[Sidenote:  Ad murum.] Wherefore he was baptised by bishop Finnan, with all those which came thither with him at a place called At the wall, and taking with him foure priests which were thought meete to teach and baptise his people, he returned with great ioy into his owne countrie.  The names of those priests were as followeth, Cedda, Adda, Betti, and Diuna, of the which, the last was a Scot by nation, and the other were Englishmen.  These priests comming into the prouince of the Middleangles, preached the woord, and were well heard, so that dailie a great number of the nobilitie & communaltie renouncing the filthie dregs of idolatrie, were christned.  Neither did king Penda forbid the preaching of the gospell within his prouince of Mercia, but rather hated and despised those whome he knew to haue professed themselues [Sidenote:  The saieng of king Penda.] christians, and yet shewed not the woorks of faith, saieng, that “Those were wretches and not to be regarded, which would not obeie their God in whome they beleeued.”  This alteration of things began, about two yeeres before the death of king Penda.

[Sidenote:  Beda lib. 3. cap. 22.] About the same time, the Eastsaxons at the instance of Oswie king of Northumberland, receiued eftsoones the faith which they had renounced, when they banished their bishop Melitus.

Melitus.  Ye haue heard that Serred, Siward, and Sigibert brethren, and the sonnes of king Sabert (which brethren occasioned the reuolting of that prouince from the faith of Christ) were slaine in battell by the kings of Westsaxon, after whome succeeded Sigibert surnamed the little sonne to the middlemost brother Siward, as some write.  This Sigibert the litle left the kingdome to an other Sigibert that was sonne to one Sigebald the brother of king Sabert, which second Sigibert reigned as king in that prouince of the Eastsaxons, being a most especiall friend of king Oswie, so that oftentimes he repaired into Northumberland to visit him, whervpon king Oswie ceassed not most earnestlie at times conuenient to exhort him to receiue the faith of Iesus Christ, and in the end by such effectuall persuasions as he vsed, Sigibert gaue [Sidenote:  King Sigibert receiued the faith.] credit to his woords, and so being conuerted, receiued the sacrament of baptisme by the hands of bishop Finnan, at the kings house called, At the wall, so named, bicause it was built neere to the wall which the Romans had made ouerthwart the Ile, as is often before remembred, being twelue miles distant from the east sea.

[Sidenote:  This was about the yeere 649, as Matth.  West. hath noted.] King Sigibert hauing now receiued the Christian faith, when he should returne into his countrie, required king Oswie to appoint him certeine instructors and teachers which might conuert his people to the faith of Christ.  King Oswie desirous to satisfie his request, sent [Sidenote:  Cedda.] vnto the prouince of the Middleangles, calling from