Eorcenberht of Kent

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Eorcenberht of Kent (d.14 July 664) was king of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Kent from 640 until his death, succeeding his father Eadbald.

The Mildrith legend suggests that he was the younger son of Eadbald, and that his older brother Eormenred was deliberately passed over, although another possibility is that they ruled jointly.

According to Bede (HE III.8), Eorcenberht was the first king in Britain to command that pagan idols (cult images) be destroyed and that Lent be observed. After the death of Honorius, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Eorcenberht appointed the first Saxon archbishop, Deusdedit, in 655.

Eorcenberht married Seaxburh of Ely, daughter of king Anna of East Anglia. They had two sons, Ecgberht and Hlothhere, who both consecutively became king of Kent, and two daughters who both were eventually canonized: saint Eorcengota became a nun at the Abbey of Faremoutiers on the continent, and saint Ermenilda became abbess at Ely.

[edit] References

• Bede, The Ecclesiastical History of the English People
• D. P. Kirby, The Earliest English Kings (London: Unwin Hyman, 1991), pp. 42-44

Preceded by Eadbald

King of Kent 640–664

Succeeded by Ecgberht