Kent was the first of the Anglo-Saxon monarchies, and alongside East Anglia, Essex, Mercia, Northumbria, Sussex and Wessex, would become one of the great seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England.
Based around its capital of Canterbury, it was the first of the kingdoms to convert to Christianity, with Canterbury eventually becoming the headquarters of the English Church.
In the early fifth century following the departure of the Romans around 410, Britain found itself under attack not only from Saxon and other Germanic tribes from the east, but also from Picts, Scots and Irish tribes. Although written several centuries after the actual events took place, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles tell that the chief ruler, or high king, in southern Britain called Vortigen, hired Germanic mercenaries led by the brothers Hengist and Horsa, offering them land in return for assisting his forces in fighting the Picts. Landing in Ebbsfleet, near Ramsgate in Kent, the brothers went on to defeat the Picts.
Hungry for more land, the brothers soon turned against the Britons and in 455, the Chronicle details that Hengist and Horsa fought a battle against Vortigen, during which Horsa was killed. Hengist and his son Oisc took control of the kingdom. Hengist and Oisc would go on to fight several more battles with the Britons killing many British leaders, one of whom may have led to the creation of the mythical hero that is King Arthur. Arthur is said to have fought twelve battles against the invaders throughout Britain.
Hengist, c. 455 – c. 488
As previously mentioned the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, which were written several centuries after the events, have been questioned by several modern scholars. However, there is no doubt that in this period of turmoil Hengist and his son Oisc would go on to fight many battles with the British to secure their kingdom. During this time, Oisc would have established himself as a notable warrior.
The final mention we have for Hengist in the Chronicle is 473, and although his death is not recorded it seems likely that it was a peaceful one, as the traditional date for the founding of the kingdom under Oisc is 488.
Oisc (also spelt Œsc, Æsc, Ash and Oeric), c. 488 – c. 512
Little is known about Oisc, other than according to the Venerable Bede, he gave his name Oiscingas to the Kentish dynasty that succeeded him, including his son Octa.
Octa (also spelt Octha), c. 512 – c. 540
Although there is no mention of Octa in the 9th century Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, he is mentioned by name in Venerable Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People, completed around 731, and in the 9th century Historia Brittonum, history of the Britons. Bede names Octa as the son of Oisc, whilst the Historia Brittonum refers to him as the son of Hengist.
Eormenric, c. 540 – c. 589
Possibly the son of Octa, however the first part of his name Eormen hints at a Frankish connection. Records also show that his son Æthelberht married a Frankish princess called Bertha, whilst he was filius regis, or the son of the king, this would therefore make Eormenric the first recorded King of Kent.
Æthelberht I (also spelt Æthelbert, or Ethelbert), c. 589 – 616
Through his earlier marriage to Bertha, the Christian daughter of Charibert, king of the Franks, Æthelberht had established an alliance with one of the most powerful states in Europe at that time. Kent was now growing rich with strong trading links to the continent. In the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, Æthelberht is referred to as a Bretwalda, or ‘Britain-ruler’.
It is more than likely that it was Bertha’s influence that may have led to Pope Gregory I’s decision to send Augustine as a missionary from Rome in 597. Shortly thereafter, Æthelberht converted to Christianity, churches were established, and wider-scale conversion to Christianity began throughout the Kingdom of Kent. Æthelberht provided the new church with land in Canterbury, thus helping to establish one of the foundation stones of English Christianity.
Soon after the arrival of Augustine’s mission which re-introduced literacy to Britain, Æthelberht issued a set of laws. The Law of Æthelberht, compiled in Anglo-Saxon, is thought to be the earliest example of a document written in Old English. The initial provisions of the code was to offer protection to the church. The remainder of the laws may have been derived from earlier legal customs that would have been previously transmitted by word of mouth. These included provisions for maintaining law and order, as well as rules on compensation for injury and even a woman’s financial rights following a divorce.
Perhaps the most important code that Æthelberht included was that… “If the king is drinking at a man’s home, and anyone commits any evil deed there, he is to pay twofold compensation.”
Æthelberht died on 24 February 616 aged around 65 and was buried in his new abbey church at Canterbury. He later came to be regarded as a saint for his role in establishing Christianity among the Anglo-Saxons.
Æthelberht was succeeded by his son, Eadbald, who was not a Christian.
Eadbald, 616 – 640
The son of King Æthelberht I, c. 589 – 616, and his wife Bertha, Eadbald’s succession to the throne of Kent was initially a blow to the growth of the Christian church, as unlike his parents he retained his pagan beliefs. His mother had died some time before Eadbald became king and his father had remarried. The name of Æthelberht’s second wife is not known, however it is possible that she was also a pagan, since on his death she married Eadbald, her stepson: such a marriage was forbidden by the church.
