Edwin

Edwin or Eadwin (both: ed'win) [key], 585?–632, king of Northumbria (616–32), The son and heir of Ælla, king of Deira, he was kept from his inheritance by Æthelfrith. Edwin sought refuge with Rædwald, king of East Anglia, who in 616 defeated and killed Æthelfrith and gave Edwin the rule of all Northumbria. In a few years Edwin succeeded or superseded Rædwald as overlord of all the English kingdoms except Kent. The king was converted to Christianity by St. Paulinus, who accompanied the king's bride (a daughter of King Æthelbert of Kent) to Northumbria in 625. In 627, Edwin and many of his court were baptized at York, and he seems to have assisted Paulinus in the conversion of his people thereafter. Edwin in one of his raids attacked Cadwallon, king of North Wales. Later Cadwallon and Penda of Mercia defeated and killed Edwin and his son in 632.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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