Ricbert

Ricbert (also Ricberht, Ricberctus ) was King of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of East Anglia from 627/628 to 630/631 .

Life

Ricbert's origins are unknown, but he certainly belonged to the upper class of East Anglia, if not to the royal dynasty of the Wuffingers .

Edwin of Northumbria had risen to the position of Bretwalda (great king) and "persuaded" the East Anglian king Eorpwald to give up the "superstition of idols" ( idolorum superstitionibus ) and to accept Christianity for himself and his whole country. With the conversion of East Anglia, Edwin was certainly also pursuing political goals: his influence on East Anglia, supported by the Northumbrian clergy, increased considerably and strengthened his hegemonic power. The change of faith was apparently only superficial and owed to Bretwalda's wish. There were no indications for the development of church infrastructure, such as B. the establishment of a diocese, handed down.

In the year 627/628 the "Heide" ( vir gentilis ) Ricbert killed King Eorpwald. East Anglia fell back into paganism. To what extent this act was religiously or politically motivated remained unclear. It is uncertain, but likely, that Ricbert reigned for three years after that. The failure of the mighty Edwin to intervene after Eorpwald's assassination suggest that Ricbert had great support from the anti-Orthumbrian mood in East Anglia. He was replaced in 630/631 by Sigebert , Eorpwald's half-brother.

swell

Beda Venerabilis : Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum , Online in the Medieval Sourcebook (English)

literature

Nicholas J. Higham: The convert kings: power and religious affiliation in early Anglo-Saxon England , Manchester University Press, 1997, ISBN 978-0719048289

Web links

Richbert in Foundation for Medieval Genealogy
Ricberht 1 in Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England (PASE)

Individual evidence

^ ^A ^b ^c Nicholas J. Higham: The convert kings: power and religious affiliation in early Anglo-Saxon England , Manchester University Press, 1997, ISBN 978-0719048289 , pp. 181-183.
^ ^A ^b ^c Richard Hoggett: The Archeology of the East Anglian Conversion (Anglo-Saxon Studies), Boydell & Brewer, 2010, ISBN 978-1843835950 , pp. 30-31.
↑ The dating of baptism in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle to the year 632 is considered incorrect.
↑ ^a ^b Beda: HE 2,15
↑ Few historians, like Lutz E. von Padberg : Mission and Christianization. Forms and consequences in Anglo-Saxons and Franks in the 7th and 8th centuries , Steiner, 1995, ISBN 978-3-515-06737-9 , p. 257, firmly assume a “kingless time full of turmoil”.

predecessor	Office	successor
Eorpwald	King of East Anglia 628–631	Sigebert

personal data
SURNAME	Ricbert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Ricberht; Ricberctus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	King of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of East Anglia
DATE OF BIRTH	6th century
DATE OF DEATH	7th century

[nic181-1] A ^b ^c Nicholas J. Higham: The convert kings: power and religious affiliation in early Anglo-Saxon England , Manchester University Press, 1997, ISBN 978-0719048289 , pp. 181-183.

[ric30-2] A ^b ^c Richard Hoggett: The Archeology of the East Anglian Conversion (Anglo-Saxon Studies), Boydell & Brewer, 2010, ISBN 978-1843835950 , pp. 30-31.

[3] The dating of baptism in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle to the year 632 is considered incorrect.

[he2-15-4] Beda: HE 2,15

[5] Few historians, like Lutz E. von Padberg : Mission and Christianization. Forms and consequences in Anglo-Saxons and Franks in the 7th and 8th centuries , Steiner, 1995, ISBN 978-3-515-06737-9 , p. 257, firmly assume a “kingless time full of turmoil”.