CHAPTER IV
THE SEES OF THE EAST ANGLIAN BISHOPS
Herbert, surnamed de Losinga, transferred the see from Thetford to Norwich in 1094, and it is from this period that the history of the cathedral may be said to commence; but, to understand rightly the history of the diocese, we must go back some four centuries and a half to that earlier period when Redwald, king of the East Angles, was first converted to Christianity while paying a visit to the court of Ethelbert in Kent. He, however, proved but a weak disciple, and on being urged by his wife to be true to the old gods, he tried to effect a compromise and worship Jehovah and Baal.
He was succeeded by his son Eorpwald, who was converted by missionaries sent by Edwin king of Northumbria. His reign, however, was short, and at his death the people again relapsed into heathenism.
Christianity was finally established among the East Angles by Sigeberht, Eorpwald's brother, and it was due to him and through his influence that Felix, a missionary from Burgundy, was enabled to fix his see at Dunwich, A.D. 630.
Felix (630-47) must needs have been a man strong in his Faith; he christianised the whole of that district which now includes Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridgeshire. He died on the 8th of March, and was canonized after death. Felixstowe, where he is said to have founded schools, keeps his memory green in the East Country; but Dunwich, where he fixed his see, has long since been covered by the encroaching waves.
Sigeberht resigned the crown to his kinsman Egric, and had entered a monastery to finish his days in peace. But the kingdom was invaded by the Mercians under Penda, and the peaceful old king was compelled to appear in the field to give heart and courage to the East Angles. He, however, declined to employ carnal weapons, and went out against his enemies armed with nothing more formidable than a wand. He was killed in the ensuing engagement, and his successor, Egric, shared the same fate.