messengers to Agilbert in Gaul, offering him satisfaction and requesting him to return to his bishopric. But Agilbert sent his regrets and said that it was impossible for him to return, since he was now responsible for his own bishopric and city of Paris. But, not wishing to reject such an urgent appeal for help, he sent in his place his nephew, the priest Leutherius,⁵ to be consecrated as his bishop if the king were agreeable, recommending him as worthy of a bishopric. Both king and people welcomed Leutherius with honour, and asked Theodore, then Archbishop of Canterbury, to consecrate him their bishop. He was accordingly consecrated at Canterbury, and for many years wisely ruled the West Saxon see alone with the full support of the synod.