Not long afterwards Archbishop Theodore, displeased at some disobedience on the part of Bishop Wynfrid of the Mercians, deposed him from the bishopric which he had held only a few years, and appointed in his place Sexwulf, founder and abbot of the monastery of Medeshamstedi1 in the Gyrwas’ country. On his deposition, Wynfrid retired to his own monastery of At-Barwe, and lived a most holy life there until his death.
Theodore also made Earconwald Bishop of the East Saxons, whose kings were the above-mentioned Sebbi and Sighere, with the city of London as his see. Both before and after his consecration as bishop, Earconwald is said to have lived so holy a life that heaven still affords proofs of his virtues. To this day, the horse-litter in which he travelled when ill is preserved by his disciples, and continues to cure many folk troubled by fever and other complaints. Sick people are cured when placed under or against the litter, and even chips cut from it bring speedy recovery when taken to the sick.
Before he became bishop, Earconwald had built two well-known monasteries, one for himself and the other for his sister Ethelburga, and had established an excellent regular discipline in both houses. His own monastery stood by the river Thames at Cerotaesei2 – meaning Cerot’s island – in the district of Surrey. The convent where his sister was to rule as mother and instructress of women devoted to God was at a place called In-Berecingum3 in the province of the East Saxons. Entrusted with the affairs of this convent, she always bore herself in a manner worthy of her brother the bishop, upright of life and constantly planning for the needs of her community, as heavenly miracles attest.