Bertha of Kent explained

See also: Bertha of Val d'Or.

Bertha
Queen consort of Kent
House:Merovingian
House-Type:Dynasty
Birth Date:c. 565
Death Date:c. 601
Father:Charibert I
Mother:Ingoberga
Spouse:Æthelberht of Kent
Issue:Eadbald of Kent
Æthelburg of Kent
Æðelwald

Bertha or Aldeberge (c. 565[1]  - d. in or after 601) was a Frankish princess who became queen of Kent. She influenced the 597 Gregorian mission, led by Augustine, which resulted in the conversion to Christianity of Anglo-Saxon England.

Life

Bertha was a Frankish princess, the daughter of Charibert I and his wife Ingoberga, granddaughter of the reigning King Chlothar I and great-granddaughter of Clovis I and Clotilde.[2] Her father died in 567, her mother in 589. Bertha had been raised near Tours.[3] Her marriage to the pagan Æthelberht of Kent, in 580, was on condition that she be allowed to practise her religion.[4] She brought her chaplain, Liudhard, with her to England.[5] A former Roman church was restored for Bertha just outside Canterbury and dedicated to Martin of Tours. It was the private chapel of Queen Bertha before Augustine arrived from Rome. The present St Martin's Church, Canterbury continues on the same site, incorporating Roman walling of the original church in the chancel. It is acknowledged by UNESCO as the oldest church in the English-speaking world where Christian worship has taken place continuously since 580. St Martin's (with Canterbury Cathedral and St Augustine's Abbey) make up Canterbury's UNESCO World Heritage Site.[6]

Pope Gregory I sent a mission led by Augustine to restore Christianity to England in 596. The mission's favourable reception upon arrival in 597 owed much to the influence of Bertha.[7] Without her support and Æthelberht's good will, monastic settlements and the cathedral would likely have been developed elsewhere.[8] In 601, Pope Gregory addressed a letter to Bertha, in which he complimented her highly on her faith and knowledge of letters.[4]

Anglo-Saxon records indicate that Bertha had two children: Eadbald of Kent and Æthelburg of Kent. She is named in the genealogies of various of the medieval accounts of the 'Kentish Royal Legend'.

The date of her death (possibly 606) is disputed.[4]

Legacy

The City of Canterbury celebrates Queen Bertha in several ways.

There is a wooden statue of Bertha in St Martin's Church.[8]

Notes and References

  1. Encyclopedia: Nelson, Janet L. . Bertha (b. c.565, d. in or after 601) . Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . Janet Nelson . 30 March 2008 . 2006 . Oxford University Press . 10.1093/ref:odnb/2269 .
  2. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/gregory-hist.html#book4 Gregory of Tours (539-594), History of the Franks, Book 4
  3. http://www.martinpaul.org/stmartinshistory.htm Taylor, Martin. The Cradle of English Christianity
  4. http://www.ccel.org/ccel/wace/biodict.html?term=Bertha,%20wife%20of%20Ethelbert,%20king%20of%20Kent Wace, Henry and Piercy, William C., "Bertha, wife of Ethelbert, king of Kent", Dictionary of Christian Biography and Literature to the End of the sixth Century, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.
  5. [s:Ecclesiastical History of the English People/Book 1#25|Bede, ''Ecclesiastical History'']
  6. http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/canterburycathedral.html "Canterbury", World Heritage Site
  7. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02519a.htm Thurston, Herbert. "Bertha." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 7 May 2013
  8. http://www.canterbury-archaeology.org.uk/#/bertha/4557724339 "Queen Bertha", Canterbury Historical and Archaeological Society
  9. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/kent/5017902.stm "6th Century royal statues on show", BBC News, 26 May 2006