Eadbald was eventually persuaded to give up his pagan ways as well as his wife. His second wife, Emma, was, like his mother, a Frankish Christian princess. Given the important trade links with the mighty Franks, the marriage was possibly more of a diplomatic decision. That said, together they had two sons, Eormenred and Eorcenberht, and a daughter, Eanswith.
Eadbald died in 640 and was buried in the Church of St Mary, in Canterbury. He was succeeded by Eorcenberht.
Eorcenberht (also spelt Earconbert), 640 – 664
The Kentish Royal Legend suggests that Eorcenberht, the youngest son of King Æthelberht I, c. 589 – 616, was chosen above his elder brother to succeed to the throne.
The Venerable Bede records that he was the first king in Britain to command that all pagan idols should be destroyed, and that the Christian religious observation of Lent be followed. Following the death of Horonius, the Gregorian missionary and Archbishop of Canterbury, Eorcenberht appointed the first Saxon archbishop, Deusdedit, in 655.
Eorcenberht married Seaxburh of Ely, daughter of King Anna of East Anglia and they had two sons, Ecgberht and Hlothhere, as well as two daughters, both of whom served the church.
After her husband’s death in 664, Seaxburh remained in Kent to bring up her children. She acted as regent until her eldest son Ecgberht came of age.
Ecgberht I (also spelt Egbert), 664 – 673
As mentioned above, Ecgberht was still a child when he became king following his father’s death.
There appears to have been a dynastic struggle during his reign as according to the Kentish Royal Legend, he had two of his male cousins killed, and so had to pay Weregild (compensation) to their sister, which she used to build a Monastery at Thanet, in eastern Kent.
Ecgberht was succeeded by his brother Hlothhere.
Hlothhere, 673 – 685
The youngest son of King Eorcenberht, 640 – 664, Hlothhere succeeded his brother King Ecgberht I in 673.
In 676 the Mercian king Æthelred invaded Kent, where his armies destroyed the city of Rochester. According to Bede, even churches and monasteries were not spared.
Again, a period of dynastic struggle in the kingdom of Kent, as it appears that for a time Hlothhere reigned jointly with his nephew Eadric, son of King Ecgberht I, 664 -673. In 685, Eadric went into exile and led a South Saxons army against Hlothhere, who died of his wounds following the battle.
Eadric, 685 – 686
The son of King Ecgberht I, 664 -673, Eadric became sole ruler of Kent after he defeated King Hlothhere, 673 – 685, in battle at the head of a South Saxon army.
In 686, Cædwalla, king of Wessex, and his brother Mul, removed Eadric from power and made Mul king of Kent.
King Caedwalla of Wessex
Mul, 686 – 687
A member of the Royal House of Wessex, Mul appears to have ruled for only a year before the local folk took exception to this intruder, chasing him and his twelve followers into a building and setting it on fire, burning them all to death. Not too happy about this, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, King Cædwalla once again returned from Wessex and laid waste to Kent.
Oswine, c. 688 – 690
After the death of King Eadric, 685 – 686, Kent was in somewhat of turmoil. Add to this the damage caused by the repeat visits from Cædwalla of Wessex, the kingdom was indeed in chaos. Oswine was of the Royal House of Kent and ruled jointly with Swæfberht and Swæfheard. Multiple kingships were commonplace in Anglo-Saxon England.
Wihtred, c. 690 – 725
Wihtred was a son of King Ecgberht I, 664 – 673, and a brother of King Eadric, 685 – 686. He ascended to the throne after the anarchy of the 680s. Wihtred was a powerful ruler who threw off East Saxon influence of Essex and issued a code of laws, imaginatively termed the Law of Wihtred. These laws included punishments for irregular marriage, pagan worship and one that remains a fundamental cornerstone of English law to this day: that the Church should be exempt from taxation.
Wihtred secured peace with Ine, king of Wessex, by paying a substantial sum in recompense for the murder of King Mul, 686 – 687, by the Kentish people. Together with Ine, he also established the boundary between Kent and the East Saxons (Essex), which remains to the day. He left his kingdom to his three sons, Æthelberht II, Eadberht I, and Alric.
Æthelberht II, 725 – 762
Æthelberht appears to have outlived both of his brothers and reigned jointly with his nephew Eardwulf. During the latter half of Æthelberht’s rule Kent came under Mercian control, but Æthelberht maintained his position as king.
Kent was to have one or two more successors, but after the end of Mercian dominance around 825, Kent came under the rule of the Kings of Wessex.
Published: 11th January 2025.
