CHAPTER IV
THE HISTORY OF THE SEE
At the present day the diocese of Lichfield consists of almost the whole of the county of Stafford, part of Shropshire, and a small part of Flintshire and of Warwickshire. Originally, in Anglo-Saxon times, when the first bishop was appointed, the see of Lichfield extended over the whole of Mercia—that is, from the Humber and East Anglia on the north and east, to Wales on the west, and the Thames on the south. Since those days the diocese has been at various times divided, and other dioceses formed; Hereford, Lincoln, Ely, Peterborough, Chester, Worcester, Oxford, St. Albans, Gloucester, Manchester, Liverpool, and Southwell, have all, in whole or in part, been formed out of what was once the diocese of Lichfield.
Of Lichfield in Roman times practically nothing is known. Situated as it is, at a little distance from the crossing of the great Roman roads, Watling Street and Ryknield Street—at which junction the Roman town of Etocetum (the modern Wall) lay, Lichfield was then probably nothing more than open country. The neighbouring towns have yielded a rich harvest of archaeological treasures; but beyond coins of various Roman Emperors, bearing Christian emblems, there is little to show that the Gospel had made its way in this part of England; though, in the cemeteries filled with urns containing the ashes of the dead, there have been found, near Burton-on-Trent and near Derby, skeletons, no doubt of Christians who, according to the rites of their religion, had been buried and not burnt.
To Roman times belongs the legend, which is said to give its name to Lichfield, of the massacre of Christians under Diocletian; in consequence, it is related, the place was called Lyccidfelth, or Licidfield—the field of dead men. This is the derivation most generally accepted at the present day; but some etymologists think that Lichfield means Lakefield, from the quantity of water in the neighbourhood.
It is almost certain that the people of Mercia remained pagan from the Roman epoch, and through all the long wars which were waged between the gradually defeated Britons and the Saxons. Three Saxon kings, all pagans, ruled Mercia; and Christianity, which had taken such firm hold in Northumbria, still had not penetrated to the dark central region of Mercia. Then came Penda the Strong, himself a pagan. "He was not baptised," it was said of him, "and never believed in God." He slew many kings, amongst them being the saintly Oswald, king of Northumbria. One of King Penda's daughters had married Alchfrid, a nephew of Oswald and son to the then King Oswy of Northumbria; and in 652 Penda's son, Peada, became suitor for the hand of one of Oswy's daughters. Peada was then ruling under his father the Middle Angles, and he journeyed to the Northumbrian Court, where he was most hospitably received, in spite of the fact that constant war was being waged between Mercia and Northumbria; but the princess whom he sought was promised him only on condition that he and his people in Mid-Anglia should become Christians. Alchfrid became his teacher; and the beauty of this new faith so seized on him that he declared his willingness to become a Christian whether he might win his princess or not. That same year he was baptised by Finan, the British bishop and head of the Church in Northumbria, and with him all his followers. He returned to his own country, taking with him four priests of the British Church: Cedda, who was afterwards made Bishop of London, and who was the brother of St. Chad, Adda, Betti, and Diuma. These four taught the Gospel to the Mid-Anglians, and even went north among the other Mercians; and it does not appear that Penda, in spite of his paganism, made any opposition.
Notwithstanding these close links between the two kingdoms, in the year 655 Penda with an enormous force invaded Northumbria; he was defeated and killed by Oswy, who now became king of Mercia, but left Peada in his old rule in Mid-Anglia. This was the death-blow of paganism in Mercia; Christianity, which was beginning to take firm hold in Peada's country, spread rapidly, and Diuma (656-658) was made bishop of Mercia. This may be said to be the commencement of the see which afterwards was called by the name of Lichfield; but as yet there was no cathedral, nor was any place particularly settled upon as the headquarters of the work which was so enthusiastically carried on. Diuma was a travelling or missionary bishop, and when he died, after a brief rule of two years, the Church in Mercia was an accomplished fact.
Diuma was succeeded by Creollach (658-659), who, unlike his predecessor an Irishman, was a Briton; he was appointed by Oswy; but in this same year the Mercians rebelled, Oswy fled, and Creollach fled with him, and finally retired to Iona.
The next bishop was a Saxon abbot named Trumhere (659-662), and he was succeeded on his death by Jaruman (662-667). Both were appointed by King Wulphere, son of Penda, who had been raised to the Mercian throne by his people; and both were Saxons who had been consecrated in the Northumbrian Church. Jaruman was a most energetic bishop, and he appears to have been sent into Essex to reconvert the people there who had fallen into paganism again; his mission was a success, and Jaruman returned to his own people in Mercia.